Background and Lore

by Bookpony579

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Drama, Original Character, Adventure, Equestria Girls
Length: 3421

Background to the world of 'Elements of Equestria'.

Want more context and lore into the world behind 'Elements of Equestria'? Well, look no further, cause everything is right here! Information about legends, places, people, culture and more can be found here.

This is something I though would make reading my other stories easier and more interesting. As I continue with my series, more chapters will appear alongside it, so don't worry about spoilers!

Published 2018-01-28 01:10:12 UTC
Last updated 2018-09-01 01:20:09 UTC

The Founding

Long ago, further back than any mortal can remember.....

In the land that would one day become Equestria, everything was mostly good. The sky was blue, crops grew plentifully and the people were happy. Humans, mages, and many other creatures left behind their homelands to settle in this rich land. For a while they lived and worked in peace.

But all this would soon change.

Three different tribes soon formed and each vied and fought for power in this divided land. First there was the mage kingdom led by King Bullion and his daughter, Princess Platinum. They believed that those with magic should rule over others, citing their magic as gifts from the gods as divine proof. Then there were the other supernatural creatures such as the local vampires, dwarves, etc. who stopped their own inner squabbles and believed they should rule as they were more numerous and the gods had crafted each species themselves, gifting them with their unique strengths. They were led by the harpy Commander Hurricane and her syter second in command, Private Pansy.

Finally, there were the ordinary humans, those who didn't possess magic or any other special abilities at all. They didn't want to associate with the "freaks" of the other two tribes but they needed the land and resources to survive. They were led by Chancellor Puddinghead and her (far more competent) secretary, Smart Cookie.

The three tribes fought for decades, which attracted the attention of the windigoes, malicious, horse-like spirits from the far north. They fed off the fighting and hatred of the three tribes and created a blizzard so devastating it destroyed the crops and made it almost impossible to survive. They prayed to the gods, but they seemed to be punishing them for they're fighting, for they did nothing. Despite the cold, they continued to battle each other for dominance. Whether by fighting or the cold, thousands on each side perished until the leaders decided to finally do something about it.

They set off, determined to put an end to the windigos wrath. Despite early on hostilities, they began to get to know each other and bond through the trials along the way, becoming friends. Sadly, it seemed as though their efforts would be in vain as when they did confront the spirits, they found themselves nearly frozen to death. Not even Princess Platinum's magic could fight it off.

Just before they succumbed to the icy death, they officially declared each other friends...and then something amazing happened! The magic and friendship in their hearts gathered to create the 'Fire of Friendship', magic so powerful, it saved the leaders and drove away the windigos for good.

When they returned, the leaders decided to join their tribes together, to form a land that would thrive from diversity. They dubbed the land: Equestria!

But nobody ever said creating a new nation would be easy.....

Author's Note

Just a little something I'm trying out, let me know what you think!

The Dark Forces

After the windigo attack, the three tribes became determined to never let anything like that ever happened again, and wanted to come together to form a bigger, stronger nature which could fight off creatures like the windigos.

The only problem was that they didn't know how.

The three tribes, who had previously fought for decades were somehow supposed to live together? It wasn't a surprise when conflicts between different creatures, but that seemed to be the least of the leaders worries.

How would they govern? Monarchy? Democracy? Which one and who? How were they going to form an economy? How would they create a culture? What would be the laws? They were at their wits ends trying to figure it out?

Unfortunately, fate decided to spare them of those problems in the worst way possible.

It started out as a normal day.....until the darkness came.

Black clouds seemed to appear out of nowhere, blocking out the sun, moon and stars. That in itself was bad enough....but then the monsters came.

Creatures seeming make of pure evil appeared, taking out villages one by one. The mages used their magic, from the oldest spells to even creating new ones, but the creatures appeared to be immune.

Dwarves forged and enchanted the mightiest weapons, the likes of which had never been seen before and gave them to the mightiest warriors.

They barley made a dent in the creatures.

They begged the Gods even more than when the windigos attacked.....but they didn't appear to be listening, or even able to do anything.

It went on like this for many years, people lived in a constant state of fear. They didn't care about old tribal or cultural feuds anymore, there wasn't any time. All they could do is hide and hope to see another day.

It went on like this for many years.....until one very special young woman appeared.

Morrigan, a young mage from a small village, one day decided enough was enough and ventured into the woods surrounding her home in search of a way to defeat the evil.

But you see....the Evil forces had made the forest an especially dangerous place when she went in. Although most of the details have been lost to time, young Morrigan faced many perils and even faced death several times, only surviving either due to her powerful magic or sheer dumb luck.

Many days went by until she reappeared....with several powerful gemstones in tow. Whether she forged them herself, found them or were bestowed them by the Gods is still uncertain. What matters is what she did next.

She tapped into the power of the Elements, unleashing the most powerful magic the world had ever seen at the Darkness. Soon, the darkness, along with all it's creatures, vanished without a trace.

The people celebrated and honored Morrigan. They finally figured out a way to get their new nation sorted.

They crowned her the first Mage Queen, responsible for not just protecting and ruling the mages, but also the supernatural creatures and even the normal people. She became known as Morrigan the Great.

Now Morrigan herself has quite the interesting tale, but that's a story for another day...

The Elements of Harmony

There are many magics in the world, but they all pale in comparison to the magic of the Elements of Harmony.

First used by Morrigan the Great, they have become associated the Mage Queens in general, being used by them to protect and defend their people from danger. On the day of their coronation, the Queens would swear by the Elements to protect and serve their people, making them somewhat akin to holy objects.

Interestingly, they have only been ever used as a sort of last resort. Whether it's the God's divine will, the Queen's wish or the Elements own nature, they mostly act in a pacifist way: hardly ever outright destroying it's enemies so much as purifying them of dark magic, banishing them or sealing them away.

There are six Elements in total: Honesty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty and Magic. The first five can be attributed to the values honored and prized by society: they are traits people should have; guidelines on how to behave no matter what species they were. But the most powerful and mysterious one, Magic, has confounded scholars and mages for ages.

Physical magic is not something everyone posses after all, so how can it apply to them? What most stumped them was how Magic seemed to be placed in the center of the Elements: it seemed to combine aspects of all the other Elements. The Elements powered it and it, in turn, powered the other Elements. It is perhaps because of it's confusing nature that the name of it has been lost for centuries.

Recent events, however, have shown where past scholars have gone wrong. Perhaps it is not regular magic at all, but a special type of magic unlike anything else. Something everyone can access, not matter what. The Magic of Friendship. (Not to be confused with the magic of love.)

What is most peculiar is that the Elements appear to have a will of their own. Despite commonly being attributed to the Mage Queens, the Elements have only chosen a few of them to be able to use them. Intense study of old records have shown that not even those Queens knew what was going to happen when they were about to use the Elements. While the Queen can call upon their power, it is the Elements themselves that decide what to do or who to wield them. As though they had their own spirits. This phenomenon can probably explain the Pillars being able to wield them so long ago, why they vanished for so long and how they have chosen their latest vessels.

The origin of the Elements is also shrouded in mystery. The official story is that Queen Morrigan searched the forest around her home and came back with the Elements. But where did she get them? Where did they come from? Did she find them herself or did the Gods give them to her? The only clue that can be attributed to their origin are ancient drawings and descriptions of a crystal tree with jewels in each of it's branches, with the center jewel bearing a strong resemblance to the Element of Magic. Any attempts of gathering more information or searches for this strange tree have proven to be in vain.

What we do know is that the Elements appear to be in safe hands with their current wielders and Equestria, and the world, can look forward to a bright future.

Morrigan, The first Queen

Not long after the founding and a while before the darkness, the most important person in the history of all of Equestria came into being. Her origin story would be passed down and become legend as it was passed down through the generations and is one of the first pieces of Equestrian history learned, usually told as bedtime stories to young children.

It begins like this...

It all started with a young nomaj farmer (whose name has long been forgotten) being married off to a local man. The exact details of how the marriage was remain unknown but the man wanted a son and though they tried for many years, no children came and the woman was officially declared barren, unable to bear the man the son he so craved. So he left the woman, leaving her on a small farm all by herself.

Now the woman didn't really care much to her wayward ex-husband and soon enough forgot all about him, but she still longed to have a child of her own, so she prayed, begged and pleaded to the gods for help.

It is said that, on a late rainy night, she woke up in a sweat, apparently having received a message from the Gods in a dream. She quickly got out of bed and headed out, not even bothering to grab cover for the rain.

She arrived at a nearby lake and, after walking along it's shores for a while, finally reached down and began digging until she reached the clay beneath the surface.

She began sculpting, smoothing out the edges and carefully forming pieces until she had a perfect clay sculpture of a baby. She lifted her creation up to the raining sky, reciting a small prayer.

The clay soon fell away.....and the cries of a newborn girl soon filled the air as the rain stopped and the sun began to rise.

The Gods had brought the clay infant to life.

The woman finally got the daughter she had so long for.

She named her daughter 'Morrigan'.

The villagers, nonmaj, mage and supernatural alike, were shocked and many remained scared of the young girl, calling her unnatural and even calling her a slur used to taunt normie-borns to this day...'mudblood', on account of the story of her birth. The fear and suspicion only rose when the young girl began exhibiting powerful magic despite the mother having no history of magic in her family.

Despite this, the small family were happy and lived in peace on their farm for the first several years of Morrigan's life.

The the Great Darkness came.

Morrigan and her mother were often forced to hide when the monsters came. She began practicing her magic just in case they ever attacked her and her mother.

They came in handy when they finally attacked her small village.

Despite driving them out, much damage had been inflicted and several people she knew well died.

Finally deciding she had had enough, Morrigan went out to look for a way to end all the suffering the land faced. Despite her mother begging her not to go, the young mage packed up and left home.

Unfortunately the details of her journey have been lost to time, but the rest is well known; she had returned with the Elements of Harmony and, activating them with her own magic, banished the darkness out of all of Equestria for good.

Relieved at finally liberating her homeland and saving everyone, Morrigan returned home to her mother to return to the simple, quiet life they had before.

But that was not to last.

The founders approached Morrigan and, in thanks for saving all of them, asked her to be the Queen of this newly freed land.

Much to their shock, she humbly declined, simply wanting to live in peace.

But the founder soon returned with large crowds of nomajs, mages and supernaturals alike, all hearing of of her accomplishment and cheering for her to become their Queen and lead their new nation into glory. Many of them had also heard her birth story and now believed she had been sent to Equestria by the Gods to save and lead them.

Under the pressure of all the peoples of this land and wanting to continue helping them any way she could, she finally accepted. In a quick ceremony where, without any spare metal, they gathered several wildflowers and crowned her the Mage Queen. This also distinguishes her from many other founders of other kingdoms, as she wasn't a conquerer from far away who lead armies but was someone literally born from Equestrian soil who brought everyone together in harmony.

Queen Morrigan would go on to lead for many years, bringing all the people of the land together, creating laws that ensured they were all treated equally and taught them to work together. Whenever a threat popped up, she would personally go out and deal with it. Soon enough, the land began to prosper and they soon established themselves as a bright, new Queendom.

Queen Morrigan soon fell in love and married Princess Platnum's son (likewise ensuring the legitimacy of her rule). When she finally died of old age, she was succeeded by her daughter, not her younger son. This set up a precedent of daughters going before sons in both the royal, and nonroyal successions, in the spirit of the matriarchal societies of the mages and many of the supernatural tribes. Of course there were a few kings, but they either became insignificant compared to the Queens, or were just plain bad at ruling (see, Ivory Vision the Unworthy). Though if a younger child had more magical power than their elder sibling, they could pass over them in the line of succession.

There has been some skepticism surrounding the legend of Morrigan's birth. Some say she was just an abandoned child her mother took in, or that she was the biological child of her mother and her husband and he either didn't know about her, or left anyway because she was a girl. Whatever the case may be, the legend of Morrigan has become a staple in Equestrian history and culture, and that there was no denying that she was a hero who lead her people to prosperity.,

Author's Note

Trivia: Which superhero's original origin story did I base Morrigan's off of?

The Sirens

There are many creatures that live hidden in the sea.

Mermaids, giant squids, kelpies.....

But if there is one type of sea creature you want to avoid, it's the sirens.

These aquatic fish/horse creatures mainly live out at sea. Many tales tell of their singing being so enchanting, it would drive sailors mad, causing them to attracted to them, turning against each other.....and making them forget about the sharp rocks right in front of their ships.

But what makes these creatures especially dangerous is that unlike many other aquatic lifeforms....sirens appear to be able live and thrive on land as well as the sea, making them capable of spreading their terrible songs far and wide. Such is the case with the most infamous sirens, the Dazzlings.

These sisters first appeared long ago, emerging from the sea and causing chaos throughout the land. By absorbing the negative emotions they created, the became even stronger.

Thankfully, a group of heroes lead by the legendary Starswirl the Bearded managed to end their reign of terror, severely weakening them and cursing them into human bodies, the Dazzlings were forced into hiding for centuries, only having enough power to cause minor strifes here and there.

Recently, though, they emerged once again, targeting the school of the Elements of Harmony with the hopes that by using the Musical Showcase the school was having, they could absorb the powers of the Elements and regain their full power. They almost succeeded....if not for the help of a young, recently reformed friend of the Elements.

Now, they are incarcerated in one of the toughest prisons in Equestria, and possibly the world, for their crimes. With them locked firmly away, we hope the world can become just a little bit safer.

Mictlan and La Catrina

The question that haunts everyone everywhere: What happens when we die?

For all science and magic have accomplished, this is the question they have never managed to definitely answer...at least without the use of necromancy, which is normally forbidden to most. So the only ideas we have of life beyond death comes from folktales, superstition and belief, which, of course, vary from kingdom to kingdom.

One belief that is quite common in Equestria, involves two key Gods of death: Mictlan and La Catrina.

While these two Gods are both associated with death, they couldn't be any more different.

While their daughter goes to collect souls when they die, Mictlan and La Catrina both rule two different lands where they could end up.

Where everyone hopes to go is the appropriately named; Land of the Dead, sometimes called the Elysian Fields or Elysium. It is the realm where all the souls of good people go to be reunited with lost families and just be in paradise. This realm is ruled by the Goddess La Catrina, who rules with a loving and gentle hand. Despite her association with death, La Catrina is openly worshipped and revered in several places.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for her husband, because while there are many good people....there are also several bad or downright evil people.

This is where the other God comes in.

Mictlan rules the Land of the Punished, where souls of people who have committed great crimes in their lives go for sentencing. For while life itself is not always fair....death is. For it is the destination we all have in common, no matter what.

But don't let that make you think Mictlan is a bad God! Far from it! For his dark purpose and frightening appearance; the legends tell him as a loving and devoted husband to La Catrina. It is he who gives judgement to souls when they die, reflecting and comparing their actions and lifestyles, good or bad, and he always judges fair. He takes personal responsibility for those he condemns, using the Land of the Dead as a sort of 'reformation' program for souls to pay for their crimes so they can hopefully one day move on to the Land of the Dead.

For as frightening death itself may seem, it is just another part of life, and the holiday 'Dia De los Muertos' was created to honor them and the lives they had.

The Equestrians believe that we are all born destined for Elysium, and will make it, so long as they follow one simple rule; the first rule of magic and of their personal beliefs:

Do what thou wilt, but harm none.