//------------------------------// // Introduction // Story: The Arcanum of Knowledge // by Dracoliat //------------------------------// Salutations my fellow ponies, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Some of you may know me from my research on the magic of friendship, now I have turned my attention towards making a single volume of knowledge discussing everything ponykind knows. Things we will discuss and explore include: history, cutie marks, plants, mythical creatures, legends, and much much more. I completed this in my free time because I haven't found another piece of literature anywhere in my library, or even the Canterlot royal library. So please come and join me as we first go into a brief history of Equestrian history. Unfortunately much of it has been lost in the ages, however we have managed to piece together a basic picture from arcane texts we have found. Earliest Known History The earliest known recording of ponykind as we know it today was more than a thousand years ago, the exact time or date is unspecified. It started with the three basic species that make up our modern society. The powerful Pegasi warriors, that fought any enemies that dared face them or their allies. Their wings allowed for superior maneuverability and speed. They often wore armor and were raised since they were fillies to fly properly and fight. There have been unconfirmed reports of fillies as young as five being taken from their mothers and forced to learn how to fight. Sometimes they even took deformed fillies and tossed them off their cloud home. Those who were not physically strong enough for the task of fighting managed the weather instead. Even those who knew how to fight and were strong enough often still found themselves controlling the weather due to the peace often present in this land. There were the elegant unicorn magicians. Whose magic allowed them to make great works of art and clothing. Their pieces of art were much sought after by the other races, as their themes ranged anywhere from peace and prosperity, to war and destruction. In unicorn society there were a few chosen elite, those most powerful in magic. They were charged with raising and lowering the sun and the moon. This was a great honor and they were rewarded handsomely for it. In the few times of war the unicorn's acted as kinds of commanders at times, and there have been cases reported where one of the sun raisers used magic unseen before in battle to decimate an entire army. This however was an ultra rare occurrence, as most unicorns did not want to, or even couldn't stoop down to that level. Finally there were the hard working earth pony farmers. They worked from far before dawn until far after dusk, they grew all the food. They provided the other races with food, in return for the various services and products they provided the earth ponies. Often the earth ponies had the least glorious of the three races, however they were well prepared for this. Their muscles were often bigger than that of the pegasi, allowing them to stand for an entire day. Even though they grew the food, they had the least food per individual. The earth ponies were the biggest race in sheer numbers by far. The Great Blizzard As can be easily imagined, this arrangement did not work very well for anypony. When there was a shortage of food the pegasi would stop the rain and this would only increase the hunger. This in turn would cause the unicorns to stop raising or lowering the sun. The entire system would collapse into a spiral of starvation and thirst if even one link in the chain failed. Often the ones blamed for these short comings were the Earth Ponies, and as relationships continued to deteriorate, it become colder and colder. At first it was barely noticeable until the winter came now known as "The Great Blizzard." This blizzard refused to let up and days in it quickly turned into weeks and in turn months. Every race blamed each other and the blizzard only became more intense. Everypony was soon starving and freezing. No matter how strong building they built, or how high they went, or how much magic they used, nothing could keep the blizzard away for long. The earth ponies refused to give any food to the other races, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. There was almost no food, only dried up dead plants with almost no nutrition whatsoever. When it seemed like it couldn't get any worse the three tribe leaders had a meeting to figure out what could be done. But this only resulted in further accusing and degrading of relationships. Even though it seemed like the blizzard couldn't get worse, it somehow did. Knowing that their land was doomed each of the three leaders went of in search of a new land. Followed by a small following of ponies they arrived in what would become Equestria. After much fighting over who had found the land first, and who had claims to it, the blizzard found this land. However the primal love the other ponies shared for each other, overpowered the hate that the leaders shared. This caused the blizzard to be abolished and the land of Equestria was made. END There is much much more to this history, however you have been provided with enough of a background to understand the next part. Modern Society The various races now have more diversified roles than before, however there principle duties remain the same. The pegasi still control the weather, the earth ponies grow the majority of the food, and the unicorns still make art and clothing. The main difference between then and now, is that the unicorns no longer need to raise or lower the sun and the moon. The current land of Equestria is peaceful and much more populous. There are many large cities in this land, and some smaller towns. Many races of both sentient, and non-sentient creatures inhabit our land. However the biggest by far is ponykind, that is not to say ponykind should feel superior. The rest of this arcanum of knowledge shall explore every aspect of pony kind imaginable. It will be expanded upon or revised when any new information is made available. Please enjoy.