//------------------------------// // Chapter 80 I can wait to wake up // Story: Spike the Knight // by vadram //------------------------------// I can wait to wake up Even if Spike was exhausted after almost spending the whole day running through the Everfree forest, he was too tired to even sleep. As he rolled around in his sleeping bag, he took a look at his surroundings. Tonight there was a full moon and, except for a few stray clouds, there was nothing that blocked the starlight and moonlight from lighting up the clearing they were in. The remnants of what Spike could only assume had once been an old stone fountain stood in the middle of the clearing; though, its discernible features, as well as its purpose, had long since been lost to the passage of time. The clearing was almost circular in nature, and nothing larger than a blade of grass grew in it. He could not help but compare it to the front of Imamu’s cave, despite being situated deep within the Everfree, it too was almost completely devoid of vegetation, bar for the grass of course. Spike knew for a fact that the flora of the forest had the tendency to rapidly grow into every available plot of land, causing a great deal of trouble for some of Ponyville’s citizens whose farms bordered the forest. On more than one occasion, he could hear them request of Twilight, Princess of Ponyville, to lend them financial aid, which would be used to “fight off the invasion of the unnatural plant inhabitants of the Everfree forest,” or something like that. There were only so many places within the forest’s borders where trees did not “naturally” grow. One of the places Spike thought of from the top of his head was the abandoned castle; this led him to believe that there may have been some enchantments still present in the forest. Imamu could have placed a similar enchantment on the area in front of his cave, while this place must have been enchanted some time ago. He continued to look at the things that were present in the clearing. From place to place, a piece of white stone popped up from the grass: possible remnants of an old road, or part of a much larger structure that also once incorporated the fountain. Aside from that, only two sleeping ponies and their belongings could be seen. After staring at the sky for some time, hoping that the fabled Sandpony would come and visit him, he turned his attention to the only other things worthy of it: Zecora and Apple Bloom. He looked them over, noticing that Apple Bloom slept with the 'Dragon Encyclopedia' in her arms. His attention then drifted towards their bags. He had arrived too late, and had been far too tired to look into, or even ask what they had filled them with. Setting aside the curiosity, his eyes drifted towards the rocks that surrounded the smoldering remains of their campfire. He gazed absently upon the stones before turning his attention back to the ponies, but not before catching sight of Kirabo, who sat upon the remains of the fountain “Hey,” Spike said, unsurprised by his presence. “Finally; I thought you would never fall asleep.” “Asleep? I am sleeping now?” Spike asked himself. “Yes, you have been sleeping for about eight seconds,” Kirabo informed Spike as he looked at an imaginary time keeping device located around his wrist. “Eight seconds? Wait how did he...” “No, I cannot read your mind,” Kirabo clarified. “But I don’t have to.” “Here, words and thoughts are the same thing,” he told Spike without opening his mouth. “But I find it more polite to speak our minds. Wouldn’t you agree? ” “I guess. I mean I guess,” Spike said as he shifted from his inner voice to his regular, speaking voice. “Good; Now, let’s get started.” “Alright,” Spike said as he got out of his bed. Looking behind, he could see himself still sleeping. “Odd...” he thought. “Not really. But if it makes you feel any better... here.” The scenery changed and the two were now inside a large cave. The cave itself was well lit, but there wasn’t any visible source of light in sight. “Cool,” Spike said, amazed by the ease which Kirabo managed to change their location. “Can you teach me to do that?” “Maybe later,” he replied. “Right now, we only have seven nights to push half a years worth of teaching into you. Now, let’s get started.” “Right. Spike wants,” Spike said as the pain of the transformation filled his body. “So, what are you going to teach me today?” he asked after recovering a little. “Well, since Zecora took you before I could throw you in Tartarus, I think we are going to need to add a special lesson to the curriculum. Let’s call this Lesson Zero.” “Great,” Spike said, wary of the prospect of a “special lesson.” “I am almost afraid to ask, but, what is this so called ‘special lesson’ about?” Kirabo could not help but smile at Spike before uttering one single, horrifying sentence. A sentence so terrifying that it only needed one word to make Spike instantly regret asking. “Pain.” “Thought so,” Spike managed to say before Kirabo’s fist made contact with his chest, causing him to be knocked back and hit the wall behind him. Apple Bloom woke up a few hours after Spike had fallen asleep to grab a drink of water. She took a look at the baby dragon and could see him covered in sweat, clenching his teeth, and holding onto the bedroll as if his life depended on it. “Must be having a bad dream,” the filly said, making herself comfortable before falling back to sleep.