Species

The world is full of a variety of magical and non-magical creatures with a varying degree of sentience. The ones detailed here are the sentient species most commonly depicted, but this is not an exhaustive list. 

Earth Ponies

One of the three founding species of Equestria, these horse-like equines have no magical features or abilities. Culturally, they are often found in labor intensive trades such as farming or mining, where expertise has been passed down through the generations. Of the three founding species, these are the strongest in terms of raw physical strength.

Pegasi

One of the three founding species of Equestria, pegasus ponies have feathered wings and occasionally other feathered features as well. While not magical in a way scholars have been able to establish concretely, pegasi have long held secrets that allow them to manipulate the weather to a certain degree. Since it requires physical alterations to clouds and winds, few dare claim it early signs of Wild Magic affinity, but instead consider it something more species innate or passed down through cultural transmission. 

Unicorns

The most identifiably magical of the three founding species of Equestria, unicorns are equines with singular magical horns on their heads. They have mastery over what is considered Traditional Magic. Their magical abilities have been stable for thousands of years, fitting them into the role of problem solvers in society. They frequently go into academics, as their physical strength and agility is often less than that of other species. 

Bat Ponies

Bat Ponies had always been small in number, though during the Age of Princesses they served exclusively under Princess Luna. When she retired, many were integrated into the castle’s Nightwatch and later transitioned into the city as well. It was always rumored that most bat ponies chose to live in caves in the mountains and there was some truth to this story. In particular, Summits Hollow was a generational haven for many Bat Ponies for centuries, though its secrecy came at a cost: when this settlement within the mountain was cut off from the outside world by a Wild Magic influenced creature, no one knew to miss the inhabitants. It wasn’t until the Age of Reclamation where the area was discovered by the general populace of Equestria and subsequently freed from the mountain.

Bat Ponies are typically insectivorous or frugivorous, though there are rare members of the species that feed upon blood. It is frowned upon to feed upon the blood of others without permission and considered abhorrent to do so to the damage of the blood donor’s health. Bat ponies are typically similar in stature and physical ability to pegasi, though they have much better hearing and worse eyesight on average. 

Changelings

These insectoid-featured equines have lived either scattered across the world among other species or concentrated in the Changeling Hive. The typical pureblood changeling has a single pair of oval-shaped insect wings that can fold under a protective shell, a tail that resembles a wing or no tail at all, and frequently a beetle-like horn on their forehead. Changelings have been interbreeding with other species for a long time, however, making pony-like hair and tails far more common. When Wild Magic flared for the first time, all changelings were called back to the hive. Those that refused the call hid themselves in equestrian society using their shapeshifting abilities. The Changeling Hive became physically isolated by the wild magic warped landscape and was only reunited with the rest of the world during the Age of Reclamation. The original dark, parasitic form of these creatures became the stuff of legends rather than reality, as did the more complex shape-shifting abilities they used to utilize. 

While changelings can eat food, it does not sustain them. Instead they feed off of the love given by others. Changelings within the Hive are raised to share love with one another and therefore the populace of the hive is largely self-sustaining. Any changelings in the outside world, however, must find other sources of love. Those that struggle to do so risk becoming Famished, which can lead changelings to steal love from others using manipulation and shapeshifting coercion. 

Deer

These are large cervids that are occasionally found throughout Equestria and the rest of the world. They tend to be reclusive and isolationist, staying apart from other civilizations and cultures. Though Deer are lumped together in one category, the reindeer nomadic groups in the north and the deer herds that inhabit the Everfree Forest have very different cultures and physical features. Some scholars argue that the Everfree Forest herd may be one of the first examples of harnessing wild magic, long before even the Age of Princesses, as they have long been able to channel magical abilities with plants unlike that of any other species.

Bovines

While frequently grouped together for the ease of scholars, yaks, cows, and bison only share physical similarities. This species shares a stocky build, horns, and cloven hooves, but otherwise varies by individual subspecies and region. The Yaks of Yakyakistan have remained largely unchanged, both due to their hardy nature and their remote homeland. The harshness of the Wilds did, however, push the larger herds of bison into cooperation with cows and ponies. Apple Loosa has become one such settlement that is frequently inhabited by bison and cows together, though smaller pockets of these bovines also exist in other areas.

Griffin

Griffin are creatures that appear to be the front half of a bird and the back half of a feline. They are a gruff species that lives most peacefully in solitude. Griffinstone is the one instance known of Griffins living together for long periods of time and it is frequently rattled with unrest. During the Age of Chaos, rulers rose and fell within months. Upon reconnection with Equestrians, rulership of Griffinstone was still uncertain. 

Seaponies

Seaponies, also sometimes called Mermares, are aquatic creatures that have the front half of an equine and back half of a fish or other aquatic animal. Despite their name, they are not restricted to saltwater environments, though it is where they are more commonly found. While some seaponies are descended from transformed hippogriffs, most are naturally born as any other species and have no connection to the hippogriffs at all.

Hippogriffs

The hippogriffs are creatures with the front half of a bird and the back half of an equine. They reside primarily in their own island kingdom in the Southern Ocean. Their capital city, Hippogriffia,resides atop Mount Aris. It was built there to bring the hippogriffs as close to the sky as possible while residing on land. It was only during the Age of Princesses that the hippogriffs cultivated a closer relationship with the sea. After returning from hiding in Seaquestria below the island, two factions slowly emerged among the hippogriffs: those that embraced this new life between land, sea, and sky, and those who buckled down on the hippogriff’s heritage of mastery over the air. While this rift never brought physical conflict between hippogriffs, it has created a bit of a cultural schism in the population.

Dragons

Dragons are great reptilian beasts that typically reside in the Dragon Lands. While most dragons have four limbs and two wings, the finer details of other features vary from dragon to dragon. Scales typically cover most of their bodies and horns are common, but frills, hair, feathers, and spines are not unheard of. These beings are another top contender among scholars for the first known example of wild magic mastery, though many suggest it was less of a conscious decision and more that only the dragons who were able to do so could survive the harshness of their volcanic homeland. 

Kirin

Kirin are creatures that look like a deer/pony hybrid covered with scales and singular horn instead of paired antlers. This reclusive species resides among the Peaks of Peril, where they remain largely isolated from the world. Their isolationist views stem from a history of conflict when their Nirik forms ran rampant. By closing themselves off from most of the world they aim to stay peaceful and in control. Though their remote home keeps them away from most of this eras conflicts, they have been observing closely the changes from afar, especially in relation to the mysterious Chaos Well.

Chimera Born

These are not the typical three headed beasts that seem a mix of goat, lion, and snake, but instead a moniker given to the strange creatures born near the Chaos Well or into families with high exposure to wild magic. They are creatures that appear to be a hodge-podge of other animals, though they do not typically have the serpentine dragon shape of Draconequus. Each is born with an innate elemental affinity for wild magic and they easily master and acquire other affinities compared with other species. They do not have reality-altering magic seen in Draconequus.

Hybrids

Hybrids, clear crosses between species, were largely unheard of during the Age of Princesses. When couples produced children, they would be one of the parent’s species. During the Age of Chaos, however, this began to change. Couples that could not previously have children did so and children were now being born, if rarely, with a combination of traits that did not fit singular species. Sometimes families that seemed to primarily be one species would produce a child with clearly recessive traits from a long ago ancestor of another species. The waters only became more muddied over time as scholars and scientists tried to distinguish what constitutes pureblood of any species when many, especially the founding three of Equestria, were heavily intermixed. In the Age of Reclamation hybrids are still uncommon, but the term has debatable usefulness. It is commonly used to refer to anyone who has obvious physical traits of two or more species.

Alicorns

Traditionally, alicorns started as unicorns gifted in the magical arts that, upon reaching a certain level of power, were brought into a ritual with an existing alicorn to achieve their full potential and ascend. As the need for the power of alicorns has increased, new methods have been attempted to bring chosen individuals to greater power. Other creatures can ascend with the aid of a magical artifact or a second alicorn in the place of unicorn magic in the ritual. 

Draconequus

Beings with great power over reality, Dragonequus have dragon-like forms with a combination of limbs and features from other creatures. They are said to embody chaos or entropy itself, inspiring great fear over that which cannot be controlled. During the Age of Princesses only one Dragonequus, Discord, existed and he vanished before the beginning of the Age of Chaos. There are rumors now that there may in fact be more than one alive during the Age of Reclamation. Some say that those who jump into the Chaos Well, if they do not perish, are reborn anew as a Draconequus.