//------------------------------// // Ch. 3: Adaptation // Story: Only Human // by Burritoburger //------------------------------// Only Human Ch. 3: Adaptation "This is gonna be GREAT! We'll throw parties together, and we'll look over the foals together, and we'll play board games and explore Ponyville and make even more friends and..." Isaac had no choice but to listen to the over-hyped babbling pony as he struggled to catch up with her. He caught ponies staring at him either questioningly, or they shook their heads and continued working. One even had a look of apology and mouthed something to Isaac, which he could only describe as "May the gods have mercy on your soul". Isaac noted his particularly feisty stomach and a wave of slight worry washed over him. "Oh, hey... Pinkie, was it? Could you slow down a little and show me where we're going?" Isaac asked the pony, who was still bouncing from excitement. She stopped at the sound of his interrupting voice. "We're going to Sugarcube Corner! I live and work there!" She beamed. "What's your job?" Isaac asked, observing the strange looking houses that surrounded them. "I make goods like cupcakes, muffins, cakes, donuts, candy..." Isaac ignored her yet again after she started going through a list of food items he wasn't even aware that existed. But he got the general idea. "Ooh! There it is now!" Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to a large house made of what Isaac thought was to be gingerbread. A memory materialized in his brain, recalling the thought of a Christmas Gingerbread Party he helped Talia throw. Of course, she asked for volunteers, so it wasn't a private invite. He shoved the thought away as soon as he came to the incident with a certain pack of frosting. He shuddered as a sliver of the thought slipped through his mental blockade. Shutting down the memory completely, he found he was inside the house itself, containing a room filled with pink tables with hearts on them. Man, this place is really sensitive to love... or something. Isaac thought to himself as his eyes wandered around the area. His sightseeing was cut short when a jerk of his arm led him into the nearby kitchen. "This is where we make the sweets!" Pinkie announced, holding her arm out at the room containing stoves, sinks, and multiple drawers that, most likely, were lined with various toppings and appliances. "Here! Wanna try a sample of a new kind of candy I've been working on?" Pinkie didn't give him time to respond, as her hoof dug into a nearby bowl and, upon retreaval, contained one small, blue candy stuck to her hoof. "Try it! It's tasty!" She offered, in which Isaac hesitantly grasped the hard candy between his index finger and thumb. He unwrapped the decorative wrapper, revealing a spherical candy with multiple colors of blue swirled into it. He gave a short look at Pinkie, who beamed in response, and took in a quick breath, popping the candy inside his mouth to taste... Nothing. "I call it the Reality Check!" Pinkie giggled. Isaac tilted his head questioningly, until the sweetness exploded in his mouth. It felt unreal, and the candy melted away, along with the consistency of colors around him. The room swirled around him until all Isaac could see was rainbows all around his body. He could feel his eyes dilate as he reached his hand toward the swirling spectrum, and upon contact, lead the rainbows up his body and into his mind, where questions started to lift in and out. Where am I? Am I dreaming? Who am I? Is the the real life? Is this just fantasy? What am I doing here? Whatever it is, I don't wanna leave! Isaac's gape slowly lifted upwards and he proceeded to join the rainbows in its revolving motion. All cares slipped away as he spun around with his arms stretched out and a smile conquering his face. He looked up to the sky, where a smiling sun waved at him, and he waved back. A petal landed on his nose and he started to snatch the falling flowers. When he gained enough for a full bouquet, he reached it towards the sun, in which it took it gratefully and deeply sniffed the flowers. It responded with a giggle and waved its magic wand around Isaac, and he found himself skipping around magic land, waving to the passing woodland creatures. He felt like there couldn't be anything wrong with the world. Pinkie stared at the heaping mess that was Isaac, as he drooled all over the counter, a smile stuck on his goofy face. Pinkie frowned when she realized how limp he looked. She glanced at the bowl of candy and took a piece, popping it into her mouth. "I don't see what the big deal is," She said to Isaac, sucking on the hard candy. "I just thought it would be really sweet." She shrugged and threw the wrapper away, deciding not to break Isaac from his trance. --- Greg slowly walked home, feeling like he was missing something. He waited after school, but for what? "Oh yeah. Isaac." He remembered his best friend. He probably forgot because of his new game, Space Walrus 2. His mind tilted towards the hypothesis that Isaac was sick. Greg continued to walk home, whistling to himself cheerfully. --- Isaac groaned, rubbing his head. He immediately pushed his hand back however, due to vast amounts of saliva blanketing his entire palm. He looked around the kitchen, and his eyes fixated on a small blue bowl, containing a heap of Reality Check. Isaac glanced side to side, checking to see if any person-or pony, that is-was around before picking two pieces of the candy from the top of the bowl and stuffing them in his pockets. "Pinkie?" He called out, walking out of the room. Observing the room thoroughly, he didn't find any sign of the pink pony. Just as Isaac started to ponder what happened to the sugar-rushed mare, the ring of a bell was heard behind him, and he quickly turned around, slightly startled. "Hello, Isaac." Twilight greeted with a warm smile. "What's... up?" Isaac asked, unsure if the unicorn had any recognition of the phrase, or maybe he did it because he honestly didn't know what to say to the lavender pony, who was also his abductor. "Because you're going to be staying here for a week, you should probably meet some ponies here in Ponyville." She suggested, remaining her position at the door. "Wait, slow down a second. A week? I don't really plan on staying that long." Isaac ushered, trying to dodge the situation. He decided to change the subject. "Maybe instead of me meeting everybody, can you tell me about what's going on in this place? I know literally nothing about it, and I've tried to stay calm to this point." Isaac asked and explained, waiting for a reaction from Twilight. "Sorry, I have things to do. Maybe some other time. I just thought it would be helpful for you to get to know some ponies around here." She began to walk out, until Isaac interrupted her. "Let's start with you, then." Isaac suggested, walking over to stand next to her. Twilight let out a long sigh and finally agreed. Later at Twilight's, Isaac found out that she had run Ponyville's library. He got to know much more about his kidnapper and about Equestria itself. His mind started to wander off when she started to go through the history of Equestria, which she caught him almost immediately. The day trudged on, though. And Isaac eventually got a better grasp of where he was and why he was there. Upon exiting the library, he was immediatly assaulted with a pink blob that forced him to the ground in one hit. "Issac! I've been looking ALL OVER for you!" Pinkie smiled cheerfully, until hugging him. Her soft fur tickled his nose, and he found it mildly uncomfortable when a sneeze escaped. Pinkie bounded off of Isaac, and he picked himself up, trying to ignore the pain in his tailbone from falling on the solid concrete behind him. "I left because you were knocked out and I helped Fluttershy with her animals and when I came back, you were gone! I was SOOOO worried! So I looked all around Ponyville and couldn't find you!" Pinkie spat out as Isaac followed her once more. He felt like it was the beginning of the day again, where he followed her as she ranted on about an unapproachable subject. He had no chance to talk to her and remained silent for the rest of the walk back to Sugarcube Corner. As the sun set, Isaac recalled Twilight informing him that an "alicorn" known as Princess Celestia was the source of the rising and falling of the sun. He wondered which dragged out longer to end in sunset: when he was knocked out or when he was with Twilight. Either way, he was feeling a tad tired from all the surprises of the past day, and didn't argue when Pinkie offered him a bed to sleep. As the evening dragged on and Pinkie calmed down, Isaac made a small conversation with her. He learned that her cutie mark resembled partying, and while not fully grasping the concept of cutie marks in general (the way Twilight told him was a tad confusing), he was too tired to care. Soon enough, Pinkie had started yawning as well, and the sun had far from set a while ago. Isaac took in the scenery of his strangely comfortable guest room and slid into the slightly undersized bed, fully clothed. He doubted that any clothes from here would fit him, or if they had any, due to every single pony being butt naked. Isaac buried his thoughts in a deep sleep and dreamed.