Dead Space: Purpose

Isaac woke up for the second time that day, only this time without screaming from another nightmare. Instead, he woke up to the smell of another breakfast being made downstairs and was brought to reality by the grumbling of his own stomach. He shifted his body out of bed and began to feel for his suit. Once it was in hand, he pulled it on over him, with the exception of the helmet. After placing the Plasma Cutter on a magnetic clamp on his back, he opened the door and proceeded downstairs.

When he reached the ground floor, Isaac noticed a sum of things missing from a desk by the door.

'She must have left already.' Isaac thought to himself.

Turning his attention back to the kitchen, Isaac walked towards the doorway, pausing a bit in front of it before ducking underneath it. He have a small chuckle of satisfaction before turning to see that the table was set with only two meals: one larger one for him, and a small one being devoured by a familiar Dragon.

"Hey, Spike."

The small purple being turned and waved to him.

"Morning, Isaac. I thought I'd get an early start on the day with breakfast so I can get through the chores faster. Did Twilight leave a note telling you that they're going away for a few days?"

Isaac gave a questioning look to Spike while seating himself.

"What? The note she left me said that they'd be gone for a day. When did she tell you that?"

"This morning. Also, she mentioned that the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gonna be coming over, too. Hope you don't mind them."

Isaac scooped up some of the food with a fork as he responded.

"No, not at all. Love kids. Just hope they don't break or burn down anything." he joked with a chuckle.

Spike made a worried expression as he pulled out a small gem and added it to the eggs.

"Well, you might have your hands full."

Isaac shot him a 'Are you for-fucking-real?' look as Spike smiled sheepishly. They then sat in silence whilst their breakfast was met with a gruesome fate at the hands of Isaac's rage-enhanced hunger.

\\\//////

Fluttershy stared out the window of the train and sighed in deep thought.

"Fluttershy?"

The timid mare turned around as her thought was broken by the sudden interaction.

"Oh, hi Twilight." she sighed.

"Is there something wrong? Why did we need to leave Isaac if he's involved? And why aren't we trying to go after Discord?"

Fluttershy leaned back towards the window as she fought to hold back tears while she answered.

"Discord said that Isaac is going to cause problems, and I don't want to just out-right accuse either of them for making trouble before anything even happens. I know that you don't trust Discord, but I know him. He said that he was scared. Afraid. He looked absolutely terrified."

Twilight reached a hoof out to her friend's shoulder and held it there.

"I know that you're closer than any of us can ever be with him, but you need to remember why we don't trust him. And after all that's happened, why we doubt he'd ever be afraid of anything. But think about this: what is so powerful, so evil, that even HE is afraid? We just need to sort this out with Celestia. Besides, if anything bad happens, I know Spike will send a letter as soon as he can."

"But what about the Crusaders? Why did you ask if they would spend the next few days with him?"

"To see if there really is anything for us to watch out for. Who better to scout out trouble than those three? Remember how they helped you solve that Cockatrice problem? I know that they'll be fine. And if Isaac isn't the cause for any problems, like we think, then he'll be more than enough to protect them."

Fluttershy turned towards her friend and smiled before reaching out for a hug.

\\\//////

As Isaac was reading a book on Equestria Ideology, there was a succession of knocks from the main door. He quickly folded the page he was on and closed the book on the table in front of him.

'Wonder if that's them.'

When he reached the door and opened it, he had to look down nearly all the way to his feet to see the three small young Ponies before him. One had purple hair and an orange body, with wings, another had a yellow body with red hair and an undeniably adorable bow, and the third he recognized as Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle. They were staring up at his face in a paralyzed stance, witnessing a slightly panicked Isaac.

'Ah, shit. Don't scream, don't scream, don't scream...'

Their gaping mouths formed into massive smiles as they inhaled deeply before jumping past his legs into the Library. Inside, they were dancing around in hilarious ways, by twirling, jumping, and waving their legs around, all while yelling/chanting something that Isaac thought was some kind of truly alien language. Once Isaac closed the door, they all stopped and stared back at him. They all smiled and stood next to each other in a row.

"Hiya, there!" the one with the bow said in a Southern accent.

Isaac raised his hand and waved back slowly, putting on a small, confused smile.

"Uh, hi?"

They all gasped and began to whisper to each other in a huddle. Isaac stared dumbfounded at the trio as Spike came from the stairs with a small fiery bird.

"Oh, hey girls!" he called.

The three looked up to him and waved simultaneously. Once they finished their wave, they went back to whispering to each other. Spike finished his descent from the stairs and made his way over to Isaac.

"Do they always do this?" Isaac asked.

"Not really. Just when they're trying to figure something out, or make a group decision."

The three fillies clopped their hooves together and then turned to Isaac.

"I would like to officially welcome you," the orange one started, "to the fair land of Equestria. I'm Scootaloo!"

The yellow one raised her hoof in the air.

"Ah'm Applebloom!"

Sweetie Belle stepped forward.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle! And we're..."

They all inhaled deeply before shouting as one.

"THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

"JEEZUS!" Isaac responded, covering his ears as he was thrown back three feet by their burst.

When he recovered, the three were still staring at him with wide eyes and equally massive smiles.

"Alright then." he sighed. "Name's Isaac."

They all ran up to him and started to lean on his leg pieces.

"What kind of alien are you?"

"Do you eat foals for breakfast?"

"Applejack says not ta scare ya, why's that?"

"Check out his cool metal things!"

"Didn't your face have three lights last time?"

"What's that light-show on yer back?"

All these questions and more began to bombard Isaac as he felt them push multiple parts of his armor, much to his annoyance.

"Hey, calm down! One at a time!" he said, raising his voice slightly.

They all backed away from him and took on slightly saddened expressions as they looked up to him.

"We're sorry, mister." Applebloom said.

"Yeah, we just thought that seeing an alien was cool." Scootaloo stated.

Isaac shook his head and knelt down to them.

"Hey, don't be sad. It's alright. I just can't answer all of your questions when if you don't give me some time to answer them."

He let out a small chuckled and smiled at the children. He waved his hand towards the couch as he stood back up.

"But first, I want to ask you all a question. What's a 'Cutie Mark'?"

Their expressions went to utterly shocked immediately as they tried to process the question.

"You don't know what a Cutie Mark is!?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"Not at all. Wait, is it those symbols that everyone around here has on their a- I mean, on their back-sides?"

"Yeah! That's them! They're supposed ta tell ya what one Pony's special talent is! And we're on a Crusade to find ours!"

'Oh dear sweet baby of why.'

"Before you go any further, do you know what a 'Crusade' is?"

"Um... is it like an adventure?"

"Sure, let's just go with that."

"Do you have one, Mister Isaac?"

"Just Isaac's fine, and no. I don't."

"Why not?"

"Because where I come from, we determine what we want to be good with in life. And if we want to change professions, then we can just study something else entirely."

"Wow. That sounds complicated." Chimed Sweetie Belle.

"Yeah. It is."

'Trying to put "Necromorph Killer" on a resume is not easy as it sounds.'

"So, how about we get to your questions then, huh?"

Their faces beamed with excitement as they ran towards the couch. When Isaac sat down, they all tried to get next to him, but ended up trying to shove each other off the couch. Isaac sighed and shook his head as they continued to tumble around themselves.

'Well, on the bright side, they're not trying to claw my face off... yet.'

\\\//////

When Isaac was finally able to answer their questions, he noticed how well they were all bonding, as opposed to how people bonded back on the Colonies. They were able to just talk to him, despite the massive differences. Eventually, the clock in the room rung out at 12 o'clock. Spike came down from a ladder behind the couch and went towards the kitchen.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna make some lunch for me and Isaac. If you wanna help, feel free to do so."

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom jumped from their seats and began to gallop towards the kitchen behind Spike.

"Ah wanna make somethin' too!"

"Let me cook! I've got the perfect dish for Isaac to try!"

As they went in, Isaac couldn't help but laugh a little bit at the display. Here he was, taking care of a group of children he didn't know, and suddenly they were worshiping him and making meals for him. The whole shebang. Before he could get up, however, he felt a pang on his side. When he turned, he saw Scootaloo sitting there with a curious expression on her face.

"Hey Scootaloo. What's up?" he asked.

"Well, I wanted to know about those boot things you're wearing. They look way too big to just be some kind of fashion thing."

"Actually, they're Zero-G Grav-Boots. Basically, they help me stick to metal surfaces while I walk on a ship's exterior in space so I don't go flying."

"That's awesome! You can walk with those in Space!?"

"Yeah. And in certain areas, like when I need to go from one part of the ship to another, they function as jets that let me fly around the ship."

Her face looked as though it were about to explode as her eyes widened with her smile.

"You can FLY!?"

"Well, not entirely. Usually they'll help if I try to jump from one surface to another, but in space, it's more of just floating. But, I guess you're right."

Scootaloo smiled massively at Isaac, now astounded by the fact that he can fly as well.

'Child-like wonder. Huh. Forgot what that looked like.' He thought to himself while smiling back. 'Feels good.'

There was a sudden high-pitched beeping from the kitchen as smoke began to pour through the doorway.

"Oh, CRAP!" Isaac shouted as he shot up from his seat.

He ran for the door and ducked before entering. Inside the kitchen was a small bowl that spouted five-foot flames towards the ceiling. On the other side of the room were the three other occupants, struggling to remove a fire extinguisher from the wall.

"MOVE!" Isaac shouted.

They all looked to him and fell in a heap aside from the extinguisher. Isaac raised his left hand and ripped the object off its place with a pull of the Kinesis Module. It flew into his hands, where he then marched towards the fire, shooting at it with the foaming liquid to stop the flames from spreading to the rest of the tree.

'This is why you don't put a kitchen in a FUCKING TREE!'

As the fire died down, Isaac calmed down and looked towards the panicked Ponies. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle looked as though their dreams were crushed right in front of them, while Spike looked mildly annoyed above all else. Scootaloo came through the doors and examined the scene before her.

"Whoa! What happened?" she asked.

"Well," Sweetie Belle responded, "I wanted to make some of Rarity's famous Tomato Soup for Isaac, but..."

"But you forgot you can't cook." Spike deadpanned.

Isaac went up to Sweetie and put a hand on her head.

"It's alright. You tried to make something just for me, and where I come from, that matters more than what I actually get." he stated with a smile.

She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled up at him. As the smoke alarm finally ended its beeping, Spike and Scootaloo began to make a new lunch as Isaac helped Applebloom and Sweetie Belle clean up the mess of liquids and ashes. As he was wiping up the mess from the counter, there was another knock at the door. Isaac left the kitchen and went directly to answer whoever was waiting in front of the Library. When he opened the door, he was greeted with the sight of a grey Pegasus with a blonde hair style, crossed eyes and seven bubbles for her Cutie Mark, accompanied by a brown Earth Pony with a green tie and an hourglass Cutie Mark. They looked up at Isaac (partially) and stood there for a moment.

"Uh..." Isaac started, "can I help you?"

The grey one closed her eyes and smiled.

"Hi! You must be the new alien that Pinkie mentioned! I'm Derpy! Derpy Hooves!"

She nudged the stallion to her left with an elbow.

"Oh, um yes. I'm the Doctor. Most call me Doctor Whooves." he responded with what Isaac thought was a Scottish accent.

"Isaac Clarke."

"I just came by because Rarity and Applejack came to me with a note asking if anything were to happen with you or their sisters, then I'm supposed to make sure they're okay. For instance, if you need to leave or disappear somehow, then I'd look after them."

"Why would I just disappear?"

"Oh, they had their suspicions about whether or not you might need to leave for some unknown alien reason or something like that. Like how you might have the desire to wander into the scary and dark Everfree Forest or do some kind of shedding. I don't know, they seemed a bit far-fetched, even for me. What do you think, honey?"

"Well," Doctor started, "seeing as how he is clearly mammalian, I would say that it would be unlikely for any kind of molting or shedding of skin. Actually, do you go through any of that?"

"Um, no. No, Human's don't molt or shed all of our skin at once or anything like that. Actually, now that I think about it, you all function a lot like us. Except with magic and wings."

The Doctor raised a hoof to his chin.

"Fascinating. Well, if that's all, then I say we best be on our way. Right, Darling?" he asked, turning towards Derpy.

"Well, seeing as how you're new in town, Isaac, I wanted to ask if you'd like to come with us to get some lunch at a nearby restaurant. It'll help Ponies get more acquainted with you, and you can see if there's anything else you'd like in town!"

Isaac turned back to look inside the Library and watched as the Crusaders and Spike were wiping themselves off from the ashes of their attempt at lunch. He turned back towards the couple and responded.

"You know, that actually sounds pretty nice, thanks. Is it okay if I take them, though? I'm kinda watching them while their sisters are out of town."

Derpy leaned in to see who he was talking about and smiled when she saw the three fillies and Dragon. She directed her smile back to Isaac and replied.

"Of course you can! I love those fillies! They're just such great friends to my daughter, Dinky, and I wouldn't want them to go without a good lunch!"

Isaac nodded and then turned towards the group.

"Hey, girls! Spike! We're going out for lunch! Come on!" he called.

They all turned and then began to make their way over to the door. Once outside, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom began to converse with Derpy, Spike walked up to Doctor Whooves and talked to him, and Scootaloo went over to a wooden scooter and placed herself upon it with a helmet on her head. Isaac walked up to her and spoke.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey Isaac! Check out my scooter! Pretty rad, huh?"

"You know, I remember wanting one when I was growing up. Never really got a chance to try one. What's it like?"

"Well, the wind feels really good through my helmet, and the humming from the board tickles my hooves. I like the workout it gives my wings, but you probably wouldn't know what that's like."

"Speaking of wings, why do you even use the scooter. Do you prefer this over flying?"

Scootaloo frowned as her gaze shifted downwards.

"No. I... can't fly. My wings aren't powerful enough, or large enough. My mom always told me that one day, they'll grow to their full size, yeah, put I'm a little worried that it might not come."

Isaac saw how deeply hurt she was and realized why she was so shocked to hear that he could sort of fly. He leaned down close to her and spoke softly.

"Don't tell anyone, but I had a little bit of trouble like yours when I was growing up."

Her face went from sad to curious as she looked up at him.

"Really?"

"When I was about your age, all the other kids were about a foot taller than I was. They all thought that I was a gnome or a midget, someone that's really small. I kept saying to myself, 'one day, I'll be taller than all of them,' until I was nearly twenty years old. Then, after my 21st birthday, I woke up six inches taller each morning until I was as tall as I am now." Isaac motioned his hand flat at his waist and raised it up until he was standing at full height. "I sometimes actually have to bend down to fit through some doors on most Spaceships."

"Woah."

"So don't let one obstacle get in your way. Remember that as long as you can still dream about it, it'll never leave you."

She smiled warmly and reached out to hug his leg.

"Thanks, Isaac."

Isaac felt a warmth in his chest as he smiled deeply at the filly. He bent down to return the gesture and held her tight.

"No problem."

\\\//////

In an alley nearby, a grey Pegasus in a black robe watched as the alien made motions around the young orange filly, whispering to himself.

"Yes. Soon, we will have our goal. And we shall know peace once we enlighten the young one. Altmare be praised."