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// The Cuelebre 
// Story: Stories For Spike; Tales from the Storyteller 
// by Freewing Alchemist P 
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The story was inspired by tales from Spain

Chapter 2;  The Cuelebre


            I had come back from my trip form the Crystal Empire. I was still going over what happened there. Nothing agonizing just wondering about the strange creatures that had attacked the Empire.
            Bang! Bang! Bang! There was a knock on my door. I was expecting this, it was going to be Spike. The little dragon was waiting for me to open the door, he was carrying some books. "Glad you guy made it back alright heard what happened." Spike began.
            "It was a real party, sorry you couldn't make it." I apologized to him.
            "Don't worry about it, The Princess need my help with something. Hay, by the way there Twilight told me to bring these to you. She said that you were interested in Changelings and Wendigos." He replied.
            "Just interested in some dangers that I may have to deal with." I took the books from him.
            "Nothing too difficult to deal with, Wendigos feed on hate and Changelings can become any pony or animal to feed off love. Neither ones will bother us, not enough hate for Wendigos and Changelings drones are easy to spot they can't hide there blue eyes."
            "Still would rather know something about them that's all," I paused for a moment. "Hay Spike. You in the mood for another story?"
           He smiled at me. "I've got some time, Nyx's is with the other Crusaders and Twilight wants me to clean and reorganize the whole library, again."
            "So come it and lets have some cider and I'll tell you the story of The Cuelebre." I went into the kitchen and grabbed some cider flaggers form the fridge.
            "The what?" Spike said as he came in and hopped on my sofa.
            "It's a story about a dragon or rather... Well you'll find out are you game?" I passed him one of the flaggers to him.

            In my home world, in a Country called Spain there was once a little village of Asturian there was a very beautiful maiden. She was very vain and spent the daydreaming. There was nothing she liked more than admire her beauty in a local spring, she would comb her long flowing hair for hours.
            Both her mother and grandmother would warn the girl, in vain, that the limpid green waters of the pool held a danger. "It is dangerous to comb your hair by the spring. Be careful, because if one single hair falls into the water and ruffles the surface of the water you will wake the spirit of the spring. If you wake the spirit of the spring will bewitch you."
            "Old wives' tales!" The girl cried. "There is no spirit in that spring."

            "You mean old Mares Tales? Ha, shows what she knows." Spike interrupted me before taking a deep swig of cider from the flagger. "Twilight said the something about the mare in the moon and looked what happened with that."
            I looked at him puzzled. "Mare in the Moon? Never heard of it."
            "It's like the whole reason me and Twilight ended up here in Ponyville." Spike took another swig. "You see one day at Celestia school for gifted unicorn Twilight read an old book that had the tale of the Mare in the Moon."
            "Mare in the Moon? Another similar with my world we have The Man In the Moon. Is she as bad as the Man in the Moon?"
            "Yah, she was, I think. So anyways."
            "Wow, hold up Spike. I'll tell you what let me finish my story and when I'm done. You can tell me it. Deal?"
            He nodded. "Deal."
            I restarted my story. "And you are right the girl was very wrong."

         For in the pool the spirit a powerful nymph of the streams and mountains that were abound in Asturian mythology. The spirit watched angrily as the girl spent the whole day combing her hair and never helping her family. But the nymph could do nothing because the girl did not disturb the water she called home. The nymph was patient and she waited for her chance.
            One day the girl's golden hair fell into the water. The nymph was free and she rose from the spring waters The nymph's long golden hair adorned with pearls and a crown made from moonbeams dressed in a magic cloak of green water. "Didn't your mother warn you not to disturb the waters of my spring?" The nymph asked coldly.     
            "Hair as beautiful as mine could not have ruffled the water." The maiden replied proudly.
            "I will punish you for your pride, I am going to bewitch you." She exclaimed icily. The nymph stepped out of the spring and declared, "I am going to turn you into a Cuelebre dragon. A very ugly looking dragon. You will only turn back into a maiden if you meet a knight who is so brave that he is not afraid of you and has a heart so pure that he is able to perceive the beauty hidden in your soul, if there is any."
             The girl's body grew to an enormous size and became covered with colored scales. He golden hair turned into glittering crests and two wings sprouted from her shoulders. With a howl of despair the new Cuelebre dragon slunk off weeping. The former maiden was inconsolable and she hid in a dark, dank cave by the sea.
            Now, as all the youths who have set eyes on the poor creature have been afraid of her appearance to ever see the poor maiden as she truly is. It is said that she still lives in the cave on the seashore, waiting for a knight to see her hidden beauty so that she can become a maiden again.
    
            Spike gave me a grin.
            "Sorry if that was insulting." I apologized.
            "Nay, that was good. The dragon may not have been a good guy but the dragon wasn't a bad guy. She was ugly on the outside and now her body fits her personality. I mean there are some pretty nasty looking dragons and she was a bad human so I think it's only fair."
            I smiled. "I was worried you won't like it."
            "It was not so bad, so do you want to hear the story of the Mare in the Moon?"
            "Sure, as long as I can tell you the story of The Man in the Moon some time."
            "Sure, anything to get me out of reorganizing the library, again."