The Legend Of Nicholas

by DanishDash


Chapter 8: Welcome Home

Chapter 8.

Welcome Home.

The morning sun rose, it's gentle light hit Nicholas's face, or, at least it would, if not for a certain furry creature who had decided to make his face her resting spot. "Mmmh.." Nicholas took a deep breath, then found himself a bit muffled. "Hmm?" He opened his eyes, only to see the white fur of Mina. "Mmmfh?"

The vibrations from his mouth seemed to wake her, so she slowly sat up, rubbed her eyes and stretched. Nicholas looked up at her, picked her up, much to her surprise, and sat her down beside him. "Good morning.." He said quietly, still feeling tired from the long walk yesterday.

Mina rubbed her eyes again and looked at him. "Maidin mhaith."

He sat up, stretched. "Got comfy?" Nicholas teased, and for a moment he could swear he saw Mina blush from embarrassment. Chuckling a bit, he looked out the window to see the sun was still rising, which meant it was pretty early, which in turn meant his parents had yet to wake up.

Perfect time to sneak out before they got up, perfect time to bring Mina home. He stood up, made his bed, and started to get dressed. Mina looked on with interest, watching his every move as he took out a tunic, his belt and so forth. She jumped down to the floor, walking over to some of the discarded garments on the floor. Feeling it with her hands, she seemed fascinated by the feeling and look.

"Céard é sin?"

He was not entirely sure what she asked him, but he had an idea. Slipping on his green tunic, he gestured to it and replied. "It's a tunic, I don't have fur like you or ponies, so it keeps me warm."

His guess seemed to have been spot on, because Mina nodded satisfied with the explanation. When he finished putting on his belt and his bag, he got down to one knee and held out a hand. "Come on, you better stay in my bag when we go through town. I don't think many will be out yet, but you can never be too careful."

Mina understood, and hurried over to his hands so he could lift her up. He did so gently, and placed her inside his bag. Nicholas did not bother with sealing it, he simply made sure that she was covered and could peek out whenever she wanted to.

He looked down at her, seeing her little head picking out, her ears pushing back by the leather flap that covered the opening. "Ready to go?"

She gave a nod of confirmation. "Réidh."

~~N~~

The walk through Ponyville was pleasant, well, it was always pleasant, but Nicholas found when nopony was around at this time, it gave the already quiet town some new peace. Nicholas was not a loner, but he enjoyed the quiet. Mina looked around with fascination, her eyes pretty much sparkling at the sight of the many cottages.

"Tá sé chomh deas!"

She exclaimed over and over again, Nicholas figured she was excited to see a pony town up close. He still wondered though, what was Mina? It was a question for another time, for now he was going to bring her home, then hopefully be back before sundown. He planned on going to the bookshop, maybe see if somepony could open up the old library, or maybe even ask Granny Smith from Sweet Apple Acres?

Surely she would know about the creatures of the Everfree, she was like, a billion years old, right?

As soon as he thought that, he felt a small pinch in his right ear. He winched, and by reflex put a hand up to it. No one was there, but for a moment it felt like someone pinched him. He shivered, thinking Granny Smith worked in mysterious ways. Probably best not to think too hard about it.

~~N~~

It did not take them long to reach the forest, and when they did, Mina got out of the bag and climbed onto Nicholas's shoulder. She seemed more comfortable in here, not nervous like most ponies would be. Though, why would she? She probably knew the forest better than he ever would.

For a moment, he felt his stomach growl, probably not the best idea to skip breakfast, but he needed to bring Mina back. She had spent the night at his place, a foreign place to her, so she probably wanted to get home as soon as possible.

The two embarked on their journey, moving through the dark gloomy parts of the forest, not that it bothered Nicholas as much as it did the ponies. He was able to see the subtle beauty of this place, despite what most ponies thought, this place had a peace and harmony that a being, such as himself, could find beautiful. In it's raw uncontrolled chaos, there was order and balance.

Mina seemed to pick up on this as well, not as much the forest, but him. She saw how he walked with confidence and with no fear. Caution at times yes, but only when the situation called for such precautions. She was impressed with the young human, not many would go in this forest with such courage.

On the way, the two chatted for a bit, Nicholas mainly trying to pick up on some of her words, and he did get some right. The two had fun with this, trying to get him to understand her was a challenge, but like with every skill Nicholas had, he always worked hard on it.

Finally, after two hours of walking, Nicholas decided to go the way he had gone the day before, but Mina stopped him. She jumped down onto the forest floor and waved at him to follow her. "Níl, níl, mar seo. Tar liom!" She smiled and started to move another direction.

Nicholas was not about to argue with one who had lived in the forest all her life, so he did as she asked and followed her.

She took him far, not sure how far, but the forest seemed to become more dense and thick. It felt like they walked through a maze, filled with twists and turns, and for the first time, Nicholas was not sure where they were. Mina on the other hand seemed to walk with purpose and direction, knowing exactly when to turn, when to stop, and where to go.

After for what seemed like forever, she stopped. Nicholas did the same and saw they had stopped in front of what could only be described as a massive wall of nature. It was like great many vines, bushes, trees, everything creating a blanket, or a sort of curtain, masking whatever laid behind it.

Nicholas looked to Mina who smirked, and pointed to the wall, then suddenly going through it with ease. Nicholas however, hesitated for a moment, he had no idea what was on the other side, but Mina trusted him enough to bring him here, so it was only fair of him to trust her in return. Moving his hands forward, he slid the curtain of nature to the sides, allowing him to go through.

~~N~~

To say the sight surprised Nicholas would have been an understatement. Here he was, standing in the Everfree forest, looking at something that could only be described as a.. Village? Yes, that's exactly what this was, a village built into the forest itself. 

He saw small doors at the base of the trees, leading into homes directly under them he suspected. Small bridges, ropes holding up small glowing mushrooms and so forth. He was pretty sure he saw things like shops, homes, dirt roads that were supposed to be streets.

The only thing missing was the inhabitants.

He looked around, and sure enough, no one was about, except for him and Mina that was. She in the meantime was about a meter ahead of him, still smiling as she took a deep breath and called out.

"Mama, papa, gach duine! Tá mé ar ais, agus thug mé cara nua!!"

Other than the two first words, he had no idea what she just yelled out, but that soon became somewhat clearer as the tiny doors opened up slowly. Soon enough small faces appeared, then soon after that, creatures like Mina came out of all sorts of hiding places. Out the doors, behind bushes and rocks, down the trees, even out of a small pond.

They were all furry, long eared and all had the features Mina had. Still, like ponies, they had different sizes, colors and so on. Some were brown, some were red, others had beards, others had full blown braided hair, some were old, some were young. All of them came closer, carefully of course as he was a giant among them.

Nicholas sat down slowly, making himself a little smaller and trying to look as friendly as he could. Thankfully Mina was a great help as she moved over to him, patted his knee and smiled. "Seo Nicholas, chuidigh sé liom dul abhaile. Tá sé an-deas!"

Her words seem to make the creatures relax as they now approached him at a normal pace. Two of them however ran to Mina and gave her a big hug, speaking fast and in that language he didn't understand. What was clear however was that these two were her parents, and he had seen that look on his own enough times to know Mina was getting half a scolding and a half 'so glad you're okay', talk.

Mina gestured to him, and her parents looked at him with grateful eyes. Even though he had not done much, in fact, in some ways it might be a little his fault. Though, Mina was safely back home, and so there was no harm done.

The orange coated creature which he could only guess was Mina's father stepped forward and bowed to him. "Go raibh maith agat as ár dteach Mina a thabhairt."

Though he didn't understand everything he said, Nicholas understood enough to know he was saying thank you. So he placed a hand over his heart and bowed his head. "You're welcome, I'm happy she is back home with you."

After that, the many creatures seemed to grow from careful to interested. Soon enough they were examining him, climbing on him, talking to him. He found it fun, and Mina seemed to find it extra funny how much the younger ones enjoyed climbing on him.

They brought him berries and nuts to feed him, and they all seemed to become very festive as they celebrated a new friend and the return of one of their own.

At some point Mina seemed to tell them about him, all of the creatures listened like she was telling them a fairy tail. At first Nicholas had no idea what she spoke off, though that soon became clear when she turned to him and pointed to his knife, then at some small piece of wood.

"Oh, I..." He was not sure if he should, but they seemed really excited to see his carving skills. He took out the knife, making sure to keep it a good distance from any of the curious creatures.

Thinking about what to make, he looked around to see what he could carve that might be helpful to them all. He didn't have enough time to make anything too complicated, so he started to make tiny toys for the small ones. Nothing overly complicated, some wooden swords and shields for the boys, and for the girls he made small dolls using grass, flowers and small pieces of sticks.

All the creatures looked in fascination at his speed and eye for detail. Though the ideas and designs were basic, he still had a natural talent for making them look amazing. All the young ones loved the gifts and of course started to play right away.

That was not the end of it however, soon enough they were all pulling him to different places around their village. One wanted him to help repair a small bridge, Nicholas did just that, even making it able to rise and lower, to which they all applauded.

Another one wanted a table, a third a new door to his home, and before he knew it, Nicholas was making stuff for them all. To his mild surprise Mina made them all line up in orderly fashion and helped keep order and made sure he was not overworked. 

Hours passed, but Nicholas did not mind, nor did he notice, he simply kept working, making everything from doors, tables, a chair, even a cane or two. It was not before the very last of them had received the last gift, and they all cheered at him, he noticed the sun's position. 

The few seconds of worry was quickly drowned out by the cheers of them all. He smiled bashfully, seeing them so happy for all the things he had made them. True joy really, to them it was not simple objects, they really seemed to cherish them, which kind of made him happy, but a little sad as well. The things he had made, although skillful, were made by the materials he had on hand. It would be something else if he had been at home, in his dad's workshop. 

However they all seemed to love their gifts so much it quickly made his sad feelings vanish. 

Finally, he stood up and dusted himself off. "Well, I have to get home, my mum will start worrying about me." He heard a collective; 'Awwwwww', and he chuckled a little at that. "Sorry, but like Mina, I have a family that will miss me too if i'm gone too long."

Disappointed, but understanding, the creatures offered their goodbyes and waves. Mina and her parents however decided to follow him out, guiding him back the way him and Mina came. This time around, the travel time seemed to go much faster than before, only an hour, but at that time the sun had started to lower.

Standing at the edge of the forest Nicholas got down on one knee and smiled at his new friends. "Well, guess this is where we part ways." Mina whined slightly, frowning even. Nicholas chuckled. "Don't worry Mina, we'll see each other again, I promise."

She looked up at him, her big eyes staring into his. "Geall?"

Although he still could not be sure, he guessed she asked him if he promised, and so he smiled and nodded. "Promise." Mina smiled a little, then walked over to him, reached out for a hug, which Nicholas gladly gave.

With the day over, with the goodbyes said, Nicholas started to make his way down the dirt road, towards Ponyville and his home. He was tired, but happy. He had gotten a ton of new friends, and it seemed life was not going to be as boring without Applejack as he had worried about.

As soon as he finished that thought however, he noticed something in the distance. It looked like it was moving with great speed, picking up dust as it moved down the road and towards him. "What in Celestia..?" He narrowed his eyes, trying to see what it was that moved with such haste. 

Then his eyes grew wide as he took a step back. "Appleja-Oufh!" Before he knew it he was tackled by an orange filly only a head smaller than him. He was flung onto his back, staring up at the green eyes he had grown so accustomed to.

Before he could even speak a word of shock, she glared at him. "Where the hay have you been?! Ah have you know, ah have been looking fer you all darn day!" Nicholas didn't speak, he was still in shock over seeing her, then being tackled and then hearing her swear like this. Before he got a chance to respond she lunged forward and hugged him. "Ah missed ya, you big log."

Big might be a bit much, but he was taller than her, but certainly not stronger. Nicholas smiled, then moved his arms around her. "Missed you too, Applejack.. But why did you come back?"

Applejack got off him. "Well, kind of a long story.. Only just arrived this morning, but speaking of that. Look at this!" She turned, wiggling her flank. "See here!"

Nicholas got wide eyes. "Applejack! You, you got your cutie mark!"

"Ah know, isn't it amazing!?" She exclaimed and pretty much beamed with pride.

"That's so great." Nicholas smiled as he stood up. "Come on, you can tell me all about it on the way back."

And so, the two friends walked down the dirt road towards Ponyville, Applejack told him everything that happened in Manehatten, how she saw the strange rainbow in the sky and how she came to return. Quite the interesting story for sure, and it was not like he didn't have things to tell her as well. Though, for now he decided to keep his adventures in the Everfree to himself, he would tell her at some point, but for now he would rather keep his friends in the forest a secret until he knew more. For now, he was simply glad Applejack was back!

That night, he got to bed with a happy feeling, he'd gotten new friends and his very best had returned! What a day, what a long, but fun day. He closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him as he thought about how perfect this was, nothing could ruin this, nothing at all.

~~N~~

The very next morning.

Nicholas yawned, feeling the sun hit him through the window as it did every morning. He was not sure why, but he had slept extra well tonight, his bed felt warmer, softer, fluffier than normal. Then, slowly he opened his eyes, only to find hundreds of eyes staring back at him.

"Wha?!" Nicholas jumped back and managed to fall out of the bed. He looked confused around the many creatures, and it was not until Mina jumped down in front of him they all greeted him at once.

"Maidin mhaith, Nicholas!"

He looked at all the creatures smiling at him, and there were only two words that made it past his lips at this point.

"Oh dear...."