Striving for Adaptation

My legs hurt, my back hurts, everything else is shivering from the cold. Is the chance to heal my back really worth it?

Suddenly a melody sounded loud next to me, telling me the unpleasant news. The rest is over. It's time to go again. I hope there will be no stairs this time. Well, at least there won't be so many of them.

"Time's up, get up." Daniel urged me on as my hand reached for the phone to turn off the timer. As soon as the annoyingly loud melody stopped, I took a deep breath.

After a few seconds I finally got up from the step and said firmly, "Okay, let's go. But if there is a ladder, I refuse."

"Oh, let's not whine." Daniel replied with a dismissive wave of his hand before starting to walk forward towards the castle that towered over the scorched landscape.

The first impression was absolutely right.

Snorting, I followed him and saw a small path leading down the hillside and on to the castle. Raising my eyebrows in embarrassment, I asked as I caught up with Daniel, "Okay, now I believe that repairs are really being done here. What exactly are they going to turn this place into?"

"A perfect garden for innocent animals. This is what my beautiful Tartarus was always supposed to look like. That is how Ahirata described her plans." Daniel answered with a shrug.

"That is definitely a strange idea," I muttered and took a quick look at the castle in front of us. Do I need to say that I felt a little uneasy?

Like, is a person with such strange ideas going to treat my back? Seriously?

"I guess I don't have any other options," I muttered, bowing my head and continuing to follow Daniel. By the way, for some reason my legs don't hurt as much anymore. There are only two possibilities. Either I had a really good rest in seven minutes or my limbs were just too frozen to feel any pain.

Rubbing my hands together to keep warm, I asked nervously, "I hope they give me some warm clothes. Otherwise I'll be treated for frostbite right after my back."

Daniel adjusted his glasses and was silent for a few seconds before he finally said, "As you can see, I don't have any clothes. Perhaps Ahirata will invent something especially for you. Or maybe not. "

"That's great," I replied with a desperate sigh.

"Or Twilight will think of something," Daniel continued with a shrug. Wait.

Twilight. The purple unicorn. She seems to be the most important of the six main characters. Hmm. This will be my first real interaction with a pony. Pinkie Pie doesn't count.

As I watched the distance to the castle shrink, I noticed how gothic it looked. Like it was literally the black castle of some terrible villain. After processing all this, I couldn't help but ask: "So, what's under the ground, in a place with hellish cold and in a terrible castle, did forget the pony?"

Daniel grinned and said, turning his head to me, "Arthur, you have no idea how many things there are. Although I think it's the library that Twilight is interested in."

The castle library? That sounds too boring. Rolling my eyes, I asked jokingly: "Let me guess. This library contains scary books about dark magic and such."

Daniel put his hand aside and said with a short laugh: "There are, but there are better copies. For example, the last time I was here, I found a Necronomicon!"

I wasn't serious. . . .

"Do you really think a pony from a children's cartoon would be interested in something like that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow in obvious disbelief.

There was silence for several seconds, broken only by the soft sound of our footsteps. Of course, there wasn't even any wind. Finally, Daniel snapped his fingers and said: "Exactly. I remembered what you said. Well, I can only say that your fantasies are not fully thought out.

Rolling my eyes, I began with a challenge in my voice: "I have watched the series with my sister so many times that I know the exact chronology of events. For example, tell me any event in which Mane Six was involved, and I'll tell you how it ended. "

Daniel chuckled briefly and said, "The changeling attack on Canterlot. "

Ha, one of my sister's favorite episodes, and therefore the most reviewed!

I calmly spread my arms to my sides and said with a grin: "With the power of love, the princess and her brother Twilight created a huge explosion that threw the changelings and their queen extremely far away!"

Daniel stared at me for a while with his eyes wide open before he slowly replied, "You definitely have a fantasy. But it has very little to do with what happened. "

" What?" I asked, suddenly stopping and freezing.

Daniel stopped a few steps away from me before he clicked his tongue and said, "It's a long story. But in super short, I dropped a chandelier on Chrysalis, disarming she. Then, after a while, tanks came into the city and the changelings surrendered."

Is everything so different? Damn, it turns out I don't get any benefit from knowing the series, but I feel weird realizing where I am.

As soon as I sighed, Daniel continued to look thoughtfully at the castle: "Interesting, no one knows what to do with the captured changelings and their queen. Feeding them won't work and letting them go is definitely not an option. It's good that Ahirata and the princesses are dealing with this problem. "

After hearing the last sentence, I looked nervously at the castle and asked: "Are you sure she'll have time to treat my back if she's so busy? "

Daniel took his hand aside and said with a sneer: "You know, Arthur, she's the only one in the neighborhood who even remotely knows what a humanoid is. Yes, there are doctors in Canterlot who have treated me a few times, but it's far away, you know. And here, everything is within walking distance. "

"Walking distance, if you don't count seven thousand steps. " I replied, rolling my eyes.

Daniel just shrugged and started walking again: "Okay, we talked and grabbed. We need to fix your back, right?"

Damn, he didn't get the reference.

Sighing in frustration, I also moved and followed Daniel along the path, which looked much less smooth and tidy. It looks like they started the repairs at the entrance. It's weird, but okay. I've never done repairs before.

Despite everything, we finally reached the entrance of the castle. Surprisingly, there were no gates. You can just log in. But there is one thing that crushed me. STAIRS! ANOTHER ONE! Falling to my knees in frustration, I declared almost hysterically: "I'm not going up there! You can't make me!"

"So your back doesn't matter?" Daniel asked calmly.

"The back is important, but not at the expense of my legs! If it's your duty to help me, then call her or something. But I'm not climbing another ladder!" I replied, actively waving my hands. Mostly in the direction of the stairs.

Daniel rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before yelling loudly, "AHIRATA, COME HERE!"

Oh, it worked. I didn't even think about it. Well, I think this is an extremely insignificant but still a response to our first meeting.

Chuckling softly, I slowly got to my feet and raised my head, expecting to see, uh, my doctor? Yes, that would probably be correct. However, I didn't see her. All my eyes found was another round and very long staircase.

Suddenly I heard a strange POP next to me and a bright flash blinded me for a moment. After blinking a few times, I turned back to where the sound came from and saw two people. I know Twilight Sparkle from the TV show, with the saddlebags on her back. Still a unicorn, by the way. And next to her. . .

Ahirata. What a name. Ahem, despite the distance of more than a dozen feet, I can already tell that she is taller than me. A head taller. Just as Daniel described, her two eyes look like rubies. Literally like gems set in the place of the eyes.

It's creepy. If it weren't for one detail.

On her head was a large woolen hat covered with green scales. Something like a hat with earflaps from the movies. Fighting back a laugh, I tentatively held out my hand and said cautiously: "Hey, hello? Is that you, Ahirata, I presume? "

She stared at my hand for a moment without blinking and replied in an uncertain voice, "Yes, you guessed it. And are you the human who ran away when he saw the pink pony? "

" That's not very polite, Ahi. " Twilight whispered, nudging the wingless dragon lightly.

"I couldn't remember his name!" Ahirata whispered in reply, spreading her arms slightly to the sides.

I'm not sure that's what I wanted to hear.

As soon as I was distracted, a hoof appeared in my hand and Twilight said quickly: "Nice to meet you, Arthur! Uh, you probably noticed me yesterday, right? Well, I didn't say anything because I didn't have time to wake up. Oh, and my name is Twilight Sparkle!"

" I know. . ."I started, but I stopped quickly. It's not worth revealing that now. So instead of answering, I just nodded quickly and took my hand off Twilight's hoof.

"Well, I'm off. I promised Spike I'd be back an hour ago. Thanks for the books, Ahi!" Twilight replied with a quick wave of her hoof before running past me towards the exit of Tartarus.

Uh, for some reason it seems to me that it would be more correct for me to communicate with her. Not with this, uh, man.

As if I wasn't there, Ahirata put her hands on her hips and asked, "So, Daniel, please remind me why you brought another human here?"

Daniel put his hand on my shoulder, which made me shiver, and said with a grin: "Well, I remember very well how you masterfully assembled a well-functioning humanoid body for yourself. That's why I thought you'd be the best person to understand why Arthur's back hurts. You might even be able to fix it. "

Swallowing, I said irritably and pushed his hand away slightly: "Don't touch me. It just makes my back hurt more. "

Daniel snorted loudly at that, but suddenly Ahirata interrupted with a slightly indignant voice: "How do you think I'm supposed to handle someone's back? I don't do that. No more biology. "

" Did I come here for nothing? " I asked, feeling a growing mixture of sadness and irritation.

I have taken too many steps to walk away with nothing!

Daniel took a step in front of me and said, raising his hand, "Just do some kind of scan or something. Just something. At least for reporting purposes."

Ahirata crossed her arms, or in her case her paws, and looked away slightly. After a few seconds she said slowly, almost with a snake-like hiss: "Arthur, please come to me.

Nodding, I took a few steps towards her and asked, trying to ignore the difference in height, "Well?"

"Yes, it will do." Ahirata replied, taking a deep breath before her eyes began to glow a faint shade of red.

This is a very strange treatment. I don't feel anything at all.

Suddenly, Ahirata took a step back and said with a click of her tongue, "The soul is stuck between the vertebrae. Unfortunately, I've seen it many times when I've created new bodies and creatures. "

Slightly startled by this, I asked cautiously: "Can we no longer discuss all these things concerning new bodies and very strange science? "

She nodded slightly and I blurted out the next question, this time in a much more embarrassed tone: "Now please explain how the soul between the vertebrae, whatever that means, is related to my pain!"

Ahirata stared at me for a while, again without blinking. Does she blink at all? Suddenly she turned her gaze to Daniel and asked, tilting her head, "He's been here for more than a day and you didn't bother to tell him about magic and all that?"

Daniel shrugged and said calmly: "I didn't consider that important information at the moment.

Yes, magic in the world of colorful ponies and other fantastic creatures is absolutely not important.

Ahirata sighed heavily and said in a hissing voice, "Please tell him about the case. You're better at leaving out unimportant details than I am."

Daniel snorted and said with a few snaps of his fingers, "Arthur, look, there's going to be an explanation."

"I'm not stupid." I replied irritably, turning to him and waiting for an explanation. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel impatient. After all, magic is one of the most interesting concepts mankind has come up with!

Daniel took a deep breath and said, gesturing with one hand, "In short, every living being has a soul. Some have less, some more. Either way, it is there and there is pure magic in the soul. From there, this magic circulates through the blood vessels and, let's say, is processed. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

It seems to be, yes . . .

As if ignoring my uncertain expression, Daniel continued snapping his fingers, "In short, there are two major groups of spells. Ordinary and runes. Ordinary ones use processed magic, and only unicorns and such can use them. And then there are runes, which can be used by anyone. But runes use pure magic, so do you know what happens if you overdo it? "

"What?" I asked slowly, trying to process the information that was coming at me.

" You're going to die. You'll just take it and die without a second chance because the soul will completely exhaust its resources. But you're very lucky. Since you are not a unicorn, the only magic you will use will be runes. "Daniel replied with a grin and pulled his hand aside.

I opened my mouth slightly after hearing this revelation. I have magic, but I risk dying to use it? Doesn't sound too good. I lowered my head in thought and Daniel turned to Ahirata and said: "I have completed the basic course.

Maybe there is some kind of, I don't know, magic reserve indicator? Someone had to figure out how to figure out how many spells you had in stock, right?

My thoughts were interrupted by Ahirata's sigh, followed by calm words: "Now, back to the matter at hand. I can definitely say that your soul has somehow shifted to your spine and got stuck between the vertebrae. "

I raised an eyebrow in embarrassment and asked tense: "Well, can you somehow, I do not know, move it? I really don't want to walk around with a sore back for the rest of my life. "

Ahirata scratched the back of her head lightly with her clawed paw and said slowly, "Normally, when such defects occur, I simply make a new body and replace the bones.

We agreed not to discuss such topics!

I asked, gritting my teeth in frustration and shaking my head in disbelief: "So I just have to endure and suffer? Is there no medicine at all?"

Ahirata bit her lip and looked away: "But I could very carefully move your soul to where it should be."

"But?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and starting to tap my shoe lightly on the stone floor in a hurried manner.

"If I move too much, I might accidentally just rip the soul out of your body. And not be able to put it back. So this procedure will have to be done a little at a time. I'd say less than an inch a day." She replied awkwardly, rubbing her paws.

I frowned and said, pointing my finger behind my back, "I'm not going down that infernal invention again. "

Ahirata quickly waved her paws in front of her and said with all her might, pretending to smile: "No, no, it's okay! I have to go to the surface a lot anyway. I can just come in, do the procedure and leave. Just, well, understand that I don't have the power to solve your problem right away. Only through gradual treatment.

Her smile. It's so weird. Not just because of the abundance of teeth, but also because of the unnaturalness, or what? Uh, I guess I'm just getting paranoid.

Sighing, I nodded and said: "Thank you very much. Will the first session be today or tomorrow?"

Ahirata took a step forward and raised her clawed paw. A red aura appeared around her and she said calmly, "I'm ready. And you?"

I sighed happily and said, closing my eyes: "I just want it to be over as soon as possible.

Instead of answering, I suddenly felt something strange. It was as if something in the area of my back was stretching forward, causing severe pain in my extremities along the way. For a moment, because of the darkening in my eyes, I thought I was going to lose consciousness.

But it stopped.

"Are you okay?" Ahirata's voice asked slowly as I felt a cold touch on my shoulders.

After blinking a few times, I was able to clear the darkness from my eyes and said with an awkward smile, "Uh, yeah, I'm okay. Kind of. Can you please let me go? You're very cold."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ahirata replied, taking a step back and letting out a long breath. Everything seems to be fine now.

The main thing is not to think that I will tolerate this for a very long time.

Daniel finally remembered his existence and asked, patting him on the shoulder: "So. Is the problem solved, Arthur? Can we get out of here?"

I paused for a few seconds before answering slowly, "Well, yes. The problem is solved. But I have a few questions."

"Well?" Daniel asked hurriedly.

"How did the soul get stuck in the spine in the first place?" I said as confusingly as possible.

Daniel shrugged, but fortunately Ahirata answered by raising her paw: "Maybe your body has changed a lot when you moved to another world. It is quite logical, considering that there is probably a completely different composition of air, gravity and so on."

Hmm, so I may have developed some incredible abilities? Interesting. . .

Deciding to leave this topic for later, I sighed and turned to Daniel and asked, "So, what's on our list for the next day?"

"Paperwork for you." Daniel replied with a chuckle.

Oh, my God.