//------------------------------//
// The Human (Spike) 
// Story: The Man With Two Names 
// by Tarot Card 
//------------------------------//

	I browsed through the shelves, until my eye caught what I was looking for. I scrambled to the top of the ladder, and pulled out the dusty old tome. The Monster Manual: Version 3.5. "Twilight, I think I found it!"

She magicked the book over to herself, and began flipping through the pages.  I slid down the ladder and began cleaning up all the note paper scattered on the floor. I looked at Twilight. She wasn't quite on the verge of a breakdown, but she had a certain restlessness to her, never having all four hooves planted on the ground at any given moment. She was constantly muttering under her breath, whether she was reading, scribbling down notes, or just making herself something to eat. She had been like this for a couple of days, a relatively minor research binge for Twilight. 

"Mostly harmless!?!" I heard her groan. "Mostly harmless? Is that all these damned books ever have to say? I swear to Celestia, these encyclopedias just plagiarize off of each other. Would it kill anypony to actually do original research?" 

"I thought that's what you were doing." I examined one of sketches of the human she had made. She had a picture of the human in front and in profile, with notes scribbled in the margin. Half-Minotaur? There was an arrow pointing to the end of his extremities. claws fingers?  I looked at my own digits holding the page. There was an uncomfortable resemblance.

"Only by necessity! I'll write an article about the species once I figure out this whole crisis." She flung the book aside, and started flipping through another book frantically. I wished that she would stop making a mess, especially since Mayor Mare was going to be meeting with her within the quarter hour.

I collected the book --as well as a few others strewn about the library in her cyclone of research-- and climbed back up the ladder to put them back into place."I don't get what the big deal is about. It seems like the human wants to fit in, from what I've seen."  Applebloom was probably the only one in the town making him feel welcome. In fact, she seemed like the only pony who wasn't afraid of him. She had stopped by a couple of days ago to ask me what omnivores liked to eat. At first, I thought she was arranging a party for me, but my hopes were dashed when she explained she was making a gift basket for him, after what happened on Sweet Apple Acres. 

"That's just the problem, Spike. I don't think he can. You've seen what he did to Fluttershy's chickens. I don't think it's safe to let a creature capable of such atrocities live in our community." 

"I dunno, it just seemed like he was hungry. I mean, doesn't Winona, and everypony else's pets eat other animals?"

"That's different. We only feed them animals that already died."

"But I saw Opalescence go and kill a bird, and try to give it to Rarity. It was really gross. Isn't that the same thing that the human did?"

"The difference is that Opal didn't break into Fluttershy's cottage, take her own kitchen knife, and slaughter a chicken! Opal couldn't hurt a pony. This human is more than capable of doing so. It's one thing to be a carnivore that ponies take care of. It's another thing to be a wild predator, straight from the Everfree forest, living in the middle of town." She looked up from her notes. "Would you want a Manticore living next door to us?"

"I guess not..." I worked in silence for an another moment. "But the human talks, doesn't he?"

"So?"

"Doesn't that make him different from a Manticore?"

"That's what makes this so difficult, Spike. He's a carnivore, but he can talk his way out of things. Frankly, I think that's the only reason why he's still in Ponyville." 

"I've never seen anypony want to kick out a Griffin from Ponyville. They talk, and they kill other animals."

"Well, Griffins are different. They are civilized. They know better than to try to eat pony's pets, and they would never try to eat anything that talks. This human admitted that he ate cows!"

"Gilda sure didn't seem civilized to me..." I grumbled. 

"Mean? Yes. Dangerous? Not so much. Besides, she was only visiting for a couple of days. It's not like she was trying to become a citizen."  

"So what are you going to tell Mayor Mare?"

"I'm going to advise her to do what's best for the human, and for everypony.  Princess Celestia entrusted me and her to handle the situation in her absence. I believe that all parties would be better off if he relocated somewhere far away from Ponyville."

"So you're going to kick him out."

Twilight frowned. "Well, when you say it like that, it seems a little unfair."

"But it is. What has he done, killed a chicken? I've destroyed buildings, and you never tried to get me kicked out of town."

"Spike, You weren't in control of yourself. It was Dragon's Greed that made you do that." She put down her books, and trotted over to lay a hoof on my shoulder. "Besides, you are my number one assistant. I couldn't live without you here."
She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Thanks Twilight. I just think that everypony's making a bigger deal than they should about the human."

"Spike, I know it's hard to understand, but the human scares ponies. You've seen Fluttershy's cottage." I recalled that she was busy installing a third dead bolt on her door the last time I had visited. "And you've been hearing what ponies have been saying about him, that he loves to eat cows and Pegasi wings. When he worked at sweet apple acres, he threatened Caramel with a knife before they kicked him off the farm. Somepony even told me that he was abandoned by his pack  because he tried to eat another human." I gasped. Twilight continued. "We want you in Ponyville because we know that you would never hurt somepony on purpose. We just can't say the same about the human. He's caused mayhem twice now. I don't want to give him a chance to really hurt somepony."

I shuddered, but held my ground. "Twilight, you can't believe all of those rumors, can you?"

"I don't know what's true anymore. Roseluck says this, Oatmeal says that, and I'm not sure who is right. Some of the stories seem exaggerated, but I can't discredit anythng until I know solid facts. All I know for certain is that three ponies saw him point a knife at Caramel back at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Did you ask AJ what happened?"

"She told me that she's not sure what happened. She was trying to keep everypony calm when all hell broke loose, and the human got chased away. AJ said that not many of the farm hands came back after that day."

There was a knocking on the door. "That's probably the mayor," I said. Twilight gathered her scattered notes into a stack, and then made her way to the door.

I looked back at the drawing of the human's hands, and then back at my own claws. The human didn't look all that menacing, just a little tall. I'm surprised that everypony was freaking out about it. Then again, Ponyville seems to freak out over anything, be it Parasprites or bunny stampedes. I flipped over the paper.

List of possible matches for human's relocation:
Diamond Dogs
Griffins
Buffalo
Minotaurs
Dragons. 

I felt a lump form in my throat. Was I really classed among all of these undesirables? Did Twilight put my species on the same list as Diamond Dogs? I was struck by a horrifying realization. "I'm not a citizen of Ponyville, am I?" I asked.

Twilight stopped in her tracks. "What? No Spike, you're not old enough to be a legal citizen."

"But when I'm older, when I'm a big old dragon, who can't fit through the door anymore. Am I going to be a citizen of Ponyville? Am I going to be able to vote? Have a home?" 

"Spike, now isn't exactly the best time--" 

"Am I just going to be like the human? Nopony wanting me in town because I'm big and scary? Only allowed to live on the fringes of equine society?"

"Spike, don't say that. You'll always have a place here." Another knock on the door tore her attention away from me.

"Then what am I, if I'm not a citizen of Ponyville?"

"It's a little complicated. We'll have to discuss it later." Twilight opened the door, and put on a cheery smile for the Mayor. She entered the library, and a few leaves tumbled in after her. "Hello, Mayor Mare, have a seat, please." The two mares walked over to the living quarters.

"But Twilight--" I grabbed her hoof.

She pulled her leg free, without even glancing down at me. "Spike, let the ponies talk."