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Shared Universes, Ponies, Equestria, Equestrian Culture, Science and Magic, Other Species (Changelings, Dragons)
Shared Universes, Ponies, Equestria, Equestrian Culture, Science and Magic, Other Species (Changelings, Dragons)
Much like the jewels and gems inches below the soil, the land itself is filled with rumors and mysteries.
Princess Celestia of Equestria raises the sun and moon across Equestria, and likely the entire world. This an exceptionally subtle reference to how the US has been keeping the world turning in the grand scheme of things.
- ...blatant americocentrism aside, the canon map of Equestria does bear a remarkable similarity to a map of North America. Manehattan and Fillydelphia are around where New York and Philadelphia are in the northeast, the Haysead Swamps' southeastern location matches Florida and the Everglades, the position of the Aztec-style temple in the southern jungles roughly matches the Yucatan, the deserts are all in the southwest with Las Pegasus, and Vanhoover is in the northwest like the Canadian city of Vancouver. There is a definite cultural and geographic parallel, although in all likelihood that's where it ends.
This helps with the sort of demigod/quasi-god status they have, especially if you consider the possibility that the Sun and Moon can "rise" without Celestia and Luna, but they have the magical power to do it and it's simply become a symbolic thing / they have sort of become venerated as Gods and thus need to act as if they are.
It is possible that Celestia, Luna, Discord, and other "demigods" were the original controllers of the Elements of Harmony. This theory can work with that. Being a quasi-god is basically no different from being extremely powerful in magic. The Alicorns are really power magic-users. Discord was a really powerful magic-user among Dragonequus. Celestia and Luna's parents are even more powerful but delegated the use of the Elements of Harmony to their daughters and others.
The Pegasus Guard is called the "Air Guard", and their training entails using their wings as swords as well as hoof-to-hoof combat. In addition, their innate magic is refined to the point that they can actually attack from the air using static charges built up on their bodies. The Pegasus armor is extremely light, offering little protection from direct strikes, but allowing them to move more freely than Unicorn and Pegasus armor. Many of them also have the personalities of Ace Pilots.
The Unicorn Guard is called the "Arcane Guard", and their training entails a combat discipline and advanced spellcraft. They typically act as ranged soldiers, artillery support and combat medics. Unicorn armor is designed to assist in spellcasting, channeling mana through specialized arcane conduits throughout the armor and focusing it to make spells somewhat easier to cast. The Unicorn Guard can also use these conduits to create a small, form-fitting arcane shield charged by his or her horn.
The (as-of-yet-unseen) Earth Pony Guard is called the "Heavy Guard", and their training consists of defensive tactics designed to take full advantage of their innate strength and resistance. Their favored tactic is similar to a Greek "Shield Wall", where they literally march inexorably through the enemy while protecting themselves with huge shields. The Earth Pony armor is really tough, allowing them to No-sell almost anything that hits them. It's also enchanted to make them virtually impossible to knock down or stun, making them utter juggernauts.
The Alicorn guards we saw are an extremely small, elite group of mortal Alicorn guards that are total one-pony-army badasses and only called in for special circumstances. Maybe they're called the "High Guard" or something suitably awesome. They're raised from birth to know nothing but a soldier's life. They have the power, physical resistance, and agility of all three pony races. Of course, their training consists of an unholy hybrid of all previously mentioned disciplines so they can use their hybridized abilities to the fullest extent. Alicorn guards use specialized armor that combines the best features of all three armor sets, but with the addition of a permanent, regenerative arcane shield. (What's that? "Animation Error"? No, my theory is more fun.)
They're basically Equestria's answer to Halo's Spartan Program, with all that entails and implies.
"When I asked for backup... I didn't think they'd send an Alicorn."
- Celestia and Luna are AI constructs or uploaded humans who have the access codes necessary to command and reprogram the sufficiently advanced technology of the park, their original jobs being dealing with any situations the ponies couldn't handle themselves. Their falling out a millennium ago was really over what to do now that the park had been abandoned.
- Cadance and/or Twilight are being given some or all of the access codes by Celestia in case of emergency. Discord is simply a 'villain' who took over some of the advanced terraforming equipment, but the Elements of Harmony/Master override control devices kicked him out.
- That theory goes better under the "matrix" WMG further up this page.
- This would explain even more about Ponyville in Generation 3. Perhaps the G3 cartoons portrayed Ponyville the amusement park in its early stages of abandonment, and the reason all the ponies kept throwing parties, putting on shows, redecorating the place, and serving desserts with such frequency back then was that they still expected guests from the outside world to show up and wanted to stay in practice. Like Disneyland, they had a castle that was mainly just for show, and there were even a roller coaster and Ferris wheel, free to ride, right in the middle of town!
- Alternatively, it's one of those town names that you see pretty much everywhere you go. Like say, Springfield in the United States. That way Trixie doesn't have to specify which Hoofington she's talking about.
- Ponies represent the Horse obviously. There are also Mules and Zebras.
- Correction: Donkeys and zebras. Mules are sterile hybrids, and one would assume that that doesn't change in this dimension.
- Spike is a Dragon, plus others exist as well.
- The Diamond Dogs represent the Dog (Somewhat... They aren't the most noble example.)
- They might have a sovereign nation (Collie-fornia?) with the Diamond Dogs being a band of brigands. If this ever happened, cue Rarity being called out on Fantastic Racism for treating the envoy like bandits.
- The Ox can be represented by the resident cows and the Buffalo Tribe.
- We haven't seen much of the Rooster nation, but it can be inferred that's where Scootaloo is from.
Of course, this is just an extremely tiny example of what kind of "people" exist on the planet, and wouldn't really represent the entire population as a whole. They may also have their own brands of magic (distinct for each nation/species) that they use to keep the laws of physics and the planet as a whole running. The only odd duck character is Gilda the Griffon.
- The cows we have seen live in barns and are clearly under the rule of and dependent upon the ponies. If they were ever a separate nation, they appear to have lost their independence and their liberty at some point in the past.
- Or their families immigrated into Equestria at some point in the past.
To an extent proven true via "Hearth's Warming Eve". Equestria is a region of land, not the entire planet. What lies outside of Equestria's borders, we don't know yet.
- As of "Magic Duel", we know that "Saddle Arabia" is a foreign nation, and home to a race of surprisingly realistic-looking horses.◊
- Or Baltimare. Or Stalliongrad. Or Chicacolt, Illineigh. Or Marewaukee, Wiscoltsin. You get the idea. The possibilities are endless
- Baltimare has been confirmed as a location in the official map of Equestria
- Baltimare is located in Mareyland, or maybe they'll leave Equestria and go to Maneila in the Fillypines
- Or, we'll find out more about locations already mentioned (Manehattan, Hoofington, Fillydelphia) I get the feeling Fillydelphia has an unusual Americana flair to it.
- How about Saint Colt, Maneisota?
- Or they may leave it as St. Cloud, and it's a pegasus cultural hub.
- Or, we'll find out more about locations already mentioned (Manehattan, Hoofington, Fillydelphia) I get the feeling Fillydelphia has an unusual Americana flair to it.
- Salt Lick City for maximum humor, given saltlicks as an alcohol stand-in and the Mormon tenet of chemical abstinance.
- Mormons? Don't you mean Maremons?
- I hope you don't mean that scary burning humanoid thing.
- That's MERAmon. The only scary burning thing in Equestria so far is Twilight Sparkle when she gets angry.
- Mormons? Don't you mean Maremons?
- Palomino Alto is probably a major high-tech center.
- What about New Stables (New York) or Ponyko (Tokyo)?
- Gallop and Santa Hay, in the state of New Mexicolt (or is that Neigh Mexico?); Whinnypeg; Hocksford and Manechester; San Franciscolt, or possibly San Flanksisco; Tallahorsee; Pranceylvania.
- San Flankcisco in Coltifornia (named, not for a tawdry blanket-ripper novel heroine, but Sam Mule Colt, the famous pie-tin manufacturer)?
- Vancolter, Bronco Coltlumbia is where they make a highly popular among all ages cartoon based on a toy line for girls.
- That wouldn't be the series where Lyra's obsession with humans started, would it?
- And all the carts/trains are made in . . . wait for it . . . Detrot
- If they ever go to Germeney, they'll visit Spurlin.
- If anyone ever goes to Prance, they'll first visit the magnificent signs of Mareis.
- Or, try eating the most succulent flower pastas of Itaily.
- How about tulips and windmills of Neighderlands?
- For an exotic taste, travel to Neighsia.
- And remember it's Istable, not Coltstantinaple.
- Both? The train is relatively new to the towns(They went from Ponyville to Canterlot in a horse-drawn carriage in "The Best Night Ever", and can go on a whim when summoned by the Princess, Applejack as a young filly goes on hoof from the farm to Manehattan, and Fillydelphia is apparently just crossing the Everfree Forest, close enough that a bowling ball of Parasprites was able to get before stopping naturally). And from what we have seen, Cloudsdale is made of... well, Clouds, which Pegasi can easily move around.
- "Hearth's Warming Eve" showed that Equestria does have a natural water cycle. The ponies just don't rely on it.
- Well, depending on your definition of 'natural', given that the blizzards in the play were caused by magical creatures that feed on hatred (and blamed on the pegasi). Conversely, there's a lot of snow going on in the Crystal Empire's territory, but we never see any pegasi handling the clouds... but we can't say for sure how those snow clouds are formed. Then there's Magical Mystery Cure, which shows us a patchwork of raincloud, snow cloud and sunny sky...
- Also, the rainboom contrail could be seen from Manehattan, and the rainboom itself from Canterlot. This means that at the time, Cloudsdale was between those two cities, though nearer Canterlot.
- They probably have free or "free" healthcare or health insurance. Horses get sick really easily, especially if they have a monotonous diet of mostly grains or apples. Ponies seem able to eat a lot of things that horses can't, but even then pegasi have a lot of opportunities for wing and limb damage and the lack of thumbs might cause a higher rate of accidental self-inflicted maiming (which can often be fixed with magic and bed rest) than in humans.
- Jossed. Tartarus physically appeared in "Twilight's Kingdom", where it was shown as a supernatural prison for powerful, evil beings like Lord Tirek.
- Another possibility is that the railroad was to a research outpost that doubled as an observation post for the return of the Crystal Empire.
- Or am I confusing the term with a confederation?
- The USA is a federation, Switzerland is a confederation, the difference is a rather thin line.
- Tier 1: Equestria as a whole — The four princesses as a council with some deference to seniority so opinion is weighted as such Celestia>Luna>Cadance>Twilight.
- Tier 2: "Client" States
- Saddle Arabia — Independently governing but owes allegiance to Equestria. Leader unknown.
- Maretonia — Independently governing but owes allegiance to Equestria. Duke/Duchess of Maretonia rules but defers to the Princesses.
- The Crystal Empire — Independently governing but owes allegiance to Equestria. This is more direct as Cadance is one of the direct rulers of the entire nation. Shining Armor most likely acts as Governor in her stead.
- Twilight's Kingdom (name pending) — Probably has control over Ponyville and its environs such as the Everfree Forest. Ruled by Twilight and her newly formed "Council of Harmony" (name pending).
- Tier 3: Semi-independent Cities and Towns
- Canterlot — Member City of Equestria ruled by a figurehead (Prince Blueblood) with no actual power as Celestia has direct control of the city since she lives there. Day to day matters run by a Mayor, probably Fancy Pants.
- Ponyville — likely first Member city of Twlight's Kingdom, day to day governance handled by Mayor Mare.
- Cloudsdale — Member City of Equestria. Ruler unknown, possible military rule as per Pegasus tradition.
- Tier 4: All other population centers — based on Appaloosa and Manehatten — depending on size probably governed by a Mayor, Bailiff, Sheriff or similar.
- Because Celestia generally travels by air. It would be difficult to bring non-pegasus guards along and doing so would slow her down in general. The unicorn guards probably aren't any more elite than the pegasus guards actually, just each group of guards is trained to cover different areas and situations.
- Alternatively, they are royal guards. They may all look the same because they are the same size and have the same color coats and manes. The former may be explicable by the fact that there may be size requirements for recruitment into the royal guards. Historically, many militaries, especially elite units, had standard size requirements; the Roman legions, for example, would not take any man who was too big or too small. As for their coats and manes all being the same color, that may be the result of dyeing their hair, which, considering ponies don't normally wear clothes, may be their equivalent of a military uniform. Also, just because they all look alike to us doesn't mean they all look alike to other ponies. As for why they are always around when the princesses are, and not otherwise, that's because they are royal guards: their job is to guard the princesses and their household. They are not the national army and they are not the police. And it's not even true that we never see them when the princesses aren't around: in the pilot, two pegasi members of the royal guards flew Twilight's carriage to Ponyville, and she thanked them, as if they were thinking, feeling ponies; they smiled at being thanked, as if they appreciated it; if they are constructs, Twilight doesn't seem to know it.
- Yeah, this one is jossed. Twilight's brother is a member of the guard. Plus, there were guards with brown and green coats in "Rarity Investigates", and one of them showed up in "A Flurry of Emotions" after having left the Guard and become an artist.
- 1: They had a life before signing up
- 2: They get paid, so they probably have free will, days off and individuality
- 3: They accept females into their ranks, though we haven't seen any yet
- Supported by a number of things in later seasons, including the presence of Shining Armor, Twilight's brother and Captain of the Guard, and more to the point a character in his own right; and the guards in "Rarity Investigates" (who had pony-normal colorations, possibly because they were the night shift in the castle and there was no need to spend time enchanting their appearance when no-one was going to see them), whose speaking roles (including one complaining they aren't given enough credit) made it clear they were normal ponies with their own personalities.
- Jossed
- "Magic Duel" shows that more traditional "horses" are still around◊; they just live in Saddle Arabia.
- The ruined palace in the middle of the Everfree Forest where Twilight found the Elements of Harmony is the heart of Old Canterlot. The Celestia/Nightmare Moon battle drove out the ponies and turned it into a Ghost City. Not long after that, the magical fallout from the battle unleashed some wild powers, and the forest grew and consumed the city.
Some of the changes are as follows:
- Commander Hurricane was male.
- Princess Platinum, while by no means a generous soul, was not as obnoxious as portrayed. Rather, she had a court of nobleponies who forced her to demand outrageous concessions or face civil war.
- Chancellor Puddinghead, in contrast, had the opposite problem (is there a trope for Reverse Flanderization?): In reality, she was even more of a Caligula than advertised. However, she was toned down for the play due to Reality Is Unrealistic and Political Overcorrectness.
- Chancellor Puddinghead was probably male; both Pinkie and AJ keep their manes tucked in their costumes through nearly the whole play, which is the poor man's way of having a female with long hair play a male part in a play. The pink adornments can be chalked up to Rarity being the most likely designer of the costumes since all sans Clover's look like something Rarity would design, or Real Stallions Wear Pink and every single costume was accurate to what the real founders wore. Rarity's mane, though, seems tucked into her costume, too, but her mane is styled like that even when she's not in her costume◊ (in fact the only time you see all of her mane is at the start of the episode and when it's being blown by the open window at the end). In most shots during the play, it seems to be in a bun of some sort.
- Alternatively, Puddinghead went through the same process as Platinum. She was originally still... eccentric... and not that good a leader, but not the absolute loon of the play. You're not really likely to be made the leader of a nation while being literally too stupid to read a map.
- Private Pansy may have in fact been Hurricane's daughter. Like with Fluttershy being more an Earth Pony than a Pegasus, Pansy was more Unicorn, with interests running more academic. Naturally, had she more spine (or at least regular access to books), she could have been a Badass Bookworm. She may have in fact had a secret relationship with a stallion of the other tribes.
- The time frame from the search for a new land to the end is extremely compressed for time:
- The three tribes sent out larger expeditions than the two ponies a piece (no fewer than 20, no larger than 100), and the leaders were not present. Hurricane may have been the most likely to go, but at the same time it is just as likely that he was needed to keep the peace.
- After Pegasopolis, Unicornia and Dirtville/Earth/Terra/whatever were properly founded, then the leaders, and their governments, moved to the settlements. Only then do they start to notice the others there as well. This was due to each having small numbers, being widely spaced, and more interested in internal affairs for years rather than in what was going on outside of the settlements. With the governments relocated and booming populations, the three settlements could afford to send out scouts further afield. This period probably lasted a good ten years or so.
- There was a full blown war. Either as a Mêlée à Trois, or between two tribes (If the speculation on Pansy is true, Daddy Commander Hurricane found out?) with the other joining into the fray soon after.
- The leaders and their aids get stuck in the cave and the events happen more or less as portrayed. However, outside their forces learn the lesson of Friendship earlier. Due to the cold, ponies start freezing to death. Realizing that they have all lost their leaders in the confusion, and that if they all freeze to death they won't be able to kill each other, a truce is called, and all the ponies become friends, singing songs, dancing, playing games and shareing what little food they have, much like the 1914 Christmas Day Truce. This was left out due to time.
- The ending in the actual historical event wasn't so cut-and-dried as in the play. While the nations were still politically unified after the winter, they probably spent quite a while dealing with holdouts of the old society (self-obsessed nobles, recalcitrant generals, etc.) who didn't want to give up their power, as well as ponies who flat out didn't want to mingle with ponies of other tribes, before Equestria could come into its own as a stable nation. This would all likely be left out of the play as it would make it too long, make something of a downer ending, and get in the way of the intended moral.
- Hmm... does that mean Celestia and Luna were created by the will of their people?
- Luna never said she knew Starswirl personally, she only recognized Twilight's costume and said she got the bells right. Luna might have known that for the same reason Twilight did, because Starswirl was an important historical figure who anypony versed in magic would have studied.
- The military powers slowly became dominated by the pegasi, with weather-control possibly acting as civil service. They either tried to stage a coup and seceded after failing, or simply seceded. Their general now led them, as he/she always had.
- The Earth ponies had their wealth squandered by the unicorns (and maybe even by the pegasi), and were reduced to second-class citizens. They listened less and less to the nobility, and took care of their own affairs more and more, until the Earth ponies were more or less autonomous. Their chancellor was now elected from their own masses, rather than chosen by the nobility.
- Speaking of nobility, it was gradually filled up by the unicorns, due to their strange powers and their hold on the sun and moon. However, both the pegasi and Earth ponies turned away, and instead of healing ties or improving matters, they simply stuck their noses up and ignored them.
- That'd make for an interesting fic...
- Given the cautionary tale behind Hearts and Hooves Day, perhaps the Love Poison was the cause of the decline of the old pony kingdom. The Earth Ponies became mistrusting of the pegasi, since it was most likely one of their number who stumbled upon the Love Poison recipe that required all sorts of things only a pegasus would have easy access to, the Pegasi declared martial law to prevent their own society from crumbling, and Princess Platinum was thrust into power at a younger than expected age as she was the only other heir to the Unicorn throne.
- Possibly confirmed in that very episode. When Spike was narrating the play, he said it took place "long before the rule of Princess Celestia and Luna".
- I kinda like the idea that Discord was the result of ALL the races bickering, including non-ponies. That's why he's a mishmash of so many different creatures. But he enjoys tormenting ponies particularly, possibly due to the Stalker with a Crush fanon toward Celestia (You won't love me? Say goodbye to your precious ponies!)
- Commander Hurricane didn't just take Private Pansy (who was probably created just for the play, for comic relief), but a full platoon of pegasus warriors. In the play, Hurricane/Rainbow Dash mentions that they will conquer a new home if necessary.
- Also, the Unicorn tribe didn't actually raise the sun and the moon, that was just added in to make them look good.
- As of Canterlot Royal Wedding there is a confirmed giant network of caves under the castle.
>> The original alicorn princess and the love poison.
>> Our lord and master Discord, the great draconequus.
>> The Elements of Harmony and the sister princesses.
>> King Sombra and the Crystal Empire vanish.
>> Scorpan's change of heart and Tirek's imprisonment.
>> The Mare in the Moon and the long lonesome reign.
>> Ponyville, a tale of timber wolves and zap apples.
>> The Twilight of the Gods and the dawn of a new era.
- Alternatively, it's like in the Dilbert cartoon, where the 6000 is just tacked on to make it sound more marketable.
- The Canterlot upper class seems comprised mostly of unicorns. Mainehattan (what we've seen of it) has a similarly snooty upper class made up of earth ponies, waited on by unicorn servants no less.
- Then why didn't they know about zebras? Not to mention the xenophobia in that episode. Kind of weird for a community whose hat would be diversity.
- Zebras aren't ponies, as Twilight Sparkle said in that episode. And even a successful blend between three kinds isn't automatically ready to welcome a fourth.
- Also, we see both Earth Ponies and Unicorns in Manehattan in "Cutie Mark Chronicles".
- Yet still no pegasus.
- This theory could very well be true. Appleloosa is mostly an earth pony town, Cloudsdale is a completely pegasus city, and from what we've seen of Canterlot, it seems to have a unicorn majority, according to the ponies seen in the "At The Gala" song.
Up till quite recently, legal segregation was upheld until sometime recently whatever was the version of the "Enlightenment" convinced Celestia to change the laws, or the society forced the change. It appears that Equestria is going through an industrial revolution right now, which Earth Ponies appear to be the ones spear heading right now (look at Manehatten, for example).
The alicorns were a small, monastic-like community of Long-Lived philosopher kings who dwelt in Old Canterlot — a cloud city floating above the summit of Canter Mountain. They could sustain themselves solely on magic, requiring no food, and spent their time studying magic and contemplating the nature of the universe whilst swearing never to interfere in worldly affairs. However, a renegade faction of alicorns arose who tried to experiment with dangerous magic, and suffered an accident that caused each of them to be split into three separate beings. These were the first unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, who exhibited baser instincts than the alicorns and constantly quarreled amongst themselves. For their crimes, the alicorns exiled them from Old Canterlot to live in the world below.
These ponies now had to grow food to survive, but as their population increased, they needed more and more land to expand into, and they were constantly threatened by the creatures who would emerge from the regions of eternal night and day. The unicorns came up with the idea to move the sun and moon in order to allow more land to be farmed and settled, but this required the unicorns who volunteered for this duty to eventually be depleted of magic for the rest of their lives.
The dangerous creatures who were displaced by the expansion of the ponies continued to be a threat, and the windigos nearly froze all the ponies until the three races were unified at the first Hearth's Warming. Seeing that the pony races had learned to live in harmony, the alicorns consented for two of their number, Celestia and Luna, to accept the right of rule over the ponies. As they related in their journal, the princesses built a castle inside the Everfree Forest to serve as their capital, and eventually took on the duty of moving the sun and moon.
The zebras whom Luna met were colonists from their native land who attempted to create a settlement in the grasslands bordering the Everfree. When Discord overthrew the princesses, the zebras fled his chaos and abandoned their colony. Discord also destroyed Old Canterlot, but the other alicorns were able to Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence.note The sisters defeated Discord and there was peace for a time, but after Luna became Nightmare Moon and Celestia banished her, the Castle of the Two Sisters had been ruined by their battle and Celestia established the new city of Canterlot on the slopes of the mountain.
The grasslands where the zebras once settled would be the future site of Ponyville.
- Seeing how a major city (Cloudsdale) is built around the fact ponies can control said clouds this would also cause an economic crisis.
- Um... "Control the weather?" Believe me, that is the last thing anypony would let go of. Sunshine and rain on demand? Perfect weather for growing apples at any time? Never overly long winters (assuming they got it done in time) that would decrease crop yields? Existentialist crisis maybe, but definitely not out of a job.
- It's not being out of a job that scares them, but the idea that they're job is largely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Incredibly helpful the job may be, but it'll still get on without them, if in a more chaotic way.
- On the other hand, other sentient races might see them as an entire race of equinoid abominations that forces nature itself into a neat and tidy schedule and shun them all as physical affronts to everything holy and natural.
- The ruins in the middle were mentioned in episode 2 as being "The Princesses' old home". Playing on the WMG's that the ruins used to be the old seat of power 1000 years ago, it would make sense if Celestia and Nightmare confronted one-another there.
- That's where the objects representing the old Elements of Harmony were, at the site of the old battle.
- Taking the above into consideration, it's not impossible to imagine that when Nightmare Moon was sealed away, a massive blast of magical energy threw the surrounding area into a state where weather changed and seasons came and went without ponies. When the mane six used the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon, they probably sent out another wave of magic, possibly extending the problem of the Everfree Forest.
- The Elements were inert at the beginning of the series; the last known use of them was when Celestia banished Nightmare Moon. Given that the sisters were both bearers, perhaps the strain of using them like that is what caused them to become inert, caused the above-hypothesized shockwave.
- Point in favor: It has self-repairing golems made out of wood. These golems hunt in packs and flee from loud noises (mistaken for a bunch of armed ponies) when outside their forest. That indicates they either have or are controlled by some minimum level of intelligence, and they certainly don't appear to take orders from any pony.
- The significant weakness to this theory is the Everfree Forest's proximity to Ponyville, which is within sight of Canterlot. Either the ponies never moved that far away, Discord's reign of chaos changed things around, or they did found Equestria far away and by the present day its borders had expanded to such a degree that it came back around to the ponies original homeland with nobody even noticing except possibly the Princesses (assuming Celestia and/or Luna put the Elements were they did knowing the significance of the location).
Today, the dangerous critters have likely been run off or know to avoid pissing off the Ponies, who can muster a retaliatory force of extinction level proportions.
The source of the fear is the probably because no one has actually bothered to go into the forest for so long, the Ponies just don't know how to deal with the "weird" place.
The "No Pony Who Goes In, Ever Comes Out." Thing is obviously a lie. Granny did it, the Mane 6 did it, and Zecora does it so often she'd likely laugh at anyone who suggests the Everfree Forest is a Death Trap.
- Froggy Bottom Bog (if it's not part of the Everfree)
- The Scariest Cave in Equestria. Considering the Apple Family's reaction to going through it, it's probably safe to say ponies prefer to avoid it.
- The Fire Swamp.
- The mountains between the Crystal Empire and Yakyakistan.
- The Hayseed Swamp, or at least a majority of it.
- Natural selection encourages backstabbing? Actually it's been shown that cooperation is a far better survival and reproductive strategy. And I'd say the Pony's home world is more of a Death World than earth, what with the monsters. And what we've seen of Equestrian history indicates it was even worse. Therefore Ponies developed even more of an instinct for cooperation than humans out of need to band together against the monsters.
- "Could it be? In a bizarre twist, a horse is abusing a jockey! Might this be the start of a terrifying planet of the horses? In this announcer's opinion, almost certainly yes! And away I go!"
- This makes even more sense when you realize that ponies know what human skull (AB's costume in "The Show Stoppers") and hand (Pinkie's foam hand in "Sonic Rainboom") look like , make references to France and Netherlands, dress up as Statue Of Liberty, use tools clearly designed for human hands (snow shovels in "Winter Wrap Up") and are able to see themselves as saddle animals (Applejack in "Bridle Gossip", Spike in "Dog And Pony Show", Twilight saying "gift horse" - how can horse be a gift in world like Equestria?) The more you think about it...
- The gift horse thing isn't that hard. Perhaps Equestria abolished the slave trade only a generation or two ago.
- It could have been even longer, we still use the term "Cakewalk" despite it's origins in US slavery. Alternatively it could be an example of linguistic shift, meaning "Gift (giving) Horse", sort of how we use the term "Sleep tight" despite it not making sense in modern English except in that context.
- Don't forget Twilight's saddle for "Winter Wrap Up". The real question is, what catastrophe caused the whether to stop changing everywhere but the Everfree Forest?
- Perhaps it started by using magic to force the seasons to change when they wanted, which destroyed the season's abilities to change on their own with the exception of a few areas around the world?
- The gift horse thing isn't that hard. Perhaps Equestria abolished the slave trade only a generation or two ago.
- Judging by the fact that according to Twilight the same constellations visible from Earth are also visible from Equestria (Orion, Canis Major and Canis Minor are mentioned and she has Rarity sew them into her personalized dress in an episode), wherever they are would have to share a location with Earth.
- This could explain why the train in "Over A Barrel", complete with locomotive, was pulled by horses. It is a leftover relic of human civilization that Equestrians have utilized as best they can.
- And "Manehattan" is just Manhattan. The buildings were still standing after the humans died off, so the ponies moved in. And in an attempt to erase all signs of humans, the Statue of Liberty was remodeled into a pony.
- There is actually a picture◊ floating around suggesting that. Be careful. It comes from a booru, so NSFW is a given/
- Here's another picture with Lyra Heartstrings discovering something's not right.
- Dogs exist, and dogs were domesticated by humans; without us, they wouldn't exist. Either humans live somewhere on the planet, or they died out (or moved?).
- Or ponies domesticated dogs themselves, the only one (besides the Diamond Dogs) we've seen was a herding breed.
- Ponies.. Domesticating dogs.. That induces Fridge Logic and Furry Confusion.
- Wait a second, Diamond Dogs is a song about an apocalypse. David Bowie knows the future!
- Or ponies domesticated dogs themselves, the only one (besides the Diamond Dogs) we've seen was a herding breed.
- France is mentioned several times too.
- As for why no one remembers anything about humanity beyond abstract concepts, a ruthless, Secret Police-styled sect of the Equestrian government works in the shadows to systematically hunt down and destroy every remaining trace of human presence, in the name of preserving the "paradise" that the ponies were able to build once they were freed from the destructive influence of men.
- So, Equestria is secretly harboring a 1984-like network? That needs to be addressed in a fanfic.
- What ever cataclysm wiped out the previous inhabitants also rendered the planet uninhabitable and tidally locked. The reason that ponies control the weather and care for the animals is because the ecosystem that once supported them no longer exists. This is why Celestia and Luna are required to keep the planet rotating.
- From the clues we have in-universe, it would appear that whatever planet Equestria is on is geocentric. Luna refused to lower the moon, and is able to make it remain night for extended periods of time, Rarity literally gets too close to the sun and her magic wings turn to ash, it all points to a small sun and moon close to the planet.
- A planet without a solar orbit would also at least partially lack dynamic weather and distinct seasons, which would explain the Winter Wrap-Up and the pegasi having to schedule weather. Areas that have weather that changes 'on its own' could very well be due to the side effects of the ponies locally created weather affecting surrounding areas.
- Perhaps Friendship is magic takes place REALLY FAR into the future, after the sun has burned out, the sun and moon are magical or otherwise artificial, and it is literally the ponies' magic that is keeping the planet alive at all.
- From the orbit of Pluto, most of the constellations we know would be exactly the same, but a burned-out red giant of a Sun would be just one more star in the background...
- Caveat: REALLY FAR into the future precludes having the same constellations. All the stars move relative to each other, and worse, G-class stars like the sun are some of the longer-lived stars; if Sol has moved on to the red giant (much less white dwarf) phase of its life cycle, most of the brighter stars have already done the (super)nova thing long before and all the rest that we see in our skies today will be guttering out, too. So not only will the stars be in the wrong places, but you'll be noticing the wrong ones.
- This is especially true of Orion, which Twilight Sparkle specifically mentions. Orion's brightest star, Betelgeuse, is itself a red giant which is predicted to go supernova in less than a thousand years. It may actually have already done so, but its light takes 643 years to reach us.
- Earth was conquered by a Sufficiently Advanced Alien who turned all humans into ponies for the lulz. After centuries of his neverending games, the natural laws have been almost entirely replaced by his "magic". Two brave sisters found a way to master this power, summon the Elements of Harmony and turn the tyrant into stone. Our corner of reality has since been slowly recovering from this age of chaos. Please do not fight in front of the statues.
- The whole "How did they build a city if they don't have hands?" question pops up again, and seems like it could be filed away with "unicorn magic"... until you remember the Ponyville was made by Earth Ponies. Then you see Spike doing the chores and work for the others, sure he does it willingly, but it makes you think if it was always like this, then you realise the true horror: THE PONIES ENSLAVE WORLDS! They decend on planets, enslave the dominate species of that planet and force them into slave labor, building cities, tools and other such things until the race is all but dead. Then they force their slaves to construct space crafts to deliver them to their next victim. So why are they appearing on our TV? Well, have a listen to Queen's Seven Seas of Rhye, and Killer Queen, keeping this in mind. What does it sound like? Queen has escape one of the past worlds with one of thier crafts, and have been trying to warn us, without us thinking they're insane and just ignoring them. So now, the ponies must use more resourceful means to subdue us, before they land and take us by force!
- The CMC were able to "repair" Fluttershy's table with nails and hammer, and they also did their stage. The Appleloosians were also Earth Ponies mostly
- Or they all had gone to another planet and let ponies be the dominant species just for the lulz
- Generations of bronies go and protect the internet from harm. Even as civilization falls apart. Even as the sun grows and destroys all life except for a tiny sheilded area.
- Expanding on my theory here... The "monsters" and other strange creatures are the descendants of genetic expiriments done by the humans a long time ago, though some species were mutated by radiation. This is why many are sentient and why many resemble mythical monsters. Unicorns, pegasi, dragons, and others were used as status symbol pets by the upper classes. Many creatures were created just to expiriment and see if they could do it, and many of the tougher, scarier species were created for shows, exhibits, fighting, and hunting. (let's face it, a sport hunter would pay a lot to hunt a manticore and have it stuffed for his living room)
- While the reasoning why isn't correct, Equestria used to be a pretty horrific place under the rule of Discord.
- Original poster here. Expanding on my theory, Celestia, Luna, and Discord were also the results of the genetic expiriments done. Humans sought to create the "perfect being", with many results, Celestia and Luna being the most successful. Discord, being made up of so many animals with so many different natures and behavioral traits, caused him to have a screwed up, chaotic nature. He destroyed the facility and killed the humans as revenge, then proceeded to make the world chaotic, because it was the only way he could feel normal. (however, the world was already an uninhabitable hellhole thanks to humans screwing it up) When Celestia and Luna stood up to him, they didn't kill him because they knew it wasn't his fault he was so messed up. They still hope that, one day, they can find a spell that can help him.
- Seems to be jossed, at least as far as France goes, since Fluttershy mentions French haute couture when speaking to Rarity in a later episode, and is not delirious. Nervous due to Rarity pressing her for an opinion, but not delirious.
- And Applebloom speaking French in "Cutie Pox".
- The language there is addressed as "Fancy". For all we know, its not called "France" anymore.
- And Applebloom speaking French in "Cutie Pox".
- Hoity Toity also mentioned that he was craving Dutch apple pie after seeing Applejack's outfit in "Suited for Success"
- Photo Finish is clearly German, even using a few German words. And in that same episode we see a pony with asian slanted eyes...
- Of course France exists: that's where Mareseilles and Le Hoovre are located. And the Netherlands exists too: that's where Trotterdam is.
- Will there be a Gay Maree?
- Or perhaps these countries have simply been reduced down to cities or regions within Equestria? Like "France" is now called something else and is a city far to the east of Equestria and Germany is somewhere vaguely west of the Crystal Kingdom. The phrases "Dutch apple pie" and "French haute couture" are just that-phrases. They don't reference France or the Netherlands. "Dutch" and "France" are just made-up words in this universe. It's somewhat implied that Equestria is the only place that has ponies, so other countries with ponies would be peculiar. Trottingham seems to be British, but Rarity manages to deliver twenty capes by morning there, after working all night to finish them. She couldn't do that easily if they lived in a completely different country. Not to mention Rarity, unlike Twilight, can't teleport. So in a way, the WMG seems to be right. France doesn't technically exist, at least not by that name. Perhaps the ponies who created them were outright called Frenchie and Dutchy, Dutchy having been a duke or a duchess. The accents they have work in the same way that New York accents do; they're regional to the area, but are not a wide-spread accent. Pipsqueak's accent is called a Trottingham accent, and so on. "Fancy" is the accent used by ponies from Mareseilles, or the city is outright called "Fancy", and German accents are used by ponies from Düsseldock (dock coming from being part of a horse/pony).
Alternately, the Equestrian solar system is not heliocentric, but has spheres like Ptolemy theorized. But rather than the sun and moon being embedded in one sphere, they are both set onto a fixed path in the same sphere and circle around it like race cars on a track.
Either way, the idea of the two celestial bodies intersecting would never even occur to a resident of Equestria. If it were suggested, much less actually happen, it would blow their little pony minds.
- Alternatively, eclipses were regularly scheduled, but none happened in the last thousand years... Because they were meant as times for Celestia and Luna to get together and talk.
- The Great and Powerful Trixie?
- Of course!
- Twilight's parents?
- Impossible. Twilight's parents are shown alive, well, and not locked in the sky in 'The Cutie Mark Chronicles', which takes place years prior to episode 1.
- Does it also rest on the back of four elephants which themselves stand on the back of a giant space turtle?
- Yes, probably. There's another theory on here that says that the speed of light has been slowed down to about the speed of sound due to the dense magical field surrounding Equestria, which explains the flash and colors in a Sonic Rainboom (Rainbow Dash managed to break both the sound barrier and the light barrier), so if this theory is probably true, why not that one?
- The existence of a globe ("Secret of My Excess") and Unreliable Narrator Chancellor Puddinghead's comment on the world being round seem to put this idea to bed.
- Having magical princesses in charge of raising and lowering the sun and moon (and the demonstrable effect it has on day and night when something happens to them suggests rather strongly that that actually is what they do) really only makes sense in the context of a flat world, though. On the other hand, the setting seems to have comets as modern astronomy understands them, too. Is there a trope for settings that can't make up their minds about which cosmology they're operating under?
- Maybe the inhabitants of Equestria are simply Equestria-centric.
Everfree Forest covers the land on which Celestia doesn't suppress the nature. An example would be the castle ruins from the second episode, which clearly used to be a part of Equestria, but was abandoned by Celestia, probably because of ill memories connected with that place.
The end result is the present day where guiding nature is the Status Quo and the Everfree Forest where nature can run itself is deemed creepy and just wrong.
- It does make sense. We've seen a small taste of Discord's idea of "fun". Yes, candy weather is funny and tasty, but it'd also reek havoc on the environment. We know Discord threw everything into chaos over 1000 years ago and doesn't give a darn about any kind of order, natural or otherwise. Probably before he appeared, nature worked fine, but after he showed up and threw everything into chaos, nothing made sense anymore. He destroyed natural order because it was order and he wanted chaos. And after his defeat, there was no way for the princesses to fix a great deal of what he'd done, so the only choice was for everyone to begin doing things themselves to have any semblance of natural order. It honestly sounds like something Discord would come up with to do, doesn't it?
- Unless the history has gotten convoluted in the intervening years, "Hearth's Warming Eve" pageant explains that unicorns ran the day/night cycle, pegasi the weather, and earth ponies the crops and food, all before Celestia's rule.
- Unless all of these are not true. The idea of these things occurring naturally has been shown to horrify ponies. History might have been rewritten because the alternative is unthinkable. To openly acknowledge that so much has been lost despite the victory over Discord — to the extent that ponies must now toil endlessly to keep their world habitable when before it supported them naturally — would break their collective heart and mind.
- on the other Hoof, it showed that the land that would become Equestria got by just fine without earth ponies and pegasi.
- Ah, but maybe Discord hadn't risen till after Equestria was established, and so the world hasn't fallen into chaos yet.
- That may be why Zecora lives in the Everfree forest. Her homeland doesn't work like that, and the controlling of weather creeps her out.
Two thousands years or so ago there was a land similar to Faerieland, Cloudsdale was once part of it, but was separated. The Faerieland like country was home to the Alicorns and Draconequi who lived in peace with each other. At this time no country had a ruler, and this cloud country was under famine. Discord created an inmortality potion, he, five other Draconequi, and six Alicorns, including sisters Celestia and Luna took it. They all left their homeland and the rest of the Draconequi and Alicorns soon died out, which caused the cloud land to disappear except for a town sized piece which floated over to Equestria and became Cloudsdale. Each country got two leaders, one Alicorn to control harmony, and one Draconequus to control chaos. Equestria got Discord and Celestia.
Luna was selected to be the Alicorn ruler of The Everfree forest. However the Draconequus who was chosen to rule with her had somehow been immune to the affects of the immortality potion and died from an illness. So she came back to her sister and they both tried to rule Equestria along with Discord. Before this, the cloud country was the only one inhabited by sentient beings, so the two rulers of each land created a species, buffalo had originally been created by Luna and her mortal Draconequus friend to inhabit The Everfree Forest, but when she came to help rule Equestria she brought the buffalo with her and they began to live on the far side of Equestria. Celestia and Discord had created the ponies, which came in three races, earth, unicorn and pegasi.
Because there were three rulers watching over two species, the sisters decided to take care of the buffalo and trusted Discord to take care of all three races of ponies(there was only one buffalo race, but there were about as many buffalo as there were all three pony races combined.) Over time Discord got bored and began to torture the ponies, and treat them like puppets. The sisters hated this so they created the Elements of Harmony which turned him into a statue. Because there was no Draconequus helping rule Equestria there was no chaos. This meant nature couldn't take care of itself in Equestia, so the sisters had to make the sun and moon appear here, and the ponies had to help change seasons, take care of non sentiment animals, grow all plants, and pegasi had to change weather on schedule.
It was right after Discord was gone that the sisters created cutie marks for ponies, when a pony was around tween age, and found something they were very good at, they received a cutie mark that represents it, and makes it what they must do for the rest of their life. This helped keep the ponies in harmony. Soon after Discord was statufied, Luna was naturally altered with the powers of a Draconequus, and was going to slowly turn into one, but Celestia banished her.
When Discord was temporarily free his powers had build up too long so it caused everything to go much crazier then it used too, and if he had been out long enough and learned to rule with Celestia again it would have smoothed out.
- That's one of the most epic WMGs I've ever read.
- I concur. I hardly ever see MLP crossover-ing with Neopets.
Because by Equestrian standards, this stuff is no big deal. The world is routinely imperiled by cosmic evils, random ponies are called upon to save it, large swatches of civilization become collateral damage, and no one thinks twice about it. Maybe a big celebration will be held after a really important victory, like Discord's defeat. But the Mane 6 can't expect to coast on that one for too long and impress anypony, because the next day Lyra Heartstrings, Octavia, and Vinyl Scratch stopped an alien invasion with The Power Of Music, Dr. Whooves, Derpy, and Colgate fixed a disturbance in the time stream, and even Blueblood, panicking and fumbling the whole time, stopped the Zombie Apocalypse through sheer dumb luck. Every single day a background pony awesomesnote their way through an adventure worthy of a summer blockbuster, and we're simply never shown these adventures because they don't pertain to Twilight and friends.
- Jossed. Perhaps in another season.
- This ties well with post-apocalyptic theories; Equestria could have a natural defense similar to The Glowing Sea. Dragons can cross safely and easily because eating uranium isn't much of a stretch, Diamond Dogs might have tunnel systems and Zecora is probably savvy enough to jury-rig a radiation suit and carry a lot of iodine pills. -woggs123
Because nobody had suggested it yet, and you knew it was only a matter of time.
- This map shows an area called the "Frozen North". Perhaps the old country is over there?
One of those problems being that with clouds so close, getting struck by lighting is much more likely. And probably explains why Rarity/Applejack and possibly others are so afraid of storm.
With clouds so close, its practically a point blank shot with high chance of chain lightning and perhaps electrical damage is one of those things a Pony is specially vulnerable to?
- Derpy hit herself with a lightning bolt and was only dazed, so it seems unlikely that they are more vulnerable to electricity than anything else. What's this about ponies having things that they are specially vulnerable to?
But even so far afterwards that they've forgotten their past and consider a biome that regulates itself to be the unnatural one, they still carry cultural values that sprung from the terraforming. Feeding and caring for wild animals is an actual job (and a decently-respected one at that), as are even the most trivial aspects of the weather. Gemstones still play the same role in their senses of aesthetics and fashion despite the different composition of the planet making them laughably common. And communities are as tight-knit as you would expect from a people that were always one major screw-up away from extinction despite clearly being able to take a disaster or two without really being slowed down. In all likelihood, if ponies stopped regulating the environment at this point it would probably just sort itself out (wild animals know how to feed themselves, and physics happens on its own), but not in a way they'd like as much and more importantly they're as used to manually controlling their environment as you are to manually controlling the presence of light in your house.
One especially interesting point to consider: Why would the ponies have a winter? Earth flora and fauna generally evolved to work around the season of no-food-no-warmth, but unless you came from a place that already had one it's hard to imagine winter making your ecology more vibrant. But they imported species and cultural traditions from a planet that did, so every year they scheduled (!) a few months of snow, and by now it's become such a tradition that they'd look at you funny if you suggested not doing it.
- Pinkie Pie was a girl who wanted to make everyone happy.
- The girl who became Fluttershy wanted to care for all animals, but she was never able to do so in our world.
...does that mean both Sun and Moon are either damaged or even DESTROYED? That would mean Tia and Luna are moving artificial Sun and Moon. But what the hell happened then?
- You don't quite need a deity, the role can be filled with a sufficiently large number of trained unicorns. Still, that is messed up.
My guess is that this area will be visited eventually — not much sense in going out the way to include it otherwise, practically speaking. When this will happen, it will be where MLP's Fantasy Counterpart Culture for China (or a generalized "east Asian" Far East-type culture) resides, made up of either local ponies and/or kilins.
- In light of Mistmane's segment in "Campfire Tales", including the guess that that is where Mistmane comes from.
Visually, the dimension has a 2D look to all visual factors. All beings/objects in the dimension appear 2D to humans from all angles, yet can interact effortlessly in the third dimension much like Earth creatures. Anything that enters the dimension from Earth takes on a 2D look until removed (living beings included), yet anything removed from the dimension that originated there retains its 2D look in 3D space.
Very few ponies or other species are aware of the human influence, among them being select species leaders (particularly certain twin princesses who work to further humanity's interests), loyal "enlightened" species designated to do the work humans can't/won't do, and various cults and conspiracy theorists which are usually labeled insane and/or idiotic. These cults typically revere humanity as malevolent/benevolent elder gods, or as the ancestors of all life. They may even see Earth as heaven for those who serve humanity's purpose well. Any who come across potentially harmful or revealing knowledge are either forced to forget, or allowed to remember in exchange for total servitude and loyalty to humanity.
The "show" has more in common with reality television than it does with a cartoon. The show is a series of recordings, not animation as thought by the public. Nearly all artists and creators associated with it are actually part of a cover-up, though certain exceptions such as composers providing background music are present. Events are influenced for increased entertainment and action, interesting ponies are focused on and given adversity to deal with and overcome, and many otherwise hopeless/lethal scenarios are resolved by guiding hands assuring victory. Should any unwanted or botched events short of death occur, amnesia is induced and events are repeated until desired result is achieved. Death of any recurring characters is to almost always be avoided at all costs, but can be circumvented by consciousness transfer between cloned bodies and the original should accidents occur.
Plans are likely in place in case of mass populace discovery of humanity, including nation/continent/planet-scale memory wiping, diplomatic negotiations sweeping humanity's influence under the rug, and forceful takeover with no regard for subtlety or secrecy to ensure permanent human dominance. Products based on the recorded equines sell well, and plans for "genetically engineered" pony pets are in place for sometime in the near-future when scientific life-creation becomes commonplace to avoid arousing suspicion.
- If the girl is Lauren Faust from when she was younger, then I'll agree with this 100 percent!
- Alternatively, that girl is one Pinkamena Diane Pie, aka Pinkie Pie. She's also completely insane.◊
...Her only escape being her dreams of Equestria, a place where horses run free with no oppressive humans in sight, and she herself is a beautiful princess.
- This is probably one of the most depressing WMGs ever.
- This seems unlikely. If we were to assume that it were true, we would conclude that the mare in question must be American, since the characters in the show all speak English with American accents. But in a modern, technologically advanced society like that of the modern United States, there really are no workhorses anymore: horses today are either racehorses or essentially very expensive pets. Either way, mistreating or overworking one would be extremely uneconomical. It would be like using a Ferrari to haul bulk freight. And besides, if this were the case, how did this mare's dreams end up on television?
- Uneconomical, yes. Would a stupid neglectful owner care? No. There are animals still being abused all over the planet. Also, in this WMG, MLP is a dream, not a tv show.
- Ah, the obligatory "EVERYONE IS A FEVER/DYING/ABUSE INDUCED DREAM!" theory, I'm glad you could make it!
- Now a fanfic.
- Alternatively, it was the Elements of Harmony, and generations of wielders (who may or may not have decreased in number as time went on) that ended these dark villains.
The answer? Equestria is contained within a pocket dimension created by both Celestia and her sister.
While it is impossible to prove this theory, there are some strong factors weighing in it's favor. Consider:
- The sun and moon: While the realm of MLP appears to be similar to our own (with varied landscapes, seasons, a sky/atmosphere, etc.) there's one big difference between their world and ours: the sun and the moon have to be manually raised and lowered by Celestia and Luna every day and night. Based upon what we know of astronomy, and the rotation of planets, it is impossible for this to take place in our universe, as Equestria either is a planet that doesn't rotate, or it is situated around an inert sun and moon. Considering the unlikeliness of a pony being able to move a star, it seems reasonable that, in a pocket dimension that is completely under Celestia and Luna's control, they can bend the very fabric of it's reality to suit their needs.
- The existence of magic: An obvious difference between the world of MLP and our own is the existence of magic, although there is the possibility that the ponies of this world utilize some form of energy that our science cannot yet detect. But if the world of MLP takes place in a pocket dimension, then again, Celestia and Luna can institute laws and rules in it's physics, similar to how the machines in The Matrix programed the artificial world to resemble earth at its peak, with most of its inhabitants being unable to tell that what they were living in was, in fact, an illusion.
- The strong emphasis on friendship and cooperation: While individual ponies are varied in temperament and personality, the main drive of pony society seems to be the development of one's character, and the importance of sharing and beneficial relationships with one another. Such a society is bound to have far fewer conflicts then, say, a society that is devoted to acquiring wealth and material goods, or one that believes it is their right to rule the world. While we have yet to see any direct examples of pony society laying out it's beliefs, it is fair to assume that Celestia encourages all ponies in her dominion to focus on friendship.
- Hints as to previous events in pony history: Based on Pinkie Pie's party cannon, as well as Rainbow Dash naming her pet turtle, "Tank", it's reasonable to guess that ponies are aware of instruments of war, which suggests that, at certain points in Equestria's past, there were armed conflicts using weapons of war. While the combatants in these conflicts are anyone's guess (pony vs. pony, pony vs. dragons, etc.) the mere mention of these items suggests that the history of Equestria is not as idyllic as it would first seem. One would think that the three tribes of ponies engaged in armed conflict, but considering the level of technology they seemed to posses, it would be reasonable to assume that they would use cannons, and were not technically advanced enough to use tanks, suggesting that there were armed conflicts with 21rst century weaponry between then, and the era of Twilight Sparkle and friends.
With the sun and moon being physically moved, the existence of magic, hints to a darker past in Equestria, and the drive for friendship and cooperation in pony society, the true nature of Equestria can be theorized as thus:
At some point in the far distant pass, all the nations/cities/etc. in Equestria were at war with each other, possibly due to pony society being in a state similar to many countries today (with the mindset to obtain wealth and material goods, and less on personal growth). As a result of the warfare and fighting, Equestria was devastated, possibly beyond its ability to heal or be repaired, resulting in a wasteland in which little to no life could live. Celestia and Luna, being the only survivors of the royal family (theorizing that their parents had been killed in the conflict, which would explain their absence), saw the ruins of their kingdom, and realized that they could not return life to the planet. Thus, combining the might of their powers, they were able to create a pocket dimension, and created a copy of Equestria. The two worked to perfect it, creating weather, physics, etc. as well as the illusion of the stars and the universe, working hard to erase every trace and hint that could reveal to the ponies that they were living in a simulated reality.
During this time, Celestia and Luna also created the Elements of Harmony, intending to use them as a safety device, should either of them ever fail in their tasks, ensuring that there would always be a powerful force for good within the dimension.
Once everything was ready, they took the surviving wildlife, as well as all the surviving ponies of Equestria's destruction and inserted them into the pocket dimension, taking care to erase from memory the destruction of their homeland. With everything in place, Celestia and Luna allowed the dimension to start up, and run at it's own speed, without any interference from them. However, Discord, who had been among the survivors inserted, quickly realized that he could take control of the realm, and set about to do so. Realizing that his power was too great, Celestia and Luna entered the dimension themselves and defeated him.
Realizing that even within this dimension, the ponies faced threats, Celestia and Luna decided to remain inside, and to guide Equestria's rebirth themselves. Thus, they worked to reshape pony society, so that it focused on friendship, cooperation, and self-development, all in the hopes of avoiding another catastrophic war that had destroyed Equestria before. Thus far, their plan has succeeded, and if Equestria continues on it's current course, the recurrence of another war seems very unlikely.
In short, Celestia and Luna created a magical dimension (a Matrix, so to speak) for ponies, to try and re-create society with a more sustainable outlook on life, to try and eliminate the conditions that led to Equestria's prior destruction.
- If this is to explain why there's magic in Equestria, why do Luna and Celestia already have magic powers in the previous dimension?
A longshot and a bit of a darker spin, but hear me out: My Little pony is essentially about how important and powerful friendship is, is a high fantasy setting, has no humans and despite some problems is ultimately a good place to live. It is ruled by a benevolent being that ultimately is out to make life fun for all in her world. While there are some problems, they are almost always sorted out and things usually are guaranteed turn out alright. The Berserk world by contrast is a crapsackworld where life is a constant struggle and is ruled not only by a coven of five demons but The very IDEA OF EVIL itself. Life expectancy is short and people are naturally very cruel if nigh irredeemable. Friendship in this world is shown to be as much a danger as a positive thing, and is the reason for the situation the main protagonist now finds himself in.
The idea of evil exists because people wanted a reason for suffering and is the key reason demonic entities in berserk exist as well as why it is such a crapsackworld to start with. By contrast though, this also mean that peoples happiness and accomplishment had to take form as well. This lead to the creation of not just Celestia, but the entirety of Equestria as well. However, thanks to the God-hands presence in the world of berserk, Celestia doesn't wield the same influence the idea of evil does except in moments when it's vulnerable: It is actually due to Celestia's influence that the Skull Knight exists and the survival of Guts and Casca in the Eclipse.
This leads us to two different possibilities: 1. Guts' continual defiance of fate and successes against the Idea of Evil will allow her to finally gain a greater influence and allow her to wield her influence in the berserk world. Or, more sinisterly, 2. The Skull Knights continued use of the Sword of Resonance, said to be able to "Cut through dimensional barriers", will cause the barriers between the Berserk world and Equestria to not only break down but allow the influence of the Idea of Evil and the denizens of the Berserk verse to pass through to cause trouble.
- Sombra is a unicorn, albeit a powerful one. The Day/Night cycle used to be done by unicorns independently of Celestia and Luna. They simply do the jobs of multiple/many ponies.
- Alternatively, our heroine, instead of ragequitting, stays with the show, but vows to become a better writer. She leaves the sordid saga of Twilight Sparkle on the internet tubes, as an e-Mark of Shame. With the withering criticisms she received fresh on her mind, she throws herself into her work anew. Thus begins Generation 4.5.
- Alternatively, it encompassed the last vestiges of the old Earth Pony nation from Heart's Warming Eve. The population seems exclusively Earth Pony.
- More alternatively, it was the original seat of the Equestrian rule, before it moved to the castle in what is now the Everfree Forest. The Crystal Empire is actually the kingdom of Equestria while the crystal city is just a capital, and they are only continued to be referred to as the Crystal Empire out of respect.
- Jossed in "Games Ponies Play" when some chrystal pony children are seen. They also seem to be too old to have been born after the events of the season 3 finale.
- And, of course because queens are evil.
- Except that crystal ponies were present in the crowd in Canterlot during Twilight's coronation.
Meanwhile, the Crystal Ponies had become fearful of the warring "dull-coats", and as a result set up a magical shield to protect the capital city of their Empire. The relentless winter combined with the violence of the warring tribes led to a total collapse of the Empire, with only the capitol remaining. Eventually, the war ended with the Heart's Warming, but having been cut off from contact with the rest of the land, the hatred of the Crystal Ponies towards the outsiders kept the northern lands of Equestria in a permanent frost, eventually altering the landscape until it was impossible to go back. Relations were restored some time later, primarily through the defeat of Discord, leading to the Empire's current state of peace with other Equestrians.