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Spike's friendship with Starlight


FlareGun45

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Heh, when I wrote that comment that was before "Once Upon a Zeppelin" and the S7 finale came out. Those two episodes I think would make me to re-evaluate some of my statements, especially in how characters don't necessarily have to fight for screen time in all instances. :)

As for Spike becoming friends with Starlight's friends, he and Trixie are an interesting duo because we never actually got to see them "bury the hatchet," as it were. He didn't appear at all in "No Second Prances," and only briefly stood nearby her in the S6 finale. While they must be friends from how they interacted in "All Bottled Up," it would have been interesting to see how they eventually came to accommodate one another since they were definitely adversarial at the end of S3's "Magic Duel."

I think Spike and Sunburst would really hit it off if he lived in Ponyville. I could see him really getting into Spike's O&O sessions on Guy's Night. I think that might be the main thing they'd do together as friends, though - I just can't see Spike getting into antiquing or geeking out over arcane knowledge. Spike may be good at keeping track of Twilight's spellbooks, but there's no indication he actually knows many of the spells contained within each of them.

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On 5/27/2017 at 5:59 PM, MegaSean45 said:

No he won't. He realizes that the changelings and dragons had a conflict in the past, and to protect Equestria, and their races from going into war, he keeps them apart. He probably wanted them to meet, but Twilight tells him the conflict, he keeps them apart, and doesn't realize Ember and Thorax don't care, and Spike starts yet another alliance and that's a step closer to his potential destiny! Not retarded, just misleading. He's still young so of course there's a mistake every now and again. Maybe his next episode this season will be even better once it gets revealed!

Yes, Spike was worried for all Equestria, also it shows he's gain some of Twilight's personality. Spike was under pressure, but glad that Thorax and Ember got along, Spike did bring out the best in Thorax and Ember.

Spike's episodes are getting better, showing he's improving.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/27/2017 at 10:30 AM, MegaSean45 said:

had a hard time fitting in or getting accepted

I don't think the ways Spike or Starlight experienced this are entirely comparable. While both their anxieties are largely in their heads, I think Starlight has a little more tangible evidence for her challenges, whereas Spike's were much more existential in nature. Spike never struggled with being accepted in general, and Starlight has never had to figure out her own relationship to ponykind as a species. 

On 5/27/2017 at 10:30 AM, MegaSean45 said:

and Spike has Big Mac,

I don't recall a whole lot of evidence that Spike's relationship with Big Macintosh is significantly closer than that with any of the mane six, whom he has also frequently spent time with, participated in the same activities as, and established a friendly rapport with. I would not mind the friendship with Big Mac being better-established in future Spike episodes, because I like Big Mac and I liked "Dungeons & Discords," but at the same time I wonder if both should be finding more age-appropriate friends. 

On 5/27/2017 at 10:30 AM, MegaSean45 said:

Another thing to add, they both hang out the Mane Six alot but aren't close with most of them.

I'm not quite sure what the deal is with Spike. He's increasingly excluded from the mane six, and yet he had relatively specific relationships with all of them in the earlier seasons. The show hasn't supplied all that much extra context for this shift, to the extent that I feel like I'm overthinking it. 

Moreover, I'd be more interested in seeing Spike retain and expand on those ties to the mane six, as well as Starlight being closer to that group. I miss Spike's interactions with them, and I think clearer dynamics with established characters could make Starlight more interesting and funny to me - though I wouldn't much like it it if Starlight is consistently some voice of reason relative to them. And yet...

On 5/27/2017 at 10:30 AM, MegaSean45 said:

So out of everything Spike and Starlight has done over the series, do you think they should be closer friends than they are now, and perhaps their friendship should be explored a little?

I think the main thing which Starlight can relate to about Spike is the sense that he's a child among adults. Starlight appears to be a similar age to the mane six, but in terms of social and moral development, she's repeatedly demonstrated herself to be a few steps behind. Given how that impacts Starlight's behaviour, I think she would generally wouldn't treat Spike like a child, which we often see the mane six doing, and which I wouldn't be surprised if even Big Mac does from time to time. And Spike, given his moments of clarity, might be better able to reign in Starlight's worst impulses than Trixie or Maud, who don't have the best social skills either. 

Add in charming personal issue and/or a bunch of funny jokes and you have a character dynamic which, if done right, could have some genuine chemistry. I'm not exactly dying to see this, but I do think you have a point about this pairing having potential. 

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23 minutes ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I don't think the ways Spike or Starlight experienced this are entirely comparable. While both their anxieties are largely in their heads, I think Starlight has a little more tangible evidence for her challenges, whereas Spike's were much more existential in nature. Spike never struggled with being accepted in general, and Starlight has never had to figure out her own relationship to ponykind as a species. 

I don't recall a whole lot of evidence that Spike's relationship with Big Macintosh is significantly closer than that with any of the mane six, whom he has also frequently spent time with, participated in the same activities as, and established a friendly rapport with. I would not mind the friendship with Big Mac being better-established in future Spike episodes, because I like Big Mac and I liked "Dungeons & Discords," but at the same time I wonder if both should be finding more age-appropriate friends. 

I'm not quite sure what the deal is with Spike. He's increasingly excluded from the mane six, and yet he had relatively specific relationships with all of them in the earlier seasons. The show hasn't supplied all that much extra context for this shift, to the extent that I feel like I'm overthinking it. 

Moreover, I'd be more interested in seeing Spike retain and expand on those ties to the mane six, as well as Starlight being closer to that group. I miss Spike's interactions with them, and I think clearer dynamics with established characters could make Starlight more interesting and funny to me - though I wouldn't much like it it if Starlight is consistently some voice of reason relative to them. And yet...

I think the main thing which Starlight can relate to about Spike is the sense that he's a child among adults. Starlight appears to be a similar age to the mane six, but in terms of social and moral development, she's repeatedly demonstrated herself to be a few steps behind. Given how that impacts Starlight's behaviour, I think she would generally wouldn't treat Spike like a child, which we often see the mane six doing, and which I wouldn't be surprised if even Big Mac does from time to time. And Spike, given his moments of clarity, might be better able to reign in Starlight's worst impulses than Trixie or Maud, who don't have the best social skills either. 

Add in charming personal issue and/or a bunch of funny jokes and you have a character dynamic which, if done right, could have some genuine chemistry. I'm not exactly dying to see this, but I do think you have a point about this pairing having potential. 

Jeez dude, I'm reading this on my cell phone and from that POV you wrote an entire novel! XD

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Just now, MegaSean45 said:

Jeez dude, I'm reading this on my cell phone and from that POV you wrote an entire novel! XD

Hey, it was satisfying to write! 

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8 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Given how that impacts Starlight's behaviour, I think she would generally wouldn't treat Spike like a child, which we often see the mane six doing, and which I wouldn't be surprised if even Big Mac does from time to time.

Indeed, in "All Bottled Up," it was Spike Starlight confided in when she was putting all of her negative emotions into a glass jar. She treated him like the authority figure around the castle since Twilight wasn't there. If she thought of Spike as a little kid, she probably would have told him to mind his own business and go back to washing teacups.

As for Spike and Big Mac, while I wouldn't rule out Big Mac scolding Spike if he did something really bad, it feels like Spike is the authority figure akin to an older brother figure in their relationship. Just from the way he's usually the dungeon master in their games, or ironically (considering the topic here involves Starlight), in the season 5 premiere when we learn he's going to try to sweet-talk a hoofball card from Big Mac leads me to believe that he's the dominant one in between the two of them.

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4 hours ago, Truffles said:

As for Spike and Big Mac, while I wouldn't rule out Big Mac scolding Spike if he did something really bad, it feels like Spike is the authority figure akin to an older brother figure in their relationship. Just from the way he's usually the dungeon master in their games, or ironically (considering the topic here involves Starlight), in the season 5 premiere when we learn he's going to try to sweet-talk a hoofball card from Big Mac leads me to believe that he's the dominant one in between the two of them.

Kinda strange, that; Big Mac doesn’t strike me as a particularly passive or childish individual. 

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7 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

Kinda strange, that; Big Mac doesn’t strike me as a particularly passive or childish individual. 

I've always felt he's been kind of passive, myself. Even when it's him and AJ running the farm, it seems to me that AJ is the one who is more in control of the everyday decisions than he is. Even though, they are both technically co-workers working underneath their grandmother's supervision.

I suppose part of the problem is he's limited by his schtick where he usually only talks with a yes or no. By definition, he always has to be either agreeing or disagreeing with the character he's talking with. He's rarely ever the one who comes up with the idea itself.

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1 hour ago, Truffles said:

I've always felt he's been kind of passive, myself. Even when it's him and AJ running the farm, it seems to me that AJ is the one who is more in control of the everyday decisions than he is. Even though, they are both technically co-workers working underneath their grandmother's supervision.

I suppose part of the problem is he's limited by his schtick where he usually only talks with a yes or no. By definition, he always has to be either agreeing or disagreeing with the character he's talking with. He's rarely ever the one who comes up with the idea itself.

I get the sense he only speaks up when he needs to, but being less strong-willed than Applejack doesn't necessarily indicate much. 

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16 hours ago, AlexanderThrond said:

I get the sense he only speaks up when he needs to, but being less strong-willed than Applejack doesn't necessarily indicate much. 

True enough. AJ is so assertive/stubborn she was not afraid to stand up to Celestia back in "Lesson Zero" on Twilight's behalf.

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  • 2 weeks later...
4 hours ago, Brainstorm said:

Starlight and Spike's friendship is almost like how Twilight started out, but like Twilight, Starlight has improved, and has become a better pony.

Exactly! Which is why them having more of a bond should happen!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Honestly I had hoped for Spike to become to Starlight what he had been to Twilight, the one friend more loyal to her than Rainbow. The friend she could always count on and trust. The voice of reason to keep her from going to far. I mean he could go from secondary to primary along with Starlight and now Trixie as the newer focus if the series

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