Description
Y'all might remember Rainbow Opal's little pet/best friend Larry? Welp, he's not a normal buggo.
Larry is way too smart to be a normal insect. Rain's oldest brother, Razzle Dazzle , can read emotions and Larry has far too many for an average bug. No one believes Dazzle of course! This all changes when Rainbow Opal randomly walks into her room to find a terrifyingly creepy creature laying on her bed and eating chocolates! It takes her a minute to realize that it is indeed her beloved pet Larry, a shape-shifting centipede pone. More sparkle shenanigans ensue.
Cultural Differences: Centipede pones are a small race, but definitely have a slightly different culture than most ponies. For example, females with the largest horns tend to be the dominant figures of society. Males strive to serve their chosen mate in fear of being cast aside and having someone else take their place. There is also emphasis on family; centipedes can lay up to 100+ eggs at a time and 50 or less eggs in a clutch is considered small. Small families are seen as genetically inferior. Sons usually stick around for a few years to help their mothers tend to new broods; they usually have to be kicked out so they can start their own families.
That is how Larry ended up in the area. His mother (a somewhat high-ranking centipede) told him to find a strong spunky female to serve. She wasn't specific enough and Larry grew attached to Rainbow Opal! He did his best courtship attempt by using food, staying in centipede form so as not to scare her away. Surprisingly she accepted all of it, and only then did he feel comfortable showing his true form.
Rainbow Opal has accepted her mistake and is trying to make the best of it. She's attempting to teach Larry about normal pony culture, like what a kitchen is. And that ponies do not eat raw meat, no matter how much you chew it up for them. Larry is dead-set on proving his strength and worth to his new waifu. If he hears her stomach growl he immediately runs off to kill something for her (or steal something from the kitchen). If her mane gets a bit out of place he preens it for her (actually he does this whenever he wants to). If there is food, he feeds it to her mouthful by mouthful with his pinchers. Rain secretly likes the attention, but would like him to know that she won't replace him with a different male.
Physical attributes: Centipede pones vary by size and strength. Since Larry's mother was prolific and had fantastic genetics, he has great makeup as well. He's a bit on the taller side, with pretty impressive horns for a male of his species. Centipede pones are immune to certain things based on the colored dots/spots on their sides and forehead. Larry is immune to fire since his are orange. There are other available colors as well, such as blue for water, green for poison, etc. Very rarely is a centipede immune to two different things at once (they have two different colored dots that alternate in a pattern down the side).
Centipede pones have a very tough, hard top shell. The underbelly, however, is soft and squishy like an overstuffed leather chair. They only show their underbellies to others they trust like their offspring, parents, friends, and special someone. They are very big on bonding by touch, so Larry tries to get his tummy patted as much as possible (he only trusts Rainbow Opal, Razzle-Dazzle, Star , and Seraphina . Calamity threatens him, so he is not on the list).
Larry's pinchers are about as strong as steel and hollow. They are also incredibly sharp, which Rain finds out whenever Larry grabs her face for a 'kisskiss'. They are loaded with potent venom. Depending on the amount injected, one could either puff up, become paralyzed, or die. When fighting a stronger foe or playing around they tend to give 'dry bites' which is a sharp pinch without actual injection.
In both centipede and pony form, Larry can climb and stick to walls, ceilings, trees, etc. Not everyone is amused by this. They are incredibly stealthy and walk silently, since their weight is distributed evenly on multiple leg limbs. Not all centipede pones have six legs, some have many more! It really depends on genetics.
The species eats both meat and plants. Sometimes they'll scavenge around and eat old, rotting, dead stuff. Food is food to them. Since their pony forms are generally large, they like to eat as much as possible whenever possible. If they do ever achieve fullness, they will relax for two or three days before getting hungry again.
Centipede pones have two layers of teeth per side, which makes their mouth basically teeth. They are shaped a lot like a sharks', except less grooved and designed to take massive chunks out of their prey. They also have a long, sensitive, skinny tongue. Some of them have teeth that go down their throat, but again, it all depends on genetics.
Sorry for the long headcanon! This is probably one of my best well-planned out characters so far
Calamity, Star, and Seraphina were designed and belong to MLPwolfiathewolfgirl