*Isaac followed to the left of Shining as he showed him around more of the castle. He would point out landmarks outside the windows- those, Isaac ignored while trying to seem interested- and various tapestries and statues within, which Isaac was entranced by; they were beautifully woven, excellently carved, and the scenes some depicted surprised Isaac with their history- A whole kingdom enslaved, by a single unicorn. The child could feel their pain in the expressions. He understood their plight, in some small way. The feeling made him bit more at ease about being here.
Though he still felt nervous about tomorrow.
He was being dropped in a group of children who had known each other far longer than he had. And while he was now learning the absolute basics of their culture, they were raised on it. They inherently knew things he didn’t, and whatever he knew likely would not ever be of use.
On top of that, he had not been to a school at all in the past… as long as he could recall. Granted, the last school he had attended was only a small portion of early grade school, but it could have been important. If he remembered. Maybe.
And he could not neglect the elephant in the room, the species. Oranges to Apples. An insignificant, disappearing ice cube to a roaring, bright fire. He was so strange, so alien, compared to them… a barrier nothing could surmount.
Nothing would ever make them accept what he is. Nothing would mend the disparity of experiences. And nothing could entice them to like who he is.
If his experience thus far was as exemplary as he feared, they would not understand this. Even less so would they understand him. Cadence was trying- he could tell- but he didn’t think she was nearly as comprehending as she thought she was. Isaac tugged at the cloak with one hand, gripping it tightly. What would she say if he told her?
Bitterly, he imagined the conversation.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll just put you somewhere else,” she’d say.
“But what would stop it from happening again?” he’d ask.
She’d smile. That smile he was growing to loathe. “Don’t worry, it won’t!”
He glared at the floor. His gaze softened after a moment. It was not her fault.
A light refracted from a window into his eyes. He looked away with a hiss of irritation, and then realized Shining had been talking that whole time. At the very least, he wasn’t looking at Isaac expectantly again.
“... and that’s when Spike- that dragon, from back in Canterlot- he caught the Crystal Heart, midair. It gave Cadence enough time to reach him and restore the Crystal Heart’s power,” Shining said, gesturing to an overlarge statue of the reptile in question.
Isaac looked over, and had to crane his neck to see the face. He stood on two legs in the typical ‘hero’ stance, one arm placed on the hip, the other holding up a replica of the floating heart at the center of the city. The dragon’s brow was furrowed in determination, eyes set on the replica heart in it’s claws…
The dragon was so drastically and obviously different from the ponies. And yet he had achieved such a level of reverence as to be granted monuments and historical importance. In the brief moment Isaac had seen him, he hadn’t acted as a hero, he hadn’t acted as some historical titan… Spike was just… there. He hadn’t even said much.
Perhaps the statue exaggerated more than just his scale.
Though it did make Isaac wonder which was more accurate. Did they just take what they noticed of the moment? Did he? Did those Spike had never met know him better than those that he had?
Is… is that how ponies perceive one another? Deed alone? Did the one behind them mean nothing? Isaac mused, looking over at Shining armor. Who they are behind the act… do others ever know?
Shining caught his gaze. “Isaac? Is something wrong?”
Isaac shook his head. “N-no. I was just…”
“Just…?” Shining inquired, raising one brow.
“I, uh… just thinking…” Isaac looked back at the statue, searching for an excuse, something else he could talk about. “I don’t… he wasn’t that big in person.”
Shining gave a short chuckle. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure the pony who made it wasn’t going for accuracy. She insisted on making it, though, after hearing what he did for us.”
Isaac nodded, giving a short ‘oh’ of understanding. But that only served to reaffirm his impression of their impressions. Actions, not feelings. Facts, not thoughts. Deeds, not words. If he did nothing, he was nothing.
What was within was not without. But what they see outside… that’s what they know, so that is who they are, to them. The child determined. His headache returned. To all of them...
Isaac did not like this. But speaking this aloud would yield no change.
Shining motioned for him to follow. Isaac complied, stealing away one last look at the statue, a monument to facades, an example the world demanded he follow.
*As Isaac slept that night, he had a dream.
All was dark. Silent. And hot. The child felt nothing above, nothing below, only the sensation of falling, faster than he could ever imagine.
He would’ve screamed if he had any air.
‘They rise, my lamb. The eldest comes first, leaves first,’ a deeply resonant voice intoned, the vibrations threatening to shake Isaac apart. ‘Your kind, they will fall, children, parents, loved ones... All will fall, my lamb.’
It gave a short, menacing gasp of a laugh, sounding more like the roar of a beast than that of a normal human, or pony. ‘Let the floodgates open. Let the tide rise. All will be pure in the end.’
Isaac did not sleep well. He could not recall the dream the next day.