What's a dragon to do when stuck in bed with the flu? Read a story provided by a friend, of course!
One day, Spike gets a bad case of the flu and is stuck in bed. To help him cope with his sickness, Twilight Sparkle provides him with a storybook of one of her favorite fairy tales. Spike reads the story and eventually falls asleep. Upon waking up, the little dragon finds himself in a different place, where he meets a beautiful princess who soon falls victim to a curse placed upon her by a powerful sorceress. Now, Spike must help lift the curse by seeking out the princess's true love and help him to defeat the witch. But will it be enough to get him back home to Ponyville?
Hi, guys. I know some of you are waiting for No Love For a Dragon to be updated, but this idea just came to me when I was listening to a remix of "The Silent Forest", known as the theme for Enchanted Dominion in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. It left me wondering.... What if Spike somehow ended up in the world of Disney's Sleeping Beauty? And here's the result so far. Enjoy!
By the way, this is going to be written from Spike's point-of-view.
The day started off normally for me and Twilight Sparkle. We started off by re-shelving the library and basically sweeping the floors like every other month. Don't get me wrong, I had no real problem with doing chores with Twilight. But once in awhile, it does tend to get pretty boring doing the same thing every now and then. Usually, Twilight and her friends ended up on going on amazing adventures and I end up staying at home. It's not their fault, though. They could ask me to go along, but I am still a baby dragon and I have had my fair share of a few adventures. Sometimes, though, enough just isn't enough. I really wish I could go on my own adventures, but I digress.
For the rest of the day, I was helping Twilight with her errands as usual. After we finished cleaning the library and ate our breakfast, we went to the market to pick up some supplies and food. When we weren't shopping for food or things like quills, ink and parchment, we ended up helping the other ponies, Applejack with a few of her farm chores, Fluttershy tending to her animal friends, Pinkie with cooking some cupcakes, training with Rainbow Dash and Twilight even modeled for one of Rarity's latest fashion designs. Now, Rarity.... Man, she was one pony I was willing to help out any day of the week. Embarrassing as it may seem, I've had a crush on her since I first met her.
Anyways, at one point, when Twilight and I were helping Applejack with harvesting some of the apple trees, I got a little hungry. I would have asked Twilight if I could have something to eat, but she would probably have told me that it would have to wait until after we finished harvesting the orchard and I knew I couldn't wait that long. Otherwise, I would probably starve.
Just then, I spotted a lone apple at the base of a nearby apple tree. Once I got to the apple, I looked it over once. The apple looked covered with a few bruises, but I didn't seem to care. At least it could hopefully tide over my hunger until lunchtime. Besides, I've managed to eat some of Pinkie Pie and Applejack's "baked bads" and didn't end up getting sick afterwards. I then chucked the apple into my mouth, ate it in one bite and swallowed before I patted my belly in satisfaction and continued to help with the chore.
To reward me for being helpful not only to her but also all her friends that day, Twilight brought me to the Ponyville Cafe for lunch. I ended up ordering some extra crispy hay fries and Twilight ordered a daffodil and daisy sandwich.
"That was delicious, wasn't it, Spike?" Twilight asked me about half an hour later, pleased with her meal.
By that time, I was starting to not feel like myself. I felt lightheaded and almost like I was going to collapse right there on the spot. My stomach was in knots and I was sweating like crazy. I felt like I was burning up, even though the weather wasn't scorching. Why was I starting to feel like this all of a sudden?
"Y- Yeah, the best." I replied, trying to cover up my condition to her.
The violet-colored pony looked at me in confusion, "Spike. Are you okay? You don't look so hot."
"What're you talkin' about, Twi? I feel perfec-."
However, before I could finish my sentence, I ended up doing something I never thought I would do in public. I felt my cheeks bulge as I brought both arms to my stomach and vomited right there in the open! Words couldn't describe how ashamed I felt as everypony was staring in my direction in surprise. If embarrassment were a disease, I'd most likely be dead of it by now.
Suddenly, I felt a hoof lightly touching my forehead, Twilight's. "Oh, Spike! You're burning up!"
"I... I'm sorry, Twilight!" I apologized, feeling dizzy and ashamed of what just happened.
Just then, I felt myself levitated onto Twilight's back before she trotted off back to the library. "No need to apologize, Spike. But you need some rest, badly."
That was the last thing that I recall happening before I blacked out...
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I don't know how long I was out cold for. All I remember was finding myself in my basket in the library. I sat up and looked around before I felt a sharp pain in my head before laying back down. It was then that it hit me. Somehow, I ended up getting sick or something. How did I end up getting like this anyway? I probably stayed up past my bedtime or eaten something rot-.
Oh, right. I remember now: I had that bruised apple back at Sweet Apple Acres. This couldn't be right, though. I ate a bunch of rotten cupcakes and never came down with a sickness. So why did a bad apple cause me to upchuck hours later when I could stomach just about anything, including gems of all sorts? Before I could think it over any further, Twilight came upstairs to check on me with a look of concern.
"Hey, Spike. How are you feeling right now?" She asked me, a reassuring smile on her face.
I only groaned, holding my stomach, "Not so great. I'm feeling really bad." I looked back at her with a look of regret. "Twilight, about what happened in the marke-."
"No need to worry about that, Spike. It's not like you meant to vomit in the square. It could have happened to anypony."
Somehow, that made me feel slightly better as I smiled a bit.
"Anyways, it seems like you got stuck with the flu, which isn't anything too serious. However, I think it's best I relieve you of your duties for the time being."
"But... how will you get things done?" I asked her.
The lavender mare shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry, Spike. I can manage. Oh, that reminds me." She levitated something from behind her and placed it gently in my lap. "To keep you from dying of boredom while you're recovering, I got you this when you were asleep."
I looked over the item in my lap and couldn't help but frown a little. What I was looking at right now was a storybook that looked goldish in color and was decked out in all sorts of gems. I'd gladly take the gems over the rest any day of the week. However, the first thing about the book that caught my eye was the book's title, which read Sleeping Beauty. I knew the story too well. A king and queen have a baby, she's given many gifts by her countless fairy godmothers, except for an old hag who ends up laying a curse on her, which one of the godmothers switches around so that she won't die, but fall asleep, blah, blah, blah.
"Sleeping Beauty? Seriously, Twi? I know this story by heart already." I told her as I frowned.
"Oh, come on, Spike. This one's a different take on the story, I promise." She responded, putting on a convincing smile.
I only placed the book next to my basket before shoving it away and burying my head under my pillow. "Whatever."
"All right, all right." The pony I knew as my adoptive mother/sister turned to go before looking in my direction. "I'm gonna go to the Everfree Forest to get some herbal medicine from Zecora. Is there anything else you'd like me to get?"
"Some orange juice sounds pretty good," I told her, muffled by my pillow. Despite that, Twilight managed to hear me as clear as a bell.
"Okey-dokey, Spike. Anyways, in case you change your mind, I'll just leave this right here."
After that, I heard a light thud next to my basket. I looked out from underneath my pillow to see the Sleeping Beauty storybook right there, practically glaring at me. While I looked at the book, I heard Twilight call out to me, "I'll be back soon, Spike! And make sure you get some rest!"
The next thing I heard was the front door to the library being closed. I glanced back at the gold storybook, but scoffed as I turned away and clenched my eyes shut. The more I tried to get myself to fall asleep, though, the more the nagging thought telling me to read the story wouldn't leave me alone.
'Read me, read me! READ ME!!!' A voice seemed to echo in my mind.
After a half hour of trying to block out the voice, I growled in annoyance. "All right, all right!!! Grah!"
I snatched up the book, opened it to the first page and started reading. Needless to say, at first, it seemed to start off as the usual story I knew would.
"In a faraway land, long ago, lived a king and his fair queen. Many years, they had longed for a child." I read aloud, "And finally, their wish was granted. A daughter was born and they called her Aurora."
When I read that bit, I paused. Okay, this is sort of different. Anytime I read the story of the Sleeping Beauty, the princess was never really given a name. Shaking that off, I continued reading. Some parts were new or different, like the princess's father and his friend betrothing her to his friend's son, some guy named Prince Phillip or something. Whatever "betrothed" meant. Other part of the story turned out to be the same, like the day of the christening, the fairy godmothers (three of them named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather) blessing her with gifts of their own, the first two giving her gifts of beauty and song and the third fairy being interrupted before she could give her gift. Another part that seemed different was the role of the witch... what was her name, Malevolence? No, no. Maleficent. Her "gift" was the same, death on her sixteenth birthday by spindle.
What stuck out for me in the story was this: the three good fairies, despite Merryweather changing Maleficent's curse so that Aurora would fall asleep instead of die and be awakened by the kiss of true love, decided to raise the princess as a peasant girl, naming her Briar Rose, in a forest cottage in a glen while disguising themselves as peasant women so the curse would not be fulfilled. I was even more confused about finding that in the story, Maleficent and her goons were looking all over for the princess. I couldn't help but laugh at how the goons assumed they were looking for a baby all that time, hence one of them telling their mistress they checked the town, the forest, the mountains and even all the cradles. Yeah, that's right. They searched for the princess in cradles.
I would have loved to read on, but the more I did so, the sleepier I was getting. Just as I was going to turn the page, I was out cold, drifting off into dreamland...
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Awhile later, I found myself stirring as my eyes slowly opened. With a long yawn, I stretched myself. I noticed that I was feeling rejuvenated; maybe the nap helped me get rid of my flu. However, that wasn't the strange part as I looked around. The real strange part was that I wasn't at the library.
Instead, I found that I was somehow leaning against a tree somewhere in some sort of forest. Curious, I stood up and walked around the woods, observing my surroundings. For a second, I was assuming I was in a part of the Everfree Forest, but I don't remember any part of it looking like this. Everything looked as though it belonged in an extravagant painting somepony would usually find at the Canterlot Museum of Art. And I wasn't just talking about the trees, literally everything including the grass and cliffs looked almost like a painting.
Soon, I came to a cliff where a tree resided. From where I was, beyond the trees and past the valley, I could see an extraordinary castle standing among everything there. To me, it almost rivaled the elegance of Princess Celestia's castle in Canterlot. But since I was somewhere I had never been before, I confirmed my suspicions out loud to myself.
"Yep, Spike. You are definitely not in Equestria anymore..."
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.
Hey, guys. Sorry I kept all of you waiting. Life outside of the Internet has kept me so busy as of late.
Anyways, without further ado, let’s continue, shall we?
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After a bit of running, mine and Briar Rose's running came to a slow as we walked side by side through the woods back to her home. By now, all of her woodland critters had gone back to their own homes, leaving me and the lovely human girl alone. The silent walk seemed to take hours, even though we were only walking for a few minutes.
During the walk, so many questions had come to mind for me concerning her life before now. So I broke the silence by clearing my throat, which managed to get her attention.
"So... you were raised by your aunts your whole life, right?" I asked her.
"Right, Spike." Briar Rose replied, "They've been taking great care of me since I was a baby."
"... And you never knew your true parents?"
The golden-haired maiden pondered at the question, "Well... No. I never knew my mother and father, yet I have always wondered what they were like." Just then, she looked down to me with a question of her own: "Why? Have you known your own mother and father?"
The sound of that question made me stop dead in my tracks. I never really thought about that since the whole dragon migration I went on to find myself, only to discover my friends were the closest thing I had to a family.
"Uhh... No. I'm kind of like you, actually," I answered her as honestly as I could, "My best friend, Twilight Sparkle, hatched me as part of her entrance exam and raised me from that point on, with a little help from her mentor, Princess Celestia.
"Don't get me wrong, even though I was a dragon among pony kind, I turned out just fine being raised by Twilight. But... It doesn't exactly compare to what I’d really like to have in life."
Just thinking about the whole ordeal was leaving me downhearted. As I spoke on, I felt my pace going slower and slower as I looked to the ground. Being loved by Twilight and the rest of our pony friends was great and all, but I couldn't help but wish that I knew of my true family and lineage. All of a sudden, I had remembered times that Twilight and the others weren’t all that friendly with me, even going as far as leaving me out of all the fun they had, like the Cloudsdale Competition and Twilight’s birthday party in Canterlot.
"And sometimes, I can't help but wonder if they do care about me." I spoke with a sudden hint of bitterness in my voice. I didn’t really know I had said that aloud till Briar Rose gave an audible gasp.
"Spike," She said, sounding surprised by what I had to say, "What in the world would make you believe that?"
I froze right where I was upon realizing I said my thoughts aloud. To be honest, I never found myself talking about my troubles to anyone else besides Twilight, but even then, I usually couldn't bring myself to be completely honest with her because I was afraid it would hurt her feelings. I let loose with a sigh as I explained my honest thoughts to the human maiden.
"Well, it's just that being a number one assistant isn't all it's cracked up to be," I explained myself, "Where I come from, I'm usually helping my friend, Twilight Sparkle, with everything she can, sorting all the books in the library, which I usually do what I can to keep clean, I do some of the cooking, almost everything. Sometimes, all on my own without help while Twilight and the gang go on all the fun adventures without me."
Briar Rose looked slightly shocked, "Why, Spike. You make it sound as though you're some kind of slave."
Hearing that made me almost stop dead in my tracks. Me, a slave? No one had ever raised that kind of issue with me before, at least out loud. But in all honesty, I never imagined myself being Twilight's "slave". If that were the case, I think she would be treating me much worse than I already am treated.
"No, I never said I was a slave or anything," I replied as I shook my head, "Don't get me wrong, I don't mind looking after the library when Twilight and the others go off on their adventures because it leaves me to clean up less messes. It's just that I wish they would include me a little more in the adventures they go on.”
This put a look of sympathy on Briar Rose's face, understanding how I felt. “And you actually believe they don’t care about you?”
"…. Well…. No. Come to think of it, there were times that they showed they cared about me," I said, starting to remember all of the times the ponies actually loved me, "Like when Twilight came looking for me after I ran away from home, thinking she didn't love me when Owlycious came along, she took me to the doctor, vet and Zecora when I literally got a bad case of the greed flu, not to mention she, Rainbow Dash and Rarity followed after me when I went on the Dragon Migration to make sure I didn't get hurt.
"Heck, Rainbow Dash even was willing to rescue me from a buffalo tribe when she thought they dragon-napped me, even though I wasn't in any real danger. Applejack even saved me from a pack of timber-wolves, which I ended up repaying the favor by saving her from a gigantic Timber-wolf! Heck, Twilight gave me full credit for saving the Crystal Empire from the evil King Sombra!
"But I digress. Twilight and the gang do care about me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a roof over my head, be fed or given appreciation. Heck, they wouldn't even have celebrated my birthday with me if they didn't care."
As I was speaking on, I looked off into the distance. Just then, I saw two sparkling lights, one pink and the other blue, go off in the sky not too far from us. At that point, I decided to raise another question.
"Hey, just wondering, but..." I asked aloud, "Are there any type of mystical creatures that you know of around here?"
Briar Rose stopped where she was and thought that question over. From what I could guess, she probably never got that question from anyone before. I wouldn't be too surprised about that, though, since I was probably the only living being that spoke clear English to talk with her before, given she hadn't met a lot of people before me or her animal friends, save for her aunts. Finally, she looked back to me as she spoke.
"Well, my aunts have told me stories of magical creatures such as fairies, wood sprites and even dragons," The golden-haired girl replied to me, before suddenly looking concerned, "However, they have told me that not all magical folk are good. Some are even pure evil, with souls as black as the devil's heart."
Hearing this got me empathized. I knew what Briar Rose was talking about, especially the bit about some magical folk not being good. After a moment's silence, she looked off towards the horizon to see the sun further off into the west.
"We'd best hurry back to the cottage, Aunt Flora, Fauna and Merryweather must be wondering what's keeping me," She said as we continued on.
I paused briefly, "But do you think they'd mind meeting me? I mean... you said they never want you meeting anyone. And I only met you just today, which isn't as much times as you met with that one guy."
"Oh, I'm sure they won't mind when I tell them I met him before, I'm sure they wouldn't mind meeting a sweet lovable little dragon like you either."
Hearing those words made me smile. No one besides Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy or even Rarity had considered me sweet and lovable before. I only smiled as we continued on, Rose humming the same tune she sang when she danced with me earlier today.
----------------------------
After walking a few more miles, we came to a glen in the woods. From a distance, we spotted a cottage with a watermill. I could assume this was the cottage in the glen that Briar Rose made mention of to that guy to meet her at later tonight. Smiling, the maiden broke off into a run as I hastily followed after her. The minute we reached the front door, she opened it as we walked inside.
"Aunt Flora, Fauna, Merryweather!" She called out with a hint of eagerness in her voice as I shut the bottom half of the door behind me.
Much to our surprise, there was no one in the cottage to greet us upon our entrance. "Where is everyone? It's like a ghost town in here," I commented out loud.
"I'm sure they're somewhere in here." Briar Rose said as she and I looked around. But then, suddenly, she let out a gasp in surprise.
I looked towards where she was looking and my jaw nearly hit the floor with surprise. Resting on the table was a four-layer cake resting atop the table, coated in pink and violet icing, topped with sixteen candles. And resting on a chair next to the table was a blue dress fit for a princess. It made me think of the amazing designs Rarity had put into all her fashion designs. Briar Rose hastily went up to the dress to touch it.
"But who-? How d-?" I stuttered in astonishment.
"SURPRISE!!! SURPRISE!!"
Rose and I jumped in surprise, slightly startled by the sudden shouting. We turned to see three elderly women- one in red, the other in green and the third in blue- approach us with cheerful smiles on their faces.
"Happy birthday!" The elderly woman in green exclaimed with glee.
Smiling, Briar Rose gave them each a hug, "Oh, you darlings! This is the happiest day of my life!"
"Are these your aunts?" I asked aloud, gaining the golden-haired girl's attention.
"Oh, yes. Spike, these are Aunt Flora, Aunt Fauna and Aunt Merryweather," She replied, gesturing to the women in red, green and blue respectively before she gestured to me, "Dears, this is my new friend, Spike the Dragon."
"Uh, he-he... Hi?" I greeted nervously, waving a bit.
"Well, it's certainly nice to meet a new friend of our dear Rose's." The one in green, Fauna, said as she knelt to my level, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Spike."
"I'll say, I've never met a dragon before in ages," Merryweather, the one in blue, added.
"And quite an adorable one to boot," Flora cooed as she smiled.
Hearing this got me smiling and blushing. Except for Rarity and Fluttershy, no one ever called me adorable before. Rose's voice once again gained mine and the three women's attention once again.
"Everything's so wonderful," She said blissfully as she spun in place before grinning to her aunts, "Just wait till you meet him!"
For a second there, I thought she meant me until I remembered she meant her dream prince, the boy she met in the woods after meeting with me. All of a sudden, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather looked pretty stunned at just the sound of those words.
"Him?" Fauna asked in surprise.
"Rose..." Merryweather gasped in shock.
"You- you met some stranger?" Flora inquired.
"Oh, he's not a stranger," Rose replied simply.
I nodded in agreement, "Yeah, they met time and time before."
"They have?" Flora asked in astonishment, Merryweather turning to look back at Rose.
"Where?" The blue-clad peasant woman asked her niece.
"Once upon a dream." Briar Rose replied in a dreamy tone.
Before anything could be said or done, she began to sing the same tune she sang earlier today as she danced a little.
"I know you,
I walked with you once upon a dream..."
Soon, the golden-haired maiden took Fauna by the hands and danced with her a bit. She then began humming as the green-clad woman looked to the others with concern.
"She's in love!" Fauna exclaimed in worry.
"Oh, no!" Merryweather cried.
"This is terrible!" Flora said, sharing whatever worry Merryweather and Fauna seemed to have.
Hearing that got mine and Briar Rose's attention. I heard of being worried about seeing your kids or niece or nephew be in love. However, from the tone I heard in their voices, they sounded as though they found out someone they loved was dying.
"So she's in love, what's the big deal?" I asked with a shrug, “She’s gotta start dating sometime.”
"Spike’s right. After all, I am sixteen." Briar Rose reminded her aunts.
Flora shook her head, “Oh, no, it isn’t that, dears. It’s just that Rose is betrothed.”
“Be-what?” I asked, confused at the sound of that.
“Betrothed,” Merryweather answered with a smile, “She’s been arranged to be married since the day she was born.”
“To Prince Phillip,” Fauna added with a smile.
All of this talk left me and Briar Rose confused. Neither of us had any idea what the aunts were talking about, how she could be arranged for marriage to a prince. Taking in all she and I heard, Briar Rose finally spoke, despite not understanding what was going on.
“But that’s impossible,” She said as she looked back and forth between her aunts, “How can I marry a prince? I’d have to be-.”
“A princess,” Merryweather finished for her.
I started putting the pieces together, “Wait, so you’re saying that Briar Rose is a… Princess?”
“Yes, Spike,” Flora responded with a nod, “Princess Aurora, daughter of King Stefan and Queen Leah.”
At the sound of those words, I felt my jaw drop with complete shock. I couldn’t believe it, my first human friend turned out to be an honest-to-Celestia princess! Then, the aunts turned back to their niece, if they really were her aunts. I turned away, listening to the conversation and suddenly something caught my eye on the bottom half of the door.
I squinted my eyes a bit to the door to see something perched at the corner of the open half, a raven of some sort. It had golden yellow eyes with a bit of pink around them. From what I could tell about this raven, it seemed interested in the conversation that Briar Rose, now known as Princess Aurora, I guess, was having with Flora. Somehow, I had a bad feeling about the cruel grin across its beak as it listened to the two.
“And tonight, we’re taking you back home to your father,” Flora said to Aurora, sounding happy.
Aurora, however, didn’t sound too pleased, “But… But I can’t. I promised to meet with the boy in the woods here this evening, he’s coming here!”
Just then, the raven cast a wicked glare at me, which left me slightly startled. Almost immediately, it flew away almost faster than you could say ‘Mi’Amore Cadenza’. I watched as it flew away until it disappeared beyond the blue skies, despite listening to the conversation between Flora and Aurora.
“I’m sorry, child, but you can never see that young man again,” Flora sounded as if just saying the words pained her.
Upon hearing those exact words, my eyes shot open wide with shock as I turned to the elderly woman in question. Imagine me in Aurora’s place and Twilight in Flora’s, then imagine Twilight telling me I was never allowed to speak with Rarity again. Yeah, pretty heartbreaking. But what I felt paled in comparison to how Aurora must have been feeling upon hearing those words.
“Oh, no… No! I can’t believe it!” “The golden-haired young woman exclaimed in sadness.
I could only watch as she ran past her aunts and up the stairs into her room, sobbing all the way. Truth be told, I could feel my heart break for her as I looked down to the floor, allowing a tear to run down my cheek. I then looked to Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, who didn’t look any happier.
“And to think, she would have been so happy…” Merryweather mused, heartbroken for Aurora as Flora allowed a tear to roll down her cheek.
‘She was happy, until you broke her heart,’ I thought to myself bitterly.
Letting loose with a sad sigh, I turned to leave the cottage. I should figure out how to get back to Ponyville, to Twilight and the gang. They must be wondering where I am and why I’m not back in bed at the library by now. But the minute I reached to open the front door to go, I felt a hand placed on my shoulder. I turned my head to see Flora kneeling down to my level.
"Spike, if it's not too much trouble, could you go up and speak with Aurora?" She asked of me in a sweet and motherly tone.
I only turned away, "Why, to hit her while she's down? You're obviously better at it than I could ever be."
"Of course not, dearie," Fauna replied, surprised by my bitterness, "We love our dear Rose too much to hurt her."
"Yeah, but you love her enough to lie to her about her lineage after sixteen years of looking after her?"
Then, Flora cut in, "We had no choice, it was the only way we could protect her from Maleficent."
I paused at hearing that name, Maleficent. Somehow, it felt as though it had rung a requiem bell in my mind. I didn't exactly remember where I had heard that name before, but I felt like I should have known it by now. With a look of curiosity, I turned to look back at the two and Merryweather, the latter coming up to us.
"Who's Maleficent?" I inquired the three.
"Oh, Maleficent is a mean old witch, she's the reason we took Rose into hiding, to prevent her curse from being fulfilled," Merryweather explained to me, a hint of hatred in her voice for whoever this Maleficent was, "She's as malevolent as her name is true, the mistress of all evil."
Flora looked to me with concern, "On the day of Rose's christening, Fauna, Merryweather and I each presented a gift to the little princess. Before Merryweather could present her gift, Maleficent lay a curse on our little Briar Rose, dooming her to die before sunset on her sixteenth birthday from pricking her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel."
“... Wow, that's.... That's just... Evil!" I exclaimed in shock and horror, "Couldn't someone have tried and talk things over with her, to change her mind?"
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Spike." Merryweather replied sadly to me.
"But it doesn't make sense, why would she do something so evil? What did Aurora do to her?"
Flora looked concerned, "No one knows, Spike. Some say she was once a good fairy, until her heart had hardened, others say she was born evil and others simply assumed she was jealous of what Rose would become.
"That is why we took Rose into hiding for the past sixteen years. We had to live as humans, without the use of magic. That way, Maleficent would never suspect a thing."
".... I guess that makes sen-." I stopped in mid-sentence, looking back to the three women, "Wait a sec. What do you mean by not using magic?"
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather looked back and forth between each other and nodded. Then, they each took out what looked like some sort of stick that gave off sparkles before waving them over themselves. In a flash of light and a few sparkles, the women's outfits changed. They were now clad in regal looking dresses and pointed hats that matched the colors of their peasant outfits. To add icing to the cake and much to my surprise, they now had some sort of wings on their backs.
"You guys are... Fairies?" I asked aloud, surprised at the sudden transformation.
"Yes, Spike." Flora replied with a nod. "We are fairies."
"Now... Would you kindly go speak with Rose please? We must reach the castle before the sun sets." Fauna requested me with a smile.
I pondered it over, "Okay, but why me?"
"You see, Spike, from what we can assume, Rose must trust you with all of her heart, almost as though you have a heart of gold." Flora answered for me.
"Well... Okay." I said, smiling a bit. I then picked up the blue dress on the chair, carrying it in my arms before turning to the fairies. "You guys mind if I take this up to her?"
"Go ahead, dear." Merryweather replied with a smile and a nod.
I smiled in response before heading up the stairs into Aurora's bedroom. Once I reached the doorway, I peeked in to see the girl in question laying across her bed, her face buried in her arms as she sobbed. It broke my heart to see her in pain and sorrow like this. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the doorframe three times as if I were knocking on a door, gaining Aurora's attention as I spoke up.
"Umm... Rose or... Aurora? Can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked aloud, despite sounding concerned.
Aurora didn't say a word to me, yet she looked up and stared at me with her eyes red from crying. I trudged over to the bed and sat myself on the edge of it, looking up to the golden-haired girl.
"Listen, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather told me about the whole thing," I explained to her, my eyes shifting to the mahogany floor at my feet, "And... They asked me to come up and talk to you about it, since you and me are really good friends."
Aurora brought herself to the bed's edge, "But Spike... What if I never see him again?"
Hearing that placed a heavy weight on my heart. Nevertheless, I spoke again, "Look, I know what you're going through, but sometimes things don't go as planned and nothing can be done to change it.
"But the best advice I can offer is to keep your chin up and things will make a turn for the better. I mean, I'm no psychic, but who knows: maybe that Prince Phillip guy your aunts mentioned could be that guy you met in the woods earlier today." Just saying that made me smile a little.
Despite what I said, Aurora still looked concerned, "I see, but what should I do?"
I was at a crossroads at the sound of that. "Well... the best I can suggest is doing what you think is the best choice."
"... Thank you, Spike." Aurora said, finally smiling for the first time since she had told her aunts about how great her day was.
Just then, I had remembered something as I looked to the dress I held in my arms. Smiling, I presented it to Aurora. "Oh, by the way, Merryweather allowed me to bring this up to you."
“That's the dress Merryweather made for me." Aurora said as she recognized the dress in my arms.
"Hey, what're friends for?" I replied simply with a grin.
"Thank you, Spike, but could you turn away with your eyes closed while I change into it please?"
"Oh, uh, right. Uh... sorry." I apologized as I turned away while closing my eyes, realizing what Aurora meant by what she just asked me.
A few minutes passed as I kept my eyes closed until Aurora spoke up. "Okay, Spike. How do I look?"
At hearing her voice, I turned back to her as I opened my eyes. My eyes widened in astonishment when I saw the girl with the golden hair in the royal blue dress for the first time. Words couldn't describe what I thought of it, but I said what I did.
"Wow, Aurora..." I admitted, smiling as I blushed a bit, "You look amazing."
Aurora smiled as she knelt to my level, giving me a hug. "Thank you, Spike, for that. And thank you for cheering me up."
Before I could do or say anything else, she gave me a kiss on the forehead. I looked slightly stunned by the kiss Aurora gave me, but shrugged it off with a smile. I could tell that was one way of her thanking me.
"C'mon, Aurora. We better get going, your aunts are waiting for us," I said as I headed out of the room.
"Coming, Spike," Aurora replied, placing on a long cloak that was midnight blue in color.
Awhile later, we met up with Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. At first, Aurora was surprised to learn that they themselves were fairies, but she managed to roll with it in no time at all. Before we knew it, we were walking off to the castle, in hopes that things would get better before they could get worse.