Dragons

Three different dragons have been featured in the show, the first being Spike who is a main character in the series, and the other two are a red and a green dragon who cause a conflict with the main characters. The dragons resemble classical European dragons, with large bodies, long necks and tails, scales, and bat-like wings.

Spike


Spike is a baby dragon and one of the main characters of the show. He is Twilight Sparkle's assistant. He describes several of his traits in different episodes, among them being fire-proof, having tough scales that allow him to be pin-pricked without feeling pain, and magically sending scrolls and other items by burning them with his fire breath.

Spike hatched from an egg, and even though he walks and speaks fairly maturely, he's still called a "baby" dragon. He is much smaller than the other dragons, and even smaller than ordinary ponies; in The Cutie Mark Chronicles he is briefly transformed by Twilight's magic, his body grows much larger and his head bursts out of the ceiling of a tall spire.

His love for eating gems is shown in several episode. When he comes across buffalo in Over a Barrel, they show him great respect and feed him turquoises. Rarity takes him along for her gem hunt in A Dog and Pony Show with the promise of letting him have some of the gems she finds. Pinkie Pie forces a false confession out of him in Party of One by offering him a plate of gems and applying some duress on him. Early in the series, in The Ticket Master, he goes to a cafe with Twilight and asks if they serve gems, but settles for hay fries.

Red dragon
The conflict in Dragonshy is created by an adult red dragon who takes a nap in a cave at the top of a mountain, emitting a large cloud of thick, black smoke that threatens to engulf Ponyville. The ponies are given the task of asking him to relocate, which they successfully accomplished thanks to Fluttershy. At first the other ponies try different approaches, from persuasion to violence, but eventually Fluttershy scolds the dragon into submission. Although it never breathes fire, it otherwise resembles a typical European dragon of reddish color. The red dragon has a large hoard of gold, gems, and other valuables which he uses as bedding.

Green dragon
The green dragon is featured in Owl's Well That Ends Well, living in a cave within the Everfree Forest. Spike enters the dragon's cave and eats some of its hoard of gold and gems, before the dragon finds him, questions his doings, and attacks him. The dragon has extensible claws and tail spikes, wings, and it breathes fire which slightly singes Spike. Twilight Sparkle and Owlowiscious come to Spike's rescue, and the dragon chases them through the forest, but eventually gives up on his pursuit.