Not long into your journey home to Ponyville, Twilight turns her attention towards you. "So tell me Anon, what did you find in the shops?" Twilight asks.
"Ohhh, just some food and stuff for around home. Among other things, I found a great cheese shop." You answer her.
"What kind of cheese did you get?" She asks.
"Some Pepper Jack and Mozzarella. I've been thinking about expanding my cooking skills lately... Think you and Spike would be interested in being taste testers for a quiche?" You ask in return.
"That sounds great, Anon! I'm sure Spike would love it." Twilight answers. "Mmm... I can imagine it. You're going to make me hungry before we return to Ponyville." She adds with a giggle.
"Would you like to borrow a cookbook? The library has quite a few of them." Twilight asks you after a several second pause.
"Maybe in a couple weeks. I'd like to read through the ones I just borrowed and return them before I borrow any more." You answer.
"Understandable. Either way, you know where to find them." Twilight says.
"Yes I do, and I know a certain bookworm that can help me find the right one, too." You say, prompting Twilight to smile at you.
Silence falls between the two of you as you return to staring out the windows of the train. Eventually, a thought returns to your mind...
"Hey Twilight?" You say, bringing the purple unicorn mares attention back to you.
"Yes, Anon?" She responds.
"I almost forgot. Yesterday after we had tea with the Princess, I heard her start talking to you as I was heading back to my guest room, but I could have sworn that I heard her mention my name. Mind filling me in?" You ask her.
"Oh, that? Princess Celestia simply asked me how life was going for you in Ponyville, and if you had made any new friends recently." Twilight answers.
"And? How do you think I'm doing lately?" You ask, now slightly curious.
"I think you're doing wonderful, Anon!" Twilight happily answers. "While I don't think you've made any new friends recently, you've continued to grow the many great friendships that you already have." She says.
"Above all, you've really carved out a spot for yourself in the community, Anon. You belong in Ponyville just as much as anypony." Twilight adds while nodding for emphasis.
"Aww, thanks Twilight. I'm just doing what I can... Which according to the Princesses is far more valued than I could ever have imagined." You say
"It's true, Anon! Even though we really worry about you, nopony can deny that you're doing a wonderful thing that affects everypony in the land." Twilight reassures you.
"I guess I just didn't realize the true value of some of the things I was harvesting. I knew many of them were medicinal, but I never really imagined that they could be used for serious, life saving medicine." You say.
"Just think, Anon; the things you have brought out from the Everfree Forest may have already been used to save a ponies life. Isn't that great?" Twilight asks you.
"Hmm..." You muse with a satisfied look on your face as you return to looking out the window, pondering over what Twilight and the Princesses have said to you.
The rest of the train ride to Ponyville proves to be uneventful, with you and Twilight only engaging in some occasional small talk about the visit to Canterlot.
Eventually the train comes to a stop at the familiar sight of the Ponyville train station, followed by you and Twilight departing the it.
"So what are you going to go do now, Anon?" Twilight asks as the two of you stand on the train platform.
"I want to make a quick stop back at home first... After that I'll come back into town and do a little shopping at the market for dinner. You?" You ask in return.
"First thing I'm going to do is go and find Spike and see how he's doing." Twilight answers.
"Alright then, I'll let you get to it. See you later!" You say with the wave of a hand as you begin walking away.
"Bye Anon!" Twilight says as she does the same.
The walk through town to the other side of Ponyville is uneventful. You're always hit with the reminder of just how peaceful and quiet it is here whenever you've gone on a trip to Canterlot.
That being said, even the center of Canterlot is like a peaceful walk through a park compared to the cities of your old world.
Once you make your way through Ponyville and arrive at the familiar dirt road to your home, you pick up your pace into a jog, eager to see how Notaulix is doing.
Approaching your home, you find it appears from the outside to be just as you left it. The curtains are closed, and no smoke comes up from the chimney.
You stop at your mailbox to check it, and upon finding you have no mail, walk up to the front door.
After unlocking it, you open the door and step inside before closing and locking the door behind you.
"Hey Notaulix, I'm back." You call out as you examine your surroundings.
Looking down the hallway, you find the bedroom doors closed, while the bathroom door is slightly open.
Moving into the living room and kitchen area, you discover that Notaulix is nowhere to be seen.
Walking up to the sofa and low table, you find a couple books, a blanket, and an empty tin of crackers and an empty glass strewn about on the two pieces of furniture.
"Notaulix?" You call out in a louder voice, to which you hear no response.
Feeling a bit worried, you decide to check your bedroom first for the absent changeling.
Upon opening the door to your room, however, all your worries disappear when you find Notaulix to be peacefully resting in your bed.
In fact, on closer inspection as you quietly walk to the side of the bed, you find him to be sound asleep.
The only thing you hear is the quiet sound of Notaulix breathing as the bed sheets slowly rise and fall with each breath.
You can't help but smile at how comfortable Notaulix looks, all snuggled in with the bed sheets pulled up around his neck, while his head rests on your pillow.
Feeling conflicted, you stand in place as you try to decide whether to wake him up or not.
You know that if you're going to make a quick trip back to Ponyville, you'll need to drag out the box you store your bits in from underneath the bed, which would no doubt wake the sleeping changeling.
You decide to let Notaulix rest a little longer, so you quietly make your way back out of your bedroom, gently closing the door as you do so.
While the house doesn't feel particularly cold, you set out to get a fresh fire going in the fireplace, just to keep things a little warmer come nightfall.
After cleaning out the fireplace and scooping the ash out into a metal bucket, you start a new fire that you quickly build up into a nice crackling blaze.
Moving on from that, you take a moment in the kitchen to unload your purchased foodstuff. The bag of crackers go on a counter, while the cheese is placed in an appropriately cool location to keep it fresh.
You also do a quick look-over of the pantry and kitchen counters to see what Notaulix ate while you were gone.
Unsurprisingly, the rest of the apple pie and the cookies are nowhere to be found. In addition, it would appear that Notaulix has wiped you out of easy to eat things like crackers and fruit.
Having taken a mental note of things you need to buy in Ponyville, you turn your attention to the sofa and small table, which ended up being a bit messy.
You slide the books ribbon markers to their current pages before closing them, neatly fold the blanket, fluff the pillows, and return the empty cracker tin and drinking glass to the kitchen.
Returning with a small dustpan and brush, you clean up some cracker crumbs and other little bits of foodstuff from the floor and sofa.
Having done everything that you can think of, you decide to return to your bedroom in order to wake Notaulix up. You know he'll no doubt have trouble sleeping tonight if he sleeps too much during the day.
Quietly, you open the door to your room and walk inside, finding that Notaulix is still peacefully sleeping.
Walking over to the side of the bed Notaulix is laying on, which happens to be where you normally sleep, you kneel down in preparation to wake the sleepy changeling up.
Reaching out, you rest a hand on the bed sheets over Notaulix's side. "Hey there sleepy... It's time to wake up, I'm back." You say to Notaulix as you gently shake him with your hand.
"Mmmff..." Notaulix groans as he begins to stir. The changeling lifts his head from the pillow before letting out a big yawn. Afterwards, he cranes his neck to look over his back in order to see you.
"Anon... You've returned." Notaulix says with a warm smile and an expression that reads as being completely at ease.
You can't help but chuckle, finding Notaulix's behavior to be a bit silly. "Yeah, I'm back. Has everything been fine here? Are you okay? I'm kind of surprised you're still sleeping at this hour." You say to him.
"Mhm. Everything has been fine, though the food I've been eating doesn't taste as good as the food we make together." Notaulix answers.
"...Except the pie. And the... Cookies? That is what you called them, right? Those were amazing..." He adds.
"And... I don't know how to praise this bed enough, Anon. It feels like nothing I've ever experienced before. So warm, soft and comforting... How can you possibly rise from this every morning?" Notaulix asks you.
"You get used to it, I guess. I'll agree with you that it's a wonderful bed, though." You answer him with an amused smile.
"Anyway, I know you're really comfy right now, but you should really get out of bed before the day gets any later. You won't be able to get to sleep tonight if you don't." You say to him.
"Okay Anon, I'll be right up..." Notaulix says before flopping his head back onto the pillow.
You stand up and watch the changeling for several seconds, which then turn into minutes as Notaulix shows no signs of rousing himself from the comforts of your bed.
Did he fall asleep again? You think to yourself.
Letting out a small sigh, you get back down on your knees and reach under your bed to drag out the small wooden box which you store your bits in.
Opening it up, you proceed to fill up your bit bag with approximately fifty bits. Looking at what remains in the box, you would guess that you have around two hundred bits left.
"What are you doing, Anon?" Notaulix asks you.
Looking up, you find Notaulix to have turned over in order to look directly at you with a curious expression.
"Just filling up my bit bag. I need to make a quick trip to Ponyville to pick up some stuff for us to eat." You explain to him.
"Oh... Is that what ponies trade with? I think I remember some of my hive sisters mentioning bits." Notaulix says as he picks out one of the small golden coins from the box with his magic in order to inspect it.
"More or less, yep. Gems and a few other things are sometimes used, but that coin is the standard currency here." You say to Notaulix.
"Interesting. That's good to know." Notaulix says, followed by depositing the coin back into the box.
"Sooo..." You begin as you close the wooden box and slide it back under the bed, before rising to your feet once more.
"I'm going to head back out now, okay? There's a nice, warm fire going in the living room now if you want to relax there and read your books." You say to him.
"Okay Anon, I will." Notaulix responds.
You begin to walk out of the room when you pause and turn your attention back to Notaulix. "By the way, we're going to have something special for dinner tonight, if I can find what I need in town." You say.
"R-Really?!" Notaulix says excitedly as his ears perk up to attention. "If the delicious food you've shown me so far has been normal, I can't wait to see what's special!" He adds.
"You'll see." You say with a smile before departing the room into the hallway.
After taking your backpack and emptying your dirty clothes into the basket in the bathroom, you are left with the special saddlebag resting in the bottom of your backpack.
Walking back into the hallway, you are left with the question of what to do with the saddlebag now. You're not sure if it would be better to show it to Notaulix now, or to save it as a surprise for when he's ready to help you.
Glancing over at the door to the unused bedroom, you recall that there is an empty closet you could keep the saddlebag in, if you wanted to save it as a surprise.
In the end, you decide to simply leave it in your backpack and save it for a surprise after dinner.
With a plan in mind, you head back outside while locking the front door behind you, before setting out on the dirt road to Ponyville.
You feel like you have a spring in your step as you enjoy the sunny, mid-afternoon weather.
Now that you've returned home, you feel completely at ease. The trip to Canterlot went very well, and Notaulix is safe and sound and seemingly in good spirits.
Today feels like one of those perfect days, especially with the dinner that you have in mind. Assuming you can get what you need for it, of course.
While walking down the dirt road, you continue to think about where you're going to stop at first once you reach Ponyville.
The trip to Ponyville that follows is uneventful, yet productive.
With a specific plan for dinner in mind, you set out to the marketplace and a couple different stores in search of the things that you needed.
Thankfully, everything that you wanted was available for sale. In addition, you picked up some other goods, mainly to restock what Notaulix ate while you were gone.
You also enjoyed some light conversation with Pinkie Pie, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cake during a stop at Sugarcube Corner.
All in all, your visit to Ponyville took about an hour; leaving you with time to spare before you need to get dinner started.
Having arrived back at your home, you go through the usual routine of unlocking the front door, stepping inside, and locking it once more.
"I'm back." You announce as you walk into the living room, where you see Notaulix poke his head up from the sofa.
"Welcome back, Anon!" He cheerfully greets you.
Looking over at the fireplace, you notice that Notaulix has continued to follow your instruction from before, regarding keeping the fire going while you're gone.
Because of that, the fire that you left is now down to a few glowing embers. You remedy that by stopping at the fireplace and putting some smaller wood on the hot coals.
Knowing that the fire will take off again, you walk over to the kitchen area to put the things that you bought away. "Everything been fine here while I was gone?" You ask Notaulix.
"Yes, everything has been fine." Notaulix answers. "I'm sorry that I left a mess here... Thank you for cleaning it up." He later adds.
"No need to worry about it. Just be a little more mindful of those cracker crumbs in the future." You say with a smile, prompting Notaulix to smile in return.
Having put everything away that was in your backpack besides the saddlebag, you return to the fireplace to put a proper piece of wood on the now rekindled fire.
After doing so, you walk back to the front door, where you remove your boots and hang up your bit bag and backpack.
With that being done, you make a quick stop at the bathroom, before walking back into the living room and coming to a stop by the fireplace.
Enjoying the warmth of the fire, you turn around to observe Notaulix, who is once again deeply absorbed in reading his books.
You take in a deep breath as you feel yourself begin to unwind and relax. It feels good to be home.
Looking at the nearby clock, you would guess that you have about half an hour before you should get dinner started.
Walking over to the sofa, you sit down and make yourself comfortable on the side that Notaulix isn't laying on, prompting the changeling to look behind himself to see what you're doing.
"Mind if I sit here?" You ask Notaulix, to which he simply shakes his head in response.
"Cool. Do you want to discuss what you're learning in that book? Like we did before?" You ask him.
"Yes, I would!" Notaulix responds with excitement, before repositioning himself by moving closer to you and resting his forelegs over one of your own legs.
You grab hold of the book for Notaulix, prompting him to snuggle up into a more comfortable reading position as you rest an arm on his back, just like last time.
Notaulix then proceeds to tell you about some of the things he's been learning, while asking you questions and turning the pages of the book with his magic.
This continues on for about twenty minutes, until the conversation reaches a long pause.
"You're really doing a great job picking this stuff up, Notaulix. You'll definitely do just fine when you feel ready to help me in the Everfree." You say to him.
"Thank you, Anon." Notaulix says in response as he looks up at you with a smile, clearly pleased with your commendation.
"By the way... When exactly do you think you're going to be ready to go out? There's no rush, I'm just curious." You ask.
Notaulix's happy expression turns into a neutral, if slightly troubled looking one as he looks away, bringing a forehoof up to his chin in thought.
"I... I don't know... How strong do you think I need to be?" Notaulix responds as he turns his attention back to you.
You hum in thought as you ponder the answer to Notaulix's question.
"I mean, I don't think you'd need to be in perfect shape. Strong enough to comfortably walk for a couple hours, at least." You begin.
"Actually, what would be the most important things for you is being able to fly, and being comfortable using your magic. Where do you feel that you're at regarding those two things?" You ask.
"Flying...?" Notaulix repeats as he turns his head to look at his insect-like wings, which are still riddled with holes from his magical starvation.
"If I tried really hard, I think I could fly right now. But not for very long..." Notaulix says as his ears slightly droop.
"But the more love that I'm able to take in, the more my wings will heal along with the rest of my body, making it easier to fly." He adds with a sense of positivity.
"Well that makes sense. Don't worry about the flight stuff for right now. I think the more important thing is your magic." You say.
"Especially being able to transform. That's really essential for moving back and forth from the Everfree. I know you couldn't transform yet when Twilight showed up, but..." You trail off as you think about how to phrase your next question.
"I could have transformed then... I'm sorry, Anon..." Notaulix says with a frown.
"Huh? Really? That's great, but... Why didn't you?" You ask.
"I... I-I was really afraid, Anon. I was scared that I would mess up, or I wouldn't be able to stay transformed long enough, or something else that could have happened." Notaulix answers as he looks away from you.
"Hey now, it's okay. I'm sure you would have handled it just fine." You say as you gently rub his withers in a comforting way.
"But... Do you remember when you asked me if I had ever seen a pony before?" Notaulix asks as he looks back up at you again.
"Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?" You respond.
"If I've never seen or been around ponies before, I don't know how to transform into one." Notaulix admits.
"R-Really?" You stutter in surprise. "But I thought... Didn't you say your... What did you call them? Hive sisters that lived among ponies? Didn't they tell you things about them?" You ask him.
"Yes, they did." Notaulix plainly answers.
"Okay, then couldn't they have helped you learn how to transform into one? Maybe by transforming into one themselves for you to study? I don't know..." You ask.
Notaulix's ears droop once again before responding. "Because our hive was starving, using magic for anything other than a necessity was forbidden." He responds.
"Oh, I see..." You say as a silence falls between you, during which you take in a deep breath and let out a sigh, after which a thought crosses your mind.
"So wait a moment, if you don't know how to transform into a pony... What exactly do you know how to transform into?" You ask.
"I can transform into a griffon." Notaulix answers with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"Oh really? That's actually pretty interesting. I didn't expect that, seeing as how uncommon griffons are around here... Though, you aren't from around here either, are you?" You say.
"That's beside the point though. If you can transform into a griffon, then that should be just fine." You continue.
"Yay! Have you ever seen a griffon before, Anon?" Notaulix asks you with a big smile, his wings twitching in excitement.
"Yeah, I have. From a distance. Never gotten around to meeting one up close before though. There's a couple traveling merchants that rarely visit Ponyville, who happen to be griffons." You respond.
"Why didn't you meet them?" Notaulix questions you as he tilts his head to the side.
"For starters, there's always a big crowd around them when they're set up and selling their stuff. And, well... I don't know..." You trail off as you contemplate your answer.
"...I guess I'm just a little intimidated when it comes to meeting new races, you know?" You answer.
"Notaulix, you need to understand that where I came from, us humans were the only truly intelligent race on the planet." You begin to explain.
"When I ended up here in Equestria, it was a huge shock to me to discover that there are many different intelligent races here. Even most of the wild animals here seem to have some degree of intelligence..." You continue.
"And even though the ponies were nothing but kind and generous towards me, it still took me several months to truly accept them and feel normal living among them as I learned their culture and way of life." You admit.
"During that time, I was always worried of saying or doing something that might be considered offensive to them. So... Yeah. I guess that's my reason why." You conclude.
"You were the only race where you came from? Wow... That's very hard to imagine, Anon." Notaulix says as he thinks about what you just told him.
However, his expression turns into one hinting at sadness before he begins to speak again. "Do I intimidate you, Anon?" Notaulix asks you, clearly worried.
"No, not at all." You reassure him. "I was worried the night I brought you here, since I didn't know what you might do, but you've dispelled those worries over the last few days." You say.
"I'm glad." Notaulix says, his expression softening.
You slowly nod your head a few times before changing the subject. "So how did you learn how to transform into a griffon? What brought that on?" You ask Notaulix.
"My Queen wanted a male to go with two of my hive sisters on a journey to a small griffon settlement named Talonsburg." He begins to explain.
"I was selected as a potential candidate for the mission, and was taught more about the griffons and how to transform into one." Notaulix continues.
"I wasn't the one who ended up being chosen, though..." He concludes while looking a bit disappointed.
"Why not? If you don't mind me asking." You ask.
"One of my other hive brother candidates could act like a griffon better than the rest of us, and was selected for that reason." He answers.
"That must have been disappointing for you..." You comment, to which Notaulix nods his head.
"Look at it this way though, if you were selected for that, we most likely would never have gotten to meet each other." You say in an effort to be encouraging.
Notaulix's ears perk up as he thinks about what you said before a small smile creeps back into his face.
"You're right, Anon. When you say it like that... I'm glad that I wasn't chosen." He says.
"See? There's always a bright side to things. Anyway, how long does it take you to learn how to transform into something new?" You ask.
"Most things, if they're a similar size to us, we can learn in about a day of exposure to them." Notaulix answers.
"Hmm... So do you just learn to copy one particular griffon, pony or whatever? Or can you become whatever you want of that race?" You inquire further.
"We can copy somepony if needed, which is a bit easier, but we all try to create our own unique identities." Notaulix answers.
"That makes a lot of sense. Would cause a lot of trouble if it was noticed that two of the same griffon or pony were running around, I imagine." You say, to which Notaulix simply nods in response.
"By the way, why 'somepony'? You've said that a few times now. Do all the other races use that too?" You question him.
"H-Huh?" Notaulix stutters, clearly caught a bit off guard by the question.
"That's... That's correct, isn't it? My hive sisters told me that is what the ponies of this land say... Everypony, somepony..." He trails off.
"Well yeah, but neither of us are ponies, are we? I don't mind, I was just curious." You explain.
"I... I've just been trying to use the speech that I thought you would be familiar with in this land. But you are right, Anon, you say it the way most other races do, including our own." Notaulix says.
"Everyone? Someone? Stuff like that?" You ask.
"Yes, just like that." Notaulix answers.
"Interesting, that's good to know. So anyway, if we planned a day or two, when you're ready of course, to introduce you to the ponies as a griffon, would you be able to transform into one after that?" You pose the question.
"Yes, I'm almost certain that I could. It wouldn't be perfect, but I could practice and refine it here where nobody could see. You could even help me!" Notaulix says with excitement in his voice.
"Sounds like a plan." You pause to glance at the clock to check the time. "We can talk about that more later though. How about we get that dinner started?" You suggest.
"Okay!" Notaulix says as he quickly climbs off the sofa before walking over to the kitchen area.
You do the same as you rise up and follow the enthusiastic changeling over.