Guide Dogs

by Yosh-E-O

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Other, Original Character, Spike, Comedy, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Crossover, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 7597

MLP / Animal Crossing crossover continuing personal / character-driven coping with blindness series

Yosh has been through a lot since losing his physical eyesight. His work with Dawnbreak Horizon has waned as a result of his limitations as he has taken responsibilities with the therapist, Doodle Noodle, and aiding Princess Luna in the Dream Realm.

The waking world seems to be a loss to Yosh until an opportunity for building relations with the Diamond Dogs' hometown, Canine Crossroads, becomes available from Princess Celestia. So Yosh, along with his egg brother, Spike, join twilight Sparkle in an effort to align the floundering Canine Crossroads with Equestria in friendship and economic success.

***

This story, as those that preceeded it, are designed around sharing my own experiences in losing my eyesight along with building new ways to interact positively in the world. Yosh's character is an 'extension' of myself and telling this tale is a way to work through emotions while sharing some insight on what it is to be 100% blind.

Published 2017-11-19 00:30:06 UTC
Last updated 2017-11-28 16:09:32 UTC

Chapter 1 - A New Calling

Yosh, the dragon-duck, sat in his room within Canterlot Castle. Although he could not see he did enjoy feeling Celestia’s sun warm his scales while the wind coolled his soft, white feathery cheeks.

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

“Come in,” Yosh hummed as he imagined what it must look like outside.

PSHEW-CLICK

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” inquired Princess Celestia as she entered into the dragon-duck’s chambers.

Yosh’s mind quickly went from seeing a peaceful field full of trees and birds to being in front of the daytime ruler of all Equestria.
“Princess Celestia!” he quacked as he stumbled to attention.

“Please,” the solar princess said with a gesture of her hoof. This gesture was not seen by Yosh, who had lost his sight over a year ago, but her kind inflection more than made up for it. “You are one of my chosen. We are equals.”

Yosh sighed and sat on his cushioned rear. All his life he had an issue with incontinence. It wasn’t something he was proud of but there was something comforting when he felt his diaper all clean push against him like a bedtime pillow.
“Right…,” he trailed while removing the sunglasses he wore to hide his useless frost-colored eyes.

Princess Celestia could pick up on her dragon’s sadness.
“Oh, Yosh,” she cooed while lifting him with her golden aura. “Of all my dragons you have always been my most emotional.”

As Celestia’s soothed the sniffling Yosh, she thought on all the dragons who had become a part of her efforts to unite Equestria with its surrounding lands. Spike was hatched by twilight Sparkle and Yosh was brought to life by Dawnbreak Horizon. Then there was Tacki who had been found by an earth Pony named Lucky Find and one named Toroth that had come from the Dragon Lands in an effort to save a Pegasus who had befallen a most frightening air accident that left her at the mercy of the dragons but was fortunate enough Toroth cared enough to help her escape harm.

“I’ve got a mission for you,” Celestia said as she released her ethereal hold on Yosh.

“For me?” wondered Yosh. Since losing all his vision he had very little work alongside Dawnbreak Horizon. He mostly spent his days visiting the local therapist, Doodle Noodle, or helping Princess Luna on ‘Dream patrol’. It was a very fascinating thing that being blind didn’t take away the ability for Yosh to see in the dream realm. So he’d accompany Luna on dream missions and serve as a guide to ponies in need of more than Luna’s help to get mental health assistance from Doodle Noodle.

“I think you’ll like this mission,” continued Celestia. “It’s to a new land known as ‘Canine Crossroads’.”

“Canine Crossroads?” wondered Yosh while reaching for his traveling stick. He had been working with Spike and Twilight and anyone who’d really take time to help him design something to help him find his way around in the darkness the waking world had as a result of being totally blind.

“Yes,” added the sun princess. “Apparently it is where the Diamond Dogs are originally from.”

Yosh remembered what Rarity and Spike had told him about ‘The Diamond Dogs’ and felt a bit scared.
“I’m not so sure…,” he trailed as he tried to keep his composure. “They seem pretty tough and I’m not so good at fighting.”

Celestia laughed as she gently nuzzled Yosh. The tactile feel of her fur calming him much as his diaper did.
“Canine Crossroads is a town full of dogs who have long tried to live a peaceful life of helping others through friendship,” she stated. “They also have an amazing opportunity to help all of Equestria if the right ‘Mayor’ came along.”

“’Mayor’?” wondered the dragon-duck.

“I know,” chuckled Celestia. “I found it funny, too. However it seems they are in real need of leadership that would give them all purpose. The delegate of Canine Crossing, Isabelle, asked if I could send a suitable, reliable, and caring representative to come serve as their mayor.”

“And…,” awed Yosh. “You want ‘me’?”

“Yes,” she stated confidently. “I feel you will be the one to bring Canine Crossing back to its glory while helping those residing there to find a special place in Equestria.”

“Sure!” cheered Yosh. His childish mind was filled with thoughts of being in a town filled with dogs looking up to him and wanting him to scratch behind their ears, rub their tummies, and do all sorts of tactile-fun things that made him feel happy.

KNOCK-KNOCK

“Sorry to interrupt,” said a very eager voice.

“Oh, twilight! Spike!” called Celestia. “Are you ready to work with Yosh to prep him for being the mayor of Canine Crossing?”

“Of course!” gleed the Princess of Friendship. “There will be so much to learn and see and document!”

“And my claws will get cramped to where I can’t lift a comic book for weeks,” moaned Spike.

“Spike!” quacked Yosh with delight. “You’re coming, too?”

“You know me,” he shrugged. Yosh could not see the non-verbal gesture but had come to know how his ‘brother’ growing up felt about certain things. “Ever eager to keep twilight from being ‘The Master of the Freak Out’.”

“Spike!” snapped the purple Alicorn. “I do not ‘freak out’.”

“Keep telling yourself that,”he said low enough for her to not hear. However, as Yosh had come to depend on his ears, he caught the reply and giggled.

“Alright,” said Celestia as she trotted out of the room. “I’m sorry I can’t stay longer but I have more ‘smiling’ to do before the day is out.”

Spike looked towards Twilight and added, “You’d just be all creepy if you smiled all the time.”

“Spike!” Twilight barked.

“You see it, Yosh?” the purple dragon inquired. “You remember how she looks when she’s on one of those study binges trying to hide how she hasn’t slept or that she’s not stressing out?”

Yosh allowed his memory to see exactly what his emerald-eyed friend was talking about from when the two were being equally cared for by Princess Celestia along with dawnbreak and Twilight respectively.
“Yeah,” he giggled with a quack. “You just can’t smile like Celestia, Twilight.”

The Princess of Friendship groaned.

“Don’t worry, my student,” eased Celestia with a wing to Twilight’s head. “It took me years to learn how to make the ‘perfect smile’ every time.”

Twilight’s ears drooped.

“You’re not going to freak out over the smile thing, Twi?” worried Spike. “Don’t make it like you did with your old friends in Canterlot or that whole mess with Smarty Pants.”

“I still need to get smarty pants back from Big mac,” grumped twilight. “Didn’t you say you were going to ask him about that during your last ‘Guy’s Night’?”

“Well…,” trailed Spike.

“I really must go,” said the sun princess. “Carry yourselves well as the chariot to Canine Crossroads leave when I raise the sun tomorrow.”

All discussions came to an end as Spike, twilight, and Yosh switched to discussing their ‘forthcoming mission’. At least until another opportunity to poke some fun at each other became available.

Chapter 2 - Early Morning Preparations

One of the greatest gifts that Fluttershy had ever given to Yosh was a pet duck who got all the frozen peas and feed corn it ever wanted in exchange for being an alarm clock.

QUACK-QUA-QUA-QUACK!

“Oh!” gasped Yosh as he was snapped out of a dream. In it he vividly saw a pony named Rainfeather who had a magical feather that could make it rain. The two were playing with other ponies alongside blue ducks in a warm summer rain.

QUA-QUACK-QUACK!

“Thanks, Mel,” spoke a very sleepy dragon-duck as he toddled over Spike, past a still awake Twilight, and opened a drawer in his dresser containing a bowl of feed corn he had prepared the night before.

QUA-QUA-QUA

The mallard duck quacked lightly as Yosh placed the food bowl at the edge of his window. It was usually around this time when the dragon-duck remembered anything he thought he saw was nothing more than a hallucination of his brain trying to compensate for his non-functional eyes.

“I see Mel is ‘quacking’ out for you?” joked a very over-tired Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Yeah,” he replied lightly as he checked to see if he needed to change his diaper. He had noticed that he was starting to genuinely catch if he had to go before he made a mess of himself. It was a nice feeling to have control over something. However he wasn’t so fortunate this morning.

“Make it stop,” griped Spike as he swatted at the air. “I need more sleep.”

“Sorry, Spike,” chuckled Twilight as she lifted the blanket from her assistant to reveal him all curled up with his Rarity plush. “We did tell Mel to wake us so we had enough time to get our things together for our big trip.”

“And let me guess…,” yawned the green-spiked dragon. “You were up all night studying Canine Crossroads?”

“I was,” gleed twilight. “There’s not much known except that the Diamond Dogs left feeling there was no future there without a stable leader.”

Spike rolled onto his back and watched Mel peck at his corn.
“And they feel they have good leadership now?” he pondered. “Rarity threw them all off just by being her beautiful and wonderful self. Plus they smell, hide in caves, and barely ever barter their gems for anything useful.”

“Now don’t judge,” corrected Twilight. “We don’t know the whole story and we may be able to make some great new friends by helping out at their hometown.”

Yosh toddled out in just a diaper that featured Rarity’s cutie mark, three blue diamonds, at its sides.

“Still having potty problems?” asked Spike as he tried to hold back his displeasure that anyone would ever soil something of Rarity’s creation.

“I think I’m getting better?” the duck-dragon asked with a finger to his bill. “It’s the ones that get me more than the twos.”

QUACK, QUACK

“Good to go, Mel?” asked Yosh as he made his way towards the window to see his friend off. “Doodle Noodle will be by to feed you until I get back.”

“I understand having Mel wake you in the morning,” stated Spike as he started packing his Rarity plush into his backpack. “But why do you need him to quack at you before bed?”

Yosh shrugged as twilight perked her ears.
“I really can’t tell the difference between day and night,” he replied. “So Mel is like my way of knowing when to wake up and when to go to bed.”

“At least he doesn’t tell you to stop reading comic books or wake you up too early to help sort notecards,” quipped spike.

“Ha, ha,” shrugged Twilight while using her magic to put all her things into a pair of saddle bags. “Now if you want any breakfast before we leave you better get yourself up-and-at-em.”

“I’m good to go!” cheered Yosh as he finished putting on his clothing. He had a laundry system that allowed him to know exactly where things were so he could easily get to his outfits. However most of his clothing sets were blue shorts, a white T-Shirt with a star on it, and a blue vest.

“I keep forgetting what a morning dragon you are,” moaned Spike as he worked to ensure all his supplies were with him. He took extra care with the Rarity plush to make sure ‘she’ didn’t feel all smushed.

“Starlight says Princess Celestia makes delicious pancakes,” grinned Twilight. “Not that I’d know as that happened on ‘her’ friendship mission. After all, Starlight had everything under control and the map did choose her instead of me and…”

Yosh and Spike laughed and joked to themselves as their walk to the kitchen was filled with every possible explanation from Twilight except, “I couldn’t stop freaking out so I was nosy and got some free pancakes out of it.”.

Chapter 3 - Welcome to Canine Crossroads

A massive crowd of anthropomorphic animals gathered as the Royal Chariot landed at the center of Canine Crossroads.

“Fascinating,” admired Twilight. “It seems a number of species live here, too.”

Spike leaned to whisper in Yosh’s ear.
“Twilight is surprised that we are seeing so many different creatures living together,” he said.

“What kind of creatures?” asked Yosh. “Can you describe them to me?”

Spike recalled how his friend needed to get an ‘Verbal Description’ of his surroundings in order to know what he was incapable of seeing for himself.
“Mostly birds, squirrels, dogs, and any other animals we know to be wild or pets back in Equestria all seem to be dressed up in clothes and admiring our approach,” he described.

“See any ducks?” blushed Yosh. “Any dragon-ducks?”

Spike peeked over the side as they landed.
“I think there is a baby duck running circles around a fountain,” he announced.

KA-KLUNK
GALLOP-GALLOP
GALLOP
CLOP-CLOP

The four Pegasus guards came to a stop and awaited instructions.

“Mayor!” a female voice called out. “You’re finally here!”

Twilight smiled.
“Oh!” she beamed. “Seems we are getting quite the greeting.”

“Don’t forget to smile and wave,” stated Spike as he opened up a scroll of ‘To Dos’ Twilight had written for their initial arrival into Canine Crossroads.

“Halt!” the guards stated firmly as a yellow dog with bells tied into her hair came dashing forward.

“Oh,” the dog whimpered as she allowed her clipboard to hang loosely alongside her green skirt. “I’m just hear for our new mayor.”

“And you are?” another guard asked firmly.

“Why,” she replied with a blush. “I’m Isabelle! I’m the one who asked Princess Celestia to send us a new mayor to fix our town!”

“What?” wondered Twilight. She didn’t know if lack of sleep was making her hear things but she swore that the delegate was implying they asked the Equestrian trio to come to run their town instead of build friendly relations with it.

“Hi!” cried Isabelle while waving towards the chariot. “Is there a ‘Yosh’ amongst you?”

“Uh,” the dragon duck baffled as he stood up and looked towards the sound of the female voice and jingling bells. “I’m Yosh.”

“Perfect!” gleed Isabelle as she made her way past the guards and helped the dragon duck out of the carriage. “I’m so glad Princess Celestia could spare you to help our town, mayor.”

“What?” gasped both Spike and twilight as Isabelle started leading Yosh into the wooded city.

“Orders, Princess Twilight?” the guards called out.

“Uh… Well… Oh!” struggled the sleep deprived Alicorn.

“I’ve got this,” said Spike proudly as he leapt down and moved past the guards. “Yosh is my brother and brothers look after each other.”

“Spike!” cried Twilight.

“Do pardon us,” stated a swanky-looking raccoon who had two kits behind him. “My name’s Tom Nook and I’d like to show you around our beautiful city. You did bring bits, right?”

Twilight didn’t know what they had gotten themselves into. However the only way to find out, rescue Yosh, and make sure her number one assistant was alright was to play along until the intentions of Isabelle and canine Crossroads became fully known.

Chapter 4 - Isabelle: Mayor's Assistant?

Author's Note

FEATURED COMMENT QUESTION & ANSWER:

STARLIGHT NOVA:
(Sorry I can't do a direct reply. I went to try and write one on your page but I think you have comments turned off.)

Thank you for being "That Guy". You have a REALLY valid question that more people need to know the answer to.

Those who are totally blind, or even partially blind, can get software known as Screen Readers. A screen reader is software designed to integrate with most software to use a mechanical voice to read text while allowing me to use special key sequences to access 'Edit Boxes' and other relevant regions of web sites, word processors, E-Mail, etc.

The problem is they have limits. :( So I am only able to do so much on a given site, or application, as a result of software conflicts / non-compatibility. So, with "FiM Fiction", I need to use Firefox and Internet Explorer to genuinely create a story. Each application tells me so much on how to use the "Create Story" page. It's a pain but still lets me post. :)

The other issue, with FiM Fiction, is how I can write comments but cannot respond to them. I can also respond to messages but not start them. :( However FiM Fiction is one of a few sites I can navigate enough for it to be useful despite many web sites having compatibility issues with my screen reading software.

The screen reader I use is called "JAWS" and is made by Freedom Scientific. They try very hard to keep the screen reader accessible to all software. However they can only do so much as technology evolves faster with more concern being given to graphical interfaces, which screen readers can't interpret.

I'm just glad I have a screen reader as, despite the flaws and system requirements, it allows me to still be active on the internet without eyesight. :)

Chapter 4 - Isabelle: Mayor's Assistant?

Yosh was stunned at how seamlessly Isabelle guided him through the town. He nearly forgot he was without his traveling stick as they proceeded at a leisurely pace all the way to their destination.

“Town Hall, mayor,” the vest-wearing doggy with the jingly-bells on her head announced. “Shall I take you to your desk?”

“Uh…,” trailed the confused duck dragon. He knew he was here to help bring Canine Crossroads into good favor with Equestria. However he couldn’t help but start thinking about what Spike had told him had happened when he had too much of a good thing. It took quite awhile to fix Ponyville after calamity Spike appeared as a result of greed and Yosh didn’t want to end up the same way if things just kept seeming to be so in-favor of himself here at canine Crossroads.

“Mayor?” questioned Isabelle as she retained a hooked hold around Yosh’s arm. “Are you ready? The first step is right in front of you.”

“…Sure?” he replied nervously as the eager dog got him up the stairs and positioned herself in front of the double-door.
“They open outward,” she said while tapping the door handle. “Our most recent mayor was big on fire safety but I don’t want you to hit yourself going in.”

“Right,” thought Yosh as he pulled the door open and made his way inward.

“Good job, mayor!” cheered Isabelle. “Need me to help you to your desk?”

“Uh…,” puzzled Yosh. He didn’t know anything about how they got to where they did, where they were, nor what was in the room. He also didn’t know how he was navigating the town so flawlessly with someone who had never met him and had no idea, unless Princess Celestia was hiding something from him, that he was totally blind.

TAP-TAP
DING-DING-DING

Isabelle shook her head to ring her bells after gaining the duck-dragon’s attention from a tap upon his shoulder.
“Let me have an arm and I’ll take you to your chair, mayor?” she suggested. “We can get down to official business once you have a seat.”

Yosh was amazed at how seamless the motions from the entrance to the desk were.

“Comfortable, mayor?” asked Isabelle with glee. “I’ve got my clipboard here to go through all the current business of the town. Then we can hear what you have to say about how to make it even better!”

The duck-dragon sighed as he faced towards Isabelle’s voice. He was getting way too much attention and felt a fear creeping on that he’d grow in size, just as Spike did, from all the affection and power he was appearing to be given.
“Sure…?” he trailed as he mentally tried to juggle his fears with wanting to make sure he didn’t fail the princess in building relations with the town.

“Wonderful!” gleed Isabelle as she shook the bells on her head and sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk. “Here’s what we got…”

Yosh listened as he deeply wished Spike, or even twilight, were in this particular position instead of him. Then there was the strange reminder of how he had almost flown through town without tripping, feeling lost, or worrying about slamming himself into something despite not having any physical vision. How was this all possible? Why was this all happening? Why did he just now have to remember he was blind?

Chapter 5 - Personal Assistant

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 6 - An Awkward Evening

“Hmm,” perplexed Twilight as she noticed that the inside of the tree house she had bought was quite lacking in, well, anything. “It looked great earlier…”

“Just admit it, Twi,” Spike stated very matter-of-factly. “You were swindled.”

“Swindled?” laughed the Princess of Friendship. “Why would Tom Nook swindle me? He was so nice and knew exactly what I liked and was so interested in me and what I did and liked to do and… oh.”

“Yep,” confirmed the purple dragon while looking at the dusty floor. “Tom Nook is a Big Crook.”

“Why didn’t you stop me from buying this place?” asked twilight. “You’re my voice of reason when I’m not being all that reasonable.”

“Because,” replied Spike as he noticed a broom and dust pan placed in a corner of the tree house. “I was kind of busy looking after Yosh and getting to know the town as Tom Nook gave you his own ‘Guided Tour’.”

“Well,” grinned the purple Alicorn. “A little love can make this a great home away from home.”

Spike went about cleaning the floor.
“Thought you’d say that,” he sighed as he went about cleaning up the dirty wooden floor.

CLI-CREEK

“Hey, guys!” cheered Yosh as he gleefully ran inside the home that Twilight had purchased. “Kind of feels like Golden Oaks in here!”

“It will be,” assured Twilight. “Just got to get it cleaned up a bit is all.”

“And guess who’s doing that?” joked Spike. “At least I got Twi’s sweeping remix to help me do it.”

Yosh stopped to listen as his ‘brother’ beatboxed out a series of “Oonts-oonts-oonts” that had a “Sweep-sweep-sweep” thrown in for good measure.
“How cool!” awed Yosh as he imagined a glittering dance floor with Spike gliding about with his broom and dust pan. “You go, brother!”

“Mayor,” said Isabelle. “Is there anything else I can do for you before we call it a day?”

“Hmm,” pondered Yosh.

“I could change your diaper for you, sir,” she said sweetly. “Smells like you’ve been working a long time between changes. Perhaps we should make an ordinance for times during the day to change our diapers?”

The duck-dragon turned beet red.
“No…,” he gulped. “That… won’t be necessary.”

“Should I order more diapers in bigger sizes for the townsfolk?” pursued Isabelle. “We don’t want our mayor feeling singled out because he’s incontinent.”

Yosh felt himself shrink to the size of a flea from embarrassment.
“No…,” he meeped. “I just would like to go to bed.”

“Oh!” exclaimed the shih Tzu. “We need to get you some bedding in here!”

“That would be nice,” yawned Twilight. “I could certainly use some shut eye before taking in more of your beautiful town.”

“So one full-sized bed and two cribs?” inquired the assistant while scribbling on her clipboard.

“NO!” boomed both Spike and Yosh.

Isabelle gasped and nearly dropped her clipboard from the two dragons’ outburst.
“So sorry!” she apologized. “I did not mean to presume.”

“I’ll take a full-sized bed,” Spike proudly announced. “Put the bill on Princess Twilight’s tab.”

“Right,” scribbled Isabelle. “And you, Mr. Mayor?”

“The same,” Yosh replied.

“Need any extra protection for that, Mr. Mayor?” she asked honestly.

“No…,” he froze. “I’m really not making that many ‘accidents’ anymore.”

“Oh!” yelped Isabelle. “I still need to change you for the night!”

“No. Isabelle. That’s not-”
“

Spike and Twilight watched as the Shih Tzu went about removing Yosh’s shorts, untaped his diaper, tossed it aside, and went about using an assortment of supplies that had been brought in earlier by the royal guards to clean up the duck-dragon.

“Wow!” awed Spike. “She’s efficient!”

“And organized,” added twilight. “She is very methodical in her work.”

“Only you could make a diaper change sound like a research paper,” sighed Spike.

“No, Spike,” stated twilight as Isabelle finished stripping down Yosh, cleaning him up, and getting him into his pajamas. “She’s been like this since we first met her. So has TomNook. It’s like they don’t realize how organized they are because it just comes so naturally to them.”

“Interesting,” yawned Spike. “But I doubt Yosh would be as excited about your observations.”

“Done!” clapped Isabelle upon finishing her work on the duck-dragon. “I’ll have your beds brought in right away! Then you promise to get a good night’s sleep and not worry about a thing until we get back to work on making canine Crossroads even better through your leadership tomorrow, Mr. Mayor!”

Yosh was still comingdown from how he had been changed faster than even Princess Celestia’s assistance could ever possibly do so with such thoroughness and accuracy.
“Thanks…,” he said while allowing himself to relax in his minky pajamas.

“I’ll go get those beds delivered, add them to your town bill, and see you all in the morning!” the yellow dog cheered while bounding merrily out of the tree house. “I have such a good feeling, Mr. Mayor! You’re going to make our town great again!”

CLICK-CREEK
CLUNK

There was an awkward silence after Isabelle left.

“Umm,” blushed Yosh upon realizing he had no idea wherein the room he was. “Could someone help me over here?”

Chapter 7 - Link Between Worlds

Yosh was visited in the night by Princess Luna as he was walking with Snowdrop through a summer-like winter field.
“So how goes the mission?” asked the Moon Princess. “Are you doing well?”

The duck-dragon looked to see Luna just as he had known her to look before he was afflicted by ‘Moon Eye’. The disease that took no time at all to strip him of all his physical vision.
“Snowdrop and I were just talking about that,” he replied.

“I’m really excited for him,” Snowdrop of The Dream Realm stated. “I think it is worth our special cheer.”

Luna blushed.
“Right…,” she trailed.

“Oh,” puppy-eyed Yosh along with Snowdrop. “Please.”

“I can’t take those eyes!” proclaimed the Moon Princess as she got ready to start the dance. “Three… two…”

‘Moon glow, Moon glow
Fireflies arise!
Stomp your hooves
And wish upon the skies!’

Yosh and Snowdrop rolled on the warm snow as Princess Luna did all she could to retain her regal appearance within Yosh’s dream.
“Alright…,” she stammered. “I must be off, Yosh. Be well and good luck.”

Snowdrop started to wave as Yosh did the same.

***

NUDGE-NUDGE

“Yosh,” said a voice. “Yosh.”

“No…,” he moaned as he began to wake. His eyes thinking they were seeing Twilight. However it was actually Isabelle all perky with a wagging tail eagerly getting him up.

“We need to get you ready for your first full day as mayor, Mr. Mayor!” she cheered. “Do you need a shower? Your clothes prepared? Your diaper changed?”

The duck-dragon sat up quickly and felt at his mid-section. He then realized he had to use the bathroom.
“Where’s the bathroom?” he asked while still coming to life.

“It’s to your left and behind you, Mr. Mayor,” she stated eagerly. “Do you need help?”

“No,” moaned Yosh as his brain hallucinated the bathroom being behind him and easy to access. “I’ll be right back.”

Isabelle watched as Yosh toddled dangerously close to the open door. A faceplant was almost imminent.

FWIP-SCOOCH

“Isabelle?” wondered the duck dragon as he felt himself shift. “I’ve got this.”

“I know, Mr. Mayor,” she gleed. “I thought I’d make sure all your grooming supplies were set out.”

“Oh,” he yawned. “Thanks, Isabelle.”

“Just doing my job, Mr. Mayor!” she replied merrily as Twilight started to wake up and Spike continued to sleep.

***

“So it’s off to work?” asked Twilight after Yosh had gotten all ready to head off to Town Hall. “Can I come?”

“Closed session today,” stated Isabelle. “Important town business.”

The Princess of Friendship frowned.
“Alright,” she pouted.

“I do believe Tom Nook is coming by to show you more of the town and its shops,” noted the administrative assistant canine while glancing over her clipboard. “I do see we have an opening around lunch if you’d like to meet up for a meal at the local coffee shop?”

“Sounds good,” replied Twilight. “You and Yosh go do your work and Spike and I will meet up at the coffee shop that I will make doubly sure that Tom Nook shows us how to get to.”

“Great!” cheered Isabelle while placing an arm in a hovering position behind Yosh. “Let’s go, Mr. Mayor!”

The duck-dragon was still very confused about what was going on and why he’d be chosen as a ‘mayor’ over Twilight. However there was a part of him that felt really confident about being seen as so important while also not fearing walking into things and getting a sore beak. He was comfortable. Perhaps the most comfortable since the days before he went totally blind. Hopefully this feeling would only continue as the day wore on.

Chapter 8 - Isabelle Brings out The Feels

“…So no diapers?” inquired Isabelle while going over the list she and Yosh had developed over the course of the morning.

The duck-dragon blushed deeply as he fidgeted his fingers.
“No, Isabelle,” he said very bashfully. “Actually, I haven’t had to worry about having an accident all day.”

“Are you referring to how I noticed your little dance, Mr. Mayor?” she beamed.

The duck-dragon felt his feathery-white cheeks burn red.
“Yeah,” he gulped.

“Are you embarrassed about me helping you, Mr. Mayor?” she asked while taking a seat. “I’m only doing my job as your assistant. I can stop helping you if you want me to.”

The ever-saddening tone of the Shih Tzu brought Yosh out of his bashfulness.
“No, no, Isabelle,” he babbled. “I like your help. I appreciate your help. I… I…”

The duck-dragon broke into tears.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Mayor?” she asked with panic while getting a tissue. “Did I hurt your feelings?”

“No,” sobbed Yosh while accepting the tissue. “You have been great.”

“Then why so sad, Mr. Mayor?” she wondered while rubbing at his back.

“Because…,” he trailed. “I haven’t felt this good since before I went totally blind!”

“If I may, Mr. Mayor,” stated Isabelle. “Were you not always blind?”

“No,” he sniffled. “I’ve only been totally blind for about a year now. I used to see. I used to be important.”

“Oh, Mr. Mayor,” assured the caring Shih tzu. “Why would you ever feel that you were not important? You’ve already done so much for our town and its economy.”

Yosh dabbed at his frosted, tear-filled eyes.
“That’s what she says,” he spoke softly.

“Who?” wondered Isabelle as she gently cuddled Yosh.

“Snowdrop,” he moped.

“Snowdrop?” she asked while retaining her hold on Yosh. “Should I ask her to come to Canine Crossroads?”

“You can’t,” he pouted while dabbing around his eyes again. “She’s been gone for over 1,000 years.”

Isabelle was puzzled.
“Care if I research this ‘snowdrop’ for you, Mr. Mayor?” she asked genuinely while getting back up and jotting some notes on her clipboard.

“Sure,” he replied while he felt his tears lessen. Perhaps Isabelle’s genuine interest had made him feel better. She had not once judged him. She was always looking out for him. She never seemed anything short of happy to be there for him and believed in him to be the town’s mayor. Why she felt this way was not certain to Yosh but something in him started to remember what Snowdrop had been telling him over-and-over in his dreams.

“You won’t need your eyes to find your place in the world.”

Then he recalled how the therapist, Doodle Noodle had spoke to him during their sessions.

“You’re still the same lovable dragon-duck. You may not be able to see but you still perceive the world. You have found ways to interact with it. You just need to believe what you are doing is as important even though you may now do things differently from other ponies.”

Then there was Princess Luna.
“You still see. You see in your mind and you see in your dreams. Your blindness goes as far as your eyes. The night is dark but it is not to be feared. You need only not see it as frightening to find the same joy in night as Snowdrop did those many years ago.”

“Mr. Mayor?” asked Isabelle upon noticing how Yosh had zoned out. “Are you okay, Mr. Mayor?”

Yosh smiled wide across his beak and looked towards where he heard the Shih tzu assistant speaking from.
“I’m fine, Isabelle,” he stated proudly. “How’s about we go meet twilight and Spike at the coffee shop?”

“Oh!” she gasped. “It is that time!”

“Okay!” cheered Yosh with a bit of a wobble. “Let’s go!”

Yosh started walking but felt he was heading in a direction that wasn’t quite towards the front door.
“Something feels off,” he said.

“Oh!” blushed Isabelle. “You were doing those things that say you need the potty so I am helping you get there so you don’t have an accident.”

Yosh blushed as he found himself lead towards the restroom.
“Thanks, Isabelle,” he replied bashfully.

“I’ll wait for you here, Mr. Mayor,” she said. “Don’t forget to wash your hands.”

Chapter 9 -- Coming Together Over Coffee

“Eee!” screamed Twilight as she firmly took the advice of the coffee shop owner and drank her cup as fast as possible.

Spike sighed and folded his arms.
“I’m starting to think this town is doing things to your head, Twilight,” he said. “You have been, well, not making some of the best choices since we got here.”

The Princess of Friendship took a moment to try and recover from the burn she got from the coffee.
“You need to respect other cultures, Spike,” she gasped. “When in Canterlot, you know?”

“So far you’ve been swindled by a raccoon,” groaned Spike. “Spent a fortune on ‘antiques’ that can’t even be related to anything, and just downed a cup of coffee that clearly still had steam coming off of it.”

“We did see some amazing fossils at the museum,” she struggled to say. “There’s also that ‘Dream Suite’ that allows you to visit other dimensions without the limitations of the mirror gate to Canterlot High.”

Spike thought for a moment.
“Now if we could just go off to the island,” he stated. “That’s the one place I’ve wanted to see and you keep getting distracted.”

DING-A-RING

“Good afternoon, Isabelle!” called the barista. “Coffee for you or our new mayor?”

Yosh was about to respond with a resounding, “Yes!”, when he felt the Shih Tzu put an arm in front of him.
“We’ll take something from the ‘soft pot’,” she stated.

“Fine by me,” the barista grumped. “Coffee loses its flavor every second that its not drank. You and the new mayor want cold and tasteless coffee you can have it. Plus it keeps my supply from going to waste and you still pay the same.”

Yosh and Isabelle approached the counter where the yellow dog placed a few bells down to receive two cups of non-steaming coffee.

“How is it?” asked Spike as he watched his dragon-duck friend sip right into the coffee as soon as he got it.

“Perfect!” quacked Yosh. “Just the right temperature.”

“Hmm,” thought Spike while approaching the counter. “I’ll have some coffee from the ‘soft pot, too.”

“Three bells,” grumped the barista.

Spike grinned while gesturing to Twilight.
“Put it on her tab,” he said.

The barista got the coffee and handed it to the purple dragon.
“Cold as ice,” he quipped.

The emerald-eyed dragon took a gentle sip and noticed the temperature to be not cold at all. It was just like what he got over at Donut Joe’s.

“It’s usually pretty quiet in here at lunch,” remarked Isabelle as she postured herself alongside Yosh. “Let’s take the table that is in front of us and talk about our day and what everyone thinks of Canine Crossroads.”

***

The group spent a good hour talking about Canine Crossroads, Mayor Yosh and Isabelle’s ideas, and how to improve the town through allying with Equestria.

“…There is only one thing I must make quite clear,” chirped Isabelle as she snuggled herself against Yosh. “We can’t lose our mayor. Not again. He’s our best one and we need him for town morale as we enact everything to build our friendship with Equestria.”

The duck-dragon gulped.
“Stay…,” he trailed with a gulp. “Like… Never leave?”

“Oh, no,” assured the cheerful Shih tzu. “You’ll be able to go on vacations and we’ll work together to make diplomatic trips to Equestria.”

“Wait,” baffled Spike. “So you intended to bring Yosh here to be your permanent mayor?”

“Why, yes!” the administrative assistant spoke genuinely. “Our town has long suffered from lack of strong leadership and we’ve never been able to keep a true leader worth following for more than a week, or so.”

“Why Yosh?” wondered the purple dragon. “Why not some pony else?”

Isabelle took her clipboard and flipped through a few pages.
“Princess Celestia and Princess Luna believed he’d be best suited to lead our town as part of his ‘new friendship studies’,” she stated while placing the clipboard back down and pulling the duck-dragon close. “Plus he’s really cute!”

Yosh’s cheeks flushed red as Twilight and Spike attempted to grasp what was going on.

“Mayor,” Isabelle whispered. “I think you need the potty.”

Yosh’s eyes widened as his beak fell open.

“What did you just say?” demanded Spike.

Isabelle stood up and naturally lead Yosh towards the coffee shop restroom.
“Mr. Mayor needs a moment to freshen up,” she said with a smile. “We’ll be right back.”

***

While Yosh was ushered to the restroom Twilight and Spike discussed their current situation.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Spike insisted in a low firm tone.

“But…,” thought Twilight. “If the princesses feel he has a friendship mission here he should follow through with it.”

“I think this is all made up and one big trap,” growled Twilight’s number one assistant. “She’s clearly brainwashed him, or something. No pony is that nice.”

“Hmm,” thought the purple Alicorn. “I may be starting to understand. However I need a letter sent to the princess.”

Spike pulled out a quill and parchment and awaited his friend’s every word.

Twilight dictated the letter and had it immediately sent by Spike through his fire breath.

***

Yosh and Isabelle were returning from the restroom when Spike suddenly got his side effect of being a courier system for Twilight and Princess Celestia.

BUURRRRPPP!

“Oh!” gasped the Shih Tzu. “Was it the coffee?”

Twilight quickly took the letter and read it.
“I see…,” trailed the Princess of Friendship.

“I wish I did,” joked Yosh as he failed to notice how he was safely helped to his chair by Isabelle.

“I know you’re trying to make light of the situation,” sighed Spike. “However I still feel awful for what going blind has done to you.”

“That’s just it, Spike!” cheered Twilight. “That’s why Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Dawnbreak Horizon, and Doodle Noodle felt he should come here!”

There was a short pause.

“Come again, twi?” Spike blinked with a very confused expression on his face.

“Yosh,” started Twilight. “You’ve felt like you haven’t had a purpose since going blind and not being able to help dawnbreak Horizon like you once did, right?”

Yosh nodded.
“Yeah…,” he sighed.

“Isabelle,” stated the Alicorn. “You want someone loyal you can directly work with to fix the town who is like a partner, right?”

Isabelle wagged her tail.
“Oh, yes,” she replied. “Mr. Mayor is a pleasure to work with and I’m happy to work for him.”

Twilight faced Spike.
“Your friend has finally found his place!” she beamed. “Yosh is going to be doing all he has wanted to do since feeling trapped up in his room in Canterlot!”

Yosh felt a smile cross his beak.
“Really?” he asked. “So this is really a genuine mission that the princesses and Dawnbreak feel I’ll do well at?”

“Says so in the letter I have here,” replied Twilight while magically levitating the document towards Yosh. “However she put those special Braille dots on it so you could read it for yourself.”

Yosh felt the various shapes on the letter and smiled as he got through the entire document.
“Well, then,” he quacked merrily. “I guess it’s time to get to work!”

Author's Note

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:
Those stories you may have read between Starlight's Dream Therapy, Follow The Twinkles, and Therapy With Doodle Noodle have all been a part of my efforts to put my genuine experience through going through therapy together along with coming to better terms with my impending blindness.

This chapter here, as others illustrated, is written towards my insecurity of never finding gainful employment again. I used to work as an 'Isabelle' like figure in an in an IT Department. Unfortunately my vision got too bad and and I was bullied out. Nothing makes me happier than knowing I can 'contribute' to some degree towards a greater goal. I've done this through Coping With Limitations Through Pony but it was a non-profit effort done to help people see how the arts, in particular MLP, have helped to provide a positive community to those of us with special needs.

This story is a way to further share my experiences and personal growth through the gift of creativity in spite of having absolutely no physical sight left at all. As it closes out in the next two chapters I will add some additional notes. Should you have any questions about the content I encourage you to ask. The only way for all of us to make a bright future for all is to ask genuine questions to aid in our growth as caring and empowering people. :)

Chapter 10 - Dear Spike

Dear Spike:

Thanks for staying with me for the first few weeks after we got everything situated at Canine Crossroads. Your friendship has always played a very important part in my life and I know I could not have made all the transitions from sighted to blind without you. Or at least without you keeping my spirits up as my dear brother.

The railroad station should be finished very soon. Some of the Diamond Dogs even came back to help build it! We were all very happy to have them back. Especially after they took a couple of showers and got some new clothes.

Oh! Tell twilight that I have taken over her 500,000 Bell debt from Tom Nook. Consider it a gift for allowing me to borrow Starlight glimmer. She sure has a way with the populace! Twilight should be proud as canine Crossroads isn’t too far out of Equestria, it’s safe, and there’s loads of magical things for her to experiment with when not helping Isabelle and I quell disputes both inside and outside of town. I believe she has sent for her friend, sunburst, to come in aiding in researching the ‘antiques’ and ‘Dream Suite’ as soon as he is able. I know Twilight wants to research these, too, but has gotten quite busy with all the responsibilities of building friendships with other lands along with Dawnbreak Horizon.

I’ve scheduled a block of vacation during my birthday! I’ll be back up in Canterlot and thought you may want to come up to the castle to visit? Perhaps see if Pinkie Pie can make me that marble cake with whipped frosting I really like? : ?

Oh! Isabelle wanted me to also let you know that I’m no longer having accidents! I have gone over a week without needing a, uh, ‘change’ I’ve consulted with Doodle Noodle and Princess Luna on the matter and they feel a big reason I even was having ‘accidents’ after we left Princess Celestia’s nursery with our pony friends was due to stress and anxiety. I suppose I was always so afraid of failing that I stunted my own development? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but Doodle Noodle assures me it will and is letting me in for some sessions during my birthday vacation to talk things out. Something about my mind associating less worry with being newly hatched and building a sense of safety with diapers? Yeah, weird.

Alright. As per usual I’m quacking way too much and should really get back to work. Isabelle has some places scheduled for us to visit to ensure all is ready for when we officially start welcoming Equestrian tourists! Tom Nook sure is excited to sell ‘vacation property’ and the shops are getting stocked with their finest wares. We even just set up a campground! It’s going to be so awesome!

Okay. Really ending this letter here, Spike.

Your Brotherly Pal:

---Yosh