To say he was excited would have been an understatement. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and now that it was here, he couldn't be happier. Spike was a dragon, yet one far less temperamental than many of his kind were known to be. Since the moment of his birth, he had spent his life, not around others of his kind, but among ponies. Unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies were more familiar to him than any other fire-breathers. But even so, there were some things that both types of creature knew was a cause for celebration, and this was most definitely one of them. For this was the day of Spike's eighteenth Birthday, his passage into adulthood.

Being the youngest from among his collection of closest friends, he'd been known as the "baby" of the group, even during his teen years. But after today, that would all change. Right now he was standing in the room that he'd been living in ever since his move to Ponyville so many years ago. Much had changed in those years, and he and his friends had experienced many adventures together, but, as he looked himself in the mirror, he knew better than any that time stood still for nopony. He had grown far more into the shape that most ponies would think of when they heard the word "dragon". His body, tail and neck had become longer and more serpentine. His legs and arms, upon which he had to stand on all four thanks to his greater size, were sleek yet muscular. Although, much to his chagrin, he'd never managed to grow the wings that most dragons were known for.

But no matter, as he looked at his reflection, he gave a smile, knowing that he was now truly grown. Granted, he'd been told long ago that he may never reach the massive sizes of other dragons, thanks in no small part to the magic that had helped to birth him, but even so, he still towered over many of the ponies he knew. With his long neck reared up, he was easily twice the height of his friends, and stretched out he was several times longer. Although the nickname of "baby" was still thrown around from time to time, his recent growth spurt had put quite an end to it's use. Chuckling to himself, he glanced over to his shoulder to the sounds of several ponies downstairs.

Being a Birthday, there was, of course, one pony that was going to be here, bouncing around as though this was the most exciting thing ever. Though, to her credit, even Spike would agree with Pinkie's sentiment on a day like today. So, taking a deep breath, he began moving down the stairs, which were thankfully still wide enough to accommodate him in spite of his larger-than-pony size. With every step he took down, the sounds became louder and louder. Once at the bottom, he smiled as he looked upon the sight. The library had not changed much in all the years he and Twilight had lived here, but it was looking very different from it's usual appearance.

Balloons and streamers and banners of every colour of the rainbow was strewn about the place, in that hectic-yet-endearing manner that only Pinkie Pie could pull off. And speaking of whom, there she was, bouncing around as usual, chatting with Fluttershy, who was remaining silent as her friend kept speaking, yet still showing she enjoyed hearing her words. By the snack food table was Rainbow Dash, getting into yet another contest with Applejack as the two mares tried to stuff more food in their mouths than the other. Then his eyes came over to Rarity, who was talking to Twilight about something, though what, he could not say. Although Spike was happy with what this day meant for him, just seeing all his friends be here in one place was gift enough for him.

However, this relatively serene moment was interrupted by a loud screaming sound as Pinkie finally noticed Spike had arrived. The others all turned to see him, including Rainbow and Applejack, even though their cheeks were stuffed with food. Before Spike could say anything, Pinkie zipped towards him and grabbed his left foreleg before starting to pull on it.

"The Birthday boy is here! Let's get this party started!"

Spike chuckled at her enthusiasm, and looked on with some bemusement as she kept pulling at him to no avail. Being so much larger and heavier, he could have been pulled all day and not move an inch. But, just to indulge her, Spike began walking forward with Pinkie beside him as the other mares moved away from what they were doing before. Spike had known many Birthday parties since his move to Ponyville, and thanks largely to Pinkie, many of them had been bigger and more extravogent than the last. For this one though, he'd asked that it just be kept to him and the six of them. Pinkie was understanding, if a little disappointed, but nevertheless, she'd still done well here.

The evening went about as well as pretty much every other Birthday he'd had so far. The food, as provided by Applejack, was delicious, Pinkie's music, as loaned to her from her friend, local DJ Vinyl Scratch, was fun to listen to, and, of course, there were a few presents here and there. As a result of an incident many years ago, Spike had requested that gifts be kept to a minimum, but even so, his friends just couldn't help themselves sometimes. Twilight's present, a book as usual, was at least something he was interested in. A tome of all the knowledge the ponies had gathered about dragons, which Spike knew he would enjoy.

"Thanks, Twi."

Twilight responded to that with a smile.

"No problem. Nothing less for my lifelong number one assistant."

Spike chuckled at that. There were quite a few nicknames he'd been given over the years, but he knew he'd never get tired of that one. As for the other mares, he saw them move closer, and Rainbow was the first to speak.

"So, big guy, how's it feel to be a full-blown dragon now?"

The newly-adult drake pondered that for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

"Honestly. Not that different. Maybe something will come up, but not right now it seems."

Rainbow nodded to that, just before Rarity chimed in herself.

"Well, I must say it's strange to think of you as an adult now. All these years, and little Spikey-Wikey has grown into quite the gentledrake."

Spike blushed a little at that. Although it had been many years since he first met her, Spike's still-lingering crush on Rarity had never let go of him. Though nothing official had ever really happened between them, not even in all the years they'd known each other, they still remained close. As childish as it might have sounded, especially coming from one as old as him, he still had a fondness for that little pet name she had for him, even though it did have a tendency to elicit a few smirks and giggles from others. And speaking of which, that's exactly what Applejack was doing right now, right before she spoke.

"Well, congrats, Spike. Took a few years, but y'all are finally there."

The drake nodded in appreciation of her gesture, and would have probably replied to it, but was once again interrupted by a sudden and very loud outburst from Pinkie.

"Group hug for the Birthday boy!"

Spike's eyes widened with that as Pinkie jumped forward and wrapped her forelegs around his chest as far as they would go, which wasn't very far given the difference in size between the two. The dragon had never really been one for overly-affectionate hugs like this in the more recent years of his life, but didn't really do anything to douse the pink mare's enthusiasm. He looked up from her, perhaps hoping one of the others would pry her off him, but instead, he saw all of his friends gain a sudden mischievous smirk on their faces, even the usually quiet and demure Fluttershy. He knew what was coming, but did nothing but groan with irritation all the same when all five of the other mares joined in with Pinkie, pretty much surrounding him in this group hug of theirs.

The dragon just had to put up with it for now. True, he knew most of them were hugging him as a joke, but he knew they meant no harm in it. Eventually, after letting out a snort, he begrudgingly returned the hug, his forelegs just about long enough to reach around and embrace the group of mares. He didn't know how long they'd want to keep him here like this, though knowing some of them as he did, it would probably be a while. As he counted the moments they kept this up, something began to take centre stage in his attention. There was a smell in the air. It was something he'd smelled many times before, but he'd never really thought about it. Now though, it was as if his mind was demanding that he treat it as important.

With every passing moment, something started to happen in his mind. it was as if it was becoming harder to think. The only thought that occupied his head right now was Twilight and the others, and how they were with him. The hug he was returning to them, which until this point had been fairly lacklustre, began to hold them tighter. Most of them just assumed it was him getting back at them for their teasing of him, but Twilight could feel that something was wrong. Looking up, she saw with more than a little concern that Spike's eyes were different. They looked, for lack of a better word, more like a dragon, fierce and almost predatory. She looked on as his head moved down towards the group, moving along the tops of their heads in a motion that could only be described as nuzzling.

It was here when the other girls began to notice what was going on along with Twilight. Most of them looked somewhat concerned, even more so when their dragon friend let out a low growling, a sound which sounded almost like the purring of a cat. Twilight and Rainbow looked at each other and it soon became apparent that their friend's hold on them was growing tighter. Becoming quite uncomfortable, Twilight tried to reach him.

"Spike?"

But there was no response, only more of the same growling. But even so, Twilight continued.

"Spike!"

With the distress in her voice very clear, this time her words managed to get a reaction, as Spike's eyes blinked a few times as he shook his head. After a few moments, he looked down at them, his eyes back to normal once more. But, when he saw them, at the distressed look on their faces, an expression of fear and horror crept onto his own. He let them go immediately, leading to a couple of the mares buckling onto all four knees. Spike looked at them as he slowly backed away, looking at the clear discomfort all of them were showing. However, Twilight had kept her eyes on him the whole time, still concerned as to what had just happened. Spike turned his head to face her, his expression almost begging her for an explanation. As he opened his mouth, he fumbled his words, until eventually, he spoke the only question that mattered right now.

"Twilight...what did I just do?"