The question I had asked the ponies had hung in the air, and they discussed things between themselves. I looked to Ophelia. Things were certainly going to be difficult until we got out of this mess. As far as I knew, she wasn’t aware of how I felt about her, and I intended to keep it that way until I felt ready to broach the subject. I was cut out of my thoughts when the lavender unicorn (Twilight, was it? I think that’s right.) spoke up. “Well, we’ve discussed it between us, and a few of us have some extra room for guests. My place, Golden Oaks Library, has a Basement that can easily be converted into a bedroom. Applejack’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres, has a barn that would do. Rarity’s Carousel Boutique has a guest room that is not in use. Pinkie says that sugar Cube Corner doesn’t exactly have room, and Fluttershy’s cottage is full of animals. As for Rainbow’s house… well, it’s made of clouds, so you would fall right through even if it did have room for one of you.”
I massaged my forehead. “Of course there are houses made of clouds. Why am I not surprised?” I shook my head. “Regardless, we have options now. I think I’ll take the barn. I think I can live with a little extra housework to earn my keep.” He turned to Ophelia. “Which one are you going with? You’ve two left to choose from, choose wisely.”
Ophelia deliberated for some time before settling on her choice. “I will take up Rarity’s offer.” She smiled. “It might be fun to learn something about pony fashion.”
Once both of them had decided, Twilight sighed. “I see… neither of you chose to bunk in the library…”
I rolled my eyes. “You do know why I didn’t, right?” Twilight shook her head, and I took off my glasses to place a palm to my face. I removed it momentarily, and put my glasses back on. “Look. I don’t trust any of you, to be perfectly frank.” I pointed at Twilight. “But because of the way you greeted us, I trust you the least of all of them.” I lowered my hand, and sighed. “I can’t speak for Ophelia, though. She probably has a different reason than I do.”
The attention now on her, Ophelia fidgeted a little. She collected herself after a minute or two, and responded to the question hanging in the air. “Well, Rarity’s place seems like a novel experience. I’ve been to a library before, so it’s not really like I’m missing out on much.”
At Twilight’s dejected look, the white unicorn (Rarity, if I recall right) tried to comfort her. “Don’t be so glum, darling. It’s important that we keep their comfort in mind while they stay here in Equestria. We don’t know how long it will be before they can get home.” She smiled patiently. “Besides, you have a letter that you wanted to send to Celestia, right?”
Realizing that Rarity was right, Twilight zoomed off to her home. I looked to the orange pony (Applejack, I think?) and made a motion to go. “So. Mind showing me this barn of yours? I’ve got to get myself situated at least.”
A bit surprised at my insistence, Applejack quirked her head. “Sure ya don’t want to take a bit of a look around town first? We gotta ensure the residents get used to you a bit somehow.”
A twitch set upon one of my eyes. They were seriously suggesting on getting to know the townsfolk? There was no need for that, since we weren’t going to stay. I calmed myself so that I could reply properly. “I’m sure. They don’t need to ‘get used to us’, seeing as we’ll leave at the earliest opportunity. Because of that, I don’t see a point to hobnob with the locals.” I started to walk off towards the farmhouse I saw when we were in the sky. “Let’s get going.” Because of my insistence, Applejack followed with little argument.
Rarity turned to Ophelia as Nathan and Applejack walked off. “Is he always like this? You’re his friend, so…”
Ophelia shrugged. “I haven’t known him long, actually. We only became friends slightly before we fell here.” At the remaining ponies’ surprised looks, Ophelia giggled lightly. “I know that it’s kind of funny to think about. After all, Nathan came off towards you as standoffish and perhaps a tad rude. But… He opened up to me rather quickly, considering what he’s been through. I believe he sensed in me a… kindred spirit, you could say. Sure, our way of coping with our pasts is different, but that is to be expected.” Ophelia sighed deeply. “Today has been a rough day for both of us. We’re a long way from home, in a land we don’t understand. Nathan probably just wants to wrap his head around all of this, a sentiment that I can understand.”
Once Ophelia explained the situation, understanding settled on the ponies’ muzzles. Rainbow smirked. “I think I get your bud’s deal now. Not to worry! We’ll let you guys adjust a bit. I’ve got clouds to bust anyway. See ya!” She zipped off into the sky faster than Ophelia could register.
A whistle came out of Ophelia’s mouth. “Wow, she wasn’t kidding! That’s super fast! It takes complex machinery to reach such speeds back home, and yet it’s just… natural to her. This place is full of surprises!”
Pinkie giggled. “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet. She can go faster than that!”
Ophelia’s jaw went slack as her eyes widened. “Faster? But she was about as fast as a cheetah! How could she-?" she gripped her head. “Ooh. My head hurts. I need to sit down.” she turned to Rarity. “Let’s go, before my head explodes.” At Rarity’s horrified look, Ophelia snickered. “Not literally! It’s a figure of speech. C’mon.” She beckoned as she went off towards the carousel that she and Nathan had seen when they were falling through the sky. Rarity followed not long after.
Thankfully Applejack hadn’t talked much to me during our walk to her place, which allowed me to truly process all this. This strange world was full of new things I didn’t quite understand. How exactly did this all happen? Why were we now in a world full of pastel ponies that talked? None of it made sense. A hole opened in the ground, and we found ourselves falling through their sky. How does that even make logical sense? The world wasn’t hollow, that’s just not how things work. Science doesn’t allow for such nonsense. I still didn’t quite get how we were dragged here. It had to be something about their strange world that did it, because ours made sense. It made my head hurt thinking about all of this.
We soon made it to Applejack’s farm, and she looked to me. “Stay here a bit. Ah’ve gotta explain a bit ta mah family. Be right back.”
She walked off, and I huffed. I didn’t like standing around doing nothing, so I opened up my backpack and pulled out my sketchbook. My electronics wouldn’t do me much good here, seeing as they might not have electricity to charge them with. I sat down, took out a pencil and started drawing. I kept the entrance of the house in the corner of my eyes while I focused on the paper. My hand flew across the paper, as it tended to. The movements sure and final, I never took anything back. My thoughts turned to what my art teacher had said. Was my art really that good? Ophelia seemed to agree, but I couldn’t quite see it. I wasn’t talented, I was a mess. I knew I wasn’t good at this, it was just a hobby. Something to keep me occupied in my downtime. My eye caught sight of their door starting to open, so I stopped drawing. I put the sketchbook and pencil away and zipped my backpack shut. I stood as Applejack brought out her family.
I took in the look of them. There was this grandma-looking one with a pale green coat, a sturdy red one with a yoke around his neck, and a small yellow one with a bow in her mane. I raised an eyebrow. Was this how small families were here? It seemed pretty sad, to be perfectly honest. I pushed the stray thought away, and walked towards them. “So. You’re the folks I’ll be staying with while I’m stuck in this world.” I shrugged. “Could have been worse, I suppose.”
The little one’s eyes widened. “Applejack says you fell from the sky! Did ya really?”
I sighed deeply. “From your… sister’s... perspective, sure. From mine? I fell through a hole in the ground back home and wound up in your sky. Very disorienting, trust me.” I shook my head. “If her friend wasn’t there to catch us, well… it wouldn't have been very pretty. Guess I owe that… what’s her name? Rainbow, I think? Never been good with names when I first meet new people…” I sighed. “Regardless, I’ll thank her later.” I rolled my shoulders a bit. “So, can I put my stuff in the barn now?”
The grandma chuckled a bit. “Go right ahead, sonny. Dinner’s on in a few hours.” She turned to Applejack. “Why don’t you help Nathan set up, eh?”
I set off towards the barn, and Applejack followed. I pulled the right door open, and looked around the rather empty place. There was some feed for animals around here, and some rafters, but that was about it. I sighed. “Well, I’ve never slept on hay before, but it’ll have to do for now.”
As I started to take some hay from the pile and organize it into a mattress-like shape, Applejack asked a question. “Nathan, you feelin’ alright? Ah can’t exactly tell…”
I paused, and turned to her with a deadpan look. “Alright? No. I’m not.” I turned away, and went back to work. “Just try and see things from my perspective. Everything here is new and strange when compared to how things are back home. I want to get home as soon as possible. After all, wouldn’t you if you were in a similar situation?”
Silence prevailed for a while. After what felt like forever, Applejack spoke up again. “Yeah. Ah would want to get back tah everypony back home. Friends an’ family would miss me terribly. Ah think ah get it now. Is that the reason yah don’t want ta be friends wit us?”
I shook my head. “I told you before. I don’t like painful goodbyes. Plus, I haven’t had the best experience with it in the past.” As Applejack was about to respond, I cut her off. “Listen. Ophelia is… different from others. She gets me. She understands what it’s like. Everyone else back home is not to be trusted, and I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. It’s not a group of memories I like talking about, especially to strangers. So never bring this up again.” My tone brokered no argument, so she remained silent as she left the barn.
As Applejack left the barn, she looked back at Nathan as he was on the tail end of adjusting the hay. His problems ran deeper than she or her friends had initially thought, it seemed. He was deeply troubled, to be sure. He saw his friendship with Ophelia as the only light in a bleak reality, that much was abundantly clear. She didn’t know how she or her friends could possibly help change his mind, but she felt that was what they would need to try and do. She sighed. It was certainly going to be a lot of work, but she and her friends would need to be up to the challenge. Then there was Ophelia. She seemed more reasonable, so maybe she could help. Applejack nodded. It was going to be a tough process to be sure, but worth it in the end. She went off for a bit to consult with Rarity.
I finally finished adjusting the hay, and sighed. It probably took me a few hours to settle on an arrangement that felt satisfactory. I looked outside, and the sun was still high. I was confused. Were the days longer here? I looked for a place to put my backpack out of reach of the ponies. Then, the thought struck me. I went over to the pile of wood in the corner, and borrowed the toolbox near it.
I set to work building a shelf. I carefully worked, adjusting occasionally to ensure that the shelf could hold the weight. Once I was finished, I hammered the shelf into the wall of the barn at a height that I could reach that the grounded ponies couldn’t. I set my backpack on it and smiled at my work. It wasn’t anything magnificent, but it’d do. Sure, the ones with wings could still reach it, but I couldn’t really do anything about that.
It was then that I heard the call for dinner. I put the toolbox away and went over to the house, and saw Applejack make it there slightly before me. She seemed to have come from the entrance of the farm, meaning she’d left at some point. Didn’t really matter to me, that was her business. I went in and sat at the table. It was a bit cumbersome, seeing as the chairs were rather small. The table was full of lots of food, most of it apple themed. They dug in immediately, but I was more hesitant. I considered carefully what I wanted, and asked in a clear voice. “Please pass the salad?”
At my question, they all paused. Applejack swallowed the food she had been eating, and quirked her head. “Yer arms are long enough to reach. Why don’t ya?”
Insulted, I huffed. “Mom didn’t raise a rude boy. It’s not proper manners to reach past somebody else’s plate on the table. If you want something that is past somebody else’s plate, you ask for it to be passed.”
A smile spread across the granny’s muzzle. She grabbed the salad near her, and passed it over to me. “Our family’s always rather impatient at dinner because of all the work we do. It’s nice to see someone with a bit of patience now and then.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I grasped the bowl, and set it near my plate as I served myself. I looked around the table. “Hm. No ranch dressing... ah, well. Guess I’ll eat it as is.” I grasped my fork in my right hand, and took a bite of the salad. It wasn’t much different from anything back home, so it was passable. I looked at the cup in front of my plate. It was full of amber liquid, probably apple juice. It didn’t have foam on it, so it likely wasn’t spiked. All the cups were full of the same liquid, and the little one seemed to have no ill effects from it. So, I took a sip. It was just as expected, just as good as the store bought juice back home. Dinner passed without much further incident.
Once they all finished, I started grabbing all the dishes. The little one spoke up. “What’re ya doin’ mister?”
I sighed. “First off, don’t call me mister. Makes me feel old. Second, I’m going to wash them for you. It’s the least I can do, seeing as you’re letting me stay here for a while.” I went over to their kitchen sink with the stack of dishes, found the soap, and started to get to work. I scrubbed each one very carefully, making sure to get each and every spot. Once done, I dried them with a nearby clean rag. I worked in silence, soon finishing all the dishes. I dried my hands, and sighed.
The granny smiled. “Thank you for your help, sonny. Do you need anything?”
I debated that for a bit. They were being nice, but I still was wary. I knew there were things I needed that they likely couldn’t provide, so I shook my head. “No. I’ll be heading off to bed now. It’s been a long day.”
I found my way back to the barn, and shut the doors once inside. I opened my backpack, and took out my pajamas. I don’t know why I put them in my backpack that morning, but I was glad I that had. I changed out of my day clothes, and put them in my backpack. I had brought an extra pair of clothes just in case something happened to ruin my clothes today (you wouldn’t believe how often that happens), but it seemed I’d be wearing them tomorrow. But beyond that, I hadn’t brought any others. I’d have to talk to Rarity, work out some kind of deal for her to make me some.
I hoped that we wouldn’t be stuck here much longer, but that was highly unlikely. I shut my backpack, and placed it back on the shelf. I laid down on the makeshift mattress, and sighed. I could see the night sky through the window, and it was rather different from back home. There wasn’t as much light pollution here, so it was a rather crisp view.
I turned to see that somebody had placed a blanket in here, likely one of the ponies from the family. I could see what they were trying, and it wouldn’t work. Ophelia and I couldn’t afford to make friends in this world. If we did… we would have to say goodbye one day, and it would be painful, more so because we’d never see them again.
I shook my head. I pulled the blanket over me, though it was a bit small. It would have to suffice. But for some reason, I just couldn’t get to sleep. I sat up, and went to the window.
The guest room of Rarity’s place was rather spacious, and it looked rather nice. Ophelia sat up from the bed, unable to get to sleep. She found her way to a window, and sighed. “It’s so much to take in, isn’t it, Nate?”
I nodded. “Yeah. You can’t sleep either, eh?” I chuckled a bit. “We really should get some rest though; wouldn’t be quite so good for our health if we stayed up, Ophi.”
Ophelia smirked, then shook her head. “Our families must be worried. I can feel it. How long do you think we’ll be stuck here?”
I contemplated for a bit, then shrugged. “I don’t know. Could be a few days, maybe a week or two, possibly a full month. Hopefully not too much longer than that, though.” I looked to the side. “Otherwise… we risk connecting far too deep with these ponies. We can’t afford that, no matter what.”
A nod from Ophelia. “I get that you don’t want painful goodbyes, after… everything we’ve been through. But must you push them away so harshly? They’re not like the people back home, Nate.”
I knew that she was right, but… a sigh escaped my lips. “I am so used to pushing people away, Ophi. It’s out of habit more than anything else, now. You connected with me because we have a lot in common. But when it comes to everyone else… I’m too afraid to let them in; you know this. I can’t risk somebody like… Harold or Orsen or Ferriss. One just disappeared with no word; the other two turned against me.” I shook my head. “I can’t afford to get hurt again. If I do… I might just let go entirely, and end it all.”
A gasp escaped Ophelia’s mouth. She hadn’t known that he was that close to the edge when she met him that morning. Her first impression had just been that he was just lost and indifferent. But now, she knew what was going on. She had to assure him somehow, so she took a deep breath, and spoke. “Listen, Nate. You know that I’d never turn on you, right? I promised as such. Remember? Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye? I’ll always stick by you, as best I can. If you don’t feel right connecting with the ponies, that’s fine. Just always remember that I have your back, no matter what.”
Tears rolled down my face. I knew that she was serious, but there was this part of me that still had doubts. I didn’t even know why. What was wrong with me? She was the one person that understood, and part of me wanted her to but out. I dried my tears, and took a few deep breaths. She isn’t like them, I insisted to myself. She’s the one true friend I’ve ever had, she’d never turn on me. I have to cling to that, no matter what. After doing that for a few minutes, I calmed down. I then nodded. “Thanks, Ophi. You’re the first and only friend I’ve had that I can really, truly trust. You have told me a few things about your experiences with all this, and from what I’ve garnered, you didn’t quite have it as bad. Regardless of that, you understand me on a level that nobody else has. Two of my brothers, my dad, they didn’t get it. Their experience was different. They had somebody to look out for them, somebody to turn to. My other brother and my sister never had to go through it, and neither did my mom. Anyone else I’ve met with glasses never quite got it, either. But you, you get it. You understand, when nobody else does. You can’t fathom the depths of my gratitude for that. I’m truly glad that I sat next to you this morning.”
A smile spread across Ophelia’s face, and she nodded. “I’m glad you did, too. My family may understand my troubles a bit better than yours does for you, but they just didn’t suffice. I needed somebody outside of that to truly feel understood. Had you not sat next to me on the bus this morning, I would still feel lost and alone in the crowd. I’m glad that I had the instinct to run after you when that first tremor struck. Had I not, you’d be alone here, with nobody to really talk to. We’re in this together, no matter how long it takes.”
I blinked at that. She’d run after me when the tremors came? I hadn’t thought much on how or why she was there to try and catch me; I was just happy that she was. A sleight chuckle escaped my lips. “So that’s why you were there when I fell. I’m glad that I’m not in this on my own. It’s nice to have somebody here to talk to.” I paused, and looked away. Something inside was welling up, telling me to say more. I pushed it away. I was too young to date just yet; I wasn’t ready. So, I just smiled as I concluded. “I hope you sleep well, Ophi. See you in the morning.”
Ophelia smiled and nodded her head. “You too, Nate. See you then.” A sigh escaped her lips, and then she blinked. How'd she heard all of what Nathan had said? How had he heard her? The boutique and the barn weren’t exactly near each other, so the answer wasn’t simple. She had heard of instances of people that shared a strong bond being able to know what the other was thinking; almost akin to a psychic ability. Their bond must’ve been quite strong to be able to converse like that over a long distance without the use of a phone. She was glad that Rarity and her little sister were such heavy sleepers. She went back to bed, finally getting some sleep.