Letters From A Disgruntled Friendship Student

by milesprower06

Princess Spike

Letters From A Disgruntled Friendship Student
by milesprower06

Princess Spike

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Dear Fax Machine,

You're fired.

If it wasn't clearly obvious when you screamed in the room, I can sleep harder than Luna does through a Changeling invasion.

I'd tell you to pack your things, but I don't want you to turn into Faxzilla on your way out of town. So just get the fuck out.

Your former mistress,
Princess Twilight

Author's Note:

Yeah, sorry. That's all I've got for this one. There are times when I'm really good at picking apart episodes I disliked, then there are times...

The only good thing about this one was the Whinnyapolis ambassador.

Anyways, yeah. This episode was extremely mediocre, and bordered on a waste of 22 minutes.

Spike needs some character development, and he needs it badly.

Comments

[Not Here Anymore]

I agree that Spike needs character development instead of the writers just resetting the lesson that he's supposed to learn over and over.

[ShadowLDrago]

Spike needs some character development, and he needs it badly.

No, what he needs is some episodes where he's NOT treated as a joke or in the wrong, or in other words, a GOOD Spike episode, instead of the cringeworthy crap we're usually forced to put up with. Like Inspiration Manifestation, or Lesson Zero, granted the latter isn't a Spike episode, but he was well written there.

[Reddened Chaos]

6126824 Honestly the only DECENT spike episode we got was Secret to my excess, and that Dragon Quest one, where he had gone off to try and learn about his history for that dragon migration...also that one when Twilight first got her pet Owl...

[ShadowLDrago]

6126845

Owl's Well That Ends Well. And I dunno about that, but, we agree that he needs to be treated more fairly, I mean, until Princess Spike, there was no Spike abuse, unless you count Discord traumatizing him in MNFBKD.

[Reddened Chaos]

6126856 Actually I think Power Ponies also was a good one. why? Because it shows he's not a complete twat. because even though it wasn't entirely a spike themed episode, he was clearly one of the stars.

[ShadowLDrago]

6126865

True, but I hope the writers have something better for him later on in Season 5.

[Dodo Of Chaos]

Cue this song.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

6126818 What we need, is for fans to start focusing their attention on Spike and demanding that he be treated better. Maybe then, the DHX staff will take notice and do what they did with Luna and "Slice of Life".

[Imperator Chiashi Zane]

6127072 But how many of us actually think of him as more than a particularly mobile fax machine?

[Blitz the Dragon]

I'd tell you to pack your things, but I don't want you to turn into Faxzilla on your way out of town. So just get the fuck out.

This line made my evening.

But I agree, the latest episode was terrible. I honestly think the writers have no damn clue what to do with Spike, so they turn him into the generic bumbling idiot. He needs depth, dammit!

The one high point of this episode was the cameo of Margie from Fargo.

[LegacyMine]

How can you fire someone who is basically a slave? I believe the word for that is "emancipation".

[Hclegend]

I think this was the best chapter yet.

[ferret]

Oh I dunno, this episode had potential...

Dear Sturdy Hammer,

Item 1: Jackhammer
Item 2: Cracked Water Main
Please leave your toolbelt at the door.

- Canterlot Pipeworks and Maintenance

Dear Fluttershy,

Your psycho birds have been terrorizing sleeping ponies for 3 weeks now. Cut it out or I put squab on the royal menu again.

- the indirectly bothered Princess Twilight Sparkle

Dear Cloudy Crysomemore,

This seat sure is comfy. Wish you were here. NOT!

- Smug Tush

Dear P.T.S. esq

Sorry for making one scheduling error out of 50. I should never have got a massage after fighting an entire polo team, beating back a pony with a chainsaw, and wrestling a jackhammer out of a stallion's hooves so he could hear a word I said, so greedy of me. Too bad I ate all those delicious gems in your statue, that I know you planned just to torment me. Oh wait, the statue is still there. And those dragon sneeze trees you had planted aren't, how about that? Enclosed is a little portrait I had done. You probably want to hang it in your bedroom because it's as close to getting laid as you're ever gonna get. See you in Vegas.

- "Stud" Machine

[Smitty91]

Anyways, yeah. This episode was extremely mediocre, and bordered on a waste of 22 minutes.

Spike needs some character development, and he needs it badly.

Couldn't have said it better myself, mate.

[MixMassBasher]

Dear Spike,

Go back to the Crystal Empire. I will definately will threat you better.

Sincerely,
Cadence

[SpinelStride]

Dear Princess Cadence,

Just wanted to say thanks so very much for accusing me of abusing my authority. I hadn't done anything but try to follow your order to make sure Twilight got a good rest up until that point, and even after you gave me the idea the worst I did was get a massage, but still, really, thanks. And you did such a good job helping out in Canterlot too! It's not like you couldn't have taken over as the authority for Twilight instead of dropping it on someone who's still in the 'infant' stage of his species' lifecycle.

Sincerely,
Spike

[milesprower06]

6127848 His age is debatable.

Some sensibly argue that since his size is dependent on his greed, that if kept in check, he'll stay a "baby dragon" for most of his life.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

6127934 Eh, that worldbuilding attempt probably shouldn't have been put in there. It just complicates things and feels like an unnecessary excuse to handwave why Spike will never grow. If all dragons growth were truly sparked by greed and hording, Garble and his friends wouldn't be out hunting phoneix eggs just so they could smash them.

[Reeve]

I wouldn't say he needs character development, I'd say they just need to stop making episodes about him... or the CMC, because unless they're actually going to get their damn cutie marks I just don't want to hear it

[SpinelStride]

6127934
There's lots of room for debate about how that works, but the point was more that Cadence could have taken on the job of substituting for Twilight instead of leaving it to Spike. When she noted he was doing things in Twilight's name, she should have said "Just go keep anyone from bothering her, and you can send them to me if they have questions."

[SuperPinkBrony12]

6129271 Hey, Season 4 and even later Season 2 episodes showed that the CMC could get into trouble without obessing over their cutie marks. In "Hearts and Hooves Day" they don't mention cutie marks even once, and yet they still end up in trouble. So at least the writers are willing to let the CMC mature and grow up.

Why they won't do the same for Spike is beyond me.

[Clem]

6126818 He actually learns different lessons every time, but then it doesn't come up again and the writers just give him new flaws, and make him much less capable than when he is when he's not in the spotlight.

[BronyWriter]

Hey, Spike does get development!

It's just about the exact same thing every time.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

6130418 It's like Applejack. He seems to do really well as a supporting character, but when he gets thrust into the spotlight, the writers don't know what to do with him. But if that's the case, why they refuse to ask the fans for ideas is beyond me.

[Soufriere]

Yeah, "Princess Spike" was not a great episode. Not "Rainbow Falls" level awful by any means. Just… lacking.

To be honest, I figured it would be a trainwreck from the name alone – brings back way too many memories of Gen3. But Spike himself wasn't the problem. Everything else was. Yes he did let speaking for Twilight get to his head, but the things that actually directly led to the main hall getting trashed – the water main, trees, polo – are all entirely the result of Spike following Cadance's orders to let Twilight sleep. The only stupid decision he made outside of that that had an impact later was his telling Vinny (the Manehattan delegate) and Fargo (the Whinnyapolis delegate) to share the hall… and for that one he actually tried to wake up Twilight.

Cadance could have easily had Spike send questions to her… although her track record suggests she isn't particularly good at her job. But that's why I like her; she's the only one of the four Princesses who the writers let fail.

6131302 Applejack is vital to the series because she's the straight-man. That's why up to now she's been in more episodes than any other pony, including Twilight (although having two episodes in a row where Purple speaks and AJ doesn't may have changed that). But yeah, because she is by nature a reactionary character, she can't carry her own stories without it going way over the top. Spike is kind of in the same boat. He's at his best when he gets to snark at the insanity around him. When he isn't the focus, he'll often have the best bits in an episode. When he is the focus, it's hit or miss for me.

Difference is that Applejack episodes tend to be mediocre ("Last Roundup" was good, but AJ wasn't in a lot of it), but Spike episodes are all over the map quality-wise.

[Neko Majin C]

Dear Fax Machine,

I have taken the liberty of drawing up your Curricula Vitae. It outlines all of your education, qualifications, abilities, and accomplishments. It is so beautifully worded and detailed that it can get you a high paying job at any respectable business anywhere in Equestria.

...Unfortunately, Mistress Princess Twilight Sparkle saw it and set it aflame in my hands. She does not want you making money. Apparently your uncontrollable avarice turns you into a giant douche bag. Therefore, she has come up with a compromise that I think is... fair... for all involved. If I can stay awake and still perform all of my required duties for three days, you will get your position back, Mistress Princess Twilight Sparkle will get her fax machine back, and I will get that much needed skin graft for my hands.

Signed Mistress Princess Twilight Sparkle's loyal slave whom you will be indebted to,
Neko Majin C.

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~KBO.

[Diokno44]

He's trying to go against the greed that is an innate part of his species, thats growth

[Teridax1234]

It's at this point I ask why the writers even need a male character to balance out the six. It's been 5 seasons, and they still don't know what to do with him? I'm tempted to say "write him off the main cast and give Cathy Weseluck a better role."

Actually, you know what? Write him off the main cast and give Cathy Weseluck a better role.

[ElkinFencer10]

I really hated this episode, and it kind of made me hate Spike, too. Between this and Spike at Your Service, I'm starting to think that Spike-centric episodes are just inherently cringey.

[jdb1984]

6129271

During MLP-MSP, Michelle Creber may (I repeat, may) have leaked that Apple Bloom will be getting her mark soon. When asked what advice they would give their characters, Michelle said, almost instantly, that she would tell Apple Bloom to stop worrying about her cutie mark, because she'll get it "in a couple of months".

[Eclipse LunarSol]

Yeah, this is probably the shittiest episode of S5.

[Alex Warlorn]

Then Twilight begs Spike to come back after she realizes it means doing her own cooking and cleaning.