//------------------------------// // Chapter 79 I can't wait to go to sleep // Story: Spike the Knight // by vadram //------------------------------// I can't wait to go to sleep Day one of Spike’s, Zecora’s and Apple Bloom’s journey towards their unknown destination in their quest to deliver the unknown item to, probably, some unknown person. Zecora lead the way with Apple Bloom following closely, doing her best to match her footsteps as closely as possible, as if they were walking on a tightrope that was invisible to everyone except for the zebra. Spike walked behind them, constantly shifting the weight of his oversized backpack. “So, how many pages did you turn, And how much were you able to learn From the book I gave you? How much of it did you get through?” Zecora asked Apple Bloom before changing the direction they were heading in. “Well...” Apple Bloom tried to stall,“I read the first two books, as well as the introduction, but then there were some blank pages... so about one fifth of the book?” “You had plenty of time to read it in full, And you say you are only one fifth through.” “Sorry.” “It’s alright little apple, Just tell him what you learned about a dragon.” “Umm... okay,” Apple Bloom said slowing down so she could be closer to Spike. “Look Spike,” she said turning her head to look at him. “The book was odd, and I could only understand part of what I read, and having to keep getting it wet did not help. But as far as I gathered there are four types of dragons, and they sort of resemble ponies.” “Really?” Spike asked surprised at the sudden revelation. “Dragons are like ponies?” It was a comforting thought. They continued to talk as they followed Zecora, Apple Bloom was tried to step in the zebras hoofsteps, as often as she could, while Spike just walked beside her. “More or less. Like I said, there are four types of dragons. The most common are the fire, or flame, dragons. They have wings and breath fire, and they are what everypony thinks of when asked what a dragon looks like. The author compares them with pegasi.” Apple Bloom paused as Zecora changed direction again. “Then there are the aquatic and frost dragons, which the author says that are often confused with sea serpents. They don’t have wings, but instead they have fins and live underwater. They are capable of doing magic and they are compared with unicorns.” “So...” Spike interrupted Apple Bloom, “since I don’t have wings or fins I am neither of those.” “Right. You are an earth dragon.” “Like an earth pony?” Spike asked looking at the earth pony that stood beside him. “Yes, like an earth pony.” “So what does the book say about earth dragons?” Spike asked eagerly to know more about the type of dragon he was. “Well I haven’t gotten to that part yet.” Spike was disappointed. “Hey cheer up, I just reached that part and I’m going to start on it when we make camp.” “Great,” Spike said, not sharing the fillies enthusiasm. “But I can tell you some things all dragons have in common,” she tried to cheer him up. “Like?” “Like that all dragons can breathe fire...” “Of course they do, what kind of dragon does not breath fire?” “A drake,” Apple Bloom instantly replied. “A what?” “A drake, a dragon that does not breath fire. But that’s not what I meant. The fire a dragon breathes should be red or orange, like regular fire, not green like yours.” “So what? Maybe earth dragons breath green fire.” “I don’t think so, the book clearly says that all dragons breath regular fire. So I think yours must be magical or something.” “Magical?” Spike asked, but after thinking about it for a while he thought, “Of course it’s magical; if it was real fire, the letters I send would just burn.” “Anything else?” he asked Apple Bloom. “Maybe we can talk later, we’re falling behind.” Zecora had slowly increased her speed, leaving the two of them further and further behind. Spike and Apple Bloom both ran to catch up to Zecora. Both of them tried to walk at the zebra’s pace but the difference in leg size and her seemingly boundless stamina caused them to constantly fall behind. The sun had long since set, and the moon was high in the sky by the time she stopped. Apple Bloom was tired after a long day’s trek but Zecora was fine, making the journey seemingly without not even breaking a sweat, while Spike was completely exhausted. By the time he reached the place that will soon become their campsite, Zecora had already unrolled her sleeping bag, gathered firewood and started a fire, and Apple Bloom was well on her way to finishing unrolling hers. If it wasn’t for the fact that every muscle in his body hurt, Spike could have enjoyed the scenery that stood in front of his eyes. Instead, all that he enjoyed was the relieving feeling of the weight of his backpack falling of his shoulders, and the peculiar taste of some unknown fruit that Zecora made them eat, much to the fillies displeasure. The two ponies had no trouble falling asleep, but Spike was not as fortunate.