Twilight takes Spike to the optometrist to see how bad his eyesight has gotten.

Entry to the FimFic Feghoot Festival.

Dragons are something of an enigma to Equestria. Those who do live within the borders are largely reclusive, either building their hoards or sleeping away the decades. So far as dragons who are active in everyday life in Ponyville go, Smolder represents a 100% increase in the population.

Twilight cannot let this opportunity slip her by. Enough time has passed for it to not be a diplomatic faux pas to sit Smolder down and grill her for much needed details on her species, not only for the sake of science, but for the benefit of the young dragon in her personal care. Naturally, the topic of death comes up.

Twilight handles that about as well as you might expect.

Discussion of death is largely academic and intended to be comedic but I've tagged it teen to be safe. No actual death or scenes of violence are shown so I didn't think the death tag itself was needed. It's also tagged for comedy as that was my intent, but only you can tell me if it's actually funny or not.

Now with sequel: Growing Up Dragon

Takes place after Father Knows Beast.

It has been a couple days since Spike's encounter with Sludge, but now he's back in Canterlot due to Royal Business. Celestia asks him what's been going on, and Spike shares his stories with the Princess. But how would she take it when finding out information about this particular dragon?

Cover art by NadnerbD.

For most ponies the day they get their cutie mark is the day everything changes. That was especially true for Twilight Sparkle, as the day she got her cutie mark was also the day Princess Celestia took her on as a student, she gained a new little brother and started on the road to her future.

It was also the day she became a dragon.

Custom cover artwork by Elza Fox
Editing and so much more by Klamnei

Spike has often felt hindered throughout his life, especially after moving to Ponyville. He took pride in being Twilight's number one assistant, but there were plenty of times where he felt like an errand boy. One who got into situations that required him being saved. A recent development has changed things however. Not to a grand scale, but it was still significant. And he loved it. So much that he needed to enjoy it. And the night was a perfect time for it.

Art by succubisamus on derpibooru.

We all want to be liked. If we could, we'd take acceptance and respect, but, for the time being, we'll take just being liked. What happens when a dragon dislikes us? Will we take the time to convince him otherwise, that we all are worthy of being liked, not on what we have done, but on who we are?

Starlight convinces Spike to let her test out a new spell on him, one that should let him understand every language ever. He really should've known better.

Abstract:
For millenia, the habits and life cycles of dragons were largely a mystery to ponykind. However, with the signing of the Treaty of Ponyville (1003) and the subsequent opening of trade relations, new opportunties for their study have emerged. In this letter we a case study in the dragons' molting cycle and the role it plays in the social and biological development of adolescent dragons.

Sometimes, at the end of the day, if I'm done with my chores and my studies, and it's Twilight's turn to cook dinner, I like to sit quietly on the front stoop of the library and think.

Xanatos Gambit: noun. A plan for which all foreseeable outcomes benefit the creator — including ones that superficially appear to be failure. The creator predicts potential attempts to thwart the plan, and arranges the situation such that the creator will ultimately benefit even if their adversary "succeeds" in "stopping" them.