Striving for Adaptation

The next day, after the first training session.

"Hm?" Ahirata suddenly muttered when I got close enough to her. Despite the stock of books she gave me, I had to go down to Tartarus again to clear something up. Well, at least the healing spell compensates for the pain in my legs.

Ahirata turned her head toward me before she waved her gloved hand and said, "Oh, hi. Did you want something, Arthur?"

Despite the very direct question, I couldn't help but look at her glove in embarrassment and ask, "Uh, yes, hello. What are you doing here?"

She smiled broadly and took a small step to the side. There I saw a small flower planted in the ground next to the river. After a few moments of silence, Ahirata decided to explain: "I decided that the trees will grow for a very long time, so now I can make flowers, just for the sake of beauty. Beautiful, isn't it?"

Yeah, it's really nice. Especially for a place called Tartarus.

I let out a short sigh and asked a little uncomfortably: "Uh, I'm sorry I didn't come to admire the views. But I have a problem with a rune. "

Ahirata tilted her head to the side and asked, absolutely not offended, "Can you show me this rune and tell me exactly what's wrong?

With a quick nod, I pulled the book out of the bomber jacket I was wearing and handed it to her. While she studied the open book, I explained the problem: "In a nutshell, I tried to make a fireball because I thought it was a classic. But in the end, it turned out to be a strange thing."

"Did you make the central circle wavy to imitate a flame?" Ahirata asked without taking his eyes off the book.

Hmm? Who do you think I am?

Despite my embarrassment, I nodded quickly, and she continued: "Are you sure you made the ball symbol in the middle?"

"I'm a little offended. " I replied, crossing my arms in mock annoyance.

Ahirata didn't seem to get the joke and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry. I'm just trying to figure out what went wrong with you. Can you reproduce this rune?"

I nodded quickly and took a deep breath before stretching my arms out in front of me. In just a few seconds, I managed to release green lines of magic from my fingers. After a few more moments, they intertwined to form a circle with spikes on the outside, a wavy circle in the middle, and a sphere symbol in the center.

With a heavy sigh, I relaxed and the rune hung in the air before the ball fell to the ground, engulfed in green flames. Ahirata raised an eyebrow in embarrassment and asked, taking a quick step to the side, "And what exactly is going wrong here?"

Can't you see?

I raised my hands in embarrassment and replied: "Don't you see what's going on here? It's a fireball! It must flying forward, exploding and all that. But it's just lying there like an ordinary basketball. But fiery."

Ahirata stared at the fireball created by my magic for a while, periodically glancing at the open book. Suddenly, she laughed out loud and put her free hand to her forehead. To be honest, it was a little creepy, because of her numerous teeth and her generally unusual behavior.

Eventually she calmed down and said with a last laugh, "Arthur, this is how the spell is supposed to work. In order for the ball to fly and explode, it needs additional circles and additional effects. At the very least, there should be a separate levitation circle and a separate explosion circle. "

Ouch.

"So I shouldn't have come here, huh?" I asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of my head.

Ahirata chuckled slightly and said, "Well, at least you amused me. I really appreciate it."

I couldn't help but smile and said, carefully taking the book out of her grasp, "Well, okay, I went to practice. Uh, good luck with the garden in Tartarus! "

"Good luck with the runes! " Ahirata replied and waved goodbye.

Yeah, it was awkward.

Another day later.

So, this time I decided to change my tactics a bit. Instead of stopping in front of every rune I see and suffering through it for several hours, I'll skip what I can't do right away. Yes, I plan to outnumber Daniel. Cool, right?

The nuance is that with this tactic, I was able to go through ALL the books Ahirata gave me in a few hours. And learn zero runes. So I'm standing here. In front of the library where Twilight lives. If I remember correctly, someone said that she took some books for herself.

"Try not to think of it as talking to a cartoon character," I muttered to myself as I stood in front of the entrance and gathered my strength. Which is difficult because of one obsessive thought. Should I just turn around and go home, go back to the old tactics?

Before I could even shake my head in response to my thoughts, the library door opened a crack and a small purple lizard stepped out. Uh, I'm sorry. I meant to say dragon. Spike, if I remember correctly?

Wait, I'm not supposed to remember that! I recoiled slightly from the dragon coming out of the library and asked, trying to sound surprised, "Hey! What are you?"

Damn, it turned out to be stupid. Well, the word can't be taken back.

"First of all, I am a dragon and I am alive! And secondly, my name is Spike. " Spike replied, standing on tiptoe to appear taller. Not that it really mattered.

I was silent for a few moments, trying to pretend that I was trying to process the information I had received. As soon as Spike raised an embarrassed eyebrow, I quickly said, "Uh, my name is Arthur. Is Twilight in the library? I'd like to ask her for some books. "

"Mm, no, she went on a picnic with friends. But I can help you! What books do you need? " Spike suggested with a small smile. Somehow his mood changed too fast. But maybe it's just the peculiarities of some children?

Well, my sister didn't behave like that when she was younger.

Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to just answer: "Well, okay. I need books with runes. Ahirata said Twilight took some of them."

Unfortunately, Spike raised an eyebrow in embarrassment and said, scratching his cheek with a claw: "Uh, that's the first I've heard of it. "

Damn it. Holding back a heavy sigh, I asked after taking a short step: "Can I go to the library and try to find something myself? "

Spike crossed his arms and reluctantly said, stepping aside, "Okay. Just don't turn everything upside down, okay? I was just getting everything organized and wanted to at least go for a walk. "

"Why can't I do it while you walking? "I asked with a little embarrassment in my voice as I entered the library and looked around. Where can I find the books I need?

While I was thinking, he replied with surprising honesty: "Well, no offense, Arthur. But I'm afraid you might be like Daniel. When he first came to Ponyville, there was a hole in the wall of the library in the shape of Twilight!"

My God, are there limits to what this guy is doing!?

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to one of the bookshelves and replied with restraint, "Okay. I don't think I'll be mistrusted forever."

"I don't know." Spike replied from the doorway. Sighing, I stood in front of the shelf and put my hands on my hips. There were many books arranged in the order of the palette. That is, the books formed a kind of rainbow that went from one color to another very smoothly. It's nice, but in my case it's completely useless. Especially when you consider that many books simply do not have a title on the spine.

"Do you think it would be funny if I pulled out a random book and stupidly used spells from it for the rest of my life?" I asked, turning slightly to face Spike.

He chuckled and said enthusiastically, "Well, I hope you get lasers out of your eyes or something cool like that. "

Me too, me too.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and suddenly picked up a random book. Then, with a quick movement, I opened it to a random page and looked inside. Surprisingly, there are runes and very interesting ones. As soon as a smile formed on my lips, Spike came closer and asked: "What's there, what's there?"

"Something very good. " I said and turned the page. And after seeing a few more interesting runes. Oh, that's even better!

I will definitely try it the next time I see Daniel.

Outside the library window, the early autumn wind was fluttering, so far, green leaves. In a month, maybe less, the ponies would hold an autumnal race to help nature prepare for winter.

On the outskirts of Ponyville, however, next to the home of a recent arrival, was a scorched field. It stretched for many meters in all directions. The smell of burning was in the air, and the few surviving blades of grass were covered in ash. Over the past few days, Everfree had been mercilessly destroyed.

CRACK

The root of one of the few surviving trees broke through the foundation of the building. Very little. Definitely less than an inch. It is unlikely that the owner of the house will even notice this "attack". But the message is more than understandable.

Nature does not plan to give up so easily.

POV: Daniel Ctumer
Time: Midnight
Location: Royal Castle of Canterlot

Ten more days, another report.

"She's late. " I grumbled, even though I was resting my head on my fist. My brain often had to remind itself why I should be sitting here instead of in Ponyville monitoring the activities of the forest.

The fact is, every ten days I have to tell Celestia about the past days so she can understand how my redemption is going. The problem with these meetings is that it takes a really long time to wait for her. Princess, an uncertain schedule and all that. So much wasted time.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself, and took a quick look around my room in the castle. A wardrobe with clothes, a double bed, a desk with drawers and a door leading to the bathroom. In fact, the only thing I've added to this room since I moved in is the painting Arthur painted and the calendar.

Interesting fact. The calendar is practically useless. Because I don't wear glasses in the room. Sometimes I want to remember the times when I could see well without them.

Suddenly, the door creaked, breaking the silence of the night. The next moment, the bright light of the corridor lamps flooded the room and a familiar silhouette appeared in front of me. As soon as I heard a breath, I waved my hand slightly and said: "I know you have an unstable schedule. Everything is fine. "

In response, I saw a brief nod of the head, followed by a movement of the silhouette. Soon Celestia was sitting on the bed next to me, close enough for me to see her clearly. And almost immediately she asked, trying to hide the weariness in her voice, "So, what has happened since we last met? "

Okay, you always have to start with the bad news. It sounds the most logical from the bottom up. I rubbed the back of my head lightly, gathering my thoughts before asking, "Did you hear about the Dragon Lord losing a paw?"

Celestia nodded slowly and asked with her head tilted to the side, "Yes, I've heard. There are rumors that some dragons are trying to find their Lord's assailant. Why do you ask?"

Move forward, stay whole.

"For I am the cause of this incident. I faced the Dragon Lord in battle and destroyed his limb. " I said, carefully studying Celestia's reaction.

At first, her tired eyes opened slightly as she stared back at me. Then she turned away and looked out the open window. Finally, Celestia let out a long sigh and asked with a hint of disappointment: "You know it was wrong, right?"

I clenched the hand that was resting on my knee into a fist and just kept watching Celestia. She turned to me and asked with frustration in her voice, "Why did you do that?"

"You said I have to help others when I see they need it. Apparently, sometimes people are afraid to ask for help, so you should be the first to offer it. I helped Ahirata with her idea to turn Tartarus into a garden. " I replied without moving under the Alicorn's gaze.

Celestia sighed and said with a slow shake of her head, "Daniel, it doesn't really work like that. . ."

"Then WHY can't you explain? I'm tired of doing useless nonsense day after day, trying to get better, as you call it. I regularly engage in some kind of nonsense at your direction. And I don't feel any change. " I interrupted irritably.

Absolutely zero benefit. Sometimes it seems to me that I have nothing else to do in Equestria.

In response to my outrage, Celestia quickly placed one of her wings on my back and stroked me lightly. As soon as a long, irritated growl escaped my mouth, she said softly, "It's okay, that's why we're here. So I can listen to your complaints and better understand how to help you and what you haven't fully learned yet. "

I unclenched my fist and restrainedly said, "Okay, okay. Is there anything else you need to know? "

She nodded slightly and asked gently, "Yes, I'm interested in Arthur. That's his name, right? How is he? I'd like to have an idea of what to expect when I arrive in Ponyville. "

My hand almost reflexively reached for my chin to stroke it before I gave my slow answer: "Well, it seems to be okay. There is a house, there is citizenship, there is a way to make money. Arthur has recently begun to study magic. I don't know what success he's had so far. "

Although I wouldn't mind if he found a way to super-effective workouts.

Celestia nodded in response to my brief report and asked another question with a hint of apology in her voice: "I'm sorry for always suspecting you. But do you know anything about Luna's personal guards acting strangely lately?"

"Oh, I just told Rising to have the tanks ready in case the forest starts to attack. After all, I cannot hold Ponyville and fight the forest at the same time. " I replied calmly.

However, Celestia frowned worriedly and asked, "Are you sure everything is under control?"

"Celly, I'll take care of Everfree. A several trees will not be able to defeat the guards, whose backbone I have formed, and myself. " I replied confidently, tapping my fist lightly on my chest.

Celestia sighed again, but decided not to speak. This gave my gaze time to wander to her breasts. More specifically, to her new jewelry. If she used to wear something that looked like a necklace, now it looked like a full-fledged golden breastplate. Completely covering her chest.

Obviously, she doesn't want to expose what's underneath.

I looked directly into Celestia's eyes and asked: "Are you all right?"

She raised her eyebrows slightly and replied with embarrassment in her voice, "Well, I was a little late today because of another dispute between the nobles. But in general, everything is fine. Why do you ask? "

I shifted slightly in my seat before pointing at her gold breastplate and saying, "I just want to make sure I can fix this. "

Celestia looked where I was pointing before smiling warmly and praising me with a gentle smile: "You do have a soft side, though. "

Before I could answer, she wrapped her other wing around me, holding me in a kind of hug. Sighing, I asked with a hint of dissatisfaction in my voice, "Are you going to keep me like this for long?"

"Until I'm sure you've had enough hugs. " Celestia replied immediately, seeming only to tighten her wings around me. Most reluctantly, I put my hand on her wing and rubbed the feathers lightly.

Keep moving forward. For her sake. For the sake of my GULP friends.