//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Once Upon a Dream Come True // Story: Spike's Adventure in the Enchanted Dominion // by JediPony //------------------------------// Author’s note: Hey, guys. Sorry for keeping you waiting. I have been pretty busy with my life outside of the Internet, such as dealing with post-college graduation, working at my catering job and preparing for my week-long trip to California, which will start tomorrow. And sorry about not updating ‘No Love For A Dragon’. It’s not that I don’t want to continue the story, it’s just that I haven’t found the right motivation. So I’ll continue that when I have the proper motivation to do so. But enough of that, let’s continue with this. BTW, think of this like Tom and Jerry & The Wizard of Oz, a beloved film, except told from a different un-related character’s perspective. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I stood there on the cliff for what felt like hours, taking everything in. Wherever I was, I already knew I was nowhere near Ponyville, Canterlot, not even the Everfree Forest. I didn't even know how I got here in the first place, maybe it was by magic or something.... Before I could think of any other possibilities about how I came to this new land, a voice reached my ears. From what I could hear, it sounded like the choir of angels, even more than my crush, Rarity's singing voice. Being the curious dragon I was, I left the cliffside and rushed off back into the forest to find who the voice belonged to. As I kept going onward, very slowly, I could hear the voice getting louder. Eventually, I started to hear words that were being sung, by the same angelic-sounding voice. "I wonder I wonder I wonder why each little bird Has a someone to sing to Sweet things to A gay little love melody..." This sounded so beautiful, I wanted to find the source of the voice even more. Whoever sang this sounded lovely. "I wonder I wonder If my heart keeps singing Will my song go weaving To someone Who'll find me And bring back a love song To me?" As I continued to follow the voice, I began to grin even wider. However, my face fell when I found I was back at the cliffside that overlooked the unknown kingdom. I was about to turn and go when I noticed something leaning on a branch of the tree next to cliff. I took a look and saw that it was like no creature I had seen. Her mane looked curled and golden in color, even more golden than any type of gold I had ever seen in my life. She was clad in a gray dress with a black corset and a skirt that looked darker gray in color. Over her shoulders, she had a purple shawl. I didn't know what she was, but all I knew was that she was definitely not a pony. I decided to go up to her and introduce myself to her, but I was too focused on her to notice an out of place root that ended up tripping me and causing me to fall with a loud yell before I fell flat on my face, literally! That startled the creature enough for her to turn around to find me on the grass facedown. "Oh, my. A- are you all right?" She asked me, a hint of concern in her voice as she approached me. I sat up with a groan, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that-. Ow." At that, I felt a bit of a sting on my arm just as I gripped it. I removed my hand and saw something I didn't expect, a small scratch. Okay, that can't be right. I'm a dragon and dragons usually had tough scales. "Oh, you poor little dear." The female creature said as she saw my scratch. With that, she pulled what looked like a small cloth out of her basket and wrapped it around my arm, concealing the scratch. All I did was smile a bit at her kindness, it reminded me of Rarity's generosity. Remembering my manners, I looked up at the creature with a polite smile. "Thank you, Miss. My name's Spike, by the way. Spike the Dragon." I introduced myself. She smiled in return, "It's nice to meet you, Spike. My name is Briar Rose." Hearing that name made me smile sweetly. Briar Rose. Like Rarity's, that name sounded extremely beautiful. At the same time, though, I couldn't help but wonder if I heard that name somewhere before, but I snapped back into reality as she spoke up again. "You know, I've never thought I would see a dragon before, let alone speak with one." She admitted. "Thanks, and I never thought I would meet a..... umm....." I tried to find the right word for whatever she was, given I never saw her kind before. "Hey, um... what exactly are you?" "I'm a girl." She replied, "A human girl." "Oh, sorry. It's just... I've never met a human, whatever that is. They're not really common where I come from." "I understand, Spike. I haven't met many other people myself; my only friends are the woodland critters in this forest." She began to walk off with a sigh, "If only they wouldn't treat me like a child..." Confused, I followed after Briar Rose, curious about who she was referring to. Before I could ask her who she was talking about, an owl flew past me and flapped before her, stopping her in her path. "Who?" The nocturnal bird hooted to her. "Yeah, who?" I asked, in agreement with the owl. "Why, Flora and Fauna and Merryweather." Briar Rose replied. Again, I looked confused, as if I recognized those names as well. "Who are they?" I asked a bit curiously as the owl and her other animal friends, a few birds- one being blue and another red- a squirrel and two rabbits, followed us to a nearby pond. "My aunts. They've raised me since I was a baby and, for some reason, they never want me to meet anyone." She answered simply, dipping her toes into the lake once or twice. "Oh, sorry to hear that." I said sadly and in sympathy as more animal friends, a green bird and a yellow bird, flew up. Then, for some reason, a smile crept across Rose's face as she giggled a bit. "But you know something? I've fooled them." The golden-haired girl winked to me and her friends, "I have met someone!" As she said that, a bunch more animal friends- some birds, squirrels, some chipmunks, rabbits and a couple quails- came up. I couldn't help but smile at what she told us. The owl hooted a curious and eager 'who' just before Briar Rose simply smiled and stood up, with me and the animals following, eager to know who she met. "C'mon, Rose. Who'd you meet?" I asked eagerly. “Oh, a prince.” She replied with a simple grin. "What was he like?" I asked as the birds chattered eagerly, sharing my curiosity. The lovely girl plucked a few berries from a nearby bush, "Well, he's tall and handsome and... and so romantic." She finished dreamily. Hearing that, I couldn't help but grin. For some reason, it reminded me of a daydream; a daydream I had when Twilight, the others and I were doing what we could to rescue my beloved Rarity from the vulgar Diamond Dogs. I was a strong and handsome-looking prince with well-developed muscles, a red cape draped over my back as I carried a huge sword and fought my way through guards to find the love of my life. Suddenly, I broke out of my nostalgia wave as the birds chattered once again. "Oh, we walked together and talked together..." Rose narrated as she spun a bit before embracing herself with a smile, "And just before we say goodbye, he takes me in his arms...." "Yeah?" I asked eagerly as my eyes widened at the same the birds chattered. "And then..." “AAANND?!" I demanded excitedly with my eyes going even wider while the birds twittered eagerly, sharing how eager and excited I was, along with the other forest animals. "... I wake up." She finally answered, her voice full of disappointment as her face fell. I couldn't help but share her disappointment as my face fell and the birds twittered in sadness. "You mean that...?" I began to ask, even though I knew what the answer was going to be. “Yes, it's only in my dreams." Rose replied sadly. "I know how you feel," I looked down at the ground in disappointment. Hearing her encounter with a prince instantly reminded me of the dreams I often had with Rarity in them, falling for me. Just as the dreams were getting good, I always would find myself woken up and trying to fall back asleep, just to go back to my dreamland and see how the dreams ended. Sadly, it didn’t always seem to work for me. "Well, don't lose too much hope, Spike," Rose continued with a hopeful smile, "They always say that if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true." “You really think so?" I asked hopefully with a smile. "Yes, I do." She nodded in reply, and then smiled lovingly as she leaned to the tree while saying, "And I've seen him so many times." Hearing that, I couldn't help but hope that she would meet her prince soon. Briar Rose hummed to herself blissfully as she allowed a chipmunk to hop into her lap before she peacefully started petting it. There was something I just loved about her voice, but I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that she sounded just as lovely as Rarity or Twilight whenever the latter would sing me a lullaby when I was having trouble sleeping late at night or... My thoughts were immediately interrupted when I felt something drop onto my head. I looked down to see an acorn by my foot before I looked up towards the tree to see one of Briar Rose's squirrel friends gesturing for some of her avian friends to come up to the branch he was on. Wondering what was going on, I climbed up onto the branch to join the squirrel, just as we were joined by the owl and the blue and red bird. "What's going on?" I asked the squirrel. The squirrel pointed me, the owl and the two birds to what he saw, which was a red hat and cape hanging from the branch of a tree a few miles from where we were. Just then, the owl looked as though he got a bright idea and brought us all into a huddle as he hooted to all four of us. Without another word, I slid down the tree and followed the three avians and squirrel as we went off to help Briar Rose's dream come to life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A little later, the blue and red birds, owl, squirrel and I managed to reach the tree from which the hat and cape were hanging. Just as we were about to take them, the five of us heard a voice speak up. "You know, Samson?" I couldn't help but feel curious as I peeked around the tree to see who the masculine voice belonged to. Sitting on a root right above the pond next to the tree was what looked like another human. But whereas Briar Rose was petite and thin, this human was a male and looked taller and had a slightly strong build. He had short brown hair and was wearing a black tunic underneath a gray vest with brown breeches and shoes that looked lighter brown in color. As he removed his boots, the human looked as though he was wondering something. Nearby, I could see a gray horse with a ebony mane eating from the leaves in a nearby tree and drinking from the pond. I knew all about horses, but this one looked much different than any horse I had seen. "There was something strange about that voice..." The human male continued, almost lost in thought, "Too beautiful to be real." As he spoke on, he placed a boot down right next to another one, just before me. Thankfully, he didn't notice me as he placed the pieces down. Just then, I noticed the birds and squirrel going off with the cape and hat before I looked to the boots. Maybe these two pieces of footwear could help complete the ensemble for the prince disguise. Without any second thoughts, I reached for the boots. "Maybe it was a mysterious being, a wood sprite or-." The human continued just as I picked up the boots. Just as I picked up the boots and grinned, I heard a loud neighing sound. I looked up nervously to see the horse and the human looking in my direction. Knowing that I was caught redhanded, I ran off as fast as my tiny legs could carry me, never taking a second to stop, despite the human's calls towards me. "Here! Stop!" I heard him calling as I continued to run. I just kept on running and never looked back. By the time I knew I had lost him, I leaned against a tree, completely out of breath. As I was catching my breath, I heard some twittering and looked up to see the owl, birds and squirrel looking pleased to see me, as though they were waiting for me. I let out a breath, "Sorry, I kind of got caught by the human guy and had to run." The birds only tweeted happily, as if understanding my excuse. Before I even knew it, I felt the cape being tied around my neck and the hat placed on my head. I immediately looked towards the woodland critters in confusion. "Hey, why're you...?" I began to ask them. Then, I realized what they were up to; to dress me up like a prince and to help Rose's dreams come true. "Oh, okay." I spoke up with a smile, slipping on the boots that I had picked up. They were a little big on me, but I guess they'd have to do. With that, I started to walk like a prince as the birds, owl and squirrel led me back to Briar Rose. Thankfully, she was still in that same spot under the tree, humming to herself as she petted her chipmunk friend and the other animals gathered by her side. Good, she was still there. I took a deep breath and thought, 'Well, here goes nothing.' I took a few steps into the clearing and cleared my throat. As I expected, it got the golden-haired maiden's attention as she gasped and looked in my direction and smiled. For some reason, I knew she could see through my disguise, but she didn't let that ruin it for her. "Why... it's my dream prince!" Rose exclaimed in delight, playing along. With a giggle, she stood up and dipped before me. "Your Highness." For some reason, I wanted to giggle a bit at that. 'Your Highness'? Shaking that thought off, I remembered the daydream where I was a debonair knight, rescuing Rarity from the dreaded Diamond Dogs. Going into my prince mode, I grinned and bowed before her, like a prince might bow before his maiden. "The pleasure's all mine... Milady." I responded, making my voice a little deeper than I would normally sound. Briar Rose couldn't help but giggle at my 'introduction' before she vocalized a bit and twirled. She came up to me and smiled, kneeling down to my level as she spoke while playing along with the little charade. "You know, I'm not really supposed to speak to strangers...." She then grinned, allowing me to embrace her, "But we've met before." Before I knew it, she brought me into a little dance as she began to sing a song. "I know you I walked with you once upon a dream I know you The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam Yet I know it's true That visions are seldom all they seem But if I know you, I know what you'll do You'll love me at once The way you did once upon a dream." As I danced along with the lovely human maiden, I suddenly began to daydream once again. I was in my daydream prince form and I was dancing with Rarity on a cloud in the heavens. I was clad in my red cape, black breeches, red boots and shoulder armor while she was dressed to look like a princess. Despite the little daydream, I still remembered that I was dancing with Briar Rose and I was doing my best not to step on her bare toes. The big boots were a bit of a hinder on my dancing, but I still kept up with the pace of the dance as she sang and twirled a bit out before twirling back to me. “But if I know you I know what you'll do..." Just as I was about to rejoin Rose in her dance, I felt something tug me by the cape and toss me into a nearby bush. The next thing I knew was that I was briefly seeing stars upon landing in the greenery. "You'll love me at once..." "The way you did once...” “Upon a dream" I looked confused at the sound of the male voice before I poked my head out of the bushes. There, I saw Briar Rose dancing, looking confused as she heard the voice from behind her. I couldn't help but look surprised that it belonged to that same human male I took the boots from and he was dancing with her, much to her surprise. Confused, Briar Rose looked in my direction as I smiled sheepishly. "Uh.. hehe. Hi?" I said, bearing a sheepish toothy grin. The human girl took notice of the boy and gasped, trying to make a run for it. However, she was stopped as he took her hand and smiled. "I'm awfully sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you or tug your friend away." He apologized, holding her hand. Rose pried herself free, "Oh, it wasn't that. It's just that you're a... a..." "A stranger?" "Mm-hmm." I leaned out of the bushes, interested in seeing where this was all going. "But don't you remember? We've met before." He told Rose. She looked a little confused, "W- We have?" "Why, of course. You said so yourself, once upon a dream." The girl only started to walk off with the human boy following her slowly as she hid behind a tree and he began to sing the song she was singing. "I know you I walked with you once upon a dream I know you The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam." Suddenly, I began to smile, liking where this was going. As I looked on, Briar Rose smiled to the boy before they went hand in hand and started to dance by the lake with one another. Her animal friends came up next to me and looked on, the owl grinning and winking to me as if he were congratulating me. If I didn't know any better, I could hear an unseen chorus finishing the song. "And I know it's true That visions are seldom all they seem But if I know you, I know what you'll do You'll love me at once The way you did once upon a dream." Rose's animal friends and I all went up to where she and the boy stood together as they leaned to each other like the happy couple they were becoming. As I looked on, I thought that maybe, just maybe, this boy could be the prince Briar Rose told me and her pals about earlier and that she kept seeing in her dreams. I only hoped that they could be meant for each other. I saw the human boy lean his head to Briar Rose's as he asked her, "Who are you? What's your name?" "Hmm?" She asked, looking up to him as she realized his question, "Oh, My name. Why, it's... it's..." Rose's animal friends and I watched eagerly, hoping this could end well. Those two humans looked like they deserved each other, I could assume that. In fact, I could feel my eyes widen in eagerness. However, a look of a horrible realization came onto her face as she backed away, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no, I can't! I-!" She exclaimed. At hearing that, I felt my jaw dropping as her animal friends looked alarmed. And things looked like they were going so well! Briar Rose then started to run off, much to the boy's alarm and confusion. “Goodbye!" She said. I followed after her with the animals, catching up with her. "But will I ever see you again?" I heard the boy call towards Briar Rose. She stopped in her tracks, looking back, "Well.... Maybe someday." "When? Tomorrow?" The boy asked. By now, we were back to where Briar Rose had left her shawl and berry-filled basket. As she placed her shawl around her shoulders and picked up her basket, the golden-haired maiden shook her head to the boy's answer. "Oh, no. This evening!" She answered. "Where?" The boy inquired, catching up to us. She looked back as she ran off, "At the cottage, in the glen!" And without another word, Briar Rose rushed off with me following her to the cottage in the glen, wherever that was. Hopefully, she was right. Hopefully, she and the boy, her possible dream prince, would meet again tonight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author’s note: Well, that’s it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed it. :)