Finding A Purpose | Parts 18B - 25A
Early in the morning, you are awakened by the chime of your bedside clock announcing the coming sunrise in 15 minutes.
You groan as you roll onto your side and close to your eyes to continue resting until the sun rises.
All too soon, your bedroom fills with light as the gentle sunlight filters through the windows.
Lifting up your arms, you breathe in deeply and stretch while you begin to wake up, soon followed by letting your arms fall back to the bed. Your mind wanders as you begin to think about what you're going to do today.
However, your thoughts are interrupted as you hear the gentle sound of hooves clopping against the wooden flooring of the hallway.
You listen carefully as the sound draws closer to your bedroom door, before moving past it, followed by the sound of the bathroom door closing.
It sounds like Notaulix is able to walk around just fine now, you think to yourself.
You lazily climb out of bed and stretch your muscles further in an effort to wake yourself up before putting some fresh clothes on.
After doing so, you open your bedroom door and step out into the hallway, where you hear the sound of the shower coming from the bathroom.
You wonder how long Notaulix may have gone without a proper bath prior to meeting you... Thinking back to it, he was indeed quite dirty.
Regardless of that, it makes you happy to be able to help the poor changeling out by sharing your home with him. If nothing else, it's certainly the most interesting thing that has happened to you in awhile here in Equestria.
You walk the short distance down the hallway until you arrive at the living room, where you make your way over to the fireplace.
In no time at all, you quickly get a new fire burning in the fireplace, which begins to fill the room with warmth.
Afterwards, you make your way over to the kitchen area, where you lean on one of the counters as you look through a window at the cold yet sunny morning outside.
Thinking about what to do next, you decide that perhaps Notaulix would enjoy helping you make breakfast. Maybe it would make him feel useful?
After taking some time to think about it, you conclude that pancakes would be a safe and simple option. Everyone enjoys pancakes, right?
While you wait for the changeling to finish up in the bathroom, you get to work by pulling out a large bowl and a skillet, along with the necessary ingredients.
You set out the large bowl and the ingredients on the counter, while you place the skillet on the stove top.
Basic preparations complete, you walk back over to the entrance of the kitchen, where you look down the hallway towards the bathroom door.
Notaulix should be out any minute now, you think to yourself as you go to tend the fireplace while you patiently wait for him.
Soon enough, you hear the sound of the bathroom door opening and his hooves clopping against the hallway floorboards.
You watch as Notaulix steps into the living room, where he stops and stares with a curious expression upon noticing you.
"Morning." You begin as you wave at the changeling with your hand. "Did you sleep well at all?" You ask.
"Good morning Anon! Yes, I slept very well... It's the best sleep I've been able to have in many nights." He says with a smile as he moves closer to you by the warm fireplace.
"I'm glad to hear that." You say with a smile of your own as you watch Notaulix sit next to you by the fireplace.
You take a moment to stare at the changelings smooth, black body, which now almost seems to shine in a way now that its clean.
As you look, your mind begins to wander and consider how changelings appear to be very similar to ponies, besides the obvious differences like the eyes and the lack of a fur coat.
You wonder how changelings are supposed to stay warm, or what exactly their bodies feel like. You didn't really pay attention to such things during the brief moments that you touched Notaulix earlier.
Regardless, you push those thoughts to the side as your growling stomach brings you back to the task at hand.
"So, I was thinking... Would you like to help me make breakfast?" You ask Notaulix.
"H-Help you...? I would love to!" He responds as he happily beams up at you.
"Great! Let's go get started." You say as you both move over to the kitchen counters where everything is laid out.
As you arrive there, however, you realize a small problem as you look down at the happy changeling looking up at you expectantly...
Being a comparatively tall human in a land of mostly little ponies that are about half your height came with its own challenges for accommodating your housing needs.
Everything the ponies normally built had to understandably be scaled up for you, or else you would be constantly stooping over to use everything.
In the case of your kitchen, the countertops were built up to a comfortable height for you, and your pony-sized stove had to be placed on a built-in platform to raise it up.
This normally wouldn't be a problem, except that your eager helper has no good way to manage what's going on up on the countertops without putting an unnecessary strain on his still recovering body.
The situation reminds you of a scene back home on Earth, of a large dog in the kitchen waiting expectantly for a scrap to fall to the floor, making you smile.
Still, you need to figure something out... You take a moment to consider the best way to make Notaulix feel useful without straining his body.
"Uhh... I suppose the height of my countertops is a bit of a problem, isn't it? Do you mind if I lift you up here? I don't want you to strain yourself just to help me." You say to Notaulix.
"I don't mind... I'm sorry you have to do all of these things for me." Notaulix says as he looks away from you with a slight frown.
"Hey, I'm doing these things for you because I want to. We'll get you back to your full strength in no time." You say as you kneel down in preparation to pick the changeling up.
"Okay... Thank you." Notaulix says as he looks back at you with a smile.
Reaching out with both hands, you decide to grab hold of Notaulix behind his forelegs, in the same manner that you might lift a dog or cat.
As you do so, you take note of how his body is warm to the touch, and appears to have a thick, tough skin, the closest thing it reminds you of being a soft leather of sorts.
"Up we go!" You say as you rise up, lifting the changeling up into the air, which causes his hind legs to dangle below him in a humorous way.
Lifting Notaulix proves to be a surprisingly easy task, the light weight of the changeling is another reminder of his malnutrition, making you feel bad for him.
You hold Notaulix over the counter as he raises his hind legs before setting his rear hooves down on the countertop, followed by his front hooves as you ease him down.
"Now I'm taller than you!" Notaulix says as he turns to face you with a big smile.
"Yes you are." You say in response as you look up slightly at the happy changeling. Standing on the countertop, Notaulix's withers come up approximately to eye level.
As you look at him, you create the mental image of a Celestia-sized changeling, which you can't help but find the very thought of intimidating.
You wonder if such a thing even exists... You make a mental note to ask Notaulix about that later.
"How do you want me to help?" Notaulix asks you.
"Right. Here's what we're going to do; I'm going to add all the ingredients to this bowl here, and you're going to mix it together for me. Does that sound good?" You respond.
"Okay!" Notaulix happily responds as his horn begins to lightly glow. You watch as his green magical aura envelops a large wooden spoon that you placed next to the mixing bowl, lifting it into the air.
You get to work adding the wet and dry ingredients to the mixing bowl, before placing the bowl in front of the changeling.
"Alright, there you go. Mix it together now." You say as you begin putting the various ingredients back in their proper locations.
Notaulix immediately gets to work vigorously mixing the ingredients together with a big smile on his face, making a bit of a mess in the process.
"Woah, slow down there a little!" You say with a chuckle as you watch the eager changeling.
"Hehehe! I'm sorry... It just makes me feel really good to be useful!" Notaulix says as he slows his stirring down a bit.
You finish putting all the unnecessary things away as you make your way back to the stove to begin heating the skillet up.
Soon enough, the skillet is hot and Notaulix has stirred up a nice and smooth pancake batter.
"Alright, that looks great! Just put that spoon in the sink over there." You say as you slide the bowl of pancake batter over to the stove.
Notaulix promptly levitates the wooden spoon over to the sink before moving closer to the stove to watch what you do intently.
Taking a ladle, you begin to scoop up the pancake batter and pour it onto the skillet, making each pancake one by one.
Notaulix proceeds to sit on his haunches as he watches you cook the pancakes with a happy expression on his face.
You can't help but notice that Notaulix is indeed a male, as him sitting in his raised position on the countertop gives you a clear view of the sheath and testicles nestled between his hind legs, exactly like a stallions.
You neither pay much attention to this nor really care, however, as you've grown used to catching glimpses of the private bits of mares and stallions in your time here in Equestria.
Clothing is the exception here, not the norm, after all.
As each pancake is finished cooking, you place them on a plate in the oven to keep them nice and warm. Eventually, you end up with a tall stack of fluffy pancakes as you reach the end of the batter.
"Alright, now it's time to eat!" You begin as you pick Notaulix up once more before gently setting him on the floor.
"Thanks for helping me out there, Notaulix, I appreciate it. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable on the couch, I'll bring the food over." You say to him.
"Great! It smells delicious!" The happy changeling says in response as he makes his way over to the sofa.
You take two plates and begin dividing up the stack of pancakes onto them, smearing each layer with the rest of the blueberry jam from yesterday. You make sure Notaulix gets a few more pancakes than yourself.
You bring the two plates of pancakes over and set them down on the table in front of the couch. You also place the vitamin potion that you bought yesterday next to Notaulix's plate.
"What is that?" Notaulix asks in a curious tone as he points at the small vial with one of his forehooves.
"It's... some sort of potion that is frequently given to sick or injured ponies to help their bodies recover and heal. I bought it for you at the market yesterday, figured you could use one." You answer.
"You did...?" Notaulix begins as he looks down with a small smile as his ears droop. "You're doing so much for me, a changeling, Anon... I don't know how to keep thanking you..." He quietly says.
"Ah, don't worry about that. Drink that potion down real quick and dig into these pancakes while they're still nice and hot." You say while you pick up your own plate and a fork.
Notaulix simply nods with a smile as he does just so. Soon, the sounds of a warm, crackling fireplace and forks clanging against plates are what fill the room as you both begin to enjoy your breakfast.
You both enjoy your breakfast in relative silence, broken only by Notaulix commenting on how delicious the pancakes are, and you getting up to put more wood on the fire.
After finishing your meal, you decide that it's time to discuss what Notaulix's plans for the future are before anything else.
"Hey, Notaulix?" You say to the changeling.
"Yes Anon?" Notaulix responds, perking up as he focuses his attention on you.
"Well... I think before we go any further, we should discuss what the plan for the future is." You say.
"The future? What do you mean?" Notaulix asks as he tilts his head to the side slightly.
"I'm talking about you. I want to help you recover and regain your strength... But then what?" You ask him.
Notaulix's expression changes to a worried one as his ears droop slightly as he thinks about your question for a moment.
"D-Do... Do you want me to leave?" He responds in a slightly sad tone.
"Oh! No, no, I didn't mean that! If you want to leave after you're all better, that's fine, but I don't mind you staying with me, really. It's... nice having some company around." You say.
"Oh... I see." Notaulix says, seemingly relieved by your answer.
"Now, what I was trying to get at is... What do you want to do? From what you told me yesterday it sounds like you're not going to be able to go back to your hive, so wouldn't you like to have a job or something that you could do around here?" You ask him.
"Yes, I would love to have a job! That way I could be useful to somepony!" Notaulix happily responds.
You can't help but smile at the changelings eager attitude. You can really tell just in the short time you've known him that having a clear purpose in life is extremely important to Notaulix.
In the back of your mind, you wonder if that is true of all changelings.
"Well, that's great! The question, however, is what? You could find work in Ponyville, but that would require you to be transformed all the time, or..." You trail off as you think carefully about the subject.
Notaulix stares at you in silence, awaiting whatever else you may have to suggest.
Suddenly, an obvious idea crosses your mind... You know that no pony would want such a job even if it was the last one in the world... Thankfully, Notaulix isn't a pony.
"...Actually, you know what? What do you think about working with me?" You ask Notaulix.
"What do you mean?" He asks, somewhat confused by your question.
"Heh, do you think I wander around the Everfree just for the fun of it?" You begin with a chuckle. "I forage throughout the Everfree Forest, typically for rare and magical plants, herbs and mushrooms that the ponies use in potions and other crafts." You explain.
"Oh! So that's what you meant! You said that you needed to visit Ponyville to sell things when you brought me to your home yesterday." Notaulix says with a warm smile.
"Yep. I was a few hours into a trip through a section of the forest when I stumbled upon you. You could help me gather things to sell, and you would almost never need to be transformed once we got to the forest, as ponies very rarely ever go there. They're scared of the place. Plus... I think it would be nice to have someone else with me; you know as well as anyone how quickly you can get yourself into a bad situation." You explain to Notaulix.
"That's a great idea! I would love to help you! But, I... I don't really know anything about the Everfree Forest, or magical plants and mushrooms, or..." Notaulix trails off, looking disappointed as his ears droop.
"Hmm... I didn't know anything about those things either when I arrived here, but the ponies gave me books that I learned a lot from. I can teach you what I know." You say to him.
"R-Really? You would take the time to teach me?" Notaulix says in a surprised tone as he perks back up.
"Sure! We have plenty of time, it's not like you're in any shape to start heading out there anyway. You need to let your body recover first." You say with a smile.
"Thank you Anon! Yes, I would love to help you! I will try my best to learn everything that I need to know!" Notaulix enthusiastically says with a big, eager smile as his wings twitch in excitement.
"Great! I'm sure you'll have no trouble learning, Notaulix. It's really not that complicated. I'm looking forward to working with you." You say to the happy changeling.
As you look at Notaulix, you can't help but feel happy yourself, knowing that you're helping him to have another shot at life.
"When can you start teaching me?" Notaulix asks."
"Uhh... Just about anytime that we're sitting around I guess. Though some days I'll be heading into the forest, or I may have errands to run... I usually head into Ponyville at least once a day, too." You respond.
"Okay, I understand." Notaulix says.
Silence falls upon you as you begin to think about the future and the best way to teach Notaulix. You take the opportunity to get up and put another log in the fireplace.
"How are you doing, anyway?" You ask Notaulix after putting more wood in the fireplace.
"How am I doing?" Notaulix responds in a confused tone.
"Your recovery. How is your body doing? And what about the whole... uh... love thing? You did say that there's love to feed from the kindness I'm showing you, right? Are you getting enough?" You clarify to him.
"Oh, I see! Yes, I'm feeling much better already thanks to you, Anon. There is more than enough love from you for me to live off of. If I use my magic sparingly, my body might even be able to return to normal given enough time... I wish everypony would treat us changelings with as much kindness as you have. My hive brothers and sisters would be very envious if they knew how fortunate I am, or even my Queen herself!" Notaulix says, nodding lightly for emphasis.
"Even your Queen, huh?" You say as you pause for a moment to think about what Notaulix just said. You wonder what sort of appearance a Queen Changeling might have.
"Either way, I'm glad you're doing well. You'll be ready to head out with me in no time." You continue.
"Mhm!" Notaulix nods in agreement.
"But before then, we need to get you up to speed with the forest. Do you feel like being introduced to those books right now?" You ask him.
"Yes please! I would like that." Notaulix answers.
"Alright then, just give me a few minutes while I go grab them." You say to him as you move forward and gather up the dishes from your breakfast.
"Okay." Notaulix responds as he watches you move about.
After depositing the dishes by the kitchen sink, you make your way towards where you currently keep your books at, which is your bedroom.
You pick out the relevant books, appreciating the kindness of Twilight Sparkle for giving you them on permanent loan from the library as you do so.
She reasoned that you're probably the only one in Ponyville who would be interested in them besides her, and she had already read them many times over.
That's probably not too far from the truth, you think to yourself.
The books range from simple history lessons on the Everfree Forest itself, to an old, luxuriously illustrated compendium of the then-known flora and fauna of the forest.
Without a doubt, the compendium was the most useful of all the books to you, and is one that you still frequently return to for refreshing your knowledge.
However, as you've personally experienced, the compendium doesn't cover everything. The general lack of exploration means the forest still holds many undiscovered secrets to this day.
For that reason, you started a journal of sorts to document anything new or unexpected that you encounter, which you keep by your bedside.
With all the books in hand, you head back to the living room, determined to try and help Notaulix learn to teach himself from them.
Arriving at the sofa, Notaulix scoots over to accommodate both of you as you sit down next to him, setting the books on the small table in front of you as you do.
"Where do I begin?" Notaulix asks as he stares at the small stack on books on the table.
You proceed to give a brief explanation about each book and the kind of information that can be found in each one, capturing the changelings full attention as you do so.
"...and this last one here is just a book on the general history surrounding the forest. You don't necessarily need to read it, but it's interesting." You conclude.
"Wow..." Notaulix quietly says as he ponders each book that you just described to him.
"Now, where I recommend you start is..." You begin as you pick up the old compendium of flora and fauna. "...this one. If you want to learn about the plants and creatures of the Everfree, this is it." You continue.
"Let's say you want to learn about Tanglehoof Vines, which is the plant you got caught in..." You say as you open up the pages to the flora section of the book.
"Yes?" Notaulix says with a hint of excitement in his voice as he scoots a little closer to you.
"This is all alphabetical, so you find your way to T, and then... Here." You say as you turn to the page detailing the Tanglehoof Vine.
As you do so, you are caught slightly off guard when Notaulix moves in even closer to get a better look, resting his forelegs over your right leg as he peers intently into the book.
You find it a bit weird, yet endearing at the same time. You decide to roll with it by repositioning your right arm so that it gently rests on the changelings back.
Notaulix responds by turning his head to look up at you, giving you a happy smile before turning his attention back to the book.
You spend the next couple hours explaining to Notaulix how to look up everything he needs to know in the compendium, along with a few other books.
The changeling intently listens to everything you have to say, sometimes asking questions along the way.
As you do this, you occasionally get up to either use the bathroom or put another log on the fire.
However, you eventually use the last piece from the small wood box that you keep inside, signalling that its time for you to do other things while its still nice outside.
You explain this to Notaulix, and encourage him to continue reading on his own whenever he feels like it.
After doing so, you lace up your boots; a relic from back home that are looking to be in dire need of replacement soon, throw on your coat, unlock the side door and head outside.
Cool autumn air fills your lungs as you step outside, where you feel the gentle heat of the sun on your skin.
You proceed to head around your house where you have a small woodshed for splitting and storing your firewood at.
Picking up the split wood by the armful, you make a few trips back and forth until the wood box by the fireplace is filled.
Notaulix doesn't seem to pay any attention as you do this, having already gone back to being engrossed by the books.
Warming yourself by the fireplace, you begin to ponder what to do next. Being all dressed up with your boots on, it feels like a good time to do something productive outside now.
After taking some time by the warm fire to think about it, you decide that now is a good time to make a trip to Ponyville.
"Hey, Notaulix?" You say, grabbing the attention of the changeling as he looks up at you from his book.
"Yes Anon?" He responds.
"I'm going to head over to Ponyville now before it gets any later. I don't know exactly how long I'll be gone, but I'm sure you can handle yourself here, right?" You say.
"Okay... Yes, I think I'll be fine. I know where everything I might need is." Notaulix says.
"Great! I'll be back as soon as I can. Remember not to answer the door if someone comes by and knocks." You say as you begin walking over to the front door.
"Yes, I remember." Notaulix says in response.
Before you reach the front door, however, you pause and turn your head towards Notaulix again.
"Oh, do you want me to get you anything specific while I'm out?" You ask him.
"Anon..." Notaulix begins as he turns his head towards you, looking embarrassed as his ears droop to the side.
"I can't ask for anything when you are already doing so much for me... I'm grateful for anything that you get for me." He continues.
"Are you sure? It really isn't a problem." You ask the bashful changeling.
"Yes, I'm sure." He responds with a gentle nod.
"Well... Okay then." You say as you arrive at the front door.
You proceed to put your backpack on and clip your bit bag to your belt before heading outside, locking the door behind you as you do so. Afterwards, you set out walking down the dirt road towards Ponyville, eager to enjoy the beautiful sunny day.
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Here's a thought, what if Notaulix shapeshift and follows?
This is so wholesome.
more proof changelings are for cuddling, such an innocent little bug~
edit: did not see it was M rated, now i'm scared for the safety of the cuddle bug
B-but M category?
It should be in T only...
The to should be no.
Came across this completely by accident.
Interesting so far. You got a follower.
The Monk
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I'm sure it's because several of the regular participants have been wanting to steer it into a gay romance.
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The M rating is just a safety blanket for any future content. Nothing explicit has happened yet, but that may change in the future since the readers choose how to progress.
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Good catch, thanks! It's been fixed.
This is surprisingly cute. Loving your changebuggo character, too.
How cute!, i would love to see them cuddle at some point
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I can’t blame them and also same
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Lewd