spike
Spike, also known as Spike the Dragon, is a male "pre-teen dragon and one of the seven main characters of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. He is Twilight Sparkle's best friend and number one assistant. He has the ability to magically deliver scrolls to and from Princess Celestia with his fire breath, which features in many episodes, as does his crush on Rarity. In the season eight episode Molt Down, Spike gains a pair of wings after undergoing a developmental stage for dragons called the "molt".
Spike's appearance is based on his Generation 1 incarnation more than his Generation 3 version, with a few modifications done by Lauren Faust. In G1, he was portrayed as a baby dragon with green spikes, and his body was pink. In his G3 incarnation, he was a 1,000-year old dragon with orange spikes, purple hair, and a blue body. He is the only main character who was taken from G1 other than Applejack.
The 2014 documentary A Brony Tale mentions that Ashleigh Ball, the voice of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack, originally auditioned for Spike.
Dog Spike, as he is in the human world, is not human because, as stated by Meghan McCarthy, "1) It would be weird for Twilight to hide a small boy in her backpack. 2) Dragon through portal doesn’t = same as pony."
Lauren Faust said in an interview that she had to fight for Cathy Weseluck to be the voice of Spike, because Hasbro originally wanted him to sound rather gruff and scratchy, similar to Charlie Adler's interpretation of the character in the G1 movies and TV series.
Spike's crush on Rarity was not planned out from the beginning. When Lauren Faust was writing Rarity's introduction scene in the pilot, she wanted the audience to understand that she's very beautiful even though she is visually very similar to the other ponies, except the style of her mane and her eyes and eyelashes. To let the audience understand that she is beautiful, Faust made Spike become smitten with her, which developed into his crush on Rarity . Between Hot Minute with Rarity and Molt Down, the concept of Spike having wings was alluded to in Twitter conversation with Cathy Weseluck.
Spike is occasionally sarcastic and sometimes laughs at others' misfortunes, even though he usually means well. In Bridle Gossip, he comes up with nicknames for the ponies after their appearances change from an exposure to poison joke: Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Apple Teeny, Flutterguy, and Twilight Flopple. 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 is the only member of the main cast to take Twilight's concerns about missing a report to Princess Celestia seriously, unlike the others.
Spike is a fun-loving dragon: he enjoys the welcome party that Pinkie Pie throws for Twilight in Friendship is Magic, part 1, and scarfs down candy in Luna Eclipsed.
As a filly in a flashback from The Cutie Mark Chronicles, Twilight is faced with an entrance exam for Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The test is to hatch a dragon egg with magic. She struggles to produce traces of magic from her horn; however, the shock wave from Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom triggers an uncontrolled release of Twilight's latent power, not only hatching Spike but also enlarging him into the size of an adult dragon, and causing mayhem in the exam room. Princess Celestia herself intervenes and brings Twilight's magic under control. Followed up on in the IDW comics' My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #40, Spike becomes Twilight's friend and assistant.
Spike's egg is colored shades of purple in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1, and Dragon Quest, but in Friendship is Magic, part 1, he tells Fluttershy that he hatched from a "cute little purple and green egg", and in The Cutie Re-Mark - Part 1, one of Twilight's slides depicts a white and green version.
Lauren Faust elaborated on her take on these events, which a section below covers.
In the film My Little Pony: A New Generation, a plush doll of Spike is seen in Sunny Starscout's childhood bedroom.
In the Make Your Mark episode Izzy Does It, the same Spike plush is seen among the items being cleaned up by Zipp Storm and Hitch Trailblazer.
In the IDW comics story arc Reflections, an alternate universe's Spike appears on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #19 cover A and page 3 and Issue #20 pages 11 and 25. This Spike has fangs on his bottom jaw instead of the top. In My Little Pony: Nightmare Knights Issue #3, another alternate Spike appears taking part in Twily's magic act.
In My Little Pony Annual 2017, Spike temporarily assumes his adult form after being exposed to magic left behind by Princess Amore, and he teams up with Shining Armor to quell a changeling invasion.
In Wings Over Yakyakistan, Spike gets involved in a conflict between Ember and the yaks when the dragons attack Yakyakistan, and he serves as a peacekeeper between the two sides.
In My Little Pony (2022 comics) Issue #2, Spike appears in Discord's flashback. Assistant number one is Spike the dragon! He's fierce, and ferocious, and hungry for gems! Brave and true, you can count on him to stand up to anything, no matter how big. In his dreams he's a gallant dragon in shining armor, but in his heart, he's a devoted friend and confident. As a loyal companion to Twilight, Spike knows that helping others is what true heroes do. Though Rarity is the gem of his eye, you can always depend on Spike to lend a helping hand. Twilight Sparkle adopted Spike the dragon when he was just an orphaned egg. He's been her faithful sidekick ever since. When he's not helping with her studies, Spike might be found eating gems. He doesn't know much about dragon culture, but he has an unexplainable ability to send and receive messages between his friends and Princess Celestia ... when he burps! Several versions of Spike appear in Gameloft's mobile game, and Spike also acts as a sort of narrator for most of the game's quests and events. He also has a story role in several events, such as "The Power Ponies", where he teams up with Rarity and Pinkie Pie in an altered version of events from the My Little Pony Annual 2014. In "Hearts and Hooves and Claws Day", Spike serves as the protagonist of the event, the story of which sees him traveling to obtain rare flowers from the Breezies for Rarity's Hearts and Hooves Day gift, only to be forced to help them fight off Big Boy. In "I Dream of Breezies" Spike once again serves as protagonist, reliving the previous event before becoming caught up in an increasingly bizarre series of events. In the "Crowns and Chaos" event, Spike is affected by Discord's out of control chaos magic, which not only causes a physical transformation but also leads to him breaking the fourth wall. A young purple dragon, he's playful and sweet. (And Maybe you'hll find him something sparkly to eat.) Under orders from Princess Celestia, SPIKE THE DRAGON joined Twilight Sparkle in relocating from Canterlot to Ponyville. Twilight endearingly calls Spike her "number one assistant" for his extreme loyalty and ability to recognize when Twilight needs help. He has an incurable crush on Rarity, an insatiable appetite for sparkly gems, and the uniquely comical ability to messenger letters via his fiery dragon breath. Spike was found orphaned as an egg, and his origins remain a mystery.
Need a helping hand, a quick delivery, or friendly smile? There's a passionate little Dragon named SPIKE who can do all three (and then some). He's a handy pal to have around when trouble rears its ugly head. But Spike wasn't always so confident and self-assured. A sensitive and playful spirit, he's grown in leaps and bounds since arriving in Equestria. His journey began as a mysterious egg that young Twilight Sparkle hatched during her time at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. After a bit of enchanted chaos, Celestia witnessed something very special: A bond had formed between her favorite student and the baby Dragon. The two became fast friends and grew even closer over time. Spike eventually became Twilight's faithful assistant and traveled with her to Ponyville. Together with their new friends, Spike and Twilight discovered the Magic of Friendship.
Spike loved hanging out with the Mane Six but took a liking to Rarity. He had a total crush on her! Rarity considered Spike a supportive friend and her favorite Dragon. He even helped her out of a down period after her design for a puppet theater was met with a not-so-great response. However, Spike didn't inform Rarity that a spell meant to help had accidentally corrupted her. He was too afraid of losing her friendship. After breaking the spell, the two friends made up, and Rarity reminded Spike that he should never be afraid of telling the truth. It was a lesson he kept with him from that point onward.
As the only Dragon in a group of ponies, Spike often felt out of place. His friends poked fun at him for acting more like a pony than a Dragon. It made him question his identity and where he came from. He decided to investigate his origin and took off in a great Dragon migration, looking for answers. Spike soon found himself in the Dragonlands, competing in the Gauntlet of Fire to become the new Dragon Lord. It all happened so fast! After some hard-won teamwork, Spike realized that it's not what he is that's important. It's who he is that really matters, and that's a baby Dragon with a pony family. Under orders from Princess Celestia, SPIKE the Dragon joined Twilight Sparkle when she relocated from Canterlot to Ponyville. He has an incurable crush on Rarity and an insatiable appetite for sparkly gems. While Spike is the fire-breathing type of dragon, he does not resemble his fearsome reptilian brethren found throughout Equestria, and his origins remain a mystery. Found orphaned as an egg and accepted by Ponykind, Spike is uncertain of his destiny but resolute in his devotion to Twilight Sparkle. Spike is Twilight's best friend and loyal assistant. He loves to play pranks but also works hard to help Twilight with her friendship missions. He sometimes feels he might be missing out by living away from other dragons but Ponyville is his home and he loves hanging out with everycreature.