History WMG / MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingDragons

Torch acknowledges that his daughter has strenght and wisdom to be his successor, Thod reacts with happiness when Garble hugs him, and Rex in ''The Last Problem'' is giving flower to female unicorn, implying that [[InterspeciesRomance they might be a couple]]. And Spike [[NiceGuy doesn't need]] [[AllLovingHero further explaining]]. This puts them in contrast with Ember and Smolder, who have been shown as {{Tsundere}}'s [[TookALevelInKindness that needed time to mellow down and better express their emotions]].

Torch acknowledges that his daughter has strenght and wisdom to be his successor, Thod reacts with happiness when Garble hugs him, and Rex in ''The Last Problem'' is giving flower to female unicorn, implying that [[InterspeciesRomance they might be a couple]]. And Spike [[NiceGuy doesn't need]] [[AllLovingHero further explaining]]. This puts them in contrast with Ember and Smolder, who have been shown as {{Tsundere}}'s, [[TookALevelInAKindness that needed time to mellow down]].

A dragon whelp who is not allowed to practice greed and consequently is kept from having his abnormal growth [[JustForPun spike]] can eventually slowly grow into a Dragon Knight, a creature with less physical power and longevity than a true dragon, but more intelligent and adapted to life in society. Those cases are very rare, though.

[[folder: Life Cycle and Biology]]
[[WMG: Dragon birth and development.]]

[[WMG: There are millions of different things that could affect a dragon's maturation, not just greed.]]

[[WMG: Spike's fantasy in "A Dog and Pony Show" was not purely his imagination.]]

[[WMG: Dragon life cycle theories.]]

[[WMG: Adult dragons chase off infant dragons as soon as they can begin hoarding.]]

[[WMG: Dragons propagate in the same way cuckoos do.]]

[[WMG: Dragons hide eggs that are close to hatching near places with lots of stuff to hoard.]]

[[WMG: Dragons usually reach physical maturity before mental/emotional maturity.]]

[[WMG: The influence of greed doesn't always result in an adult dragon being a mindless brute.]]

[[WMG: All dragons are [[OneGenderRace male]]]]

[[WMG: Dragons have two separate "lifecycles" they can go down.]]

[[WMG: The greed-induced growth spurt from "Secret of My Excess" is only present in young, wingless dragons.]]

[[WMG: Gems are equivalent of candy to dragons. They taste good, but lack nutritional value.]]

[[WMG: A dragon's metabolism is actually based on nuclear reactions.]]

[[WMG: Dragons ARE powered solely by greed... but it's more complicated than that]]

[[WMG: The greed growth spurt is NOT the end of a dragon's growth.]]

[[folder: Habits and Abilities]]
[[WMG: [[DragonHoard Dragons hoard treasure]] not because of greed, but to use as a food supply.]]

[[WMG: Equestrian dragons function more like intelligent animals than sentient beings. However, due to being raised by the ponies of Canterlot, Spike has developed super-intelligence.]]

[[WMG: Dragons are immortal.]]

[[WMG: Spike's fire transfer ability is a racial skill/ability of dragons.]]

[[WMG: Dragons also have a monarchy or hierocracy like Ponies]]

[[folder: Population and Habitats]]
[[WMG: Dragons are a dying species.]]

[[WMG: Dragons ''used'' to be a society before Discord or Celestia's reign.]]

[[WMG: Spike's dragon species is native to Zecora's homeland.]]

[[WMG: Spike's species is native to the desert from "Over a Barrel".]]

[[WMG: There are kind and noble dragons.]]

[[WMG: Dragons hatched by unicorns are usually abandoned in early childhood.]]

[[folder: Related Species]]
[[WMG: Dragons have three subspecies/races mirroring ponies.]]

*** Make sense, this propably reason why Unicorns hatch wingless dragon eggs and (maybe) keeping them as Familiars (if Spike is not only one)

** Spike is great example, he like being with ponies, he feels natural with them, he even have crush on one pony, also he is good with animals (he takes care of Flutershy pets in Dragonshy), and he treat Bloomberk as character just like AJ.

Also as a bonus (if we asume that Sea Ponies are part of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' setting)

[[WMG: "Dragon" is a broad term for several different species with very different form and temperament.]]

[[WMG: Spike is an Eastern dragon.]]

[[WMG: Spike isn't really a dragon.]]

[[WMG: Dragons are close relatives of pegasi, griffons and sphinxes]]

!![[center: [-[[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingSharedUniverses Shared Universes]], [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingPonies Ponies]], [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingEquestria Equestria]], [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingEquestrianCulture Equestrian Culture]], [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingScienceAndMagic Science and Magic]], [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingOtherSpecies Other Species]] ([[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingChangelings Changelings]], '''Dragons''')-]]]

Scaly fire-breathing reptiles, ponies don't have much concrete information on them, so guesses appear. If you have guesses on other things then:

-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingSharedUniverses Shared Universe guesses go here]]
-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingPonies Pony guesses go here]]
-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingEquestria Guesses about Equestria itself go here]]
-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingEquestrianCulture Guesses on Equestrian Culture go here]]
-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingScienceAndMagic Science and Magic guesses go here]]
-> [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSettingOtherSpecies Guesses on other species go here]]

-> Go back to the [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicSetting Main Setting Guesses page here]]

-> and you can still go back to the [[WMG/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Main WMG Page, here]]

[[WMG: Spike's fantasy in ''A Dog And A Pony Show'' was not purely his imagination.]]

Given the events of Secret of My Excess, this is almost certainly true, but putting it in words anyway. Dragons can reach physical maturity almost instantly once they start hoarding, and that fast growth is a very useful survival trait, which implies that most dragons make use of it.

[[WMG: The greed-induced growth spurt from Secret of my Excess is only present in young, wingless dragons.]]

It would explain why we haven't seen another dragon like him, and why Zecora is the ONLY one who knew a thing about what was happening to him in "The Secret of My Excess". Granted, Zecora knows a lot of things that other ponies don't know, but she did know a lot about Spike's species and we haven't even seen a dragon like Spike in the Everfree Forest.
* '''Jossed''' , as Spike seems to belong to the same species as every other dragon.

* '''Jossed''' , as Spike seems to belong to the same species as every other dragon.

As of ''Owls...'', we see that dragons are an infanticidal and cannibalistic species. Also, Spike is consistently referred to as a baby dragon, yet is at the same level of comprehension and cognitive development as the rest of the residents of Equestria.

* Jossed at least in part. Scorch, in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]", seems to have raised his daughter Ember himself, and they're physically similar enough, especially in the shape of their horns, that their relationship is almost certainly biological.

Because we've seen several adult dragons, with hoards, that spoke coherently (an ability Giant!Spike loses) and could be reasoned with (it took the reminder of a big gesture to Rarity to bring 'Spike-wikey' back). The one in Dragonshy was protective of his hoard (understandably, Rarity ''was'' trying to nick stuff), but backed down once he was scared/talked into leaving, and the one in "Owl's Well That Ends Well" just showed that dragons don't like baby dragons in their lairs eating their hoard/food. Which again is reasonable, even if trying to kill Spike wasn't.

Zecora's explanation seems to suggest that Giant!Spike results in the way he does because he is able to hoard as much as he pleases without being held back. Were Spike able to gather a hoard with some limitations (''Rarity'' knows what's worth keeping, and they kind-of share a love of gems) we may see a different result. If this episode did show dragon puberty -- on a warped, quick scale -- then Twilight can't keep Spike a baby forever. They're going to have to find some way of managing it while he's living among ponies in a place with a lot to get his attention.

[[WMG: All Dragons are [[OneGenderRace Male]]]]

** Jossed. Ember and an unnamed background dragon in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]" are both clearly female.

[[WMG: Dragons ARE powered solely by greed...but it's more complicated than that]]

* Going by "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E21DragonQuest Dragon Quest]]" and "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]", it's probably safe to say dragons are fully sapient beings throughout their lives, and they definitely have an ordered society, if one that's not quite as... organized as most.

* Probably Jossed in ''Dragon Quest''. The dragon migration had numbers probably ranging in the ''millions''. However, [[FridgeHorror this may only apply to flying dragons]].....

[[WMG: Dragons hatched by unicorns are usually abandoned in early childhood.]]Twilight's apparently the only pony in Equestria with a dragon, and she couldn't possibly be the only unicorn to pass the entrance exam (or else Celestia has a REALLY small school...). Dragons are thought of as dangerous by ponies, but the ponies probably wouldn't just throw a hatching off into the wild. So, as a result, they are raised for a short amount of time, THEN thrown off into the wild. Twilight, as Celestia's personal pupil, was made an exception, since if by some chance the dragon that would grow up to be Spike would have turned violent, there wouldn't be much of a problem since Equestria's ruler-god would be right there to fix the problem. This would justify Spike's fear of Twilight sending him away due to this being normal among ponies, and could also have something to do with why the teenaged dragons in Dragon Quest have such an attitude against ponies. Shoot, if that's the case, then part of the reason they were mocking Spike would be that they believed he either hasn't been or just got abandoned.

[[WMG: Dragons have 3 subspiecies/races mirroring ponies.]]

* Spike actually assumes the form from "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" for a moment during "Secret of My Excess." It happens when he destroys Sugarcube Corner.

A Dragon Knight is always fantastically brave, generous and devoted to the protection of the ones he loves and cares for - qualities that are absolutely necessary to transcend the feral dragon instincts and to become a Dragon Knight in the first place.

It's likely that dragon mothers lay only one egg at a time, since dragons don't appear to be common in Equestria - if they were, they would have overrun the land. Alternatively, most of the dragons spawned are killed in battles over hoards, with only the strongest surviving.

When a dragon whelp becomes of age, he experiences a greed and growth surge (as depicted in ''Secret To My Excess'') which leads him to fight his mother (and siblings if available) for the hoard and the lair. The losers are either killed or flee the battle to try and find a new lair. Possibly the dragon shown in ''Dragonshy'' was uprooted like this. The hoard in the cave may not have been originally its own - perhaps it was left there from the death of the previous owner.

Zecora's explanation seems to suggest that Giant!Spike results in the way he does because he is able to hoard as much as he pleases without being held back. Were Spike able to gather a hoard with some limitations (''Rarity'' knows what's worth keeping, and they kind-of share a love of gems) we may see a different result. If this episode did show dragon puberty - on a warped, quick scale - then Twilight can't keep Spike a baby forever. They're going to have to find some way of managing it while he's living among ponies in a place with a lot to get his attention.

In the first one, which 99.9% of dragons go through, they accumulate a large hoard and magically grow faster and faster. In nature this is encouraged by adults, but limited by lack of loot to hoard of their own. The larger their hoard gets the more they mature, and after a certain amount of time that maturity becomes permanent. When Spike gets a whole bunch of loot in "Secret of My Excess," he artificially accelerates the process. Along this path dragons lose a part of their intelligence, but Spike took it even further. You can see this in action with many stupid adolescents and very stupid adults. Spike seems to be the most intelligent dragon we know.

* Wingless Dragons - Spike's race, maybe have some connection with ground, animals and plants.

* Winged Dragons - like Red and Green ones, probably can walk on clouds and control weather.
* Horned Dragons - unseen, with some magical powers (maybe like Dragons from D&D).

* Water Dragons - Steven Magnet kind, they don't need to have hair.

It doesn't take much effort to notice Spike is not very similar to the other two dragons the cast has encountered so far; his fire is green, and appears to be more on the harmless/magical side compared to the mundane but much more dangerous fire the other two possess. Additionally, he's flightless, and his grown shape is very different. However, the red dragon and green dragon, while appearing to be simple pallet swaps of the same species were also different kinds of dragon. The red one was a mountain dragon, intelligent but also a fairly lazy form of TrueNeutral; he just wanted a place to sleep for a long time, and preferred to deal with polite attempts to get him to leave by ignoring the ponies or displaying a token threat to get them out of his cave. When Dash kicked him in the face, he got angry, but even then he just roared and blew smoke in hopes the ponies would leave, and backed down when Fluttershy scolded him; it's possible it was a fairly young dragon. The green dragon, however, was a forest dragon, a more territorial and violent breed due to the general scarcity of gemstones in heavily wooded areas like the Everfree Forest. The extremely DisproportionateRetribution the green dragon presented to Spike's ineffectual challenge was simply the green dragon treating him as it would a challenger from its own species, while Spike attempting the same thing with the red dragon would have likely just resulted in the red dragon ignoring him or simply attempting to scare him off.

Well, [[NoBiologicalSex technically they have no gender]], but appear masculine. They reproduce asexually by spitting out eggs like Nameks in DragonBall.

* Technically speaking, we don't know for sure if the forms we've seen are Spike's actual potential adult forms, and it's quite possible that all forms except for the greed-induced growth spurt aren't actual adult forms Spike can actually take -- the "knight" form was only seen in an ImagineSpot and could likely be nothing more than a fantasy on Spike's part, and the third form was technically just baby Spike being made gigantic by filly Twilight's magic surge. That said, given the great deal of difference in appearance and behavior between Spike's greed-growth form and the other dragons seen in the show, it's likely that there ''are'' other factors in play besides simple greed -- perhaps a dragon that grows in a slower and more sedate pace (as in a actually going through a period of natural puberty rather than turning giant in an hour or less) will mature in a healthier way and retain greater mental faculties, as well as being able to grow wings.