//------------------------------// // Two Sides of the Same Coin // Story: Tale of Two Spikes // by Zubric //------------------------------// The sun rose into the sky as another glorious day began in Equestria. Spike stretched much like he always did, stretched out on all fours as he let out a yawn. Despite the alien environment, he slept quite well, the Rarity plushie proving to be a comfort during the night. Using the time he had to be alone, he moved across the room on all fours exploring around the dragon’s bedroom. “Wow, Spike’s sure got a nice collection.” He said, as he took a gem out of a basket and munched on it while moving to the window to look out at the town below. Inhaling a deep breath of the fresh air, he took a moment to let his mind wake up more, but before he could think about anything else on his mind a soft knock was heard at his door. He turned around and walked over, quickly pulling it open seeing Starlight. Starlight looked down with a smile. “Morning, Spike, I thought I would lead you to the kitchen, ‘cause this place can be pretty confusing to navigate. Did you sleep well?” “Yeah, the bed’s pretty soft to sleep on,” Spike replied, as he looked back at the bed and the plushie. “Why does Spike have a plush pony of Rarity?” He asked. Starlight snickered as they entered the hall. “Your counterpart has a little crush on her,” She kept an ear out for Twilight just in case, as they strolled down the corridor. While guiding him along the unicorn had a thought come to her mind. ‘You know, I always wanted a dog when I was growing up.” “Oh did you ever get one? Twilight has had me since I was a puppy.” Spike explained. “Oh, that’s nice. But no, I never got to have one, my parents were allergic.” Starlight replied. Spike tilted his head. “Ponies can get allergic to pet hair?” “Apparently, but I managed to get a fish tank instead and named this small yellow one Sunny,” Starlight said in reply, she blushed a little as if leaving something out. Just as she was about to speak again Twilight darted from a side room and rushed up to Spike a scroll wrapped in a ribbon. “Good morning Spike. Here, send this to Celestia right away okay,” She dropped the scroll unceremoniously into his hand before moving past him and Starlight while mumbling. “I need to find that book on Ancient Pony artifacts.” She soon disappeared around a corner. Spike watched her go, looking nervously at Starlight. “What does she mean to send it, do I eat it?” He asked. “Spike usually just blows enchanted fire on it and it flies straight to her.” Starlight replied as they move to the kitchen. “How do I do that?” Spike asked, his claw squeezing the parchment. He hastily huffed on the scroll a few times till he got a bit light headed, but not even a spark of fire had come out of his mouth. “I don’t know, Spike is a dragon he just does it,” Starlight told Spike, and got out waffles to make the group breakfast. “Just keep trying, I’m sure you’ll get it eventually.” Spike gulped and kept watching the hallway as he blew on the scroll over and over each time with more force. He ended up panting, staring at the scroll. “Ugh, this isn’t working! What am I-” He was cut off as he hiccuped causing a burst of flame to abrupted exit his mouth. Unfortunately, it wasn't the magical kind and thus ended up turning the paper to ash. He meeped as he looked at the small pile on the floor! ‘O-oh no,” His ears fell and he gulped hard while his foot nudged the ash. “Twilight is going to be mad.” Starlight turned around biting her lip. “Okay, I’m sure there a way to fix this?” Before she could say more, however, Twilight entered the room her mane now properly brushed. Needless to say, she quickly saw the remains of the burnt up scroll. Her gaze looked at Spike with a slight scowl. “Spike, why did you do that? I needed to respond as soon as possible.” She frowned. Spike took a step back, twiddling his claws. “W-was an accident, I meant to send it but it burnt instead.” He shifted on his feet, avoiding direct eye contact much like any nervous child. This may not have been his Twilight, but the scolding felt all the same. He muttered under his breath about his dragon counterpart leaving out those specific details. Twilight moved along to the coffee machine with a sigh. “It’s fine, I did kind of spring it on you without much-advanced notice. I’ll just quickly write it up after breakfast,” She quickly looked at Spike once again, before pouring herself some morning goodness. Spike faceclawed again, before taking a seat at the table staring up at the cave-like ceiling. Needless to say, he felt like he was in way over his head at the moment. He just hoped his dragon counterpart would be doing a good enough job. Still, with so much to see, the dog turned dragon was still very hyper to see more things to come. ---//--- The morning for dragon Spike had gone pretty well all things considering. Doing one’s business in the backyard was a little embarrassing, but he’s done it a few other times while being a dog so that wasn’t too much of a problem. But he never understood why his dog counterpart could stand the collar. It did look nice, he supposed, but it just felt odd around his neck. He was sure the other Spike had gotten used to wearing it, those tags jingling whenever he would move. Twilight so far hadn’t noticed any changes as she munched down her cereal, looking into some rectangular device occasionally, pausing her meal to pat her fingers on it. He remotely recalled Sunset referring to it as “Texting” whatever that meant (the only texting Spike knew of was a typewriter). Despite that, he still had plenty of time to look at like the screen that played video in the living room, which had been featuring the news and weather channel for the last few minutes. The dragon turned dog dug into the bowl of kibble, wondering what he could get up to today. There wasn’t all that much for him unless he was taken out on a walk. The thought of digging in the back yard crossed his mind for a second and he mentally put it on his things to try checklist, along with tug of war of course. The day had just started and Spike already felt relaxed. As a pet, he didn’t have chores to do, or needed to go out to the store ‘cause a certain princess had her nose stuck in a book. All he had to do was play, or cuddle up on warm blankets. He did feel a little bad for his dog counterpart, who to be honest, would have the more difficult time being himself. After eating the last of the meaty chow, Spike pawed his way to the living room, tail wagging as Velvet petted his head. Twilight’s mom proceeded to scratch his ear, sending a very pleasant sensation down his spine. His hind leg twitched on reflex. The scratching only lasted for a few seconds but it felt longer by how nice it felt. Once the delightful ear massage was over, he tried hopping up on the couch only for Velvet to clap at him. “No. Down Spike, off the couch.” Velvet scolded. Spike flinched and quickly hopped down not wanting to press his luck. He looked up at her, giving the puppy eyes. He still didn’t see what was the deal about a little dog hair on the furniture. His attempt, however, was fruitless it seemed as Velvet didn’t react and just picked up a squeak toy, his ears perking up as she made it squeak. He spun in a circle and barked chasing it across the room as it was tossed. He grabbed the red bone from under the chair and bit on it making it squeak. Playing with such toys was always fun whenever he got the chance. He teethed on the toy for a few minutes, losing himself in the sounds when suddenly his super sensitive dog ears heard the sound of someone approaching the front door. He dropped the toy in an instant, racing to the door! Eager to see who was there, but making sure not to be too close of course. Twilight, after hearing the knock, opened the door. Fluttershy came in with her backpack. “Oh, hey Fluttershy, is it time already?” She asked. Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, just wanted to check on Spike,” She smiled, petting Spike’s head when he came up. “You ready for the park, Spike?” Spike nodded sniffing about her socks and smelling another dog’s scents. He always liked how sensitive his little nose could be as a dog. He let Twilight clip on the leash and followed along tail wagging. “How hard could this be? It should be fun to just run around.” He thought. Once he was sure they were far enough away from the house he looked up at Fluttershy. “You smell like other dogs.” He commented before trying to pull ahead to smell more. He just felt so much energy while walking, taking in the fresh summer air as they soon reached the park he had swapped places with the other Spike just hours ago. To Spike surprise, he saw that Applejack was there in her usual blue jeans and top, and had brought Winona along as well. She looked exactly like the Equestrian version, being just as hyper and fit as he knew her. Winona, upon spotting Spike wagged her tail and ran over wasting no time in sniffing his butt. Spike, of course, was not really used to such ways of saying hello and meeped, moving away a little. Such an odd reaction did seem to make Fluttershy tilt her head a little, and Twilight adjusted her classes watching him hesitantly sniff the female’s behind. The dragon turned dog blushed a little.while doing so, and soon pulled back, letting out a happy bark to at least appease the other dog. To his satisfaction, Winona barked back, her tail wagging before bowing in a playful stance. Spike eased up a little and did the same soon, giving chase. They ran up the hill and around a nearby tree heading for the picnic tables soon afterward. Spike panted happily at his plan working well. Although he was still worried he might mess up. ---\\--- Meanwhile back in Equestria, Spike had just finished washing up the dishes despite occasionally dropping a dish into the water when it slipped out of his newly gained appendages. Thankfully, Twilight had gone to check on something so she wasn’t present to see him screw up. Starlight was there too, drying the plates and giving occasional tips. Double checking to make sure Twilight was out of range, Spike looked towards Starlight, scratching his ear. “What do I do, Starlight? I can’t send that letter like she wants.” He nervously told her. “Well you could pretend to send it and I can hide it away I suppose,” Starlight offered. “Unless this letter’s super crucial, but I could alway peek at it.” “What if she asks me to write stuff down for her? I don’t know how to write.”Spike once again glanced back at the doors, his claws feeling his bare neck again. “Okay, so our Spike couldn’t prepare for all the possibilities, but he did ask me to try and cover for you. Although I have a feeling that will just end up making you more suspicious.” Starlight said in reply. The dog turned dragon groaned, firmly planting his claws on his face. “This sounded like so much fun when the other Spike explained it,” He felt Starlight put her hoof on his shoulder which did help calm him a little. “I need some fresh air.” “That’s great to hear Spike because I found the shopping list.” The dragon jumped a little when Twilight came back into the room giving him the scroll. “W-what oh uh right,” He squinted as he looked at the writing. “Man, Twilight you’ve got some odd handwriting.” He hadn’t realized his wording till it was too late and meeped silently. Twilight's raised eyebrow didn’t help matters. “Uh, you wrote that list, remember?” Twilight asked him. “Y-yeah right was just um a joke.” Spike gulped, mostly because he had no idea how Equestrian money worked, and because of his screw up. As Twilight tried to retort, Starlight cut her off. “How about we all just go down to the park to relax? It’s a wonderful day and we have been working an awful lot.” She watched Twilight tap her chin “You’re just going to take a book to the park, aren’t you?” She deadpanned. “N-no, okay yes, but reading outdoors is nice,” Twilight looked away and blushed, causing Starlight to chuckle a bit. “Sure some fresh air would do us all some good.” Twilight floated another scroll into Spike’s hand before moving down the hall to pick out a book to take with her. Spike sighed with relief, but his eyes locked onto the letter. Whatever its importance was, it would have to wait and hopefully wouldn’t come back to bite him. He swiftly handed it to Starlight, before heading out of the kitchen and running to the front lobby which thankfully was easy to find. It wasn’t a walk persay but he still felt just as anxious to go outside and run around a bit. He did his best to stay on two legs but the temptation was so hard to resist, as he hopped from one leg to the other, even as the two came down the stairs. “Wow Spike, you sure are eager,” Twilight mentioned, but Spike hardly noticed. She had her adventure book in her saddlebag and blinked when Spike barked, or at least seemed mimic one, before covering his mouth. “Haha, good one Spike,” Starlight said with a sly look. “Does Spike want to go on a walk?” She teased, hoping Twilight would think it was a joke. “H-hey.” Spike blushed, before pulling the door open for the two ponies. Twilight giggled lightly and ruffled Spike scales as she passed. “Thanks, Spike, maybe later we’ll get ice cream, how’s that sound?” The princess trotted out followed shortly by Starlight. Spike followed right behind the two, smiling. “Sounds great, Twilight,” He licked his lips, imaging a full cone to eat instead of licking remains out of a bowl. His Twilight sure knew how to spoil him, that was for sure. Along the way he sniffed at random flower beds again, looking at the pony with a rose on her flank, watering her flower bed. He waved at her as they passed and got a happy wave in reply. The dog turned dragon chuckled, liking how nice all the town folk were. Overall the walk to the park was wonderful as he took in breaths of fresh air. He didn’t notice his tail wagging a bit, although Twilight sure saw it wagging about. She didn’t comment though. The lush playground looked wonderful to Spike’s new eyes, never knowing how green grass could get. Just as he was about to run around for a little while, he heard a filly call his name. “Oh hey Spike,” Apple Bloom called coming over with other two fillies. They looked somewhat familiar to him. It took Spike a second but realized these were the pony counterparts of the three little kids from school. “Hey,” He waved at them, finding he was about their height now. “Nice day, isn’t it?” “Yeah, best Saturday ever,” Scootaloo commented, moments before a brown coated dog barked, approaching Spike. Spike looked down at Winona as she growled at him. He reacted by doing his best growl back, his legs moving to a more defensive stance. Apple Bloom tugged on the leash, gasping! “Winona, stop that! It’s just Spike!” She tugged more as the dog barked at him. Twilight tilted her head observing Spike acting very dog like and quite naturally in fact. It was even odder than the other dog like behaviors she had seen today. Soon, Apple Bloom got Winona to calm down by using a treat. “Sorry, Spike, I don’t know what came over her.” The farm filly apologized. “Maybe because I don’t smell like your Spike.” He thought sniffing himself a little. He looked back down at Winona, relaxed his muscles and tilted his head. Without even a woof, Winona calmed down more and wagged her tail in delight. The three fillies were once more amazed. “How did you do that Spike?” Apple Bloom asked, taking the leash off of Winona, while Sweetie Belle got a yellow frisbee. “Um I just did, dogs are easy to understand.” Spike hastily replied. He saw Twilight had already dug into her book by the big oak tree and had not noticed the event that had just happened. The dragon dog looked at the frisbee as Sweetie tossed it, causing Winona to go chasing after it. The dog returned with it soon after, and as it tossed once more, Spike’s hands twitched. He watched the toy flew through the air over and over for the next few minutes. Suddenly, without even a thought, he run after it and jumped into the air, snatching it in his mouth! It hurt a little but he managed to land. Moments passed before his eyes went wide at the fillies staring at him. He took the frisbee out of his mouth and blushed. Twilight had just looked up from her book, having seen the activity occurs. Yet another strike against Spike cover. He gulped as Twilight trotted over to him. “You sure you don’t miss being a dog?” She teased, patting his head He faked a light laugh while twiddling his claws. “N-no, just uh thought it’d be a neat trick.” Before Spike could comment any further, he observed the fillies from before staring into the horizon behind him at something approaching. He turned to see for himself, only for a tall blue scaled teenage dragoness to land in front of him with a cheerful smile. Had Spike mentioned his female to him, were they friends? He was a complete lose for words. He had no idea what to think of this other dragon as she leaned on her obsidian staff nonchalant. “Hey Spike, what’s up?” She greeted. Spike gulped heavily. “I’m doomed.”