Famous' Spike Headcanon Compendium · 11:18pm Jan 20th, 2018
So, I got a comment on one of my stories the other day that really made think. Someone asked something seemingly simple: "How old is Spike in this story?"
A simple question, no doubt, but it becomes all the more complex given Spike's situation. He appears young, has the capacity to act very maturely, but also acts childish in equal measure. Take for example his assisting Rarity to get with Trenderhoof in season four, despite his feelings for her. Mature. Then his pathetic attitude in Princess Spike. Childish.
So, be that as it may, why do I write Spike romantically? What's my view on his age, growth and overall prospects as a fictional character?
It's time to answer that question.
SPIKE'S AGE
So, let's start off with the big one: Spike's age. Or at least my interpretation of it.
To put it simply, in show canon, I place Spike as a mid-teen, around 16. That may be a bit older than one would expect, or perhaps younger. Let me explain.
As the show itself shows us, Spike was hatched by Twilight when she was a filly. So, that's our first, big clue as to how long he's been around. But, even more, important than Twilight being a filly is the circumstance surrounding his hatching. Twilight was hatching him as a test to get into magic school.
Now, in most countries, kids start school around five years of age. And if we remember in the season two episode, Lesson Zero, Twilight recalls being in magic Kindergarten. If that is, in fact, the first year of magic school, which would make sense, we can safely assume that Spike is five years younger than Twilight. Of course, that's not taking into account Twilight's advanced intelligence and the possibility she may have only been four even, but five seems like a fair choice.
Now, to complete the equation, let's take into account Twilight's age in current canon. This is a bit trickier, given their ages are generally not stated. Given her accomplishments, overall maturity and so on, I've always put her about twenty to twenty-two years of age. That's debatable of course, but it seems about right. Given her friends of similar age are running businesses, leading flight teams and so on, about twenty, seems very fair.
So, if we go by that, that logically puts Spike in the range of fifteen to seventeen years old.
Debate it all you want, that just makes sense based on what the show has given me to work with. However, that does lead us very nicely into the next point:
SPIKE'S EMOTIONAL MATURITY
Let's be honest, sometimes, Spike acts like a downright toddler. Whether it be panicking over the smallest things, sucking his own dick when he's clearly making mistakes in life or just being obnoxious, he's guilty of being childish.
However, Spike has also shown himself to act far beyond his years. Helping a changeling when nobody else would listen, winning a freaking dragon tournament, being Twilight's only form of stability and helping his friends without question. Those are all very mature things.
So, where does that put his emotional age? I mean, he's so flippant.
Well, if you ask me, he acts just like a fifteen or seventeen years old would. Speaking as a twenty-five-year-old guy who did his time being a teenager, I can corroborate what I'm about to tell you.
I believe that Spike is stuck in the age where the world starts expecting you to act like an adult, but you're still clinging on to being a kid. Me and all my male friends know this feeling. You're expected to grow up, but you still enjoy doing immature, dumb things. Making reckless decisions, flirting with random girls with no intention of following through, wasting the day away playing video games... all childish things that I and my friends have done, even as late as our early twenties.
However, those are merely a few detractors from the many adult things Spike has done and continues to do. Although his overall body of work may not seem that impressive, every season he becomes more and more mature, little things here and there. Like mentioned earlier, he's helped Rarity try and win the heart of a stallion as well as talking sense into her and Twilight on a regular basis. Add on to that the fact that Spike has been nothing but a great friend to Starlight, the dragons, and even a changeling. It's obvious he sees the good in others as opposed to the bad, which is a very mature thing.
So, given that evidence, I'd say his actions overall reflect that of a teenager perfectly.
But, possibly the most glaring thing, what about...
SPIKE'S PHYSICAL SIZE
Okay, so this one is a bit of a stretch and I'm pretty much dabbling in real-world science here.
So, reptiles do grow based on genetics and such, but overall, their growth is entirely different. It's not necessarily based on environment, but it largely does have an effect on their overall growth potential. For example, a reticulated python in a zoo, in safe quarters, fed a strict diet with no real need for hunting will not grow nearly as large as one in the wild, where it controls its own diet and uses size as a weapon.
Also, dominance apparently plays a large role in a reptilian growth. It's not proven yet, really, but species looking for dominance over an area tend to grow much larger.
I apply the same logic to Spike.
He's small. That's obvious. However, think about it this way. Since hatching, he's been in a safe environment. No need for self-defense and he doesn't exactly eat a flesh and bone diet like other dragons do. Instinctively, he has no need to get larger. Not to mention, based on some theories, he's staying small so he can continue to live in his current environment with Twilight and the ponies. If he got too big, that wouldn't be an option.
As for dominance, this speaks for itself. He has no other dragons to protect his territory from. No other dragons to fight or show off to. Given that, it's really not surprising his growth has been so slow based on his age.
Something else to consider, though, is that Spike might perhaps belong to a species of dragon this is just smaller. Who knows?
Anyhow, that's my two cents on Spike and the logic I apply to my stories. Given that, It's no wonder it pisses me and other like-minded people off when we're called pedophiles.
Anyhow, if you have any counterpoints based on show-evidence I might've overlooked, I'd love to hear it.
Keep it real,
-Famous
Sounds like a good headcanon to me
Headcanon blogs are fun! It'd be nice to see more of these, especially ones about Spike.
4778307
Thanks!
4778308
I know, right? His character is handled so differently from a lot of different authors, I wouldn't mind hearing some other takes.
4778309
You're welcome! Nice flutter avatar by the way. Cute!
4778309
I wouldn't mind being able to get around to writing him one day...
I have to agree. I never thought that he was 5. I always thought that he was 12, maybe 13 at the beginning of the show.
I just had the image in my head of Spike sitting in the corner performing self-fellatio and rocking back and forth as a coping mechanism.
Jesus Christ.
What a great blog to read after Spike day.
I really liked your view on Spike's physical growth. In the case of his emotional behavior, I think that we should take into account the fact that dragons go wilder and naive if they fall to their primitive desires, and that some of the purple drake reckless decisions could be a by-product, or consequence, of his instincts.
That pedophile remark reminds me of the old strategy of shipping Spike with Sweetie Belle, because somehow we used to think that they were alike enough for one to substitute for the other.
Anyway, on a related note, what's your usual headcanon for the age of the Cutie Mark Crusaders?
4778348
The CMC?
Probably around 11-12. Like, going into middle school, discovering themselves, that kind of age.
Granted, I used to be a SpikeBelle shipper, and I don't hate it, but the more I learned about Spike's character, it just didn't make sense anymore.
Pretty good analysis! Honestly my explanation for the flippancy of his maturity levels as just sort of eh writing on the part of the show runners and not knowing what they want to do with his character; comic relief or actual foil to the other characters. We got a lot more of the foil in the earlier seasons especially with Twilight, but he's gotten a lot more of the immature moments in the later seasons.
Regardless, I really like your points and discussion here!
4778374
Honestly, you're probably right. But, I have to make do with what I have to work with, lol.
You, sir, hit the same nail I do when it comes to Spike's age. I've always gone by the logic of pegging Twilight around 5 when she hatched Spike (making her an early bloomer for her cutie mark, I'd think), and then around 20 when she left for Ponyville due to extra years of study (by her own choosing—high school graduation is usually 18), which would put Spike at 15. Adding an extra year or two for them both is completely legitimate.
When it comes to his behavior... I'd need to think a little longer. His size, I'm with you on the environmental factors. That, and the fact that he was raised by ponies and was not taught to hoard, which I believe there have been hints that that helps with growth (could be wrong). The way I see it, the events of Secret of My Excess were a result of Spike's suppressed instincts to hoard all bursting at once.
4778393
A very good analysis, my friend. Great minds think alike and all.
I agree with all of your points aside from the reason for Spike's size. Personally I like to believe that dragons are very long-lived and because of that they physically age at a much slower rate than most mortal beings.
This makes me feel better. Everyone always talks about how Spike is a -baby- dragon and yeah, I get it, he probably is. But we also haven't seen another dragon like Spike at all, if I recall. I used to be (and still super like) Sparity but after all the discourse I felt terrible about it and sorta denounced it.
Anyway, this makes me feel better about it, at any rate.
I always saw Twi and Spike pretty close in age-like you said, 4 or 5 years-and Rarity a no more than three years older than Twilight.
I always assumed Spike was small bc of the lack of haording. It seems like if you want to grow, as a dragon, you need stuff. Otherwise you'll stagnate and depending on species of dragon, you could be stuck always small.
As far as his emotional maturity, he seems pretty dependant on Twilight, and it doesn't seem like he chooses to forgo her company a lot. That isn't to say never, and I think we've seen a growth as seasons have gone on, of him clinging to her less and less as he becomes more secure.
This is all my head canon exactly... Save for the size thing. I just chalked that up to age compared to other dragons, but the size head canon fits so perfectly might just have to adopt it
I always considered Spike to be between 13 and 16. Given how many hearths warming in the FIM series (3 I think), I would think he's 16 now and old enough to keep his mature size growing while still act like a kid.
It's true that he can be selfish at times and obviously greedy (in his nature), but I think that's why I love the little guy! The flaws he had made sense and the only moment where he felt OOC is 'Spike at your service'.
Pedo.
You also have to take into account that Spike's a Dragon, and Dragons age much differently to us. He is a baby dragon, yes, in Dragon Age, but in Pony age, he would no doubt be in his early to mid teens. However, as Spike is still young, he will most likely live about 15,000 years total, maybe more, as Dragons have their own internal magic, which makes them resistant to magic that becomes more prominent the older they become. (Older in dragon age) Speaking of Dragon age, he is a baby to toddler in dragon age, as he is able to walk on 2 legs. In about 200-300 years, he'll have to walk on all fours to stay balanced.
There's your dragon lesson for the day ladies and gents
4780652
That's a pretty cool, viewpoint! Thanks for sharing!
4780653
No problem. I did a lot of dragon research back in the day because I was interested in them a whole lot more than I am now
Considering what we know of dragon puberty and what is happening with Spike very soon, I don't see how anyone can claim he's some kind of tween or even (crazily enough) a pre-tween anymore. He certainly doesn't act like one and has always acted more mature than the CMC, even treating them like they are younger than him.