Puppy Love
Spike was bored. The house was completely empty, with Twilight at school and her parents off at work. He missed the days when Twilight would take him to school in her backpack, and let him stay in her little hiding room. He got to see her so many times throughout the day, but she had told him that Canterlot High School was just too far away to take him every day. If he got lost she might never see him again. Not that he would ever do that... he could find his way back to her from a million miles away if he had to.
So here he sat, alone in the front hallway staring at the door and waiting impatiently for the sound of jingling keys on the other side. It must have been several lifetimes, several explosions of the sun and rebirths of the solar system, before he heard that jingle and a light, wonderfully familiar voice on the other side of the door.
"I think I have some soda in the fridge," Twilight's voice preceded her into the house as the door opened.
"Twilight! Welcome home!" Spike leapt into the air with a running start, but missed Twilight as she moved to one side of the door. Instead he slammed face first into Lemon Zest, who squealed in surprise and collapsed backwards out onto the front patio with him on her chest. The scent of sweat mingled with Lemon's own unique odor, invading his nostrils like a flame.
"Spike!" Twilight whirled on him. "What have I told you about jumping at the door?"
"Hahahaha!" Lemon Zest laughed and threw her arms around him. "Awwww, don't yell at him! How can you yell at something this cute?"
Spike whimpered softly, his tail wagging against Lemon's stomach as he stared up at Twilight.
"Oh don't give me that. I'm immunized to you." Twilight waggled her finger at him, though it was more of a jovial gesture than a true scolding.
Lemon Zest climbed to her feet, holding Spike against her chest with both arms. "Well I'm sure not." Lemon grinned and nuzzled her cheek against Spike's. "I wish I had a doggy like this!" A giggle escaped her lips when Spike licked her cheek enthusiastically. "D'awwww!"
Twilight smirked. "Suck up." She couldn't keep up her act, however, and soon broke into a smile as she led Lemon Zest inside. "Okay, Spike, that's enough playing. Lemon Zest isn't here to goof off, I'm tutoring her on chemistry."
"I think we have great chemistry going right here. Muah." Lemon kissed his cheek as her fingers scratched the top of his scalp.
"Oooh man..." Spike's tail slammed into her chest as it wagged back and forth reflexively, his breath coming in quick pants.
Twilight rolled her eyes with a giggle. "Go get set up in the living room. I'll get our drinks and meet you there."
"Sure thing." Lemon Zest slipped her backpack off with one arm, the other carrying Spike as she made her way into the living room, approaching the coffee table in the center of the room. "Sorry little dude, but I think it's about time we got to work." She sat down on the carpet beside the low coffee table and set Spike on the floor.
"Awww, man..." Spike sighed, but obediently turned to march away from the table. If there was one thing Twilight had impressed on him since he was blasted with magic, it was that study time was private time. He had never understood that before the Friendship Games, now that he thought of it. But Twilight was his best friend, he wasn't going to go getting in the way and annoying her now that he knew he was doing it.
He would give them their time... and come back for scratches and snuggles later.
***
The warm sun felt great on his coat, but Spike's leg scratched instinctively at the collar around his neck. He didn't mind the collar, of course. It was a gift from his friend, but the leash attached to it always made it tug uncomfortably around his neck.
"Why do we need this leash?" Spike asked in an irritated grumble. "I won't go anywhere or hurt anyone, I promise."
"I know that, and you know that, but the law doesn't know that." Twilight reminded him, her right hand holding the other end of his leash. "Relax, we're almost to the dog park, I'll let you off once we're safely inside and nobody can protest."
"Whew, good! I like the dog park! It always smells like dew in there!" Spike jumped back a bit closer to Twilight. "You said there was a surprise too, right? Are you going to tell me what it is?"
"Would it still be a surprise?"
"That depends on what it is!"
"I'm not sure if that logic works." Twilight giggled. "We're there anyway, just wait two more minutes."
"Argh, two minutes is too long..." Spike huffed, but fell silent. It felt like a lifetime before they reached the tall iron gate that surrounded the dog park, at least, tall from his vantage point. Once they were inside Spike twitched his ears while Twilight turned to close it behind them. "Come on! Pleeeaaaase!"
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" Twilight knelt down to undo the leash, at last giving him room to jump away without the burden around his neck.
"Finally! Yes! Free! Now where's the surprise!? I don't see anything surprising! Is it that tree over there? I think that was there before!"
"Actually, I think I see your surprise coming now!" Twilight waved her hand over her head. "Hey! We're here!"
"Hey, Twilight!" A familiar voice responded. Spike whirled in excitement to see Lemon Zest jogging toward them.
"Lemon Zest! What a great surprise!" Spike panted. "I like her!"
Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "Look down, Spike."
"Down?" Spike looked again, this time at Lemon Zest's feet. There was another dog running beside her, its... no, her... tongue lolling out of her mouth as she yipped in excitement. She was about Spike's size, with a large tuft of fur sticking out the top of her head, slapping in the breeze behind her as she ran. Spike blinked in surprise as the two girls approached, his eyes lingering on the dog. The dog turned to meet him immediately as she neared, her nose sniffing curiously at his face.
"Oh! Um... hello?" Spike blushed.
"Hehe, hey little dude." Lemon Zest caught up a few moments later with a grin on her face. "Looks like Mina likes you."
"Mina?" Spike looked up at her in surprise.
Lemon Zest winked. "I said I wanted a doggy, so me and Twilight went out the other day and got me one! This is Mina, my new dog. We thought you'd like to meet her, so you can have a new friend to play with!"
"Oh... y-yeah, that's great." Spike watched Mina as she circled around him, her nose digging into his fur curiously. Strangely he found himself clueless, watching her do her thing. "Um... I-I don't know what to do!"
"Sniff her butt," Lemon suggested.
Twilight gasped with a deep blush on her cheeks. "Lemon Zest!"
"Whaaat? Dogs do that, right?"
"Well, yeah... but it sounds so wrong when you suggest it like that..."
"Um! Whoa! They do! I mean... we do!" Spike blushed when he felt the cold wet nose probe where he couldn't look, then moved away as Mina circled around to his front, yipping loudly at his face. "Um... hi! Mina!"
Twilight gave him a worried look. "Is something wrong, Spike? Don't you want to play with her? You can go ahead, we'll watch from here."
"Oh, yeah, okay! Come on, Mina! Let's go do something!" Spike turned to bound across the grass, hearing his new companion's paws padding along on the grass behind him with excited yips bursting from her throat.
He led the girl out to the center of the park, where he turned toward her, looking her in the eyes. "So... what do you wanna do?" He asked. She barked. "Um, do you wanna play tag?" She barked again. "Um... y-yeah, so-augh!" Spike yelped and gasped as his new friend jumped into him, headbutting him in the side and rolling him to his back with a sharp growl. "Gah! What'd I do!? I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
His friend yipped again, bouncing back and forth in front of him on all four paws. Spike watched her for a moment, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what she wanted. It felt strange. He was still a dog... wasn't he? He should know how to play with her... and yet he felt completely clueless. Had he really changed so much that he couldn't even talk to his own species anymore? She was a cute dog, for sure... he just wished she could tell him what she wanted from him.
Spike rose to his paws, casting an almost helpless glance over at Twilight, who was perched on a park bench with Lemon Zest. Well, he could at least pretend to be having a good time... for her. She had brought him all the way out here for his sake, after all.
***
Back on the leash, Spike sighed as he and Twilight made their way down the sidewalk towards home. Lemon Zest and Mina were walking beside them now, but Spike didn't really look at her. She was cute, and he liked her energy, but there just didn't seem to be a point to trying. He had tried all day to get some kind of interaction going with her, but it seemed like all she wanted to do was yip at him, growl at him, and jump on him. It made sense, really. She couldn't talk like he could... no dog could talk like he could...
"Spike?" Twilight's voice was soft as she spoke. Spike listed his eyes from the sidewalk for the first time during the walk home. "Are you okay? You've been really quiet since we left."
"Yeah... I'm fine." Spike looked up over his shoulder, forcing a smile onto his lips.
Lemon Zest gave her a smile. "Don't worry little dude, Mina's just coming home with me for the night. You can see her again any time you want, okay?"
"Yeah..." Spike glanced at Mina, who was just walking forward obliviously with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth. "Thanks..."
"We'll have to do this again sometime, Lemon." Twilight smiled as they approached her house.
"You know it, having a pet is awesome." Lemon grinned and gave her a wave from the sidewalk. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Goodnight!" Twilight waved back, waiting until their friend disappeared down the sidewalk before opening the door and stepping aside to let Spike silently slip inside. He tried to make his way toward his small bed-basket in her bedroom, but Twilight was still holding his attached leash, restraining him.
"Um... I-I'm kind of tired." Spike couldn't look at her.
"Spike, I can tell something's wrong." Twilight pulled him back toward her with a gentle tug and knelt down in front of him, reaching out to scratch his head. "You know you can tell me anything. Hehe, at least you can now... and I'm so glad you can. Please don't shut me out."
"I-I don't mean to do that." Spike looked away guiltily. "I love you, Twilight..."
"I love you too, Spike." Her hands wrapped around him as she sat down on the carpet, pulling him onto her knees and letting him rest on her as she petted down his back. "What's bothering you?"
Spike sighed and rested his chin on her upper thigh. "It's just... Mina seemed like a lot of fun and all, but for some reason I just couldn't relate to her. It was like... like watching an alien..." He closed his eyes. "Am I an alien now, Twilight?"
"Of course you're not an alien, silly. You're just magic now."
"But what does that mean? I feel so different! And it's... kind of scary."
"Oh, Spike..." Twilight slipped her arms around the puppy, lifting him into her arms and cradling him against her chest. "I'm so sorry you feel that way... but I'm afraid I just don't know enough about magic to know what's going on with you. Of course... someone else just might..."
"Yeah?" Spike's ears perked up. "We can get me some help or something?"
"Maybe... come on, we still have some time before the busses stop running for the day." Twilight climbed to her feet. "Don't worry, Spike. I won't rest until you feel better!"
Somehow, Spike felt a little better already.
***
Sunset Shimmer's apartment complex had all kinds of signs littered around with dog shapes crossed out by weird markings, but Twilight lifted him up and carried him through anyway, making a straight line toward one of the doors on the floor level. They slipped inside without warning, and Twilight explained the situation to her friend, who turned to peer down at Spike with a curious look on her face.
"Hmmmm..." Sunset Shimmer tapped a finger on her chin as she leaned down, staring straight into Spike's face for a long while. The dog just stared back, almost afraid to do anything and interrupt whatever strange examination this was. "I've gotta admit I've wondered about this. A spontaneous increase in intelligence can't just happen by itself, something fundamental must have been altered by the stream of magic."
"You know all about magic, Sunset Shimmer. Can you tell us why? Or at least tell us how we can make him feel better?"
"Feel better? About what?"
"I..." Spike hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I met this cute girl today... a girl dog... and it felt like I couldn't related to her at all. Like I was just looking at something I had no clue what to do with. It's so weird... it's like I can remember how I used to act, but I can't remember why, or... anything. I feel weird inside my own body now... you know?"
"I see..." Sunset Shimmer stood up and crossed her arms over her stomach. "Twilight, this may sound weird, but can I have a moment alone with Spike?"
"What? Oh... of course. Whatever you think is best. How about I get us all some drinks?"
"There's soda in the fridge." Sunset smiled and took a seat on the sofa while Twilight made her way into the kitchen. She turned back to Spike once they were alone and patted the sofa beside her, so the dog leapt up onto the furniture and took a seat, peering up at her curiously. "Believe me, feeling weird in your own body is something I know all about. I'm not exactly from here, you know. I'm still dealing with it, to an extent."
"So it doesn't get better?" Spike whimpered.
"I didn't say that. I don't know if it ever goes away, but it does get better." Sunset reached out idly to scratch the top of his head. "With time and friends, anything can get better."
"Yeah... with friends..." Spike looked down, ignoring the scratches he usually loved so much. "At least you can get along with human friends... I mean, you guys are great and all, but you..." He hesitated and blushed softly. "You don't exactly treat me like you do each-other." Sunset glanced at her hand, then slowly pulled it back.
"Yeah, I see what you mean." Sunset placed her hand in her lap. "So you want to be able to get along with other dogs so you have someone who can really understand you. Someone you can be on equal footing with."
"You make it sound like I hate you..."
"Not at all, I understand. And there is a way you could go back to being a normal dog, if that's what you want."
"I could?"
"Twilight already built a pendant that can absorb magic once. I bet she could do it again. If it's magic that gives you your intelligence, sucking it out might put you back to normal."
Spike thought about that for several long moments, then shook his head. "I don't want to do that. I love talking to Twilight, and she's so happy to talk to me. I just wish I could get along with Mina, too."
Sunset Shimmer leaned back on the couch in silence, her eyes glazed over in thought until Twilight came back in with two glasses of soda and a small bowl of milk.
"Did you two have a good talk?" Twilight set one glass in front of Sunset Shimmer and the bowl in front of Spike.
"I guess." Spike ignored the bowl. He wasn't feeling very thirsty right now.
Sunset Shimmer lifted her glass from the coffee table with a muttered "thank you" and took a slow sip. She swirled the liquid in her glass as she glanced over at Spike. "How about if you could have a good long conversation with her? Do you think that would help you understand dogs, better?"
"A conversation?" Spike's ears perked up.
"Your intelligence came from magic, perhaps because in Equestria your other self is a dragon. Maybe the same is true for her." Sunset took another slow, thoughtful sip of her drink. "Which means if you both actually go to Equestria, her intelligence should rise to match yours. You could talk to her."
Twilight Sparkle gasped. "Go to Equestria? Are we really allowed to do that?"
"She left the portal open and said I could go back any time. I don't know if we should make a day of it, but I doubt she would mind a short trip through too terribly much."
"Actually talk to her..." Spike looked down at his bowl of milk for a long moment, then jumped the short distance across to the coffee table. "I think I like the sound of that." He leaned down to lap up a bit of the cool, soothing liquid.
"Then it's settled!" Twilight nodded with her lips set into a determined line. "I'll call Lemon Zest and have her meet us at CHS tomorrow afternoon, since school's out. I'm sure she'll be okay with this plan, too. She'll want you to get better, Spike."
"Heh, thanks, Twilight." Spike took a couple more laps at his bowl, then lifted his head with a satisfied smile. "I can't wait to talk to her. I wonder what she'll say... I wonder what she thinks of me..."
He blushed, but didn't allow himself to second-guess his plan. Even if it didn't change everything forever, at least he would have a better understanding of what he used to be... and a better understanding of her.
***
The Canterlot High School courtyard was abandoned as Spike, Mina, Twilight Sparkle, and Lemon Zest approached, except for Sunset Shimmer, who was standing by the large horse statue in front of the entrance. She watched them approach with her arms folded over her chest, her eyes lingering on Spike.
"I already tested the portal. We're good to go any time you guys are," Sunset told them.
"Please tell me I can go too! I want to see this magic world!" Lemon Zest squealed.
Sunset smiled. "You're Mina's mas.... caretaker. I wouldn't have it any other way. You can both come."
"Booyah!" Lemon Zest pumped her fist into the air.
Spike approached the mirror with Twilight, looking into his own furry reflection. "So on the other side of this portal I'll be some kind of dragon?"
"Yep. And hopefully so will she." Sunset gestured to Mina, who was peering curiously at her own reflection in the mirror. "Go on through, you two. We'll be right behind you."
Spike looked at the reflection of her dog friend, then raised one paw, putting it on her shoulders. "Come on!" He tugged her forward, sending them both careening through the portal.
It felt like simply walking through a normal door, and yet on the other side he immediately slid to his stomach with a pained grunt. He let himself lay stiff for a short time, before lifting one paw to put it on the floor in front of him. It wasn't a paw anymore, though... it was a claw. A purple claw. He gasped and looked up, at a world that was like nothing he had ever seen before. The place was smooth, almost as if it was made of glass, and shone with colors more vibrant and powerful than he'd ever seen in his whole canine life.
"Whoa..." Spike pushed himself up slowly, but couldn't seem to rise comfortably to all fours. So instead he stayed on his knees, sidling away from the mirror behind him as it flashed.
"Gah!" Lemon Zest's voice cried out as two pony-shaped bodies immediately fell all over each other to the floor right beside him. "Whoa, dude... look at this place!" The winged pony with Lemon Zest's voice pulled herself off of her purple companion, her eyes darting around the room as she climbed to her four, shaking hooves. "I.... kind of expected more, actually. Where're the dragons?" Her eyes suddenly settled on Spike. "Oh... uh... there you are. Not exactly ferocious."
"Lemon Zest!" Twilight's voice scolded as the glasses-clad unicorn climbed to her own hooves on shaking legs. "It's not his size that counts, it's his heart."
"Hey, no offense." Lemon raised one hoof defensively, then gasped when she caught sight of it, her eyes scanning down the rest of her body. "Whoa I'm... I'm... naked!" Lemon fell back to her butt, her forelegs quickly wrapping around in front of her body. "Dude!"
Twilight stared at her for a moment, then glanced down at herself and assumed a similar posture. "Gah! She didn't warn us about this!"
"Will you two relax?" Sunset Shimmer moved away from the portal more calmly. "Ponies don't wear clothes, we have fur for a reason."
"Oh... aheh..." Twilight Sparkle blushed. "I knew that..."
"Right..." Lemon cleared her throat, then jerked to one side when she saw something waving behind her. "Dude! Check it out! I got wings!"
Spike blinked when he heard a soft, feminine giggle from the floor beside him. His eyes turned away from the scene to see a second dragon sitting on the floor beside him, watching the three ponies with some bemused interest in her eyes.
"Mina?" Spike closed the distance between them.
"Spike?" Mina's eyes turned toward him, focusing in on his as a bright smile lit up her face. "Geeze! What are we doing here? Did that weird dog from before do this?"
"That, uh, was a mirror... and yeah, it kind of did." Spike plopped down on his butt beside her, holding himself up with his foreclaws. "How do you feel?"
"I feel totally weird... and this place looks totally weird." Mina put her claws up to her head, her eyes scanning the massive, crystalline chamber around them. "I feel like a whole new me, but... kind of the same me, you know?"
"Yeah, I exactly know..." Spike took a deep breath. "That's... kind of why I wanted to bring you here."
"Huh?" Mina blinked in surprise. "You did?"
"A while ago I was hit by some kind of magic burst that... changed me. It gave me the ability to talk but... I didn't notice until recently it also changed the way I think. When I met you I really wanted to have fun, but I couldn't figure out how."
"Oh, at the park you mean? That does explain it..." Mina blushed. "I was really disappointed you wouldn't play with me."
"You were?"
"Yeah, I thought it would be a lot of fun. You're really cute, but you just wouldn't play back."
Spike sighed. "Geeze... it's even worse than I thought. Maybe I should take Sunset Shimmer up on her offer to take my magic away. At least then I could actually spend time with you."
"Do you really want to do that?"
"No, of course not... I like how I am now."
"Then don't do it for my sake. Just... play with me. And I'll try to keep in mind that you're not like me from now on, okay?"
"Can you do that? I mean, no offense, but er... you don't exactly seem like you... keep... thoughts..."
"I can learn..." Mina lifted one claw and placed it gently over his hand. "And so can you. We can learn about each other, it just... might take a little while."
"Y-yeah..." Spike's smile grew slowly. "So you really want to spend time with the world's most boring dog?"
"If you want to spend time with a mutt."
"I wouldn't rather spend time with any other dog." Spike smiled. Mina leaned forward to lick his cheek, a motion that was a little awkward with her strangely long forked tongue, but Spike could appreciate the sentiment.
"Are you ready to go home?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, these hard things on my body are weird. It's like I can barely feel anything."
"Yeah." Spike glanced over at the ponies. "Let's get out of-" He stopped when he saw them.
Twilight Sparkle's horn was glowing with a soft light as she focused, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. Lemon Zest was covered by a similar glow as she hovered high in the air, her body stretched out with her wings spread to either side. "Are you ready up there?" Twilight asked in a slightly strained voice.
"Let's do this," Lemon Zest replied in a gruff voice. Twilight's head jerked back, then forward with a grunt, sending Lemon's body hurdling across the room like a paper airplane. the winged pony managed to glide across the length of the room, where she was stopped inches from the wall by the second unicorn standing underneath her. "Whew! Let's do that again!"
"You got it." Sunset Shimmer turned her around. "Twilight, catch!" Sunset flung Lemon across the room toward her friend.
Twilight yelped in surprise and ran to intercept her. "I got her!" The winged pony swooped a bit and Twilight's horn glowed, but the glow on the other end came out behind Lemon Zest, and she flew straight into the mirror, plunging through it with a small popping sound. "Oh... oops..."
"We should go make sure she's okay..." Sunset Shimmer bit her lip, and the two ponies raced through the mirror.
Spike looked over at Mina, who looked back, her claw squeezing his slightly. "Let's get out of here, Spike."
"I'm with you." The two dragons lifted themselves up, crawling the short distance to the mirror to emerge into the normal world on the other side.
"Lemon Zest?" Twilight was kneeling beside her friend, who was flat on the pavement face-down. "Are you okay?"
Mina barked and leapt forward enthusiastically, leaping in front of Lemon's face and licking quickly at her cheek. Lemon grunted and twitched, her eyes popping open as one arm swatted the dog away from her face.
"Gah! Mina! Haha, I love you too, but come on, you're gonna drown me!"
"Whew..." Twilight sighed in relief. "You had me worried for a second there."
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Lemon Zest sat up, wiping her face off with the bottom edge of her shirt. "That was awesome, but I think we should get some practice in before we try that again."
"Agreed." Twilight Sparkle giggled.
Sunset watched the two girls giggle together, glancing down at Spike, who had hung back near the mirror with her. "Did you hear what you wanted to hear?"
"Kind of." Spike glanced up at her. "So that's where you're from, right?"
"That's right."
"Did it feel good going back to what you used to be again?"
"Mmm..." Sunset Shimmer pursed her lips in thought. "A little bit, yeah. But I don't know if I'm ready to throw away everything I have now for it."
"Yeah..." Spike glanced at Twilight Sparkle with a soft smile. "I think I know what you mean."
Sunset leaned down to pluck the end of his leash off of the pavement, but she stayed close to leave it slack. She spoke up so the others could hear her. "As long as we're here, let's head over to my place and watch some TV or something."
"Sounds like a blast!" Lemon climbed to her feet and snapped Mina's leash off of the pavement. "Let's go party, little babe!"
Mina barked enthusiastically and turned to pull her toward the statue. Spike chuckled and moved to pace her down the pavement walkway away from the school. She looked just like she had before, with her tail wagging enthusiastically and her tongue lolling out of her panting mouth, but it didn't seem too strange anymore. Especially when she sidled over to walk just a little bit closer to him. It was still hard to see what she was thinking... but he was pretty sure that was a good sign.
"Awwww, I think she likes him even more now." Lemon Zest giggled behind him. Her next comment made his ears raise. "I can't wait to see their puppies!"
