Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony, or any references in this fic for that matter.
Another day had risen in the city of Canterlot. Many stories could be told, namely about seven teenage girls and the magic they faced. They had encountered so many trials, gained so much, and learned and bonded to one another. But at their side, with them all the way, was a little dog. A small purple pup, who by a freak chance, had gained the power of speech. This by no means made him smarter, for he was already a smart dog even before he could talk. Now he was able to speak what was on his mind. And a dog's perspective was an interesting delve.
And so, breaking away from the human centric tales, we instead focus on the animal point of view.
"Twilight. I'm heading out." Spike called.
"Okay Spike. Have fun with your doggie friends." the purple skinned girl responded.
Spike froze upon hearing that. "You don't have to call them that, they're just my friends, besides one of them is a cat."
"Aww but I just think it's so cute you have little animal friends you go on adventures with." said Twilight, finding the whole idea just adorable.
Spike shook his head, "We don't go on adventures, we just talk and stuff,"
"Well have fun." Twilight said before going back to whatever she was doing.
Spike walked out the doggy door. As he did, the open air hit him bringing a slight chill that his fur quickly refuted. He looked about keeping a sight for his friends.
"Spike!" he heard a female voice call.
Looking over, he saw a pretty female dog sauntering her way over to him. She was tall, covered in blue fur with white ears. Around her neck she wore a red collar with her name and address on it: Ember.
"Hey Ember." Spike greeted, padding up to her, "Glad you could make it."
"I always enjoy our little get togethers." Ember replied. Despite the age gap between them, he and Ember were close friends. "I see Thorax is late again." she said with slight annoyance.
"It's not his fault, he just lives further away from us." reminded Spike.
"Hi guys! Sorry I'm late." a meek but kind voice called. It belonged to a black furred cat with sea green eyes.
The trio stood together, now united as friends. They were an odd assortment of animals. A puppy, a teenage dog, and a feline. But somehow, fate had bought them together, and now they stood solitary and did what they always did.
"Yep." Thorax said.
"Yep." Ember said.
"Mmm Hmm." Spike said.
The only things missing were cans of beer.
The Adventures of Spike the Dog: Thorax gets rabies.
"You know I saw a bunch of squirrels on my way here." said Thorax, starting up the conversation.
Ember shuddered as she heard that word. "Ugh. I hate squirrels."
"Yeah you said it." concurred Spike.
"What's wrong with squirrels?" asked Thorax.
"You wouldn't get it. It's a dog thing." replied Ember.
Thorax didn't quite understand some of his friend's way of thinking. There was still a lot about the dog world he didn't understand. He wanted to know more, but some aspects he didn't think he would ever fully understand. For example, he didn't understand a canine's fear of a vacuum cleaner.
"I don't know, I mean squirrels don't seem so bad. I think they're really cute." said Thorax.
Spike shot his friend an incredulous look, "Cute? Their furry bundles of pure undiluted evil." Spike snarled.
"Evil?" repeated Thorax.
"You can't trust squirrels," warned Ember, "They're always up to something. Moving about, going from tree to tree."
Just then, they heard a twitter, and looked up a nearby tree to see three squirrels. While Thorax watched curiously, Spike and Ember narrowed their eyes.
"Just look at them up there, plotting. Biding their time for the right moment to strike." Spike growled.
"You know I heard squirrels started that whole rivalry between cats and dogs." said Ember.
Suddenly, Thorax let out a sound that was a combination of a purr and a laugh, "Oh you guys are so silly. Squirrels aren't responsible for that. I mean I'm a cat and you're dogs, and we're friends." Just then, one of the squirrels skittered down and stared at the trio curiously. Both Spike and Ember got on all fours and started to give warning growls, but Thorax, did nothing of the sort. He simply walked over towards the squirrel.
"Thorax!" Spike shouted.
"What are you doing!?" Ember cried.
"Guys don't worry, It's alright. See the cute little guy just wants to be friendly." Before they could warn their feline friend, Thorax was up in the squirrel's face. "Hi there little guy. My name is Thorax, do you want to be friends?" the cat asked cheerfully.
The squirrel looked up at the cat. It tilted it's head, while Thorax did the same. Then, it outstretched it's paw. Thorax grinned and held out his own paw. Surely this was a sign they were bridging the gap between the two races. A binding contract that would unite them.
And then the squirrel leapt up and began to maul Thorax.
"Thorax!" both Spike and Ember shouted.
"GUYS! HELP! OW! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME! OW! I JUST WANTED TO BE FRIENDS!" Thorax yowled as he tried to shake off the angry critter. The maul fest continued for some time before the squirrel broke away from the feline. Thorax scampered over to his friends, his body laden with cuts. "What's wrong with that thing?"
"Told you squirrels are bad news." Spike warned.
The squirrel darted his eyes towards the trio and growled furiously.
"Um it's staring at us." Ember said with a hint of nervousness.
"Don't let it come near me." Thorax whimpered.
"Guys, there's only one thing we can do at a time like this." Spike said seriously. He took one long look at the squirrel, his face determined, but in quick succession, that determination gave way to panic. "Run!" he shouted. The three animals broke out into a run and headed right towards the safest place: Twilight's house. "Go! Go! Into the house! Go!" Spike shouted, ushering each of his friends inside before joining them.
Outside, the squirrel watched this all with eager eyes. When the three animals were out of sight, the rodent relaxed itself and a sly grin played upon it's face. It's job done, it skittered back up the tree, and joined it's brother squirrels.
"Man that was sure scary." Thorax said as he tried to shake off the nasty event.
"Yeah that squirrel was nuts." Ember breathed.
"But why did it do that?" Thorax asked, "I was just being friendly."
"Maybe it had rabies?" Spike considered.
"Rabies?" Thorax repeated.
"You know you could be right Spike. I mean the squirrel acted crazy enough." noted Ember.
A nervous chuckle escaped Thorax as he stared at his cuts, "Come on guys. You're just joking right?"
Spike tried to shake off what Ember said, but he couldn't get rid of that sneaking suspicion. "I better go get Twilight, she'll know what to do."
As Spike left, Thorax couldn't help but ponder his fate. Did he have rabies? Or was it just speculation? No one knew. Spike told Twilight of what had transpired, and being responsible, she called Thorax's owner. Eventually, everyone present gathered around the computer.
"Well Thorax's owner is going to talk with some doctors." Twilight assured.
"Thanks Twilight. Do you really think Thorax has rabies?" asked Spike.
"It's hard to say, without the squirrel we can't test it, but just to be on the safe side, they're going to give him some shots to eliminate the possibility he has rabies."
Hearing that, Thorax's tail shot straight up, and he nervously asked, "D-D-Did she say shot?"
"Hey don't worry, I get shots all the time they're nothing." reassured Ember."
"Yeah and they make you healthy." Spike piped up.
Yet, Thorax was still uncertain. The very thought of that pointy needle penetrating his skin and injecting him with whatever liquid it contained; the very thought made him shudder. "Um Spike? Could you ask your owner if it's possible for someone to live their life with rabies?"
"What?" asked Spike.
"I mean if I do have rabies it-it probably won't be so bad." Thorax said trying to reassure himself.
Spike shrugged and turned to Twilight, "Hey Twilight, Thorax wants to know if he can live a normal life with rabies?"
"Let me check." Twilight said looking up information on the computer. After some scrolling, she came to her answer. "No."
Hearing that made Thorax shrink with fear.
The doctors soon came by. All of them in white suits. Thorax was brought to them, his feline senses going wild.
"Don't worry Thorax, this will be over soon and you'll be fine." reassured Spike.
Thorax listened to Spike's words, but unable to shake his nervousness.
"It's alright. Good kitty." said one of the doctors.
In his head, Thorax attempted to calm himself, "It's going to be alright. You're going to be fine. Think back to your kitten days." he recalled nostalgically. "Drinking mom's milk. Your brother making you hit yourself...wait, that's not a good memory."
The doctor reached for the needle. Thorax looked up watching it all the while. His heartbeat began to palpitate against his chest. His eyes grew wide, darting around nervously. His fear continued to grow and grow, until at last, he couldn't hold it in anymore. In a sudden rush, Thorax let out a tremendous yowl and bolted from his spot. Spike and Ember watched in panic as their friend ran and darted across the yard.
"Thorax!" Ember called.
"Come back!" Spike shouted.
But it was too late. Thorax was far out of sight. Both Ember and Spike looked on in shock at what had happened.
"This is bad." Spike said.
"Yeah who knows what could happen to him out there?" Ember feared.
The rest of the day went by in a blur. Panic was all about on both sides of the parties: human and animal. Thorax's owner was worried sick, while Spike and Ember were worried for their friend. Meanwhile, Thorax ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran all the way, and when couldn't anymore, he found himself in the forest.
"Okay...I'm here..." Thorax breathed tirelessly. "No shots for me. Yeah. I'll just survive here, live with my rabies, and try to live in happiness." upon saying that, Thorax brightened up immensely. "Yeah, I mean this place isn't so bad. Plenty of room, plenty to eat." sure enough, there was a mushroom, a mushroom that Thorax took a bite out of. "Mmm good." he said before going back to eat.
And so, this went on for three days. Three long days of worry, waiting and searching. With the sound of a staple came another poster. Upon it, was a colored image of Thorax, looking very happy. Below it were printed in bold letters MISSING. Then in smaller print came the words Warning, may be rabid.
"This is bad." Spike lamented.
"Yeah. I mean Thorax has been missing for days. And he's not really an outside cat." Ember concurred.
"Why didn't he just let them give him the shot?" wondered Spike.
"Well you know how he is. Remember when he saw the movie Cat's Eye? After that he was worried a troll was sneaking in at night to kill his owner." reminded Ember.
Spike was more worried than ever. Dogs were different, they were wild and able to take on what was thrown at them. But Thorax was different. Though cats could be fierce, Thorax was really more of the gentle sort. Being out in the wild would destroy him.
"Well maybe he'll be fine. I mean he's smart and you know what they say about animal instincts." Spike said hopefully.
All Spike and Ember could do was hope for the best for their friend. And that's what they did. Needless to say, Thorax was having a more difficult time than they could initially believe. In the forest he lay, his fur matted and ruffled. Next to him, a small stack of sticks lay, hung up like a tent. In Thorax's paw, he held a pinecone, and in the other he held a mushroom. Taking the mushroom, he popped it into his mouth and swallowed. Then taking the pinecone, he spoke into it.
"Feline survival update. I have been drinking dew from the forest leaves and eating moss and mushrooms, mostly mushrooms. I fear my rabies has taken a turn for the worst. When I close my eyes I see colorful characters chasing geometric shapes in a dark infinite limbo. I have stopped closing my eyes," Thorax's eyes held red veins within them. "I fear I am going mad!" the cat finished triumphantly. Suddenly, his makeshift shelter collapsed, "Note to self, need to rebuild shelter." Then he looked at his pinecone, "And a real tape recorder." And then in that instant, he threw the pinecone away. Then shrinking down, he said, "And my mousy toy." he then ate another mushroom.
That night, Spike sat on the carpet, brooding. He let out a pitiful whine, a whine that Twilight quickly noticed.
"You're worried about your friend Thorax aren't' you?" Twilight asked.
Spike let out a sigh, "He's out there all alone, he's one of my best non human friends."
Twilight reached down and pet her dog behind the ears. "It's sweet that you're worried about you friend. Tell you what. Tomorrow morning we'll look for him."
Spike reached up to lick his owner's hand. "Thanks Twilight. You're the best."
Both owner and pet smiled at one another. Then, they heard a loud crash from the outside. Both looked at one another, then carefully got up, and cautiously stepped towards the door. Opening the door, they stepped into the night. There at the curb lay a trashcan turned over. They walked over to it, still remaining cautious all the way. They rounded the corner, ready to face anything. They figured it was probably a raccoon, but to their surprise it wasn't.
"Thorax?" said Spike.
Sure enough, there was the cat. He looked absolutely wild. As soon as he heard his name, he looked to the pair and gave a menacing hiss. Twilight backed away, while Spike stood firm.
"Thorax! You need a shot!" he called, hoping to convince his friend.
However, Thorax would have none of it. He gave a loud yowl and then in an instant, darted down the street, yowling all the way.
The night passed just as quickly and the morning soon rose. Ember had come over, and was told of what had transpired. She currently sniffed at the trashcan, her and Spike.
"Okay. I got his scent." announced Ember.
Spike raised his head up after he was done sniffing, "Me too. Hey Twilight we're ready."
Twilight walked up to Spike and Ember, in her hand a bag and a stick. "Got everything here."
"Okay. So we know the plan, we find Thorax, put him in the bag, and then bring him to a doctor to get a shot."
Both Ember and Twilight nodded and they went off to find the cat, the dog's noses leading them all the way. They walked throughout the city, looking like quite the sight, but they soon found their way towards the one location their noses lead them: the forest.
"So Thorax is here?" asked Spike.
"This is where our noses led us." said Ember.
They stopped at a trail, going in opposite directions. "Maybe we should split up? You know? Cover more ground." suggested Twilight.
"Good idea Twilight, me and Ember will go this way." said Spike.
The trio split off, Twilight going off in one direction, and the two dogs going off in the other.
"So he just yowled at you and ran off? asked Ember.
"Yeah he was like a wild animal." answered Spike, "I'm really scared for him."
"Don't worry, we'll find him and bring him back." reassured Ember.
As they walked further along, they noted how silent the forest was. As they walked further along, they noticed something at their side. Several sticks were situated in the ground. But what got their attention were the fact the sticks has various small animals and mushrooms impaled.
"What the?" Spike said aloud.
Ember raised one of her eyes. "Okay, this is pretty creepy." she stated bluntly.
They suddenly came to a stop, right at a tree. At it was another stuck with a mushroom impaled. Looking to Ember, he shrugged and reached out to touch the mushroom. Suddenly, there came a great cry. It was loud and piercing, breaking through the barriers of sound. Spike turned around but barely had enough time to see before something hit him in the back of the head, knocking him headfirst into the tree. As soon as Spike hit it, his mind went blank.
"Spike!" cried Ember.
She turned around and to her shock, she saw Thorax. The cat hissed and furiously raised his tail and fur. Ember backed away fearfully, afraid of what the cat might do.
Spike's head felt heavy. Everything was a blur and the sounds were distant. Yet, soon the blackness cleared, and he slowly opened his eyes with a groan.
"Spike!" he heard Ember call.
Looking around, he saw the forest, the sticks, and sure enough there was a stream. One where Thorax was drinking from. Then he noticed Ember's eyes looking into him.
"Ember?" he asked, "Is that you?"
"Oh thank goodness you're okay...Look whatever you do, don't look him in the eyes, it makes him start howling." warned Ember.
Just then Thorax looked up from the stream and darted over towards the pair. "Ha! Thought you could sneak up on me? Well so did he!" Thorax said menacingly, pointing at an impaled frog.
Spike just stared with wide eyes. Then mustering up his courage, he decided to speak. "Hey Thorax. Hey buddy. How's it going?" But Thorax was having none of it. He hissed, clawing at the air. "Look Thorax, we weren't sneaking up on you, we just wanted to help you. You know? Get you a shot."
"No shots!" shouted Thorax.
"Look Thorax we just want to help you and-" Ember began.
"Enough!" Thorax's voice cut in, "You all think you can come in here and fill me with your lies and tricks? Well what I want to know is how you can talk with all those bugs squiggling in and out of your mouths!" Thorax finished by taking a mushroom and eating it.
"I think you're eating the wrong kind of mushrooms Thorax." warned Ember.
"These mushrooms are keeping me alive!" snarled Thorax, "Now what to do with you? Oh I've got plans, yes plans indeed." Thorax's face grew firm and bore holes into Ember, "Ember!" Ember stood straight up as her name was called. "I've chosen you as part of my plan. You see, I will drain you of your clean blood and swap it out with my rabid blood, thereby curing me and giving me your knowledge of how to chase cars and how to drag my butt across the carpet."
Ember widened her eyes and stared at Thorax like he was crazy. "Uh huh." she said nervously. Then reaching down to Spike she whispered, "Spike. We need to get the hell out of here. I think it's sage to say Thorax is a little far gone."
"No!" Spike rasped back, "He's our friend. We can't just leave him."
As much as Spike wanted to save his friend, how was another story. They needed an opening, a chance to get him to the shot. But he didn't see a chance. Then, far ahead, he saw it. There was Twilight, standing there with bag in hand. She looked curiously over at the scene transpiring. Spike's eyes widened and in that instant, he got an idea.
"Okay, Thorax, from what I understand, your plan is to swap out Ember's clean blood with your rabid blood right?" asked Spike.
"Who told you my plan!?" demanded Thorax.
Spike narrowed his eyes and replied, "You just told us." Thorax's face still remained firm as he stared and listened to the dog's words. "Now there's just one problem with that. You can't stand the sight of blood, and there is going to be a lot of blood."
The cat's eyes rose up in realization. "Oh hey you're right."
"Yeah. So why don't you just look away, close your eyes, and I'll get right down to draining the blood for you." reasoned Spike.
Thorax did just that, turning around, with a squeamish groan.
Ember looked curiously at the scene, and asked Spike, "What are you doing?"
"Play along." whispered Spike.
With Thorax looking away, Spike signaled for Twilight to come. Quickly, Ember got the idea. Spike let out a small play growl and began to nibble at Ember's leg. It wasn't hard, nor did it break the skin, but Ember knew this plan had to work.
"Oh ow. Okay, wow. Ew that's a lot of blood. It's coming." she said. Though her voice was unconvincing, it was working on Thorax, who still turned away. Twilight took this chance and advanced forward carefully. She drew closer and closer, and all would seem well, but there was just one problem.
"Wait a minute." Thorax said. Turning back, he hit a realization. "You've never cried out in pain a day in your life." he said to Ember.
Dumbfounded looks crossed Ember and Spike's faces. "Uh..."
With a hiss, Thorax got on all fours and approached the canine pair. "That's what I get for trusting you!" snarled Thorax.
Ember and Spike tried to back up, but there was no place to go, "Okay Thorax we-we s-shouldn't have tricked you." stammered Ember.
The moment was now. It was time to strike. "Twilight now!" called Spike.
Confusion briefly etched on Thorax's face, and he turned around to notice the human coming his way. Yowling, Thorax ran off, causing the dogs and human girl to chase him. The chase went around and around, before coming to a stop right at the tree.
"All right Thorax! There's nowhere to run! Just get in the bag so we can give you the shot!" said Spike.
"Never!" declared Thorax. "You think you can trap me!? You'll never take me alive!" Thorax looked furiously at the trio. His stance indicated he was about to strike and the two dogs prepared themselves for a fight. Yet, that wasn't necessary, for in that instant, Thorax let out a whimper and turned and ran right up the tree.
"Thorax come down! You're making this more difficult then this has to be!" Ember called up the tree.
Upon his branch perch, Thorax glared down furiously and hissed, "It's not over yet! Now it's time to make my getaway! So long suckers!" Thorax started to make bird calls. Or at least as best as a cat could. Raising up his front legs, he flapped them as if he had wings preparing for takeoff. And then, he leapt off the branch, and fell flat on his face.
Spike, Ember, and Twilight, watched dumbfounded as Thorax still flapped his front legs and gave out a pained, "Ow."
With Thorax incapacitated, Twilight was able to safely put him in the bag and returned him to Thorax's owner. There the doctors were called, and after some testing, it was discovered that Thorax didn't have rabies. Nonetheless, they gave him a shot, just to add some extra immunization. Needless to say, Spike and Ember were greatly relieved.
"Man I'm sure glad Thorax is okay." sighed Spike.
"Yeah though it got kind of freaky." added Ember.
"Hey guys." said Thorax as he padded up to his friends.
"How you feeling Thorax?" asked Spike.
Thorax looked at the ground, pawing at it. "I'm fine. They gave me the shot, and I'm just relieved I didn't have rabies. Though I still got some of the mushrooms in my system."
"Yeah who knew they would affect you so much." said Ember.
"Guys, I just wanted to apologize how I acted. I guess I got so scared and then the mushrooms, and I guess I just acted crazy." apologized Thorax.
"Hey it's all good buddy." reassured Spike.
"We're just glad you're okay." concurred Ember.
The cat grinned, happy to have these two canines for his best friends. As they began to chat, little did they know they were being watched by several pairs of eyes. Above on a branch, three squirrels chittered away.
"So I see the feline has regained himself." said one squirrel.
"Yes, but his mind did break momentarily." reminded another.
"Still, our plan failed." the third squirrel said.
"Shall we continue?"
"Yes, first we break down the canines and felines, and with them out of the way, we move onto the the humans."
"Indeed, but first, let's grab some nuts."
"Oh I love nuts."
And the three squirrels scampered away. Off to make their plans and fill themselves with nutty goodness.
The end?
Author's Note
A/N Okay, this is the first of the my possibly last two My Little Pony stories. This was based off an old King of the Hill episode, one of my favorites. Now I don't know if Ember's human world counterpart would be a dog, but I've seen pictures of dog Ember before and thought it would be cute. As for Thorax being a cat, I heard someone mention it before and decided to roll with it. Besides, I had to find some way for the three of them to hang out. This story was done for comedic purposes so I just hope you enjoy it.
