Spike was sucked into the portal. Spike vision became blurry as he watched a technicolor display all around him. So many colors inside as he traveled… somewhere. It was an experience like none other.The speed and the hysteria mixed with the anxiety and panic inside his heart made him scream in total panic and surprise. But there was nopony around to hear him scream. It was disorientating. He couldn’t control his feelings. He lost sight of what was up or down. It felt like he was falling, or was he even moving at all? He couldn’t tell.
“WWWOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH” He screamed. It was the only thing he could do.
The explosions of colors traveling inside of his own scales. He began to freak out even more as it seeped into his body. It pulsed like a heartbeat. He could see his bones inside his scales. There seemed to be some kind of subtle change happening, what appeared to be fur growing where his scales were. However, just as this was happening, he saw the medallion shine bright and the fur disappear. Instead, his scales changed to a more soft, scaleless texture. Something fur-like started growing on his head. His scales were scratching. He was feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t know what’s going on.Then Spike felt a powerful pushing force against him, causing an explosion around him. Everything went black. Spike felt dizzy and confused.
“Arg…My head.” he groaned, placing a hand on his head. His head felt different. It wasn’t its usual scaly self. He moved his hand up and, instead of his usual head spikes, found a tuft of… hair? He looked at his hands. They were long with stubby ends, not like the claws he was used to.He fell back in surprise and horror. His claws, gone. His scales, gone. His teeth felt different, smoother than usual. His whole body felt different, and he was wearing… clothes now? He started to panic.
“My body, what happened to my body?” Spike said alarmed. Just then, he was interrupted by other voice.
“Oh my gosh, I saw what happened. Are you okay?” A gentle voice penetrates inside of Spike’s mind and his own heart. That voice was familiar to him, a voice of an angel. The same voice that made Spike’s heart pound and causes butterflies on his stomach every time he heard it. He turned around, expecting to see her; The unicorn of his dreams. But instead, he saw some kind of bipedal creature with soft, elegant clothes, worriedly looking at him.Spike was so shocked, he couldn’t answer her. He couldn’t think of what to say and just sat there on the floor, staring at her with mouth agape. She looked at him, confused, as she got closer to help him up., Spike internally noted that she smelled like flowers, like her unicorn counterpart.
“Rarity?” Spike whispered. She gasped in surprise.
“How... how did you know my name? Do I know you?” Rarity asked. She stopped in her tracks and tried to see if she recognized this stranger who came out of nowhere and instantly knew her name. Her suspicions of him were clear in her body language.
Spike didn’t know how to respond to her. Her reaction wasn’t what he expected. It became obvious she wasn’t the same Rarity he knew. She was another Rarity. How was he going to answer that?
“Err…Well, how could I not know you? You are really famous where I come from. There are a lot of ponies who enjoys your dresses.” Spike explained quickly. It was the first thing that came into his head. And it was technically true, as far as Spike was aware. There are many ponies who enjoy Rarity’s dresses. She is indeed a good dressmaker. Or at least, the Rarity he knew was. That’s when he realized his mistake.
“Did you just say ponies?” Rarity questioned, growing even more suspicious of the stranger. While she was flattered by his answer, she was also a little weirded out by his strange mannerisms
“Err… Did I say that? Well, I, umm… what I meant to say was… where are we anyway?” Spike flustered.He didn’t know what they were if they weren’t ponies.If she knew this, it would only cause more suspicion and confusion. Who doesn’t know their own species? Better to change the topic.However, Rarity narrowed her eyes and looked straight at the nervous Spike. Like an angry tigress after being woken up by a hapless prey.
“Don’t change the topic. What are you on about ponies for?” Rarity said sternly, making Spike sweat bullets. He didn’t liked when Rarity was angry when she was a pony, and whatever form she was now was just as bad. Spike laughed nervously as he tried to think of some kind of response. He couldn’t think of anything. He could feel damp sweat begin to build under his armpits and onto his clothes.“Well?” Rarity pressed again for an answer.
“I DON’T KNOW, I DON’T KNOW WHERE I AM OR WHAT’S GOING ON!” Spike broke under her glare, catching the lady by surprise with his outburst.
Rarity looked blinked a couple of times at this sudden explosion.Then she began to snigger, trying to hold back her laugh. This didn’t last long, and the snigger grew into a full laugh.Spike stopped and looked at her confused. He didn’t know what just happened, but he began to blush at her laugh and nervously join in too.
“What?” He giggled, as she bopped him on the nose.
“I was just messing with you, little one. You are quite silly. Wasn’t expecting you to outburst like that though. I’m sorry. However, I am curious about how you just appeared from the statue behind you.” Rarity smiled. Spike’s heart melt, like it did every time she spoke to him back home.
“Statue?” He looked behind him and found indeed was a statue behind him. “But that was… That was a mirror.”
“Well, now I’m really curious about what happened. Let’s start fresh. It wasn’t polite of you to instantly know my name and treat me as you did, and yet not tell me who are you.” Rarity winked, offering her hand to Spike to help him to get up.
“Well, my name is Spike. Spike Solaris the dragon.” He grabbed her hand and, with her help, pulled himself onto his feet.
“Dragon? Like the mythological creatures?” Rarity laughed. She was starting to get the suspicion that either he was crazy or not from around here. She was leaning more towards the former. How could she believe she was talking to a dragon? He had no scales, no claws, no tail, and was tiny. Not to mention the whole mythology side.
“Mythological? Are you kidding me? Have you never met a dragon before? I know dragons aren’t common near pony settlements, especially not raised by them, but there were many dragons over Equestria.” Spike exclaimed, astonished that anyone would think anyone would dismiss dragons existence. His species couldn’t be extinct, could it? But then he remembered… He wasn’t in Equestria anymore. “Sorry. I mean, where I come from, dragons are everywhere… Are there seriously no dragons in this world?”
“First off, no. There are no dragons in this world. Second… Were you raised by ponies? How does that work? I’ve gathered at this point that you are either crazy or alien. Is there, like, a world governed by ponies? And You lived with them like family? How does that work?” Rarity said confuse with a hint of interest and disbelief.
“Well, yeah… I noticed some bits looked different, but it can’t be that bad. What do I look like to you?” Spike stated this like it was obvious. What was he if not a dragon?
“Well, you don’t look like a dragon now. Here, take a look.” Rarity took a pocket mirror from her bag and gave it to Spike.He took the mirror and looked at his reflection for the first time in this world. His eyes grew wide as he looked at his new face.
“Why is my snout so small? And it’s longer. And what’s up with my chin?” He said touching his face with worry, then he glanced his hair. “I have a mane now?”
“Well darling, that would be your hair. Horses have manes, not people. Also, the small snout, as you called it, is called a nose.” Rarity corrected as Spike continued to inspect his reflection in the mirror.
“Even my mouth is different. This is weird. Am I still capable to breathe fire?” Spike continued, too distracted by how different this body was to hear what Rarity said. He closed the pocket mirror and decided to try his signature fire breath. He took a deep breath in and let it out like he normally would back home. He expecting the light green flame as usual to fire from his new, flatter mouth and snout. But instead, a tiny ember floated pitifully from his mouth and disappeared as it touched the ground, creating a thin line of smoke that dissipated quickly. Rarity was impressed but Spike blushed in shame.
“That’s embarrassing. Please believe me. This is the first time this has happened to me. Usually, I can do it a really powerful fire breath. It’s usually not like that” Spike mumbled sheepish, worried about what his new friend would think about his shameful flame.
Rarity let it out a giggle in response. She was really impressed and took his words seriously. He was indeed a dragon. She had never seen anyone capable of creating ember with their mouths. That just wasn’t possible for a human to do. However, one thing humans and dragons had in common seemed to be trying to impress the ladies.
“Men, always trying to impress a woman with their masculinity. Even when you “mess it up”, you give the same excuse.” Rarity giggled, looking at the little dragon boy. He was so cute standing there, blushing and acting like that.
Spike looked at her nervously. Her giggling, while being melodious like the usual Rarity, made him feel a bit ashamed of himself.
“That’s perfectly normal darling. I could say I’m really impressed. I’ve never seen a human capable of making an ember or fire breath like that. I trust you when you say you are a dragon now.” Rarity laughed. Spike felt flattered and relieved that his shameful flame was not shameful at all. It was a feat that no one here could do. And, it was the proof she needed to believe in him.
“Well, I definitely feel different here, and…” At that moment, it struck him. He felt he was missing something. He put a hand behind him and paused “Why can’t I feel my tail?” Spike looked behind him, but it wasn’t there. He began to panic. He had lost a whole part of his body. Parts changing was one thing, but losing it all together? That was something else entirely.
“Uh oh…” Rarity muttered to herself, imagining what would happen next.
“MY TAIL! WHERE IS MY TAIL?” Spike was screaming looking at his behind and trying to find his tail over his body. Spike started hyperventilating. It must be there. It was always behind him. His new body was totally different from he was on Equestria. It was such a drastic change to get used to. He couldn’t fire breath like before, his teeth weren’t sharp enough to eat gems here, and now his tail was lost. But a pair of hands grabbed the sides of his face, directing him towards Rarity who looked directly into his emerald eyes.
“SPIKE, CALM DOWN. I know this must be disorientating, but this is normal. Humans don’t have tails. Relax… please. You’ll cause a scene” Rarity explained, snapping Spike’s attention back to the here and now. “Just breathe slowly. Let it out and take a breath again. Follow me.”
Spike listened to her, and following her breathes. He calmed after taking some breathes and finally relaxed.
“Are you feeling better?” Rarity asked, smiling at him.
“This world is crazy.” Spike sighed, making her giggle a little.
Then the moment was interrupted by the sound of a stomach grumbling. Spike looks to Rarity, who tried to maintain her composure but was clearly blushing about the interruption. The pair chuckled a bit.
“Well, from the sounds of it, you’re hungry too. Is there a place where we could eat?” Spike asked, realizing it wasn’t just her who was hungry. He had breakfast what felt like hours ago, and Spike’s mind had turned to thoughts of lunch is a good thing right now.
“Well, I think I have a good place where we can eat. There is still much more I wish to discuss with you. Follow me.” Rarity nodded, leading Spike towards the food court. She had worked out by now that he… wasn’t from around here. Who knows what kind of trouble there could’ve been if she didn’t witness him falling out of the statue. She wasn’t stupid. He clearly needed help, and she took it upon herself to help him, no matter what.Spike followed her looking at many things. He had never seen things like cars, airplanes, or the televisions seen in the store windows they passed by. Spike was really baffled by this world of technology. Every time he found something he didn’t recognize, he asked Rarity what was. She waved this off, saying she was going to explain everything after they find something to eat.
They entered a store Spike seemed to recognize. It had the same feeling as a place he was well acquainted with back home. A place one of his friends worked at.
“HI RARITY!” screamed the excited pink girl behind them, making Spike jump in surprise and Rarity scream.
“PINKIE” screamed both in unison, making them look at each and other.
“How did you know her name?” Rarity asked surprised by his guess.
“Umm… Well… you see…” Spike squirmed nervously, whispering “There’s a pinkie in my world too… Kind of hard not to know who she is… Friendly, constant parties, especially for new ponies, wanting to make friends with everyone..” Spike smiled nervously.
“That’s all true.” Pinkie Pie bounced between them. Spike was so startled, he nearly fell backward in surprise. But he managed to just about catch himself, avoiding an unfortunate fall.
“Well ok then. Pinkie Pie, can you make a table for me and my friend Spike here?” Rarity asked elegantly.
“OH OH, can I join with you? It’s almost my break time so I really want to join you.”
“Sure thing darling, you can tag along with us. What do you think Spike?”
“I think that was a pretty good idea actually.”
Spike and Rarity took their seats at the table while waiting for Pinkie Pie to bring their meal… which they hadn’t even ordered yet.
“Wait… we didn’t even get to order something.” Spike quivered. He started to grow concerned over what the food would taste like here.
“I'm sure she will surprise us, darling. Pinkie Pie knows what she is doing...well almost all the time.” Rarity mumbled. She would hope that Pinkie knew what she was doing, but you could never be certain with her
“Well, I suppose so. That sounds like the Pinkie I know too.” Spike shrugged
“So, Spike, tell me about yourself.” Rarity asked inquisitively “I never meet a dragon before. What do you eat? What do you do in your free time? What is your culture? I have many questions.”
“Well... I'm Spike Solaris the dragon. I'm 14 years old. I eat gems, especially sapphires. They are really tasty, but I like others too. In my free time, I'm a number one assistant of my best friend, Twilight Sparkle, she is a royal student.” Spike proudly announced, prompting more questions from Rarity.
“Gems? Do you really eat gems? And what do you and your friend Twilight Sparkle do? What does being a royal student entail?” Rarity asked amazed at this information.
“Well, yeah. My powerful teeth and tongue let me eat many gems for snacks. And me and Twilight work at the library while Twilight is a student of Princess Celestia of Equestria.” Spike explained.
“Oh, that reminds me. I actually have some questions about where are you from.” Rarity holds her two hands near her chin with her elbows on the table, looking at Spike.
“Sure, what do you want to know?” Spike said, looking around the food court. It was different to Sugar Cube Corner, however, there was a familiarity to Spike.
“Well, Equestria is a land governed by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They are the rulers over there, they are known as Princess of the Day and Night...”
“Wait, why they are called like that? Is it like they control the sun and moon?” Rarity asked in disbelief like it was a joke.
“Yeah, exactly like that,” Spike confirmed with a nod. “Princess Celestia is responsible for taking care of the kingdom over the day and raising the sun every morning.”
“And the other princess?”
“Well, she is the Princess of Night. She is responsible for the moon and the dreams of all ponies over Equestria. She travels over their dreams to fight nightmares.”
“So she is like a good Freedy Krugger, fighting nightmares rather than killing people?” Rarity asked curiously.
“Who is Freedy Krugger? Why would he kill people in their dreams?” Spike questioned surprised and afraid of who could be that kind of monster who could kill people over the dreams?
“Is just a horror story, Spike. You don't need to worry about it.” Rarity re-assured. She didn't sleep during a week after watching that kind of movie. She didn't know why Pinkie Pie forced her and her friends to do something like that.
“Well, the princesses are responsible of taking care of every Earth pony, Pegasis and Unicorn,” Spike explained. Rarity raised her hand. “Yes Rarity?” Spike queried.
“What are Earth ponies? And there are unicorns and pegasis over where are you from?” Rarity didn't waste time.
“Well, I can explain the differences between 3 races.” Spike knew that question would come up, so he decided to make a simplification of his answers. “Earth Ponies are stronger and tougher than other ponies because of their resistance and hoofwork over the lands over Equestria. They really have hard jobs using all their strength to take care of their business. It was like they could buck much harder than the other ponies. Meanwhile, the pegasis can flight and walk over the clouds, and unicorns have access over magic using their horns they are related to the pure magic.”
“So there are three races where you live?” Rarity was being more curious, with the answers just leading to more and more questions.
“Well, four actually. The alicorns have both wings and horns, like a mix of all three other races. They are the most powerful. Only the princesses or those that become so are alicorns.” Spike looked over and immediately knew Rarity had more questions. He imagined she’d want to know about the towns and cities on Equestria. Before she got an ask, he continued his explanations. “Well, there are many cities over there, Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, Apple Pallooza. I don't know how much you want to know about it.”
“Wow, you even have puns for your cities’ names. It is indeed a pony country.” Rarity thought to herself.
“Hey guys, here’s your food.” Pinkie Pie brought 10 cupcakes with 2 slices of lemon pie.
“Wow, sweet,” Spike said excitedly to have a taste on these things.
“Why, thank you darling. Here, Pinkie. Have a sit and join us. Spike was talking about his home.”
“Oh Oh, it's about that land of ponies who rules a country, where he is an adopted son of one of Princess over there and there are many cities with ponies puns who are really funny to listen to?” Pinkie Pie bounced excitedly. Rarity stared wide-eyed, and Spike facepalmed.
“Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Spike said sarcastically.
“You’re welcome.” Pinkie Pie, ignoring the sarcasm.
“Are you really the adoptive son of one of the Princesses?” Rarity questioned.
“Well, technically yes I am. But it’s really, really a long story. I don't know if you’d really want to know.” Spike dismissed.
“Well, your highness, I'm really interested to know about you, dragon prince” Rarity teased. She didn't mind the fact Spike was a prince. She was intrigued. The politics of his world seemed so strange and alien to her.
“Well, you see...” Spike took a bite of a cupcake. He paused and looked at the cupcake. He swallowed the bit he took and sighed disappointingly “Aww man. It doesn't have any gems in it?”
“Sorry Spike. That’s not what we eat here. Besides, I don’t think you can eat gems if don't have your dragon teeth. And the gems over here are really expensive.” Rarity comforted as she put her hand his shoulder.
“Aww man...” Spike sighed “Least they taste ok.” He then took another bit of the cupcake. “Well starting from the beginning. Everything happened when my best friend Twilight was a little filly...”
It took time to explain what happened between the time Twilight was a little filly until the end of the battle of Nightmare Moon. Hours but Spike finally finished his story with “And that's how Twilight and her friends saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon, and how I meet my aunt Luna.” Spike finished off the final cupcake. His two friends were awe at his story, their mouths agape.
“So, that's how you know so much about us. There’s pony equivalents of us in your world, and you’re friends with them.” Rarity stated, summing up all the information Spike had provided. It would be like impossible to believe if she hadn’t seen him fall out of the school statue.
“Yeah, pretty much.” Spike agreed with Rarity who was still trying to process all the information.
“OH MY GOSH, MY BREAK WAS OVER 2 HOURS AGO! I HAVE TO GO.” Pinkie leaped from the table and ran between all the tables, serving all the seated patrons. Rarity and Spike laughed at this commotion.
After laughing a bit, Rarity was still curious about one thing.
“Spike, how did you ended here?” Rarity asked.
“Well, this week, I could feel my mother was a bit distant. I could sense she was worrying about something. I decided to find the problem, and solve it.I think I’ve located the problem...” Spike explained, making Rarity even more curious.
“And that is?”
“Long ago, my mother had an argument with her daughter. A sister I've never meet because it was before I hatched. and that fall out still haunts my mum, and is a sore topic when somepony talks about it with her.”
“Oh, I see. Your mother had a fight with her daughter many years ago, and I'm surprised even a princess can have a problem like that.” Rarity nodded empathetically. Her mother had fought with her grandmother long ago, and they had told her how much hard it was during the years of not talking to each other. “What does this have to do with coming here?”
“I know my sister fled here to get away, but I don't know how to find her. I know she’s called Sunset Shimmer over here…” Spike looked over and saw Rarity’s face-silent and cold, expressionless “Rarity?” Spike asked, concerned.
Rarity stayed silent, the color flushed from her face. Her eyes widened as her thoughts ran wild.
“Rarity, say something.” Spike prompted when he turned around not just Rarity but Pinkie Pie was stood staring at Spike. She lost grip on the plate she was holding and it shattered on the floor. “Pinkie?”
“Girls?” Spike despaired. Then, at the same time, they screamed in unison.
“WHAT?”