//------------------------------//
// Spike 
// Story: If You Give A Pony A Time Spell 
// by TCC56 
//------------------------------//

Slurping noises echoed off the walls of the crystal castle as Spike finished his drink. Automatically, he rolled out of his hammock to refill it. 

But Spike only made it a few steps before Spike - himself from a future date, he had previously explained to himself - stopped him. "Whoa, hey! We talked about this! You're staying right there, buddy."

Spike looked at his empty glass, then back at his future self. "C'mon, it's just a drink. I'll go back to relaxing after I get one."

That wasn't enough, however, and Spike snatched the glass away. "I'll get it. We discussed this: I came back in time so I could do all your work and you could get a day off. And in the future, once you get the scroll, you'll do the same for your past self."

The two broke apart - the future Spike to refill the drink while the present one hopped back into the hammock with a mild grumble. A few minutes later, Spike delivered himself the drink: a root beer float with vanilla ice cream and powdered limestone. He sipped it once before letting out a long, pleased sigh. In the background, his future self puttered around dusting shelves and organizing paperwork. 

More minutes passed. Once the dusting was done, the busy Spike diverted over. "Need anything?" 

The lounging one considered, then shook his head. "Nah." A pause. "Though, uh. You said Rarity gave you the spell for this?"

Spike nodded. "She did. She said it was only fair after everything I've done to make sure I got a turn, too." His cheeks flushed at the memory of her fluttering eyelashes and divine smile. "She even suggested I use it for this. 'You work so hard, Spikey-wikey,' she said."

In the hammock, Spike got the same dopey smile as his other self. "Yeah. That sounds like Rarity." He shook his head, dispelling the fluffy fog of his crush. "Shouldn't we, you know, tell Twilight about this though? I mean, time travel's pretty bad."

"I thought about that," Spike admitted as he leafed through Twilight's (spare) day planner to check her upcoming schedule. "And we will. But it isn't like this is going to cause any problems. We're only interacting with ourselves, we aren't leaving the castle, and we aren't doing anything weird. So what's the harm?" 

Spike mulled that over for a few moments more. "I guess you're right. We can tell her later." 

"Besides," Spike commented, "I also promised I'd give it to Fluttershy after I was done. It wouldn't be fair if she didn't get a turn, too."