Adrian groggily awoke to vaguely familiar stimuli. A soft surface beneath him. The feel of twice slept in clothing against his skin. The warmth of a blanket covering most of his form. The multiple masses of pressure and warmth pressed against him here and there. His dulled mind fancifully danced over ideas as to what those little weights of warmth might be. The matter certainly didn't seem all that important... That is, until he fully awoke.
Adrian's eyes snapped open as the potential danger of these mystery lumps finally dawned on him. The first thing he noticed was that the room he awoke in was rather dark. However, the dark did not manage to fully impede his sight. As he cast his gaze over his body, he saw what appeared to be various curled up... Animals? It was certainly hard to tell in the dark, but he did recognise the white fur of a rabbit that was resting squarely on his chest. Evidently, he had been far less threatening to them in his sleep. It seemed that Fluttershy had been correct after all.
Adrian mulled over the idea of moving, but the various small creatures nestled against the blanket looked too comfortable. He drew a deep breath before allowing himself to completely relax on the couch Fluttershy had been so kind as to offer for a sleeping place. As per prediction, it had been a bit small, but it was still comfortable irregardless.
As he laid in the dark, Adrian spent the time thinking over his situation. He had a few days before he could expect to meet this Discord and be sent home. The problem with that being he had no idea what he was going to do to fill that time. He'd probably do what he could to help Fluttershy. It was the least he could do to repay her kindness. Perhaps he could meet some of her friends. Spending some time in the library didn't sound too bad. He could also explore the Everfree if he so desired.
With the matter of activities out of the way, his mind turned to a rather unpleasant stimulus that he wasn't certain how to address: the feel of worn, sweated-in clothes against his skin. Walking around in the sun hadn't done his clothes any favours. He'd probably have to manually wash his clothes in a river. Fluttershy could probably provide him with soap, if she was amicable to the idea of giving some to him, of course. He'd probably handle washing his clothes before anything else.
His mind played with other, unimportant matters until he noticed the lighting in the room begin to change. He turned his gaze to the window conveniently placed above his resting place. He watched as the colour of the sky shifted with the imminent rise of the sun. He knew that the beautiful, dark blue would soon make a glorious transition to rich orange once that celestial body made itself known.
He turned his gaze towards the rabbit as it was the first to begin shifting in preparation of waking. Slowly, its eyes opened. It stared him in the eyes for a few moments before it stood and stretched with a yawn.
Adrian gave the creature a smile. “Good morn'.”
The rabbit, unsurprisingly, did not offer a response other than to stare at him for a brief moment before hopping to the floor.
With the noise of Adrian's words, the other creatures sleeping against him began to stir. With the light of a now-rising sun, he could easily see a few rodents and a single red bird. Adrian froze as he felt a smooth, sinuous form shifting against his left leg. He slowly sat up and watched as a snake slithered from beneath the blanket near his feet. He was unsurprised that the serpent was already able to move efficiently. His body heat had likely made him an excellent thing to sleep near. He was more surprised by the fact that it had chosen to rest near him. The creatures of this world were obviously far more trusting of man than those of his own.
With the creatures going their own ways, Adrian finally rose to his feet and stretched. The delicious sound of cracks emanated from his spine and a few of his joints. With that done, he sat back down on the couch and waited for his hostess to awaken of her own accord.
As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long before he heard the fall of hoof against wood. If that wasn't telling enough, then there was also the sound of gentle humming to go by. As she was a caretaker of animals, he fully understood why she would wake with the rising sun. He watched the foot of the stairs as he tracked her descent with his hearing.
She almost recoiled as she took the final step and noticed Adrian sitting and staring. “Oh, my. Have you been awake long?”
Adrian shrugged. “Not too long. Maybe half an hour. Probably less.”
She sighed in relief. “Thank goodness. I thought you'd been waiting on me for a long time.” She paused. “Come to think of it, I didn't even ask if you were an early riser.” Her cheeks flushed. “How silly of me.”
Adrian waved his hand dismissively. “Think nothing of it. You owe me nothing, yet you've offered much. For this, I am indebted to you.”
At his words, she blushed. “Well, I couldn't just let you sleep outside. You only have your clothes to protect you.”
Adrian hopped on such a segue. “Ah, yes. Speaking of clothes, I find mine in need of a wash... Along with my own person. I was wondering, and I do hate to impose any further on your kindness, if I could use any soap you have to spare.” A thought struck him and he hastily continued, “But don't let me take any if it's your last.” He figured she'd likely be too sweet and kind in that regard, and he refused to inconvenience her to that degree, even if she was willing.
She giggled, presumably at his flustered politeness. “You can certainly have some soap. I don't mind. Just wait a moment while I go get some.”
~~~
With soap acquired and in hand, Adrian was now staring into a section of the stream a respectable distance from Fluttershy's home. He touched the water and sighed. It was chilly. Adrian lamented what he was about to do as he stripped out of his various garments. He briefly hesitated as he looked down at his boxers. He'd never stripped completely bare out in the open before. He was hesitant.
With a final steeling of will, he pulled his boxers down and stepped into the water. It only came up to his mid-thigh, but it would suffice. Before he could even think of hesitating, he dropped his entire body into the water. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't as chilly as he thought it should be. The water actually felt comforting. Something strange welled in him as the water seemed to caress his form. He shook off the weird sensation. He hastily lathered his hands with soap and began scrubbing down his body with his hands. With the scrubbing done, he dunked beneath the water again. Once again, that strange feeling of rightness washed through him. He stood above the surface once again and shook his head to clear it of water.
“Excuse me, but do you need something to dry yourself with?”
Adrian's heart skipped a beat. Various expletives raced through his mind as he rapidly processed the situation. The ponies certainly didn't wear clothing. None of them had seen a human before, and it was quite safe to assume they had no concept of his culture. He'd only seen a bare few minimum elements of clothing, and none had covered posteriors. With that split second reasoning, Adrian calmed himself and overrode his sense of modesty. He wouldn't be flaunting himself, and he certainly wasn't going to abandon clothing, but there was no sense to be had in overreacting to being seen uncovered. At least, not in this world.
In spite of that logical assessment, Adrian still struggled to keep his voice steady. “That won't be necessary. Thank you though.”
Fluttershy seemed concerned for a moment. “But, how are you going to dry off?”
Adrian's lower legs were beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable, so he stepped out of the water. “I don't have fur to retain water. That makes drying incredibly easy. Still, thank you for your concern.”
She giggled. “Oh, how silly of me. I hadn't even considered that. And, you're very welcome.”
Adrian sat down on the grassy shore to dry off as he watched her go about her morning chores for the animals. He had to admit that he was surprised. Many of the animals that she cared for were wholly undomesticated back on his own world. The birds were the most surprising. The mammals he could understand, but avians and reptiles had a relatively alien set of instinctual responses. In a strange way, it kind of made sense. Almost everything else in this world defied expectation, and he probably shouldn't expect the animals to be any different.
The morning sun was fairly weak, but he was still drying at an acceptable rate with the relatively warm air around him. Adrian grinned as he reveled in the feeling of being clean. He spent a few moments enjoying it before he began the arduous process of cleaning his clothing without even a washboard to aid him. It was no easy task, but one by one he went through each article of clothing and cleansed it thoroughly with soap and water. It gave him a certain appreciation for people who had to clean their clothes without the use of industrial-age tools.
As Adrian stared at his clean, wet clothing, a thought dawned on him. His only clothes were soaked. He'd have to air dry them. Air drying took considerable time... Adrian sighed as he stared into the depths of his own lack of planning. He should have at least washed them first and then himself. Sometimes he managed to surprise himself with his own lack of awareness and general stupidity.
He continued mentally scolding himself as he hung the items on a nearby tree branch. With the rising sun striking them, and the relatively balmy air, it would maybe take them an hour and a half to dry. That meant an hour and a half of nudity. Hopefully, nothing untoward would happen before his clothes finished drying.
To his great fortune, nothing particularly bad happened while he waited. Fluttershy came by to chat for a bit. That situation was still mildly awkward to him, but he did his very best to suppress his discomfort. She had informed him that she had written the letter, and it had subsequently been picked up by the mailpony. They had then proceeded to chat about mundane matters. They shared a little about one another's childhoods, and they each talked about their friends and family. After that, she had let him be, and he patiently waited for his clothes to dry while admiring the simple beauty of the world around him.
Adrian sighed in relief as he pulled on his clothes once more. Boxers. White undershirt. Purple dress shirt. Black pants. Dark leather belt. Black socks. Black dress boots. Thin, black tie with subtle, purple, floral accents. With the eldredge knot of his tie complete, he felt whole once more.
Adrian made his way back towards Fluttershy's home while keeping an eye out for the self-same mare. Now that he and his clothes were clean and dry, he fully intended to do whatever he could to repay his hostess for her considerable kindness. When he failed to find her outside, he approached the door to check within. As he approached, he pondered whether he should knock. He invested a moment or two in thought before deciding on being safe over sorry. With that reasoning in mind, he rapped his knuckles against the door.
He heard hooffalls within before Fluttershy opened the door. She giggled lightly. “You know you don't have to knock.” Her expression shifted for a moment. “Oh, my. Unless it's a custom of yours, of course.”
Adrian couldn't help but laugh over the irony. He'd just defied one of his culture's major customs, and she was worried that she'd just insulted one of them. “Oh, no, it's not a custom. I just wanted to be as polite as possible.” He grinned. “I would hate to come across you at an inopportune moment.” The joke would be lost on her, of course, but it was still worth a smile.
His mind snapped back into focus as he recalled why he'd been searching for her. “Ah, yes. Fluttershy, is there anything at all that I ca...” He allowed the sentence to trail off as he felt a peculiar tremor pass through the earth. He couldn't explain why, but it felt familiar somehow. For reasons unknown, these light tremors were filling him with the oddest feelings of endurance and strength.
“Adrian?”
Fluttershy's questioning tone snapped his focus back to her. “Do you feel that?”
A look of concern crossed her face. Her tone was sincere and curious as she asked, “Ummmm, what should I be feeling?”
Adrian shifted his feet. “The tremors. They're so gentle but definitely there.” Even though they were so light, she should still be able to feel them. It confused Adrian that she couldn't.
Just as quickly as the tremors came, they faded. The peculiar feelings went with them as they ceased. Adrian gave the mysterious feelings some brief thought before giving up. There was no readily apparent answer, and he doubted one would make itself known at the moment. It was best to just move on.
“They stopped.”
Fluttershy looked at him curiously for a few moments before smiling. “Well, I'm glad they weren't a problem. Maybe humans are just more sensitive to vibrations than ponies.”
Adrian was legitimately surprised that he hadn’t even considered that. He would need to stop thinking in such an ethnocentric manner for the few days he would remain here. It might lead him to do or say something particularly embarrassing. He certainly didn't want to leave that impression behind.
“You're probably right. It's usually the opposite back on my world. Humans are particularly dull to the signs of nature. Other living things are far more sensitive to the environment than us.” He shrugged. “It's a little weird, to be honest.”
Fluttershy smiled endearingly. “Maybe this world is doing you some good after all.”
Once again, her insight nearly stunned him. He'd merely thought it a matter of being different species. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was the environment that was shaping him like this. There were so many unknown variables here, and he wasn't exactly comfortable with how little he actually knew.
Adrian focused his attention once more. “Speaking of “doing some good”, I was wondering if there was anything at all I could help you with.”
Fluttershy tilted her head as she seemed to think. After a moment, she righted her head and gave a perky smile. “I'm sorry, but I can't think of anything. I've already finished all of my morning chores.”
“Are you certain? I feel rather poorly for having nothing to offer for your kindness.” Adrian sincerely wanted to repay her.
She smiled sweetly. “Yes, I am.” She paused for a moment. “I know. If you really want to repay me, you can come into town with me. I'm having lunch with Rarity, and I would love for you to meet her. She's eloquent, thoughtful, and sweet, and I know you two would get along so well.”
Adrian immediately saw a problem. “I noticed currency was being used for transactions when we went to Twilight's library yesterday. I do not have any.”
Fluttershy only continued smiling. “Oh, don't worry. It will be my treat.”
Adrian resisted the rather powerful urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Her idea of him “repaying” her was her treating him to lunch and him meeting a friend of hers. Somehow, that didn't exactly seem like repayment... However, there was something in her gaze that gave him a nagging suspicion that denying her request would sadden her. A compromise formed in Adrian's mind.
Adrian put an edge of stubbornness into his voice. “I'll come with you to meet Rarity. However, there will be no treating, and this doesn't count towards repaying your kindness.”
A rather disturbing realisation dawned on him as he realised why he was so readily able to deny her offer. He wasn't hungry. His mind raced as this surprisingly mundane thing started to instill a mild panic into him. He hadn't had anything but tea in close to two whole days, and he wasn't even remotely hungry. Adrian's mind raced over fearsome possible explanations. Within a split second, he forcefully calmed himself with an interior repetition of his favourite mantra: Acquire. Assimilate. Adapt.
“Is something wrong?”
Adrian cursed himself for not being able to hide his reaction quick enough to avoid worrying her. “I just realised that I haven't eaten in almost two days, but I don't feel hungry. Humans usually feel hungry within a day if we eat nothing. It was kind of concerning, but I don't really feel ill in any other way. I should be fine.” This assurance was intended to comfort himself as much as it was to comfort her.
“Oh, my. Are you sure you're feeling well?” She flapped her wings and gently rose to Adrian's level. Once there, she pressed her forehead against his own. He recognised this as an archaic way of checking temperature. Her fur was also quite soft. It made him wonder what her feathers felt like. “You don't feel warm.”
Adrian couldn't help but chime in, “We're not the same species, so our natural temperatures may be different.” He almost immediately regretted saying that as she stared into his eyes with worry written on her face. “Don't worry. I'm fine. If I start feeling ill in any way, you'll be the first to know. Okay?”
That promise seemed to assuage the worst of her worry. “Alright. You probably know yourself better than I do.” Her voice betrayed her lingering disquiet.
Adrian could see that she still seemed unsettled. He leaned forward and nuzzled his forehead against her own. “Don't you worry. We humans are tough.” As he withdrew his head, Adrian's mind was roaring in confusion. The most pressing matter was figuring out where the bloody hell that nuzzle impulse had sprung from. It was out of character, and, based on Fluttershy's surprised expression, she thought so as well. “I'm terribly sorry. I don't know—”
“Please don't worry about it. It was... Nice.”
Adrian sighed in relief. “I'm glad it didn't put you off. I have no idea where that came from.” In actuality, he had a nagging suspicion that it was connected to his childhood habit of rubbing his forehead against the family dog's when he and they were playing. This brought with it the disconcerting idea that he subconsciously thought of her as an animal. That didn't sit well with him. There was no way she, and the rest of her kind, were anything less than sapient creatures. It somewhat disgusted him that some part of his mind might be thinking that way.
Fluttershy gently landed once more. Adrian couldn't help but notice her rather enigmatic smile. He decided against prying into it.
“So, now that we've determined that I am not dying, when is Rarity expecting you?”
“Lunch isn't for another two hours. We have plenty of time.”
Adrian almost immediately pondered how to spend two hours. He'd fully been expecting to assist Fluttershy by performing chores of some sort. With that course denied him, he now had to find some other way to fill his time, lest he perish of boredom. He honestly wanted to visit the library. He could easily spend two hours there and then meet Fluttershy at whatever place they were going to for lunch.
“Where, exactly, are you meeting Rarity for lunch, and how would one go about getting there from, say, the library?”
She giggled. “We're going to meet Rarity at Cornerstone Cafe. From the library, just head east. It's not very difficult to spot.”
“Does the sun rise from the east in this world?” He had to admit that he was rather proud of his brain for thinking of that.
She nodded.
“Excellent. Should you have need of me, I do believe you know where I'll be.”
She smiled in amusement. “I hope you have fun.”
~~~
Adrian had no trouble in getting Twilight to let him read in the Golden Oak Library. In fact, she seemed positively pleased by the idea of it. After she'd finished setting him up with his first book, she left Spike in charge so she could get some reading done in her study. Adrian made sure to ask Spike if he could say something when two hours had passed. The little dragon was curious, so Adrian explained his noon plans.
Adrian started with an introductory history book and had spent around forty minutes reading it. It had been enlightening. With information gleaned from the book, Adrian came to the conclusion that this world had far more fantasy themes going on than just magic, semi-sapient animals, and mythical creatures. The very history of these ponies was like a fantasy novel. It certainly made reading about it interesting.
Adrian placed the history book down with a sigh. He cast his eyes about until he spotted Spike adjusting books. “Excuse me, Spike.”
He responded without taking his eyes off his work. “Yeah?”
“Do you have any books on interspatial travel and or chaos magic.”
Spike momentarily froze in a manner telling of discomfort and surprise. He responded as he continued placing books. “No, we don't have books like those. Ponies can't learn chaos magic and interspatial travel is fueled by it. Sorry.”
“No worries. I just wanted to have an idea of what I should expect.” Adrian paused to think for a moment. “Would you happen to have any books covering the various types of magic found in this world?”
Spike pointed to a shelf to his left. “Now, that we do have. The Compendium of Magic by Starswirl the Bearded. It's the thick, blue book down there.”
Adrian recalled the name from the history book he had just finished. Starswirl had been a powerful mage and a magical experimenter of the highest order. A book written by him on the topic of magic was likely worth reading. Adrian rose to his feet and retrieved the book. Well, it was more of a tome really. “Thanks,” he said as he returned to his seat on the ground near the table.
“No problem. Just let me know if you need help looking for anything else.”
Adrian inhaled deeply as he opened the expansive book. “I'll keep that in mind.”
The tome was deserving of its thickness. Adrian poured over the sorcerous magic of unicorns, the shamanic magic of the zebra tribes, and the very small section devoted to explaining the basic mechanics of chaos magic. It even included a detailed explanation for the passive magic of this world and how it made itself known in a wide variety of living things. He learned much about the basic and advanced mechanics of these varied fields of magic. A fascinating topic had been Starswirl's hypothesis for why unicorns were incapable of using chaotic or shamanic magic.
Adrian sighed as he closed the tome. He now theoretically understood how to use sorcery and shamanic magic. The emphasis being on “theoretically”. Sadly, the book hadn't really explained how to use chaos magic. Starswirl himself had seemed to only have a tenuous grasp of its basic nature. One thing Adrian noticed was a lack of any mention of healing magic. He was heavily skeptical of the idea that no species had attempted to use magic to accelerate healing.
Adrian turned his gaze to the library clock. Based on the position of its needles, the time was 11:43. He was glad that the ponies had already developed such a tool. The clocks were even designed in a manner similar to those found back on his world. He'd been surprised when he actually focused on the clock and realised that their world apparently shared a near identical time keeping system with his own. He'd smacked himself on the forehead for not considering that variable before sitting down to read that history book.
Adrian returned the book to its shelf and nodded towards Spike, who was in the process of reading a comic of some kind. “Hey, Spike. I'll be going now. Give my regards to Twilight.”
“Will do. Have fun on your date.” There was mild playfulness in the dragon's tone.
Adrian froze mid-step near the doorway. “'Tis not a date.”
Spike chuckled and flicked to a new page. “Sure. Sure.”
“I intend to leave this world soon. I would not toy with an individual bearing such kindness in their heart.” His voice was calm but carried a subtle edge.
Spike gave a noncommittal shrug. “I was messing with you. No need to get upset.”
Adrian blinked rapidly as his mind cleared. He was talking to a rather young individual. It was highly unlikely that he had implied an insult of character. He wondered what was wrong with him today. First an impulsive nuzzle, and now an equally impulsive spike of aggression. Something was off. This was highly unusual.
“I'm terribly sorry. See you around.”
Spike nodded in his direction. “Apology accepted. See ya.”
Adrian mumbled to himself as he walked east from the library. “Ugh, what is wrong with me today? My mind is on the fritz. Reacting so to mere child's jest.” He paid little attention to the strange glances he received for his mumblings.
Some unknown part of him was still nagging on about it, so he reassured himself by reasoning why this was not a date. He was simply going to meet a friend of Fluttershy's. He wasn't even going to be eating. That thought served to bring back the disconcerting memory of his complete lack of hunger. He gently sighed as he thought about how outright strange that was in connection with all the other weirdness going on. As he mulled the morning over in his mind, he was able to casually list a few more peculiar occurrences than he would have liked. First was the chilly water not being as biting as it should have. Then those peculiar tremors. Not to mention the odd and foreign feelings that accompanied both of those events. The aforementioned lack of hunger. Of course, the rather impromptu and unexpected nuzzle. Now, a bout of restrained aggression at what was effectively a child's joke. None of these things were natural for him.
He continued to reason as he walked. Surely there was some logic behind this. As he had concluded long ago, he had no history of mental illness. Well, that was excluding the entire situation he found himself in. He still wasn't perfectly certain that this wasn't some terrible trick of the mind. This world seemed too fantastic to be real. However, only madness lay down that train of thought. As he thought about the symptoms, he realised that it was almost like his own personality was being temporarily overridden in short bursts. That was, of course, impossible. Dissociative identity disorder was one of many mental illnesses he did not suffer. There had to be an explanation. There was always an explanation.
He almost came to a stop as the collective enormity of all these individually minor occurrences became apparent. There was something seriously wrong with him. The scariest part being, he had nobody to turn to for answers.
When he detected the faint signals of oncoming panic, he clamped down his will and forced his mind into a steely stillness. He was in control. He would remain in control. Whatever the source of these unnatural things, he would best it. It would have to physically destroy his mind before he would ever willingly concede. There was simply no way he would allow himself to devolve into insanity. With those comforting thoughts, he relaxed into a placid calm.
He put the matter completely out of mind as a building, with a sign proclaiming the title “Cornerstone Cafe”, came into view. It seemed a nice enough place from the outside. He maintained his calm as he approached. He was not going to allow any weirdness to overtake him during this meeting with Rarity. Nothing untoward would happen. He would not allow it.