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   Future Spike... Savior of the Crystal Empire, "almost" a dragon lord, and King of stomach aches from eating too much ice cream. ![full](https://camocdn.ponybooru.org/UlK9JFER1V8BDcaXzBD2XHXBNg8/aHR0cDovL2UuZGV2aWFudGFydC5uZXQvZW1vdGljb25zL3gveGQuZ2lm)  

    Known best for being Princess Twilight's assistant and little brother figure, Spike knew he couldn't live in his friend's shadow forever. He knew he needed to take care and fend for himself. Being known widely in the dragon lands, he also went back often to visit Ember every now and again. 
    As Spike grew, his crush on Rarity had faded away. Of course he knew how much Rarity loved and cared about him, but she told Spike one day that they'd seemed to have gone their separate ways and friend-zoned each other. 
    Of course, Spike being as persistent as he was didn't want to think of it that way. Spike knew how beautiful of a pony Rarity was, but she always seemed to use him to get her work done just because he had a crush on her. From that day on, Rarity and Spike went their separate ways... Of course they loved each other, but they loved each other as best friends. ![full](https://camocdn.ponybooru.org/uXc8qBaNzoXI129h05oVTkGw1V0/aHR0cDovL2UuZGV2aWFudGFydC5uZXQvZW1vdGljb25zL3Mvc21pbGUuZ2lm) ![full](https://camocdn.ponybooru.org/92-Qfz14l9ilZbXpbW9lH7PIxbw/aHR0cDovL2UuZGV2aWFudGFydC5uZXQvZW1vdGljb25zL2gvaGVhcnQuZ2lm) 
    Spike also knew he needed a job he could do now that he was getting a bit older. In pony years, he was old enough to be a guard, however, dragons aged MUCH slower than ponies, so Spike was a bit hesitant about this. He decided to go around and asked other ponies what they thought. Guess what most of them said... ![full](https://camocdn.ponybooru.org/izTpkWVK0dwZ2tiZsyZCPHGxoiA/aHR0cDovL2UuZGV2aWFudGFydC5uZXQvZW1vdGljb25zL2MvY29uZnVzZWQuZ2lm) "A royal guard." ![full](https://camocdn.ponybooru.org/e6k5GbLqL0rrWV2stGIjK3UMA2Q/aHR0cDovL29yaWcxMi5kZXZpYW50YXJ0Lm5ldC9lMTI3L2YvMjAxNS8zMTEvMS9kL2V5ZXNfcm9sbGluZ19zcGlrZV9ieV9lbGVtZW50b2ZfbG95YWx0eS1kOWZ2MjI2LmdpZg)  
    Spike never forgot that he had saved the Crystal Empire twice. He also never forgot how many times he'd assisted his friends in saving Equestria. So one night, he asked Twilight if it was possible that a dragon could be a Royal guard.  
    Twilight decided to pay her big brother, Shining Armor, a visit. Shining Armor used to be captain of the Royal guards, but retired. Of course, Shining Armor said that he could, but it depends if the rules would be changed or not. 
    Luckily, despite being awkwardly different from all the ponies, Spike got proper training from the new captain.  
    After 5 years of training, Spike, (along with Flash Sentry), defended Twilight's Royal castle from any sudden harm. With all of the new guards hired for Twilight's castle, Spike knew Twilight's castle would finally be okay. And for years to come, Spike saved lots of lives from being destroyed.