//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: A Chestnut in the library. // Story: A Walking Chestnut // by Netap //------------------------------// When I returned to my burrow from my hike up the mountain. I expected the rest of the day to be simple and relaxing. So much stuff happened without anything actually happening, you feel me? I mean, I'm not alone! There are at least two more human turned Pokemon somewhere in Equestria, And maybe even more outside of it. If I can find them, We can work together to hatch a plan to get back to earth! We could all meet up in the cave up the mountain because Mr Figlioccio can't really leave the place. Being a slow turtle and all that. He didn't even know what Pokemon was, I had to explain it to him. He did know about The Legend Of Zelda and Donkey Kong, so at least he had some knowledge of video games, But it's still weird that he hasn't heard about Pokemon, It is the highest grossing media franchise after all. Maybe he doesn't leave his house much? He did know older games, Maybe he doesn't really use technology. Is he a hermit maybe? That will explain why he lived in a cave on top of a mountain without any other people to talk to for over a month. But he did say something about the other human turned pokemon he met, An old British guy who turned into a deer. So it's a Chespin, me. A Torkoal, Antonio, and possibly a Stantler, the old British guy I haven't met yet. As I was thinking about all the information that Antonio gave me with only an hour long talk, I hear the tapping of a hoof getting closer. Looking outside my lair, I spot a yellow Pegasus and a white Bunny walking towards me. Going outside in order to meet them, I ask what's going on. "Good Afternoon Mr Chespin, Remember how you asked me to help you when we last met?" Fluttershy asked me as I walked towards her and Angel. "Well, Twilight, The new librarian, agreed to let you come and help me look for a book that will find your home." Fluttershy smiled and Angel hopped off of her head, landing just in front of me. "Yep, It's now our turn to help you!" He points his small front paw at me, likely trying to imitate a character he saw in a book or show once. Fluttershy nods her head as she continues, "Exactly, As the caretaker of the animals around here, It would be terrible if I couldn't help out every animal that needs help, Even if I don't know their species." Looking up at Fluttershy, I am lost for words. She barely knows me, We only exchanged maybe two sentences before I asked for her help... She really is the Element of Kindness. The library this time gave off a different feeling than last time I was here, Maybe it's the lack of world ending villain, or maybe it's the fact that the Purple Unicorn in front of me isn't throwing around books looking for one specific cover. Which is a terrible trait to have as a librarian, You can't just throw books around, you take them out slowly and place them on a table, not throw them around on the floor all willy-nilly. But that doesn't matter, Seeing as the purple Unicorn, Twilight Sparkles, Still a funny name, Is looking over me with a magnifying glass that makes the eye looking through it look comically large. "Okay Fluttershy, I've checked over these books while you weren't here, and I have to say." She said as she took her eye off the magnifying glass and let go of me, "I never seen any creature like this" That doesn't really surprise me. Now please move outside, I'll be looking for a book on alternate realities and how to get to them. Walking away from the two talking ponies as they're reading through the mountain of books that Twilight has readied, looking for something they missed. I walk towards a bipedal lizard that's organizing some books, Maybe he can point me to the right shelf. As Spike was putting back in place a few books that Twilight forgot to reorganize, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking to see who it is, He comes face to face with what he can only realistically describe as a hedgehog with green quills, or maybe a Big Weasel with a green shell? It's not an animal that he's ever seen before, that's for sure. "Hey dude, Do you know where the portals or teleportation magic section is?" It asked him. Now Spike, Spike knows this Library like the back of his claw, he has two if he wants to clean up after every mess Twilight makes, And she makes a lot of mess. But a Portal and Teleportation magic section doesn't exist here. However there is a shelf with books dedicated to the theories and study of spacial magic, Many of them older than even Shining Armor. Telling the creature, He walks with him over to a ladder next to the shelf. "You mind holding this While I grab your books?" Spike asks the rodent as he pushes the bookcase ladder over to the right section. Climbing up the Ladder, Spike grabs three different books about Space Magic, and brings them down to the rodent. Giving them to him, He thanks him and walk towards a small table, opening the first book and starting to read. As he watches the rodent read the book, even grab a small stack of paper with a pen in order to write down some notes, He notices someone tapping his leg. Looking down, He sees the small white bunny that came over with Fluttershy and the green-shelled weasel. Seeing the cute little bunny pulling on his leg and pointing at a bookshelf, Spike can't help himself but "Awww" At the cuteness of the little animal. Seeing that he isn't understanding what the bunny is telling him, The bunny turns over to the green and brown weasel and squeaks out something. Looking over his shoulder, down at the bunny, The Weasel nods and turns over to spike. "Give him the biography of Lord Buzzwax the third, A Breezy noble from the fourth century of the solar calendar" Looking at the weasel in surprise, Spike asks him "How did you understand what he said?" Looking confused, the rodent returns with "How did you not? How come you understand what I'm saying but not him?" "I don't know! Maybe it's because you're speaking Equish and he's speaking bunny talk?" Spike answered loudly, Grabbing the attention of the two ponies at the other side of the room. "Spike, What's going on?" Twilight asks as she turns away from Fluttershy in order to check on the ruckus. "This guy can speak with rabbits!" Spike yells as he points a finger at the brown and green rodent. "This guy has a name you know. It's Samuel, But you can call me Chespin" Chespin told him. "Spike, It's normal for animals to be able to communicate with each other. We learned about this back at school, Cape Confetti's codex of Wilderness and Wonder, It's in the third lesson." Twilight told him as she pulled down a schoolbook from a shelf, giving it to Spike. "No Twilight, I know that animals can communicate with each other, It's just that he told me what the rabbit wanted, and seeing that I understood what he said, and not what the rabbit said, wouldn't that mean that he has a unique, animal communication ability?" Spike tried to explain to Twilight. Who instead of agreeing with what he said, seemed to fixate on a different point. "You can understand what He's saying?" Twilight asks as she looks at Chespin, now back to flipping through his book, stopping every once in a while in order to write something down. "Yes! What? Do you not understand what he's saying? He asked for books about Teleportation and Portals, I gave him ones about Spacial magical theory. The bunny asked for a biography of an old noble from six hundred years ago by the way." Hearing him say that, Twilight explained, "Spike, If you can understand what Chespin is saying, But we can't, Then maybe it's because your a Dragon? And also Teleportation and Portals? Why would he need those? Wouldn't he need an atlas in order to locate his home... Unless!" As she was thinking of all that, she gave Angel his biography about the old nobility, and quickly headed to another room, coming back with a chalkboard. "Spike, Would you mind asking Mr Chespin a few questions for me and telling me what he's answering." Twilight asks Spike as she starts writing on the chalkboard. "Umm, Sure? Why not ask him yourself though?" Spike asked Twilight, Confused as to why he needs to be the one to ask answer for him. "It's because I can't understand him, when he speaks, all that comes out for me is different sounds that make out up his name, being Ches, Pin, Chespin, and even growls. It's like if a Turkey could only make the sounds of Tur, Key, Keytur, and gobble. I can't understand that, Fluttershy here can, but that's her unique and special talent," Twilight points her hoof at Fluttershy, still digging through books about magical species, "But I just hear the Ches. You can understand what he's saying, Spike. This will make helping him get home way easier!" As Spike nods his head in understanding, still a bit lost as to why he can understand Chespin but Twilight can't, he agrees to help her ask the questions. As I was writing down a note about artifacts and locations that magically connect two or more different points in space with one another, I hear the lizard call out to me. "Hey, Umm, would you mind answering some questions?" The lizard, Spike if he remembers correctly asked him as he looked over his shoulder at the purple Unicorn, writing notes on a blackboard under the title Chespin. Looking back at Spike, I agree to answer "Okay, cool. Umm, first question, What is your name?" Spike asked as he sees Twilight writing "NAME:" on the blackboard. Placing a folded piece of paper as a bookmark, I close the book and bring my attention to the lizard and Unicorn. "My Name is Samuel Cohen, But the people here call me Chespin." I tell him. He tells it to Twilight, and she writes it on the board. "Okay, Sam then, How old are you?" Spike asked the second question as Twilight starts writing more on the Blackboard. "I am currently Nineteen years of age, I'll be Twenty come November." Spike tells her the age of Nineteen, giving Twilight a shocked face. "We're the same age?!" Twilight yells as she quickly turns to look at me, surprise painted on her face. I didn't know she was also Nineteen, I thought she was older? Twenty two perhaps? Guess I was wrong. Maybe my guess for Fluttershy being Twenty four was also incorrect. "Okay Twilight, Calm down, ask the next question" She whispers to herself pretty loudly, I can still hear her. "Spike, Ask him what Species he is." Twilight says. "What, Sp-" "I can understand what she's saying my guy, No need to repeat it for me. I'm a Human, I'm currently in the body of a Chespin." I tell Spike, "Chespin is the name of the animal I am right now, While in Reality I'm a human who's trying to get back to his Body and Home." As Spike repeats this Information to Twilight, She takes a pause. "Did he say Human?" "Um, Yeah? Is there a problem with that?" Spike asked Twilight, Confused to her question. Angel, hearing what's going on, Leaves his book on the table and hops on over. "Your name isn't Chespin?!" He asked incredulously, "We've been calling you by the wrong name all this time?!" "Yep," I tell him, "It never really bothered me that much because I at least knew who you were talking to, It's not like there are other Chespin here that will answer instead of me. It's like calling you Rabbit instead of Angel, I guess." Seeing Angel looking at me as If I just told him how babies are made is hilarious, "So your name Isn't actually Chespin? That's just the species of animal that you are?" Got it in one. As I explain to Angel the difference between Chespin and Samuel, and why being called Chespin didn't bother me much. Twilight calls back to me. "Sam, would you mind coming here for a sec and take a look?" She opens up a book and I walk over to check it. What she shows me nearly drops me to my knees. In an old book, a Very old book, written by a Star Swirl the Bearded. On the book is a depiction of a magic mirror, that once every thirty moons, acts as a gateway to a world inhabited by bipedal, Hairless primates known as Humans. "I'm guessing with that reaction you'll need to use this to get back home. I'm sure If I get the Princess involved we could figure something out, But I can promise you this!" Twilight smiles brightly as writes another note on the blackboard, one accompanied with a picture of a magical mirror, "You will be going back to the human world!" She Proclaims, "Spike, start writing a letter, We are going to need Princess Celestia's permission to use the magic mirror" Spike starts writing the letter, writing down whatever Twilight Sparkles tell him before he burn the paper in a small gout of sparkling fire, the smoke that's made from it flying out of the window and towards the big city in the far distance. After that, we talk for a few more minutes, I tell her that I'm not the Only Human here, I tell her about Antonio in the mountain and she promised she'll take some time soon to go visit him, talk about his experience here and if he needs any help. As I get ready to leave the Library and return to my den across the lake, I hear Twilight call out to me, "Listen, Sam, If you ever need help with anything, You can always come here. It must be hard being stuck in a strange body, lost in a strange place. If you ever, and I mean it, EVER need anything. Please come visit the Library. If it's a book or even just someone to Talk to, Me and Spike are here to help" She says and Spike nods. Looking at the two, practically strangers, that are doing all of this just to help me get back home... I'm lost for words, What can I say other than "Thank you." That will show how grateful I am fort their help. As I walk down the path toward the Lake, Angel walking with me after promising Fluttershy that he'll be back before nightfall, he asks me a question. "Are you crying?" I stop walking and look back at him in confusion. Touching my cheek with a paw I can feel a wet dampness coursing down it. Looking back at Angel I give him my answer. "No, It's just raining right now." As he looks up at the sky, the decidedly cloudless, clear skies, he return with a "No it's not." I just smile and ruffle his head, making him push his little bunny arms up to try and shake my hand off. The rest of the walk back to my Den is accompanied by a small bunny complaining about his fur getting messy me laughing about it with him. "So is your name Chespin, Samuel or Sam?" Not the time Angel.