Domesticated Dragon

Domesticated Dragon is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic by Starscribe. Spike has now reached sixteen and is now old enough to work. But when he applies to work at Ponyville's recently constructed power plant, he cannot do so due to his work permit being denied by Mayor Mare. After asking around, he learns more.

It can be read here.

• Awful Truth: After asking Mayor Mare why his work permit was declined, Spike learns that his legal status isn't as a citizen or even a person. He's legally a pet.
• Closest Thing We Got: To allow Spike to live in Ponyville, which restricts residency to citizens, Twilight Sparkle and Mayor Mare classified him as a pet owned by Twilight Sparkle as Equestrian law has no provision for citizenship (or even personhood) for any non-quadrupedal, non-ungulate creature. Twilight mentions that she tried classifying him as a foreign diplomat or even a POW. Neither of those worked as Spike was a child when he arrived, he doesn't actually represent any other country, and no one actually knows how to file for POW status.
• Cruel Twist Ending: The story ends with Spike finally getting his job as a mechanic at the power plant, suggesting that the law that classified him as a pet has been amended and that he now has personhood. It's then revealed that Spike still lacks personhood and is "working" by dint of Loophole Abuse via classifying his workplace as a "pet daycare and grooming facility".
• Deconstruction Fic: The fic deconstructs the common fan belief of Spike being Twilight's Sapient Pet. Sure, Spike is treated well and Twilight loves him like she would a sibling, but he is insulted by the fact she that she doesn't consider him an equal, despite him showing his loyalty to her. It also highlights the other issues that his "pet" classification would cause as he grows up, namely that he cannot be employed and earn a living.
• Loophole Abuse: Mayor Mare pulls this off twice.
  • To allow him to live in Ponyville, he's listed as a pet owned by Twilight Sparkle under the residency records. This partially backfires as pets are not permitted to work.
  • The company successfully manages to employ him by registering their workplace as a pet daycare and grooming facility and the supervisor states that he's not allowed to call the gems that he gives to Spike his paycheck...even if it actually is.
• Sapient Pet: What Spike is classified as under Equestrian law.
• Ungrateful Bastard: How Spike feels about Twilight Sparkle classifying him as a pet even after he sided with the ponies over the dragons.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: What drives the whole story. Spike is clearly sapient, a citizen of Ponyville and is well-liked by the inhabitants. But he's listed as pet under the residency records and is thus not permitted to work. Even worse is that Equestrian law does not consider any non-quadrupedal, non-ungulate creature a person.