Showing results for tags 'spike'.

I visit a lot of mlp forums and each forum seems to all have very torn and varied opinions about Spike's age. So the question is the title. Why do you think he's a child? For me, I don't deny that he is a baby dragon. But I do not compare him to a baby pony or a child pony like the CMC because he has the mental maturity on par even with the main ponies he hangs out with. In my opinion Spike is not a child because of the following reasons. - He has a strong sense of responsibility and is Twilight Sparkle's assistant rather than her burden. - He takes care of her by doing chores like cooking and cleaning rather than the other way around. - Twilight would occasionally send Spike to Canterlot by himself on royal business that could last for days as mentioned in "Look Before you Sleep." - He can talk to Canterlot elite like Hoity Toity and was able to convince him to watch Rarity's fashion show even though it meant Hoity Toity would travel from Canterlot to Ponyville as in "Suited for Success." - He was the only character that knew to do the right thing in "Lesson Zero" to save Twilight exhibiting more maturity than even the other 5 ponies. - Spike has exceptional cooking skills where he prepares the ponies food in "Over a Barrel", "A Bird in the Hoof", "Owls Well that Ends Well" and "Dragon Quest." - He was assigned an important responsibility as Pageant Narrator in "Hearths Warming Eve." - He has no curfew in "Secret of my Excess" because Twilight went to bed and did not wait up for him to come home after Spike had his first growth spurt. - His crush on Rarity is not looked down upon by any pony. Even Twilight encourages and supports him as shown in "Boast Busters." I may have missed a few. That's all I could remember from the top of my head. I have to check my mp4 collection of the episodes. I know he's done a few nutty things in the past but has he done anything less mature than Pinkie or RD would have done? Anyway, another argument against Spike being a child is the amount of manual labor the ponies make him do. If he really is a child then the ponies would be guilty of child abuse or forced child labor. Another interesting thing about Spike is how he physically matures. See below. Since Spike was raised by ponies instead of being a wild dragon, he never learned to act like other dragons. In "Secret of my Excess," Spike learns to hoard by instinct and this causes him to transform into a huge rampaging dragon. He couldn't control it because it was all instinct and couldn't understand what was happening to his body. In "Dragon Quest," it is revealed that dragons practice aggression, dominance and basically being an all around jerk as the normal acceptable ways of their species. Basically, everything that Spike is not. So if Spike was never raised by ponies and instead grew up as a normal feral dragon, by this time he would be a very large dragon that steals phoenix eggs and bullies every creature he sees into giving up their stuff for his hoard. He might even be challenging other dragons for territory or hoard dominance like when they played King of the Hoard but in a winner take all death match sort of way. TLDR, Why do you think he is a child?

I plan on doing a blog (and video) on why Spike was never (or at least since Season 2) a baby dragon/child, as many fans say. With this blog, I just want to see all of your arguments as to why you think he's not a teen/adult, to make sure I'm not letting any details slip. Thank you in advance for reading and commenting.

In another thread, I asked for Spike and Rainbow Dash fanfictions, and while many had opinions on the ship, nobody seemed to be able to give me any fanfictions. Now I'll ask on the overall opinion of a Spike and Rainbow Dash shipping. I used to love Spike and Luna, then Spike and Rarity, then Spike and Sweetie Belle, but it wasn't until I read one Spike and Rainbow fanfic (in which they did not even get together but became closer) that I realized Spike and Rainbow Dash would be absolutely perfect for each other. Sure, they would be great as drinking buddies, but what about a couple? I've taken it upon myself to produce a RainbowSpike fanfiction piece. It is current featured on FIMfiction.net. http://www.fimfiction.net/story/46048/Spike%27s-Rainbow-Dash This scene perfectly depicts their compatibility: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX_vsSGasnU

in this new show, spike the dragon, is spike the dog. i dislike this. i would like to hear others thoughts about that development.

I still have yet to know what Spike is going to be doing in the new movie (besides being a hound again). They didn't really show much of him in the trailers or sneak-peeks. Probably planning something unsuspecting for him. I'm hoping he'll be able to have a proper singing part in the movie (or at least singing in the background, so at least he won't be left out of the fun). Everyone knows he talks now, so it wouldn't hurt. What would you like to see him do in the new movie?

So Simple Queston but do you think Twilight ever told her parents her dog can talk now? or do they keep it a secretl? for whatever reason. Never been brought up in EqG so eh, just speculatingh ere

This I'm really hoping for! Turns out Dragon Spike still crushes on pony Rarity, and he kinda crushed on EG Rarity, but I'm actually really hoping Dog Spike would be different. Luckily there are no hints of dog Spike crushing on Rarity, which is good, at least in my opinion! It would show more of how different this Spike is from the other Spike. Now, spoiler to the new EG: it would seem that Sci-Twi doesn't crush on Flash Sentry like pony Twilight does. So this gives some thought! Maybe dog Spike doesn't crush on Rarity either! Good, I'm hoping it stays that way. What would be really cool if dog Spike actually crushed on Fluttershy! Yunno how she is around animals, and maybe that'll make him like her! Cathy Weseluck said she preferred Spike having a crush on Fluttershy instead of Rarity, so maybe her dream can come true on EG! Don't worry, Sparity fans! Spike still likes Rarity in Equestria! It's just the EG universe might be different, which I'm hoping for. What do you think?

Even as Twilight moved up in the world, Spike was right there by her side with his status not clear. Likely, he may still remain Twilight's assistant, but that doesn't make any sense. I understand the purpose of Spike staying with Twilight before: Twilight was only Celestia's student, and as much potential has she had, resources can't be spent on someone far away who's just studying. Having one assistant who ran some errands and kept the connection with Celestia made sense. Now though Twilight is a princess. Even if she stays in Ponyvile, it would make no sense for her not to have ponies by her side--you don't exactly leave your royalty out in the open in any situation. Twilight will have at least half a dozen assistants doing Spike's job, and this is not counting the royal guard, who also act as messengers. Really, is there a need for Spike to be there anymore? Now many of you are going to bring up the family connection. But being family and assistant aren't equivalent to each other. If being with family is what's important now, then Spike has got more family in Canterlot, including Celestia (who may have taken care of Spike before giving him to Twilight). Also, because of Twilight's new position, she's not going to be able to give that family interaction as much. What interaction she'll give won't be separate from that she'll give an assistant. Mind you, I am a huge Spike fan. I don't want Spike to leave the show; his role should be different though. If Spike leaves Twilight, he'll have the chance to grow into his own without being in Twilight's shadow. As an example, Spike could still stay in Ponyvile and take the role Twilight once had when she first came to town: the role of student studying life lessons and friendship. Or Spike can take charge of the library if Twilight gets her own castle. What do you think? Should Spike leave Twilight? --

Spike's heart still belongs to Rarity. But she's kept him in the friendzone so long that he's probably open to a reasonable alternative. Until now, his flirting with Applejack stayed just below my radar. But looking back, from the almost “accidental” kiss in Dog and Pony Show to the massage in Spike at Your Service, it now seems painfully obvious. Check out this little clip. Sadly, I don't even know what episode it's from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pkVC2JWTgU Sound effect gag aside, what is up with that? I imagine AJ is exaggerating a bit, but why would Spike hug her repeatedly if he considered her just another older female pony friend? “Hoo there, loverboy,” indeed!

Okay! So Twilight had her entrance exam at roughly the age of 4 years old (given take her size, and lack of cutie mark, and She's smaller then the CMC's) she used her magic to help hatch Spike a Baby Dragon, okay so far so good. Enter Season 1, Twilight is now considered an Adult Mare, maybe 18 years of age at least, so my question is this. How the hell is Spike still a "Baby Dragon"? He can cook, take care of himself, is able to make a living, and has shown to be very mature, and level headed. You can come up with the most practical explanation cause I'd love to hear it, but by that logic then 14 years would have passed making Spike at least a Pre-Teen. I'm gonna need some discussion on this because this makes absolutely no sense?

https://mlpforums.com/calendar/event/158-%7B%3F%7D/?module=events Title: Spike at your Service Air Date: December 29th, 2012 Synopsis: Just as Spike is about to be gobbled up by hungry Timberwolves, he is saved by Applejack; Spike feels the need to repay Applejack and is soon offering a little too much assistance on the farm in order to fulfill the 'Noble Dragon Code.' Aaaand more leaked episodes. Seeing as how Hasbro would have roasted Apple on a stick by now for leaking four or so episodes so early, I'm pretty certain it's on purpose as a marketing scheme to get attention :3 Anywho, look, more AJ. AND TIMBERWOLVES. YES.

I always felt like MLP nerfed the dragons and buffed the ponies.

Anyone else liked The Land Before Time movies, series, and/or franchise? If so, post anything you want about it, here!

So let me start off by saying that I do NOT intend to start a flame war here. I'm just trying to figure out what seems to be the most canon ship in the entire show. (then again, I've only just watched up to episode 10 of Season 2, so there's still stuff I'm still not aware of) There's nothing really wrong with the whole thing, right? But yet, there does seem to be a problem with it. I still can't help but think it's strange.Forgetting that they're different species (that doesn't really matter), I can't help but wonder; wait, Spike's a baby dragon, right? And I'm going to assume Rarity is a filly or something close to an adult, right?Now perhaps being a baby dragon means he could be closer to fifteen or sixteen when it comes to human years, since dragons in most fantasy settings tend to live for thousands of years. But even still, something about how small he is coupled with the fact that he is constantly referred to as a baby dragon kind of bothers me. All the innocent kissing is fine, but honestly after watching that episode it really seemed like it was a little more than that. I mean, he was going to confess his love to her right when he thought they were going to die. That was pretty intense.Bravo to the writers for doing something like this in what started as a children's cartoon. And honestly, I do like the whole Spike x Rarity ship. I love it in fact. But at the same time, I still can't help but find it strange.No flame war intended, and I hope I am not the only one who feels this way. I am still kind of newborn brony after all...

Title: Gauntlet of Fire Air Date: April 16, 2016 Written by: TBA Synopsis: In order to save his friends, Spike is forced to compete in a perilous Gauntlet for the title of Dragon Lord. Remember to watch with us live at the CMC Clubhouse on Equestria.tv 11:30 AM EST/8:30 AM PST "Please be a good me episode. Is that too much to ask?"

In S1 E21 Over a Barrel, Spike plays the piano in Pinkie Pie's song "You got to share, You got to care." But, where did Spike learn to play the piano though? I know that Spike grew up with Twilight Sparke, and her family, but it never says that Spike learned how to play the piano though. What do you all think?

People need to not look so much at Spike's negative sides, and start looking more at his more positive sides! Spike's the BEST friend anypony could ever ask for! He's basically every Element of Harmony put together! His snarkiness makes him funny, he was generous when he gave Rarity that gem, he's honest to Twilight and Starlight and all his other friends when they have their flaws, he's very kind to them during their rough times, and he's loyal above all else! Yes, Spike does make mistakes sometimes, and there are times when the writers have to make OOC for comedic purposes, but if you look more into him, he's actually the best character in the entire show! His friends do look after him, but in all honesty, he looks after his friends a whole lot more! They need him just as much as he needs them! Not just his friends in the Mane Six, but all his other friends too outside of it! Hopefully the writers could get more into an in-depth story within his character. We're not all that sure how he feels about his position in life all in all, as he's not very open to his friends all the time and mostly keeps to himself. After all, he never met his parents, he doesn't know how he came in Celestia's possession, and he doesn't even know what his destiny is; so right now all he does is help his friends out, learn what he needs to learn, and he rarely complains about it! He puts up with the Mane Six's BS all the time, cause he sees their positives more than their negatives, and vice-versa! This is what makes Spike the most interesting character in the show, and the best friend ANYONE (not just anypony) could ask for! Also those of you that think Spike is getting the short end of the stick because he's a dog in EG or a pufferfish in the movie. Relax, dogs are better than humans by a long shot, and puffer fish are extremely venomous and fast! So in all things considered, whatever species Spike becomes, he's superior to the Mane Six! Do the writers see this though? Some do (Ex: Lady Writers, Meghan McCarthy), and some don't (Ex: Merriwhether Williams, Neal Dusedau). Hopefully either at the end of season 7, or any future season ahead, we can learn the truth about him! His real purpose! Not this Power Ponies or Dragon Quest-level nonsense, and especially not Princess Spike! We want the Gauntlet of Fire and Times Are Changeling-levels of nonsense, and Triple Threat as well if it turns out to be as awesome!

You know who's disappointed in you, Spike? You. And only you can make it right with you again. What would that take, Spike? – Twilight Sparkle The time has finally come for the Equestria Games to begin. As their train nears the Crystal Empire, Rainbow Dash takes the opportunity to give the Ponyville athletes a final pep talk. She encourages them to go for the gold in all their events, before admitting that it might be a bridge too far for the Aerial Relay team of herself, Bulk Biceps and Fluttershy (along with Derpy as reserve). They’re up against the Wonderbolts, after all. This scene highlights just how far Rainbow Dash has developed as a character. She shows a great deal of maturity, and is even willing to be vulnerable and forthright in front of others. This is a far cry from the Rainbow Dash who used to hide her concerns under a layer of bluff and bluster, even from her closest friends. Scootaloo is also impressive here, not only by showing that she can at least hover briefly at will, but also by encouraging Rainbow Dash in return. Well done, writers! At the train station, Spike is happily doing his usual task of looking after everypony’s luggage, while the Crusaders look on. He tells the fillies that he has a system to calm himself whenever he’s under pressure: he counts to ten, and afterwards is calm enough to do the job right. No sooner has he finished explaining this than he is swept up into a chair by two Crystal Empire guards, and brought to Princesses Cadance and Twilight. The Guards are contrite about unceremoniously dumping him out the chair as they bow, making Spike even more confused at their words and behaviour. His confusion is cleared up when he learns that, due to his heroics in the Season 3 premiere, he is considered a VID (Very Important Dragon) within the Crystal Empire, even having had a giant statue made in his likeness. Princess Cadance then asks him if he will do the honour of lighting the torch for the opening ceremony of the games. He readily agrees. Under the less than indulgent eye of returning character Ms. Harshwhinny, Spike comes out to do his duty… only for the enormous crowd filling the stadium to trigger a sudden bout of stage fright. Even his handy trick of counting backfires, as it makes him even more aware of the tens of thousands of ponies watching. At least now we know how he counted all the grass at Sweet Apple Acres so fast. Even after getting the signal to light the torch from Ms. Harshwhinny, he finds the pressure to perform is causing, shall we say, "a reptile dysfunction"? I’ve heard of having a “limp lizard”, but this is ridiculous… Unable to breathe fire, and without a backup (really, not even one just in case?), Spike tries to use himself like a lighter, recycling a visual gag from Apple Family Reunion in Season 3. Nothing works, and the crowd is starting to get restless at the delay. Princess Cadance eventually asks a guard to go down and help Spike, but Twilight acts faster, using her magic to secretly ignite the torch for him. A short time later, the Mane Six are congratulating the Crusaders on their flag waving routine, when Twilight joins them, and confesses her role in the torch lighting. They all agree the best thing to do is come clean to Spike. When he arrives, however, he is now convinced he has the ability to set things on fire with just his mind! I’m not sure how I feel about this joke. Spike is many things, but he’s not usually so stupid as to conclude he has new mental fire-lighting abilities, rather than realizing the more likely cause of his success. After a very awkward conversation with some of his Crystal Pony fans, Twilight mercifully puts Spike’s misapprehension to bed. The truth that he really DID fail in front of thousands of spectators depresses the young dragon, and he wanders off disconsolately. As the Aerial Relay takes place, Spike asks Ms. Harshwhinny if he can do something else for the Games. However, she doesn't know the whole story, and thinks he's just trying to gain even more popularity. She sarcastically comments that next he'll want to do a rock concert. At this, he gets an idea. An awful idea. The dragon got a wonderful, awful idea... After Cloudsdale's Wonderbolts narrowly beat out Ponyville for the gold, Spike volunteers to sing the Crystal Empire anthem, despite Shining Armor's best efforts to stop him. However, since Cloudsdale won, it's their anthem that is due to be played, one to which he doesn't know the words or even the tune. What follows next is without a doubt the hardest sceneto watch in the entire show, including all four Seasons and associated spin-offs. Spike has to make up the words himself, and he does about as well as you would expect, repeating lines about "being fast", "having wonderful trees" and "I hope this song is over now..." ad nauseum. Captain! The "dafuq am I listening to?" levels are off the scale! Only Pinkie isn't gob smacked over how horrible this situation is, bopping her head in time with the horrible singing (later done again in Rainbow Rocks, with Pinkie and Sonata) She even screams out "Nailed it!" in the ensuing stunned silence at the song's end. Now, am I the only one who sees the simple solution here? All they had to do was give orders for the music to be played really loudly (it can be heard in the background anyway). Then Spike could just mouth any words he likes, and they could claim that the music "accidentally" drowned out his singing. Soblem prolved! In the wake of the recent events, Spike decides to wait out the Games in his room, moping. The Crusaders try to persuade him to come out for the final day of the Games, but he refuses. Twilight, eventually having had enough, sternly orders him to come with her to view the final event: Ice Archery. Reluctantly and in disguise, he follows her, saying that she can't understand how he feels for having let everypony down. Twilight says she does understand, since she has let ponies down too. Spike still turns away... Out on the field, one of the ice archers is paying a little too much attention to his Cloudsdale competitor. He trip and accidentally fires an arrow into a low hanging cloud, which ices up and begins to fall onto the panicking crowd. Since all unicorn and alicorn magic is now locked by a spell to prevent in-game cheating, things look bad... until Spike, using various pegasii as stepping stones, leaps into the air and uses his fire breath to melt the iceberg and save everyone. The crowd cheers, and the Mane Six and even all three Princesses thank Spike for his bravery. Despite this, he still feels like he isn't worthy, leading Twilight to the epiphany voiced above. To give him back his confidence, Spike is tasked with lighting the fireworks in the closing ceremony of the Equestria Games, and delivers his final thoughts as he does so successfully... the person whose view of you is most important, is you. Bonus points for the fireworks exploding in purple and green... and even Ms Harshwhinny seems much kinder at the end. Thoughts on the Episode Once you get over the vicarious embarrassment of the anthem scene, you're left with another great Spike focused episode. Apart from that aforementioned scene, and the "I can light fires with my mind" joke, which thankfully is used to somewhat of good effect and then resolved before continuing with the plot, it's really just Spike struggling with a poor self-image, something we can all relate to at times. At the end of it all, he steps up and saves the day again, further cementing his status as saviour of the Crystal Empire... and let's face it, Precious Scales deserves it after all the crap he's been put through in previous episodes. And the ponies couldn't be happier for him. That's nice, isn't it? The writing was pretty good throughout this episode, from the opening scene showing Rainbow "Developed" Dash, to the excitement of the Games and the final action scene. Just one thing bothers me... where did Spike get that umbrella? There was a lot of good character jokes to be had here, and Pinkie was really on form, comedically missing the point in the fiasco that Spike creates, and "panicking" over the medal count. The Crusaders were also on form, with Scootaloo showing possible progress in her flying, and her surrogate sister relationship with Dash growing ever stronger. Speaking of Dash, her attempt to be nonchalant and overdoing it is perfectly in line with her character , as was Spike simply not noticing. Some other nice touches were various cameos in the crowd, including Prince Blueblood, the Maretonia Rarity clone, Cherry Jubilee, Fancy Pants, Braeburn; the list goes on. There are plenty others, go see how many you can find, even in this one picture.... I particularly like the one pony who is definitely Bulk Bicep's mom. He always did strike me as a momma's boy... There's also the griffins making a comeback! Highlights and Quotes Spike's reaction to giant statue of him with the Crystal Heart. Spike: Hullo, gorgeous! All the unicorns have to have their magic locked during the games. Rarity's reaction is priceless! Rarity: Hmph! <struts off> Ms Harshwhinny's reaction to Spike wanting to do MORE for the Games Spike: Maybe there's something else I can do for the Games. Y'know, something really worthy of the Crystal Empire's admiration? Ms. Harshwhinny: What are you talking about? You lit the torch for the whole thing! Spike: Uh, well, actually, that wasn't really– Ms. Harshwhinny: That wasn't worthy enough for you? Ugh, for pony's sake! Next thing you know, you'll be asking to put on a rock concert. *snorts to herself* Celebrities... After Spike's disastrous singing of the Cloudsdale Anthem Stunned silence... Pinky (From the crowd): NAILED IT! Pros: An episode that gave Spike the respect he deserves, while still making him suffer for his happy ending. Good character based humour. Concludes a major Season 4 story arc just in time for the finale. Related to the previous, many cameos. Visually spectacular. Cons: Some really cringe-making humour. Spike's belief that he can light fires with just his mind (the burning feather from Owl's Well notwithstanding...) also contributes. Final Rating 5 – Celestia Rank: A great episode. It will be re-watched frequently. 4 – Luna Rank: A good episode, but with one or two problems that prevent it from being great. 3 – Spike Rank: An average episode. Positives and negatives are balanced. 2 – Discord Rank: Worth watching once. After that, turn it to stone and put it in the garden. 1 – Nightmare Moon Rank: Send it to the moon! Goddamn finally finished all the Season 4 reviews! It took a while, but sometimes the inspiration just refuses to strike. But it did, and it's done! In the next few entries, I'll look at an overall review of Season 4, exploring why it's possibly the best one yet, and also explore the many awesome songs and rank them, before turning my attentions to Seasons 2 and 3. There's also some other stuff I want to get going on writing, like some of my fanfiction, and even maybe some entries about shows that are not Friendship is Magic. Plus some Rainbow Rocks stuff, naturally! Looks like 2015 is going to a busy one for this fox! In the meantime, don't shoot ice arrows at any clouds, and of course, stay sunny side up!

Spike! Never, ever, ever, ever take another book out of the library at the castle without asking! – Twilight Sparkle The preparations for the Ponyville Foal and Filly Festival are done, and the event is about to start. Pinkie Pie is of course thrilled at the prospect of having a giant party with the young ponies of Ponyville. But Rarity is also looking forward to it as she puts the finishing touches on a puppet theatre she was commissioned to do, with Spike looking on and complimenting her, as is his wont. Unfortunately, Rarity lets her tendency for form over function get the best of her again, and her client ends up with a really beautiful but utterly useless puppet theatre. It neither travels nor has enough room for the performance, and the puppeteer promptly announces his disdain at the offering before storming off. Rarity is naturally devastated, and goes into a funk, curled up on her chaise longue, crying over her failure and gorging on carton after carton of Vanilla Oat Swirl ice cream. Unable to console her, Spike decides to visit the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters Library, along with Owlowiscious, to find a spell that can help her. Behind a secret door, Spike finds a spell book bathed in lurid green light on a pedestal. The lock on the gate is no match for his fire breath. He grabs the grimoire, oblivious to the obviously evil exterior and the fact that the stairway is crumbling beneath his feet as he casually walks back to the main room. Owlowiscious is far less sanguine, but his hoots of protests are brushed off by Spike as he reads the title of his acquisition: Inspiration Manifestation (roll credits *ding!*). The subtitle explains more: the spell instantly brings ideas to life. Returning to Rarity, he succeeds in convincing her to try out the spell despite her lingering depression. Reading the spell, Rarity’s own magic is replaced by the magic of the book. As part of the incantation, we learn the only way to break the spell: speaking words that are true. …wrong episode, Zecora. After upgrading first the cover of the book and then her fainting couch to prove the spell works as advertised, Rarity thanks Spike before setting out to adjust the puppet theatre to something more practical. The new design is a hit with the puppeteer, who declares that Rarity has redeemed herself, despite being suspicious as to how exactly she managed it. Rarity quickly silences Spike when he’s about to let Opal out of the bag and claims “trade secrets”. Having saved the day, Spike decides to return the book to the Castle, but Rarity asks him if she can keep it for just a bit longer. He agrees, and goes home for the night. Returning the next day, Spike goes to the Boutique to get the book, and finds that Rarity has been up all night effortlessly creating design after design. About this point it becomes clear that Rarity’s sanity is slipping under the influence of the spell. She ropes Spike into a new endeavor: secretly (just between the three of them) using the book to provide “beautifying upgrades” to the village. After a morning of incognito transmutation, Spike is finally realizing that Rarity is going too far. After she runs off alone to do more “improving”, Spike meets up with Twilight. She is of the opinion that some kind of new villain must be responsible. Resolving to steal the book away and end the spell, Spike chases after Rarity, after finding a subtle hint as to where she might have gone. Hey, look, they got Blossomforth right this time. Looking at you, Rainbow Falls. Finding her on a nearby hill, Spike eventually manages to pickpocket the book away from her, and is forced to swallow the book whole (presumably destroying it with his fiery dragon digestion). Despite this, it seems the spell is still very much in effect. Realizing she doesn't even need the book anymore, Rarity totally loses her perspective, claiming that she is going to entirely transform Equestria itself with her new-found powers. And that’s the right way to turn Rarity into a villain. Looking at you, Nightmare Rarity comic. Seeing just how far round the bend his friend and crush has gone, Spike flatly refuses to let her continue down this path. He finally tells her what he really thinks of her recent actions: that while she might have the power to change things, that doesn't mean the changes are good, and that he fears he has let Rarity become “something awful”. With these candid words, Spike inadvertently triggers the ending condition for the spell, the magic dissipating and leaving behind a rather disorientated Rarity, who seems surprised to learn that she was the cause of “something quite terrifying” happening to Ponyville. She also tells Spike that he should never be afraid to be honest with his friends. Spike writes the friendship lesson he learned into the journal, just before Twilight returns home, having spent all day with both Princess Cadance and Princess Luna fixing his mistake. She firmly reprimands him for taking spell books out of the Castle Library without asking. Spike applies his new lesson and tells her that she doesn't look so good right now, making this perhaps the first time Twilight hasn't been happy at the end of a story. Episode Analysis This episode is certainly a much better offering than the previous episode, which I gave a pretty hard time. First and foremost, it was a Spike episode, which is a… I don’t think I need to make that joke, you make it in your head already… while Rarity was in more of a supporting role. Spike actually learns a decent moral, and even the way the secondary moral is brushed aside is very much in line with Spike’s tendency to miss the point. He also deserves praise for being brave enough to tell Rarity "no", despite thinking it would be the end of their friendship. On the negative side, one could say his usual obliviousness was taken to extremes for the sake of the story. Which is, I have to say, one of the less worthy ways to generate a plot. On the positive side, I feel that this episode was presenting a rather realistic (in terms of the show, of course, not real life) way in which you could turn Rarity into a villain – give her the power to effortlessly realign the world into something more congruent with her own sensibilities, under the belief that she knows better than other ponies how they and the world should be. The scariest demonstration of the power of the spell comes in during the party scene. There, she quite clearly altered the appearance and behaviour of the clown and musician ponies themselves. Although most of the time she seemed to stop short of actually overriding the will of the “benefactors” of her power, that seems more like a decision on Rarity’s part than a limitation of the power of Inspiration Manifestation itself. A frightening thought, indeed. Given that it took three alicorn princesses to undo the damage (with difficulty) that was done by one pony (effortlessly), one wonders whether even Discord could defeat Rarity when she is wielding the power of her. Creative! GENIUS! Oh, and Inspiration Manifestation, of course. There would be a caption for this picture, only I just got turned into a golden statue of a fox... Some other random thoughts: it was an interesting inclusion of Sweetie Belle’s parents actually spending time with the filly, and we finally see her dad without a hat to confirm that he is actually a unicorn. I also noticed Dinky was “paired” with a pony who was definitely not Derpy (Amethyst Star, I think), while other known sibling groups were also shown, such as Thunderlane and Rumble. Speaking of Derpy, did she even appear in this episode? I don’t recall seeing her. Not that it’s evidence against the common fanon of Dinky being Derpy's foal, but they could have used that opportunity to confirm the link for certain. (What double standard?) The other Mane Six all made token appearances, providing a few yuks, especially the bit where the poor robin was trapped in his new birdmansion. Although that was a bit of fridge logic… Fly towards the eye of the pony giving you the directions, ya dumb boid! All in all, an enjoyable episode, focusing on the problem that Spike almost unleashed upon an unsuspecting Equestria. Highlights and Quotes First... Rarity: We shouldn't even tell anypony that it's me who's behind all the fabulous changes I'll be making! Won't that be a fun little secret for the three of us to share? Spike: The... three of us? Rarity: You, me, and the book, of course. Then the brick joke: Spike: *sighs* I can't do it. I promised I'd keep all of this between the three of us! Owlowiscious: *hoots* Spike: Of course it's weird she meant her, me and the spell book. But– The spell book! Of course! If I can get it away from her, I bet she won't be able to use its magic anymore! *Owlowiscious rolls his eyes* Oh, come on, it's the perfect plan! I... just have to figure out which way she went. Cue ponies crying out about the blinding gold-paved streets. When Spike blames Owlowiscious for taking the book, the hapless owl gets this long-suffering expression on his face as if to say, "Whelp, time to take one for the team..." Pros: A good day in the limelight for Spike. A believable “start of darkness” story, and rather frightening potential for Rarity to become a true force of evil. Spike learns a good moral about being honest. Cons: Perhaps he should have learned “don’t take things without permission” moral instead. Stretching Spike's ability to ignore details to an uncomfortable degree. Final Rating 5 – Celestia Rank: A great episode. It will be re-watched frequently. 4 – Luna Rank: A good episode, but with one or two problems that prevent it from being great. 3 – Spike Rank: An average episode. Positives and negatives are balanced. 2 – Discord Rank: Worth watching once. After that, turn it to stone and put it in the garden. 1 – Nightmare Moon Rank: Send it to the moon! May you never be improved against your will and stay sunny side up!

So, this is just a random thought in my head. Would Spike ever think about (and possible go through) with eating Crystal ponies? Now this might seem morbid (which it is, I'm not gonna lie) but when you think about it, Spike (and I assume most dragons) like eating gems and the crystal ponies aren't like normal ponies, they are completely see through, like gems. It's not hard for Spike to put 2 and 2 together, and when you think back to his gem addiction problem it's not hard to see how this could play out. Of course there are a number of problems, but I want your guys thoughts on this.

I don't know about you, but I'd really like of one of the songs from the series played during my sending-off. It sounds morbid on the surface, but I'd like to think it would add a small glimmer of happiness to the attendees. Even those who hate the show with all their life can't deny some of the songs are really happy and upbeat and could cheer everypony up. I'm thinking Pinkie's Smile song as the final one on the list. Would feel so bittersweet - it would be my way of reminding everyone that even though I'm gone they have to pick themselves up and carry on. What song would everypony have played at theirs? (Sorry if this thread upsets anypony or it sounds too morbid.)