Long ago, in a time few can remember, there lived a brilliant unicorn named Star Swirl, the Bearded. Known for his miraculous and revolutionary magical feats, he has been remembered throughout the ages. However, many things about him remain shrouded in mystery, even to the most dedicated of scholars. And through these mysteries, many legends have been born.

One such legend tells of a great portal designed by the ancient wizard, a gateway through which travel to other worlds, strange alien places unlike anything known to the eyes of any being of Equus, was possible. Some details are thought to be true, as many legends are. However, there are many debates as too what details are true or not. Some say he only built one portal, while others argue that he built many for many different worlds. Some say the gateways were destroyed for being too dangerous, while others say that they still remain to this day, locked away, waiting to be found. Nopony is sure what is true and what is legend.

All that is known is this: many of these worlds were not meant for the eyes of mortal ponies and are better off lost to time.

Twilight Sparkle let out a groan, the passage giving her no new information to help her in her latest research project: discovering the secrets behind the mysterious gateway mirror that had been sent into her care. She was desperate to find out the answers to so many questions that this strange artifact brought up. Where did it come from? Did Star Swirl truly create this? Where does it lead? When does it open? Does it even still work? All of these questions and more where left unanswered.

Research had gotten her nowhere. Celestia, while knowing many things about the portals, was almost as in the dark as she was about it, as Star Swirl hadn't shared all of the details with her. There was a vague hope in the form of Star Swirl's own journal, but it seemed that he had written much of it in a code of some sort to ensure nopony would steal his work. Twilight had been working diligently to crack the code, yet much of it seemed to consist of nonsense letters and gibberish. She had no basis to work off of, and trying to understand any of it was one big migraine waiting to happen. With another, more frustrated groan, she slammed the book close before throwing it at the mirror. As the tome bounced off and landed on the ground with a dull thud, she winced in regret before rising to fetch it. After checking to make sure she hadn't damaged it, she went to return it to its proper place with a tired sigh.

"Sorry about that... I didn't mean to take it out on y-... Oh, sweet Celestia, I'm talking to a book." Her hoof met her face as she shook her head wearily. "I need a break..."

Just then, the angelic scent of a relaxing pot of tea wafted in as Spike arrived, just in time to give her a well needed respite. Her loyal assistant dutifully brought over the trolley with Twilight's lunch.

"Okay Twilight! Lunch is here, and I made your favorite! I-... woah. Are you okay, Twi?" Spike gave her a worried look as he stepped away from the cart. "It looks like you need to take a break from this. You're working yourself too hard again. I-"

Twilight raised a hoof, gently silencing him. "I know Spike. I'm going to take a break. My mind... I need some rest. Thank you though." She gave him a tired, but loving smile.

"I don't know what I'd do without you." She truly meant it, too. Over their many years together, he had always stuck by her side. Even now, as he began to truly show the signs of aging through a dragon's long lifespan, he stuck with her just as eagerly as he did back when she had barely begun her studies.

"Now then," she continued as she trotted over to pick up her lunch. "I think I need some fresh air. Care to join me on the balcony for lunch?"

Spike calmly shook his head. "No thanks Twi. I already ate. You go on ahead, relax. I'll clean up in here so that everything's ready for you when you want to work again." He gave her an eager grin, to which her smile grew.

"Thank you, Spike." She pulled him close and gave a brief, motherly kiss to his forehead. "Don't work too hard on my account though. When you're done, I want you to take some time off too. I really am grateful for all you do for me." She smiled as she trotted away, her lunch in tow.

The young dragon smiled after her before turning to start on his work, tidying up all the books and notes she'd left strewn about. "That mare, she works way too hard sometimes... still, it's nice to see she's learning to take it easy." He chuckled as he kept picking up after her. He was truly glad she'd been sticking to the promise he'd made her take on his eighteenth birthday last year. All he'd asked for from her was to take a break and not push herself quite so hard every now and then.

Shaking himself out of his memories, he kept at his work, cleaning and organizing around the room, making sure everything went in its proper place. Then, as he worked, his tail bumped against something. He turned to find himself standing right next to the frame of the mirror. He hadn't been paying it much mind, but now it commanded his full attention.

The supposed gateway was tall, menacing almost. It shared a similar design shape-wise to the portal he and Twilight had used to travel to Canterlot High. However, while that mirror had been pleasant pastel shades of purple and blue, this one was much darker. The frame seemed to be made of pure obsidian, with spiraling designs of gold laced into it from the base to the dark purple amethyst gem stuck into the top of the frame. The glass was tinted a dark tone, his reflection looking almost smudged out in it. It was this ominous appearance that made the Princesses question as to whether or not Star Swirl had truly created it, as its aesthetics were more in line with what somepony like Sombra would create.

Spike shook his head with a brief shudder. He had no reason to worry over this mirror. It wasn't open, for all they knew it was never a gateway at all! He had no reason to focus on it. And thus he returned to cleaning... not noticing the gem in the frame briefly flash. And then again. And then again, before suddenly it began to glow dimly, letting out a brief humming sound as magic began to flow into it from the surroundings atmosphere. It was then that Spike turned to see it, as suddenly the light and warmth seemed to slowly be drained from the room. His eyes widened in fear as the glass began to shimmer slightly. However, instead of following his instincts to run, something took hold of him. He found himself slowly marching towards the opening gateway. He had to touch it. He didn't want to, he wanted to run, but he couldn't fight the urge. His body marched forward on its own, his mind screaming in panic as he sluggishly reached up to touch the glass.

The moment his claw made contact, he found himself back in control. But it was too late. He was being dragged in now, his body being pulled into the surface of the portal as he screamed out in agony. It burned, the magic of the gateway burned him as it dragged him through, forcing him out of his world, out of his home. He was terrified, and just before he was pulled all the way through, just before he blacked out from the sheer pain and terror, he heard the voice of the pony he cared about more than anything shout out to him.

And then there was nothing.

Spike awoke to find himself lying face first in the dirt. Everything hurt, he was confused and dizzy, and he didn't know how long he'd been out. He struggled to rise, only to find himself in an extremely unfamiliar form. Everything felt different, yet somehow similar. Before he could explore more of his new form, he heard an echoed, distant sounding voice, something familiar, coming from nearby. He turned to see the mirror standing before him, gem lightly glowing.

"Spi...an yo...ar me?

Spike brought himself closer. "What? Twilight is that you? I can't hear you very well!"

"Spi... pike... Spike?" Her voice suddenly rang out clear, yet it still sounded distant.

"Twilight! Oh thank Celestia! You've got to get me out of here!" Spike pressed his hands against the mirror, only to find the glass to be cold and solid once again.

"I... I'm sorry Spike. I can't. The portal won't open for anyone..."

"What?! But-" Before Spike could panic, Twilight broke through to explain herself.

"While we were working on trying to make a connection, I figured out how to break Star Swirl's code. He talks about this gateway in his journal. Apparently, the magic of this world... it corrupted the mirror to fit its own purpose. It chooses someone from our world and drags them away to the one on the other side. They... they're forced to stay there for... for a full year. I'm... I'm sorry Spike... We've tried everything, but the magic of this other world is too great for us to force it open. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry."

Spike sat, stunned and silent. He was trapped in this place, this place that was evidently so evil it corrupted Star Swirl's own magic into its own. He was stuck here for a year. Stuck away from his home, from his friends...

"Spike."

He looked up, having heard the voice of Applejack on the other side.

"I know this is rough on you little fella, but ya got to push through. We know you can make it if you try!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash interjected. "Go out there and kick that world's sorry butt! Show them that you don't mess with Equestria! We believe in you Spike!"

"I know you'll be safe darling," said Rarity in a worried tone. "I know you'll come back to us safely."

"And we'll be waiting for you when you get back! And when you do get out of that nasty evil place, we'll throw you the biggest Welcome Home party you've ever seen!" That was Pinkie, of course.

"I... I believe in you too," Fluttershy insisted in her barely audible tone.

Spike smiled, his spirit lifted by the voices of all of his friends. "You girls... thank you... I swear, dragon's honor, that I will make it back to you guys!" He smacked his arm across his chest in a salute as his face grew into a confident grin.

"Spike! I love you and I'll miss you! Never forget! We'll be waiting for you! I'm sorry, but the spell is fa...ing. Goo...uck..." Twilight's voice began to fade. All of his friends began to cheer him on in unison, and though he couldn't understand the words, he could still feel the love and hope behind them. He sat there until the voices faded completely, and the gem stopped shining.

"I promise... I'll make it back home... somehow..."

After a moment of silence, Spike took a deep breath. Now was not the time for sadness. Now was the time to prepare. He had to survive here for a full year? Then he had to make plans immediately. He had no idea what to expect. So he knew he had to learn quickly.

The first thing he did was examine his new form. Oddly enough, it was extremely familiar. He looked almost exactly like his old self. Only... bigger... physically older. The best way he could describe it was a mixture of his older, greed growth form and one of the strange bipeds from Canterlot High. He was tall, somewhat taller than the mirror's frame oddly enough. He felt strong, feeling the muscles bunched up beneath his scales. As he lifted his arm to flex in front of the mirror, he couldn't help but smirk.

"Lookin'... good, Spike. Lookin' real good." He couldn't help but chuckle. There was something good looking about him. He was tall, well-muscled, yet slim. Not exactly the dashing hero he'd always imagined he'd grow up to be, but still, he found himself greatly admiring his new, older looking form. He felt the same amount of power he did when he'd been unnaturally aged by his greed, only this time he was in control. If he had to guess, he'd say that his physical form was made to match his mental, actual age, meaning perhaps here he didn't have the same dragon life cycle he did in Equestria. He looked at his back in the mirror. No wings still, which he found disappointing but not surprising, and his tail was a lot longer, which would take some getting used to.

After experimenting with moving around some more, which he easily adjusted to since all that had really changed was his stature, he began to examine his surroundings. He seemed to be in a small cave housing the portal. Thick natural stone walls surrounded him, with one lone opening leading upwards on the opposite end. Off to the side, he saw a small spring of water He found himself seeing fairly clearly despite there being no visible light source. Maybe his new form had some sort of magic night vision?

He tested the water of the spring and found it tasted fresh and clear. Then he scraped at the wall, not having to dig long before he struck gems! Low quality ones, but he wasn't a picky eater. He quickly at his fill of them before sitting down next to the spring. His body still ached from the transformation. And as he sat, he felt a peculiar ache down below. Right between his legs.

He knew what was down there, he'd read some books on dragon anatomy in his spare time in the past and knew about how his genitalia worked. However... he had never felt anything like this down there. He could take a guess at what this suddenly, strangely pleasant feeling was though... something he'd been curious about for a long time. He'd never done it, having been saving himself for when the time was right.

Spike reached down tentatively, rubbing his had against his smooth groin, gently stroking until slowly, his erect cock slipping out. He recalled reading that members of his species had two, though it seemed he only had one. Whether that was the result of his breed or his transformation, he didn't know, nor did he particularly care at the moment. Instead, he stared in fascination at his impressive cock. It slid out from a sheath in his scales. His hands gently ran over it, feeling the thick, round knot at the base, the ribbed texture running up its length, the pointed, flared tip. Biting his lip to hold back a moan, he began to experimentally stroke it, trying to get relief. It felt amazing as he began to jerk himself off for the first time.

He let out a quiet moan as his hand brushed past the head again, leaning back with his eyes closed, letting his hand do the work as his mind wandered to lewd places. Thoughts of returning home to his friends began to change. Rarity, that beautiful gem... Rainbow Dash and AJ with those firm hips... and Twilight...

"Oh Spike! I'm so glad to see you again! It's been so long! And look how much you've grown..." Twilight came close to Spike, kissing him on the lips in a way that quickly turned from motherly to something much more. She pulls back with bedroom eyes, a playful smirk on her face. "I think it's time I reward my most faithful assistant in a way he truly deserves." He grinned and sat back, cock already out as she leaned down to lick him, moaning hungrily. His other friends gathered around, gazing at him in the same way, hips swaying as they made their way over to pleasure him and show how much they loved him. He felt Twilight take his entire cock in her mouth, and as she bobbed her head, he grabbed it and shoved it down, reveling in her overjoyed squeals of pure lust, blowing his load down her throat!

With a surprised gasp, Spike came in real life, letting out a hot stream of draconic cum onto the floor of the cavern. He had never felt such pleasure. It had been simply mind blowing, causing him to slump back with a relaxed sigh as he felt his cock slide back inside. After a moment, he rose and began to wash himself off in the spring, when a thought struck him.

"What... what in Celestia's name was I thinking about?! Twilight..." He was aghast at what his mind had come up with in his state of pleasure. Where these his own thoughts, or was this place messing with his mind?

He looked down at the drying cum, and remembered the scene that had played out in his head... the scene of his friends pleasuring him like mindless sex slaves... the sight of his own mother-figure sucking on his cock...

"Oh... oh Celestia..." He placed his head in his hands as dread over took him. He quietly began to sob at the realization that his very thoughts might not be safe in this strange new world... and he had to wonder and worry... how long before this place corrupted him as it did Star Swirl's magic mirror?

Could he really survive a year? Frankly, he was afraid to find out.

Author's Note

So! That's the start to a fun new adventure! Glad I could get this started, honestly I had some trouble getting back into the flow of writing, but dear god did it feel good to get this up and running!