Striving for Adaptation

Mm, finally a full meal.

Now I held in my hand one of the packages of French fries I bought yesterday. Yes, it's harmful. Yes, I bought fast food with the first money I got in this world. And yes, I haven't found any new clients who need me to draw anything.

"But I'm full. I replied calmly before grabbing a couple of French fries with my teeth. Um, it looks weird from the outside, I admit. But I really don't like to get my hands dirty, okay?

Why do I always make excuses? Shaking my head, I decided to just keep eating fries and looking out the window. So, I'm going to a party tonight. Among the ponies. In fact, this is my first real interaction with a pony. Meeting Pinkie Pie and getting fast food yesterday don't count.

Yesterday actually turned out to be strangely funny. Neither I nor the cashier dared to speak. So I just pointed at the dishes on the menu and he nodded.

"Perfect communication for an introvert, perfect communication for me. " I chuckled briefly before picking out at least five more French fries with my teeth. But suddenly there was a knock at the door. Damn, I really don't want to interrupt my meal.

But even less do I want Daniel to enter my house without permission. Sighing, I slowly got up from my chair in the kitchen and made my way to the hallway, quickly finishing the potatoes on the way. But this time without much joy. Sadly.

"Is this even the right address?" A man's voice, coming from the threshold of my house, asked with displeasure. Do you know what's wrong with him?

It's not Daniel's voice. Who could come to me today besides him and the main characters? That's right, no one.

Alarmed, I pressed myself against the left wall of the corridor to have more time to react if it was a monster. Probably? I do not know, I just wanted to justify why I was pressing myself against the wall. Just concentrate.

After a few slow and quiet steps, I could finally see what was standing in front of my door. It looked like a pony, but had very creepy holes in its hooves and bug wings. After a few moments, I finally remembered its name. Changeling. But what is he. . .

"You know I can see you, right?" Changeling asked with a smug smile on his lips. Oh.

Very carefully, I straightened up and said, clearing my throat, "Uh, no, I didn't know that. Well, let's get acquainted then? My name is. . ."

The changeling waved his hoof dismissively and said, "Yes, I know you're Arthur. Anyway, I'm really hungry, so just take this thing and I'll be on my way."

It wasn't very pleasant. Do all non-canonical characters have to be so rude? Or in the case of Ahirata, just weird.

While I was thinking, the changeling pulled a very thin book with two alicorns on it out of his saddlebags. I took it carefully, opened it, and a quick glance inside was enough to give a confident answer. This is my passport.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the changeling had already turned and started walking away from my house. Unable to contain my curiosity, a loud command burst from my lips: "Stop!"

In response, the changeling groaned loudly and asked, turning his head toward me: "What do you want from me?"

Trying to shake off my embarrassment, I took a step outside my house before saying, "Well, first of all, I would like to know your name so that this meeting can at least seem a little more normal."

The changeling snorted loudly and said, "My name is Abdomen. But if the madman mentioned me, you might have heard of me as Flying.

Flying? So Daniel really has friends? Wow. Just wow.

After taking a few more steps toward the changeling, I said, looking down at him awkwardly: "Uh, sorry, but the name Abdomen sounds really weird. So I'll call you Flying."

"Asshole." Flying hissed irritably, squinting at me. Honestly? When a pony-sized bug looks at you like that, it's really a little scary.

In an attempt to calm the situation, I suggested with a slow gesture: "Listen, Daniel said that you're kind of his friend. Maybe you can tell me why he's acting so, well, tough? And in return, I'll call you whatever you want."

Flying rolled his eyes and said, covering his mouth with a hoof: "Heh, you think I understand what's going on in his head? Ha, naive!"

S-Seriously? Even the one he calls a friend doesn't understand his behavior?

This is just nonsense. Shaking my head in disbelief, I asked with my hands on my hips, "Are you sure? There must be something you know about him."

Flying looked at me for a moment before calmly saying, "Fifteen bits of information.

I blinked in shock at this demand and asked incredulously: "Are you serious? Money for information? "

" Yes. I want to treat myself for being a courier today. " Flying replied with a smile that let his fangs protrude slightly from his mouth.

First, it's creepy. Second, it's weird. And third, please let me check my pockets.

I quickly put both hands in my pockets and found a bag with the rest of the money in the right one. As much as I hated to admit it, Daniel paid a lot for that portrait yesterday. Sighing, I held the bag right in front of the changeling's face and asked: "Could you please count out the necessary amount yourself? I'm a little uncomfortable touching gold coins. "

Flying shrugged, and a green glow quickly enveloped the bag before snatching it from my hands. He opened the bag and looked inside for a few seconds before lifting his head and saying, "Mm, I'll take as much as I need later. Okay, I'll try to tell you something. After all, I was supposed to keep an eye on him earlier. "Keep an eye on Daniel? " I asked, raising an interested eyebrow.

" Well, it's a really long story that I REALLY don't want to tell. Let's just focus on the fact that my last queen was very fond of forcing some of her subjects to keep an eye on others." Flying replied, shifting slightly in place as if giving a sign not to ask any further.

But I have to be sure. Sighing, I asked in an almost apologetic tone, "So Daniel used to work for Chrysalis?"

Snorting loudly, Flying nodded very quickly, as if he didn't want to say it out loud.

That is, he literally collaborated with the villain. Although he says the collaboration ended when he dropped chandeliers on Chrysalis, that does not negate the fact.

Despite the desire to ask hundreds more questions, I decided to change the subject. Shifting my weight to the other leg, I asked, "Do you have anything else to tell me?"

Flying tapped his chin thoughtfully with his hoof while holding the bag of money with his magic. Suddenly, a mischievous smile appeared on his lips and he said: "I can show you a place where he will never go in his life. Judging by the fact that you're even asking about him, you're clearly in the mood to hide from him."

My eyes widened slightly and I couldn't help but smile back: "A place where Daniel will never come? Of course, show me! I might even be able to copy this place and he definitely won't enter my house without permission anymore! "

" Great, let's go. " Flying said in an almost commanding tone as he lifted himself slightly into the air with his beetle wings and slowly flew towards Ponyville.

I don't even know how to describe how strange it looks, a horse with beetle wings holding a bag of money with magic.

"I have to adapt to a new reality." I said to myself before following Flying. Surprisingly, he flew slower than Daniel walked. Probably even a pony bug has more decency than this guy.

As I approached Ponyville, I couldn't help but notice how few ponies there were. No, that's not the right word. There's not a single pony here! Maybe I woke up too early? I squinted and looked up at the sky.

No, on the contrary! This time the sun is almost at its zenith. Where could the ponies have gone? So far, the only possibility I can think of is that they are even more afraid of changelings than Daniel. Which is not very logical in my opinion.

For example, in my opinion, an evil and strange guy who is clearly over six feet tall is scarier than a pony that looks like a bug. A little, but scarier.

"Well, look to the right and see!" Flying said excitedly, hovering in the air and pointing to the right with both hooves. Unable to hold back a smile, I turned to where he was pointing and saw a pastry shop in the distance, if I remember correctly. Well, and houses on both sides of the road.

"Uh, I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you're talking about. Which of these things is supposed to be a place Daniel will never enter? " I asked, rubbing my neck in embarrassment.

Flying chuckled briefly and said without diminishing his enthusiasm: "A pastry shop in the middle of the street. Here's the thing. Daniel has a terrible fear of sweets. He would rather say something nicer to me than enter the pastry shop. "

" Seriously, such a fear? Does he really have a phobia of sweets? I'm not sure such a fear even exists. " I replied, casting an incredulous glance at my interlocutor.

In response, he snorted loudly and said, crossing his hooves, "If you don't want to believe it, don't believe it. But the first time you accidentally offend him, you better remember my advice.

I certainly don't believe in this nonsense. Not a drop. But I don't have any other options, right?

Taking a deep breath, I asked, pointing to the pastry shop: "Can you take me there? So I know where I'm going to hide?"

Flying chuckled and said contentedly, "Of course. But for such a favor, I will take even more gold from your bag.

Immediately after saying this, he stopped hanging in the air and began to fly toward the pastry shop, still holding the bag of money with magic. Snorting, I followed him and couldn't help but mumble "Thief".

"It's just honest payment for work!" Flying said loudly when the distance between us was over ten feet. And I spoke almost in a whisper!

This guy seems to have good hearing. Oh.

I decided to change the subject and asked quickly: "So why are you even friends with Daniel?"

One of Flying's eyes widened slightly. I guess that is an alternative to raising an eyebrow. Well, because he has no eyebrows. Anyway, his eye quickly returned to normal, and he replied thoughtfully, looking ahead: "Well, it's interesting to him, you know? A madman knows how to surprise. Sometimes in a good way. Sometimes, well, not so good. "

"I looked at him incredulously and asked confused, "Don't you think that's not a very good reason? I'm sorry, but from the first impression, he is a selfish and very scary person. To say the least. "

Flying shrugged and said with a slight smile: "That's the second reason. I think if he has some crazy idea, at least I'll know about it first. "

" Like the idea of selling flamethrowers? " I asked, unable to suppress a grin.

"Yes, that too. " Flying replied, rolling his eyes.

Despite the fact that changelings look creepy, this guy is clearly nicer than Daniel.

As this thought flashed through my mind, I realized that we had finally reached the pastry shop. It looked like a gingerbread house, like it was made of candy. I think there was something like that in the show. But I can't remember the name.

Without saying a word, Flying landed next to me and walked up two steps at a fast pace before entering the pastry shop. Despite the slight embarrassment of his silence, I followed him. I saw a cozy room with several tables and a display case with lots of donuts, cupcakes, and the like. If Daniel is really afraid of sweets, which I don't think he is, then this place should really scare him.

But the only thing that scares me here is the complete absence of anyone. I think there should be at least one cashier in a place like this. Unable to contain my curiosity, I asked, glancing at Flying: "Do you know where everyone could have gone? The town was very busy yesterday."

Flying just blinked for a few moments, as if he hadn't thought of it. Then he said slowly, "Ah, yes, that's right. I guess everyone at work is on their lunch break right now and they're, uh, on a picnic?"

It sounds very strange. Lunch break is understandable, but on such a scale that the city is completely empty? Strange.

I took a quick breath to express my doubt, but Flying suddenly flew up to be level with me. Taking advantage of my momentary embarrassment, he crossed his hooves and said, "Listen, you just got into this world. So trust me and let me be the hero today. Is that okay?"

I took a deep breath and asked, not too impressed, "Okay, hero. What should we do now? I was supposed to be invited to a party today, but how can that happen when all the ponies are at a picnic, according to you? "

A brief grin appeared on Flying's face before he said, "Well, hmm, how about finding a book on magic or something to kill time? The library's right around the corner."

Well, just yesterday, Ahirata told me that magic is contraindicated for now. But would it not be good to at least get some theoretical knowledge?

After a few moments of thought, I nodded quickly and said with a small smile, "Good idea. Come on."

"Ho, ho, great! That raises my pay even more!" Flying said happily before flying away from the pastry shop. That's what? All this was just to get more money out of me.

"Now I understand why you are friends with Daniel. They're on a similar level of evil! "I said irritably as I ran after Flying to keep up with him. Fortunately, my back has almost completely stopped hurting. So the only thing that keeps me from running all the time is shortness of breath. You could say that I always have a timer for fifteen seconds of continuous running.

I don't really like sports, okay?

As this thought flashed through my mind, my breathing became much heavier and I said, slowing to a walk: "Oh, that's it, no more running. I can't keep up with you."

Flying hovered in the air and grinned: "Yes, now it's clear why you don't like Daniel. He makes you tense all the time, doesn't he?"

When I reached Flying with slow steps, I said with a heavy sigh: "Yes. He literally walks faster than you fly! I'm an artist, not a runner, to move that fast. "

After my answer, something like disappointment flashed across his face. But before I could pay attention to it, he said in a hurried manner: "Well, then retrain! Until you have wings, running will be the cheapest way to get around.

In general, it would be nice to have wings. I guess if I like flying in an airplane, then I should just like flying. Well, I guess.

"Well, that's it, the break is over." Flying said, suddenly starting to move away from the pastry shop again. Oh.

Taking another deep breath, I began to follow him at a brisk pace, this time deciding not to start a conversation. No, this has nothing to do with the fact that I am moving at the limit of my abilities.

Snorting, I decided to pay attention to my thoughts for a moment. Flying definitely behaves strangely. Of course, you could say that a non-weird person would not be friends with Daniel. But there must be something more interesting, right?

By the way, why wasn't Daniel here today? Did I ask that question? I don't think so.

I can't believe I forgot that. I sighed, barely hiding my shame, and asked: "This question should have been asked half an hour ago. But why are you here today instead of Daniel?"

Flying's ear twitched quickly before he rubbed the back of his head and said, "You didn't ask, did you? Well, he's testing a new tank. Since I refused to come, he made me come to you. "

" A new tank? On the one hand, that's terrible, but on the other hand, he promised to fix my door afterwards. " I said with some pleasure. In response to my answer, Flying laughed briefly.

Although, no, I still don't like that such a military theme has started to develop in the world of the anime. For example, why did Daniel start to develop this in the first place?

Shaking my head, I looked back down the street and saw a large tree with windows and a door in front of me. The house of Twilight Sparkle, the main character of the series, if I remember correctly. Hmm. In my opinion, she is almost a recluse. She should be at home.

Flying, she slightly accelerated her flight to land in front of the library door and open it. With a slightly raised eyebrow, I decided not to say anything and just walked into the library. There was a table in the middle of the room with a large box of bottles on it. But there was no one alive inside.

"Oh, my reward!" Flying said happily, quickly running to the drawer and throwing the bag with my money on the table.

"Reward?" came out of my mouth in embarrassment.

"SURPRISE!" Several voices thundered behind me, shockingly loud. After a moment, there was also a lot of banging, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something fall on my shoulder. Confetti?

So it was all going to the party?

Still in shock, I forced myself to turn around and saw a crowd of ponies standing in front of the house. At the front were the six main ponies I knew from the cartoons. Twilight and Rarity looked tired for some reason. In any case, there were countless rows of ponies behind them. It was as if the entire city had gathered. Although, judging by the lack of smiles on some of them, not everyone was happy about it.

I stood there for a few seconds, unable to even move my jaw. Suddenness, attention of this magnitude and a loud greeting. What had I done to deserve such attention?

It seems that Pinkie Pie, noticing my difficulty in answering, jumped up and said excitedly: "Art, did you like the super-large and cool party I threw when I arrived in another world? Like, like, like?"

Suddenly, Twilight closed her mouth before saying with an awkward smile, "Um, so what do you think, Arthur? Did we overdo the party?"

This is probably the most shocking thing that has happened in my life. Except coming here, of course.

Swallowing, I could barely say: "Yes, everything is very cool. But how did you all hide so that the city seemed empty?"

"An invisibility spell. Twilight replied with a sweet smile despite her slightly closed eyes.

"It's very difficult, by the way. I'm afraid I won't be able to lift my hat to go outside tomorrow! Rarity said indignantly as she came closer. Her eyes were also slightly closed, by the way.

I didn't know unicorns could do the same spell together. Interesting.

"Um, my name is Rarity and I am a seamstress. So if you need clothes, please contact me, I'm always happy to help." Rarity said, clearing her throat. Wait, Arthur, don't tell me you know everyone here.

Taking advantage of my momentary inspiration, Fluttershy stood next to Twilight and said quietly, covering half of her face with her mane: "Um, hello. My name is Fluttershy. "

In an instant, Rainbow Dash flew closer and said, crossing her hooves, "Hmm, another human? You don't look like Daniel. "

She quickly pointed her hoof at herself and then at me before saying, "But I, Rainbow Dash, Equestria's fastest flyer, am still watching you.

Not the most polite greeting. Especially for my sister's beloved pony.

Finally, Applejack was standing next to Rarity and opened her mouth to speak. But suddenly a loud and familiar voice rang out: "Arthur, I have come to keep my promise!"

"I was hoping Daniel wouldn't be here today," I muttered, looking ahead to where the voice was coming from. And after a few moments, the ponies parted to the side and stared at Daniel with wide eyes. This time he wore a simple black t-shirt and white jeans with a scabbard attached.

Daniel walked impressively along the strange corridor the ponies formed, keeping his hand on the scabbard to prevent him from seeing what was there. After a few tense and silent seconds, he finally stopped in the middle of the street. He took a deep breath and said: "Arthur, remember I promised you an adventure? That's it."

An adventure? But why now, when the whole city has gathered for me!?

Even the main six separated, as if to leave me alone with Daniel. Swallowing, I looked down and said, rubbing my hands, "Uh, that's cool, man. But now's not a good time. I've got a party to which the whole town is invited and all that..."

Daniel took a deep breath and stared at me coldly. Then he took some extremely fast steps and said, almost bumping his forehead against mine: "I give you ten hours. Exactly after that time, I will come to your house and take you on an adventure. If you don't agree, I won't call you again, understand?"

Stunned by this intrusion into my personal space, I could only nod quickly before taking a step back. For a few seconds, Daniel stood motionless, as if waiting for new words. But in the end, he still turned away from me and said with a faint hint of amusement: "Have a good party, everyone. Especially you, Abdomen. You deserve it."

How sweet, damn it.

For what seemed like an eternity, Daniel walked off into the distance and no one dared to move. It was only when he disappeared around the bend that I let out an unconscious sigh. Several other ponies followed. But the tense atmosphere in the air remained.

The silence was finally broken by Flying in an almost solemn tone: "Did you all hear that? He called me by my REAL name! Ooh, I have to drink at least half of this box for that."

Quickly, I turned my head to see him lift a bottle out of the drawer with his magic. It was a bottle of wine. With a broad smile, Flying opened the alcohol and immediately started drinking straight from the mouth.

Wait, he called it a reward earlier. So he took me around town for a case of wine?

Trying to hide my disappointment, I turned to Pinkie and asked with a sigh, "Um, can we get on with the party, please?"

Her face immediately lit up and she grabbed my hand with her hooves: "Of course! Come on, there's plenty of snack tables outside. Oh, and I've also prepared lots of records so you can find some groovy music. Or even a new favorite song."

Soon she began to lead me forcibly forward into the street and continued to speak very quickly. Even though her words were hard to understand, the atmosphere was still pleasant.

Sis, I really want to tell you that I'm doing pretty well here.