Diamond Dog

"The Diamond Dogs are poachers and they hide behind trees"

Diamond Dog refers to a species of humanoid canines known to inhabit Equestria and the lands beyond.

History

Ziggy Stardust, a possible ancient Diamond Dog settlement

The Diamond Dogs have an ancient history, though as with many of the races of the world of Equestria their exact origins are unknown. Some connection appears to have existed between them and the Jackals of Anugypt. They were very intelligent creatures and lived in complex societies, the most ancient of which may be the kingdom of Caninia. The Tree of Family came into being in this land, and it was visited by the ancient Knights of Harmony. These powerful figures built a temple around the tree, which they would later bury after Caninia was manipulated by Discord into attacking Cunabula in league with Abyssinia and Farasi.

Other Diamond Dog societies were also known to exist, such as Never Look Back, Walk Tall, Act Fine and Diamondia respectively, both of which appeared to be capitals for different, unknown realms. These two realms had much different cultures and backgrounds, with the latter being ruled by a Master and the other, a Queen. Inhabitants of Diamondia, retroactively referred to as the Curs, were kicked out of the kingdom and founded a settlement in the Diamond Cave near Ponyville and were the ones responsible for kidnapping Rarity and forcing her to work for them, uncovering gems until she managed to annoy them to the point of escaping. These Diamond Dogs would apparently become quite infamous and a book involving them was written entitled Villains, Monsters and Ne'er-Do-Wells. The Diamondia group, if not any other Diamond Dogs of Equestria, were referred to as "very distant cousins" of the Caninians.

During the Convocation of the Creatures, a Diamond Dog Master appeared as a world leader though his haughty personality seemed to make him unpopular among the other leaders, notably Princess Celestia and the Abyssinian King. Sometime later, an embassy from Equestria traveled to Caninia to open relations between the two countries, only to find the kingdom divided between two factions in the Caninian royal family. Fortunately, they were able to not only help the two sides reconcile, but also uncover the Tree of Family and its Elements of Harmony, restoring their magic to the Diamond Dogs. The inhabitants of Caninia would later repay this kindness by joining an alliance against the Knights of Harmony when they attacked Canterlot.

Years after the Apocalypse, Spike negotiated an unspecified dispute between the Diamond Dogs and the Cat lords of Abyssinia.

Behind the scenes

Production history

David Bowie's Diamond Dogs

"And in the death As the last few corpses lay rotting on the slimy thoroughfare The shutters lifted an inch in temperance building, high on Poacher's Hill And red mutant eyes gazed down on Hunger City No more big wheels Fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats And ten thousand peoploids split into small tribes Coveting the highest of the sterile skyscrapers Like packs of dogs assaulting the glass fronts of Love-Me Avenue Ripping and rewrapping mink and shiny silver fox, now legwarmers Family badge of sapphire and cracked emerald Any day now, the year of the Diamond Dogs "This ain't rock and roll! This is genocide!"" — Future Legend

Diamond Dogs are derived from David Bowie's album and song of the same name. Described as being like "rats the size of cats", Diamond Dogs were described as "poachers" who "hide in trees". Interesting, in a map featured in The Return of Queen Chrysalis - Part II, a section of the map for the Forest of Leota has a note on the Appaloosan Mountains stating "beware the poachers, they call them the Diamond Dogs", a reference to the song.

Many of Diamond Dog characters and places are named after David Bowie songs such as what appeared to be their capital, Never Look Back, Walk Tall, Act Fine, a major mine located in the aforementioned mountains. Their Master's appearance was additionally based off Ziggy Stardust, a persona used by David Bowie, which as also the basis for the names of two, seeming legendary Diamond Dogs, Ziggy and Stardust.

My Little Pony Adventures

Diamond Dogs first appeared in the production bible, My Little Pony Adventures under the name "Diamond Dawgs". In the bible, they were described as wearing gold chains and acting like gangsta rappers. Due to their inclusion in the bible, they were among the first aspects of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic mythology conceived.

Friendship is Magic

The Diamond Dogs only had a few appearances throughout Friendship is Magic. In the cartoon, they appeared as the main villains in the episode "A Dog and Pony Show" where they kidnapped Rarity and used her to mine gems for them.

They had more appearances in the comics. An abandoned Diamond Dog city was explored in The Return of Queen Chrysalis - Part 2 that was now populated with giant spiders and trolls, a possible reference to Tolkien in how the Mines of Moria were overrun with orcs and other foul creatures. Later, in Trixie and Rainbow Dash it was revealed that there was an entire kingdom, or at least city-state, of Diamond Dogs called Diamondia which was a largely peaceful culture and were responsible for kicking out the Diamond Dogs who would later kidnap Rarity. Their appearances after this point were barren, they made a cameo appearance on the cover of Friendship is Magic #25 and later made minor appearances throughout Convocations of the Creatures.

Another Diamond Dog state, Caninia, would be featured in My Little Pony: Season 10, with the 2021 Annual focusing on its introduction. Additional information about Caninia and its history would be revealed in Friendship is Magic #100 and "The Knights of Harmony", the season's finale.

Equestria Girls

Human versions of Fido, Spot and Rover appear in "Player Piano", a Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks short.

Similar concepts in previous generations

Crunch was a "Rock Dog" who appeared in the episode "Crunch the Rockdog" and shares some superficial characteristics with the Diamond Dogs, such as being a dog associated with rocks and stone and being a villain.

References

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