Spike

[Halide]

Name: Spike

Gender: Male

Age: Youth

Species: Dragon

Pelt Colour: Dark lavender scales along the back, sides and limbs, with a pale green underside, green 'spikes' along his spine

Eye Colour: Jade green

Physique: Small and prepubescent, with a proportionally larger head, and somewhat chubby appearance.

Residence: Canterlot

Occupation: Assistant, Student

Cutie Mark: None

Unique traits: All those one might find in a baby dragon – incredible resilience, an appetite for minerals, and breathing fire. However, he has markedly greater intelligence and magical ability than his peers.

Personality:

For all that Twilight has taught Spike a great deal of what he knows about books and study, there is still more to him than just education; when he isn't taking care of chores, learning or sleeping, he was just as likely to spend some time to spend some time simply being part of the world, talking with some of the younger ponies, checking out some of the more interesting public events, or simply just hanging out and having a bit of fun. He has an appreciation for humour of many varieties, his youthful outlook still finding great amusement in slapstick comedy and the occasional bit of schadenfreude, but more than that, he also finds riddles and word-play rather amusing, and will more likely laugh than groan at a good pun. He has a bit of a tendancy for sarcasm, simply because there's the need to express doubt or disbelief in an idea without directly doing so from time to time, but the traditional form of joke-telling and entertainment still appeals to him every bit as much.

Spike is also something of a social butterfly, simply because he enjoys being out and about more than she. Though he is pretty reliable when it came to getting things done or taking care of an errand, he also maintains a bit of a laid-back attitude when he's not busy. He's not lazy, of course, but he usually tries to be relaxed and calm when dealing with issues, and generally has something of a sense of humour. While Sparkle is far better-educated and much more studious than he is, Spike also tries to act as a balance to her somewhat introverted behaviour, sometimes trying to encourage her to spend a little more time with others and less time in her ever-present studies, though he'd quickly drop the matter if ever Twilight insisted that her studies were more pressing.

Character History:

Through Celestia's planning, it came to be that a dragon would be raised by Equestrians, to the best of the ability of those involved – this was Spike. Though he was initially hatched by Twilight Sparkle, it was quite apparent that she wasn't entirely ready to take care of a newly-hatched dragon, though this hardly stopped Spike from seeing her often enough. Caretakers were assigned to ensure that he was properly attended to during his first years, though once he was reasonably self-sufficient, he was gradually transferred into Twilight Sparkle's care.

From there, he began to quickly develop, though more in terms of his mind than his body. As Twilight's companion, he was quick to pick up on her command of the Equestrian language, though her verbosity would leave him behind now and again. From there, she became as much a mentor to him as anyone could ask for. For all that Twilight was surrounded by books and parchment, so too did Spike learn from her how to read and write. As Twilight began her more advanced classes, Spike learned to read, write, and a bit of magic of his own, such as breathing fire and scroll-sending.

In time, of course, Twilight was transferred to Ponyville, as per the orders of Princess Celestia. Though Spike was allowed whether to go with her or stay in Canterlot, he was very quick to decide that he would accompany her, not only out of loyalty to his closest friend, but also out of curiosity and a sense of adventure. Canterlot was unquestionably full of interesting things and interesting ponies, but the idea of moving into a new town and meeting new ponies got him rather excited. That, and life in Canterlot would probably be quite different without Twilight than life in Ponyville with Twilight, and as far as Spike was concerned, his life was one he rather liked!

Ever since moving to Ponyville, Spike has had plenty of opportunity to grow, explore, and learn even more about Ponykind. The Nightmare Moon crisis was, of course, the first real time that Spike came to tangibly appreciate the importance of Twilight's studies, and the first time that he was exposed to a very real problem facing pony-kind, and how it was overcome only by a group of very different individuals working together towards a common goal. As weeks and months went by, and as Twilight had Spike write down her letter of the week, so too did Spike continue to learn about friendship, harmony, and Equestrians in general, just as the entire exchange agreement was in hopes of.

Of course, Ponyville hasn't all been about Spike learning from Twilight Sparkle's shadow! Shortly after arriving, he was both emboldened and encouraged by Fluttershy's curiosity in him, amused by Applejack's rather generous greeting towards Twilight, impressed by Rainbow Dash's aerial acrobatics, slightly astonished by Pinkie's initial reaction to their arrival (and, later, very much entertained by the ensuing welcome party), and most importantly, he was simply floored by the grace, elegance and charm of Rarity, a crush developing on first sight. Yes, he had learned about ponies plenty of times previously, about friendship and harmony and reliability and respect and all those other commendable words, but for the first time, he learned about love.

Still, Spike is not a pony, and as such there have been times in which his own nature diverges from those around him. As a dragon, even a baby one, he feels that there is a need to be recognized, and that there is a place in the world specifically for him that he holds in high importance. Even if that place is as Twilight's aide, it is nevertheless part of what he feels defines him, and as a creature that has a lifespan of a great many centuries, he does not like the idea of his place in life being suddenly changed. Though this might have been initially inferred during his move from Canterlot to Ponyville, or even in his very overt worry and subsequent relief whenever he believed Twilight to be in danger, it never became more explicit than when Twilight adopted a wayward owl as her pet. Owloysius, as the creature was so named, disturbed Spike in a way that he did not know how to control; he feared that, over time, his place in life would be changed in a way he did not like, and he could not accept that. Attempting to take matters into his own claws, Spike attempted to make Owloysius seem responsible for a number of ordeals, all in a somewhat malicious attempt to secure what he considered to be his niche in Twilight's life. For better or for worse, his attempts were not at all successful, and Twilight's subsequent chastising of him affected him more than they were intended to. Still, not was as he believed it to be, and after some conversation, he learned both a little more about humility and sensitivity – things that few dragons have felt outside of their warrens.

Of course, there are some things that are simply a part of being a dragon. Strength, power, stature and independence are all a part of the species, but none holds more power over the mind of a dragon than greed. Though this took some time to emerge in Spike, it did so at an astonishing speed. It began innocently enough – the delivery of presents (other than book) on his birthday was a surprise for Spike, and one which he proved to be incredibly grateful for. However, as his day around Ponyville progressed, some part of his mind realized that there was little effort involved in getting presents on his birthday, and that he rather liked having presents. From there, he grew to realize that getting things in general was not terribly difficult, at least amongst ponies that were willing to part with a few trinkets here or there, and so his greed grew into what can only be described as kleptomania, and the situation worsened. As the size and wealth of his hoard grew, so did he, and so too did his surging desire to own anything and everything he deemed to be valuable. It was only by Rarity's reminder of his earlier generosity, and her fierce loyalty to what he had been, that prevented a total catastrophe. Though greed runs in his very blood, his simplest means of becoming a full-sized dragon, he has faced it, and he has learned to control it, becoming perhaps one of the more self-conscious members of his own kind.

To this very day, however, Spike continues to be Twilight Sparkle's aide, a companion of immense longetivity for the newly-fledged princess. He will likely continue to keep his size and his niche in life for many decades to come, and though he may not grow in size or strength for some time, he continues to mature and learn with each passing week. Just as intended.

[SteelEagle]