Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 7: It only takes one word

Rainbow Dash spent the better part of her Friday in a foul mood. This was because of a comment she heard from a certain green haired colt. Though some would say that her reaction was a bit too much but she didn’t see it that way. The way she saw it Azure was just another jerk that couldn’t handle the idea of a mare being good at something athletic. Now it’s Saturday and she was still a bit grumpy about what happened.

“For his sake I hope he steers clear of me” said Rainbow referring to Azure while she sat in her kitchen eating breakfast. It has been a long time since she had been this annoyed by a colt. In her history a few of them would always turn out rotten. Rainbow would have continued on her silent rant but a knock at her door grabbed her attention. She took her hay sandwich with her as she walked up to answer her door.

“Good morning Rainbow” though not much of a surprise to see that it was Fluttershy who was knocking, Rainbow didn’t expect her to visit today.

“Hey Fluttershy, come in” said Dash walking back inside and finishing her sandwich before heading to get something to drink. “So what brings you here?” she said after taking a swig of apple juice.

“I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“Well I won’t be home during the late afternoon; do you think you can feed the forest animals?” Rainbow didn’t have the same gift for taking care of animals like Fluttershy did. So before she could answer she needed to ask something.

“Well I guess, but why won’t you be home at that time?” Fluttershy looked away slightly with a smile.

“Well you see, Silver ask me to go on a dinner date tomorrow”

“A second date already, Aren’t you supposed to wait a couple of days or something?”

“Well I’ve never dated before, all I know is I had fun when we drank coffee together and I just want to enjoy something like that again” responded Fluttershy as she blushed lightly. She was really taking a step forward from being that Pegasus who would have a hard time doing something she was not comfortable with. Rainbow was happy for her but she found herself thinking back to what happened yesterday and worry soon took control of her.

“Listen Fluttershy, if Silver ever acts like a jerk I want you to let me know and I’ll set him straight” said Rainbow as she clenched her fist. Fluttershy blinked twice at the sudden aggression coming from Rainbow towards Silver.

“W-why, did he do something that would make you think he would?”

“No but I just want to make sure he’s not like his friend” Fluttershy tilted her head wondering what Rainbow was talking about.

“What do you mean, have you met his friend?”

“Yeah and he was a total jerk!”

“Hold on what exactly did he do?” Rainbow explained what happened the day before starting with when she found out he joined the same dojo she goes to. She later explained how she tried to get him to spar with her and how she got him to agree. Soon enough she explained how she lost the spar and the last transaction they had before it all exploded. Once she was finished Fluttershy was left with a shocked expression on her face.

“Y-you kicked him in his…pride, why would you do such a thing?”

“He was asking for it!”

“B-but you were picking on him first, you said he didn’t want to fight you but you pushed him to it” said Fluttershy thinking back to the story.

“That still doesn’t excuse what he said”

“Okay, maybe that last part was a little hurtful but you didn’t have to kick him there” Rainbow leaned back on her chair and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah well, I guess”

“Do you think you could at least apologize?”

“Why should I? He’s the one who needs to apologize” said Rainbow starting to get defensive.

“I guess, but if he does say he’s sorry do you think you could forgive him?” Rainbow opened her mouth several times to think of a protest but she was having a hard time thinking of one. Something in the back of her head told her that he probably wouldn’t have admitted what he said was wrong. “Please Rainbow he’s probably the only friend Silver has in Ponyville, I’d like you to at least make friends with him” pleaded Fluttershy. The look Fluttershy was giving her almost perfectly emulated the face of a sad puppy begging for a treat. She couldn’t find it in her heart to refuse.

“Okay fine, but only if he apologizes fist”

“Thank you” she couldn’t force Rainbow forgive Azure but she knew that she could take her word. She could only hope that he’s not the kind of colt Rainbow portrayed him as, and that he feels sorry for what he said. Rainbow later agreed to feed forest animals under the condition that Fluttershy leave her the proper instruction for her before she arrived. Once their conversation was over, Rainbow grabbed her bag and made her way towards the dojo.

Azure had a hard time figuring out what he would do if he ended up seeing the Rainbow haired Pegasus again, so far he couldn’t come up with anything. Currently he was just hoping that she wouldn’t show up today and he could have some piece while he trained. All he knew is that he didn’t want to have a hard time during his dojo visits, so he needed to find a way to put yesterday’s event behind him.

“I wonder if she’ll even accept an apology…” considering that her response to what he said was a swift kick to his pride, he didn’t know just how mad she was. He just had to hope that she would have had enough time to cool off before he met her again. Azure entered the dojo and was relieved when he noticed that she wasn’t around, it means he could enjoy his day and have more time to figure out what he was going to do.

While Azure made his way towards the locker room, he noticed some looked from the other members, he could swear they looked surprised to see him there. On occasion he would hear a few giggles but he tuned them out as he went. Once in the locker room Azure was found with a somewhat surprise when he reached his locker. Taped to the door were an empty ice pack and a sports cup for reasons he could guess.

“We figured you might need them” said a colt earth pony with golden fur and black hair as he wrapped an arm around Azure’s shoulder. This colt in question had a red belt and a smug expression that Azure just didn’t seem to like.

“Funny” said Azure with a small chuckle “Now let go” Azure turned his head and gave the colt a fierce gaze which caused him to back off quickly.

“Okay, okay, just take it easy” he said as he raised his hands defensively and backed up before making his way around the lockers. Azure made it clear that he wouldn’t lay a hand on a mare, but he wouldn’t let another colt attempt to mess with him. Any other colt that were watching or may have been a part of the prank quickly turned when Azure shifted the focus of his gaze. Azure may be new to their dojo, but he was nowhere near being a scrub. Once he finished changing and made sure his belt was properly tied, Azure made his way out of the locker room to a sight he didn’t expect to see.

“Oh no” he said as he looked down towards the other side of the dojo to see a cyan Pegasus talking to another Pegasus mare. He didn’t expect to see her when he saw that she wasn’t in the dojo. She had her back was towards him so she didn’t notice him; he began to weigh his options on if he should walk up to her and talk to her. This became harder to decide once she moved on towards the punching bags and began to attacking while the other Pegasus held it to keep it from moving around. As this was happening they were in mid conversation, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Don’t you think you were a little hard on that colt yesterday?” said Cloud Chaser as Rainbow’s attack on the sand bag went on.

“Oh not you too”

“Seriously, I’ve heard colts say worse to you; why did that set you off so much?” Rainbow paused for a moment but she then continued to attack the bag a bit harder.

“I don’t know, it just did” she said not quite sure about it herself, come to think of it she hadn’t thought about it till now. She had taken her fair share of hazing that were a lot worse than what Azure had said, so why did she take it so hard?

“Well if that’s the case, don’t you think you should meet him half way and say you’re sorry for kicking his…pride?”

“I already made a promise to somepony else that I would if he apologizes first” Rainbow delivered a hard kick to the sand bag which nearly knocked Cloud Chaser off.

“Yup, she definitely looked angry” Azure said to himself as he began to make his way towards Rainbow. He still didn’t know what he was going to say; now he was just hoping she wouldn’t be looking for a second round. Azure continued to move forward getting closer to Rainbow; he felt a sudden panic from not knowing what to do. At the last moment when he was a couple of steps away from her, he quickly changed course and began to walk away from her again. Azure face palmed as he walked away not quite sure why he suddenly backed out at the last second.

“That was weak, dude” Azure looked around when he heard somepony talking around him, didn’t take him long to figure out who it was.

“S-Silver!?” he said in a whisper as he looked around trying to figure out where he was.

“Over here” Azure saw a wave of a hand coming from behind a high stack of blue floor pads; he looked around to see Silver hiding behind them.

“What are you doing here!?”

“Two reason, first I wanted to make sure you apologized to her, you probably didn’t know, but that’s Fluttershy’s best friend” Azure paused for a moment and took a second glance at Rainbow.

“How do you know that?”

“She told me about her, and I’m not sure she’ll like it if my best friend and her best friend were at each other’s throats” explained Silver. Azure rubbed the back of his head and looked around to make sure nopony else could hear the conversation or were looking their way.

“Okay and the second reason?” There was a short pause as Azure waited for an answer; soon he heard a light laugh.

“I was bored”

“And spying on me was your way of coping with that?”

“It’s proven effective so far, but back to the matter at hand, what do you plan to do?” Azure placed his hand to his chin as he thought to himself.

“I don’t know, not quite sure how to apologize really”

“How about you just say you’re sorry and take it from there?” Azure paused as he thought it over; it couldn’t possibly be that easy.

“I doubt it would be that easy”

“Have you tried?”

“No but-“
“Then give it a try to see what happens” Azure continued to think it over, this was definitely not something he had experience in.

“How do I know she won’t still be angry?”

“Thinking about it won’t help, just go” Azure was going to protest but he didn’t get the chance. “Or would you prefer I send a letter to your parent’s telling them about this dilemma, I’m sure you mom would love to give you her two bits”. There was another moment of silence and eventually Azure began to walk toward Rainbow once again.

“Did I just get black mailed?” Azure wondered to himself as he tried to recall what had just happened. As to whether or not Silver would actually go as far as to send his parent a letter was questionable, the mere thought was enough to get him to try at least. Azure walked up to Rainbow who still hadn’t noticed him, however Cloud Chaser did. The Pegasus motioned her head for Rainbow to look behind her, which she did.

“Oh it’s you” she said with a less than happy tone of voice. Azure winced a little; it seems she hadn’t cooled up enough just yet. He wasn’t sure how this would go, but he was already on top of the high dive, all that was left was to hold his breath and jump.

“Listen, can I talk to you for a second” Azure looked over to see Cloud Chaser still watching. “Alone?” he added trying to sound polite as he did so. Lucky enough for him she was able to take a hint when given one.

“I’ll just leave you two alone” she said as she began to walk away from the two, Azure waited till she was out of ear shot before turning back to the mare in front of him.

“Okay so we’re alone, what did you want?” she asked as she arched her brow and crossed her arms.

“Well, you see” Azure paused trying to figure out what he could say, trying to see if there was some special way to say it so she’d believe him. After thinking it over for a couple of seconds he could see she was growing impatient and decided to just come out and say it. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for what I said yesterday” Azure looked at Rainbow to see a look of shock on her face.

“C-come again?” Rainbow was at a loss for words, she didn’t expect to hear an apology from him after what had happened.

“I was trying to compliment you, but I probably should have chosen my words better” Azure extended his hand towards Rainbow. “Thank that maybe we can start over?” Rainbow stared at his hand, any hostility she had towards him seemed have faded away in an instant. Though she couldn’t explain why it happened, she did agree to forgive him if he were to apologize first.

“Sure” she said as she shook his hand “And I should probably apologize for what I did, it was, uncool” she added.

“Well everything’s still…intact, so I guess no harm done” Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Well now that we’ve let bygones be bygones, what do you think about another spar?”

“I think I should have worn that cup…” Rainbow laughed as she began to push Azure forward.

“Come on, I promise to aim high” she said as she moved Azure towards the floor mats. “My name’s Rainbow Dash by the way” this had all gone a lot better than he expected it would go, he couldn’t help but smile as she pushed him.

“My name’s Azure Courage”

With Azure’s problem resolved, Silver found himself wondering what he could do to pass the time again. He had already gotten something to eat from sugar cube corner, although his visit was a little strange. The pony at the register seemed to act strange when around him, as if she knew something he didn’t. Silver did remember hearing Fluttershy tell him that one of her friends named Pinkie Pie worked there so he assumed that was her.

One thing’s for sure, he was wondering when something crazy would happen, he’s been living in Ponyville for a few weeks now and not even a public disturbance had occurred. He was hoping to have something out of the ordinary to happen, but it seems like the town suddenly became normal before he got there. Not that he was complaining, he still preferred it over Canterlot and he’s had his fun since he arrived.

“I guess I could always go to the training spot, I can probably burn a couple of hours that-“

“Look out!” Silver was about to take the next corner, he didn’t notice what was waiting for him until it was too late. Silver was suddenly struck from the side and he felt himself be knocked to the side with great force. The hit was enough to knock the wind out of him and he was unable to figure out which way was up before he landed on the ground. The white haired colt rolled on the ground several times before skidding to a halt. The ground under him was spinning as he tried to regain his focus and try to figure out what happened.

Applejack had been chasing after her apple cart for a while now and thought it was only a matter of time before it came to a halt. However before it got the chance she saw somepony walk into its path. She tried to warn him but the cart was too close and it rammed into him knocking him back till he hit the ground. The cart stopped after that but it was no longer on her mind as she ran passed it to check on the pony it hit. It did not take long for her to recognize the colt that was on the ground.

“Silver!?” she panicked slightly as the thought that her cart might have ended up hurting the colt that Fluttershy liked. Even though she hadn’t seen Fluttershy in the past couple days, Applejack had a hunch that she still liked him and probably wouldn’t like to find out he had gotten hurt. “Are you okay?” she said once she was within ear shot of the white-haired colt.

“What hit me?” groaned Silver as he turned over so he was on his back. Lucky enough for him that the spinning had stopped and he was able to regain focus.

“Sorry, the breaks on my apple cart came loose and it rolled down a hill” explained Applejack as she helped Silver off of the ground. “You’re not hurt are you?” she asked looking around to see and there were any visible damages.

“A little sore, but I was able to brace myself the moment I heard you yell to watch out” said Silver as he motioned his body to make sure there was nothing broken. “But I think your cart got the worse end of the deal” said Silver as he pointed towards the apple cart. Applejack followed his finger till she looked at her cart to notice that it had tipped over, and the apples inside had spilled to the ground. Applejack walked up to the cart with Silver following close behind, she looked around for any damages.

“Ah shoot; one of the wheels broke off” the weight of the cart landing on the wheel seemed too much for it so it snapped off. Silver had heard her talk enough by now to notice her southern accent.

“By any chance, is your name Applejack?” Applejack turned over to stare at the colt, how and when did he learn her name?

“Yes, how’d you know that?”

“Fluttershy described you to me, southern earth pony that owns sweet apple acres right?” Applejack nodded in agreement but there was a look of confusion on her face.

“If you don’t mind me asking, when did she tell you this?”

“A couple of days ago, while we were having coffee” Applejack froze for a moment when Silver used the word date. But the shock quickly turned to happiness as she tilted her hat back and a smile filled her face.

“Well shoot, she actually did it” Applejack thought to herself wondering what happened after she went back home that day that caused Fluttershy to give it another go. She wanted to know and there were only two ways to find out. She could either go to Fluttershy, or ask the colt she had gone on a date with. Taking into account that this was the first time she had ever had ever talked with him and her cart had just struck him, she was better off waiting till she next saw Fluttershy. Applejack continued to survey her cart till she noticed something from the back-end that struck Silver, the wood was slightly dented and there was a crack.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked looking back at the colt.

“Yeah, why?”

“Cart hit you so hard it left a dent” Silver walked up to the cart and placed his hand on the dent.

“Whoa, didn’t think it hit me that hard” chuckled Silver as Applejack wondered how something could hit him that hard and not leave a mark. However he did tell her that he braced himself at the last second so it’s possible he was able prevent his body from getting badly hurt. Not seeing any reason to believe otherwise, Applejack began to put the apples back in the cart with some help from Silver. Eventually they finished cleaning up the mess and placed the cart back on what was left of the wheels.

“I appreciate the help”

“No problem, but how are you going to move this with a missing wheel?” as far as Silver knew, there was no way she could pull it and keep it leveled.

“I guess I’ll have to leave it here and get my brother to help me”

“Or” Silver grabbed on to the empty spot where a wheel used to be and lifted it till the cart was level. “I hold this part up and save you a trip” that was something she didn’t expect, not that she didn’t like a helping hand.

“You don’t have to go out of your way like that”

“Seeing as it’s partially my fault your cart got damage, I think it’s only fair” Applejack wasn’t sure how he could feel blame when her cart hit him, but he seemed determined to help. Seeing no reason to refuse, Applejack grabbed on to the other end of the cart and began to pull. It was a little hard getting their pacing in sync but soon the trip became easier. They were making good time, however it would still take time to reach the farm. There was silence between them which Applejack found a little awkward, but she would only think of one way to break the silence.

“So if you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did you and Fluttershy end up going out for coffee?” she finally asked.

“Well it started when I left her a note in the bouquet of roses she bought, about half an hour later she came back with it and that’s when I asked her” Applejack looked confusedagain, she had seen Fluttershy toss them when she exited the flower shop so how did she end up with the note?

“I see, well wasn’t that nice of you” she was glad that she had her back to him, or else he might see the horrible poker face she put up.

“But I wouldn’t have gotten that chance if you and the rest of her friends didn’t help her”

“She told you about that?”

“Well I noticed when you and another mare walked out behind her, I was curious so I asked if she knew you two” apparently they she and Rainbow weren’t as well hidden as they thought. Though by the time Fluttershy backed out there was little need for them to try to blend in with the other customers.

“Well I’m glad to hear it all worked out for her in the end”

“That makes two of us” chuckled Silver as he and Applejack continued forward towards the farm. The rest of the trip took some time but haven kept the conversation going it felt like it went by quickly. Eventually they were able to get the cart inside of the barn so it could be repaired later.

“Thanks for the help, saved me a lot of time”

“No problem” said Silver cracking a few fingers that had stiffened slightly from holding on to the side of the cart.

“And listen, Fluttershy’s a good mare and a better friend, so she needs a colt that can treat her right”

“I understand, and I intend to” Silver gave Applejack a wave goodbye before exiting the barn making his back. This was the first time Applejack had met Silver but when it comes to first impressions he certainly showed promise. Her only now was exactly how did Fluttershy find the note if she threw out the roses. She planned to talk to her about that the next time they met up.

“Well that took some time, maybe I’ll just head home for now” unable to think of anything else to do for the day, Silver made his way back home.

Back at the dojo Azure was having an eventful day of training. Rainbow had proven again that she’s a very capable sparring partner. Although he still wouldn’t try to hit her during their spar, regardless of how hard she tried. The watching colts and mares were surprised to see this due to what they saw happen yesterday. But at least Rainbow was no longer in a bad mood, last time she was having a bad day she beat down every sparring partner she had. Even now they were somewhat afraid to spar with her.

“So tell me, why leave Canterlot for Ponyville?” asked Rainbow while continuing their spar.

“Canterlot is fine an all, but the ponies there are a bit too high class for my taste”

“I hear that” Rainbow had only been to Canterlot a few times, but they almost always required her to wear a dress which was something she wasn’t fond of. Then there was the fact that some ponies up there are of a higher class and that it had gotten to their heads. Rainbow couldn’t see herself living up there for too long without going crazy.

“Needless to say my parents didn’t like the idea of me coming down here due to the chaos that seems to be drawn here. But lucky for me a friend of mine also wanted to get out of Canterlot to get away from the noise, then knowing we’d have each other’s back made it easier on our parents” Rainbow grabbed on to Azures arm and tried to force him off-balance but he was able to counter this with a sweep to Rainbows legs. Rainbow fell back but was able to get back up quickly with a ground flip.

“Understandable, though Ponyville has been quiet lately” said Rainbow as she put her guard back up. “But given the history, I’m sure something is bound to happen” Rainbow lunged at and threw several punches which he guarded.

“Well I can wait, it’s still better here than in Canter lot for me. I have a Well-paying job, ponies hold on to traditions, and whoa!” Azure got caught off guard and was suddenly on the ground, his arm locked in an arm bar. “And the mare’s aren’t afraid to get dirty” he chuckled as he tried to get free from the lock.

“There are a few ponies that would argue with that last part but you’re right” she could feel the strain on Azure’s arm as he tried to get free but she wasn’t going to let that happen. “Come on Az, you know you can’t get out of this” she said tightening her grip. Azure’s eyes looked up and to the left as he began to think of how he could break the lock, eventually he saw that there was only one way out.

“Alright” Azure tapped his free hand on the mat three times and Rainbow finally let go of his arm.

“And with that, it’s one win for each of us” said Rainbow as she helped Azure off of the floor. “So are you up for another one tomorrow?” she asked, she wanted to break the tie they had but Azure was on a different page.

“Don’t get me wrong, this was a good spar” started Azure as he rotated his arm a bit. “But sometimes I prefer some silent meditation” this time he was trying his best not to say something he would regret. Rainbow crossed her arms and had a look of disappointment on her face, but soon let out a sigh.

“Alright I’ll let you meditate” Azure was glad to hear he could meditate to himself without being disturbed, but thing weren’t always that easy for him. “On Sundays, but on Fridays and Saturdays you’re my sparring partner” Rainbow added as she poked Azure on the chest. This caught him off guard and he didn’t have time to say anything before she turned around and began to walk away.

“Wait, don’t I get a say in that?”

“Nope” Azure stood in place as he watched Rainbow enter the locker room. Try as he might there was only one thing he could think to say at the moment.

“What just happened?”

Silver spent the rest of his day learning how to play a new song on his guitar, this one was proving difficult. So far he was only able to play the first two pages but he was making good progress. He figured he’d be able to learn how to play it by memory within the next few months if he was able to keep up this pace. While he focused on learning the song there were three knocks on the on his door.

“Coming” Silver put his guitar down and made walked up to his door unlocking it as soon as he was in front of it. Once Silver opened the door it revealed Azure who still looked confused “Hey Azure, how’d it go with Rainbow?” he asked letting Azure walk in.

“Well she accepted my apology”

“Told you she would”

“Then we sparred for a bit”

“Did you win?”

“No”

“Interesting, if she’s able to beat you then I think I should try not to get on her bad side” joke Silver as he sat back down on his sofa. “So what happened after that?” Azure paused as he thought of how to answer the question.

“Well she sort of reserved me for Fridays and Saturdays” Silver tilted his head as he turned it face Azure.

“She what?” Azure explained what happened after he had tapped out during the spar. He told Silver about how she agreed to let him meditate alone on Sundays but that he would have to spar with her on Fridays and Saturdays. During which time Silver would laugh now and then for reasons Azure couldn’t understand.

“So exactly how do I go from being on her hit list to her reserving me as a sparring partner?” asked Azure trying to make sense of it.

“Maybe she just likes sparing with you; it’s possible that the other members aren’t able to keep up with her” Azure pondered over this, he remembered how he was able to scare off some idiot with just a glare. “Besides, maybe it would do you some good to spar with somepony that can match you in terms of skill” added Silver.

“I see” Azure placed his hand to his chin and thought it over for a bit. There aren’t a lot of ponies that could hold their own against him; even Silver could barely match him in a fight. “Well I guess it couldn’t hurt” he said finally.

“I knew you’d see things my way” laughed Silver.

“Silver I don’t thing anypony can entirely see things your way” Both friends shared a laugh at the sun set for the ends of another day.