Stimulation Overload

Raynie walked cautiously down the streets of Canterlot. There were so many ponies here, she did not know what to think. Even in Trottingham there was never this many people out at once.

She was here because the publisher of her book, The Littlest Pegasus, insisted that she come for a book signing, as her last book had become an even bigger success than the first three. She reluctantly accepted, and was greatly regretting it. She loved that her book was popular, but no one knew who she was, she was just a name, no one knew the book was written by some feathered freak-- or at least no one on this level. When she shows up in that book theyll all be aghast-- the foals will probably be scared-- what was she thinking!?

She took some steps back, her breaths becoming more rapid-- her book signing wasnt for a few more days and it was feeling far too close. She was really considering just canceling the whole thing-- maybe she could be sick-- she actually was feeling pretty nauseous as it was.

Raynie wore a black cloak over her upper torso, covering her head, maybe just the end of her beak being noticeable, her talons would also be noticeable out the legs of the cloak. She knew a character running around in a cloak would draw some attention, but even that would probably draw less attention then a hippogriff prancing about.

She could feel all the security she had gained with herself from living in Trottingham just flying out the window the longer she was here, even though she had not yet tried to see how the public would react to her appearance. She backed away from the streets some, not realizing she was nearing a street corner. She felt her flank make contact with another surface. As she quickly turned her head to see what she had hit, the hood of her cloak flew off of her head.

Raynie froze, now with her identity exposed right infront of another pony.

Blind Side had just gotten off her shift on guard duty. The day felt long as it was, and now she had nothing to do but go back to her home which held many memories. She had grown up in this home, so she didn't feel right about living there alone. It had been a long and difficult several years for Blind, but she did consider it all to be a learning experience for her to be a better pony.

Trapped in thought, she forgets to keep her ears open for the sounds of others around her. As she walked, she was suddenly stopped by the well-known feeling of bumping into somepony. Having had this happen before, She knows steps back a little and puts on a polite smile. "I'm terribly sorry. I'm usually a lot better at hearing others around me." She said as she took off her blacked out goggles and hung them around her neck.

Her cloudy grey eyes darted from place to place in a futile attempt to see. Blind Side had taken to taking her goggles off in situations like this, since it usually calms down any frustration of the matter. Who would be mad at a poor blind mare? Although, her armored vest tends to reduce the entire 'helpless' vibe.

"Ah'm terribly sorry!" Raynie said fleetingly as she bowed her head, almost begging for the forgiveness infront of her. She raised her gaze a little to hear Blind also apologize, and she didn't seem to be giving Raynie's appearance any mind-- her appearance! She reached up with her talon and frantically pulled her hood back over her head, covering most of it, although the front of her face still shown out front it.

"Ah am so sorry," Raynie again apologized, "Ah was a bit overwhelmed an' was na' looking where ah was going" She said nervously.

She studied Blind quickly noticing something was off about her-- aside from her apparently paying no mind to Raynie's appearance-- could she have not seen? no-- she had to have seen-- they were practically face to face-- its possible that she just didn't care-- but even those who are perfectly open to different species at least showed a little bit of movement in their face. Even her eyes didn't-- wait-- her eyes...

"Are ye okay, Miss-- uh" She began to ask.

Blind was a little surprised at how much this pony freaked out over this. Well, She assumed it was a pony, since it's relatively rare to bump into something else. Rare, but not impossible. Turning her head towards the sound of her voice, she smiles warmly. "My name is Blind Side. And I am quite alright, if you count being blind as being alright." she said with a giggle.

Her accent was a little strange to Blind. She had never heard that kind of accent. At least not that she could remember. She couldn't place where she'd be from to have such an accent. Trottingham? Maybe. Hard to say. "I apologize if I'm not looking in the right direction. it can be a bit hard to tell where somepony is just by sound at times." Blind always tried her best to point her head at those she's talking to since it's only polite. But, as she said, that can be difficult to get right at times.

Blind's ears twitched and moved constantly as they had become the mainstay of her senses. As she grew up, they had taken to instinctively moving towards where the sound was coming from so she could hear it better. not only that, but her hearing in general had improved quite a bit since she was a filly.

Raynie blinked as her suspicions were put to bed as the other pony confirm the cataracts over her eyes were infact a sign of blindness. She reached up again pulling her hood the rest of the way over her face, only the tip of her beak out past the end of her hood.

"Ye are fine" she responded to the pony as she questioned where she was speaking. Raynie was keenly observing her curious about how a pony would operate without the use of their eyes.

"Ah am Raynie," she said, bowing her head a little bit, stopping herself part way through remembering that the pony actually would not be able to see her doing such, "Ah just arrived in Canterlot, ah've ne'er seen so many ponies at once, it all overwhelmed me."

There was something off about this pony. Blind just couldn't place it though. She was still assuming Raynie was a pony, but she had a few doubts. it didn't matter. a good personality is a good personality. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Raynie." She said with a warm smile.

Her last sentence was slightly telling of who she was. although, whether Raynie was a pony or not didn't matter to her. She liked everypony based on their personality. "Yeah, it's a crowded city. It's also surprisingly easy to get lost." Blind thought on this a little more. "especially for somepony like me!" she said with a laugh. Come to think of it, she should keep reminding herself of where she is, so she doesn't forget and end up lost again.

"Ah would think y'd come t' know the city like the back o' yuir hoof," Raynie said to Blind Side curiously, she knew that without the use of sight she would not be able to see where she was, but if she had lived here for a long enough time, she should know the streets fairly well, unless she got off her normal route.

"if theres anything ah could do for y'--" Raynie began to say, not quite sure what this pony who actually lived here could need from her, but her natural kindness couldn't let her do otherwise, "afterall, 'tis wha' any good pony would do." she added, taking great care to smoothly add in the part about a pony.

Blind had done it again. she had forgotten where she was. Her memory was terrible, but this was surprising, even to her. "I like to think I do. I'm a member of the royal guard, so I patrol the streets daily." She said with a smile. "Except, every now and then there are those who enjoy telling me that I'm somewhere else than where I really am. you can imagine how confusing conflicting information can be for somepony like me." Blind shrugged as she said this. It had become just a fact of life for her by this time.

Blind Smiled as Raynie offered her help. She didn't see that too often. "Actually, there is one thing." She said, a little embarrassed. "This is a little embarrassing to admit, But it would appear that I've forgotten where I am. If you're heading anywhere public, would you mind if I followed you there? I could find my way from there."

Rayne was taken aback by this revelation-- a blind pony serving on the royal guard? She wasn't a Canterlot expert but she did know that it was no easy task becoming one of the elite. She studied the pony over taking every note of her physical features, "Ah am very impressed y' have been able t' become a guard wih yuir-- condition," Raynie said, hoping she wasnt saying anything offensive.

Raynie raised her head and looked down the street of which she was headed, "Well, ah was headed t' the book store down the street here," She explained to Blind, "If y'd like y' can walk wih me down tha' way Miss Side," she said.

Blind smiled at Raynie's kindness. "That'd be great. Thank you." Blind stopped for a second and listened. She wanted to be absolutely sure that she was following the right pony. "But yeah, That's a question I get a lot. and understandably so." She said, smiling. "My father was in the guard since before I was born, so he pulled a few strings to get me into training." Standing next to Raynie, Blind continues on.

"of course, that meant I was going into it with superiors not liking me. So, I worked my flank off to prove my worth. even after I graduated, They wouldn't trust me alone. It took my father..." She cut herself off before she hit the part that bothered her most. sighing, she rewords. "It took a lot to be trusted to patrol on my own. So, I mostly take the night shift at the castle gardens."