Do the ponies deserve Spike?

[Jon the VGNerd 885]

Well, I think the ponies deserve Spike because he has to deliver notes for them, considering on how the ponies can't deliver the notes for themselves due to being caught up with chores and such. Just my opinion.

[Starswirl the Trixie 975]

Well, I think the ponies deserve Spike because he has to deliver notes for them, considering on how the ponies can't deliver the notes for themselves due to being caught up with chores and such. Just my opinion.

 

Having use of something (or in this case, somedragon) is different from deserving it.

 

Ponies gained control of Equestria by basically eliminating nature itself, forcing all hostile species back into the Everfree forest, leaving only docile ones. These docile animals were made completely and utterly dependent upon ponies for basic survival. With ponies as the dominant species, all other highly intelligent life is in a state of serfdom or slavery. While Spike is probably able to survive without ponies, he is still deemed as being inferior, hence his social position as the community workhorse workdragon. While dragons may be higher than helpless woodland creatures in social hierarchy, it is impossible to judge their overall position as there is only one living in pony civilization.

[Jon the VGNerd 885]

Having use of something (or in this case, somedragon) is different from deserving it.

 

Ponies gained control of Equestria by basically eliminating nature itself, forcing all hostile species back into the Everfree forest, leaving only docile ones. These docile animals were made completely and utterly dependent upon ponies for basic survival. With ponies as the dominant species, all other highly intelligent life is in a state of serfdom or slavery. While Spike is probably able to survive without ponies, he is still deemed as being inferior, hence his social position as the community workhorse workdragon. While dragons may be higher than helpless woodland creatures in social hierarchy, it is impossible to judge their overall position as there is only one living in pony civilization.

 

Looks like I have no objections about your thoughts, then. *brohoof'd*

[ponyvangelist 732]

On the bright side, eventually he will grow up. And remember everything.

 

Oh yes. Yes he will.

[Gone for good 1,593]

But Starswirl, what about the other dragons that were introduced in Dragon Quest? While at the moment all of the dragons are too focused on violence and greed, it's only going to be a matter of time before they realize they too can rule Equestria if they work together. In The secret of my Excess, no pony even including the wonderbolts were able to stop Spike's rampage, the only thing that was able to stop him was his heart, something that I believe that most dragons simply do not have. Now, if Spike managed to do this much damage, imagine what crazy things all the dragons in Equestria could do if they worked together.

 

Although to relate back to the subject at hand, Spike destroyed Ponyville during The Secret of my Excess, I think that his crimes towards ponykind should be punished, and if being a servant to Twilight is his punishment then he has it out easy.

 

that was the weirdest thing I've ever written.

Edited April 5, 2012 by lordbababa

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Spike is baws:

 

Such a feat that two female pegasi received wing boners from his presence.

[Eenohay 318]

Well it's rather common for people to take other people for granted when they do nice things for them. Yes he does seem quite underappreciated, but he can manage. (for now)

[Dragonshy 2,305]

I agree, they take him for granted :/

Edited April 5, 2012 by Dragonshy

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I'm afraid I must agree mostly with what Scootacool said. The others do not neglect Spike or treat him like a slave. He has a job to do for Twilight and he does it quite well. He's appreciated and loved by the others not as a pet, but as a friend.

 

Incidentally, that bit with him pasted into the picture? What if he was the one behind the camera in that picture? That would easily explain why he wasn't in the picture itself and had to be poorly edited in.

 

Now, I will agree that occasionally Spike is underutilized, or ignored when he could help in certain issues. For example, he doesn't help out in Dragonshy when taking him along should have been one of Twilight's first thoughts. But on the whole, he's their friend, their little brother, the one they all like to have around.

[hironakamura 126]

I'm afraid I must agree mostly with what Scootacool said. The others do not neglect Spike or treat him like a slave. He has a job to do for Twilight and he does it quite well. He's appreciated and loved by the others not as a pet, but as a friend.

 

Incidentally, that bit with him pasted into the picture? What if he was the one behind the camera in that picture? That would easily explain why he wasn't in the picture itself and had to be poorly edited in.

 

Now, I will agree that occasionally Spike is underutilized, or ignored when he could help in certain issues. For example, he doesn't help out in Dragonshy when taking him along should have been one of Twilight's first thoughts. But on the whole, he's their friend, their little brother, the one they all like to have around.

 

What about a camera with a timer or using magic to TK the camera? Its fine when its explained why Spike is left out like in Dragonshy but if he's left out without explanation especially if they're social gatherings (Twi's Bday in Sweet and Elite or AJ's party in Last Round Up) it kind of hurts the Spike fan in me.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

What about a camera with a timer or using magic to TK the camera? Its fine when its explained why Spike is left out like in Dragonshy but if he's left out without explanation especially if they're social gatherings (Twi's Bday in Sweet and Elite or AJ's party in Last Round Up) it kind of hurts the Spike fan in me.

 

I won't deny that there are times when he should be included where he isn't. With those events, I prefer to fault the fact that there are usually too many characters present in something already, and his presence just in the background would add little.

 

Still...you are correct that it is troubling he was left out of Twilight's birthday party...perhaps someone needed to watch the library? It is a public facility after all.

[John H Rhodes JR 0]

the sad part is as long as twilight and the others continue to surpress his ability to practice greed he will remain a " baby" dragon from now on. I guess his age to be around 12 or so. I think they do treat him as a slave. hopefully this will be address in season 3

[Duskbeam 3]

Vote for the libaration of Spike, 2012!

[Bright Honor 2,654]

Ok, yeah that picture that you included in your post is pretty sad. I winced when I realized what it was when I was rewatching the episode. That was pretty bad.

 

With that said, I don't think that we can read much into it. I get the general impression from the show that all of the mane 6 sort of treat Spike as their younger brother. This means that they probably don't give him quite as much respect as he should get. However, it also means that they all really care about him and his safety.

 

I don't get the impression that they treat him as a pet or a slave. The work that Spike does is literally his job. He works as Twilight's assistant in the Library. The job isn't easy, but it seems as though he really does enjoy his job. As a matter of fact, he panicked when it looked like he was being replaced by Owloysius.

 

Spike has demonstrated that he is self-aware, intelligent, and capable of reasoning things out. If the situation was really as bad as all that, then why would he stay? Why would he be upset when he was being replaced? You know, some folks actually like working. Maybe Spike is one of them?

 

 

 

I'm going to be honest with you. I may joke around about alternative interpretations on this forum, but I really do think of Spike's feelings for Rarity as being sort of like when a younger kid has a crush on a teacher or something like that.

 

Besides, in the most recent episode, I really do have to say that Rarity had more of a motherly attitude towards Spike than anything else. She is caring of him and protective but there does not seem to be much "romantic" stuff there from her end of things. (In before SpikexRarity shippers take me to the chopping block.)

 

This is taken from a post that I did a while back.....

 

I would like to present a different way of looking at the whole fire ruby incident. Rarity did not push Spike to give her the gem.

 

She told him (quite clearly) that she thought the gem was fabulous, but Spike gave her the gem of his own free will. To Spike, it was more important for Rarity to be happy than for him to eat the Fire Ruby. He made that decision. Not her.

 

Giving Rarity the gem was a tremendous act of generosity. In fact, it was that single act of generosity that was able to completely undo the transformation that occurred in Spike due to the many acts of greed that he committed afterwards.

 

Think about it. If Spike had not shown generosity to the Rarity then it is possible that nothing would have been able to reverse his transformation. Rarity did not use Spike, she actually saved him.

 

This kind of makes sense though, doesn't it? Rarity is the element of generosity. Generosity can be both given to others and received.

 

Finally, let's all put this into perspective. Spike gets to spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out with 6 of the most awesome ponies in Equestria and they are female. Most guys would kill to take his place. I'm serious here. Look, if Spike is being tortured then I wouldn't mind some of this torture.

 

Edit: I left out some stuff the first time due to sloppy copy-pasting. Also, please note, my last paragraph is intended for humorous purposes and is not to be taken at face value (maybe).

 

I whole-heartedly agree. When Spike gave Rarity the gem, it was because he wanted to. Plus, you can tell that he enjoys what he does. It is indeed his job to do what he does for them. There are certainly people(myself included) that enjoy doing work. I am pretty sure that if Spike has a problem with how they treat him, he would say something. Besides trust me, Spike has it pretty good compared to other characters in a similar role.

[Tdroid 234]

Ok, yeah that picture that you included in your post is pretty sad. I winced when I realized what it was when I was rewatching the episode. That was pretty bad.

 

With that said, I don't think that we can read much into it. I get the general impression from the show that all of the mane 6 sort of treat Spike as their younger brother. This means that they probably don't give him quite as much respect as he should get. However, it also means that they all really care about him and his safety.

 

I don't get the impression that they treat him as a pet or a slave. The work that Spike does is literally his job. He works as Twilight's assistant in the Library. The job isn't easy, but it seems as though he really does enjoy his job. As a matter of fact, he panicked when it looked like he was being replaced by Owloysius.

 

Spike has demonstrated that he is self-aware, intelligent, and capable of reasoning things out. If the situation was really as bad as all that, then why would he stay? Why would he be upset when he was being replaced? You know, some folks actually like working. Maybe Spike is one of them?

 

 

 

I'm going to be honest with you. I may joke around about alternative interpretations on this forum, but I really do think of Spike's feelings for Rarity as being sort of like when a younger kid has a crush on a teacher or something like that.

 

Besides, in the most recent episode, I really do have to say that Rarity had more of a motherly attitude towards Spike than anything else. She is caring of him and protective but there does not seem to be much "romantic" stuff there from her end of things. (In before SpikexRarity shippers take me to the chopping block.)

 

This is taken from a post that I did a while back.....

 

I would like to present a different way of looking at the whole fire ruby incident. Rarity did not push Spike to give her the gem.

 

She told him (quite clearly) that she thought the gem was fabulous, but Spike gave her the gem of his own free will. To Spike, it was more important for Rarity to be happy than for him to eat the Fire Ruby. He made that decision. Not her.

 

Giving Rarity the gem was a tremendous act of generosity. In fact, it was that single act of generosity that was able to completely undo the transformation that occurred in Spike due to the many acts of greed that he committed afterwards.

 

Think about it. If Spike had not shown generosity to the Rarity then it is possible that nothing would have been able to reverse his transformation. Rarity did not use Spike, she actually saved him.

 

This kind of makes sense though, doesn't it? Rarity is the element of generosity. Generosity can be both given to others and received.

 

Finally, let's all put this into perspective. Spike gets to spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out with 6 of the most awesome ponies in Equestria and they are female. Most guys would kill to take his place. I'm serious here. Look, if Spike is being tortured then I wouldn't mind some of this torture.

 

Edit: I left out some stuff the first time due to sloppy copy-pasting. Also, please note, my last paragraph is intended for humorous purposes and is not to be taken at face value (maybe).

 

This is an interesting look at the situation and I largely agree with it. He does get less respect than he deserves, but at the end of the day the Mane6 seem to be willing to go out of their way to help him if he needs it.

[Twiliscael 3,960]

Most of you seem to neglect that he's kinda sorta a little bit like Twilight's slave. I infer that she legally owns him or is his caretaker so she has the right to do what she wants with him, unless it's something that we would consider child abuse.

[InfinityWhale 771]

Speaking from experience, I've been where Spike is at. And I LOVED it. Spike acts macho while still having cowardly moments, and is always there for others, but will deadpan snark with the rest of them. He essentially becomes the laughingstock of the group. But here's something: no one cares about anyone more than the laughingstock. They are the first to be thought of and the last to forgotten. When there's no one to be the butt of funny, but necessarily a little mean jokes, then who are they to pin it on? Speaking from experience, he might get tired every now and then (which is where we get problems with Owloliscious, and his need to "find himself" in Dragon Quest), but every indication is that he genuinely enjoys every part of being with his friends, even the parts where he gets made fun of a little.

 

As for Rarity, let's not forget the ages. Spike is about 15, and Rarity is about 18, or something like that (we've been over this in detail). Just enough difference to make it impossible, but not enough difference to make it permanently impossible. So she COULD just be waiting it out, or she might just think of him as a little kid. Or she could have friendzoned him, and that discussion is a can of worms waiting to happen.

 

Most of you seem to neglect that he's kinda sorta a little bit like Twilight's slave. I infer that she legally owns him or is his caretaker so she has the right to do what she wants with him, unless it's something that we would consider child abuse.

 

No indication of this. He chose to go along willingly, has been able to do things autonomously several times throughout the show, and was free to leave in Dragon Quest. Edited June 22, 2012 by InfinityWhale

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

You know, some folks actually like working. Maybe Spike is one of them?

 

Like Peter New, Nicole Oliver, Asheligh Ball, Tabitha St. Germain, Andrew Libman and Tara Strong.

[Tom 891]

It seems to me like Spike is okay with doing all the work, so I don't see any problem.

 

After all he tried to get rid of Owlicious when he thought that the new assistant would replace him. He clearly enjoys being the library assistant and general helper to Twilight.

 

May I also point out that they went out of their way to ensure that Spike was safe in the Dragon Quest.

Edited June 22, 2012 by Tomzoid the EggDroid

[RoadtoEquestria 59]

I agree that the ponies don't treat Spike as an equal, but not to the point were they don't deserve him anymore.

[dreaper 136]

In my opinion, Spike is not treated as a slave, he would be treated far, far worse if that were the case and it would be far too noticeable in the show. I mean, you got this series about love and friendship but you got this character that gets treated like crap all the time, that would be hypocritical of the show if that happened. Also the ponies have shown that they care about him several times in past episodes.

 

However, Spike's position right now is not good either. He is basically the "extra" friend of the mane 6, he is their friend but doesn't fully belong to them and thats because of the following:

 

1. He is younger than them: The mane 6 may see him as a "just a little kid" or just "Twilight's little brother"

2. He is not an element of harmony: The mane 6 are bonded by magic and together have saved Equestria several times. Spike just doesn't have this.

3. He is not a pony: And this is a huge reason, as Spike will never be as equal as a pony because he isn't one, and he can never share some of the magic that ponies have. Example: cutie marks.

 

Also, since Spike's job is being Twilight's assistant that consists of doing mostly grunt work, the other ponies may see him as just the "chore kid" and nothing more, combine this with the reasons above and you'll get a character that is underappreciated and overlooked most of the time (not only by the show but by the fans as well). The ponies may like him and care about him, but they DO take him for granted a lot.

 

Spike is like a roadie in a band. He does the grunt work in the back while the mane 6 shine in the front.

 

I think this is building up to the "never take your friends for granted" episode in the future, and Spike is the perfect character for the role.

 

 

...well this is my two cents.

[KakeiTheWolf 652]

Spike is like... a vocal, sentient pet.

[Glaceon 793]

Imo i would want to be in Spike's place.

[agigantorllama 258]

I've watched the show for a long time, and just now I realize how bad Spike's been treated. After rewatching a few episodes I've noticed he's always getting hurt and ignored and such.

 

I'll be honest, I didn't really like Spike when I first watched MLP:FiM, but later in the show I've started to like him.

 

Is it just me or is that the point?

[NavelColt 22,879]

He has pros and cons just like everyone. I don't think they 'don't' deserve him.