//------------------------------// // A Bookworm's Sanctuary // Story: Land of Equines // by Daddy Joe //------------------------------// A Bookworm’s Sanctuary November 7th, 2012 I got lost while wandering around the almost identical houses for quite some time. I took the map out of my pocket to inspect and realized that I had passed the library not long ago. So I turned around and went back the way I came from. As I double checked the area, I noticed something different about this tree I passed before. It was a tree, but it had the features a building would have; this would include windows and a door. I further inspected it and saw a sign that clarified that this tree was the library I was searching for. "What an interesting choice for a library." I said. Seriously. I didn’t even think it was a building at first. I thought it was just some random tree. I gave the door two knocks and waited for a response. Shortly after, the doorknob began to turn. I was expecting to see a pony when the door completely opened, but instead got something else. As the door opened half-way, there stood a short, purple, bipedal lizard. Just like the ponies, it spoke perfect English. "Holy Moly!" the lizard exclaimed. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you.” I assured the lizard while hiding my confusion of a talking lizard in a village called Ponyville. “Y-Y-Y-You can talk too?” the lizard asked. "Sure can." I said. "Well how do I know you're telling the truth?" the lizard asked. "On what? Not hurting you?" I asked. "Yeah." the lizard responded. "C'mon, do I look like some scary monster to you?" I asked while spanning my arms outwards. The lizard took a moment to come up with an answer as it inspected me once more. "Well.... you don't actually look that threatening." he confessed. "That's more like it," I said. "Most of the locals had the same reaction you had just now." "Heh. My bad." the lizard apologized. "That's all right. But I came here to look for a pony named Twilight Sparkle." I said. "Twilight? She's in here at the moment." the lizard said. "Great! You mind if I talk to her?" I asked. "Uh, sure. Twilight, there's something here for you." the lizard announced. "I prefer human, or you can call by my name, Caleb." I said. "Right, sorry. My name's Spike. Spike the Dragon." Spike introduced. "Spike? That name fits you well." I said. Spike then turned his head as a female voice came from behind him. "What do you mean by something's here?" the voice asked. "See for yourself." Spike said. The door opened all that way and there stood another unicorn with a lavender coat, a mane that consisted of violet and two rose highlights. "GAH!" Twilight screamed. "Hey, don't worry, I'm no threat!" I exclaimed. "Oh my goodness, you can talk?" Twilight asked. "Yep. Just like you and Spike." I replied. Twilight's face of shock was soon washed away and replaced with the expression of excitement. "Spike! Do you know what this means?" Twilight asked Spike. "You're gonna go crazy because we just made a big discovery?" Spike asked. "Couldn't say it better myself!" Twilight said. "Please come in, Caleb." I took the invitation and headed inside the library. The inside was definitely what it would look like if made the interior of a large tree into a library. There were semi-circle shelves that held multitudes of books. "Wow. You sure have a lot books." I noted to Twilight. "I do like to read a lot." Twilight said. "Maybe a bit too much." Spike whispered to me. "Would you like anything?" Twilight asked. "Nah, I'm good." I replied. "Okay then. You mind sitting in that chair while I go get something?" Twilight asked. "Sure." I said. "Great!" Twilight said as she ran upstairs. “Sorry about Twilight. She’s just so excited about meeting you.” Spike said. "I can see that. What do you think she's getting?" I asked. "I have no clue." Spike said. Twilight came back downstairs with this box like contraption. "Geez, Twilight. You gonna run some science experiment on him?" Spike asked. "No, nothing like that. I just want to check his brainwaves since he's capable of performing perfect speech and motor functions." Twilight explained as she sat the device on the wooden table next to me. "Will this hurt?" I asked, skeptically. "Trust me, you won't feel anything." Twilight said. "If you say so." I replied. Twilight levitated the helmet extension and placed it on my head while strapping it with the chin strap. After she situated it on, she switched on and it began to hum. Now that I thought about it, the machine looked a lot like a heart monitor because of how the lines would fluctuate as it studied my brain. "Alpha waves and Beta waves." Twilight said. "Excuse me?" I asked. "Alpha waves indicate that your mind is basically at a normal state and Beta's are associated with the feeling of being frustrated." Twilight said. "Really? I don't feel frustration. Unless it's an after effect of everypony in Ponyville running away from me as soon as they take one look at me." I said. "That would explain why." Twilight said. Spike was sweeping the wooden floor at the moment and I thought that was pretty funny. "So Spike, are you supposed to be some lizard or something?" I asked. "You could say that. But i'm actually a dragon." he revealed. My mind took a moment to register what he just said to me. "Did you just say a dragon?" I asked. "Yep. Why?" Spike asked. "I-I-I....." I trailed off. The brainwave monitor was spiking with Alpha waves at the moment and Twilight took notes on the event. "You okay?" Spike asked. "Its just.... Wow! First I meet talking ponies and now a talking dragon. Tell me, can you actually breathe fire?" I asked. "I can't tell, I can show you." Spike said. Spike looked up, took a deep breath and blew upwards, creating a small green flame. What makes this even more credible is the fact that the flame radiated heat. "That is amazing." I said. "That should be good enough." Twilight said to herself as she removed the cap from my head and setted it aside. "Anything else?" I asked. "Nope. Unless I can think of something else I need you for later, I'll let you know," Twilight replied."What brings you to Ponyville?" "Mostly because it was the closest civilization." I said. "How did you get here? The only animal specie that looks identical to you are apes." Twilight said. “Back from the world I came from, the damn Canadian government or whatever shot some kind.... concentrated energy into the air and it must've created a portal. I don't know how, but it did. Due to me also being an idiot, I got too close to the portal, got sucked in, and ended up here in this world.” I said. "Never heard of such advanced technology. I hate to say this, but I think might be stuck here in Equestria for the time being." Twilight said. "Damn." I said, flatly while staring at the wall. "Something wrong?" Spike asked. "Yeah.... It's just that I had to leave my family behind when I entered this world. Now I have no idea if I'll see them again." I said. Twilight than supportively put her left foreleg around the back of my neck and Spike sat next to me. "That must be hard for you." Twilight said. "It is. I just have this sucky feeling inside me now. I sure hope everyone else back on Earth is okay," I said. I felt like I wanted to let out a good cry at the moment, but I counter-acted it with the fact that I have newfound companionship here in Equestria. "But I think I'll be able to move on after some time." "Is there anything we can do to make you feel more welcome here?" Twilight asked, looking me in the eyes. "First of all, I'd like to show the ponies of Ponyville that I'm really not that bad. Progress has been pretty slow." I replied. Twilight thought for a moment and a light bulb must've lit up in her head. "I've got an idea." she said.