Cavern City's local weapon shop honestly wasn't very well stocked. The bats didn't have much use for weaponry, and didn't mine any metals to refine to make weapons. Instead, they just collected and sold any weapons they managed to find or sell from the surface in their raids. Thus, there wasn't a large selection for Spike to choose from. Rusted and bent blades filled up most of the display, and the few weapons that did look to be in good condition didn't look like they'd suit him at all. He wanted a nice short sword, something fast yet strong, like him. None of these weapons seemed to call to him at all. With a grunt, he put away the warhammer he'd been looking at. He wasn't getting anywhere here. As he turned to leave, however, the shopkeep stopped him.

"Wait, Sir Dragon! I have something here that might help you!" she said, pulling something out from beneath her counter. She sat down a golden sword hilt with a slot to insert a gemstone, in a vaguely familiar shape. "This relic was found in a large cache of fire rubies. We think it's magic of some kind. I've been holding on to it, waiting for someone who might be strong enough to unleash its full potential. Maybe you're the one. For 100 gems, I'll give it to you along with a bag of fire rubies it was found with!"

Spike raised an eyebrow. Frankly, it sounded like a scam. Still though... looking at that blade hilt, it seemed to call to him. It felt like he needed it. This feeling... it was the same that he'd felt when he'd started indulging in fire rubies. He'd learned to trust this feeling. With that in mind, he dug through his money bag and found he had just enough gems to afford it. He paid his dues and took the hilt and the rubies, stuffing them into his free pockets. With that, he took his leave, heading to the training grounds.

Holding the bladeless sword in his hands, Spike let out a sigh. He'd been examining the thing for over an hour, and nothing had come of it. He hadn't discovered anything. He felt like it had some magic in it, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Rubbing his forehead with a groan, he sat the hilt down and turned to the fire rubies. Before he'd help himself to them, he wanted to try something. He stood and faced the straw targets he'd set up, and started to dance, shaking his hips to his mystic beat until it came time to let loose and blast out the built up flame. The target was ignited, just as he'd thought.

Once he'd rested a bit, he turned to another target, taking a deep breath to build up his other fire source. With a mighty roar, he let loose a massive plume of green fire, incinerating the target to ash immediately. This confirmed what he'd been thinking. His breath fire was stronger than the fire his dancing made. However, it also left him open to attack and tired him out. If only he could get his dancing flames stronger too...

He grabbed up a fire ruby and ate it. Maybe eating more would increase his power further. Instead, he felt something... strange. His scales began to smooth out and fade in certain places, a strange and alien feeling for him. Quickly locating a mirror, he gasped to find himself staring at a tan, human female face. He still retained her fangs and slit pupils, but as he looked over his body, it seemed that only his arms and legs retained their scales, like a strange set of gloves and boots. His face, breasts, and ass were all smooth and soft, and tanned as if by the desert's heat. He... he didn't want this. For the first time since he'd arrived here, he didn't feel like a dragon. It honestly upset him. For the first time in a long while, it felt like he was losing what made him who he was.

Spike sat down, his cheek resting in the palm of his claw. He realized he'd grown too addicted to the fire rubies. He was losing himself to them. Sure, the power was great. And his body was beautiful. But he was going too far. He wasn't truly a dragon any more, and that was the one thing he'd always taken pride in. He didn't mind the loss of gender, he'd never cared about it. But the loss of his species, his identity? That was going too far. He couldn't rightly call himself Spike the Dragon anymore...

"What am I doing?" he asked himself in his new, exotically feminine tone. "Am I really going to let myself change so much?"

He fell onto his back with a sigh, not knowing what to do. Then, he turned to look at the bag of the remaining fire rubies. He took one out and stared up at it angrily. He was done with these. In his frustration, he blew a small plume of green flame at it. However, he found himself entranced at what he saw happen.

The green flames danced around the ruby before absorbing into it. The ruby flashed hot white briefly before turning green. A green fire ruby? Or... a fire emerald now? Enthralled by the fact the ruby had taken his magic into it, he ate it out of pure stupor and curiosity. Immediately he felt a rush of power. But this time... it felt familiar. A mixture of his true nature and the power of the fire ruby. He moaned out as his body pulsed with pleasure all of a sudden. When the feelings subsided, he looked at himself once more.

His scales had come back in, and began to return to their natural purple color. His snout had even extended once more. He felt even more powerful, and as he looked down, he saw that his cock had grown too big for its sheath, and now permanently hung out for all to see. He felt his head, and found that the bat ears he'd gained had returned to his old frills. And even better, he'd grown horns. Small ones, but still, a pair of horns curling back off of his head.

He'd found a way to compromise with the fire rubies. He could still gain their power, but now they were even stronger, and had his draconic nature instilled into them. Eager, he blew fire onto the remaining three, and ate two. He grew in strength and size, hands groping at himself as his curves and cock expanded. His hair turned into a vibrant emerald color, matching his flaming breath. His wings and tail grew stronger, and his horns lengthened out nicely. His face returned to a perfect dragon muzzle, and a smile played his lips as he looked over his new amazonian body. He looked so much like his old self... but better. So much better. This. This was what he'd truly wanted. Every inch of his body felt like it had been sculpted to perfection. Now, now he felt worthy of being called Spike the Dragon.

He looked down at the last fire emerald. He brought it up to his lips to take the final bite, but then a thought occurred to him. He looked to the discarded sword hilt, then lifted it up to examine the slot. Now he saw it; it was meant to hold a fire ruby in the handle. He smiled as he looked at the gem in his hand.

"Let's see how you like something a bit more powerful..."

He stuck the gemstone into its slot, fitting it in perfectly. Suddenly, the hilt glowed brightly before a plume of emerald flame burst forth from it in the shape of a sword blade. He wielded it, and it felt like it had been made for him. He took a few practice swipes with it, then attacked his targets, watching as they cleaved and crumpled at his powerful, rapid strikes. He'd finally found a weapon worthy of him.

Putting it away, he grinned to himself. Things had turned in his favor it seemed. And now, he was going to go back down and show those golems who the boss around these caves was...

Spike stomped his foot down in a dramatic pose as he stood before a crystal golem he'd found wandering the caverns. It turned to face him before quickly advancing towards him. This one seemed more blocky than the other one; perhaps it was male? Regardless, Spike sprinted forward before vaulting over the golem, knocking it over in the process. It let out a metallic grunt as it crashed down with a resounding thud, but quickly lifted itself up. It jabbed its spiked arm at him, but he quickly parried with his new sword before countering with a quick blow to the head. The golem stumbled back, then charged with a roar, only for Spike to sidestep it and slash at its exposed back. The golem fell, and soon shattered, leaving only its heart. He proudly collected his trophy. He knew he could beat them now.

Suddenly, the sound of thudding footsteps echoed out through the caves as another shining being stepped into view. This golem was smoother, looking almost mannequin-like. A pure crystal humanoid with no features to it, just smooth crystal. This one was clearly female by the subtle curves of its body.

The smoother golem seemed to glare at him, and he noticed a shining light on her 'face,' almost like a giant eye. She raised her hand to point at him accusingly as an aggressively feminine groan echoed from within her. Spike took on a fighting stance as she did the same, and before he'd even had a chance to collect himself from the last fight, he found himself charging towards the new golem as she did the same.

They struck one another, both frozen in place momentarily from the force of impact before breaking apart. This new variety was notably stronger than the other kind he'd fought, and faster too. Her movements were precise and sure, and as her fist flew at him and connected with his chest, sending him flying into the far wall, he knew he'd be in for a fight.

He pulled himself out and lunged out of the way as she leaped forward, smashing into the wall he'd just hit. As she pulled herself out, he slashed at her, wincing slightly at the echoing howl of pain she made. She slapped him away before changing her hands into the same spikes her rougher cousins had used, only these looked much more lethal from their smooth shape. She charged forward, and as he rolled out of the way he watched as the needled arm pierced through the solid stone floor. She turned to look at him as she effortlessly pulled her arm out.

Spike, knowing he'd have to change strategy, began to dance, swiftly moving to magical beat of his inner flame as it commanded his every footstep, leading him out of each of her attempted blows. With each shake of his hips, he dodged her gracefully, and it sounded as though she were growing frustrated with her lack of success. As she smashed the floor to grab a boulder to try and hurl at him, he unleashed the climax of his dance. A massive burst of green flame erupted from his hands, and he listened to her scream as she was engulfed. When the flames cleared, she was laying on the ground, seemingly cold and lifeless, the light on her face gone.

He went over to her side, only for her to jerk to life again. However, instead of attacking, she rose and stood before him like a statue. He wasn't quite sure how to take this, but... he got an idea of what was intended here.

"Sit down," he commanded to her, going off of a hunch. Sure enough, she obeyed, dropping down to the ground into a sitting position. "Spread your legs." She did so, and Spike was disappointed to find a smooth, featureless crotch. "Oh, fuck me..."

However, his off hand remarks seemed to register as a command for her. She rose and advanced on him, pressing her cold body against his in a strangely passionate way. Her hands ran over his cock, rubbing it into erection before guiding him on top of her on the ground. She led his cock towards her groin, and as she pressed it against her, it somehow phased inside. The feeling made Spike gasp out as his cock was massaged by what felt like pure magic, every inch of it squeezed perfectly as he began to thrust into her eagerly. She laid there, taking it without protest, occasionally making a slight moaning sound. Spike went on and on, using this golem to give him a bit of relief before he returned home. He kept going and going, thrusting harder and harder into the uncaring thing, until finally he blew his load inside of her. He could actually see his cum inside of her translucent body. As he pulled out, she simply laid there, unmoving. He felt no further use for her. He would leave her for the others of her kind to find her and presumably fix her. He had no more business here now.

He had proven himself against them. Sure, he would need more training. And he had the feeling that he shouldn't underestimate them again. But for now, he was satisfied. He reached into his pockets, pulling out the crystal hearts he'd collected. Shrugging, he placed one experimentally into his mouth, chewing it into a fine powder. After a moment, he felt no real change, so he ate the other. They were tasty to be sure, but they weren't giving him any real sense of change. Once he'd returned to his home though, he looked and saw that there had been a slight effect to him. His hair now seemed to constantly sparkle and shine, and his scales seemed to have an almost crystalline shine to them. They actually felt a bit harder too. He chuckled to himself at the sight.

With that out of the way, he laid down with a yawn. He'd been busy these past few days. Maybe now he would take a chance to rest for a little while. Enjoy himself some more. He felt he deserved it. After all, it wasn't easy being Spike the Dragon.

Author's Note

Welp. My inspiration's back. Huzzah!

Smooth-cut Crystal Golem: These are an older stage of the golem's evolution. Their bodies refine themselves over time, becoming smooth and without imperfections. This allows them greater strength and agility, as well as a bit more intelligence than their weaker, younger selves. If defeated, however, it seems their mind goes into a sort of default state, in which they're highly susceptible to outside commands.

Fire Emerald: Not truly native to Mareth. The result of Spike mixing the ancient fire magic of the ifrits with his own special magic dragon breath from Equestria to create something even more potent and draconic in nature.