The Deal
Spike the dragon hummed in thought , Standing in front of the glittering horseshoe mirror that lead to the other world populated by humans. He twiddled his claws for a moment, staring at the list in his grasp with a hint of both responsibility and hesitation. It wasn’t as if he didn’t mind being left at the castle alone or doing the chores, but boy did it feel like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. The old library felt like a closet compared to their new castle. There were just so many rooms that needed to be checked, and shelves upon shelves to be dusted. It wasn’t anything new to him, but the little dragon sure did feel exhausted from such a workload. He was thankful that he had Starlight to assist him with such chores, Twilight’s new student had to do something to do her part for room and board.
Spike let out a sigh, as his pen checked off the dusting for the very room he currently occupied. Just as he turned to leave, Starlight happened to peek in with a smile upon her face. “Oh there you are, Spike,” She greeted, her gaze soon falling upon the mirror. This was the first time she had actually seen this room and thus the new artifact was instantly in her crosshairs. Her hoof pointed to it with a curious intent. “Hey, what’s that thing?”
Spike looked back over his shoulder at the portal’s silver surface. “Oh that? It’s just a portal made by Starswirl the Bearded that connects two worlds together,” He moved to the pedestal, putting the fiery star cover journal. “Using this here book as a key.”
Starlight’s pupils grew to the size of dinner plates, quickly approaching said artifact. “Starswirl himself built a trans-dimensional gateway?! Wow, that’s pretty cool. Where did Twilight even get it?”
Spike walked up next to the unicorn mare. “Well the short version is, an ex-student of Celestia fled to the world beyond this mirror, came back and stole Twilight’s Element of harmony. We followed said student, saved the day, and then had to go back again to save said world, and now we can go between worlds whenever we need to thanks to the journal. Got all that so far?”
Starlight blinked as she took in the information. She felt the smooth surface of the portal. “So what’s it like?”
“Probably easier to show you then tell,” Spike replied, as he moved over to a bookshelf, scanning the tomes until he pulled out a photo album, setting it down on the small table in the middle of the room. He flipped it open, stopping at a particular page. He pointed, as Starlight looked down at the six creatures that Spike knew as humans. “These are Twilight's friends on the other side. Seem there are duplicates of everypony there as far as we have seen. Well expect I’m a dog,” He mumbled.
“A dog?” Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yeah really,” Spike replied, as he flipped the page and pointed to another image, this one at a small park. “You’re not seeing double that's literally both me and myself, side by side.”
The gifted mare stared at the image that at first glance would appear almost mirrored, if not for the tree on the left side of the frame. There standing on top a small hill, stood a Twilight on either side, one wearing glasses while the other looked more regal somehow, while still in a something she had seen Rarity make. The dogs however appeared to be clones of each other for lack of a better term. After a few blinks Starlight looked at Spike, seeing him blush. “I guess you could say that it is ‘ruff’ to tell you apart,” She snickered, causing Spike to groan. “Oh come on, Pinkie’s made far worse puns then that.”
“I guess so,” Spike shrugged as he closed up the book, sliding it back into the shelf. “Still would love a break from all of this for a while,.” He gestured, pointing towards the door leading out to the rest of the castle..
“I don’t see why you can’t just ask Twilight to give you a day off. It’s not like you can’t do that,.” Starlight supportively. suggested
Spike rubbed the back of his neck, looking away for a second. “Yeah, I could, but Twilight is always busy. Probably needs me a lot. I’m her number one assistant for a reason.” He looked again at the portal, rubbing his claw on his chin, as he suddenly got an idea. “Although, there might be a way to have some fun.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow once again. “What do you mean?” She asked, as she watched as Spike grinned, rubbing his claws together.
Spike walked over and sat down at the table. ‘Well…”
The sun was beating down upon the park in Canterlot City, a few clouds lazily driving through the sky. The scheduled visit to the human world was going just as Twilight had planned and of course Spike had attended for other reasons, not that he had a choice. But regardless of the circumstances, he had a plan.
The human Twilight was talking with Princess Twilight across the way at a picnic table, while her dog was barking up a tree at a squirrel. Spike the dragon didn’t get why the other Spike liked chasing them so much, he assumed it must be a breed thing. The dragon walked over to his counterpart, clearing his throat. “Hey Spike, I want to talk to you about something,” The dragon turned dog spoke, nudging his natural dog counterpart enough to snap him out of his territorial dispute with the squirrel
After a few more barks, the dog got bored and turned wagging his tail .”Oh what about? Does Twilight have treats?” He asked, his tail wagging happily. “Is there a ball to fetch?” He panted a little with a carefree smile.
Spike looked over at the two Twilights who seemed to be deep in discussion. Knowing his Twilight was distracted, the dragon Spike spoke. “So what would you say to having some fun?” He asked, and saw how peppy his counterpart reacted to such a question
“Fun? Oh, I like fun! What do you have in mind?” The dog asked innocently, only thinking of the moment.
The dragon felt a small amount of jealousy directed at his dog self. What kind of freedom came with such a mindset? Although Spike was pretty sure whatever magic had zapped his counterpart had made the dog smarter, his new found speech notwithstanding. “Well,” The dragon started making sure to phrase his words right. “I was thinking, what if we swapped places for a bit? I mean that I stay with your Twilight, and you can go to Equestria with mine?” The dog titled his head silently.
“Wow, so I’d be a dragon?! What is that like?” The dog ears were perked up with a child like wonderment.
The dragon counterpart smiled, his plan was working so far. “Oh, it’s pretty neat. You’ll have fire breath and scales. Oh and you get to hang out with my other friends. Not to mention you can try eating gemstones.”
“That sounds kind of fun. Seeing a whole new world, and all. Did I mention I love exploring?!” The dog Spike panted.
“See, that’s the spirit. While I’m here I can just sit back and relax. I mean it’s not like your Twilight makes you do all that much.” The dragon Spike commented.
The dog Spike raised his eyebrow. “Wait, you just want to switch with me so you can have a break?”
The dragon counterpart tapped his paws together. “Well y-yeah, pretty much, but hey you can act like me, we are the same after all. Don’t worry I’ve got a friend on the other side that can help you keep up the act.” Seeing the brief hesitation from his dog counterpart, Spike spoke again. “There will be squirrels.“
That seemed to be the icing on the cake as Spike the dog ran around a bit. “Oh boy, why didn’t you say so?! This does sound like fun! I should go tell Twilight.”
Spike’s dragon counterpart jumped in front of him, holding up his paws. “No, no, no! I mean, I don’t want them to know about the switch.”
“Wouldn't that make this vacation thing easier if they did?” The dog Spike wondered
“No, Twilight would just want me to go back anyway. She doesn't realize that a simple claw massage isn’t enough to count as a break.” Dragon Spike complained. He really didn’t like talking bad about the pony who had hatched and raised him, but it seemed like more often than not she didn’t appreciate everything he did for her as much as she should.
The dog Spike tilted his head. “It’s starting to sound like I’m getting the short end of the stick here.”
“What? No! Of course not. You get to experience something no other dog will ever be able to. Plus Starlight can give you a hand er hoof er...oh, whatever! Are you in or not?” Dragon Spike groaned, as he grunted through his teeth.
The dog Spike took a few steps back, instinctively a little intimidated by the action his dragon counterpart had taken. “Y-yeah, I am, just ease up on the growling!”
The dragon Spike soon realized his posture and stood back up, maintaining a neutral pose. It was a good thing he’d read up on dog behavior or else the idea he’d been showing a dominant kind of gesture would have flown over his head. “Sorry, just really want this vacation.”
The dog counterpart wandered over and licked Spike’s face. “Okay, I won’t tell either Twilight, but I still say it's a bad idea not to do so.”
“Just trust me, okay?” Dragon Spike asked, to which dog Spike nodded.
The two Spikes looked up from their talk as Fluttershy suddenly came over with treats for the two. “Hello Spike, and Spike,” Even she can’t help giggle at the sight (despite having seen it a few times already).
“Oh, I smell bacon!” The dog Spike barked, wagging his tail and going up on his hind paws to beg. “Gimmie!”
Fluttershy patted the dog Spike’s head before tossing treats to both Spikes. “You two are just so adorable.” She soon gave them both tummy scratches, enjoying the smiles that came across their muzzles.
Spike the dragon was smiling more, imaging all the relaxing and playtime he would get to have while doing his little trick. Sure it relied on his other dimensional self filling in for him, but at least he’d get a day or two out of the deal, right? Some part of him stuffed within the corner of his mind knew this wasn’t right. but at the same time he really wanted those few days off. He’d apologize to his Twilight later when it all blew over.
“Spike, time to go!” Princess Twilight called out moments later, causing both dogs to jump to their paws. Being a mirror image of each other, they glanced for a moment at one another before one winked, causing the former to run towards the princess. Twilight clipped the leash on the doppleganger, patting his head. The two Twilight shook hands before the princess headed off.
Spike smiled and rolled over for Fluttershy. “Can I have another, Fluttershy?” He panted happily up at the buttery colored human, smelling the sweet delight in her pocket.
Fluttershy smiled as she reached into her skirt pocket. “Oh okay, beg Spike!” She held out the bacon smelling treat, while Twilight watched.
Spike happily stood up on his hind legs, pressing his forelegs in. He was quickly rewarded with the treat as he jumped for it, snatching it in mid air! The Equestrian was always surprised how such things tasted in his dog form. It sure didn’t have much of a taste when he’d tried one of Winona treats on a weekend at Applejack’s. Of course the smell was what mattered and boy did everything smell amazing! After devouring the delightful treat he ran over to Twilight, nuzzling into her leg with all the compassion any pet would. Twilight’s smile was comforting as he got a pat on the head as reward, and soon the leash was attached to his purple collar.
“Let’s get home, Spike, I need to finish my homework.” Twilight adjusted her glasses before leading the way through the park. The wind blew softly as they took a calm stroll and soon reached the parking lot meeting upwith Sunset Shimmer who waved at them once in sight. Given that they didn’t let dogs on the bus the two had to resort to walking, which wasn’t so bad for Spike.
“Hey Sunset.” Spike greeted, wagging his tail. He couldn’t help but smell the perfume Sunset had tried on, a tropical orange if his senses were to be accurate. He tilted his head to the side as the girl with locks of crimson and yellow hair scratched behind his ear in just the right spot.
“Hello again, Spike,” Sunset greeted, as she kept up the ear scratching, watching as Spike foot thumped on the concrete. ‘Did you enjoy your time with your other self?” She asked, getting a chuckle out of Twilight.
“Oh yeah, loads,” Spike nodded acting nonchalantly. "Got a good game of tug of war in too.”
The two girls then lead Spike along down the street, taking their time to chat while strolling down block after block. The dog couldn’t help but sniff about, always amazed at how much more he could smell when he was a dog. After several blocks, Sunset broke off down another block towards her own home.
The rest of the walk home was pretty relaxing overall for Spike, a steady pat of his paws along the sidewalk felt quite nice actually. The front of human Twilight’s house looked very well cared for, having a few flower beds along the edge, and finely cut grass. Spike took in the smells of the various flora while observing the details of the other Twilight’s domain. It wasn’t exactly like the home Twilight had lived with her family back in Equestria, but it was pretty close in spite of the different styles.
Twilight opened the front door, walking inside. “Hey Mom, I’m home.” She called unclipping the leash on Spike’s collar.
Spike watched as Twilight Velvet poked her head out from the kitchen (which was just past the living room), the sweet smell of soup wafting through the house. Spike moved to the kitchen sniffing around the new environment. He meeped softly as Velvet petted his head before pouring some brown dog chow into the silver bowl with his name on it. Despite how it looked, the food did smell pretty good. The dragon turned dog moved to his food bowl opening his mouth to give a thank you, but hesitated.
Did Twilight parent’s know he could talk? Was it a secret? Frankly such a question had never crossed Spike mind until now. Asking this world’s Twilight such a question would probably raise an eyebrow or two, or worse she’d figure out on the spot who he really was. No matter what world Twilight was in, she was no dummy. Spike lightly facepalmed as he realized how flimsy his vacation plan was but let it be for now. “I’m sure my counterpart can at least try to act normal,” He thought, taking a few pieces of the chow into his mouth and chewing. “Mmm not bad.” He moved his jaw around, almost swearing he tasted gravy as he ate the dog food. It wasn’t so different from those delicious dog biscuits Fluttershy fed him.
After noisily devouring his dinner Spike made his way up the stairs. It didn’t take him long to find Twilight’s room since the door was open. The room itself had various posters lining the walls, a soft purple coat of paint giving the bedroom a nice touch. Spike looked at the desk near the window Twilight idly working on a laptop typing up her project with steel focus. She hadn’t even noticed he had walked in, but he didn’t mind much as he soon found his basket bed, a soft blue blanket inside, and a red bone chew toy. The thought of hopping on top of the bed came to mind, but he put it aside not wanting to raise any suspicions so soon.
With a wag of his tail, the dragon turned dog settled into the pillow inside and curled up, feeling warm and at home, able to feel the warmth of the furnace as it flew through the vent near by. Now able to relax after his long walk, the canine stretched, letting out a yawn before closing his eyes ,hardly able to wait for what could come next. “Mmm, this is nice.” He mumbled to himself.
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I can see this backfiring so bad Princess Twilight will give him ten years worth of work.
7854795 Just ten? Pffff. I'd say fifty, at the very least.
is this based on the story where the pony CMC switch places with the human CMC?
7854913 to be fair I had the idea before finding that swap story. Just similar premise I suppose
7854977 Oh i see
7854913 No more than that is based on a story concept you've probably seen before. Two characters look similar but come from different backgrounds, and agree to swap places, thinking no one will notice. Two prominent examples that come to mind for this are "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties" and the Mickey Mouse film "The Prince and The Pauper".
There should not be an apostrophe in the title.
7855048 Good points
7855048 The Prince and the Pauper actually predate Mickey Mouse. I know because I read the book for it.
7855084 further back in time Charles Dickens's novel of 'Tale of Two Cities' has a similar base idea, albeit loosely (don't quote me on that was quick google search so could be mistaken) The swap lives with a look-alike isn't anything new, i mean what concept hasn't already been done.
And just like that you jinxed it.
Well, this shows promise.
I'm liking this story
7885957 new chapter out today or tommrow depends on editing
This is gonna end badly. But other then stating the obvious, great chapter!
7857522
Yep, and I can't wait to see this go horribly wrong!