Manuel woke up startled. His mind was still drowning with the clamor of his last battle, and it took him a few seconds to focus his vision on the reality he was now immersed in. When he finally did, he still thought he was dreaming though. He didn't recognize his surroundings but everything looked different from anything he had ever witnessed before.
On top of the strange place, he also found himself as the object of the observation of two eager pairs of eyes. A cute purple pony was standing right next to his bed along with what looked like a small baby dragon. "He's awake!" The little creature said, still with wide eyes.
"I can see that, Spike," the pony replied. Neither of them seemed to be able to tear their eyes away from him. Honestly, though, Manny couldn't look away either. "Hello," the pony spoke again in an attempt to break the tension. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike."
"Hello," Manuel mouthed, still a little taken aback. "I'm Manuel, but you can call me Manny." He was unsure of how much to say, but the most concerning question still remained unasked. "Where am I?" He wanted to ask how he got there too, but his head was still spinning, and maybe asking one thing at a time was a better course of action for now.
"You're in Equestria," Twilight answered with a tiny wave of her arm. "Do you remember how you got here?" She was doing everything in her power to ensure that the boy who was put under her care would feel welcomed and accepted. Being alone in a new world had to be hard on its own, no need to add extra layers of stress into the mix.
"I…" Manuel tried to think back, but soon enough he realized that he couldn't. "I don't!" He was starting to become overwhelmed. Going through his memories, the only thing he could be sure about was his name. He tried to sit up too quickly, but his head was hurting which made him grab it with both hands. He noticed he was injured, but somehow his wounds had been taken care of. "I don't remember anything," he said, finally, at the edge of tears, he was too proud to let go.
"Take it easy, don't hurt yourself!" Twilight moved forward and Spike brought him another pillow so he could sit more comfortably on the bed. "It's ok, Manuel. Unfortunately, we don't know much about you either, but we are happy to take care of you."
"Yeah!" Spike chimed in. "We are excited to meet you!"
Manuel felt the warmth coming from them, but he didn't have it in him to smile. His limbs were heavy with exhaustion, and his head was spinning from the pain of the injury. Still, he was glad that whatever had happened to him, there were two kind beings willing to assist him. "Thank you," he said in the smallest voice he had before reclining against the pillows trying to find comfort.
When Manuel felt strong enough to get up, Twilight and Spike showed him around the place. He marveled about everything that met his eyes. From the sparkling decor to the pretty little details, and also, the impressive amount of books. "You really like to read," Manuel said looking at the tall shelves.
"That I do," Twilight answered. "But, we also happen to be in a library. Would you like to browse a bit? See if there's anything you like?" As she spoke, she used the magic of her horn to bring some of the heavy dusty tomes down. The books were circling Manuel who couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.
"How?" He asked, still flabbergasted about the display taking place in front of him. "Do you have superpowers or something?" For some reason, the word "superpowers" resonated with him in a way he couldn't explain. It was like the ripple of a stone being tossed in the water so far away he could only catch a small disturbance on the surface, but not its source.
Twilight laughed. "Superpowers? It's magic, silly!" She said, but there was no heat in her response, just friendly banter that put a little smile on Manuel's face.
A knock on the door distracted them all, and suddenly, Twilight lose the control she had over the books. In a split second, Manuel felt something sharp going through his whole body. It was like goosebumps crawling under his skin, showing him something he could not pinpoint, but that was certainly real. When he looked around, he realized that one of the heavy books had fallen right next to Spike. The little dragon moved just in time, avoiding the hit by less than an inch.
Everything seemed to be fine, but the headache sadly remained. Manuel didn't know how he'd come to be so badly injured, but he wanted to stop being in pain and uncomfortable sooner than later. The world around him, and everyone in it, were confusing enough without having to worry about his health as well.
"Starlight!" Twilight said from the door, excited to receive her unexpected visitor. "It's so lovely to see you, how are you?" Twilight made room for her to step inside the building. The two of them walked towards the rest of the party already inside, now busying themselves with tidying up the books.
"Let me introduce you to Manuel, Spike and I are taking care of him…" Twilight kept talking, but Starlight wasn't listening anymore. She couldn't take her eyes away from the boy who was lifting a book as he raised a hand to his head in an obvious sign of pain.
"Manuel," she repeated, trying not to sound so obvious about the feelings currently roaming through her whole body. There were tears burning at the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them go. One thing was certain though, Manuel was there, he was real, and she had another chance to meet him.