And Then Spike Was Gay

by Quantum Trip

Rating: mature
Tags: Porn, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Rarity, Romance, Sex, Thorax, Profanity, Pharynx, Drama
Length: 13257

Disguised as Rarity at a public beach, Pharynx can't believe the stuff he'll do for his brother. ("The stuff" is Spike... and eventually Thorax stuffing Spike.)

Prior to moving back to Canterlot, Spike takes his first vacation all by himself. He's surprised to bump into Rarity (secretly Pharynx) at his destination, but maybe this will give him the opportunity for closure on their toxic relationship. ("Closure" means realizing he likes guys and publicly losing his virginity to a cute buggo.)

Spike will do crazy things for love, but when he learns that King Thorax wants to share his life with him, will the necessary changes be too much for the teen dragon to handle?

The first chapter was written for the 2021 Summer Sin Celebration as a gift for Yoshikage Kira. More chapters are planned.

Published 2021-08-01 04:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-08-01 04:00:01 UTC

Sex on the Beach

Wait... wait for it... yes, there it is! The tiniest sensation of warmth.

Closing his eyes in an attempt to better tune out the din of beachgoers around him, the little purple dragon splayed his hind toes deeper into the hot red sand. It felt almost lukewarm from his point of view, barely any warmer than the sunlight landing on his dinosaur-like fins. The thin, curved plates ran from the top of his head all the way down his thick tail, allowing him to soak in a bit of energy from the Sun on those rare Summer days when it hovered near enough for him to feel the tickle of its rays. Even a small feeling of warmth was a welcome and refreshing experience. Most of his kin lived around lava for a reason.

Being a dragon feels like wearing a thick suit you can't take off, he thought to himself. Too much protection dulls the senses. But that's why I'm here now, isn't it: to be "unprotected", for the first time in my life?

Spike opened his eyes and scanned the beach. Parasols and towels dotted the sands beneath Las Pegasus. Most of the sights this area had to offer were cloudborne, and the cloud city was floating far enough to the East at the moment to allow direct sunshine to have its way with the beach. The earthbound part of the city—confusingly spelled "Los Pegasus" with an 'O' instead, though rarely referred to outside city limits—served as a conduit to the one in the sky so named with an 'A'. It also housed several mining operations, as well as tourist traps for any poor acrophobic earth ponies, unicorns, or Fluttershy who chickened out on their planned trip after seeing the staggering length of the automated Grand Stairway.

The smooth rubicund grains between Spike's toes were composed of volcanic sand mixed with basalt, neither kind of rock natural to this area. Being well traveled, he knew it must have been imported from the Badlands. "Only Las Pegasus would import sand from halfway across Equestria when the beach is literally sitting on the edge of a desert," he said out loud, with a chuckle, "but at least it heats up well." He tugged gently at the band of his custom-fitted white swim trunks (embroidered on either side with Rarity's cutie mark for her little walking billboard, of course) that fastened in the back with a clip around the top of his tail. Then he double-checked the separate tail pack that he'd secured around his waist, and began a swift two-legged trot toward the surf for a swim.

As Spike moved across the beach, a small herd of murmuring ponies began to gather around him on all sides, barring his path. The starstruck crowd of tourists and vacationers were obviously eager observe and take photos of the famous Duke of Equestria, Spike, the Brave and Glorious Actual Dragon, Brother of and Royal Hoof to the Ruling Alicorn Princess of Equestria, Famed Hero of the Crystal Empire, Emissary to the Dragonlands, Flamebringer of Friendship, Bane of Evil Bad Guys, and One-Time Bronze Medalist in the Tri-City Ogres and Oubliettes Tournament.

With his path to the South Luna Ocean nearly blocked by the gathering gawkers, Spike stopped walking and paused in thought. I'm still disappointed Sis wouldn't let me add, 'and Who Probably Would Have Taken Gold If Not for Rolling a One at the Worst Possible Moment', but with all the crazy attention we get these days I'm starting to see her side of things on official titles. Maybe 'Spike the Brave and Glorious and Also He Is a Dragon' would be enough...

Spike suddenly snapped back to reality. His wakeup call wasn't the brave family of five directly behind him taking an unrequested selfie with the little dragon, as this was an event to which he remained oblivious. No, something else had captured his wandering attention. Not twelve hooves away perched a very mundane and out-of-place looking light grey parasol, and beneath its shade lay the same pony Spike had spent the past three years dreaming about. (Granted, most of those dreams would only last for a few minutes and would occur just before he went to sleep.)

"Rarity?" called Spike, motioning at the crowd with his claws. The ponies around him parted to give him a path. "What in the name of Equestria are you doing out here?"

"Oh! Spike, darling! My goodness, what a surprise!" said Rarity, flashing a coy smile. The ivory-pelted unicorn lay prone on a beach towel which was a dull grey like the parasol above her. Around her neck and shoulders she'd secured a small satchel. Its fabric was a gaudy chartreuse color that even Spike could tell failed to flatter her delicately coiffed mulberry mane and tail. This seemed very odd to him, but he was too busy being confused by her appearance on the beach to question it.

Beside her sat a bottle of translucent liquid that Spike figured must be MTG oil: it looked too runny for undertail sun protectant. Besides, no sane pony would head to the beach on a sunny day while nude without UV-protecting that naughty area of exposed flesh in advance. Given Rarity rarely partook in swimming, she probably wouldn't need to reapply protectant for the rest of the day. I'd damn the luck, he thought, except she wouldn't dream of asking me to touch her back there—and I'd be too shy to do it even if she did.

"Wow. This is almost impossible," he said, scratching the scales on the back of his head between his green frills and plates as he tried to process the rarity of... well, Rarity. He turned to look behind him and almost toppled over upon meeting muzzle-to-muzzle with several ponies standing right over him. "Hay everypony, um, could you give us a little bit of privacy?"

The crowd made a noise of disappointment and backed off to a distance where Spike and Rarity still had no privacy whatsoever, but were just barely far enough away that it would be awkward for Spike to ask a second time. He sighed, then walked up to Rarity. "Hay there! I thought I wouldn't see anypony I knew all the way out here."

"Just a lucky coincidence, I suppose," said Rarity, bouncing the large curl of her forelock with a hoof. "I mean, it isn't like I received advance intel on your itinerary, or anything."

"Intel? Um, right, of course not. I planned my trip to Las Pegasus so I could get away from everypony I knew, and Twilight said she'd keep it a secret, so I guess this is kismet. Don't get me wrong, though. I'm actually glad I get to see you one last time," he said, then winced. "Ugh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to sound so maudlin."

"One last time? You don't have a dreadful disease or something, do you darling?" asked Rarity, lifting her tail to expose the fleshy parts Spike had just been thinking about. He was about to mention that her voice sounded almost like she had a cold herself, but she visibly flexed the cheeks of her large, round rump and he found his mind wandering as fast as his eyes. Unable to resist, he glanced down at her soft but pleathery flame-shaped dock, the smooth flesh framed by tiny little mulberry-violet hairs forming the naked edge of her vivid tail fur. Tight wrinkles curved at the base where the dock adjoined her plump, round ponut, its puffy circular ridge pushing apart the upper crack of her rear on either side which in turn created even more sensual curves against the white pelt of her cheeks. The light grey of Rarity's vulnerable bare skin on her exposed tailbase and anal ridge was slightly darker than her pelt, with an extra hint of pink bright as the color of Fluttershy's mane peeking out from the deep interior of her quivering pucker.

Being a gentlecolt, Spike quickly averted his eyes before his gaze could meet her mare-specific parts, but not before detecting motion in his peripheral vision which could only have come from a wink of her clitoris. Even though the swim trunks blocked his genital slit from view, it took his entire force of will to keep that part of his anatomy sealed shut. Being nervous under the watchful eye of so many ponies helped: a welcome silver-lining to his embarrassing situation.

"Oh g-gosh. R-rarity," stammered Spike, his soft, scaly cheeks suddenly feeling much warmer than the sand his toes were now reflexively kneading. "No, I'm not sick. I mean, obviously I'll see you again, just not on a daily or even weekly basis the way we used to meet. You already know Twi and I are moving to Canterlot. All the government infrastructure is there. I want to be around you, but my career has big responsibilities, and I wouldn't want you to have to join us when nearly all your friends... our friends, I mean... are still in Ponyville."

"Right, right, of course," said Rarity, pursing her lips oddly. "Well, I suppose that's a bit sad, but while we're here together, we should enjoy the time we have, no? Here, you can kneel between my legs for a touch more of your, what did you call it... pri-va-cy." She nimbly moved her rear hoof around Spike's legs and yanked it back toward her body, sending him tumbling sideways in a complete cartwheel. Sand formerly clenched between his toes sprayed into the air as he flipped over.

Spike landed with his snout directly between Rarity's cheeks. His senses were immediately overcome with the light, savory scent of her anal glands mixed with another fragrance, an odor he knew sight unseen. Based on the strength of its musk, a certain part of her body must have been drooling like a tiny waterfall. Despite his desperate need to appear modest, Spike's body betrayed him and he froze in place with his muzzle pressed into her cheeks. It took several long seconds before his muscles finally responded to commands, at which point he had the strength to place his claws on her shapely behind and shove himself up into a kneeling position on the towel, right there between her hind legs. Once up, he started breathing in tiny gasps, eyes wide.

Rarity giggled. The crowd gasped. Spike hadn't heard a camera shutter while indisposed, but several ponies were taking pictures now.

"Rarity, I'm n-not used to you acting so... so boldly," said Spike, internally cursing his fetish for intimate odors now that the scents on his muzzle were inescapable.

"There's nothing wrong with friends being familiar," she asserted, then bopped him lightly in the eyes with the tip of her tail. Spike didn't even blink.

Then his voice fell to a whisper as he realized a second betrayal of the flesh had befallen him. "Rarity! The swimsuit you made me isn't quite hiding... something," he whispered, nervously eyeing the crowd as several ponies clearly struggled to hear what he was saying. "Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have worn this in public! Swimwear isn't appropriate to begin with—any clothing that covers those parts to leave onlookers guessing is too lewd for ponies my age, but trunks are even worse! Being exposed would be better than a mystery bulge."

Truthfully, I felt obligated to wear something inappropriate because she made it for me, thought Spike, but I can't tell her that. I don't want her to think I'm blaming her for my immodesty, and besides, she already knows why I have them on. That was exactly why she made them. I might as well have a dog collar with her name on it... and for some reason that mental image just made things worse.

"I'm sorry for the stress, darling. Here," she said, and wrapped her tail around his waist, tugging him closer until the kneeling dragon was pressed right up against the crack of her ass. "See? That should hide your little... malfunction, shall we say. Now if the shorts are the problem, perhaps taking them off now would help you look more innocent to your little entourage?" Rarity turned her neck to the side to look back at Spike and grinned evilly at her prey. It was a face he hadn't seen the like of since the last time the object of his affection had been possessed by dark magic, and the raw energy in her smile terrified him. Worse still, it aroused him.

"No! That would only draw more attention to it!" whispered Spike. He could see people in the crowd straining to hear the conversation. "I can't keep kneeling here. I need a better way to hide this."

"I know! Be a dear and rub some oil into my pelt," said Rarity. "You can start on my back, so it will seem like you have a reason to lie on top of my... shapely derriere."

"But... I would have to lie on top of you to do that," whispered Spike.

"Oh, yes. I know that, darling," said Rarity, casually as can be. She reached behind her and hoofed him the bottle of oil, which he took in his paw.

Why is she saying 'darling' so much? thought Spike. I feel like I'm missing something important, but my mind is so foggy I can barely even concentrate. I wonder if this is what it's like to be Pinkie Pie.

Spike cleared his throat noisily and addressed the herd. "Nothing to see here, everypony! Just the Duke of Equestria rubbing some MTG oil on the Bearer of Generosity. We're good friends, that's all this is," he said, although it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than inform the crowd. He looked down at the oil and a line of furrows appeared on his little brow. "Uh, Rarity, I hate to tell you this, but this bottle isn't Mane, Tail, and Groom oil. It's just mineral oil. It would be great for my scales, but I really don't think you want this in your pelt."

"Trust me, my little dragon. Go ahead and oil me up like a... like some sexy thing you oil up that isn't chitin," she said.

"Um, sh-sure," said Spike. The feeling that something vital had escaped his attention tugged at the back of his brain again, but Spike's erect bifurcated penis gently pulsing against the interior of his shorts drowned out all rational thought—especially now that the organ pressed tightly into the cleft of Rarity's rump with only a thin layer of fabric to block their union.

Obediently, Spike squeezed some slick oil out onto his forepaws and began to gently but firmly smear it into the saddle of her back. His body was barely responding to commands. The action of his arms was jerky and the process felt almost mindless. Streaks of messily-applied oil seemed to sink into her pelt in a way mineral oil couldn't possibly mix with horse fur, but Spike barely noticed the discontinuity. Undoubtedly this was because, leaning forward like this on his tiptoes, his posture pressed his rigid little cocks even more tightly against what he could clearly feel was the firm, fleshy outline of her ponut.

Oh my Stars. She's just toying with me again, I'm sure of it. I have to stop doing this right away, thought Spike, an opinion which was immediately followed by, and this is the most amazing thing that has ever happened in my entire life and I will never, ever stop doing it.

"I... are you sure this is okay?" whispered Spike, despite himself.

"Very," said Rarity. "Go on, use your hips."

"W-what? I can't rub against you with the trunks on! I'm already worried the tightness in my shorts is going to make wrinkles show up on the sides and back," he whispered back. One of his hind legs was now twitching rapidly enough to bunch up part of the towel he stood upon. "I don't think I can hide what we're doing, they're... they're all going to see it!"

Wait. Why did I just tell her that? wondered Spike. The wrinkling in my shorts is a million times less obvious than what my stupid leg is doing to the towel! Besides, if I take them off, that would be even worse because then I'll be pressing my cocks right up against her naked—oh my goodness that is why. Wow. My mouth just did that to me without asking my brain. I've lost control of my own body. I'm doomed.

"Good," said Rarity. "Oh, um, I mean, too bad, darling. Here, let me help..."

Once again, Rarity's tail encircled Spike's waist. This time it grabbed the hem of his waistband and yanked downwards. The force was so sharp it snapped open the closure around his tail, which Spike realized should have been impossible for anypony but Pinkie Pie, but his primitive midbrain quickly tossed that fact into the ether. The garment now lay on the towel around Spike's toes, and his only remaining article of clothing was the tail pack around his waist which hid nothing. He reflexively tucked his tail between his legs to guard his tailstar, then felt the spade of his tail tickling against something soft and wet between Rarity's legs and immediately retracted it again to avoid the temptation.

A second temptation was inescapable, however. The slickness of his lightly lubricated little cocks now pressed up against a soft, round torus of flesh, his pink throbbing against her light grey. His shame was hidden from view at the moment thanks to the shape of Rarity's rump, but his vee-shaped hemipenis was so sensitive he didn't need a visual to know exactly what was happening down there. Spike could feel every bump and ridge on both cocks as they pulsed and twitched against the pleathery kiss of her anal lips. His genitals were always naturally lubricated from his genital slit, but now Spike was leaking copious amounts of another sort of lubrication from his cocktips as well. The slick, colorless fluid dribbled over Rarity's anal ridge and (Spike assumed, his imagination filling in the blanks in graphic detail) continued to dribble downward into that soft, puckered orifice he couldn't get out of his mind, even though the idea of doing anything with somepony's butthole seemed unspeakably gross to him.

Spike's eyes darted between the stunned-looking crowd and Rarity's back, and his mind whirled as he struggled to think. My tongue and my hemipenis are the only two parts of my body that don't feel like they're covered by a thick rubber glove, and right now my penises are singing so loudly I can barely hear anything else. These feelings are beyond overwhelming! Nothing has ever felt like this before, not even close. I can barely process it. I can't stop it. I have to warn her.

"This is a mistake, Rarity, I'm... ever since the molt I've been old enough to, y-you know, make a m-mess," whispered Spike, his voice cracking. "Of course I used to do it before puberty too, but doing it now would be really obvious because stuff comes out now. I don't think I can handle this... please, help me stop!" Spike looked at the crowd. Several ponies were taking pictures, and contrary to everything he knew about his unicorn friend, Rarity didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

"Oh it's fine, darling. Just relax into it and keep up the... rubbing," she said, and clenched her cheeks around his members, pinning them in place as her ponut flexed against the base of his cocks like a deliberate, wet kiss.

Ohmygosh. If I tilted my hips back, even just a tiny bit, the tips would start to... he thought to himself, then stopped cold. Wait. None of this makes any sense at all! Something is wrong. Rarity never wanted to be close to me like this, not even for a harmless cuddle! This simply can't be real.

"Um, Rarity, do you remember the name you always call me?" whispered Spike, clumsily smearing more of the oil into her withers. This was as far as he could reach without parts of him peeking into the open around her dock, but it kept him a tiny bit further North of the danger zone.

"Oh, of course, darling. Um... do you mean 'Spike', or something else?" she whispered back. Her voice had an odd tremulo to it.

"No, I mean the special name only you call me. You know the one. Two words, four syllables...?"

"Oh, yes! Spike... um, the-scaled-one?" she whispered, turning her head to the side to proffer a fake-looking smile.

Spike felt a sickness in the pit of his belly. It did nothing to tame his turgid hemipenis, but it immediately cleared the fog from his brain. "Horsefeathers!" he cursed. "Who is this? A changeling? Chrysalis? Oh, please say this isn't Chrysalis. The last thing I need is a bad guy fetish."

"Chrysalis? Don't flatter me. But yeah, you got me," she whispered back, in a deeper voice. "Don't make a scene, though! I'm pretty sure the last thing either of us wants is an international incident."

"You are a changeling! But you'd have to know me well, and Ocellus would never, ever do anything like this. And you couldn't possibly be Thorax... could you?" asked Spike, his cocks throbbing as the thought crossed his mind, which confused him even more. "Or are you a rogue from outside the Hive? Answer me, and keep in mind I'm in a very delicate position right now and have the ability to breathe dragonfire hotter than lit magnesium."

Actually I can barely attain propane-level, but I'm not telling her that, he thought to himself.

"Sure. I'll also keep in mind that you're still erect between my buns," she half-whispered a bit too loud, grinning. "You wouldn't want anypony here to take a picture of that, now would you? But no, obviously I'm not Thorax. My brother is way too much of a pansy to do anything like this. That's the whole point of me being here."

"Your brother?" said Spike, no longer whispering. "You... you must be Pharynx!"

"Cover for me," ordered Rarity, and then they were both surrounded by a green helical flame. In a flash, the creature beneath him had changed. Spike was now mounted atop a dark green insectoid creature who vaguely resembled a deer: Prince Pharynx of the Changeling Empire. Pharynx's two-point mantlerbles crowned his head in a deep shade of bloody crimson, while his other magic horn on the ventral side of his forehead looked more like a natural part of his skull. His alien, featureless eyes and wing coverlets stood out boldly in a beautiful violet color that Spike found strangely entrancing. The coverlets were open wide, revealing a pair of delicate-looking translucent, iridescent crimson wings that matched his "tail" or rudder-wing. Crimson dorsal plates, usually hidden by his wings, covered his saddle area. These gave way to a set of lilac abdominal bands Spike could see the edges of on either side. More lilac peeked out from the interior of Pharynx's elongated ear tubules.

I'm sure this is the first time I've ever seen this guy, at least in his hatchform. How in Tartarus can a creature be so beautiful and masculine at the same time? thought Spike. He realized his jaw was hanging open, and barely managed to shut it. Now the satchel makes sense, it's the same color as Thorax! Huh. Thorax's new form is beautiful, too, come to think. Maybe all changelings are this easy on the eyes now. Not in a 'gay' way or anything, of course.

Pharynx's rudder was lifted high, just as Rarity's tail had been. Spike didn't hide his wandering eyes as they looked below the rudder, but he couldn't see anything there because his own abdomen blocked the view to continue hiding his arousal from the peeping crowd. Judging from the sensations on his hemipenis, Pharynx's anal anatomy matched his projection of Rarity's to a tee, including its firm softness. Spike found the feel of it surprising, but didn't have time to ponder further. He'd noticed that the herd gathered around him was on the verge of panic. One pony had already fainted.

"Um, It's okay, everypony!" shouted Spike. "It's just Prince Pharynx. We're... good friends! I, um, I knew it was him, of course, that's what we were whispering about." The crowd seemed to calm down, but curious murmurs followed.

"Holy cow. If this is what 'good friends' do, then sign me up!" exclaimed a nearby pegasus mare, to the sounds of laughter.

"Weirdest damn beach I've ever been to," said somepony standing behind the pair of oddities. Several ponies took pictures. Spike winced.

"Don't stop now, Spike," said Pharynx, loud enough that everypony could hear. "Keep up the oiling. Y'know, if you still want to hold onto your thin little ruse."

Spike frowned, then leaned into Pharynx's back, rubbing into the already oily surface of the changeling's red dorsal plates with his forepaws. He briefly wondered where Pharynx's wings had been when he was in Rarity's shape, but realized that simple fact might require an entire semester's worth of lectures from Twilight for him to comprehend. "Okay, fine. I'm standing up as soon as I slide back into my sheath. That should happen any second now, because I'm not gay," he whispered, then continued at a normal volume, "Also, your shell is really soft. Are these plates even chitin?"

"It's chitinax. If you're familiar with the detailed chemical properties of the related compound chitinal, it isn't too hard to explain," said Pharynx. "And I actually know what 'gay' means! Ocellus told us all about your weird gender-based pony love rule. But just like my shell, I suspect most ponies are more flexible than you realize. I know you are, Spike." The beast beneath him turned his head to the side and grinned. Spike figured it was natural to be unnerved by eyes that naturally hid where they were focused, but he could somehow tell Pharynx was staring him up and down, scanning his little face and midsection.

He seems... hungry? thought Spike, swallowing a mouthful of air.

"W-what? Pharynx, Rarity is the only pony I've ever been attracted to," said Spike. "I mean, maybe I had a crush on a pegasus filly when I was really young, and I kind of like Smolder and Ember a little, but they're all girls too. Not that there would be anything wrong with liking guys, it's just, y'know. It's not me."

"You're still hard," Pharynx pointed out, rakishly raising a brow ridge. "Aren't you curious about why?"

Spike felt the base of his cocks pulse against the top rim of what he assumed must be Pharynx's plump ponut, given how the sensations hadn't changed since the transformation. The pucker just beneath it unnaturally lipped and tugged against the scales below Spike's genital slit, less like a kiss and more like suction. It reminded him of the sensation of a young Twilight Sparkle hungrily eating oats out of his forepaw, something she used to do for a snack in order to placate a tiny dragon's incessant need to feel like a helpful part of the family.

"I'm a little confused, that's all," said Spike, frowning. He continued massaging the oil into Pharynx's flexible plates. Oh, wow. I can feel the tight muscles beneath his shell. I guess changeling anatomy hides how buff they are, he thought to himself, then without realizing it, mumbled aloud, "How can a guy be this pretty, and so strong and powerful at the same time?"

"Uh, Spike? You just said that out loud," said Pharynx.

"Sh... uh, sorry," said Spike. "Look, a guy can admire another guy without being gay about it. That's totally normal."

"Weird. Ocellus said ponies were mostly over that stupid taboo!" said Pharynx. "What's your deal, Spike? Would it really be so bad if you wanted to pound my ass?" There were giggles from the crowd, and Spike tried to tune them out.

"I... look, I just..." said Spike, as he struggled to find the words. He stopped rubbing under Pharynx's wings for a moment to collect his thoughts. "Fine, whatever. Life story time, abbreviated version. I grew up in Canterlot. I needed to feel strong and masculine to feel like I was a 'real' dragon, even though I still can't live up to what I'm supposed to be," he said, with a sigh. "Most of the ponies in Canterlot are unicorns, and they can be a little stuck up. They like to see themselves as socially superior, so they led the trend in removing that taboo long before I was hatched. But at the same time, the fact that they think they're the best leads to a lot of cliquey behavior where you have to fit into this group or that one, or else you're treated like a pariah unless you're influential enough to be a trendsetter. I never had to worry about that kind of thing because I was young, my family was well-respected, and I was a curiosity, which is something they really go for there. But most of the gay community in Canterlot was effeminate, so I made sure to avoid signaling anything because I didn't want to be seen as weak, which is how I naively viewed being gay when I was very young. I wasn't gay, though, so it wasn't relevant. This was before my first molt, so I was only just starting to notice fillies at that time."

Pharynx's head turned all the way around on his neck, and fortunately for his fading modesty Spike resisted the urge to jump back from the shock. "You are a dragon, Spike. I mean, that should be obvious. But the fact that you're a dragon doesn't even matter, because you should be able to be whatever you want! Other bugs don't have the right to decide who you are. Being whatever you want to be is why changelings are better than everybuggy else, of course—dragons included."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Ugh, you're even more conceited than the cliquey unicorns in Canterlot!" he said. "Probably less than most yaks, though, but that's a pretty low bar."

"It isn't conceit if it's true. The only reason we didn't take over Equestria millennia ago is we're all attention deficit. If not for that, we could easily infiltrate any city and populate it with changelings, get into positions of power, replace ponies who are already in positions of power when we fail to oust them legitimately, and take over completely at our leisure," said Pharynx. "But most of us can't remember which role we were playing on the previous day, and we immediately get bored and distracted. If we try to do this in a large city, it never takes long before we're discovered. Now imagine being one of the finest tacticians in history, by which I mean me, and having to work with that kind of useless espionage team and weather failure after failure. Maybe then you'll understand why I was so disappointed when Chrysalis fell and my brother took over. We still have a few changelings embedded in every pony city because on rare occasion an unusual changeling will have the right stuff to be a spy. It's always been like that, but we've never had enough competent bugs to conquer you. We're still working on converting our old agents to the new order, though, which has been challenging."

"Oh. That's really impressive, and extremely frightening," said Spike. "This is all off topic, though. I just wanted you to know why the idea of being gay bothers me just a little. And I'm straight, but it's not because of that."

Pharynx tilted his backwards-facing head slightly to the side. "Spike, please. Changeling."

"Uh..."

"Change-ling," he said with a crisp staccato, and pointed at his head with his forehoof. "Remember us?"

Spike thought for a second, then his eyes widened. His cocks throbbed against the smooth, fleshy plates within which they lay nestled. "That's not love, okay? I'm just horny because you were Rarity a few minutes ago," he defended. "Seriously! It'll go down any second now..." Spike turned his head left and right and noticed lots of ponies listening intently to his conversation, and his frills drooped.

"Can't hide it now, dude," said Pharynx, with a grin. "But that's good news! Now you can just relax and focus on my hot body."

"I think you're making your body look like a girl to confuse me," accused Spike.

"Nope, this is natural. We're all androgynous," he said. "Although, as royalty, I'm bigger and stronger than the rest of the Swarm, so that's pretty masculine. I know you like what you see up here, and you love what you feel down there. I can lust everything you're projecting."

"I didn't know lust was a transitive verb," said Spike. He began unconsciously grinding his cocks down against the rim of his new friend's anus.

"I don't know what 'transitive verb' means. Lusting is like, well, it's a lot like tasting, except what you're tasting is the gravity of love. It's a deep, intensely satisfying emotion that pulls you into it, like getting ensnared in a hungry spider's web," said Pharynx, with an energy to the sentence that suggested he was horny for the analogy itself. "I knew you'd be turned on by me before I went to all this trouble, of course."

"How could you know that? I don't even know that!" said Spike.

"Because I look like him," said Pharynx.

Spike blinked several times, losing focus. "Wait. I... you think I love... King Thorax?"

"We both know you do, Spike," said Pharynx. He flexed his sphincter, returning Spike's attention to his predicament. "I came out here to bring you back to the Hive with me."

Beads of sweat appeared on Spike's forehead despite his inability to feel the heat of a Summer's day on the beach. "I don't know where you would get that crazy idea. That's impossible."

Pharynx pointed at his head again.

Ugh. I'll bet he's rolling his eyes at me, or whatever changelings do behind those gorgeous, colorful wells into their powerful, primal souls... thought Spike, then he tried his best to shake off the odd feeling that followed before responding.

"You can't read minds too!" said Spike. "I know, because if you could you'd know I'm not lying. I like him a lot, but I'm not in love with your brother. I swear!"

"I know you believe that, but he told me about the cave, Spike."

Spike gasped, and his voice fell to a hush. "Oh no. Don't say that out loud! I can't believe he told anypony," he whispered very softly. "I used to carry a picture of Rarity around with me all the time, and... look, I don't want Thorax to get in trouble. It wasn't his fault!"

"Get in trouble?" asked Pharynx. "For what? You fed a starving friend, who ended up being our king. You're a real hero to most changelings."

"I know, but... look, you know the gay taboo? Well, the age one is much worse, and for good reason. I was a couple of years younger when it happened. I shouldn't have done what I did, even if it was just kissing," whispered Spike.

"I heard it was more than 'just kissing'," whispered Pharynx, grinning. "But take me back a step. There's some specific age where you have to go without love? Is that like, a rite of passage to prove you can abstain for a month, or something stupid like that?"

"Not love, love is fine. I mean sex," whispered Spike, deftly avoiding the previous topic.

"Except in very rare cases, sex makes the lustiest kind of love there is," whispered Pharynx. "There's no reason to steal tin when you can have gold, Spike."

"I'm not getting the idea across. I mean ponies don't have sex at all when they're below a certain age," explained Spike.

"What?!" said Pharynx, drawing the full attention of the crowd. He then returned his voice to a whisper. "Ponies starve their children? Holy bugshit, Spike. These love-restrictions are just ridiculous, but I'm actually kind of impressed! Not gonna lie, this raises my estimation of ponies being hardcore by at least a couple of notches."

"No, of course they don't! Ponies don't eat love, and love and sex are not the same thing, even if sex can be combined with powerful love," whispered Spike. "We love foals in other ways. The problem is sex can be traumatic for young ponies because it's super-emotional, so they wait until... well, the laws depend on the species and the locale, but in most cultures it's usually a few years after puberty."

"Aaaaaand the estimation goes right back down. That's so weird. I can't even imagine trying to keep sex private," whispered Pharynx. "You'd have to always do it in rooms with doors closed, or something!"

"Oh gross. Please tell me changelings don't have sex with, um, whatever you are when you're colts and fillies," whispered Spike, cringing.

"Of course we do, Spike. We're not heartless! Even before The Change we had the common decency to feed our grubs and nymphs," he whispered. "There wasn't nearly as much feeding back then, but it's not an issue either way. Changelings are born with an innate sense of navigating complex emotions. We're not emotionally stunted like you other people. Ocellus is kind of young, so you could ask her sometime, assuming you can convince her to talk about it. Wait, is she too young for sex in their eyes too? I suppose she would probably know by now."

"Eh, she's borderline, like me," whispered Spike. "Nopony would raise a fuss over it if the Changeling Empire was fine with it, as long as her special somepony wasn't a lot older than her or in a position of power over her. But Ponyville is mostly earth ponies, and earth ponies traditionally have a higher age of consent, so there's an expectation that even if you're a unicorn you'll just wait until you're eighteen. It's still legal for unicorns at a lower age, it just isn't common and it's kind of taboo. I'm old enough for a unicorn. Almost old enough, I mean."

"You're a dragon, Spike, not a unicorn. We've already been over this," whispered Thorax. "Why do you keep comparing yourself to ponies?"

"Socially speaking, I'm more like a unicorn because of how I was raised," whispered Spike. "Of course I know I'm a dragon! I might not be much of one, but I'm still proud of who I am, and a big part of that is what I am. Anyway, based on my conversations with Smolder I don't think dragons even understand the concept of 'age of consent'. I'm not even sure they understand consent at all, to be honest. It took about a month for me to explain the concept of property rights to Ember. But we're not weird with our offspring like changelings. Dragons care about our offspring, but older dragons almost always despise younger dragons and kick them out of the cave as soon as they get their first molt. Dragons who haven't molted are almost never interested in sex, or even in socializing with other dragons outside of immediate family. After the molt, they're away from family and so they make friends with other young dragons. Smolder says they sometimes fool around with each other, but older dragons still don't like them, so I guess with us it's kind of a natural taboo that takes care of itself. I don't think we've ever needed a law. Smolder actually, um... invited me once, a couple weeks after I got my wings, but I turned her down. It didn't bother her, though. She thought it was funny how embarrassed I was."

Pharynx returned to a normal speaking voice. "Well, none of this matters for you or me or my brother, Spike. We're all royalty. Diplomatic immunity, baby!"

Spike frowned. "Sis will be angry about this regardless, but I guess she'll get over it. We'll need to do a quick public relations campaign on changeling sexual practices soon for two reasons: one, so the rest of Equestria doesn't see you as monsters again, and two, so ignorant ponies don't use your bizarre lack of boundaries as an excuse to do terrible things to foals," he half-whispered.

"Even without immunity, I still don't get why you thought Thorax would get in trouble," said Pharynx. "I'm sure he didn't know, or I definitely would've heard him whining about it by now. If doing stuff with him was bad, then it's all your fault, isn't it?"

Spike's muzzle wrinkled in thought. "It's hard to explain. It's never considered the fault of the foal, but... fine. What I did was wrong. I shouldn't have done it, and he shouldn't be responsible for not knowing about the taboo. I was weak, Pharynx. I felt like it could be the only chance I'd ever have to see what real intimacy felt like. With Rarity, of course, not Thorax," he said, then paused for a moment. "Finally. I think I've resheathed, thank Friendship. I can stand up now and—"

"No, wait!" said Pharynx. "Please don't get off my butt. Please, Spike... I still need to talk to you, and I don't want you to move a muscle from where you're at. Trust me, you're going to appreciate this."

Biting at his lower lip, Spike looked over at the crowd. Ponies were still taking pictures and gawking. Then he looked back at Pharynx's disturbing head facing him backwards from his shoulders. The eyes, as always, were inscrutable, but the shape of his brow ridges clearly indicated he was pleading.

"I don't know why I should continue to lean on you like this, but... I guess the damage is already done, so it doesn't matter anymore. Go ahead with whatever you were going to tell me," said Spike.

"Thanks. If you remember, before all this 'consent' weirdness we were talking about what you actually did in the cave with my brother," said Pharynx.

"It didn't go much beyond kissing, okay? I just... we got caught up in the moment, I guess. I really loved... I mean, I love Rarity, of course, and it just happened," said Spike. Murmurs resounded all around him, but he stopped paying attention to the crowd and locked eyes with Pharynx. "I know I shouldn't feel the way I do about her. She's always using me for things, she strings me along to use me for physical labor, and I know the only reason she gets away with any of it is Twilight's too bucking clueless to realize just how wrong it is for me to dote on an older mare. Twi just figures if I'm happy, that's all that matters, and she knows it's meant in good fun."

"Are you happy?" asked Pharynx, cocking his head to the side again. "Is a little dragon crushing on an older mare that uses him for physical labor 'in good fun'?"

"Why are you asking me about Rarity?" said Spike, narrowing his eyes. "You don't even know her, so why do you care?"

"I have my reasons. Answer the question."

Spike paused for a moment, then frowned. "No, I'm not happy, and no, it isn't 'in good fun'. I was actually a little upset when you flirted with me, because I want to finally move past her. You flirting made me think she was trying to pull me back in under her spell, which is exactly what she would do, just not so lewdly. But the real giveaway that told me you weren't her is that you obviously wanted to be physically close to me. Even without the sex, I knew it had to be fake."

Pharynx harrumphed. "It shouldn't require a changeling to tell you what a toxic form of love lusts like, Spike. One-sided love lusts just awful. And abuse lusts even worse than the lamest kinds of love!"

Spike picked up the shorts Rarity had made him with his hind toes and tossed them off the towel. "Yeah, I know. I think the past couple years I've been going along with whatever she wants me to do just because I feel obligated after all this time. Plus, I'm afraid to think about trying to find somepony who could love me for who I am. I can't imagine anypony would be interested in a wimp of a dragon like me, unless it's for some kind of fetish, and that wouldn't be real love," said Spike, slapping an oil-slicked forepaw against his temple in frustration. "I haven't felt anything for her since... well, since..."

"Bring it home, Spike. You're almost there!" said Pharynx, the ridges around his eyes widening.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Pharynx groaned. "Come on, put it together, grub! You haven't felt anything for her physically since the cave, right? Keep in mind my brother is one of these, too," he said, then pointed at his head again and patiently waited.

"That doesn't make sense. In the cave, I was thinking of her, and it was the most wonderful experience I'd ever had," he said as the wheels in his head began to turn. His eyes unfocused for a few moments as he stared past Pharynx's head, and the crowd fell so silent Spike could hear the distant surf crashing against rocky shores half a league to the North. "Huh. I just remembered something weird. When Thorax turned into Rarity, and we kissed, I kept my eyes closed the entire time. I don't even remember thinking about Rarity, I just remember the kiss. I remember thinking about Thorax during the kissing, not Rarity... But, why?"

Pharynx facehoofed, which looked very strange with his head turned backwards. "Oh, Spike."

Then Spike's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. After a moment, Pharynx reached out to close his mouth but Spike started to speak in a soft voice before the hoof arrived. "Oh my gosh. It wasn't wonderful because he was Rarity. He didn't need to turn into Rarity to absorb love from my compassion. It was wonderful because he cared so much about sharing love that he was willing to be Rarity for me!" he said, blinking unexpected moisture from his eyes. "Sweet Celestia, Pharynx. I think I'm in love with your brother. I hadn't even hit puberty when it happened, but he made me feel so..." Spike looked down at his oily forepaws, mind spinning.

"Finally! Now do you understand why I'm here?" asked Pharynx.

Spike looked around at the quiet crowd, then back to his friend. "To convince me I love your brother, so I can have another useless crush? Sorry, I have no idea. I'm a little overwhelmed right now." Spike carefully rubbed his wet eyes with a non-oily foreleg.

"Uh-oh. Is this going to 'trauma' you because of the sex stuff? I mean, you don't know about dragons exactly, and you said you're too young for pony laws," said Pharynx.

"I'll be fine, I just need time to process all this. I might not have two decades under my skin, but I've saved the world multiple times and I've been through all kinds of heartache. I might be just a tiny bit under the unicorn age, but I'm not a unicorn and if I weren't ready for sex I'm pretty sure I'd be in worse shape right now," he replied. "Maybe dragons are just made of tougher stuff, even those of us raised to be soft."

Pharynx's backwards-turned head narrowed its eyes, and he smiled. "Now that's what I want to hear. You need to realize how strong and powerful you are, deep down," he said. "But I'm not here for you, I'm here for him. Thorax still loves you, Spike. Remember when I said one-sided love tastes terrible?"

"Yeah," said Spike, shaking his head a little to try to refocus on the conversation. "Wait, he loves me too?"

"Bro has been a flaming trash heap lately. He keeps it confined to his quarters, so I'm the only one to see it so far, but... yikes. Do you have any idea how awful the lust of deep, abiding, unrequited love is?" asked Pharynx. "It's cloyingly sticky sweet in a way that makes you sick to your Marepighian tubules, and it tugs at your heart like a magnet so strong the tidal forces try to rip you into pieces if you get too close to it. It's like, um, hmm. I don't know if there's an analogy somebuggy raised by ponies would understand... wait, I know! It's just like the taste of that nightmarish 'root beer' ponies make." Pharynx shuddered and his tongue lashed out of his mouth in distaste.

Spike's brow furrowed. "I like the taste of root beer!"

"Pfft. You would. You and my brother are like two grubs from the same egg," said Pharynx, sticking his ribbony tongue out again for a moment. "But I love my brother, Spike. And not just in the sex way, either."

Spike's oily forepaw slapped against his forehead, and this time hit it hard enough to send little droplets flying through the air. "Oh colt. This probably isn't the best time to tell you that relatives aren't supposed to have sex either."

Pharynx laughed. "I already know that. It's basic genetics, except for changeling genetics of course, and nopony knows genetics better than changelings! When I've been saying 'sex' I just meant stuff like what we're doing now, not procreation. Wait, have I misinterpreted all these 'rules'? That would make a lot more sense."

"No, you haven't misunderstood. I mean the same thing by 'sex'. I guess there's nothing physically wrong with two brothers, um, 'doing it', but most ponies would find that really gross," said Spike.

"Well, that's just tough slime. Changelings are all related and we all love each other all the time. You weirdos will just have to deal with being inferior species," he replied. "But as I was saying, I love my brother and I can't stand to see him moping around being miserable every damn day. Also, I'm tired of having to shapeshift into you so he can pretend you're fucking his ass."

Spike coughed out a gout of unexpected flame, and Thorax ducked, head still backwards on his shoulders. "Wow, TMI there! Uh, sorry, I... wow. Wow. That's..."

"Kinda hot," mumbled somepony in the crowd. Spike couldn't see who it was.

Thorax's head popped back up as though it were on a hinge. "It's pathetic, is what it is! He loves you, you love him, you're both romance addicts, and you're both complete idiots," said Pharynx, with a deep sigh. "As soon as you prove your worthiness to me, I'm abducting you and taking you back to the Hive because you are going to fix this and I am not taking 'no' for an answer."

Spike grimaced. "Oh Pharynx, I'm sorry. I can't leave my life behind, especially with how much Twilight depends on me! Even if he loves me too, I'm still pretty young, it probably wouldn't work out, and it's impossible because we have to spend almost all of our time in different parts of Equestria."

"You don't have to live at the Hive, Spike. Just visit us frequently, and he'll visit you frequently. Tartarus, you can probably get that Twibright of yours to make a portal so you can walk back and forth. We only block magic within a short distance of the Hive now," said Pharynx. "She's an alicorn, they do magic stuff. She'd do that to make you happy, right? That isn't a sex kind of love, is it?"

Spike paused in thought, rocking his hips idly back and forth on top of Pharynx's butt. "I'm sure she would, after enough begging anyway. So, you want me to try being Thorax's, um, coltfriend? Wow. I can't believe I just said that."

"Not exactly, but can we please talk about this while you're fucking me? I'm tired of sitting here not eating any love when we could at least be making out or something," said Pharynx. "Chryssi Almighty, I don't think I've ever talked so much in my life! I don't understand why these weird ponies watching us aren't bored to tears by now. We should give them an amazing show to make up for it." He squeezed his ass cheeks together, pinching the flesh around Spike's genital slit. Moments later his cocks slipped back into the open, and they felt harder than ever.

Taking a deep breath, Spike lifted his head to address the crowd. "Okay, everypony! Some really unsavory stuff is about to happen here, and this is your only warning. I'm a dragon, not to mention brother to the new ruler over all of Equestria, so some laws don't apply to me," he said. "However, Twilight might get upset if you take actual graphic pictures of what's about to happen, so I can't guarantee you won't get arrested for foalnography on a weird technicality if you do. Is that extremely clear?"

A stallion raised his hoof. "Uh, if you can have sex in public, can we?"

Spike shrugged. "Well... I guess I don't care." Several ponies made happy noises, to his surprise.

"Oh dear. I think this is about to be an orgy," said a nearby mare. "Time to move our stuff down South before it gets out of control."

A foal's voice from behind Spike said, "Daddy, are those two dragons fighting each other?"

"Not exactly, sweetie, and we're going to walk that way on the beach for a few minutes," responded a stallion.

"I don't look anything like a dragon," grumbled Pharynx.

Ponies all over the beach started moving their things, forming two distinct groups in the process. One herd headed further South along the ocean, while the other group moved their beach towels and other belongings closer to where the action was.

"Hay there cute stuff. You gay or bi?" an older mare asked a younger one.

"M-me? Oh, I have no idea," the young mare responded. "I've never thought about other mares before! I was planning on heading South to get away from whatever this is about to become, but I guess I don't need to leave..."

"Perfect," said the older mare, licking her lips. "Come here to Mommy and cuddle. You and I can find out together."

"Holy horsefeathers," said Spike, looking over at a stallion stroking himself with a hoof. He winked back at Spike, making the embarrassed dragon break eye contact. "I really didn't think anypony would take me up on that. I can't believe this is happening. The beach is about to go totally nuts."

"Huh. I guess some ponies aren't so different from changelings after all," said Pharynx. "Mmm. The ambient love here is starting to become a symphony of lusty flavors and textures. It's almost like I'm back at the Hive, except it might be even kinkier."

"You do this at the Hive? Starlight Glimmer never told me anything about this!" said Spike.

"Oh yes. We abstain when we have visitors. 'King Spoilsport' gave those orders, but after I tell him about this experience I'll bet I can talk him out of it," said Pharynx. "I wonder what that Glimmery pony looks like when she cums? We'll have to invite her and her annoying blue marefriend and surprise them both."

Spike took a step back, revealing his erect hemipenis. His cocks weren't much compared to an adult pony's sizable member, but the way they split apart in a vee shape gave them more girth, at least horizontally.

"Oh, look! They're so cute," said a very young-looking pegasus stallion nearby.

"I'm just gonna go ahead and assume nopony here is underage because I have no idea how ponies actually navigate that stuff when they hook up," Spike mumbled to himself, then looked down beneath Pharynx's tail as the changeling stood up. "Oh. This is new. I only touched Thorax back there when he was Rarity, so I honestly have no idea what I'm looking at here? After Twilight stops throwing things at me I know she's going to want all the anatomical details, so I'd better pay close attention." Below Pharynx's ponut stood a ridge that resembled an equine vulva, from which emerged a protuberance about the width of Spike's arm. The cock-like tube held itself close to his plates as it curled between his legs. Spike crouched and tentatively stroked it with a forepaw, pressing it up against his lover's underbelly. It reminded him of the time he caught Big Macintosh urinating, and the weird feeling in his tummy from seeing it was starting to make sense.

"Don't stress out about my junk. You'll love it," promised Pharynx.

"It's almost the same shape and width as a stallion's... you know," said Spike, squeezing it. "Feels like it, too. Er, I guess? I've never felt one before. It doesn't smell quite like one, though. Maybe that's juices lingering from when you were her?"

Pharynx ignored the question. "You mean a 'penis', but filthy words are usually sexier. Horsedick, et cetera," he said. "It's not actually a cock, though. It just looks like one. Thorax and I are both royalty, you already know that."

"Yeah, but I don't see why that matters," said Spike. He sniffed at the base of the apparent penis and kissed it gently, and his own cocks pulsed in response. "I can't believe touching something this masculine feels so good..." Out of the corner of his eye, Spike could see a mare lying back with her legs spread, furiously clopping as she watched the show.

"It's sexy because you know you're doing it for the bug you love," said Pharynx. "Trust me, I can tell what you're feeling. And by royalty I mean we're queens, Spike. How could you not know that?"

Spike coughed. "You're... a girl?" he asked. "But, your brother goes by 'King' Thorax! And what about all that 'gay' talk?"

"I'm still a dude, dude! We're both definitely on the masculine side of gender. Ocellus said that boy-girl taboo was about gender, not sex?" said Pharynx.

"Oh. Well, it's kind of both, but... yeah, I guess it's more about gender? I mean, most ponies just have gender and sex oriented in the same direction, and that used to be kind of taboo too. Starlight's fiancee is not too common," said Spike. "Damn. I think this still means I'm gay, or maybe bi. I mean, that's fine, but I was really not expecting to, um, fuck a guy when I planned my trip to the beach."

Pharynx thrust his head down between his legs so Spike could see the look of incredulity on his upside-down muzzle. "Ponies have problems with gender matching sex, too!?" he exclaimed. "What does sex even have to do with gender? I thought ponies were supposed to be masters of friendship and love! You really need to drop some of these stupid obstacles you put in front of your own happiness. I can't understand how non-changelings even fall in love with each other if they can't tell what the other guy is feeling. It's like walking around blind. How do you know if somepony likes you but they're too shy to tell you?"

"You don't, and a lot of ponies probably miss out on a lifetime of happiness because of it. Being shy sucks. I guess there's a lot we can learn from changelings, but I don't see ponies being less prudish anytime soon. Changes take time." He nuzzled against the strange opening, but the phallus that emerged from it took up all the space, and Spike couldn't even sneak a claw in next to it. "I guess this penis is actually a clitoris, and the vagina isn't accessible this way?"

"It's an ovipositor, and a clitoris, and a pseudopenis, and the vagina is literally inside of it. It's multi-purpose," said Pharynx. "I'll give you the grand tour of my junk after you stand back up and fuck me like you were edging to back when you still thought I was a chick. I wasn't kidding when I said you needed to prove you were worthy of my brother's love."

Spike gulped and stood up. "Oh. W-what do I need to do to prove I'm worthy?"

"Show me you can overcome your fears. Rut me like the beast that you dragons are supposed to be," he demanded, lowering his rump again. "I know you want to do it for Thorax. You're looking at my ass and imagining him right now, aren't you?"

"I'll do my best, okay? I'm not big, and I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never done anything like—"

"FUCK. ME," growled Pharynx, and as his tail yanked Spike close, the dragon's little cocks pushed off of the edges of his anal ridge.

"Ouch! Okay, okay! Hold your horses," he said, then reached down and pushed his penises tightly together so they could fit into the opening. The mineral oil on his forepaws made them even slipperier than they were before. "Ohgoshohgoshohgosh..."

"Do you need some help, your, um, Dukeship?" asked the earth stallion who had winked at Spike. He was still masturbating lewdly, and a mare now had her muzzle up under his tail. The noises she was making sounded like suction cups on shaving cream. Spike tried not to think about what that might mean.

"N-no thank you, I got this." I have to prove myself, thought Spike. He leaned forward and pushed his entire hemipenis into the loveliest embrace he had ever experienced. It held a warmth like like the steam from raindrops on fresh lava and a tightness like the suspense of a good murder mystery. Amid the mind-numbing pleasure he could hear the grunting and giggling of ponies having sex around him, but it felt very distant. Everything in the Universe was becoming a part of his groin, and his body shivered in pleasure as he joined with his lover.

"Ah, there! About fucking time. Get used to the feeling, little gay lizard, then start pounding that ass," said Pharynx. "Oh! Ocellus said there were some dirty words for 'gay' but she wouldn't tell us what they were. You know any?"

"Dragons aren't lizards, but y-yeah. For gay males, like, um... f-fag, or faggot," said Spike, whispering the two words nervously. "Those used to be slurs a long time ago, so they're kind of embarrassing..."

"Oh, that's perfect," said Pharynx, turning his head to the side so he could watch Spike's face as the sensations overwhelmed his small body. "I'll keep my head to the side so the whole "face going backwards" thing doesn't freak you out. Also, while I'm watching you make cute little faces, I want to watch those two as well." Pharynx pointed at a pair of large male earth ponies currently sixty-nining, right there in front of them. The one on top was tonguing the flared head of his supine partner, while the one below looked like he had somehow crammed the other guy's cock halfway down his throat.

"Oh f-fuck," said Spike, his cocks throbbing inside as Pharynx squeezed his oil-slicked tunnel around them, causing one to skew upwards and the other downwards in the cramped enclosure. "That's... that's so fucking hot. Why is that so hot?"

"You're a fag, little guy," said Pharynx, grinning evilly. "Maybe you still like pussy and dainty fillies, but you're realizing just how hot the raw power and dominance of two tough dudes going at it can be. You can't hide who you are from me. I can feel how much you're getting off to this. Once you start sucking some dick you'll forget all about that dainty, overdramatic mare."

"Y-yeah," said Spike, feeling his cocks twitch and pulse inside his lover as he gently pushed them to the hilt. "I want to be strong like that..."

"Oh, you will," said Pharynx, and then his voice went so quiet Spike could barely hear it. "Spike, I have a surprise for you, but it's a strict secret. We're going to turn you. It's not public knowledge that we can do it, and it's a rare process, but when Thorax gets his hooves on you he will definitely turn you into one of us."

"What? You're going to make me a changeling? But I want to be a real dragon," whispered Spike, gasping as another wave of pleasure spread from his groin up through his torso and down his legs. "Oh, f-fuck, I can't believe I haven't squirted yet. This is amazing. I mean, putting it in a butt is so g-gross, but I feel like I want to live in there."

"Use your brain, Spike," said Pharynx a little louder, squeezing his lover with his rectum again, this time making the little cocks twist in the opposite direction. "As a changeling, you can still be a dragon whenever you want, because you can be anything! You can be big and buff with even larger muscles than those two males you're still staring at because seeing the big boys fuck is obviously what's making that little faggot organ you've shoved up my asshole spasm harder than a dying puppy. You won't have to wait a whole century to be as tall and strong as that Sun Princess of yours."

"Sh-shit, this is incredible. Uh, I don't care for the puppy simile, b-but... I don't think I can hold it in any longer..."

"Then pound me, Spike! You're just standing there," growled Pharynx. "Start with small thrusts so you don't slip out. I'll help hold you in place, just start pumping."

Spike pulled his hips back, then shoved forward again with a wet 'slap' sound. He said nothing, straining to keep his dizzy brain together as he pumped another shallow thrust into that beautiful, alien ass... then came another, and another.

"Faster. Harder," demanded Pharynx.

"I, I don't deserve to feel this good..." said Spike, wincing as his claws gripped Pharynx's ass tightly. His pace sped up a little and his right leg twitched uncontrollably again, his toes tugging part of the towel into a lump of wrinkles.

"You're a fucking dragon, Spike. You might not be one for much longer, so it's time to be a real dragon for the first time in your damn life and fuck me," snarled Pharynx, squeezing his asshole around the little guy tightly enough to keep him from going over the edge.

So that's why I haven't cum, thought Spike. The rim of his ponut is so tight, it's holding me back, somehow. But that's good, because I can keep fucking him until I figure this out... plus I think I never want it to stop... but how do I impress him?

"I want to fuck you harder, but I don't know how," moaned Spike, his shallow thrusts going a little faster.

"Dragons take whatever they want," said Pharynx.

"Do I have your permiss—"

"Dragons don't ask permission! They take," said Pharynx, exasperated. "I am implicitly giving you permission to BE A FUCKING DRAGON."

Spike snorted and grit his teeth in frustration. "Oh, yeah? Well, then... f-fuck you, 'Prince' Pharynx," he said, and a sudden rush of adrenaline rushed through his entire body. He reached up and grabbed both of the changeling's wings hard in his oily paws and yanked them backwards. Then he began to jackhammer into his lover's ass with all his might.

"Oh shit! I didn't mean—" said Pharynx, eyes wide.

"Shut up," said Spike. The slap sounds from Pharynx's ponut came so fast and loud it sounded like a woodpecker smashing its beak into wet gelatin.

"Fuck y-yeah," said Pharynx, grinning. "That... damn, I'm actually getting off on this, little guy."

"I'm not your 'little guy'," snarled Spike. "And I'm going to wreck this tight faggot pussy of yours until it's wide enough for me to nut, which at this rate won't take much longer. You're about to be loose enough for the spade on my tail, so I hope you like being flooded with hot dragon cum."

"This is the hottest thing I've ever witnessed in my life," said one of the two stallions in front of them. They were no longer sucking each other's dicks. In fact, almost everypony had stopped having sex so they could watch a tiny dragon violently have his way with a changeling's rump.

True to Spike's word, it didn't last much longer. "Th-thorax!" he cried out, and with that cry, every scale on his body suddenly felt like it was at the epicenter of a pink explosion... and that's when things got weird.

Time slowed to a crawl, and that thick dragon suit Spike had been reluctantly wearing his entire life simply vanished from his awareness. Ironically, Spike could suddenly feel everything that wasn't his penis: the heat of the sand reaching him all the way through the rumpled towel he clenched in his toes, the salty and refreshing moisture in the air from ocean spray, the tickling sensation of a gentle breeze many times weaker than the gale-force wind he'd otherwise need, the plump changeling ass he was gripping so hard with his claws they were making little scars in the chitin, the sensation of his heart pumping in his chest which was well-known to most creatures but one he had never before experienced himself, and of course his entire body shivering with pleasure as his swollen cocks both ejaculated forcefully into his lover. But most of all, he felt an emotional perception, one so clear and overwhelming it almost convinced him that he'd already been transformed into a changeling: a kind of love he could smell like the finest perfume, hear like the crescendo of a classical masterpiece, taste like a freshly-ripened peach, feel deep in the center of his roiling gut, and even see all around him like tiny little electric sparks spinning in the air in the aftermath of a cheap firework. Spike immediately knew what this feeling was. It was the sudden and profound realization that all of his joy was possible because he loved his friend Thorax.

Pharynx's head slowly turned all the way backwards on his shoulders and began moving back toward Spike's face. "Sssstttaaayyy wwwiiittthhh mmmeee," he said, and even in slow motion it seemed clear he was very worried. Although the pleasure Spike felt filled every nook and cranny of his perception and remained a constant in the experience, a second sensation quickly shot through his body along with it. It was an incredibly powerful and quite unexpected sensation of guilt. It felt like he was four years old again, right after he took one of his older brother's comic books without asking. The expectation of joy was blocked by shame. Something inside him was trying to tell him he hadn't earned this incredible joy, and that feeling was terrifying.

"I'm scared," said Spike, or at least he tried to. It came out all slow and strange. In what seemed to take minutes, he watched Pharynx's face (which looked increasingly concerned, in tiny increments) lean further backwards toward him in apparent defiance of even a changeling's limits to limberness. The little dragon offered up no resistance to what was approaching, as he had none left to give.

Despite his acquiescence, it took Spike a moment to realize their muzzles had made contact. Pharynx's tongue slipped into his mouth surprisingly quickly, given that everything else was stuck in molasses, and it wrapped tightly around Spike's tongue. It seemed more like a supportive hug than an erotic gesture, or maybe something meant to bridge the gap between those two things. Spike's eyes widened in surprise and everything snapped back to normal time.

Spike found himself hyperventilating into Pharynx's mouth, and then the kiss broke. "Ow!" said Pharynx, as his head jerked back away from Spike and spun around. Spike fell onto on his back and swiveled his tail around between his hind legs so he wouldn't land on it. Lifting his shoulders to tilt his head level, he could see Pharynx's stretched anus gaping wide—perhaps not as wide as if a stallion had rutted him, but it was still a beautiful sight. It was so "open", and it felt like a metaphor. It was as though Spike he could see into his new friend in more than one way.

I don't understand why this is so pretty. This is the grossest thing I've ever seen in my life, and on occasion I eat garbage. But it's still beautiful? he wondered, watching as a thick river of his own runny cum gushed out of his partner's distended pucker and ran like a fountain down both of his hind legs. It took Spike another moment to realize he was still jizzing, and perhaps it was the very force of his ejaculation that had rocketed him backwards out of his partner's anus. Much of his remaining cum was shooting up onto Pharynx's ass and tail, though a lot of it missed to the sides as his cocks spread apart now that they were no longer cramped by their former apartment. The jets mercifully slowed to a drool after only a couple of seconds.

"I, I can't believe you're that flexible!" said Spike, blinking with watery eyes. "Oh, crap. I think I'm crying. Crap. Crap. Please say that doesn't mean I failed."

Pharynx turned around to face Spike. He was wincing and grabbing one of the gem-like nubs on the front of his carapace. "I'm not that flexible," he revealed, "but you really needed that." Spike could clearly see Pharynx's engorged clitoris, or whatever it was. Its head was flared just like a horsecock, except at the moment it had split into what looked like the gyrating maw of a tatzlwurm. Before Spike could react to any of this strangeness, Pharynx's body had pinned him to the sand. Most of the ponies around were staring at them both, silent with what seemed like worry.

"I can't even begin to," said Spike, and unable to continue the sentence, just shook his head.

"You were always going to pass! I just said that to get you to rut me harder," said Pharynx. "I'm sorry, Spike. I should have taken your warning about the trauma thing. I felt your guilt hit me, and I never imagined in my wildest nightmares that sex could do that to somebuggy! I don't understand these weird taboos, and I'm barely competent with other changelings when it comes to sex, except for the drones. I've never done this with a young pony or dragon before and I didn't mean to hurt—"

Spike silenced the prince with a gentle but entirely disarming kiss to his lips, then spoke. "I'm okay, Pharynx, seriously. This is just... very new for me," he said. "Though I'm guessing it might not be too common for people to lose their virginity in an orgy with the shapeshifting brother of somepo—er, somebuggy whom you just realized you've been in love with for a long time, despite not knowing you were attracted to males, much less androgynous males with female sex from an alien species you know very little about."

"Don't forget the abduction and you-know-what to your species," said Pharynx.

Spike sighed. "Okay, I'm interested, and I do feel things for Thorax, but I don't know about all this yet. What if it doesn't work out?"

"You don't have to have sex to spend time with him, but I guarantee it's going to work. You two dorks were made for each other," said Pharynx, then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "The most likely outcome is you agree to everything and become a drone. Drones are of male sex. They service the queen, any princesses, and each other, fertilize the queen, and handle the eggnancies. So there's an awful lot of fucking in your future, if you and my brother fall in love together the way I know you will. You're bound to be the primary drone, which is kind of like our wife."

"H-holy crap," said Spike, and another pair of wet ropes shot from his cocks up onto Pharynx's chin. Pharynx didn't even blink.

"Don't worry. I guarantee emotions like these will be a lot easier to handle after the, um, conversion thing we talked about," Pharynx said in a normal voice as the cum dripped off of his chin onto Spike's tail. "Though I'm admittedly a little disappointed, because I thought dragons get big when they get greedy for something like sex?"

"Huh? Oh, I think you mean gee-eye-bee. That only happens once in a dragon's life cycle, the dragon loses all control, and 'big' can mean up to forty stories tall, so that's not exactly what you want to happen during sex," said Spike. Then he stifled a giggle. "Is it wrong if I hope some of the photos from earlier end up on Rarity's doorstep? I'm not feeling vindictive, but I'm sure Dash would go all in on a plan just to see the look on her face. There's no way we could get them in the Foal Free Press, but the Earth Equine Enquirer would definitely take them... Whoa, I just realized something. I'm actually not embarrassed about being seen in the pictures. That escalated quickly."

"Eh, I think you're better off just forgetting about anything that includes Rarity and sex," said Pharynx. "By the way, what does 'virginity' mean?"

"It means he's never had sex before," a helpful pony volunteered, and then others around her shushed her.

"WHAT?! Oh, right—I totally forgot about all those annoying taboos. Huh. I guess that explains at least some of the intensity there, although admittedly I've never seen an actual dragon cum before, just changelings in draconic form." Pharynx stood up, his backside dripping with cum, and stepped back to take a closer look at Spike's equipment. "I'm going to have so much fun with this little thing over the next day or two. Not to mention the beautiful hole below it. The fact that dragon sphincters are partly on the tail is super hot for some reason."

"Yeah, it creases right in the middle there," said Spike, bending his tail slightly to illustrate. "Um, I know I just did it myself, but I have to admit the idea of somebuggy doing anything at all to my butt still seems super disgusting to me. It might take me some time to... uh, Pharynx?"

"Mmph?" said Pharynx, his flexible chitinous mouth already pressed against Spike's tail and underbelly as his tongue shoved its way deep into Spike's soft coltpussy.

"Eww..." said Spike, wincing for a moment—more at the idea of what the eager changeling was doing than the strange, wet feeling currently invading his body. Then he blinked several times in a row as yet another unusual sensation crept to the forefront of his attention. "Huh, that's weird. Why am I already horny again?"

Around the pair of unconventional lovers, moans of pleasure began anew as similarly affected ponies returned to previously scheduled activities.