//------------------------------// // XVI- The New Pair // Story: To Find Purpose // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// The silence gave me time to think of what I overheard while buying our tickets. An "inconvenience", huh? So that's what Ophi thinks… I sighed to myself. I suppose that it’d be too much to hope for her to really feel about me the way that I feel about her, let alone for her to accept it. Probably doesn’t want to risk our friendship… That’s understandable, but… I pushed the thoughts away. It was better this way, at least that’s what I tried to convince myself with as the train slowly stopped. I stood first and Ophi and Applejack soon followed. We exited the train, and I posed a question to Applejack before she ran off. “So can you tell me where the town hall is? We need to speak with the mayor of this town.” She pointed a hoof at a Sheriff's Office that looked oddly like one of the ones from those old western movies. “Th’ town’s governed by Sheriff Silverstar, actually. Ah’m not entirely certain why, but it gives ht’ town a quaint charm.” I gave a nod and started off, Ophi soon following. We kept a silence between us as we went, both hesitant as to what we could say. I wanted to say something, anything to break the silence, but… icy fear gripped me. Part of me told me not to kid myself. If she said that it was an inconvenience, it clearly meant that she wanted us to remain friends, nothing more. But… The part of me that had tried to approach her on countless occasions in the past was screaming at me, asking what in the world I was thinking. It demanded that I give chase, not to take no as an answer. I pushed it away, distancing myself. I wouldn’t get my hopes up like that. If this was what she wanted… that’s what I’d accept, as her best friend. It wasn’t about what I wanted, anyway. The two of us got to the Sheriff's with little trouble, making our way inside. It was once we were inside that we saw him. He was a light tan Earth Pony with brown mane and tail, plus a black mustache. He was wearing a black stetson, a red bandana around his neck, and a blue vest with a pinned silver five-pointed star that matched his mark. He regarded us with a smile. “Ah. So th’ humans that feel t’ Ponyville are payin’ a visit! T’ wut do I owe the honor?” Ophi cleared her throat, deciding to explain. “Celestia informed us that there have been sightings of humans around the caves here. We’ve come to investigate, see what they’re like. Do you have any information?” He shook his head. “Ah’m ‘fraid not. Most of th’ sightins happen ‘round th’ buffalo territory. Yu’ll have t’ talk with Chief Thunderhooves ‘bout what he knows.” I gave a sigh. “How far from town is their territory?” It was then that a knock came at the door. The Sheriff went over to the door, and opened it. At the door was a buffalo, though nothing like the ones back home. This one wore what I could only akin to some wear of the native american tribes. This caused both of us to raise an eyebrow as the Sheriff introduced us. “This’s Little Strongheart. She can take you to th’ tribal lands to speak with the Chief. It ain’t too far out of town, but Ah think that a guide will do quite nicely.” Ophi gave a nod. “Thank you, Sheriff. We’ll be back with news on what we find.” I gave a shrug as I followed the two girls out the door. We had much the same approach with Manehattan, and that had worked out. I kept pace as Little Strongheat led the way. After a while, she tried to make some small talk. “So, you two. Aside from finding the ones we think we’ve spotted, was there any other motive for you to come here?” I shook my head. “Nope. We’ll be out of your hair once we find the other humans here. We won’t stick around.” Little Strongheart gave a pause before she replied. “I believe you, but the same might not be so for our Chief. It’s him you need to convince to let you go into the area that they have been spotted. If he doesn’t feel you are worthy, he will turn you away.” I crossed my arms. “He’ll find that I won’t take no for an answer. I’m not leaving without knowing who is there.” It wasn’t much longer that we reached the tribe’s current location. There was an absolutely massive buffalo that spoke as Little Strongheart paid respect. “So, you have brought them. Humans, can you tell me by what magic your kind have been thrust into this world?” I shook my head. “Not a clue. If I had a way back, I would take us all out of this place without reconsidering. We do not belong here in your world. But alas, we are stuck here temporarily. It is my wish to inform the ones you have seen that a way home is being worked on by Equestria. Please, will you grant my plea?” The Chief gave a smile and a chuckle. “It seems you’ve come far to find them. Very well. Your eyes confirm your tale. Come.” He started to walk, and Ophi and I followed. We walked in silence until we found a hut in the distance. He stopped. “This is as far as I go. They made that hut, the two of them. I’ve kept my people far from them, but you’ll be allowed to approach. Safe journey.” He turned and left, and Ophi and myself walked the rest of the way to the hut in silence. When we reached it, it looked more like a standard one-story house than a hut. Ophi whistled. “My word. They really built all of this by themselves? That is quite impressive…” I gave a quick nod. “I guess that these two were not going to just sit around in a dank little cave all this time.“ I knocked on the door, and waited for a few minutes. I heard the knob turn, and the one that opened the door was a black-haired girl with hazel eyes. She had on a simple blue dress and green heels. She raised an eyebrow. “Well now. So there are other humans here…” She stepped back and called into the house. “Simon! We have got guests! Human ones!” A gasp could be heard from somewhere in the house as a clamour started. She turned back to face us. “He will be out in a bit. Would you like to come in?” I was about to object when Ophi piped up. “That would be great! Thanks for the offer.” I decided to play along and we followed the girl into the house. She led us to the living room, and we each took a seat- myself on the smaller couch, Ophi on the larger one, and the girl on one of the chairs. It was not much longer before a guy with blonde hair and amber eyes came into the room, clearly this was “Simon”. He had on a black leather jacket over a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants. He opted to not wear shoes in the house, a sentiment that I understood. He looked at the girl, then to Ophi and then to me. “So these are our guests, then? What have you come here for?” Clearing my throat, I responded. “The two of us have come to inform you that a way home is being worked on by the Equestrian Government. We also extend an invitation to meet with the Princess of the land, as I have extended to others that we have found.” The girl gasped. “You have found others too? That is pretty cool! How many are there so far?” Ophi gave a gentle smile. “There are eight that we know of so far. That is including Nate and myself, of course.” Simon raised a brow. “Such a low number? That is pretty odd, is it not?” He shook his head. “Nevermind. I do believe that some proper introductions are in order. I am Simon Keithson, and the one that greeted you is my lovely girlfriend, Penelope Nelson.” At the mention, the girl had a small blush on her face as she snuggled up to him. “Simon… you are such a charmer.” This display caused my face to heat as I looked away. I couldn’t help but imagine Ophi and myself in that position someday. I pushed the thought away as I turned back to see that they had a bit of a concerned look on both of their faces, and Ophi was trying not to be uncomfortable. I took a breath and introduced us. “I am Nathan Ethrol, and the girl is my best friend, Ophelia Jakson.” I noticed that Ophi’s face twisted strangely. Her emotions were confused, if I was reading them right. Though I was pulled out of my musing when Simon next spoke. “So was that all that you came to our house for?” Ophi shook her head. “If you could oblige, we would like to take you to visit Princess Celestia now. Nate here made a promise of sorts that he would let the Princess meet any humans that we found.” The two of them looked between each other for a while before Simon got up and left. Penelope turned back to their guests. “Simon is getting his socks and shoes right now. We would be glad to help your friend keep his promise.” I gave a nod of gratitude. “That is quite thoughtful of you.” I paused while trying to calculate something to say. It was always difficult with new people… Luckily, I did not have to actually converse as I saw that Simon now wore some black sneakers. I stood up, and approached the door. I turned to see the rest of them coming my way. I opened the door, holding it for the girls as they left. I let go just as Simon was close enough to push it so it didn’t close on him. After he was out, he looked at me incredulously. “What is the big idea?” I shrugged. “I do not hold doors for fellow guys. Feels sorta weird to do so.” We were cut off from our musings when a flying chariot came down. I raised an eyebrow as it landed in front of us. Celestia exited the chariot, much to my surprise. She looked at the two other humans, who were a bit in shock. “Nathan. So you found more humans… sorry that I did not wait for you to come to Canterlot to meet with me, but… I am going to be swamped with other meetings until nightfall, so I thought I should come to you to save you some time. “ Simon regained his faculties first. “So you are Princess Celestia? And here I thought you might be a bit taller… Still taller than the ponies that we’ve caught glimpses of in town, though.” Penelope elbowed her boyfriend. “Simon! Don’t be rude. We are guests here.” She curtsied. “Sorry about him. I hope you don’t mind us building a shelter on your land…” A soft smile on her face, Celestia shook her head. “Not at all. As long as the Buffalo approve, that is all that matters.” She turned to look at Ophi and myself. “Nathan and Ophelia. I have some good news. We have made considerable progress on the sky portal study. We should be able to return you and the other humans home on the 23rd of May, at the latest. Much closer than the last time that we spoke, and much more concrete.” I was speechless for a bit, and blinked. I gathered my composure and tried to play it cool. “Well, thanks for the update on that. At least now we have got a somewhat more reasonable window. I would hate to have any of us stay longer than absolutely necessary.” Celestia gave a nod, and turned to face the new humans. “So, you two. I would like to know your names.” Penelope stood with a smile. “My name is Penelope Nelson, and the guy is my boyfriend, Simon Keithson.” Celestia had a sly smile on her face. “Oh? Were you two dating before you came here?” Both of them blushed a bit, and Simon chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, we had just started dating shortly before winding up here. Let me tell you… being in an unfamiliar place like this after only barely becoming a couple… it has been quite strenuous on us. Though, I think that after we go and introduce ourselves to the town, things might change.” A clearing of a throat could be heard from the chariot, and Celestia let out a sigh. “It seems that I do not have time for much else right now. I will be seeing all of you later.” She turned and went back to the chariot and climbed inside. It lifted off, and flew off into the distance. Ophi turned to our erstwhile companions. “Well, that was a bit unexpected… At least let us take you to visit with the sheriff of Appaloosa.” The two of them nodded, and followed us to the Buffalo tribe camp. Once there, Chief Thunderhooves approached us. “So, will you be taking your fellow humans into town?” I gave a small nod. “Yes. I don’t know if they would want to leave the house they built behind, though. They can discuss the details with you later if they so wish. We had best be off.” I turned in the direction from which we approached the camp for the first time and started walking. Ophi called out. “Don’t you think that we should let somebody guide us back to town?” I shook my head. “I am pretty good with directions, I will have you know. I know which way to go.” I waited until the others caught up, and then the four of us traversed the path back to town. The silence was a bit much, so Penelope asked us something. “So, where are you two from? We’re from Idaho.” Ophi smiled. “That is pretty close to where we’re from! We’re from Utah!” Simon raised an eyebrow. “That is one crazy coincidence. What are the chances of that?” After a small chuckle, I enlightened him. “Astronomically small, especially since all the other ones we’ve found have been from Utah. It makes one consider that it might not be just a coincidence.” The conversation died down after a while, and we arrived back in town. The ponies’ reaction to the two new humans was somewhat amusing, but we had other business to attend to. We made out way to the Sheriff’s Office and went inside. Sheriff Silverstar raised an eyebrow. “So ya found th’ resident humans of th’ Buffalo lands? Will they be stayin’ in these parts, or are they goin’ with you back to Ponyville? Simon spoke up to answer. “We would like to stay here for now. We will have to ask the Buffalo to help us move our house to be between the town and the tribe’s camp, but it should be worth it. If you have any jobs that require some building, just let me know. I am pretty good with that.” Penelope looked to the sheriff. “What he means is that we would like to repay your kindness for the offer to stay. We will work hard.” After collecting himself, Sheriff Silverstar let himself grin. “You two are gonna be mighty welcome here now. Don’t you go hidin’ again, now!” Simon chuckled, shaking his head. “No problem with that, we do not plan on it.” Then the four of us exited the office. I looked to the two of them. “Well, this is where we part ways, at least for now. Be seeing you around, I guess.” Ophi waved at them as they walked off, and we went back to the train station. We saw that Applejack was waiting for us, and she called out as we approached. “So, you two ain’t takin’ ‘em t’ Canterlot t’ see Celestia?” We approached, and Ophi explained. “Well, Celestia actually dropped by, so we did not have to go out of  our way to go to her today. That was certainly a bit different…” I made my way to the train, and the two of them hurried to follow. The conductor punched another hole in each of our tickets, and we found places to sit down. The train started up, and for a while the three of us were silent. Applejack tried to break the silence. “So, Nathan. Are ya sure that yer content wit helpin’ me wit th’ apple sales? Ain’t there anythin’ that yu’d rather have earn ya money?” I blinked at that, and tried to compose myself. I had something I’d rather do, sure, but… I shook my head. “I do not think that I want my dream career to start here in Equestria, thanks. I will wait until I get back home to push for that.” Ophi nodded in agreement. “I am much the same on that front. It just… wouldn’t feel right to start my career here. Do you get what I mean?” Applejack considered that for a moment until it clicked in her head. “Ah guess that makes some sense. Yu’d rather gain fame back in yer home world rather than a planet that ya will be leavin’ behind.” After a sigh of relief escaped me, I turned to look out the window. There was so much to think about, now. How exactly had we all been drawn to Equestria? Was it truly just a cosmic accident? Or was there some design behind it all? To be honest, I was having a hard time arguing for it being the former any longer. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hardly noticed when the train came to a stop. It took Ophi calling my name to snap me out of it. “Nate!” I turned a bit blearily, but shook myself out of it. “Hm? Oh, sorry. I was just… thinking.” I stood up, and the three of us made our way off of the train. Applejack looked to see the sky dimming. She turned towards me. “Alright, Nathan. Let’s be off. Dinner’s going to be soon.” I gave a nod and followed. I stopped after a bit and turned to wave a t Ophi. “See you tomorrow.” It took all of my effort to not blush, but I managed. She smiled. “See you.” She walked off, and I turned and went off towards the farm. I went inside to have some dinner, and I left the house and went to the barn. I braced the door and changed into my pajamas. I rolled up my day clothes and put them in the drawer. I hadn’t drawn all day, so I decided to rectify that. I grabbed my sketchpad and a pencil from my backpack. I then proceeded to draw. My hand glided across the page, and a familiar face started to form. Harold. I hadn’t found him yet, but it was only a matter of time now. I smiled at the finished picture. “I’ll see you soon… old friend.” Elsewhere, on the west coast of Equestria… A man stretches a bit, wearing a smock sewn of palm leaves. He looks around the beachside cave, and sighs causing his ginger hair to bob. His green eyes fall upon the girl in their makeshift kitchen. She had dyed her hair blue, and she was wearing a simple dress sewn from palm leaves. He spoke to her. “Amanda, how’s dinner coming along?” She sighed and looked back with her brown eyes. “I’m working on it, Harold. This is not as easy as I make it look, you know.” A nod of understanding came from him as he turned back to what he’d been doing. He lightly dusted the table-like stone as his mind wandered. Earlier this morning, he had felt it again. The presence of his old best friend, Nathan. At the thought of him, Harold grimaced. How long had it been since he was forced to move away? Almost eight years, if he recalled right. He had departed without explanation, and that was what caused him to wonder about what Nathan’s reaction would be when they eventually met again. He knew that Nathan was likely to at least be mildly upset, that much was certain. He sighed as he finished dusting off the “table”. He went over to a makeshift cabinet and opened it. He pulled out two plates that they had salvaged, and set them on the table. He shut the “cabinet”, and went to the indent in the stone wall that they had been using to store the silverware that they had salvaged. He opened it and took out all of the silverware and set the table. He shut the “drawer” and sat down just as Amanda had finished cooking their meal. She brought over the massive fish that had beached itself and the herbs that Harold had picked. Harold cut up the fish with his knife, and they split it amongst themselves. They ate in silence, as they really did not talk to each other all that much. Harold thought back to how the two of them had first met. Harold was on his way back to Utah to see if he could find Nathan again. He happened to see her in quite a precarious situation and he took her away from that. After that, they immediately fell into this strange world. When they found the cave, they did get to know each other a bit. Apparently Amanda was also looking for an old friend. She was hoping to apologize for treating her so badly, and perhaps explain herself. Though, ever since then, the two of them hardly ever spoke to each other. That was most likely because they were too focused on keeping themselves alive out here. They finished up eating, and harold picked up the dishes carefully. He made his way out of the cave, not forgetting to pick up the cleaning supplies that had been in his backpack. He went out and found a spring of fresh water that was nearby. He proceeded to wash the dishes as he cast his mind back to that day. How had their luck been so rotten as to drop them in the ocean? They had lost quite a bit of their supplies that way, not to mention it ruined Harold’s backpack beyond repair. They had salvaged a few things from when they washed up on shore, but it had not been much. Luckily they could scavenge this place pretty well, so that was a plus. He just wished that they had found more supplies. He dried off the dishes, and brought them back into the cave with the cleaning supplies. He put the dishes away, not seeing Amanda anywhere. He sighed as he placed the cleaning supplies back where they kept them. He made his way to the portion the was his “room”. He closed the makeshift door, and found the mat that he had made from leaves. He lied down on it and sighed. Their journey had tested them much, but in the end it would be worth it… or at least, he hoped that it would be. He spoke to himself. “Nathan. I will find you. I never meant to leave, you know. If I had managed to find a way to stay…” He shook his head. “That does not change our situation. I will find a way, somehow. Just keep waiting for me… alright?” He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.