//------------------------------//
// A talking Dragon 
// Story: I'll be waiting... 
// by Zweiterversuch 
//------------------------------//

The dragon was talking. It was talking to me.
I have to admit that at the time, more than following his instructions, I quieted down because I was shocked to hear a dragon talking so well our language.
It was the first time that one of my family had seen a real dragon and surely the first time in centuries somepony heard a dragon's voice.
The cage the dragon had made around me with his claws opened slowly like a blooming flower and for the first time our eyes met.

"What are you doing here?"

The dragon's voice was deeper than a stallion's ever hoped to be and his breath smelled like soil and coins. He had to ask me the question twice before I could tell him who I was.

"My name is Tome. Tome of Müllhound. I am but a humble cleric on a journey."

I spoke loudly, partially due to the fear that I still felt, but also believing that I needed to do so in order for the dragon to understand my words.
Surprisingly the dragon placed a finger over his mouth and blew gently in an almost childish gesture.

"Shhhhhhhhh...
You're too loud, Tome. Talk lower."

Without waiting for my reply, the dragon suddenly breathed a small ball of fire through one side of his mouth, far enough that I couldn't feel the  scorching heat, but close enough to be bathed by its light.
Under the greenish light the dragon inspected me from mane to hooves as if making sure I was indeed what I claimed to be.
I on the other hoof didn't need to look attentively to know for a fact that the dragon was what it was. His face was covered with small scars and some sort of white dust that I believed was caused by the countless sculptures. Strangely enough, though, his expression was nothing like what I expected to be a dragon's. It was somehow calm and the fact that he was using his fire breath more like a tool and less like a killing method, made him look even non-threatening.

"I see. Then, let me ask you, where is that Müllhound you talk about?"

In vain I tried to explain where my hometown was located. The names of the rivers, mountains and towns I told him were of no help. Almost as if he had never heard of them. My thoughts at the time were that this dragon had surely never left these tunnels. He was most likely unaware of the world outside.
I wanted to keep telling him names hoping he'd understand where I came from, but talking for so long was something I had not done in days.
And the fact that during those days I had not tasted a single drop of water made it even worse.
I coughed without end, unable to formulate long sentences.

"I...I am sorry...I have been trapped down here for days...
without a slice of bread to still my hunger...or a cup of water to moist my throat."

The dragon remained silent for a moment and still without saying a word carefully brought me over his snout and let me fall on top of it.

"Hold yourself, Tomas. It might be a bumpy ride."

He then turned around towards the side of the tunnel his size had been blocking and started to walk. I couldn't stop noticing that by doing so he made almost no sound, or at least he didn't made as much noise as a dragon of his size would.
I couldn't see where I was being taken. Despite having his fire as a source of light, the dragon didn't use it to move around in the tunnels. He just continued walking, knowing for a fact the tunnel would bring him where he wanted to.
Still somewhat suspicious or rather incredulous of his calm behavior I had the need to ask where he was taking me.

"Where are we going...sir dragon?"

In the middle of my question I realized I didn't know the dragon's name or even if he had a name I could call him. So I opted to be as polite as I could and call him "sir", something I considered better than mister or simply to call him dragon. To be impolite with something that could eat me with such ease didn't sound like a bright idea at the time.
The dragon's snout moved when he let a muffled laugh, forcing me to fight to stand steady.

"Call me Spike. Sir Dragon sounds too weird for my tastes."

"Spike", what an unusual name for a dragon. At the time I remembered a small dragon that was mentioned in the the stories of the crystal empire with the same name. For a moment I thought whether this Spike was the one they mentioned or not, but unable to come to an answer I decided to ask him.

"Are you the same Spike that saved the crystal empire from King Sombra thousands of years ago?"

I couldn't see Spike's eyes or anything else of him. I just waited to hear his voice again.

"Do they still talk about that?"

To know that was more that I could ever hoped to find when I decided to go towards the green glow in the tunnel. As a preacher of the princesses' teachings I knew well about the most popular stories of their kingdoms. The one about "Spike, the brave and glorious" is a well known tale for young fillies and colts, used for teaching them the values of courage and loyalty, as well as to teach them that if you put your mind into it there was nothing you couldn't do. To meet the dragon of the tale was incredibly unreal for me, so I just had to ask him if I was actually dead or if it was nothing but a dream, to which the dragon simply replied with another muffled laugh.
To know where he was about to take me became less important. It was better to know instead why he was here, underground, so close to what once was known as Canterlot and its premises.

"But what are you doing here, Spike? Weren't you supposed to be in the crystal empire?"

Right after I had finished asking my question I became aware of how unnecessary it was. Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining armor, had been called to support Equestria's capital when the unnamed evil befell it. It was surely only natural for them to bring along the empire's champion with them. His participation wasn't mentioned in the record of Prince Blueblood, but his presence here was more than enough to prove that he had indeed partaken.
Before I could change my question, as I felt that I could not waste any chance to ask, Spike answered it.

"In the crystal empire? Why? 
I was supposed to be here with Twilight and the others."

The over-familiarity in his voice when he called the princess name was something that I could have never hoped to hear in my life from a breathing being. But it was Spike, the brave and glorious that was talking.
The image I had about the princess and Spike changed immediately. I had always thought about them as a ruler and a champion, but the way he talked about her made it think they were friends.
I wanted to inquire more about his relationship to other great characters of his epoch, but a tickling sound in the distance caught my attention.
It was a clinking and high-pitched noise, like the one water does when drops fall on frail porcelain.

"Drink, but don't spit in it."

With great care Spike took me off his snout and placed me on a wet surface over which water seemed to flow. I clearly could hear a bigger stream nearby. I asked Spike if it was safe to move to which he replied with a bright green ball of fire in order to illuminate my path.
The light reflected on the crystalline water was beautiful, making the for me already precious liquid seem even divine. 
Without a second to waste I dipped my head inside the stream and began to drink from it, putting it way up in the list of important things I had to do at the time, right above breathing.
With each gulp of sweet water I felt how my health and strength returned to my body.

"It's delicious, Spike! Who would dare to spit it out?"

I heard Spike's breath come closer and at the same time I heard him picking something made of stone up the ground. Judging by the sound it made, it was filled to the brim with liquid. Apparently it was there where all the water from the stream flowed to.

"You never know, Tome."

Spike took two big sips out of it and put it back in its place beneath the fall of the stream. I had clearly more than enough to still my thirst. But Spike obviously didn't have enough.

"Spike, won't you drink anymore?"

Softly he asked me then if I wanted more. After I told him I had had my fill, he picked me up again and deposited me on top of his snout once more.

"When I was smaller, that cup was enough to still my thirst for days, but now I can only have a considerable drink when it is full and it won't be full again until tomorrow."


We walked again and like before I was unaware of where he was taking me. This time I didn't care though. I was completely sure it wouldn't be a bad place.

"So, Tome, tell me, how exactly did you come here?"

I proceeded then to quickly answer Spike's question. I told him about my destination and explained to him the reasons why I was transferred to the old farmer town. Spike was a good listener, but at the mention of the mountain we were beneath he stopped and interrupted me.

"What did you call this mountain, Tome?"

The answer to the question was obvious for me. Everypony knew the name of the mountain the kingdom of Canterlot had turned into.
Keeping in mind that Spike had not been in the outside world for thousands of years though, I naturally answered.

"Sealed Mountain."

Spike remained silent. There was something about these news that shocked him, but for the life of me I didn't know exactly what it was.

"Sealed Mountain, huh? A very fitting name after what happened I guess.

Tome, you told me why you came here, but you still haven't answered my question. How did you end up here?"

I told Spike about my foolish decision and about the earthquake afterwards. I decided to omit the parts when I cried or when I prayed to the princesses. Somehow I thought it was embarrassing to talk about it.
At the end of my story the dragon had nothing to comment on, besides my bad luck and poor choosing.

"Tome, while I can do something about your thirst, there's nothing I could offer that you could eat.
And an exit is something I haven't found either."

I remained silent at the clear statement that it was where I would die and there was nothing even Spike, the brave and glorious, could do to save me.
I suggested to break the mountain down. I assumed that a dragon of his size, even bigger  than the ones Prince Blueblood claimed to have seen, could use his strength to tear a hole big enough for the two of us to leave.
Spike flatly declined. The only reason for doing so he gave me was that it'd make too much noise.
It surely was a confusing answer for me. Who would discard a sure way to freedom just because it was a noisy one?
I asked about the reason he might have for giving more importance to the silence that I had come to dread, than to the freedom I had dreamed about.
To my question Spike replied with another.

"What do you know about what happened here, Tome?"

Even though I knew that Spike had no idea of the world outside, I couldn't help but feel somewhat offended by his question.
My clothing, although clearly damaged, dirty and worn, was proof of my clerical knowledge. The white and blue of my jacket were a connection to the colors of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The many crests down my sleeves were the cutie marks of the four princesses, as to leave clear that my work was nothing but means to spread their teachings. The ones located in a circle on the left side of my chest, right over my heart were the ones of the elements of harmony, as to imply that the values they stood for were also in my heart.
And on my back, the biggest crest of them all, the crest of the holy sect, showed who had bestowed authority upon my humble self.

Still I didn't want to brag about my theoretical knowledge in front of one that had literally been there when the events I had only read in books actually occurred.
I merely answered what I knew. I knew about the great unnamed evil that came from the north and that it literally devastated every town city and kingdom that stood in its path until its defeat here, in the former Canterlot. I told him about the princesses and the alliance of all species and their betrayal. I mentioned the great battle, prince Blueblood's valiant efforts to return with reinforcements to the battle, and the fall of the unnamed evil at the hooves of the princesses.

To my story Spike had much to add.

"Your version is a little different to mine, Tome. Also the end is not correct."

Spike started his tale at the beginning. Apparently it was a sunny day when it all happened, when the news of the fall of the griffon city arrived at the princesses ears, and the impeding doom the unnamed evil brought with it already knocked on the kingdom's doors. They were many battles led by each of the princesses at different times in order to stop the progress of the invader, but all of them resulted in defeat and more victims of the conflict. At the end even the princesses and the elements of harmony fell to their despair. But in that hopeless situation, princess Twilight managed to come up with a solution.


"We're going to seal it!"


It required the magic of all the princesses, the strength of the elements of harmony, the will to live of every pony in Canterlot and any other species in all the neighboring kingdoms. So it was that the rulers of each kingdom came together with their champions and their soldiers and gathered around the white castle of Canterlot leaving their cities empty and unprotected.
Canterlot had never seen such a diversity in its inhabitants in years. Griffons, dragons, zebras, mules, ponies and other species of all around the world prepared themselves to become the seal that would prevent the destruction the evil was causing.
The idea was to surrender to the corruption it brought with it, to let it invade every being in the castle as to split its power and control and then let those he had corrupted fall into a deep sleep princess Luna would cause. In their slumber they would keep fighting the unnamed evil until it stopped being a threat.
At the time, many of the wealthiest ponies in Canterlot and other kingdoms fled. Prince Blueblood was apparently among them.

The story Spike told greatly differed from the one I had heard. Not only did it expose the greatest "hero" of the great battle as a coward, but it also claimed that the battle still continued, even today.

I surely couldn't believe it at first. I told Spike exactly that. All he did though was to start walking, bringing me again towards an unknown destination.

I took my time in order to assimilate the information I was given. One by one I went through the facts our stories shared and tried to add to mine the new pieces of information Spike had given me. Even if I didn't like it at first, some parts of the story started to make more sense than ever before, and in me started to burn a hate for Prince Blueblood and all the other aristocrats that "survived". I now saw for what they were, just a bunch of cowards and a tyrants.
As I went over the story once more in my head, I realized that Spike's participation was nowhere mentioned. I asked if maybe he had also tried to flee with the aristocrats. Spike was quick to answer that. Maybe he was offended by my question, as much as I was offended when he asked me before.





"I didn't try to escape.
I did not partake in the seal because I was to deliver a message from Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Cadence to the remaining kingdoms, as well as countless letters from  the soldiers and rulers that stayed to their loved ones and those they had left in charge of their territories.
A chariot had been prepared for me. But the invasion was a lot sooner than expected. As the seal began to take effect and the ones corrupted began to fall into sleep, the earth around the castle began to rise covering it all. The pegasi pulling from the chariot managed to find a path out of the castle before the mountain consumed it. But once we were in the sky a raging peak from below cut their connection to the chariot and I fell.

I managed to throw the letters to them, but I don't know if afterwards they were able to deliver them."

It was clear to me that the pegasi had failed their mission. No message was delivered to any of the courts of the kingdoms that partook in the great war. Queens, princesses and princes, as well as citizens, mothers, children and wives, none of them knew exactly what happened to any of those that had marched towards Canterlot, besides the fact they had died while fulfilling their duty.
It was then I understood that Spike had become a prisoner of these rocky walls for thousands of years, living only off the memories he still had from ages past.
I felt depressed. I had been here only maybe ten, twelve days and I was already thinking about killing myself. But Spike, who had been here for centuries, didn't seem to ever have had that idea.

"Spike. How could you survive this long in this prison? I have thought several times about dying while trapped in here. One of my motivations to go to your flame was to possibly die consumed by it."

Spike remained silent once more and just continued walking. Maybe he had had the same thoughts as I did before, or maybe he was just shocked to hear the ease with which I expressed my willingness to choose death over pain.  I never knew the reason for those moments of silence. All the told me was his reason to remain alive.

"Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash all of them were still fighting somewhere I couldn't reach them. I couldn't let myself die.knowing that. What kind of expression would I have if I ever were to meet them?"

He said that he had chosen to remain here, guarding their sleep and awaiting for their awakening. He joked about the many times he imagined their expressions when they saw the kind of dragon he had become.

"They would surely freak out."- Spike laughed - "For them it would be only an instant ago when they saw my little self, barely bigger than a school colt, and now they'd have to see me stand several hundreds of meters above the ground.
I honestly hope Fluttershy isn't too scared to not talk to me again."

Instead of the mighty dragon I believed him to be, Spike then came more off like a thousand-years old child, that surprisingly had still managed to save that part of himself through the eons. I had no doubt that if the princesses were to wake up that day, they would be shocked by his size, surely, but they would even be more surprised by the fact that despite all the years that had passed, he still was the same dragon they knew.

"I am sure the great Fluttershy won't shy away from talking to you, Spike. She won't even notice the difference."

Spike laughed a little louder than ever before, both at my comment and the way I called Fluttershy "the great Fluttersy".
If my colleagues had heard me, they'd have been quite shocked by my behavior, but I couldn't help myself from laughing either.

Finally we reached our destination. It was a massive underground cave like many one could find in the tunnels, but with a single difference: this one had a thin beam of light descending from the ceiling of the cave.
I was surprised and enchanted by the simplistic beauty a thin beam of light could have when surrounded by such thick darkness. But now that I could see, somewhat, Spike's expression, I realized that this light we saw, was not there when he left before.

"Sunlight!"

It was impossible for me to hide my excitement at our discovery. I asked Spike to take me closer to the source of the beam. I just needed to see the sky outside once more.
Like I asked him, Spike put me in the palm of his hand and brought me closer to a crack in the mountain barely bigger than myself. At the other side of it I saw once more the cyan blue sky and white clouds, puffy like cotton, being blown gently by the breeze I had not felt against my fur for such a long time.
Immediately, and motivated by the clear opportunity to leave, I tried to climb through the passage towards the light. But the walls of the crack were slippery and despite my efforts all I did was slide down to Spike's hand.

"Well, Tome. Does it look like you can get out?"

From above I explained to Spike the situation. It seemed impossible to climb through it due to the slippery walls. But to my surprise Spike had an idea and I saw, with my own eyes, his smile for the first time. That honest smile...I don't think I'll ever forget it. 

"You are a lucky pony indeed, Tome. There might be a way for you to get out."

He brought me down to a dry, dusty and white surface that I recognized as the rock all the shattered sculptures were made of. He asked me if I could see my surroundings well enough, to which I answered that I couldn't.
He began to breathe at the upper walls of his cave as if wanting to impregnate them with it. I didn't understand the purpose behind his actions until later, when with a little spark he lit the walls above us illuminating completely the cave I could unmistakably call his room.
Hundreds, maybe even thousands of white sculptures stood at different heights around us. If I were to use a better analogy I'd say it was like standing in the middle of a coliseum with its stairs filled with smiling spectators carved from white rock.
Astonished by the sight, by the way the green glow of Spike's flames brought the statues to apparent life, I didn't say anything until Spike had placed me at the start of a corridor flanked on both sides by a line of statues.
I wanted to ask him what that was. I was really curious to know whether or not he had made the statues. Judging by the varying size of some of them I assumed they were, but I wanted to be sure. Surely he had to make them bigger and bigger due to his own change in size. His claws weren't adequate to carve the fine details of smaller statues anymore.
I walked along the corridor looking attentively at the beings they were supposed to represent.
The names of the ponies Spike carved out of the stone were written below, so it was that for the first time I witnessed what Applejack the honest truly was like.
At first glance I realized that Spike's statues, more than a mere copy of what he saw, were the embodiment of an emotion or a feeling he associated with those he had portrayed.

The statue of Applejack the honest was brimming with life and energy. Her eyes, despite being made of stone, seemed to shine with an unusual straightforwardness and purity that no other sculpture or painting, I had seen, had. 
With an old-fashioned stetson hat over her head and a lasso held in her mouth the athletic mare looked at something with an undeniable resolve. What that thing was I did not know, all I knew what that she would not be beaten by it.
Next to her stood other statues of the elements. All of them were depicted in the middle of some sort of activity that, judging by their smiles, they seemed to enjoy.

Princess Twilight's statue read calmly a book with a soft and gently grin adoring her lips, while the statue of the great Fluttershy was singing with countless birds, one of which seemed to be slightly out of tune with the rest.

The statue of Rarity the beautiful was working on some clothes. Maybe it was only my imagination at the time, but even her statue was more beautiful than any other mare I had encountered in any of my journeys.

The statue of Pinkie Pie, the random, was about to take something out the oven. She wore a lovely apron and baking mittens decorated with air balloons. She crouched slightly with a wide smile on her face while her curly mane and tail, despite the stiffness of the rock. seemed to dangle. I remember that while looking at her statue I had the urge to taste whatever she was baking.

The statue from Rainbow dash the loyal was the weirdest one for me. It showed a cloud and the back of her head, with a single one of her hooves up in the air. I could not see her face clearly, nor the shape of her body. But the whole statue seemed to shout her reply:


"I'll be there in a second."


It was weird that those muted statues told me so much about the ponies I had studied for years. What they wanted, what they were like, what they liked, every statue seemed to show a different and new aspect of them.

But besides their statues were many more.

As I kept walking I met three little fillies filled with energy and an almost silly determination to achieve something I didn't know, but I was sure they would accomplish.
There was the statue of an old mare resting on her rocking chair looking calmly and nostalgically in front of her. Right next to it was the statue of a big stallion, smiling slightly with a single straw of wheat pressed between his lips.
I saw hard-working mares and stallions doing many different tasks. I saw a teacher and a nurse. I distinctly recognized a mayor, a couple of farmers and a trio of mares as beautiful as the flowers on their flanks.

Somehow it was overwhelming. So much that when I found myself at the corner of the corridor, I realized how wrong I had been about it all, about what I believed happened back then, thousands of years ago.
I felt like crying, but before I could shed the first tear Spike spoke.

"Now, go down that path. It shouldn't be too dark now that this side is illuminated. Also don't worry about light near the end, there will be a light up ahead."

Spike pointed at a small passage into the rock that was decorated, as far as my eyes could see, with many carvings on the walls, the ceiling and the floor.
I was not afraid of it. I trusted Spike, despite the short time we had shared, I knew he'd not send me to a place where I could not return from.
But still I felt somehow compelled to know what lied beyond.

"What lies there, Spike?"

Looking me straight in the eye, Spike gave me the most unexpected answer.

"At the end of that corridor you'll find Canterlot Castle."

"C-C-Canterlot Castle!!??"

The heart inside my chest jumped causing my throat to shrink and the air in my lungs to escape. Spike repeated once more the name of my destination with calm and gave me a warning.

"Yes, Canterlot Castle. And you better leave your excitement here, Tome.
As I told you before the princesses and the others are still fighting evil in their sleep. You should make no sound or noise, no matter how faint it might be, that could awake them. You will not talk, nor will you scream, squeal or cry, be it out of sadness or joy, understood, Tome?"

For a second time Spike kept staring at me trying to discover through my actions any sort of doubt in my answer.

"Understood. I will not make a single sound, Spike."

A smile formed on the dragon's face and after expressing his wishes for my luck, he let me go deep inside the carved passage.