The Building Blocks of Culture

by M_D_Quill

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 1170

What makes a country? What makes a culture? Let's dive into Equestria to see why ponies are the way they are.

What makes a country? What makes a culture? Let's dive into Equestria to see why ponies are the way they are.

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I'm writing this fic to try and explain and expand why I think Equestria is the way it is.

Published 2013-03-07 02:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-07 02:50:01 UTC

Pre-Equestrian History

Complete Collection of Equestrian History: Volume III
By: Twilight Sparkle
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"...Starswirl and Sombra were great friends at one point. The Crystal Empire was at its peak of prosperity when Starswirl had a theory for a ‘new type of magic’. During the ‘testing’ part of the spell, Sombra’s cutie mark changed into something dark and evil, changing his friend’s previously joyful and generous personality to something dark and greedy. After an argument, Starswirl was banished from the Crystal Empire.

"Over the course of many years, the world became a dark and terrifying place, where monsters and nightmares roamed the land. The crystal heart, once the pride and symbol of the kingdom, was lost and nopony knew where to find it. The only pony who might have the knowledge was the king, who was the last pony seen with it. Eventually, Princess Platinum (Sombra’s daughter), grew tired of it and left in search of Starswirl. She eventually found his hiding place only to discover that he was lost to one of the nightmares months before. The only pony in the hideout was Clover the Clever, Starswirl’s student.

"During his exile, Starswirl was making a deal with the Spirit of Chaos, Discord. From his calculations, only Discord had enough power to overcome the madness that had overtaken the king. After his death, Clover continued his master’s work, and the deal was finalized by Platinum.

"Unfortunately, Discord would not do the deed for free, and in return for his help, Princess Platinum vowed that neither she nor her descendants would ever step up and take the throne again.

"The battle began, and Discord used the chaotic power of disharmony between the tribes of ponies to cause a large ice storm to attack the crystal Empire’s capital. The king attempted to stop the magic with his dark powers, but due to the chaos in inherit in the darkness, he only enhanced Discord’s spell and trapped both himself and the capital in ice.

"Platinum thanked Discord for his assistance, but learned that Discord decided he wanted to be king instead. She tried to reason with him, but was cursed with a spell of silence. Clover managed to rescue her from Discord and they both left to gather the other tribes to overthrow the new Chaos king.

"Unfortunately, it got out that the unicorns were the ones who made the deal and brought the chaos spirit into their world. The other two tribes demanded that they step down from power. Clover explained the deal they had to do, and that they would not be in power again.

"The meeting concluded, and the tribes refused to work together. Seeing that there was no hope in saving the old kingdom, they left to find a new one. During the travels in search of a new home, Platinum found two small unicorn fillies, one white and one dark blue, in the ruins of an abandoned keep of one of Sombra’s top nobles.

"Eventually, they found Equestria and claimed it to be their new home and vowed to never let disharmony interrupt the kingdom. They built a castle in the center of an enchanted forest. The Princess and Clover named it after their adopted two daughters, to show their hope in the future: Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters.

"Over time, they learned that the Pegasus and Earth ponies also found their way to the same land and claimed it as well. Platinum invited both leaders to her castle to greet them, but when they finally met, Discord decided to show up causing chaos around their new home. An emergency meeting was held in the dead of winter, another ice storm similar to the one in the old kingdom battering the land. The two other tribes demanded the others leave, since they were invading their new kingdom and inviting chaos back into their homes. Platinum tried to reason with them, but due to her having no voice, she was unable to convince them.

"The ice spell covered the land, blocking any escape for the tribes. Fortunately, between Clover and the other second in commands, they made a treaty. Platinum was forced to sacrifice her claim on her new children, and they had to be split between the other two tribes. The white unicorn had to go with the Pegasus, and the Dark blue one had to go with the Earth ponies. They were to be raised by all three tribes, not just one.

"Over time, the two sisters grew up and became adults. They saw the unhappiness between the ponies and Discord, and set out to find a way to fix the rift. They found the ruins of the old kingdom, and the Elements of Harmony frozen in ice. They decided that they were going to use the new harmony between the tribes to attempt to sway Discord to being passive and responsible with his magic.

"When they returned and used the elements, Discord was trapped in stone and the chaos he created disappeared from the land. When the light of the rainbow faded, they were transformed as well. Using the harmony between the tribes, they became symbols of their unity and given the power of all three pony types. The magic of the unicorn, flight of the pegasus, and power of the earth.

"They moved back into the Sister’s castle, and took over the job of raising and lowering the sun and moon. Over time, Luna noticed that all the tribes would hide in their houses during the night, locking their doors and closing their shades.

"She was too young to know that they did so out of remembrance and fear of the nightmares that plagued the ponies in the old kingdom. She took it as a personal insult, and demanded that they celebrate and live out in the night like they did with her sister. When they didn’t, she grew angry and started forcing her night into the ponies lives. Giving them nightmares until they would leave their homes and do things out in the night.

"The ponies eventually started calling her a Nightmare from the old kingdom, and petitioned to have her evicted from her throne. When Celestia tried to reason with Luna, Luna attacked and demanded Celestia to extinguish her sun.

"They two fought, and afterward Celestia used the Elements to save her sister and try and return her to the way she used to be, before her anger began to cloud her judgment. The elements instead sent her to the moon, imprisoned with her face plastered on its surface.

"Devastated that the elements didn’t do her wishes for the second time, she abandoned them in the castle and left it. With the tribes, they founded a new city, one fit for all three tribes at once. Canterlot. There she ruled Equestria, leading them to forget the nightmares and become harmonious and happy.

"Celestia did this by first establishing a set..."

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Complete Collection of Equestrian History: Volume III
Chapter 2, pages 37-39