Spike (MLP)

Spike is a purple baby dragon with green spines. Spike was orphaned as an egg and hatched by a young Twilight Sparkle as part of her entrance exam for Celestia's academy; he is raised among Twilight's family as her adopted younger brother. Spike fulfills the role of Twilight's "number one assistant" to which he is named so for his loyalty and skill at helping Twilight solve problems and learn lessons. He also has a crush on Rarity, an insatiable appetite for sparkly gems, and the ability to send letters via his fiery dragon breath. In season eight's eleventh episode "Molt Down", he gains wings after going through molting. At the end of the show, he becomes Twilight's royal adviser. Spike acts as a foil to Twilight and her friends in terms of personality, size and shape which "provides plenty of opportunity for exploring this difference in storylines". Faust envisioned the character as "the sensitive little boy who has a lot of sisters and just seems to get along better with girls".[10] On Spike's role as a dragon outsider living among ponies, Meghan McCarthy says, "He's trying to figure out who he is. What beyond being Twilight's assistant is his role in this world? I think he really reflects how everybody feels at some point in their life".[11]