As she looked upon the large collection of tomes and dusty old books before her, Twilight couldn't help but feel terrible about having to do this. Her surroundings were not where anypony would expect to find her, all alone right in the middle of the grand entrance hall of the old castle in the Everfree Forest. But she knew she needed to come here, and also knew that what she was about to do might change everything between her friends. But even so, keeping quiet would probably just make things worse.

She placed a hoof upon one of the books on the table before her, one filled with many details about dragons and what ponies knew of them. It was her gift to Spike for his Birthday, but after recent events, she knew he wasn't in much of a mood to do any reading right now. What he'd done with all of them at that party, and the strange way he was behaving, had taken all of them off-guard. In all the years Twilight had known him, Spike had only ever behaved in such a way once. It was back during the days when she and he were still relative newcomers to Ponyville, and his dragon instincts had kicked in, ironically on another Birthday.

He'd experienced a massive growth-spurt, brought on by excessive greed, an inherent trait of his kind. Had it not been for Rarity's involvement, he'd have most likely continued his rampage, which everypony knew would only have ended badly. It was a dark day for the small dragon, and it was not one he enjoyed having to be reminded of. But, in his mind, that's probably what he thought was happening. Twilight did not relish having to be the one to tell him the truth, at least not yet. Indeed, there were others that needed to be told what was going on first.

Speaking of whom, her concentration was then diverted to the large doors leading into the chamber, which were now creaking open. She looked away from her books and towards the doors as her friends made their way inside. They all seemed concerned, which Twilight knew they had every right to be, given the circumstances. Although, Fluttershy was more worried than all of them, given where this meeting was taking place. She'd never felt fully comfortable here, nor could Twilight blame her for that.

Once all six of the mares had gathered in the middle of the room, Applejack spoke first.

"So then...I'm guessin this is about Spike?"

Twilight said nothing, but nodded her head to confirm the question. The mares all looked at each other with mixed expressions. It was understandable that they'd be worried, given that they now had a fully-grown dragon to deal with. Fluttershy, clearly with some distress, spoke afterwards.

"Why isn't he here too? Doesn't he want to know what happened?"

Twilight looked down at the ground, her face showing great discomfort.

"I don't think he's really in the mood for talking about this right now. After the party, he just locked himself in his room. Besides, this isn't exactly going to make him feel better."

After a brief, yet uncomfortable silence, Rainbow spoke next.

"So what's up? Why'd he go all growly and stuff?"

The young alicorn gained a look of embarrassment upon her face, a look which made it clear to the others that she wasn't going to be giving any good news. She turned away from them and placed her hoof upon the collection of books once more.

"I sent word to Princess Celestia about what happened. She wrote back and said she had a theory, but that I should consult someone more knowledgeable about dragons first. So, I went to Zecora."

The other mares all nodded in agreement over that decision. Zecora the zebra had, despite her secluded life, always seemed very aware of a number of magical creatures and their habits. Dragons especially were something she seemed to have an innate understanding of, given that it was her advice that had helped during Spike's previous dragon growth. Despite this, the group saw the worried look on Twilight's face, which either meant that she hadn't learned anything, or that she had, but that it wasn't something they were going to enjoy hearing. From the way she turned and looked at them, it was clear that it was the latter they were dealing with.

"She told me that what's happened is perfectly natural for a dragon his age, but..."

She opened her mouth, trying hard to get out the words. It's like pulling off a band-aid, she told herself. Just be done with it and it'll be over. But, such things were easier said than done, and it took several attempts before Twilight mustered up the sheer willpower to tell her friends the truth.

"Spike's coming-of-age has awoken a latent instinct in him. When the six of us were with him, physically holding him, the instinct kicked in and his mind briefly surrendered to it. Luckily, I was able to talk him out of it before anything happened."

The group was clearly confused by all this, as evidenced by their glances towards each other. Twilight briefly cursed herself for having to beat around the bush like this. But the truth was so much of a shock that even she had a hard time coping with it right now. But, she knew she had to tell them, as Rarity stepped forward with a curious look upon her face.

"Before anything happened? What do you mean, Twilight? What instincts are we talking about, exactly?"

Twilight took a few deep breaths before finally coming out with it.

"Spike has...imprinted on us."

That seemed to do little to alleviate their confusion, a fact made clear as Applejack stepped forward alongside Rarity and spoke.

"Imprinted? Ya mean like Winoa did when me an mah family got her?"

Before Twilight could reply to that, Rainbow chimed in.

"Is that it? Does that mean we'll have Spike following us around like some lost puppy or something?"

Twilight groaned at that.

"No!"

The other looked at her, somewhat taken aback by this uncharacteristically aggressive response. Twilight cleared her throat and composed herself after that, slightly embarrassed by her behaviour.

"I mean, no. It doesn't mean that."

"Then what does it mean, Twilight?"

The sound of that second, yet very familiar voice, took all six of them by surprise. Their heads all snapped up to a spot where the wall adjacent to the door met the ceiling. There was a large hole there, caused by the many centuries of neglect this castle had suffered. But, through the hole, was a very upset-looking dragon. Spike had arrived at the castle, much to the shock of all the mares. He glared at them, Twilight especially, as he crept into the hole, his sharp claws digging into the wall as he climbed down. The mares watched him intently as he reached the floor and began to make his way towards them. Twilight, gulping, spoke first.

"Spike? But...how did you know I was here?"

The young dragon gave a short, dry chuckle at that before replying.

"Twilight, I've been your assistant for most of my life. If the day ever comes when you go somewhere and I DON'T know about it, worry."

The alicorn looked away rather sheepishly after that. She had to admit that it was unlikely that they were ever going to keep him in the dark about this, no matter how much she might have wanted to. Still, what was done was done, and now she had to explain herself. So, she looked on as Spike finally arrived at the group, with Fluttershy and Pinkie stepping aside to make room for him.

"Spike...please know that I didn't want to do this behind your back. I just...you were so upset about what you did that I..."

But she didn't have a chance to finish, as Spike raised his hand, causing her to stop.

"Twilight, it's fine. I understand. A little annoyed, perhaps...but I understand."

As Twilight looked upon his face, at the way it seemed to clam down, she knew he wasn't just saying that to make her feel better, which was a great relief to her. Still, she saw that he was still giving her a rather expectant look, making it clear that he wished to know exactly what she was going to say to the others before he arrived. And, looking at her other friends, she knew they too were waiting for an answer. So, steeling herself, Twilight looked her oldest friend right in the eye, and gave him the answer he wanted.

"Spike. What happened at the party was that your instincts kicked in, and you subconsciously marked us...as your mates."

It was as if all of time stopped. Her friends, Spike especially, seemed to freeze, as if they were suddenly statues. It was, in fairness, the same reaction Twilight had upon her face when Zecora had told her this herself. In time though, movement came back to their faces, but none more so than Spike's. His face morphed to one of confusion, as he began turning away from Twilight. She looked on as he began pacing up and down, occasionally scratching his head, trying desperately to make sense of what he'd just been told.

Likewise, the other mares were looking at her, perhaps hoping that this was all some prank, a joke at their expense. But, one look at her face, and the utter seriousness upon it, made it clear that this was no jest. She spoke the truth, but it was a truth none of them expected, or even knew how to handle. They looked to each other, each one hoping the other could offer some advice, some words that could led them aid. But none came. This almost unbearable silence was only interrupted when Spike finally rejoined the group, his expression focused on Twilight.

"Mates?"

She nodded in response to that, and Spike fumbled his words for a few moments before speaking again.

"Yes, but...mates? As in plural? All of you?"

That particular question made Twilight just as uncomfortable as Spike was, if not more so. But nevertheless, she still nodded. The young dragon said nothing, but looked at all the mares standing beside him. They were all trying their best to avoid looking at him, sharing the sheer embarrassment and shock that he was experiencing right now. This was the first time anything of this nature had ever been discussed with Spike, even in all the years the two of them had been living together, and now it seemed that it was going to be far more awkward and uncomfortable than she thought.

Spike meanwhile just stood there, shaking his head.

"This...this is just some bad dream, right?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of yet another familiar voice.

"I'm sorry, Spike, but this is no dream."

All seven of them turned their heads to see where the voice was coming from, the great doors. Their eyes all widened with shock as they saw that there, standing just as serenely and elegantly as ever, was Princess Celestia herself. All of the mares, save for Twilight, instinctively bowed their heads in reverence for the Princess. Twilight would have liked to speak to her long-time mentor about this, but before she could say anything, she watched with concern as Spike began marching towards her. Celestia did nothing as the young dragon stopped just a few feet away, his expression both of fear and anger.

"What do you know of this?"

Celestia, ignoring the rather forward way Spike had spoken to her, looked him in the eye before speaking.

"You know the compulsion that lies at the heart of your people, Spike. Greed. An insatiable desire. Most of the time, it manifests itself in the form of their well-known need for treasure. But, when they come of age, just as you have, there is another desire."

Spike looked at her, oblivious to the concerned looks the other mares had on their faces as they listened intently to the Princess.

"That desire, as you've now discovered, is for mates. Like with treasure, dragons would not be satisfied with just one. And so, like others of your kind, you have, however unintentionally, chosen Twilight and the others as your own."

The young drake narrowed his eyes at her.

"Did you know this would happen?"

Celestia looked from him, to Twilight, before looking back at Spike, before giving a short nod.

"I suspected. I had hoped that, having been separated from your kind, this instinct might not have surfaced. But I was wrong."

The young dragon looked at her, still probably hoping that this was all some dream he'd wake up from. But the serious look on her face made it obvious to him that every word she'd just spoken was the truth. Having all this happen was bad enough, but to know that there were those who knew it was coming, but never told him, just made him feel worse about it. His expression changed from one moment to the next. Confusion. Anger. Fear. The mares there were concerned as to what would happened next, and so were rather relieved when Spike simply spoke out again.

"I...I'll just ignore it. Like I did when I was a kid. If I can ignore the need for gold and jewels, I can ignore this."

Celestia looked at the young drake, his face filled with determination, before letting out a long sigh.

"I wish it were that easy, Spike. I truly do. But casting off something like this is nigh impossible. We're talking about a basic biological need of your people. It would be like trying to force yourself to stop breathing."

Spike's expression became more and more frustrated, and at this point even Celestia was worried about what he might do next. Everypony around him was telling him that this was something he could not change about himself, but Spike was not known for being the kind of guy who would just take this sort of thing lying down. He turned around and looked at the concerned faces of all his friends, especially Twilight, who stepped towards him. Spike frowned deeply before looking at Celestia once more.

"No! I won't do it! I refuse to do this to them!"

He began moving past her, just before Celestia's head snapped towards him, her expression also somewhat angry.

"Spike! This is something you will have to try and deal with. You cannot simply run away from this!"

Spike stopped and, in a move that shocked everypony there, brought his face within an inch of Celestia, his eyes blazing with anger.

"Watch me!"

Before Twilight or the others could react, Spike charged forward and towards the entrance door. The mares looked on as he burst through them and ran out into the dense Everfree Forest. Twilight ran next to her mentor before spreading her wings, ready to fly after him. But, before she could, a white hoof from Celestia barred her path. Twilight looked up at her to see the Princess simply shake her head in a grave matter. Although no words passed between them, Twilight knew that she was being advised to leave him, at least for the time being. He needed to come to terms with this on his own, even though Twilight would have wanted nothing better than to help him. So, as she looked on, with Spike no longer visible to her sight, she sighed.

"Oh Spike...what are we going to do?"