Spike

Spike is a purple and green male baby Dragon. He is Twilight Sparkle's assistant and one of the main characters of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. His ability to magically deliver scrolls to and from Princess Celestia with his fire-breath is featured in most episodes. Spike has a massive crush on one of Twilight's friends, Rarity.

Development
Spike's appearance is based on his Generation 1 incarnation rather than his Generation 3 version, with a few modifications done by Lauren Faust. He is also the second member of the main cast who was part of the original My Little Pony series, next to Applejack. Throughout all of his incarnations, in Generation 1, he's consistently been a baby dragon with green spikes, and occasionally his body is pink. In his G3 incarnation, he's a thousand-year old dragon with orange spikes, purple hair, and occasionally his body is blue.

Playfulness
Spike is a bit sarcastic and sometimes laughs at others' misfortunes; in Bridle Gossip, he comes up with parodies of the ponies' names after their exposure to poison joke; in Winter Wrap Up, he makes fun of Twilight's terrible nest-making and skating skills. However, he is very helpful and supportive towards Twilight—in Lesson Zero, for instance, Spike was the only member of the main cast to take Twilight's concerns about missing a report to Princess Celestia seriously. He is often defensive about his masculinity and dismissive of things he considers "girly", although his outward disdain is often a front. In The Ticket Master, for instance, Spike scoffs at the idea of attending the "girly Gala gunk" throughout the episode, but is overjoyed when Princess Celestia sends him a ticket at the end.

He's a fun-loving dragon: he enjoys the welcome party Pinkie throws for Twilight in Friendship is Magic, part 1, and scarfs down on candy in Nightmare Night.

Sensitivity
Spike is quite relieved and excited to find Fluttershy unharmed after thinking she was in danger in Feeling Pinkie Keen, and he hugs her enthusiastically. Spike, in spite of his usual confidence, can also be insecure at times, as in Owl's Well That Ends Well, when he believes Twilight replaced him with an owl, Owloysius. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash point out to Twilight that he might be worried that the Owloysius is going to replace him, but Twilight Sparkle dismisses this as "crazy" and presumes that "Spike knows he can't be replaced." Spike is sensitive to Twilight's concerns when she has a hard time coping with being tardy with her studies in Lesson Zero, and eventually contacts Princess Celestia to alleviate Twilight's worries.

Generosity and greed
Spike magically matures through his greediness in Secret of My Excess. At the beginning of the episode, he generously gives his highly-coveted gem to Rarity even though he was saving it for his birthday. At his birthday party, Pinkie Pie mentions to Spike that the Cakes have made a special gift for him, and he goes to Sugarcube Corner to collect it. On his way out he bumps into Cheerilee, who gives him an impromptu gift when she finds out it's his birthday.

Spike begins eliciting gifts from ponies for his birthday, which results in him growing into a gangly "teenager" by the next day. Twilight takes him to a doctor and then a vet, but both fail to diagnose him because they have no experience with dragons. She then takes him to Zecora who explains that his greed is making him grow up. Throughout the episode he grows larger, and develops more lizard-like qualities, such as slit pupils and a long thin forked tongue. Unlike the other two dragons in the show, he does not possess wings.



Spike kidnaps Rarity, wreaks havoc on Ponyville, and even gets confronted by the Wonderbolts, whose efforts to stop him fail. Rarity, not recognizing that her captor is Spike, admonishes him for his behavior. In the process Spike sees that she's wearing a necklace with the gem he gave her earlier, and a flashback sequence shows him giving Rarity the gem in first-person. This memory of his generosity magically returns him to his former size, which makes him lose his hold on the mountainside they were on. The two plummet to the ground, and Spike tries to confess to Rarity that he has a crush on her, but she stops him mid-sentence with a gentle hoof to his mouth and an affectionate smile. They're rescued by Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and at the end of the episode Spike concludes that he'd rather be generous, because hoarding doesn't compare to giving.

Hatching
As a filly in a flashback from The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Twilight Sparkle is faced with an entrance exam for Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns. The test involves hatching a dragon egg – one that happened to contain infant Spike. At first, she had difficulty drawing magic from her horn; however, the explosion from Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom managed to unleash Twilight's latent power, not only hatching Spike, but enlarging him several times until he resembles a wingless adult dragon, and causing other sorts of mayhem as well. Princess Celestia takes note of the transpiring events, and approaches Twilight to calm her; the magic is then undone, Twilight returns to her normal state, and so does Spike.

His egg is colored shades of purple in the episode, but in Friendship is Magic, part 1 he tells Fluttershy that he hatched from a "cute little purple-and-green egg". Their conversation starts after Fluttershy enthusiastically tells Twilight that she's never seen a baby dragon before, and asks him to tell her absolutely everything about him.

Lauren Faust had suggested that, after the entrance exam, it was Princess Celestia who raised and trained Spike before he ended up as Twilight Sparkle's assistant later in life, where Princess Celestia believed they did belong together since it was Twilight Sparkle who hatched him. Faust further suggests that the egg-hatching test was arranged for Twilight by Princess Celestia because she sensed her connection to the Elements of Harmony

Filling different roles
Spike, serving as Twilight's assistant, moves with her to Ponyville in Friendship is Magic, part 1. Throughout the series he sends correspondence between Twilight and the Princess using his magical fire-breath. He also reads and writes letters and helps organize and fetch books. When Celestia orders Twilight to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration, Spike tries to cheer her up, informing bookworm Twilight that the Princess arranged for her to stay in a library. He also stayed in the house during The Return of Harmony, part 2, but for different reasons.

Twilight arranges for Spike to care for Fluttershy's animals in Dragonshy in the ponies' absence.

Twilight dubs Spike "the new Rainbow Dash" in The Return of Harmony Part 2. She is fed up with her friends' negative behavior and chooses to give Spike the jewelery embodying the element of loyalty instead of searching for Rainbow Dash. Spike expresses his concerns that Rainbow Dash will "find out [he's] been impersonating her" and shudders at the prospect.

Sleepiness
Twilight attributes Spike's sleepiness in Friendship is Magic, part 2 to him being a baby; she tucks him in his bed when she and her new friends set out to find the Elements of Harmony. He's sleepy at the beginning of Winter Wrap Up too, owing to the very early hour at which Twilight wakes up. His sleepiness concerns Twilight in Owl's Well That Ends Well, and she finds a second assistant, Owloysius, to relieve him of some of the workload.

The new assistant makes Spike grow jealous; Spike is convinced the owl is jeopardizing his position and goes as far as attempting to frame the innocent owl, by using a toy mouse and some ketchup to fabricate a bloody scene. Twilight catches Spike in the act, and tells him she's disappointed in him and his behavior. Spike takes this as evidence that Twilight no longer loves him, and runs far away from home; however, Twilight and Owloysius are able to track him down and even manage to save his life. That day, in contrast to the friendship report sent by Twilight in most episodes, Spike writes the letter to show what he had learned.

Crush on Rarity
Spike develops a crush on Rarity the moment he sees her in Friendship is Magic, part 1. He goes to great lengths for her affection: in Green Isn't Your Color, he gladly offers his body as a pincushion for Rarity to use, while she designs a dress. In Boast Busters, he tries to impress her with a mustache conjured through Twilight's magic, however this attempt was met with little success. Spike postures that maybe the mustache was not enough, and he considers adding a beard, too.

Spike is protective about Rarity in A Dog and Pony Show. Even though he is all but defeated by the Diamond Dogs, he still tries to find ways to rescue Rarity, like, using the gem she gave him earlier, which he holds very dear, as bait for the Diamond Dogs. There is a fantasy sequence of him rescuing Rarity from the dungeon as a debonair and masculine knight, which ends when his fantasy clashes with reality when he nearly kisses Applejack who was standing next to him.

Despite all of this, Rarity does not really acknowledge his feelings to her. He even treats it as a secret in Green Isn't Your Color, though his feelings are so obvious to other ponies that he is shown wearing a shirt with Rarity surrounded by a heart as a visual gag. Pinkie Pie, who is privy to the "secret" as much as the other ponies, still acts very surprised when Spike reveals his secret to her. When he and Rarity plummet from a mountainside to a likely demise in Secret of My Excess, he tries to confess his feelings to her, but she shushes him before he finishes his sentence.

Magic fire breath
Spike has the ability to transport scrolls back and forth between Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia. He sends notes by breathing magic fire onto them and blowing them into the air. He sends multiple notes all at once in Griffon the Brush Off, and transports tickets to the Gala in The Ticket Master. He does have his limits, though: Twilight finds him curled up on the floor, groaning and clutching his stomach, after Princess Celestia sends him too many scrolls in The Return of Harmony Part 2. He is still slightly hunched over and holding to his stomach at the honor ceremony at the end of the episode, where he stands on stage to the side of Celestia. Celestia comes to collect one of the scrolls herself once, in Feeling Pinkie Keen, right as Spike is about to send it from the library's terrace.

Spike's fire has different effects on objects in different situations. In Griffon the Brush Off, his fiery hiccups cause Princess Celestia to be showered with a large number of scrolls, which he can also do voluntarily. In Owl's Well That Ends Well, he accidentally incinerates a book with a sneeze. He has also used his fire to cook food, like in Over a Barrel and A Bird in the Hoof.

Lauren Faust suggested that Spike's magic fire breathing skills is a talent that Princess Celestia herself had trained him to do, though she says the show may treat the subject differently.

Digging for gems
During the episode A Dog and Pony Show, Spike digs up gems for Rarity. He uses several different techniques, including scrabbling at the ground with his claws, using the splay of his tail as a shovel, and bouncing on his tail like a jackhammer. The effort doesn't seem to tire him in the least. Spike's scales are thick enough that Rarity could use him as a pincushion without hurting him in Green Isn't Your Color, though his tail doesn't seem to be as protected as he appeared to be in pain when she was stepping on it.

Commentating and announcing
Over the course of the series, Spike has shown talent and enthusiasm for announcing at events. His first taste is in Fall Weather Friends where he commentates on the Iron Pony Competition, and he is quite disheartened when Pinkie Pie is set as the announcer for the Running of the Leaves. Fortunately she asks asked him to be her co-announcer, much to his delight. He continued this role in Suited For Success, where he emcees Rarity's fashion show. In Hearth's Warming Eve, he narrates the Canterlot Hearth's Warming Eve pageant.

Playing piano
In Over a Barrel, Spike proficiently plays the piano for Pinkie Pie's musical number. Spike's "predecessor" in the 1986 My Little Pony movie plays the piano for one of the ponies' musical number, too.

Gem-eating and other food stuff
Spike possesses an iron stomach and is omnivorous in the truest sense of the word. His love for eating gemstones is featured in several episodes. When he comes across buffalo in Over a Barrel, they show him great respect and feed him turquoises. Rarity takes him along for her gem hunt in A Dog and Pony Show with the promise of letting him have some of the gems she finds. Pinkie Pie forces a false confession out of him in Party of One by offering him a plate of gems and applying some duress on him; he is frightened because of her strange behavior, but happily chows down on the gems once Pinkie is done interrogating him.

Early in the series, in The Ticket Master, he goes to a cafe with Twilight and asks if they serve gems, but settles for hay fries. He eats doughnuts in The Best Night Ever while waiting for the ponies to conclude their night at the Grand Galloping Gala, and even eats muffins dug up from the trash that had previously poisoned half the town, in Applebuck Season.

Grown Spike
Spike is depicted as an adult, or at least larger than he usually is, in three different episodes. The first is in his fantasy in A Dog and Pony Show, detailed in the section crush on Rarity. The second is in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, detailed in the section hatching. The third and most prominent depiction is in the episode Secret of My Excess, detailed in the section generosity and greed.

Teacher for a Day description
''Spike is a baby dragon with a big job - he is Twilight Sparkle's Number One Assistant! The two have been friends forever since Twilight Sparkle's first day at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot.''

''When Princess Celestia sent Twilight to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship, Spike was right by her side. And when the Princess has a message for Twilight, she sends a letter to Spike.''

''When Spike belches, he isn't being impolite - he is receiving Princess Celestia's letter! When the ponies want to tell the Princess about their adventures. Spike writes letters and sends them off to Canterlot in a puff of dragon fire.''

Quotes
"Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about! C'mon, Twilight, just try!"

- Friendship is Magic, part 1

"This is hilarious! Look at all of you! We got: Hair-ity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple-tini, Flutterguy, and... uh... I got nothin'.... Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."

- Bridle Gossip

"Can you do that? Can you explode twice?"

- Feeling Pinkie Keen

"I'm coming for you, my lady. Hi-ho, Twilight! Away!"

- A Dog and Pony Show

"Oh, please! You're the most studious student ever! I'm sure the princess will forgive you if you miss one little deadline."

- Lesson Zero

"P.S.: Obviously, Spike did not have to learn a lesson, because he is the most awesome friend a pony could ask for. Unlike everypony else, he took things seriously—"

- Lesson Zero

"Spike want!"

- Secret of My Excess

"I'll never wash that cheek again."

- About being kissed on the cheek by Rarity in Secret of My Excess

Appearances

 * See also character appearances

Spike appears in all episodes except Look Before You Sleep, Call of the Cutie, Sonic Rainboom, Stare Master, and Sweet and Elite.

Merchandise

 * Main article: toys

A Spike figure is included in Twilight Sparkle's Twinkiling Balloon set, and the molded 5-Pack Gift Set.

Gallery

 * Spike image gallery

Trivia

 * Fluttershy calls Spike a "baby dragon" in Friendship is Magic, part 1, and later in a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles Spike is being hatched from a dragon egg by Twilight. This makes him several years younger than Twilight and her friends. Coupled with the hundred-year nap of the dragon in Dragonshy, it's evident that dragons grow to their full size very slowly and may possibly live for thousands of years.


 * Spike prefers to eat gemstones over pony food, as shown in The Ticket Master and subsequent episodes.


 * In the first episode, while telling Fluttershy his life story, Spike says he was hatched from a purple and green egg. In the episode The Cutie Mark Chronicles, it is seen that his egg was lavender with darker purple spots, assuming the dragon Twilight hatched was Spike.


 * Spike is the only main character who does not have a pet. Although, he did take care of various creatures before, such Fluttershy's animals in Dragonshy, and a Parasprite in Swarm of the Century.


 * In the episode Griffon the Brush-Off, Spike mentioned he was fireproof, but in Owl's Well That Ends Well, his spines were slightly burned by the wild dragon.


 * Spike lets every pony know how he feels about what he considers overly-sentimental, heart-warming situations by sticking his tongue out and pointing a finger into his open mouth to show disgust. Towards the end of The Ticket Master, when the six leading ponies hug each other, Spike's reaction to the situation coupled with the fact he is about to belch out a message from Princess Celestia delivers a rebuke from Applejack.


 * Spike can be heard humming the opening theme song in Griffon the Brush Off.


 * Scootaloo mentions that Spike told her zip-lining is awesome in The Cutie Mark Chronicles.


 * In Winter Wrap Up when Twilight tries to wake Spike up, he asks if its his mommy, and is disappointed when its Twilight saying "you're not mommy" despite the fact that he's, presumably, never seen his mother.