• Published 9th Jan 2017
  • 2,782 Views, 33 Comments

Tale of Two Spikes - Zubric



Spike trades places with his Equestria girls counterpart as a way to take a short vacation. What could go wrong?

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Dog in Dragon Skin

Spike the Dog patted alongside Twilight looking around more as they approached the familiar highschool of Canterlot High. The statue base stood in the middle of the courtyard, forever missing its elegant horse figure which had been destroyed during the Friendship Games. It now looked a little bland without anything on top, but the school could not find anyone willing to replace only the head. Spike shivered for a moment, remembering the demon his owner had become. If not for his adorable puppy dog plea, he was certain things would have been a lot worse. A wave of anxiety came over the canine as they got closer to the courtyard. “You can do this Spike, you’re a good dog.” He thought, once more staring up at Twilight as she unhooked the leash.

“Let’s go, Spike, I’ve got a craving for a hay burger.” The princess said, before passing through the barrier.

Spike watched the glass surface ripple like waves on water, before approaching it proper. His paw sank into it without resistant, a tingle of magic running down his spine. A second passed as he left his paw there, hesitating at first at the unknown. Every instinct he had was telling him this wasn’t right, but his curiosity soon took hold as he pushed himself into the portal. The transition itself felt like being on a rollercoaster. His body felt like it was twisting and turning, descending down a rabbit hole. The only sound he could hear was his own cheeks, as vibrant colors that he had never seen before assaulted his eyes. Vibrant reds and green, startling purples of Twilight’s bending form, and most of all the bright yellows straight out of a crayon box. The whole experience had only lasted a second in reality as with a sensation similar to breaking the surface of a pound, he emerged out of the mirror. Despite still being on all fours his next step felt off causing him to stumble, roll down the small pedestal the mirror sat on, and fall flat on his face.

“Spike, are you okay?” Twilight asked, her horn glowing. Spike felt tingly as Twilight magic picked him up and stood him on his hind legs. His tail felt ridged, yet still swayed a bit, operating on some instinct to help keep this bipedal form upright. He quickly grabbed the table nearby to steady himself, giving off the appearance of a baby learning to walk. The statement itself wasn’t too far from the truth though. Once stable he glanced back at Twilight, not recognizing her at first. The quadruped Twilight had the same kind of hairstyle her human counterpart did, but there were wings on her back similar to ones that had been on her at the camp. He hadn’t actually seen an image of the pony Twilight till this very moment, and the new colour spectrum was mind blowing enough as it was. The dog now turned dragon rubbed his eyes as they felt sore already from all the crystals around.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine, Twilight, just a little dizzy.” Spike answered, he held onto the table some more, his tail twitching. He sure hoped that Twilight didn’t notice how oddly he was walking. It would take some time to get used to it but thankfully his hind legs were almost like paws. Thankfully the princess never had time to ask about his dizziness as his stomach growled in protest.

Twilight chuckled patting his head. “Well, that makes two of us that are starving. Hey, how about I go fetch Starlight and we go out for dinner?”

Spike nodded eagerly, always loving the tiny bits of burger he got from Twilight when fast food was brought home. “Sure!” His tail wagged by accident, thumping on the table leg, thankfully pony Twilight didn’t seem to notice as she trotted out of the room. Spike sighed and let go of the table taking a few more steps around the room. His movements were still wobbly at first, but eventually, after rounding the table for the third time, he got used to how his tail helped him balance on two legs. He dropped to all fours once again, walking in a circle. Oddly enough both ways felt natural, but if he was to play Spike the Dragon he needed to walk on two legs. The dog chuckled a little remember something that Twilight had once mentioned about two legs bad or something. He couldn’t really recall due to him being too focused on his chew toy at the time. “Hmm, chew toy,” He used the long tongue he had to feel his molars and sharp front teeth. Spike growled a little into the reflective surface of the table and stopped for a second. Looking at his new body sent a chill down his spine. as he felt his arms and the scales that covered him from head to toe. The cool air of the castle brushed against it, making him feel a little chilly without fur. “I miss my fur already.” He mumbled, soon startled when he heard hoof steps as two ponies entered the room.

“Hey, Spike,” Spike turned to see who had spoken spotting another horned pony with a blue and purple mane that flowed over one side of her face. This must have been that other pony his counterpart had mentioned. “Ready to go?” The pony asked him.

“Yeah... uh, you?” Spike mentally facepalmed having forgotten the name his dragon counterpart had mentioned. On the plus side at least it gave the pony an idea of which Spike it was. Twilight turned and began to lead, as Spike approached the light pink unicorn and sniffed her scent. He frowned soon after finding his nose wasn't nearly as strong as before, but still pretty sensitive.

Starlight glanced at Twilight ahead and back at Spike. “So I take it you’re the dog?” she asked in a hushed tone once they were in the lobby.

Spike’s eyes darted all over the place, looking at the funny architecture the new place had. The dog turned dragon nodded quietly, watching Twilight use her magic to open the door for them. The evening sun cast an orange glow on everything, like a roaring fireplace. Spike the Dog sure felt like he was missing out back home, despite seeing everything through new eyes.

Starlight smiled, making sure Twilight was not paying attention before speaking again. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you however I can.”

Spike felt much better now, knowing that any slip up he might make could be covered up by his new ally. His exploratory instructs nagged at him as they walked through the town. Every small detail from how the flowerbeds were arranged to how the stands were set up was fascinating to the dog brain of his. His nose twitched as he smelt around as incognito as he could manage. This world was just chock full of so many new things for him to discover, that he couldn’t wait for an opportunity to wander around more. After a few minutes of following the two mares, they reached the burger place and headed inside. Being dinner time the place was packed with other ponies eating burgers that apparently had hay instead of meat. Made sense really they were horses. That did raise a question however, what would he eat? Did dragons eat hay? Dragon Spike had mentioned something about gems.

Twilight nudged Spike’s shoulder lightly, getting his attention. “Spike, I asked you what would you like to have?”

It was only now that Spike realized they had strolled up to the counter. He twiddled his claws, staring up at the menu. The dog wasn’t sure why, but that magic that had zapped him just a few months ago had allowed him to at least understand how to read English to some capacity. Despite this boost to his dog IQ though, the way the words were written made it kind of hard to make out. “Uh...a salad, I guess.” He looked at the teenage pony (she looked to be teenage but Spike couldn’t be sure) at the cash register with a shy grin.

The red-coated earth pony colt nodded “Oh, the Celestia salad. Alright.”

Spike looked up at Twilight, watching as her horn glowed, passing the cashier gold coins or so it seemed. As he turned to follow them to the table he tripped over his feet, losing his balance, and pushing on some pink coated pegasus mare as he fell. He let out a yelp as his face hit the floor while simultaneously sticky soda and a burger spilled on top of him. Sniffing the fries he slowly rose up and snatched one off the floor with his mouth, chewing it quickly.

Twilight gasped and pulled Spike from the mess on the floor .”Ew Spike, don’t do that!” She scolded seeing his ears flatten. She glanced at the mare. “Sorry about your meal, Spike is just a little clumsy today it seems,” The princess quickly got some napkins, trying to wipe off the mayo from Spike’s head. When her attempts failed she sighed. “Go wash it off in the washroom, Spike, I’ll find a table.”

Spike groaned at his slip up with a little blush. It wasn’t his fault that table scraps were so tasty, was it? As a thin trail of condiment ran down his face, he made his way to the bathroom thankfully able to figure out which door was which thanks to seeing another stallion exit though. After cleaning himself off he made his way back to the group staring up at Twilight with a shy grin. “Sorry about that thing, Twilight,” He apologized upon sitting down. He then tried to pick up the fork, only for it to slip out of his claw. He noticed Twilight’s silent eyebrow raise. “Uh hehe, seems I’m all thumbs today.” He chuckled. If the princess had noticed his word usage she wasn’t showing it.

The entire dinner felt like it took forever as Spike ate, spearing his caesar salad.

Half way through the meal, Twilight reached into the saddle bag she brought “Oh, almost forgot,” She set a few gemstones in front of Spike. “For being such a great helper today.”

The dog turned dragon looked at the gemstones for a second, unsure of what to do with them. His counterpart had mentioned something about eating gems, but he hadn’t mentioned all the details. Slowly, he picked up a ruby, twiddling it in his left claw, and observing how the light shined off its perfectly cut edges. With a slight hesitation he stuck out his lizard tongue and licked it. Surprisingly, to the dog’s changed taste buds the flawless surface had a sweet flavor to it, much like honey. He soon suckled on it, smiling at the delightful taste. His previous instincts were waving warning signs in his mind, reminding him that biting into solid objects usually ended with a sore jaw. It took but a moment for him to hesitate, before biting down on the rock with a loud crack sound, the noise echoing in his head. He coughed, bits of the ruby falling to the table as he had a moment of panic! The bits that did stay in his mouth however went down easily enough, and tasted delicious.

The sight got Twilight’s full attention, driving her into mother mode. “Wow, Spike, are you okay?” She offered him her glass of water, watching Spike wave it away as he calmed down.

“Y-yeah, fine. Just went down the wrong pipe,” Spike replied, another shy grin followed as he picked up the half eaten ruby, staring at the bite marks and gawking at how much power this dragon’s jaw had. He hadn’t even had to bite that hard to make it break, the gemstone having the toughness of dry bark almost. After calming down he quickly began to chow down on the few gemstone, scattering tiny bits like crumbs as he devoured the gemstones as if they were dog treats. After the last one was gone, he rubbed his tummy with a grin upon his face. “Mmmm, so good,” He smiled at Twilight, before letting out a burp. “Thanks, Twilight.”

“Spike, you’re supposed to say excuse me when you burp,” Twilight scolded. “Where are your manners.”

Spike blushed. “Sorry, guess I forgot. Excuse me.” After that, he was careful to avoid any further slip ups. Least Twilight find out he wasn’t the Spike native to this world.

On the way back home from the restuarant, Spike got to ride on Twilight’s back, getting a chance to feel the pony’s soft mane. He petted and brushed it with his claws, watching the hairs move. At some point Twilight notice and turned her neck. “Uh Spike, what are you doing?” She asked, puzzled.

“Uh,” Spike began and blushed, quickly withdrawing his claws. “I just noticed your hair smells like berries.” He sniffed the locks again, enjoy the aroma.

The alicorn princess let out a chuckle. “Oh, you noticed? I borrowed some shampoo from Rarity.”

Spike knew his Rarity. She was always nice, although also always too worried that his coat would shed onto her pants. “Yeah she always smells nice,” He sniffed again. “And Starlight has a cotton candy smell to her.”

This caused Starlight to sniff herself just now noticing. “I guess my baking with Pinkie Pie the other day didn’t wash out completely.” The group chuckled together, soon reaching the castle as the sun was about to vanish from the horizon.

Spike slid off Twilight’s back watching the alicorn ascend the main staircase. “Don’t stay up too late, Spike.” She called in a motherly soon vanishing down a hallway.

The dog turned dragon let out a sigh of relief, finally having a moment of peace. But his glance soon fell upon Starlight, and he rubbed his neck. “Uh, I assume dragon Spike has a room, right?” He asked, to which Starlight nodded. “Can you show me the way?” He felt a little embarrassed asking such a question, but let it slide due to the fat fatigue setting in.

Starlight led Spike down a few hallways that all seemed to look the same, until coming to his door. He observed the little green fire stickers on the wooden doorframe giving it a little charm. Starlight smiled, opening the door. “So what being a dragon like so far?” She asked heading into the room with him.

Spike admired the bedroom, seeing many of dragon Spike’s belongings, including a stack of comics by the bed. A pity he never got to read them. “It’s different, I’ll give you that,” He told Starlight. “But there’s just so much to check out, it’s thrilling!” He jumped into the air once with joy. “This is awesome!” But his cheer was cut short as he felt a sudden pain in his gut, and held his stomach. “Oh, what going on? My stomach hurts,” The pressure quickly built up, soon rushing up his throat, and with a might puff of his cheeks he belched, watching green flame explode out of his mouth, followed by something hitting the floor with a soft thump! He took a moment to steady himself, before he looked down and saw a scroll. “W-what just happened?” He asked, feeling a bit disoriented.

Starlight picked up the scroll with her magic. “Oh, Twilight can get letters from Princess Celestia through Spike. Enchanted dragon fire if I’m not mistaken.” She explained.

Spike rubbed his tummy, letting out a groan. “Ugh, how does he put up with that? That’s worse than vomiting up bad chicken.” But the sensation of a sore stomach soon faded, while a steady warmth like a furnace remained.

Starlight just shrugged. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t happen that often. Just try not to breath out fire and you should be okay.” She patted his head, before heading out and closing the door.

With quiet now returned, Spike strolled over to the bed and climbed in, the shape reminding him of his doggy beg only bigger. “Hehe, I guess that’s one thing we share,” He thought, staring up at the ceiling. The more he had time to think, the more worries of failing came to mind. He couldn’t write or read this world’s writing very well, so how would he do dragon Spike’s chores without that? He was sure tasks like cleaning he could handle, but being Twilight’s secretary?! That wouldn’t end well. He clenched the Rarity plushie close to his naturally warm scales. “I won’t fail you, Spike. No matter what it takes. I can do this.” He said to himself, and with that the dog turned dragon closed his eyes, putting his worries aside till morning at least. Spike had a feeling it was going to be a long day indeed.