Drake the Black Leopard

Drake is a melanistic leopard that met the ponies after accidentally injuring Fluttershy’s animals and in return saving her from a Manticore on his way from Felitropolis, the kingdom of cats. His act caused the ponies to take a liking to him, eventually befriending him. He currently lives on a oak tree somewhere in town, but never forgets to visit Felitropolis once in a while. His voice as well as his singing voice is done by Denis Leary.

PERSONALITY
Drake is shown to be a loyal, brave, determined, trustworthy and good-natured leopard that is very sociable. He is also shown to be a bit cocky and will sometimes do a victory dance known as the “tip toe” or “burning paws”. He also has somewhat of a sarcastic sense of humor.

Drake was always the one to step in and take action, but did not appreciate being made light of: Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie would often joke with him, to Drake's displeasure, but Drake would never attack anyone unless extremely necessary.

He has great knowledge in his kingdom and sometimes acts as a tour guide for foreigners.

Like Ralph, Drake has a soft spot for kids. But tends to avoid them since he can get easily overwhelmed.

APPEARANCE
Drake is a slender, ebony-furred black leopard that is only slightly taller than Ralph and the Mane Six. His eyes are identical to Spike’s, except that they are differently shaped and the whites are yellow.

ABILITIES
Being a leopard, Drake is extremely fast and agile on his paws and can run, climb and leap swiftly, rivaling Applejack. This enables him to avoid obstacles and even evade blows from his opponents.
During combat, Drake uses his predator instincts and uses his claws and teeth as well as several combo moves to attack enemies as well as defend himself. Another gift he inherited from his leopard heritage is his 500psi bite force and the ability to lift animals that are twice his weight. This was shown when he helped Big Macintosh from falling into a mud pit at the edge of a cliff by grabbing his hind-leg in his jaws and pulling him back to the top, nearly ripping it out of his socket as commented by the bulky earth pony.
He is also shown to be able to track things by simply inspecting them, which Twilight hints as impressive and also knows the skills of a royal guard captain since it was passed down to him by his great uncle, Talon Paw, who used to serve Prince Zambas in leading his royal guards.

RELATIONSHIPS
Twilight Sparkle – They both respect each other’s intelligence and determination and agree that if they work together, they will make great leaders.

Princess Celestia – Princess Celestia seems to be fond of the black leopard for his heroism and nobility and sometimes allows him to help out in leading the royal guards when Shining Armor is not available.
Princess Luna – Since leopards are nocturnal hunters, she treats Drake the same way as she treats Ralph. But Drake is more tolerating of her “touchiness”.

Fluttershy – Despite the previous encounter, Fluttershy and Drake show no forms of grudges towards each other and are great friends. Fluttershy treats Drake affectionately and gives him pet names as if he was an overgrown pussy cat. Drake is deeply embarrassed by this and prefers that the Pegasus pampers him in private.

Angel – At first the rabbit showed great contempt towards the black leopard probably because of his care taker showing affection to him. But later, he befriended him after he told him that he had guts.
Rainbow Dash – Drake seems to be good friends with Rainbow Dash but is sometimes greatly annoyed by her arrogant and cocky personality to the point of whacking her on the head or grabbing her by the mane.

Applejack – Drake and Applejack are good friends and often relate to each other in their tough demeanors. Applejack also found him useful since he can climb and reach the top most apples that are beyond even her most powerful bucks.

Pinkie Pie – Ralph and Pinkie Pie seem to get along in a normal level, though the leopard’s witty and sarcastic remarks seems to make Pinkie Pie think that he’s a hoot.

Rarity – Even though Drake and Rarity are good friends, he often gets angry with her snootiness and berates her when she tampers with Spike’s affections.

Opalescence – Seems to fancy Drake as a Hercules-like tomcat and watches him every time he visits Carousel Boutique or when she walks into him. Drake is extremely uncomfortable by the she-cat’s seductive nature and tends to avoid her anyway he could, since her purring arouses his feline hormones.

Spike – Drake seems to cheer Spike on when he’s doing chores or writing Twilight’s letters, thus giving the baby dragon more confidence in being Twilight’s assistant. He often gives him advice for his troubles and encourages him on his crush with Rarity.

Ralph – Drake and Ralph had been close ever since they met during the war and see each other as friends and role models, even though Drake is several years older than Ralph.

TRIVIA

Drake’s voice actor is Denis Leary, who voiced Diego in Ice Age 1,2,3 and 4 and is possibly a parody of the character.

Drake’s full name is Drakensberg Damumoto. Damumoto is the combination of the Swahili words Damu and Moto which translates to “hot blood”