Striving for Adaptation

"Oh, that was something." It came out of my mouth as I finally got to my bed and collapsed on it. The party Pinkie Pie threw was really something. Although the amount of snacks she wanted me to try was a little too much. Just a little.

"Well, it's better than starving. I muttered, rolling onto my back and yawning. Judging by the fact that it was already pitch dark outside, the party went on for a really long time. It was a little sad, though, that even after such a long time, the only ponies I wanted to talk to were the main characters of the show. I didn't dare approach the others. First of all, they were completely unknown to me. And secondly, most of them looked at me with a kind of, uh, apprehension.

Even though a green unicorn was looking at me intently, she did not come up to me. I wonder why?

"It doesn't matter. It's time to sleep." I said shaking my head before adjusting the pillow slightly and covering myself with a blanket. However, the stupid smile couldn't leave my face because of the aftertaste of the party. In a good way, oddly enough, the pony versions of the songs I'm used to, Pinkie Pie's antics, and just the fact of the attention. It's... nice.

But suddenly I had another feeling that kept me from sleeping. It feels like someone is watching me. Someone is staring intently. I haven't felt that since I left my parents' house and my sister stopped making fun of me. So it gets a little tense.

Alarmed, I finally propped myself up on my elbows in bed and looked around. But my gaze almost immediately stopped at the window of my room. There, in the light of the moon, was a human figure standing like a statue. At first I thought it was Daniel. But then the figure put both hands on the window.

Daniel d-doesn't have a second hand.

"What the hell?" I screamed in fright, abruptly jumping out of bed and pressing myself against the wall opposite the window. As if sensing my fear, the human figure reached its arms to the bottom of the window and abruptly lifted it. Along with the quickening pace of my heartbeat, I closed my eyes and defensively put my hands in front of me.

"Arthur, what are you doing?" Daniel's familiar voice asked, making me freeze in shock for a moment. But then I saw that the man outside the window had TWO hands!

Still impressed, I slowly put my hands in my pockets and said, taking a deep breath, "Me? Nothing. I just wanted to sleep, that's all."

Daniel leaned one hand on the windowsill and calmly interrupted: "Arthur, I saw you pressed against the wall. Why are you so scared?"

I replied with an exasperated snort and looked away: "It's okay. I just thought something was weird."

But was it really just a hallucination caused by the desire to sleep?

Daniel, to my surprise, laughed briefly and asked: "You used all ten hours I gave you for the party, didn't you?"

"I really didn't want to go, okay?" I answered awkwardly, rubbing my neck.

He was silent for a while, adding to the awkwardness of the moment. But finally he bothered to shake his head and say, "Okay, I don't really care. Do you want to go on an adventure? Just remember, if you refuse, I won't call you next time. "

I crossed my arms and asked a little irritated, "What kind of adventure? I'd like to know what I'm agreeing to. "

Daniel put his hand on the scabbard and said quickly: "Ahirata wants to know where the lava in Tartarus came from, as she is sure it did not exist before. "

I blinked slowly before expressing my embarrassment: "I don't remember there being lava in Tartarus. On the contrary, it was very cold there. "

Daniel snapped his fingers and replied immediately: "Ahirata blocked the lava flow by creating new rocks. "

Oh, that explains the coolness.

Shaking my head quickly, I asked with a hint of disappointment in my voice, "Okay, is that all? Doesn't sound like much of an adventure."

Daniel smiled, the moonlight reflecting off his white teeth. I'm a little jealous, to be honest. Ahem, after a short pause Daniel finally answered: "The lava flow is coming from the southeast. Do you know what else is in that direction? The land of dragons. "

For a moment this news stunned me and he continued: "Everything is obvious, I think. There was once a great lake from which water flowed to Tartarus through an underground river. But the dragons filled the lake with lava for their needs. "

Despite the strong interest, I couldn't help but ask a more mundane question: "Dragons are cool, of course. But what am I going to do in this adventure? I'm not allowed to use magic yet, and my back still hurts a little. "

Daniel put his hand aside and replied calmly: "I missed the part where that's my problem. You need an adventure and I suggest you go. At worst, you'll just watch as Ahirata and I solve problems. "

It sounds really boring. And it's a shame. And unpleasant. And there are many other ingredients in the cocktail of bad feelings.

But just looking at the adventure is not bad. With a snort, I reluctantly and slowly replied, "Okay, I'll go with you. But for the sake of decency, at least try to find something for me to do."

Daniel smiled contentedly and said, holding out his left hand, "Great, now take my hand. "

Almost unconsciously I held out my right hand and before I could figure out what was wrong, Daniel asked with a grin: "You understand that it's not very comfortable for me to grab like this? But okay, I'll manage. "

" What?" I only managed to say before I was stunned by a strange feeling that ran through my whole forehead. It's vaguely similar to the feeling I had when I arrived in Equestria, but not as intense. Oh, my head is spinning anyway.

Suddenly, I realized that I was no longer in my room. I was facing a very long flight of stairs. Trying to ignore the sharp drop in temperature, I looked around and quickly realized where I was. Tartarus.

"It's cool that I learned to teleport with someone, huh?" Daniel asked smugly, putting his hand behind his head.

As much as I hate to deny it, it's really cool. At least because I didn't have to go through seven thousand steps.

"Oh, I was beginning to think that you were going to deceive me and not come." I heard a woman's voice from above. Looking up, I saw Ahirata standing at the top of the stairs. But this time, most of her scales were covered by a very strange armor. Well, they were made of wood, leaves and vines. On her forehead, the vines intertwined to form a kind of wreath.

Ahirata took a few steps down the stairs and asked at the same time, her gaze fixed on me: "Mm, don't think it rude, Article, but why are you here?"

"My name is Arthur," I said, crossing my arms in mild indignation. Does she come to me every day to touch my soul, and yet she doesn't remember my name? Hurtful.

In response, she smiled guiltily and said slowly, "I'm sorry. It's really hard for me to remember names. But you still haven't answered the question.

I don't even want to be mad at her. Unlike Daniel, she did only good.

Nodding slightly, I finally answered, looking in Daniel's direction: "Well, he said you wanted to understand where the lava in your Tartarus came from. And since I wanted an adventure for myself, he invited me to go with you."

To my surprise, Ahirata stopped a few steps from the end of the stairs and pinched the bridge of her nose with two fingers. She let out a long sigh and asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice, "Daniel, I know you're not stupid. Why did you take a man who can't even use magic on such a so-called adventure?"

Glancing at Daniel, I saw that he had managed to lean against the nearest wall while I was not looking at him. With a short chuckle he said, completely unperturbed: "First of all, he asked for the adventure himself. Second, with the two of us, objectively, nothing on this planet can threaten him. And third, I want to show off a little."

Seriously?

"Really?" A soft word escaped my lips as I raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Ahirata asked loudly, frowning heavily. Ha, full synchronization.

Daniel replied by extending his left hand forward, as if giving a stop sign. After a few moments of silence, he finally said, "Yes, I want to show off. I have been practicing fencing with Luna for two whole weeks. I want to see what happens against a big gate. Imagine what an impression it will make on someone who just arrived in Equestria a few days ago. "

Ahirata snorted loudly, without smoke to my disappointment, and said firmly, "I will solve this problem peacefully. I will not allow bloodshed in any form, especially such an unjustified one. Do you understand me? "

Daniel sighed tiredly and said very reluctantly: "Just remember to nod when you find your methods ineffective. "

How cocky, damn it. As if the decisions of others are always wrong.

With a snort I decided that I had been quiet enough and asked: "Okay, when are we going? I'm getting cold already."

Ahirata sighed and finally went down the last stairs. Then she walked past me to the exit and said calmly, "Follow me. I have prepared everything so that the movement will be fast enough."

"I hope you prepared warm clothes." I said, starting to follow her and hugging myself to warm up a bit.

"You won't need them." Daniel replied, rolling his eyes.

How can you stand it? All you have on is a T-shirt and jeans.

Rubbing my eyes lightly to rid them of sleep, I followed Ahirata in silence. On the way, my eyes couldn't help but be distracted by the sights of Tartarus. Despite the fact that this place is deep in the ground, you can still see the dried-up trees in the distance, but still. And in the extremely high ceiling there were holes through which one could see the first floor.

Suddenly I bumped into something and apparently stopped completely. Yes, I was looking in the wrong place. Taking a step back, I saw that Ahirata had stopped in front of the wall and didn't even seem to notice that I had bumped into her. Instead, she just stood in front of the wall for a few seconds. Uh, is she okay?

Suddenly, a piece of the wall was covered in a red glow, and a sound like chalk on a blackboard filled the air. After a few moments, my eyes widened at the sight of the stone wall moving apart. And almost immediately, hot steam began to flow through the widening gap.

Well, I wanted it to be warmer. It looks like I got what I wanted.

Soon the steam dissipated and I saw what was behind the wall. A huge river of lava with a wide stone platform of a certain shape. It vaguely resembled a ship, but it was flat. Ahirata took a step forward and asked standing on the platform: "Is everyone ready?"

At an extremely fast pace, Daniel walked past me and said, jumping onto the platform: "Let's go faster, okay?"

On the other hand, I couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Don't you think we're going to suffocate? Like, a confined space, a river of lava and all that. "

" If you get stuffy, just tell me and I'll make a tunnel to the surface so you can breathe. " Ahirata replied, folding her clawed hands in front of her in an almost pleading gesture.

Um, I'm not sure that's even possible. But maybe I need to get used to magic?

Sighing, I took an uncertain step onto the platform and took a few more steps to get away from Daniel. Ahirata stared at both of us for a few moments before her eyes glowed red. Suddenly, the platform shook beneath my feet, causing me to ask in a frightened voice, "What are you doing?"

"Don't scream." Daniel said coldly and grabbed my hand. It seemed that the shaking of the platform had no effect on him.

While I desperately tried to keep my balance, my eyes discovered a detail. The platform was moving right through the lava. Very slowly, but damn it, it's moving. Still confused, I opened my mouth a little, but Ahirata interrupted me with a strained voice: "Keep it down. It's been a long time since I managed such large structures."

As if in response to my raised eyebrow, a large paddle suddenly appeared from under the lava, which was as stony as the platform. Then the paddle made another turn. And another. And more! At some point, the platform started to move really fast!

I don't even know what to say. Like, I never thought I'd see giant paddles guiding me down a river of lava.

Daniel suddenly released my hand and said to sit in the lotus position: "Okay, this shouldn't take long. You can sleep if you want to."

"I'm not sure I could sleep in this environment." I replied, mesmerized, looking at the lava that our strange ship is making its way through.

"Listen, don't you find it strange? As if the air next to the lava should be so hot that it even hurts to breathe. Well, it always seemed that way to me." I said, turning my head towards Daniel.

He closed his eyes and said with a hand on his leg, "I'm used to strange things happening in Equestria. Get used to it, it's not Earth anymore. "

Sighing, I quickly changed the subject and couldn't help but chuckle: "Are you going to meditate now? You look like a monk. Especially with your super short haircut. "

" Meditation is useful for developing control over magic. " Daniel replied before taking a deep breath and exhaling for a long time.

You could have played along at least once.

With a snort, I simply sat down on the platform. After a quick glance at Ahirata, whose eyes were burning bright red, I asked a little nervously, "Um, is everything okay? She's almost like a statue."

"Yes, she's fine. It just takes a lot of attention to control something like that. "Daniel replied calmly and quickly waved in the direction of a large oar. By the way, after a quick glance in the other direction, I saw a second such paddle. It makes perfect sense.

After this revelation I did not know what to say and there was almost complete silence. The only things that diluted it were the sounds of the oars and Daniel's measured breathing. After playing with my fingers a little, I asked boredly, "Do you have any cards or anything? I'm bored, a little. And, as I said, I can hardly fall asleep in this environment. "

Without opening his eyes, Daniel just took the scabbard from his belt and threw it at me. He didn't say a word, but I have to admit that I'm quite interested. What kind of weapon could he take on such an adventure?

I am sure that this is something as barbaric as possible. Although a huge two-handed sword can hardly fit in such a scabbard . . .

"Okay, let's see," I muttered softly before carefully placing my hand on the red handle. There was a long and very menacing spike on the pommel. The front of the hilt was decorated with a gold chain protecting the hand that holds the sword.

"Show off." I grumbled briefly before carefully pulling my sword from its sheath. To no avail. I grabbed the scabbard itself with my other hand and pulled hard, but again to no avail. Gritting my teeth, I pulled with all my might, but still managed to free the blade only slightly. That was enough to open my eyes.

The blade had a strange undulating shape that vaguely resembled a flame. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to pull out of its sheath. With a snort, I put the sword back into its sheath with some effort and said slowly, "It's cool, of course, but it doesn't really look like entertainment.

There was no response. Daniel didn't move at all. Only his breathing showed that he was still alive. And suddenly it dawned on me.

He gave me a sword to distract me and he completely went into meditation!

I wanted to curse this guy, but suddenly I felt a pleasant coolness and a bright white light. Turning to the source, I saw that this cave finally ended and that there was an exit to the surface ahead. Hmm, that was really fast.

As the stone platform emerged into the white light, I saw an incredible sight. A huge lava lake and sleeping dragons on its shores. The whole scene was illuminated by a large moon in the sky. Looking at it all, I could only say one thing: "Wow".

Almost immediately after my words, Ahirata sighed loudly and heavily. Worried, I quickly turned to her and at the same moment, she fell to her knees. I quickly approached her and asked, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm just a little tired. " Ahirata exhaled and rubbed her forehead with one of her clawed hands. Despite the not very distorting eyes, it seems to me that she understates a lot.

"Oh, have we arrived?" Daniel asked slowly, as if he had just woken up from a dream. Then, without paying any attention to Ahirata's condition, he simply went to his scabbard and hung it on his hip.

With every minute I spend with him, I'm more and more convinced that he doesn't care about anyone but himself.

After a few heavy breaths, Ahirata stood on both feet and asked wearily: "Daniel, can you teleport us to the shore? I don't think I'll be able to concentrate for long."

With a snort, he put his hand on her shoulder and suddenly there was a blue flash. They both disappeared. And I'm still here. On a stone platform surrounded by lava. Outraged, I asked loudly, "Hey, what about me?"

As if in answer to my question, there was a flash to my right and Daniel reappeared. Before I could blink, he grabbed my arm and my head suddenly spun around. His eyes went dark as well. I don't seem to be able to handle two teleportations a day.

Oh, how strange it is . . .

Suddenly the strange feeling stopped and I staggered, but fortunately did not fall on the rock. After stabilizing, I was able to let my eyes explore the new location. I was standing on a small hill overlooking the lava lake and the stone desert around it. From here, the platform on which we were sailing looked very insignificant.

As I continued to survey the view, Daniel hurriedly asked: "So we made sure that the lava in Tartarus comes from the lava lake. And even the assumption that it was in the land of the dragons turned out to be true. What now?"

Ahirata just took a deep breath for a while before she said uncertainly, "Um, the dragons have a lord, if I remember correctly. Maybe we should ask him for permission to normalize this lake? "

" Just in case, I'll ask. Do you really have to turn Tartarus into an underground garden? " Daniel asked when I finally looked away from the lava lake and at them.

In response, Ahirata put her hands on her hips and said firmly, "Yes, I want to do it. "

But why ? Isn't it easier to just buy a house on the surface and make a garden there?

Daniel cupped the bridge of his nose with two fingers and asked slowly, "Okay, but why can't you find another lake as a water source?"

"Because all the necessary tunnels have been dug. With my condition, it will take at least ten years to make new ones. Turning this lava lake back into a normal one will be much faster. Ahirata said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"But how will we find the Dragon Lord? If there even is one." I asked, raising an embarrassed eyebrow.

Daniel chuckled briefly and said, looking at the sleeping dragons along the shore, "Well, we could ask them."

Ahirata quickly shook her head and said, "No, that is a bad idea. If they ask why we are looking for him, they will not be satisfied with an honest answer. And I don't want to lie. "

" Yes, me too. " Daniel said with a quick nod.

I didn't think they would be so focused on honesty.

Finally, I hesitantly decided to offer: "Maybe we'll just, well, find the biggest river that flows out of this lake and follow it? If I understand correctly, dragons love lava, so their master must have a lot of it."

They both focused on me, making me tense for a moment. Did I say something stupid? At least I have an excuse. Daniel didn't bother to explain anything properly!

Fortunately, Ahirata finally spoke and rubbed her chin, "It's not a bad idea. Everything sounds logical. So I think we have to find the biggest river that flows out of this lake. "

Daniel adjusted his glasses and asked, pointing ahead: "Is this branch big enough?"

Ahirata and I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a wide river of lava flowing somewhere far away. Just to clarify how wide it was, the largest sleeping dragons were not even a quarter of its width.

Yes, I think it will do.

We both nodded almost simultaneously and Daniel said, starting to walk quickly: "Well, everything's fine. Come on. "

Taking a deep breath, Ahirata followed him as well, but I couldn't contain my curiosity: "Can't you just teleport us a long way at a time so we can get there faster? "

Daniel laughed loudly and said without turning to me, "When the battle starts, and I'm sure it will, I'll need all the magic I can get. So I don't need any extra expenses. "

It looks like my legs are going to hurt like hell again the next day.