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Tribalists


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    General 
  • Arch-Enemy:
    • The tribalists see the Equestrian Alicorns as their chief enemy, seeing them as tyrannical and manipulative deities who "enslaved" their kind and molded them with self-serving propaganda of Friendship to make them compliant to their divine whims. Because of this, it's implied they have made several attempts to assassinate the Equestrian Alicorns, such as Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Léon, though thankfully, their attempts were foiled by the Equestrian Alicorns themselves and their benevolent allies.
    • Unsurprisingly, because of their hateful bigotry, the tribalists have gained a lot of opposition from benevolent forces, including the Equestrians themselves. Among said forces is Emperor Golden Scepter of the Terran Empire, who is known for being a very bitter enemy of tribalists because he once behaved in a similar way during the Imperium era; that being said, he believes that some of them may have been genuinely misled by hatred and bigotry, and seeks to save and redeem anyone he can.
  • Bullying a Dragon: Their belief in their own racial superiority more often then not causes them to, in their hateful hubris, pick on those they REALLY shouldn't be messing with.
  • Category Traitor: Part of what makes the tribalists so hypocritical and monstrous is that while they see their respective Pony tribes as superior over all, they hate and look down on those of their own tribes who don't fit their standards, do things that the tribalists disapprove of, and/or side with people who are treated as the tribalists' enemies but are actually benevolent individuals who rightly disapprove of the tribalists themselves. A good example would be Fiery Flight, a female pegasus inventor who had been targeted by the Scions of Hurricane and other racist groups with murderous intent simply for building flight-based technology that would supposedly make winged sapients outdated and rob their "rightful dominion" over the skies. However, as Terran Princes Steel Barricade and Crimson Star show, the tribalists also detest those who "sully" their own tribal blood by Ascending to godhood, as they see Alicorns in general as divine tyrants who took away their legitimate right to rule and enslaved them to the principles of Harmony and Friendship.
  • Evil Versus Evil: With Autorists. While it may appear that both groups are a case of 'Distinction without a difference', the main difference between Autorists and Tribalists usually comes with the fact that, especially in races which are divided into different sub-species or 'Tribes', the Autorists lean towards supremacy of the entire species or race as a whole and/or their culture, whereas the Tribalists promotes the supremacy of their species sub-species or 'Tribe' at the expense of all other Tribes (and every other sapient species). This works against both the Tribalists and Autorists as this results in them unable to get along at best, and openly fighting each other at worst, despite similar beliefs. The Tribalists hate the slightly-more inclusive Autorists for trying to make their Tribe associate with other Tribes of the same race - and thus are no different from those promoting diversity, friendship, harmony and cooperation between Tribes. Meanwhile, the Autorists despise the Tribalists as an internal threat who distracts and divides the wider race/culture, weakening them in the face of other rival/enemy races. This is best exemplified by the Iron Wolves' enmity for Tribalists in both Equestria and elsewhere, seeing them 'False Wolves' who weakens and threatens Ponykind as a whole, and spends as much time hammering them down as they oppose Friendship and Harmony with other races.
  • Fantastic Racism: Deconstructed. Tribalist groups in general center their beliefs and activities around their idealized depiction of the Founders of Equestria, and fight to "restore" Equestria to how it was before the Royal Alicorn Sisters came to power. As such, they're incredibly racist towards all Pony tribes except their own, who they see as the Master Race over Ponykind. However, to everyone else, they are actually extremely deluded, vicious, and backwards-minded terrorists who seek to tear down the harmony, friendship, and peace that the Founders of Equestria would work so hard to establish once they saw the error of their ways. Golden Scepter in particular is a bitter enemy of these groups, as he was formerly an Absolute Xenophobe at one point in his life until he learned from his mistakes, and is now working tirelessly to stop the tribalists and speaking out in public against them. However, he also believes that some of them were genuinely misled, and seeks to save and redeem anyone that he can. Blue Suede Heartstrings also grew up with tribalists in the early Second Age, and their horrible actions towards innocent Ponies from different tribes were what factored into his hatred of tribalism/racism in general.
    • The Scions of Hurricane group consist of pro-pegasi tribalists who revere Commander Hurricane and look down on the unicorns and Earth ponies for being hedonistic, petty, and cruel animals. Their end goal is to take over Equestria, overthrow the Equestrian Alicorns, referred to as the "False Princesses" and "freaks of nature", and establish pegasi as rulers and the master race of Ponykind in general.
  • Freudian Excuse: Deconstructed. Prince Crimson Star theorizes that a large part of the tribalists' behavior comes from the inability to deal with societal/cultural change, losing well-acquainted leaders to unknown "outsiders" who believed they knew best for Ponykind, and the fear of having old traditions and customs be forgotten to the annuls of time. However, Prince Night Shade points out that whatever the reason, it still doesn't absolve them of the horrible things they do to validate their twisted beliefs.
    Prince Crimson Star: To a certain extent, I can see why the Tribalists would be so... ardent in their beliefs and their actions. From what I have studied and gleaned from official records, there had been a lot of traditions, customs, and cultures that would later fade away and be lost to time when the Founders of Equestria stepped down to make way for the coming of the Alicorn Princesses. There are very few people alive today who actually remember these things, and the current generations who have access to this information would only inherit a partial account of what life was like in their time. Worsening these gaps in historical memory is the preference for oral storytelling. In time, facts and knowledge would be warped by the experiences and biases of those who perceived them.

    Granted, many of said traditions, customs, and cultures may not have been beneficial and benevolent even in intention, and in fact DESERVE to be forgotten... but think of how some Ponies saw the coming of the Royal Alicorn Sisters. They would not be ruled by people who had a socially and culturally intimate connection with them, but by ancient and powerful outsiders who thought that they knew best for mortal Ponykind. Life as they knew it was coming to an end, making way for things that many Ponies found baffling and even frightening. In the end, they had to make a choice - either accept these changes and evolve... or be left behind to die, abandoned and forgotten. Or be dragged kicking and screaming, whichever works.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: As pointed out by Prince Night Shade, while the root cause of the tribalists' belief system overall may be sympathetic, it still doesn't excuse the horrific things they have inflicted upon countless innocents to justify their beliefs, or the general hypocrisy and bigotry that can be found in such beliefs.
    Prince Night Shade: True, Brother. But change and progress is still a natural way of life, and we wouldn't be here without them. And even if their motives are sympathetic, that still doesn't excuse the horrors the Tribalists had unleashed on innocent people to justify their beliefs. Or the hypocrisy and bigotry that made their motives wrong in the first place.
    Prince Crimson Star: I know.
  • Hypocrite:
    • The tribalists from each race love talking about how they were oppressed and "enslaved" by the Equestrian Alicorns and the other Pony tribes, but have no problem doing the same to those they see as "inferior" or who don't like them.
    • Each tribalist faction vie for superiority of their respective tribes, but it's implied in Prince Steel Barricade's entry that they look down on even those of their own tribe who don't fit their standards or "betray" them in some way, such as siding with the Alicorn Princesses.
  • I Reject Your Reality: Their adherence to the many dishonest and distorted beliefs/premises they used to justify their bigotry and discrimination borders on the delusional. For one, each tribalist faction see those Ponies who side with the Equestrian Alicorns and other benevolent forces, and/or become Alicorns themselves as "disgraces" to their tribe, when in fact it is they who are disgraces to their tribe by acting so horribly towards those of different Pony tribes and those who don't agree with them. Naturally, thanks to their delusions, they refuse to believe this.
  • Master Race: Much like the Autorists, the Tribalists believe that their Pony Tribe is the "superior" one, while the other two are "inferior" to them and deserve to be subjugated by their masters. This ends up being such a contradictory philosophy that in one incident, when both three tribalist factions and a group of Griffin Autorists tried doing terrorist attacks at the same time, they ended up finding one another. The result is everyone proceeding to engineer each other's downfall by beating each other into submission... which naturally leads to their own downfalls without anyone else having to lift a hoof. Blue Suede Heartstrings refers to this specific aspect of the tribalists' beliefs as a "backwards hick philosophy that should've died a LONG time ago".
  • Meaningful Name: Each tribalist see themselves as "inheritors" and/or "guardians" of the legacy the Founders of Equestria left behind, and they seek to preserve it by overthrowing the Equestrian Alicorns and establishing their people as the dominant Pony tribe.
  • Medieval Stasis: As the story progresses, it becomes apparent this is what the Tribalist's mentality would ultimately lead to if they got their way. They fear and hate anything that threatens their race's natural abilities or 'dominion'. As such, they are venomously opposed to things such as Vortex Engines, the Leyline Communication Network, and even magic wands and staffs that would objectively benefit sapientkind because they see it as a threat to their race's place or superiority. They are repeatedly called out on this.
  • Never My Fault: Deconstructed. All tribalists like to blame others for the problems suffered by their kind... problems that they themselves have caused or have been causing with their horrible actions. This is a factor in why heroic-minded individuals hate the tribalists so much.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: Similarly with the Autorists, Golden Scepter believes that there are some among the tribalists who may have been genuinely misled by hateful bigotry, and wants to save and redeem anyone he can.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: Each tribalist group see the Equestrian Alicorns as false gods and tyrants who they must cast down for the "good" of their kind, resenting them for supposedly spreading treacherous propaganda, "enslaving" their peers, and ruining the values of their ancestors. They even tried killing little Prince Léon after he was introduced to the public, seeing him as a divine tyrant in the making.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Ever since little Prince Léon was added to the Equestrian "pantheon" and introduced to the public at large, tribalist groups have tried targeting and killing him, seeing the young Alicorn toddler as a divine tyrant in the making. All of them failed, thanks to Blueblood and the Equestrian Princesses protecting Léon.

Scions of Hurricane (Equestrian)

    General 
  • Asshole Victim: One Scion made the mistake of calling Prince Steel Barricade a "disgrace" for being a pegasus stallion who Ascended and supporting "traitor" pegasi like Fiery Flight. This causes Steel Barricade to snap and savagely beat him up for it. Said Scion is considered to be this in-universe by many because of his and his faction's horrible actions, though it's deconstructed in how Steel Barricade's family reacted to the incident - his brothers had to pull him away before the situation escalated, and Golden Scepter was rather disappointed in his eleventh son for losing his temper, despite having no love for tribalists in general. The Scion of Hurricane who got beaten up, meanwhile, was put in the hospital and is still recovering from his injuries.
  • Category Traitor: Despite their views on pegasi as the "superior" race, they treat those pegasi who disagree with them or "rob" them of their "rightful dominion" over the skies with absolute contempt and hatred, to the point where they went after Fiery Flight with murderous intent for inventing the Vortex Engine. This belief would bite one Scion in the ass when he made the mistake of calling Prince Steel Barricade, a former pegasus, a "disgrace" to his tribe for Ascending to demi-Alicornhood and supporting both Fiery Flight and those like her. Steel Barricade, whose Berserk Buttons involved reactionaries, would snap and unleash a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the Scion, at least until his brothers separated them before things would escalate.
    Prince Steel Barricade: (roaring) NO, IT'S YOU WHO'S A BUCKING DISGRACE TO YOUR KIND!!!
  • Fantastic Racism: Deconstructed. The Scions see the other Pony tribes as inferior as well as debased and morally-bankrupt, which justified the pegasi's natural superiority. However, as Midnight Bell pointed out, they come across as little more than bullies who harass anyone without wings, and their beliefs of tribal superiority fall flat as they see those pegasi who either become Alicorns, do something that will make winged creatures "obsolete", or don't agree with them in general as traitors and disgraces to their tribe. It's for this reason that even many pegasi hate the Scions, since they're really horrible people who twist the ideals of Commander Hurricane and their tribe to benefit themselves. Changeling Queen Theraposa hates the Scions with a passion for tarnishing the pegasi of the era she was born in, as her father was a mortal pegasus and a member of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion, and Prince Steel Barricade of the Terran Empire was enraged when a Scion called him a "disgrace", to the point where he publicly beat up the Scion until his brothers pulled him away. Prince Crimson Star, meanwhile, wants to find the lore of the lost Order of the Weathersmiths before the Scions do because he foresaw the Scions getting their hooves on it and using the lore to spread what Crimson Star calls a "deluded, steaming pile of garbage they believe will 'save' the Pegasi", and wants to prevent such a thing from happening.
  • Humiliation Conga: An unfortunate Scion decided to target Miracle Hymn for being an Earth pony... only to break his hoof upon punching her and getting blasted into a wall with holy magic by her right after. Then, when he tried pulling out a weapon in retaliation, Blue Suede Heartstrings came up from behind and quickly disarmed him. And when the citizens of Corporatum heard about the Scion's actions, they turned into a lynch mob out for blood, leading to the Scion being protected by both Blue and the other Dazzling Divas until proper authorities arrived to arrest/hospitalize him and his colleagues.
  • Kirk Summation: During the "Battle of Hornbridge" event, Midnight Bell, a young Earth pony filly, would dish out an utterly vicious one to the Scions.
    Midnight Bell: I don't care WHAT you say! There's no glorious future for you ANYWHERE because YOU'RE just a group of BULLIES who pick on ponies who don't have wings like YOU do!
  • Laser-Guided Karma:
    • In one incident, a Scion would insult Golden Scepter's eleventh son, Prince Steel Barricade, by calling him a "disgrace" to the Pegasi tribe for Ascending and supporting other "traitorous" pegasi such as Fiery Flight, inventor of the Vortex Engine, and those like her. This would prove to be a huge mistake as one of Steel Barricade's Berserk Buttons involves reactionaries, causing him to snap and give the Scion a public No-Holds-Barred Beatdown. However, it's treated as not okay - while many people claimed the Scion had it coming, Steel Barricade's brothers had to separate the two before things got too bloody, and Golden Scepter was rather disappointed with his son for losing his temper despite having no love for tribalists himself.
    • Another Scion tried attacking Miracle Hymn, thinking her to be a defenseless Earth pony that must be subjugated to "save" the pegasi. He proceeded to get his hoof broken trying to punch Miracle Hymn, blasted into a wall with holy magic by her, disarmed by an angry Blue Suede Heartstrings when he pulled out a weapon, and nearly got torn apart by a lynch mob full of vengeful Corporatum citizens for attacking one of their beloved heroes, which forced Blue and the other Dazzling Divas to protect him until proper authorities arrived.
  • Master Race: The Scions of Hurricane believe that pegasi are the "superior" Pony tribe and, as indicated by their name, the inheritors of Commander Hurricane's legacy. Unsurprisingly, this makes them hated by even benevolent pegasi who hate their horrible actions; Changeling Queen Theraposa, whose father was a mortal pegasus and a member of the Cloudsdale Royal Legion, despises the Scions for tarnishing the pegasi of the era she was born in.
  • Right Behind Me: After a Scion tried attacking young Miracle Hymn by punching her (and got his hoof broken), Floral Forte proceeds to point out that he's being "right daft" for doing something like that, especially since there's a stallion who happens to be both a god and Miracle Hymn's foster father standing right behind him. As the Scion discovered, Blue Suede Heartstrings really was standing right behind him, as he immediately disarmed the Scion when the latter pulled out a weapon in retaliation for Miracle Hymn blasting him into a wall with holy magic.

    Wind Rider 

Children of Platinum (Equestrian)

    General 
  • Category Traitor: Like the Scions of Hurricane, they persecute anyone who don't fit their standards or "betrayed" their tribe. In one incident, during a diplomatic conference in the Principalities of Equestria, they tried to kill Prince Crimson Star for "sullying" his unicorn blood by Ascending to demi-godhood. Prince Fanged Paw would intervene and discover in the ensuing fight that one of the tribalists was discovered to be a So Soft Pony, which enraged the Alicorn demigod.
  • Fantastic Racism: Much like the Scions of Hurricane and Guardians of Puddinghead, they look down on the other Pony tribes and see them as uncivilized brutes that need to be subjugated in order to protect their own tribe from them. They also, presumably, don't take kindly to non-Pony races, as they attacked the School of Friendship which held both Pony students and non-Pony students there. Blue Suede Heartstrings sees their beliefs as nothing but a "backwards hick philosophy" that is outwardly malicious and severely outdated, and when he hears them spouting tribalist things in front of the terrified students, he would angrily admonish the Children of Platinum for openly saying such things while covering one of the students' ears.
  • Hypocrite: Much like other tribalist groups, they go after those of their own tribe who either don't fit their standards or "betrayed" them. And in one incident where they tried assassinating Prince Crimson Star for "sullying" his unicorn blood, it was discovered that one of the tribalists is a So Soft Pony. Prince Fanged Paw was enraged.
    Prince Fanged Paw: So... what was that about my younger brother being a 'freak of nature' again?
  • Laser-Guided Karma: They attempted to attack the School of Friendship out of bigotry, and said horribly racist things in front of the School's terrified students. They would be shortly confronted by Blue Suede Heartstrings, who angrily admonished them for spouting their malicious "backwards hick philosophy" to the students.
  • Master Race: The Children of Platinum believes that unicorns are the "superior" Pony tribe. This, naturally, made them opposed to other tribal/racial supremacist factions since everyone sees themselves as superior over all sapient creatures. Blue Suede Heartstrings, a notable enemy of tribalism/racism in general, calls their beliefs a "backwards hick philosophy that should've died a LONG time ago".
  • Mutants: One of the unicorn tribalists who tried assassinating Prince Crimson Star for "sullying" his unicorn blood was discovered to be a So Soft Pony in the ensuing fight, which enraged Prince Fanged Paw. This factored into the Terran Empire's decision to let Princess Twilight/Amicitia Sparkle punish the tribalists, as she herself is a So Soft Pony and a bitter enemy of tribalists in general.
  • Not in Front of the Kid: During their attack on the School of Friendship, they would be admonished by an angry Blue Suede Heartstrings for spouting horrible tribalist beliefs in front of the young students there, even covering one of the students' ears while doing so.
    Blue Suede Heartstrings: Now fellas, that's QUITE ENOUGH from you. I don't even wanna HEAR another nasty name or ugly word come out of your mouths EVER AGAIN.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: Like the other tribalist factions, they see the Equestrian Alicorns as tyrants and slavers whom they must "save" their people from. This likely led to their attempt to assassinate Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike, which was foiled by Prince Blueblood, as well as Prince Léon. They also tried to kill Prince Crimson partially for this reason, as he is a former unicorn who Ascended to demi-godhood.
  • Supernatural Elite: They see themselves as "superior" to other Pony tribes because of their ability to wield magic that the other Pony tribes supposedly lacked. True to form, most of its members are implied to be part of the nobility, as Prince Blueblood discovered that one of his surviving relatives from House Platinum was involved in the failed plot to assassinate Princess Twilight Sparkle.
  • Would Hurt a Child:
    • It's mentioned in Prince Blueblood's entry that they were willing to hurt young Spike for being associated with Princess Twilight Sparkle, who they see as a divine "tyrant", and being a dragon.
    • They're also willing to hurt Prince Léon because they see him as a divine "tyrant" in the making. Fortunately, Prince Blueblood and the Equestrian Princesses are completely willing to protect him.
    • They also attacked the School of Friendship, though it presumably didn't end well due to Prince Twilight/Amicitia employing experienced and powerful heroes as staff, with other benevolent mortals/gods intervening in the incident. One of such individual, Blue Suede Heartstrings, would admonish them for spouting their horrible tribalist beliefs in front of the terrified students while covering one of said students' ears.

    Astral Path, the Master of a Thousand Rituals 

Character: Neutral (former), Villainous

Alignment: Lawful Good (former), Lawful Evil

Type: Unicorn, Teacher (former), Wizard, Tribalist

Faction: Children of Platinum

"We have lived under the failing watch of inept tyrants for too long! It is time for us to rise up and take care of things ourselves, as we were meant to!"

Astral Path (his entry here) is a powerful unicorn ritualist, and a co-founder of the Equestrian branch of the Children of Platinum.

Guardians of Puddinghead (Equestrian)

    General 
  • Master Race: The Guardians of Puddinghead believe that Earth ponies are the "superior" Pony tribe.
  • Meaningful Name: Their group name is different from those of other tribalist factions in that, while the other Pony tribes see themselves as "inheritors" of their respective Founders' legacies, the Earth pony tribalists merely see themselves as preservers and protectors of Puddinghead's legacy, beliefs, and ideals.

Terra Equus Pony Tribalists

Aarddomeinia

    General 

Secured State of Brutaalmeer

(A Drabble of it here)


    General 
  • Dystopia Justifies the Means: Their leader's obsession with a pure and non-decadent version of Tribalism led to a regime of totalitarian oppression so extreme and nightmarish they disgust even their fellow Tribalists.
  • Expy: Of the nightmarishly dystopian Ordensstaat Burgund from The New Order: Last Days of Europe
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Invoked in many fellow Tribalist or rival Autorist regimes and factions as more and more about its system is known, with many so shocked and horrified by Brutaalmeer they refused to work with them. Even the resurrected Reichist Super Villain Endsieg (Who's greatly inspired by Red Skull) and the Tyrannos Pantheon believe they go too far, out of either genuinely disgust or merely far too excessive.
  • The Fundamentalist: The absurdly brutal, puristic and totalitarian Brutaalmeerean System is a fundamentalist interpretation of Tribalism which Aarddomeinia practices and is extreme even by Tribalist and Autorist standards.
  • Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: The entire economic basis of the 'Brutaalmeerean System' is the enserfment of all Ponies not of the 'true' tribe and the enslavement of all non-Pony races within the state, period, brutalizing them horrifically and working them to death in slave-farms and factories in atrocious working conditions just to keep the state's dysfunctional economy going. Even those of the 'true' tribe of Ponies who fall below the ridiculously high 'pure' standards of the regime are liable to be indentured, if not just liquidated.
  • You're Insane!: Invoke this even from their fellow Tribalists and their Autorist analogues.

    SS-Rijksleider Horror Hymne 


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