dog-like creatures who live in complex tunnel systems they dig in the under- grounds of Equestria. While harming anypony isn’t exactly one of their pri- orities, they won’t hold back from any course of action which would help them attain their goals.
Big eyes, a huge mouth with very sharp teeth, and pointed ears are just some of a Diamond Dog’s distinctive features. There are many races of Dia- mond Dog, but unlike ponies, the dif- ferences are purely cosmetic. Some are bigger, some are smaller, some are wider, some are slimmer, and their fur comes in a great variety of color, but all have one feature in common: long, muscular arms. Diamond Dogs walk in a semi-upright stance on their hind legs, and their front paws are adapted to grabbing things,
even having opposable thumbs. If their ‘hands’ are free, they support themselves with them just like a gorilla would. In addition to the good hearing and sense of smell all canines usually have, Diamond Dogs also possess strong
arms, which they use to dig their tunnels and mine for gem-
stones. Their claws make it possible to dig through very hard ground and even split rocks.
Diamond Dogs love gems--not only their valuable namesake stones, but all sorts of gemstones. Be it sapphires, ru- bies, emeralds, or amethysts, the Dia- mond Dogs want them and will do anything to get them. To this end they mainly by creating extensive mines and excavations. They have no magic or su- pernatural senses with which to find them, so they often dig randomly or by instinct. If there were a better method available for finding their treasure, they would surely try to seize it.
Diamond dogs have sensitive ears, so a good way to scare them off is to make a lot of unbearable noises (whining in a high tone proves to be exceptionally ef- fective). Also, Diamond Dogs would do anything to get their paws on gemstones, so they can be easily used as a diversion- -like throwing a stick for a regular dog--if one is ready to sacrifice a gem or two.
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injury. Another deadly feature of a Drag- on are its sturdy teeth, able to crush gem- stones and even diamonds (the preferred diet of a Dragon) with ease.
Thankfully, most Dragons only care about sleeping and eating. Adult Drag- ons leave their families and search for a cave to live in, then begin to gather a hoard of treasure--mostly gold and gems. While the gems serve as a food source for the Dragon, why they also hoard gold is unknown; it’s said that gold may be com- fortable for a Dragon to sleep on--or per- haps they just like shiny things.
Dragons are fearsome beasts, and fighting them directly is a very bad idea. A whole army would be needed for such a feat, and even then it would be difficult to say the least. The best way to deal with a Dragon problem is to persuade or trick them into leaving or changing their ways.
Dragon
These legendary winged liz- ards come in many forms, and all of them are creatures to be feared. A single Dragon can endanger whole towns simply by snoring smoke. A particularly mighty Drag- o n could destroy a whole country if he had reason to, but thankfully, most adult Dragons mind their own business and are not hostile unless provoked.
Dragons differ in color, size, types of scales, and many other aspects. While a young Dragon can be smaller than a pony, when they grow up they can flat- ten whole buildings with a single stomp. While the shape and color of a Dragon’s scales differ from Dragon to Dragon, mostly these features are inherited.
A Dragon’s most evident advantage is their size and strength; there are only a few other living creatures that can match a Dragon’s raw power. Most Dragons (with a few exceptions) have powerful wings which allow them to fly at great height and speed. Dragons are also fire- proof; they can withstand the hottest flame and even swim in lava without any
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mediately take flight and either move to another location or just return at a later time. Fruitbats always fly in a certain pat- tern, forming a straight, wide line and naturally grouping according to color, the overall formation resembling a gi- ant rainbow. They aren’t vicious or ag- gressive, but they will throw themselves headlong at any food source they lay eyes on.
Fruitbats are not hostile, so the best option is just to avoid startling them in the first place; but if a swarm is on the horizon, the best option is just to hide beneath something or lay
low on the ground. As long as some- pony doesn’t have fruit with them, the Fruibtats will likely leave them alone.
Fruitbat
Fruitbats are small, colorful flying mammals which feed on fruit the color of their own fur. While not really threat- ening, they can surely be a troublesome distraction if one crosses their path. There are several types of Fruitbats, each representing a color of the rainbow, and each type has its own unique features re- sembling a fruit, such as ears that look like leaves, or claws like twigs and sticks.
Unlike normal bats, Fruitbats can see well, and don’t need to make use of echo- location. Their color perception is even better than most other animals. In ad- dition, their size and low weight makes them quick and agile fliers; catching a Fruitbat would be hard even for the swiftest Pegasi.
Fruitbats live in fruit trees (or some- times bushes) and usually only leave their hiding place when they get hun- gry. If the colorful Fruitbats get startled by something, a whole swarm may im-
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and waiting for prey to come by. When any suitable prey is found, the Hydra will wait for the perfect time to strike and then try to take its victim by surprise. If that doesn’t work, the Hydra will chase after its target. Even though all the heads share one stomach and it makes no dif- ference which head actually devours the prey, the heads often compete against each other in catching it, as only one will actually get to taste it.
Everypony should be cautious when near swamps, because there is no better way to handle a Hydra than to not fight it in the first place. When engaged in battle with a Hydra, it’s best to take advantage of the fact that the heads each act on their own and do not always get along. A good solution is to either tangle the heads with each other, or to provoke one of them to act against the others.
Hydra
A Hydra is a four-headed beast living near swamps and bogs. It is one of the more aggressive beasts, and will attack anypony as soon as it has the chance to.
A Hydra has four heads with very long necks on top of a big round body and a tail at its back. Brown-yellow scales cover its body from head to toe, and it has three pairs of red spikes on each head. It has two strong legs and no arms--though its multiple heads more than make up for that. The four heads, which act indepen- dently from one another, make the Hy- dra practically four enemies in one. The heads themselves are, in comparison to the clumsy lower body, quite agile, main- ly because of their flexible necks.
Despite its enormous size, a Hydra can hide itself in the muddy waters of swamps so that only one head will stick out, but that much can be hard to notice due to its natural body color. Hydras sit most of the time hidden in their swamps
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though it is far less effective on larger targets. Lastly, while a Manticore’s bat- like wings are too small to actually let the creature fly, they do allow it to jump higher and over longer distances than it would be able to otherwise.
For all their deadly advantages, Manti- cores are generally peaceful creatures by nature. They live in the forest and spent most of their time protecting their ter- ritory and their children or hunting for food. If a potential threat invades its ter- ritory, a Manticore will try to chase it away rather than take more drastic ac- tion; but if somepony just won’t leave it alone, or endangers its young in any way, then it is more than capable of showing its true, fearsome power.
Manticore
One of the many wonders of the Ever- free Forest, and easily one of the most dangerous ones, the Manticore is a hy- brid of several animals’ unique strengths and abilities. How such an unbelievable crossbreed came to be in the first place is a mystery.
A Manticore has the body of a lion, with large bat wings and a scorpion stinger at the end of a long tail. Its head also has the long, pointed ears of a bat. Its forelegs are much stronger than its hind legs, built more like those of a bear. Over- all, a Manticore has a light yellow-brown coat of fur with a red mane. Its stinger, as well as the inside of its wings, are also red.
A Manticore has the strength of a lion, complete with its sharp teeth, which can easily break branches and bones. The stinger on its tail contains a potent paralyzing poison that can immobilize any foe smaller than the Manticore itself,
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immediately. It’s method of reproduction is quite unique (if more than a little dis- gusting): parasprites vomit a small fuzzy ball, roughly the size of their own bod- ies, which forms into a new, completely functional Parasprite after a few seconds.
A Parasprite’s goals are simple: to eat as much as possible, as fast as possible, and then reproduce. While a single Para- sprite may be practically harmless (as long as it’s controlled), a swarm of the pesky little creatures can purge a village- -or even a whole city--of everything ed- ible in a matter of hours.
Parasprites are small, fast, and always growing in numbers. Trying to get rid of a swarm is very difficult, but there is at least one sure-fire method to do so. For some unknown reason, Para- sprites respond to music. Any musically- skilled individual can control a swarm of Parasprites by playing the right tune. Whether it must be a specific song, or if any rhythmic song will do as long as it’s played right, is unknown.
Parasprite
The Parasprite, not much more in ap- pearance than a cute insect-winged ball with large eyes, may look harmless--but looks can be deceiving. Only a few know of their true destructive potential; if left unchecked, a swarm of Parasprites can strip a region of all its food in a relatively short span of time.
Parasprites look like colorful spheres roughly the size of a tennis ball, with two pairs of insectoid wings on their back and four very tiny legs. Both their bodies and their eyes vary in color from creature to creature; only their wings and legs are always the same (white and black, re- spectively). This, and the fact that they always seem to be smiling, makes them look cute and harmless--which often leads to making the mistake of taking them in and treating them as a pet.
The two most distinctive features of a Parasprite are their enormous appetite and their incredible rate of reproduction. A single Parasprite can easily devour a hundred times its own weight in food and subsequently replicate itself almost
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nixes possess a great deal of intellect gar- nered from their many, many years of life. While a fully-grown Phoenix is function- ally immortal, a hatchling is not as resil- ient. Having not come into their magical abilities, nor lived long enough to accrue wisdom, Phoenix chicks need to be pro- tected by their parents. Additionally, as a Phoenix’s rebirth does not happen until adulthood, chicks are far more vulner- able to than their parents--though they are quick and agile even from an early age, and can often evade and confound predators. As such, Phoenixes guard their nests carefully from intruders, and chase away any who threaten them with their flaming wings. If pursued, a Phoe- nix will use its ability to create light to blind its pursuer and use the opportunity to escape. In general, Phoenixes are not aggressive; any hostile action a Phoenix takes is usually in self-defense or to pro- tect somepony they care for.
Phoenix
When healthy, a Phoenix is a large bird, slightly smaller than a pony, with resplendent, fire-like plumage. The chest feathers of a male Phoenix create a small flame-like pattern absent in the female, while the female has a series of three small antennae in place of a crest. Toward the end of a Phoenix’s cycle of life, its feathers begin to molt, giving it a sickly, ragged appearance until it finally bursts into flame to renew itself and be- gin its next life.
The most famous ability of the Phoe- nix is this undying nature. When a Phoe- nix is ready to die, the bird immolates it- self, leaving behind only ash. Soon after, however, the ash reconstitutes into a new, fully-grown Phoenix.
Additionally, a Phoenix has some lim- ited control over fire. When enraged, a Phoenix’s body and wings will catch fire, making them more threatening to preda- tors. In addition, a Phoenix can emit a blinding light from its body, a tactic which it often uses to throw off pursuers.
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to leave the cave they reside in; if poten- tial prey can escape the range of the eel’s body, there is not much more the eel can do but snap irritatedly at it. Quarray Eels also possess relatively low intelligence, making them fairly easy to outsmart.