@Itsthinking
Congratulations, your dream have come true! In a bad way.

@SemiJuggao  
People do stupid things.

Seriously? Can’t a guy enjoy a good pia-sama Sparity piece without a political debate?!
 

@Background Pony  

Jesus fucking christ, if you people put half as much effort into your education as you do writing these entire hashed-out wall-of-text debates about your HEADCANON for MY LITTLE PONY, we would have cured cancer, solved world hunger, and developed faster-than-light travel by now.

@Background Pony  
Oh I understand everything you said perfectly. It was in fact the way i originally saw it, but my point is that as the series has gone on it has made less and less sense to believe Spike being significantly younger to be true. Fanon that can’t involve as the series continues is entirely worthless, its why we have people complaining about background character eye color and alicorns.
 
He reached the next stage of physical maturity in SoME, that cannot be denied, and the fact that he chose to revert to his normal form doesn’t change that.
 
Yes, I am making assumptions about being employed, because those are the logical assumptions to make based on what we’ve seen. Spike has a job that he does well, he is called out of town on occasion to do additional work, he acquires gems and claims he’s been saving them up. I make the assumption he is getting paid because that is the most logical one to make given what we’re shown. Of course he could always get them from doing odd jobs for others, what with the massive amounts of time off he gets from working for Twilight. Except of course he doesn’t get a lot, or any really, time off according to SaYS.
 
I never said that he couldn’t be younger than I see him, I just said it makes far less sense. We know Twilight started her magic training with hatching Spike, we know she had no interest in magic before the summer sun celebration, we know she taught herself the basics of magic which led to her getting an opportunity to try and enter Celestia’s school, and we know she went to something called magic kindergarten. We also know the age a child goes to kindergarten. Based on this we can make a fair guess at his relative age in comparison to her and the rest of the girls, about 4 to 6 years younger. Certainly, its speculation, but its speculation based on things we’ve been told.
 
And of course the girls are allowed to act immature and still be adults. Just as Spike is allowed to do so and still be a mid to late teen. Spike has as much autonomy as he wishes to have, he just really enjoys his job. He didn’t ask if he could leave in Dragon Quest, he said he was going and they resorted to physically stopping him. I just find it humorous that the characters are held to entirely different standards for some reason. The most childish thing I’ve ever seen Spike do is run away from home. The most childish thing I’ve ever seen on of the girls do is run away from home, which is what AJ did in The Last Roundup.
 
Maybe he was schooled in Canterlot, maybe Twilight home schools him, though as we’ve covered already the time where is awake an not helping Twilight is canonically very limited so I don’t consider that very likely. Another probable explanations is that he’s already graduated from the pony education system which doesn’t seem to go beyond about elementary levels for the most part, Celestia’s school being the exception. Given the existence of cutie marks, this makes sense as school seems to be focused more on learning the basics and then discovering your special talent.
 
And I’d question the statement that the majority of the fandom agrees with you on Sparity. Certainly a very vocal part agrees with your views, but considering no one would even consider Sparity possible before season 2 I’d say that its is no longer nearly as lopsided.

@candrew
 
Lackluster or not, in your opinion, it is canon you’re right. And it doesn’t matter if he’s been referred to as a baby dragon after Secret of My Excess or not because either way, that distinction was still made very, very clear before that episode (and not clearly negated afterward), enough that most fans took it as a good reason to think he’s supposed to be significantly younger or less mature than the ponies. I’m not trying to convince you that he is younger or tell you that you’re wrong, I’m telling you why most fans think so, since you said you have a hard time understanding it. The things I’ve just stated, plus the points that I brought up before which you didn’t respond to all provide very good reasons for fans to assume that Spike is supposed to be a child, or a very young teenager at the absolute most. Which is why the majority of people think of him that way. Even if you can’t understand it, most people simply don’t interpret him the same way you do and until we get something in canon that gives people a definitive reason to think he’s suddenly not supposed to be a baby dragon anymore in clear terms, expect that belief to prevail.
 
I also disagree that the girls aren’t shown to be substantially more mature than Spike… every single one of them, with the possible exception of Fluttershy has been shown to work for a living (and Rarity and Applejack both run their own businesses that are their entire livelihood), they all live alone or else are shown that they’re responsible for providing for themselves (and others in Applejack’s case), and they all come and go as they please… in other words none of them answer to anyone but themselves, meaning they are all independent adults. I guess you probably don’t know much about women but having sleepovers with makeovers isn’t only just a thing that young girls do… adult woman can have them too (I remember there was an episode of Ellen Degeneres’ old original sitcom that was all about her doing this with her friends as a girl’s night party, and they were all in their 30s), and especially in the case of Look Before You Sleep Twilight was still very new to the idea of hanging out with friends in a casual setting, and the other two were basically humoring her in her naivete since they were stuck at her house for the night anyway. Adults will sometimes play party games like pin the tail on the donkey (pony in this case) or hitting a pinata in a party setting, and especially in a large party setting when all ages and families are involved (which would probably be the case at a large Pinkie party at Sugarcube corner) so that’s not that unusual, nor is playing I Spy as a way to pass the time when bored… you see characters that are definitely adults do the same kind of thing in movies and stuff all the time. So I think it’s been made extremely clear that all six of them are meant to be adults, even if Pinkie Pie doesn’t always (or hardly ever) acts like one.
 
About Spike being employed, we have no reason to think that he is officially nor has there ever been anything proving that he gets paid for assisting Twilight, you’re completely making that assumption but there are many other ways he could have acquired his gems: either getting some of them from Rarity as a gift or by helping her collect them, as gifts from other sources (Pinkie had a whole plate of gems she offered Spike in Party of One and most or all of the characters knows he likes them so would probably be happy to give him some on occasion), for doing small odd jobs/chores like when he petsitted, and which kids can do in the real world by mowing neighbor’s lawns or whatever, or maybe he even gets them as an allowance, which is something kids get. We know for a fact that Spike was raised in Canterlot and is intimately acquainted with Princess Celestia and other members of the court and guard, even if it’s not more than Word of Faust that he was raised by Celestia himself, so I don’t know why it’s strange to believe that Celestria might have some kinds of errands suitable for him to perform even if he is a child. Also no you’re right he doesn’t go to school, but it’s clear that even if he wasn’t raised by Celestia as Lauren Faust envisioned for his backstory he was at least raised by Twilight, which means that he probably received all of the education he needed at an early age under one or both of them. You can even think of Spike as a child genius like Doogie Howser who completely graduated way early, the point is that him not being in school doesn’t mean that he can’t be younger than you see him. Maybe Twilight even homeschools him on the side in the current timeline on the cartoon, who knows.
 
@Aharon L’anglais
 
You have no way of knowing that about either character’s age, you’re only speculating based on how you see them and not by what’s been established in canon. Even if you weren’t wrong though, like I said to candrew earlier and which you probably missed even if Spike and Rarity are not supposed to be far away from each other in chronological age, it’s been made very clear (in my eyes, and to the majority of people in the fandom) that he’s supposed to be on a different developmental plane/level of maturity than Rarity, and she treats him like a little boy or like a younger family member which suggests both that she herself thinks of him as being on a different level than her and also that she does not see him as a romantic interest in the show. The fact that he’s a dragon and should have a very long natural lifespan compared to a pony’s could have something to do with it, because it means that even if they were the exact same age in years, she could still be an adult while he was a child or even technically an infant of his species.

XDDDDDDDDD…..woa….love that pic dow there of those guys and that lovely Celestia ad Luna one…XDDDD

Gentlemen you have reached an impasse let’s change the subject before it escalates into a Mexican standoff. Though just to transition out, Spike is probably about 13 or 14 (the age of consent in Japan) and Rarity is approximately 17. Teenagers can run their own business in the United States. In 1965 a 17 year old boy from Bridgeport, Connecticut named Fred deLuca started a sandwich shop with his friend Peter Buck, calling it “Pete’s Subway”. 48 years later that shop is one of the largest fast food chains in the country.

@Ertinax  
Except its not clear, that’s the point, and I’m honestly surprised that you think it is clear. The ages I listed are converted to humanity age ranges based on how they act, quite honestly they’re probably all far younger than that in terms of physical age, and we know that Spike’s physical development is heavily influenced by owning stuff. Also, in most states of the union the age of consent is 17 or younger just so you know.
 
Spike is employed, he gets paid, and I’m not talking about the pet sitting though he did get paid for that. He saved up his gems to make the original cake, he goes out of town, by himself, on royal business, and managed to get a rare gem without any knowledge of either of the two characters in a position to give it to him. Even if the sole total of pay he gets is in gems, that’s still valid currency in Equestria. He doesn’t go to school, and despite how often people claim it to be the case, isn’t treated as being substantially younger than the mane 6. But all this is besides the point.
 
I never said that it was going to happen right away, or ever really, but I know you haven’t actually read any of the other posts on this picture so not knowing that is understandable. I also don’t know where you got the idea I was picking and choosing from the episodes since, frankly, that seems to be what most people who trot out these tired old arguments seems to do.
 
And if you think its pedophilia and rape then there really isn’t anything else to say. You’re entirely welcome to your opinion. My point is and always has been that a.) Its not impossible, and b.) Spike is a mid to late teenager. Both of these are more than supported by the show itself.
 
Feel free to not click on pictures you find ‘creepy’ in the future.

@candrew
 
Problem is, that’s like me claiming Dexter (from Dexter’s Lab) is mature enough - he has his own laboratory, after all, which he somehow constructs and funds by himself - so he’s really a teenager. And I will ship him with one of his teachers. Or some other cougar. And this will be fine and everyone will accept it in the setting as normal.
 
Protip: saying “But, judge, she acted so mature! How could anyone tell she was 13?” Probably isn’t gonna help much once you get into the courtroom. It works about as well as “she had a bush, your honor, so what’s the big problem, huh?” That one also doesn’t work too well, I think.
 
Also, at least here in the US, a 20 yr old hooking up with a 15 or 17 yr old is still a rapist. So, yeah.
 
I mean, I get that you clearly really like Sparity. But no matter how mature you think he is, he’s clearly still a child. He’s clearly meant to be treated and seen as a child in the setting. He clearly isn’t even meant to be considered as a romantic interest by anyone. No more than if Sweetie or Scootaloo had a little crush on someone their sisters’ age. I sympathize with you, and hell, I know none of this will change your mind, but your OTP is still - by most everyone’s standards - pedophilia and rape of a minor. For some folks, that’s just innately disturbing. Even if they’re all up-aged, it will still have a stigma of one of the party (Rarity) clearly taking advantage of the obsession of infatuation of the other (Spike) that emerged when it was illegal and creepy.
 
Imagine: a young boy falls for an older woman. The older woman then strings him along (or appears to), continuing to support his child’s crush on her, until he becomes old enough that they can be together without her being arrested. This is the kind of thing you’d read about in the newspaper, grimace, and shake your head in disgust at while wondering “where the hell was this kid’s parents?”
 
“employed guy?” Spike isn’t employed. He works as Twi’s basically unpaid assistant. The one time we see him taking up a “job” (SaYS) he last-minute gets the girls to all give him gems for his trouble, which is basically like a kid working for candy. Spike being employed is like saying that a kid who helps around the house and does chores is employed. You can’t pick and choose what characterizations you want from what episodes. /sigh
 
I guess it’s better than the “everyone rapes Snails” part of the fandom, but still.

This is so cute and sweet. :) I love how Spike’s reaction is to Rarity giving him a massage. And I just LOVE seeing them together because of how cute they are together. ^_

@Ertinax  
I’ve mentioned multiple times in this thread that I consider Spike to be roughly 6 years younger than Rarity, 15 to 17 in comparison to her 20 to 22. I base this on how they are treated in show. So to swapping the gender doesn’t bother me.
 
 
@Background Pony  
SaYS is canon sadly, but Spike characterization in that episode is lackluster at best. I’d also point out each of the half dozen times they called him a baby dragon, and yes it’s only happened six times, are before SoME where he stopped being a baby dragon. Just because he chose to shrink back down doesn’t mean he’s not meant to be a teenager. We also know that Twilight attended something called magic kindergarten after she hatched him. We know it happened after because of what was shown in flashback.
 
So no it just doesn’t make to me. The girls aren’t substantially more mature than hevis. The have sleepovers with makeovers, plsy games like pin the tail on the pony and i spy, and have to learn friendship lessons the average kundergartener knows. But their immature is brushed off as it being a kids show, while Spike’s is used to try and claim the employed guy who acts like your typical cartoon rendition of a lazy, gluttonous, sarcastic teenager is a ten yea old.

@Aharon L’anglais  
I think 17 is too young, I would give her 20-21 at the least..

@Ertinax  
She’s the pony equivalent of 17 year old girl, Spike is approxamitely 13 or 14 himself.

@candrew
 
Reverse the genders and make Spike a young girl with a crush on an older guy. Do you see how creepy it is to then have that older guy reciprocate the affection of an immature girl? Or, hell, most anything Rarity does do to Spike in canon?
 
Imagine someone shipping, say, Sweetie Belle and Big Mac. Someone seriously shipping that.
 
I mean, the Pipsqueak-Luna thing is thankfully not seen as all that serious, but somehow Sparity is different? Even if they’re older, like in some 20 yrs later episode, it still has some rather creeper connotations.  
Do you really want Rarity to be some kind of Mrs Robinson?
 
Then again, Spike having an affair with a married Rarity sometime in the future could make for a passable character deconstruction… Hmm.
 
Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes  
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes  
It’s a little secret, just the Robinsons’ affair  
Most of all, you’ve got to hide it from the kids  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP9rAQLAKLk

@candrew
 
It’s more than likely because he’s been referred to as a baby dragon more than once, as well as his very small size, young sounding voice, the pet/bassinet looking basket he sleeps in, and the way his relationship with Twilight has been portrayed (especially when he’s more vulnerable like in Dragon Quest and part 2 of the Crystal Empire and turns to her for comfort) than just his behavior, though there’s that too. Like QueenCold brought up before one of the things he’d been looking forward to doing in his free time was to sniff his own “stinky feet” as well as try touching his nose with his tongue and playing drums on his stomach, which I think made it clear the writers intend him to be a little boy, who’s just a lot more mature and responsible than most kids are most of the time because of how he was raised and because of how his life is with Twilight (who piles a ton of responsibility on him, intentionally and otherwise). Even if chronologically he’s not much younger than them, though that’s up for debate because we have no way of knowing for sure how old they all were when he was hatched, I think he’s supposed to be a child compared to them and maybe the species difference has a lot to do with that, since dragons have been established as having incredibly long life spans. I know you feel differently, but I don’t think it’s hard to understand why most people think he’s supposed to be portrayed as significantly younger than the main pony characters.
 
Again it all comes down to interpretation, I just hope someday we have more to go on with Spike and some canon conformation about how old he’s really supposed to be relative to the others (especially Rarity) so that it stops people from constantly arguing about it in shipping debates. Anyway have a nice night too.

@candrew  
Looked to me like Spike just needed a moment to find a new container.
 
Judging by Spike’s facial expressions and his reaction to Rarity nagging, he understood all of them just fine. Spike had even less reason to talk than the adult red. None of the ponies were really trying to convince him of anything. He just had Rainbow Dash shouting and Fluttershy whispering.
 
I find it more likely that something was physically making it harder to talk than that something was making him less intelligent. At worst, it would have been like being drunk.

@Background Pony  
Oh I understand that its the prevailing thought, I just don’t understand why it is. The most immature Spike has ever done, outside of SaYS, is run away from home, which Applejack also did in The Last Roundup.
 
The girls aren’t mature by the standards of human beings outside of the fact they have jobs, but this is a kids show so its expected so it gets ignored. Spike continually proves to be just as emotional/mentally developed as most of them, and more than them in some instances, but people use his instances of immature behavior to label him as substantial younger. How this idea persisted past very early season one is beyond me, but you can’t change fanon for most people.
 
But now I’m rambling, so I’m going to sleep. Have a nice night.

@Sjogre  
He made a really stupid face when he was faced with the prospect of having to put down one of his hand fulls of plunder, and took far longer then he should of to think of getting a bigger container.
 
Red didn’t talk because he wasn’t full awake until Rarity started stealing, and then he was annoyed by Pinkie and attacked by Dash. After that, a well placed roar said all he needed to.
 
Spike stopped talking in complete sentences at roughly the teenage level of size, and as we saw later the other dragons, while not particularly bright, still spoke in an entirely understandable fashion. Even before then he didn’t say much after his voice deepened.
 
Certainly, this is all speculation, but I got the impression adult Spike couldn’t speak as opposed to wouldn’t speak.

@candrew
 
I think this ship gets a lot of hate because most people interpret Spike as being a child, or at least on a different maturity level/developmental plane than Rarity, like I do. That’s why I don’t ship it or think his crush is meant to be implied as one with real relationship potential. Maybe he actually is supposed to be older, but him being a kid or at least significantly less mature than the main characters is the prevailing interpretation in the fandom, right or wrong.
 
Anyway it’s been nice discussing with you too… thanks to you too for being polite and respectful.

@candrew  
Aside from everything else, adult dragons just plain don’t talk much. I find it highly plausible that adult Spike just didn’t feel like talking between reaching full size and the time when he regressed himself.
 
Look at how much the ponies said to the red adult without him making a verbal response.
 
Adult Spike didn’t really seem less intelligent, just focused on grabbing stuff. He certainly understood everything that was going on.

This thread:
 

 
And thus “La Republica Sparitista del Derpibooru” was born

@JP  
Sparity is an endless battlefield sadly. Its rare to find a picture where there isn’t an anon whining about the ship within the first ten comments. Why this ship gets all the haters is beyond me but what can you do.