Hybrid

Crossroads

A familiar, soothing voice echoed all around Spike, pressing in on his eardrums. “Ah, young Spike. Come closer, I would speak with you…”

Spike looked around. He was in an immense, natural cavern, the walls, floor, and ceiling all smoothed by the passage of time. The floor was covered in soft, clean moss, blue in color, and smelling almost like pine. To the left and right were channels of clear, running water, flowing from waterfalls that poured from natural aquifers. The walls and ceiling were translucent crystal, the ceiling being high, high above, and the cavern was awash in shifting colors, the ambient energy slowly, almost lazily, shifting the hue of the crystal in curtain-like sheets.

But the thing that caught Spike’s eye most was in the center of the room. Sitting upon a giant throne of platinum was Princess Luna, titanic in size, immaculate in beauty and shape. Her power called to him, shining like an ardent star, singing in his ears like heavenly chimes.

Spike walked forward, the spongy moss pleasant between his claws. He could feel Luna’s energy sweeping over, around, even through him, almost as if it were examining every aspect of his body. As he neared, the sound of the chimes grew clearer, the burbling water accompanying the soothing melody. Luna had a kind look on her face as she watched him, her colossal, slender form dwarfing him many times over. She had to be the size of Canterlot Castle!

“I must say, I’d no idea you held me in such high esteem.” Luna gestured to her godly form, then the peaceful scene around them. “Usually, ponies portray me as something sinister or mysterious in their dreams; not as an all-powerful, benevolent deity. Perhaps I shall visit your dreams more often.”

Spike put a claw behind his head. He hadn’t realized they were in a dream, but he rolled with it. “Yeah, well… I’ve met the real you, you know? And I’ve always figured, you’ve gotta be as strong at nighttime as Celestia is during the day...”

Luna chuckled. “As one who’s been linked to her since hatching, you’re one of the few who knows she hides her true power. But you’re only partially correct—there was a time Tia and I were equals, but in the millennium of my absence, she grew ever-stronger, while I remained trapped in the Nightmare’s vampiric embrace. Perhaps one day Tia and I will again be magical rivals, but not for a long while. A century, at the very least.”

Spike shrugged. “Hey, I’ll be around! If that’s the case, then this is just a sneak peek for me! It’ll be cool to see you like this for real. I can’t wait!”

Luna smiled. She bade him come closer, summoning up a pillow for him to sit. “Did you know, Spike, that before my banishment, the Dreamrealm would frequently offer me visions of events yet to pass?”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Indeed.” There was a flare of energy, like the thump of a giant’s heart. “It’s been a rare occurrence recently, but a few scant hours ago, it gave me one regarding you. It was but a flicker of foresight, but I would tell you of it, if you’d hear me.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “What, like I’m gonna say no? Of course I want to hear it! Lay it on me!”

“As you wish.” Luna waved a hoof, and a transparent image appeared before Spike. “In my vision, a shadowy figure stood at a crossroads with two paths. One of these paths was clean and well-kept, blessed by the powers of love, goodness, and harmony. The second path was foul and twisted, marred with loneliness and despair, corrupted by blasphemous magics. Each path went a short ways before splitting into two more, and two again, and again, and again, continuing on until an infinite number of paths stretched out to the horizon.”

The image before Spike illustrated what Luna was saying. He could see that each time one of the paths split, it was different in some way—some of the good paths were cleaner than others, not all the bad paths were so twisted, and so on. One thing was certain, though, the paths all originated from the crossroads.

“Oh… erm, well, then.” Spike fidgeted in his seat. “That seems pretty cut and dry, doesn’t it? I’m guessing I’m gonna need to make some kind of choice pretty soon?”

“Very soon,” said Luna.

“Annnnnd... “ Spike fiddled with his claws. “I’m also guessing the vision was really vague beyond that?”

Luna’s face turned grim. “Fate is a fickle mistress, as they say.”

Spike hung his head with a sigh. “Yeah, I figured. It’s like that in the comics, too.”

Luna made the image vanish, then lifted Spike up in her aura, setting him gently atop her massive, outstretched hoof.

“You’re quite the curiosity, you know.” The chiming music thrummed deeper, rising in a crescendo. “A creature with the body and soul of a dragon, yet the heart and mind of a pony? There’s never been such a thing. You’ve remained astoundingly untainted of the vices that plague your race—your soul is pure, purer than any other dragon’s I’ve encountered. But how long will that remain the case? Even with so many good influences surrounding you, Spike, you remain a wild card. With so many paths open to you, I wonder who you’ll decide to be?”

Spike looked up at Luna’s enormous face, his eyes blank. “I’m not really sure what you’re saying. Didn’t you say there were only two choices?”

“Two choices now, but from there, an infinity of possibility.” The light in the room grew brighter, the otherworldly chimes ringing louder. The power in the room was building, unnoticeable at first, but now with a fullness, weighty in the depth it promised.

“Even already, in the span of your young life, you’ve done more than others have even dared dream. You’ve been a constant companion to Twilight Sparkle, one of the greatest heroes Equestria has ever known. You helped save the Crystal Empire from Sombra’s foul rule, thus preventing that war you and she witnessed. You helped establish the first ever peaceful relations with Dragonkind, and your friendship with the changeling Thorax has brought about a whole new age for his race. You’ve earned the favor of many powerful beings across the races—myself included—and yet, you remain an innocent child, an impressionable anomaly.”

Spike was about to reply, but as he raised his claw in question, he became aware of a prismatic glow now encompassing his body. He abruptly realized that the singing sensation of power was coming from HIM, not Luna, and it was only growing stronger by the second! He let out a yelp and looked to her, but she was now fading away, the cavern around them vanishing, melting into mist.

“I don’t understand!” Spike yelled. What am I supposed to do?!”

“What you think is right.” Luna was now totally transparent, swiftly disappearing, leaving Spike to hover alone in a void. “Stay true to your beliefs, and do not second-guess yourself. That is all I can tell you. Good luck, my friend…”

“Wait! Luna!” Spike tried to move towards her, but his vision was going white. “Please! Come back!”

***

Spike awoke with a start. He looked all around wildly in the darkness, searching for Luna, almost calling her name again.

He stopped when saw he was still glowing.

“Eep…” That cool, menthol-like sensation had returned, now stronger than ever. It was building beneath his scales, spreading to all his limbs, even creeping up into his head. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but it was definitely weird, and if there was one thing Twilight had taught him—

BANG!

Starlight teleported into the room.

“GAH!” Spike nearly fell out of bed. As if the shock of somepony appearing out of nowhere wasn’t enough, said pony was glowing, just like he was! What the hay?!

“Shh!” Starlight raised a clawed hoof to her lips. “Somepony might hear you!”

Spike’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. It was definitely Starlight, but her face and muzzle barely looked equine at all! Her unicorn horn was gone, her eyes looked like his, ears were fluffy and pointed, she had fangs, and… wait, had she always been that big?

“S-S-Starlight?” Spike managed.

Starlight winked. Her new horns flashed with a spell, and he felt the air become a touch thicker.

“Privacy spell,” she explained. She went over to his bed and examined him, comparing the glow of his body to her own. “Don’t want anypony seeing just yet… hmm, looks like the changes have just started for you. Interesting...”

Spike shuddered from another pulse of soothing energy inside him. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” Starlight admitted. “But I don’t think it’s a bad thhhing… hmm?” She cocked her head, working her jaw like she was chewing on something. She opened her mouth to stick out her tongue, and Spike watched in awe as it became longer and thinner before his eyes.

“Ooh, that’th a new one.” Starlight wiggled it back and forth. “How’th it look?”

Spike’s mouth went dry. Did… he really just hear that right? She didn’t think this was a bad thing? “A-Are you sure this isn’t bad?”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. From all the stories you’ve told me about your adventures, you must know what dark magic feels like. Does this feel dark to you?”

Spike bit his lip. True, the magic didn’t feel dark, but there was certainly something strange about it. It felt like smooth ripples spreading out from his core, and they were now focusing in on the softer, chubbier parts of him.

“Why don’t you want anyone seeing us?”

Starlight giggled. She watched as Spike baby fat melted away, exposing his sleek, serpentine form, his face losing its childlike look. “Not ‘us,’ silly. I don’t want anypony seeing me. They’ll just start a panic if I call for help, and I’m rather enjoying this. I just wanted to see if the same thing was happening to you.”

Spike frowned. “Enjoying this?! Starlight, you almost look like—”

“—a dragon! I know!” Starlight squee’d and danced in place. “Except not quite completely, you know?Call it a hunch, but I’ve a suspicion that’s not what I’m turning into.”

“What do you m—”

Spike was cut off by a hiccup. He sat up straight as a board, his claws clenched into fists, his whole body going stiff.

“Ugh…” Spike gripped his chest, his breath uneven. “Sorry, I—HIC!”

It happened a second time, strong as before. He jolted so hard he doubled over, falling forward on his hands. Each hiccup shook his whole body, his back and neck cracking with a loud POP, his arm muscles pulling, stretching...

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “Wow…”

Spike looked up at her. “Did this—HIC—happen—HIC—to you?”

Starlight shook her head. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates as she beheld his hiccup case. Spike found it a tad annoying, to be honest. She could’ve at least offered a glass of water.

Fortunately, the powerful hiccups were limited to a half dozen. Spike took slow, steady breaths as he remained crouched, his tongue hanging out his mouth.

“Geez louise,” he whispered. “What was that?!”

Starlight remembered herself. Wordlessly, she summoned up a mirror and held it before Spike.

“Oh…”

Walking on all fours wasn’t something Spike did very often. Sure, he could do it, but like ponies going around on two legs, it got uncomfortable after a while. He doubted that’d be the case now, though. His arms had grown longer and thicker, rivalling his hind legs, able to support his lithe form with ease. The joints had shifted for greater mobility, his neck was longer, and he could swivel it around easier, almost like a… a...

Spike rounded on Starlight. “Explain. Ten words or less.”

Starlight looked up at the ceiling a moment, counting silently. “We’re becoming dragon-pony hybrids. Doubt we can stop it.”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “Can stop it? You said you didn’t want to stop it.”

“That, too.” She sat on her haunches beside the bed. “Look, transformations like this are powerful things. We’ve no idea what, when, or how we’re being affected at any given time, or to what extent. The magic is sustaining us right now, but if we meddled with it, say, while our hearts were changing…”

Spike grimaced. “Yeesh. Point taken.”

“I’m not gonna stop you if you wanna call for Twilight and the others,” Starlight said quickly. “But personally, I’d prefer to wait until it’s run its course. It’s not like they’re gonna be able to do much, anyways. They’re just gonna get worked up in a tizzy.”

Spike mulled that over. When it came to magic, he trusted Starlight’s knowledge almost as much as Twilight. If she said this wasn’t something to be messed with, then...

“I guess that the more ponies that get brought in, the greater chance one of them might try something dangerous.” Spike ran a claw down his face. “You’re probably—hey, what’s with my claws?!”

Starlight looked. Spike’s claws were throbbing, each digit slowly shrinking. The respective joints became fused together, forming hook-like shapes that grew harder and tougher, the same thing happening to his rear claws. His palms developed thick pads, just like Starlight’s, and they pulled a few inches into his arms before Spike pushed them back out, flexing them on instinct.

Spike stared at his new pseudo-hooves. He held them out to Starlight, who compared them to her own. They were quite similar, but where Starlight had only three claws, Spike had four, the fourth like some kind of opposable dewclaw.

“Not bad,” Starlight said. “They feel okay?”

Spike glowered. “Great. Just great! And just how am I supposed to… toooo—whooooaahhhh...”

The soothing coolness now poured into his mind, filling it with a spacey, fluid feel. It was all-encompassing, and his legs gave out as he fell flat on his belly, a dreamy, doped-up smile on his face.

“Spike?!” Starlight made to rise, but then noticed the spines around his earholes changing shape. “Are you—oh. Ohhhhhhhh…”

Spike had only ever known the volatile heat of dragon magic inside him, fierce and untamed, burning in his chest like a furnace. The feeling that pervaded him now was almost the exact opposite—like a spring of bubbling water running through his veins, yet filled with an energy that made him wantmore. The spines guarding his earholes felt pleasantly cold, shifting farther behind his skull, sparks jumping off them as they morphed into smooth, curved points. Where the spines had been, Spike’s skin bulged outward, a pair of pointed, fleshy lobes forming around the ear holes, twitching and flopping before going still. He made a throaty purr as his new horns fully came in, each one flickering with bright, emerald light, eventually going dark, but the faint hum of a magic field was still present...

Spike felt like he was floating. The world looked wavy, like it was moving on its own, the odd power gradually settling inside him. The new font of energy was blending with the inner furnace he’d always known, now like liquid fire.

Starlight poked his shoulder. “Hey. You alright?”

“Mmrhhh…” Spike’s eyes refocused, looking in her direction. “Nowonder you wanna let this play out…”

Starlight grinned. She helped him get back to his hooves, letting him take his time. “Welcome to the world the pony magic. Twilight’s gonna freak when she realizes she can teach you.”

Spike let out a dry laugh. “Oh, goody. I can’t wait.”

Starlight couldn’t help but notice that the changes were happening in a different order for Spike. It probably had something to do with their respective original species, but she couldn’t say for sure. “Speaking of which, do you want to call for her? I won’t stop you, but I’m probably gonna leave if you do. I don’t want a bunch of stuffy doctors quarantining me and putting me under a microscope.”

Spike sized her up. He wasn’t sure why, but something told him that wasn’t the real reason she didn’t want to stay. There was a strange uncertainty in her eyes, a tenseness to her posture as she watched, waiting for his answer.

“Where will you go?” Spike asked.

Starlight hesitated. Oh, damn it all. She’d never been able to lie to those eyes.

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. “I was kinda hoping… we’d figure that p-part out, together.”

“Toge—” Spike blinked. “Oh.”

Starlight’s voice became quiet. “Will you come with me?”

A silence fell between them. Spike studied her carefully, weighing out the possibilities of each possible response, the spacey feeling in his mind fading into the background. It came down to two real choices. Go with her, and be with her as they rode this out together, or get help for himself, and leave her to do… whatever. She’d just teleport if he tried to keep her here, and while it might be more dangerous to tag along, if she went off on her own, there was no telling where she’d go... or what she’d do...

Do what he thought was right, was it?

...

“Let’s go,” Spike said.

A huge smile spread on Starlight's her face. “Really?!”

“I’m not leaving you alone like this,” Spike said flatly. “And if you don’t want to stay here… we’ll just have to go somewhere else. Not too many places we could go, though… oh, I know! Let’s go out to the hills outside of the city! We’ll have total privacy out there!”

Starlight’s heart soared. “Spike, you’ve no idea how much this—”

FLASH!

“— means... to… me?”

The brief pulse of light had come from Spike’s flanks. They both looked back to see what it was...

“Starlight?”

“...yeah?”

“Is that what I think it is?”

Starlight took a step closer, squinting at Spike’s haunches. She had thought it impossible, but unless they were both hallucinating, it was pretty clear...

“Congratulations, Spike,” Starlight said in an awed voice. “Looks like you got your cutie mark.”

The mark was a winged staff encircled by two serpents, the wings draconic and leathery. The inner portion of the wings was the same pale green as his spines, and the rest of it was purple, set apart from his scales by a black border.

“Huh, I know that symbol,” Starlight mused. “Slightly modified, but still, pretty obvious...”

“Cutie mark?” Spike said faintly. “I g-got... a cutie mark?!”

Starlight snickered. “Seems that way! We’ll have to throw a cute-ceañera for you later, though. Right now...”

She enveloped Spike in her magic, focusing on a secluded cluster of knolls west of town.

BANG!

“...let’s relocate.”

The mild spring air greeted them upon their arrival. They were behind a series of hills about a mile from the city, the only sound the lonely wind in their ears. The crescent moon was low on the horizon, not quite ready to set, but getting there. The northern night sky was ablaze with stars and thin clouds, and the colorful, curtain-like aurora zigzagged out towards the sea.

Starlight took the scene in with approving eyes. She flicked her tongue in and out, picking up on a slew of things she couldn’t before. “Not bad, Spike! Certainly better than I would’ve picked. I’ll have to let yo—ooouuuu, he-lloooooooo...”

Starlight felt a rush of heat deep inside her skin. She relaxed and let the change happen, readily plopping down on the soft grass. It felt like her flesh was being squeezed, the firm, massaging touch sweeping through her, her hide growing tougher and thicker. More tufts of fur were forming on new spots of her body, particularly her joints, and in other spots her coat was thinning, a silvery pattern of scales shining through.

Thud.

A bizarre vibration registered in Starlight’s mind. She couldn’t see what’d caused it, but somehow, she could tell that said object was three feet to her left.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Spike trotted into her line of sight, his steps vibrating through the ground.

“You’re getting fluffier,” he observed. He poked at her now-unshorn fetlocks. “But also… scalier? That’s kinda cooo—ohhhh, kaaaayyyy…”

Spike knelt down in her vision, then fell to his side entirely, his eyes dilated. It was hard to see what was happening to him, but from what she could tell, his whole body seemed to be… swelling?

Spike had never felt anything so odd in his whole life. The cool flare of energy from his dream was thumping inside him, like a second, oversized heart. The flares started in his chest, traveled out to his limbs, then poured into his magic reserves, each one more intense than the last. With each pulse of power, Spike felt his body rumbling... creaking… expanding, his clawed hooves gripping and clawing at the ground, a sleeping beast being roused with each wave. New sensations emerged in his mind, surging forth in a heady rush, and Spike growled from the pleasure of it all, deep and gravelly in his throat.

A pressure he’d never known was now rising in his lower body. His tail coiled and uncoiled as the pressure continued to build, his member emerging from a newly-formed sheath. The shape of it reformed as it lengthened, losing its club-like shape, its bulbous tip flattening out into something more pony-like. Spike jerked his hips in a heady rush, grunting and snarling, the rising pressure building and building, so much, when was it going to stop?! It felt like helium was in his chest, each additional thump of power adding fuel to the fire, and he could feel the knot at his base swelling, so very thick and wide...

...and then his balls dropped.

Spike roared as he came. Jets of hot seed erupted from his dick in hefty loads, painting the ground white with his fertile essence. Fireworks went off in his brain again and again, his teeth grit in a blissful grimace, hormones racing through him as his body accelerated right through adolescence. Each spurt of fresh cum aged him just a little bit more, adding inches to his frame at a time, and yet still his nuts swelled larger, heavy and dense between his hind legs, filling faster than they could be emptied. His orgasm kept stretching out due to the combined sensations, and he let loose a stream of dragonfire, scorching the nearby grass to ash.

He had no idea how long it lasted. One minute, he was flying among the clouds, and the next, he was back on the earth. The pulses of power subsided, leaving him a stranger in his own body, and he lay there for a moment or two, his heartbeat—his actual heartbeat—hammering in his ears. The scent of burnt grass mixed with that of his musk, and he coughed once and sat up, looking over his new form.

This wasn’t the first time he’d grown rapidly in size. In times previous, though, the process had been clumsy and unguided, piling mass on haphazardly, making him an ugly, oversized brute. This time, there seemed to be more planning involved. He was about the size of Cadance, with a lithe, light frame longer than a pony’s, yet more compact than a dragon’s. His muzzle had become more square, the jawline now clearly defined, the scales on his belly turned violet, like the ones on his limbs and back. His tail was shorter compared to the rest of him, but retained its range of motion, and his cutie mark remained visible on his flanks.

The mostinteresting change, though, was the one still at full mast. Hard and long, Spike’s pride remained ready and raring to go, still slick with the remnants of his first orgasm. Fat beads of pre were already forming on his tip, his virile balls coaxed on by the prismatic magic, gurgling as they swelled up for an even greater load—

“Holy fuck...”

Whoops.

Spike hesitated. It’d been all too easy to forget about present company. He wasn’t naïve about sex, but honestly, that’d felt too good for him to be ashamed. Mind you, Starlight’s voice didn’t sound condemning, but still...

Spike continued to examine himself, making a point to not turn around. “Heh, so that’s what an orgasm feels like. I always wondered…”

He heard her make an odd sound, something between a meep and a squeak.

“That was… your first?”

“Yup.” Spike yawned and stretched like a cat, his member throbbing impatiently. He gave it an idle stroke, shivering at the pleasant touch. “You probably didn’t know this, but dragons don’t become sexually mature until after their first century. Heck, I didn’t know that until my last visit to the Dragonlands! Ember could tell I didn’t know some things due to being raised by ponies, so she had her dad give me The Talk. Boy, talk about awkward…”

“Spike…”

He ignored her. Instead, he suddenly sprang forward, breaking out into a gallop. He ran circles inside the knoll, laughing and shooting fire into the air.

“WOO-HOO!” Spike made a bounding leap, coming to a skidding halt along one of the hills. “Holy horseapples, this isgreat! To Tartarus with being the butt monkey all the time! I can actually help you girls like this!”

“Spike!”

Spike began humming a small tune to test the range of his voice. Instead of a boyish tenor, he had a smooth, deep bass, like liquid satin in his ears. He closed his eyes and swayed from side to side, his hoof drifting back down to his dick. “I guess I’m—ah—an adult now, aren’t I? Man, first—ngh—a cutie mark, and now this? Best—mmf—transformation—hnng—ever!”

“Spike!”

Spike opened his eyes, but still didn’t look at her. “Yes, Starlight?”

“Stop masturbating, and look at me.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. He did as he was told, though, turning to examine her with new eyes. She was still lying on her belly in the middle of the grove, her front legs crossed in a relaxed pose. Her body had grown longer at some point, most noticeably her tail, becoming thicker, and more reptilian. A ribbon-like tuft of hair was at the end, swaying back and forth as she stared at him with glowing, cat-like eyes. Silver scale patterns shone amidst her shaggy fur, and overall, she had a graceful, serpentine look about her.

Spike whistled.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Come sit down.”

“Why?” Spike waggled his eyebrows. “See something you like?”

Starlight glared at him.

Spike chuckled. He didn’t know why he was teasing her like this, but damn if it wasn’t fun. He obeyed and sat down a short ways away, his eyes still roving over her.

Starlight was in a pickle. It was pretty obvious what was happening, and what the magic was pushing them to do. Spike’s little display had triggered that familiarache inside her, and she’d had to use a spell to hide her arousal. Even now, she was trying hard not to fidget, her tail wafting her masked scent, the cloying smell of his seed in her nostrils, her pulse rising as he eyed her like a piece of meat.

She’d said she wanted to learn about love. That’s one of the reasons she’d gone to him in the first place.

She’d asked him to come with her, and he’d done so, foregoing the safe option of consulting aid. They were responsible for each other now, and magical transformations notwithstanding, she was the adult here.

Quite the gray area, if she ever saw one...

…

...

…

If it were any other stallion, it would be another matter entirely.

But considering this was Spike...

“… how long have we known each other?” Starlight finally asked.