The Xenophile's Guide to Equestria
A collection of works dedicated to providing a greater understanding of Equestrian society, from multiple authors in multiple fields.
Compiled by Twilight Sparkle
Including Foreword by HRH Princess Celestia
First Edition Copyright © 1218 AC by University of Canterlot Press
Published by Canterlot University Press
100-132 Slope Street, Canterlot, Equestria
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
duplicated, stored or transmitted by any means physical or arcane,
except by permission of Ponyville Metropolitan University Press or the Author.
EBN: 202-9-65-784533-2
Dedication
To Princess Celestia;
for her support and friendship
and for showing me how to
make friends.
To the herd of Bellerophon;
who taught me
to be still, and to be free
and
To Lero;
Through your eyes I
beheld the world anew
Foreword
It is unusual that I write the foreword to a first edition of any book, save for those few rare and exceptional works that appeared to define the age in which they were written and it has been my pleasure to see those choices validated time and time again. The question of selection bias aside, again I find within my hooves a manuscript that promises to both define the understanding of our era, but also holds the promise of future interaction with races beyond this world.
The arrival of the Human, Bellerophon, marked a turning point in our understanding of the universe. The first creature to arrive from a world beyond our own, Lero has become something of a celebrity simply by his existence and caused more than a little controversy through his marriage to his herd, over which I had the great pleasure to preside, a pleasure rendered all the greater by his choice to include Twilight Sparkle within his circle of affection.
Yet it is not merely his behaviours that this book deals with, but our own. Through Lero's eyes and through the words of her friends and family, Twilight Sparkle has taken a critical and deep view of our society and distilled out its essentials, all for the benefit of any race that may one day find their way to our world as Lero did.
I consider myself honoured to have been Twilight's mentor for so many years and I am immensely proud of her achievements under my tutelage, though which she has taught me as much as I have taught her. She has already accomplished much in her life, authoring numerous studies on the sociology of interpersonal relationships and the seminal work on the ethics of reintroducing forgotten magic to modern society; and undertaken the creation of entirely novel forms of magical study, a pursuit which both I and Princess Luna have wholeheartedly supported.
Despite it's uncharacteristically disorganised nature, this book represents the pinnacle of Twilight's work to date and stands above any other on the subject, as both a guide for the outsider and as a careful dissection of our own subconscious perceptions and beliefs. I was pleasantly surprised at how often my own preconceptions about our society were challenged by the work presented here. It is my sincere hope that this work may one day be joined by similar examinations of the other great races of our world and of other worlds, should they ever find a way to join us.
Princess Celestia
Introduction
How does a pony look to the eyes of another being? It's not a question we ask too often and usually with good reason; we live in a world filled with myriad sapient species and we ourselves are, as a species, three parts of a whole. We believe we know ourselves because we know one another so well; we believe we know how others perceive us as a result of this.
How does our society appear to an outsider? In truth we don't know. We may ask the Griffon and be told that we are soft; ask the Sheep and be told we are hard and cruel; ask the Dragon and be ignored for a century and then told we are not worth paying attention to because we inconsiderately die before we've allowed sufficient examination of the question at hand.1 Nevertheless, all the species on our world share some essential commonalities; for all their differences our races are, at some fundamental sociological level, the same.
We are the same because we share that innate knowledge of the Other: we understand that we are not alone, that we have other races to observe and that they observe us. We may think it makes us cosmopolitan and self-aware, but we forget that they share our world and we share theirs. We and they are not outsiders to one another, but merely expressions of the same harmonious whole.
This is not to deny differences nor to belittle the contribution of interspecies relations and study, but merely to question that primary assumption everypony makes when considering their behaviour, conscious and subconscious: that they are able to consider their lives from the view of an outsider when no such outsider exists.
The essential idea for this collection was first formed shortly after my interaction with the alien we came to know as Bellerophon, or Lero to his friends. Lero caused quite a storm when he entered our world, appearing without fanfare on the fringes of the Everfree Forest2 via means that would not be known for some time. He was quickly taken under the wing of the pegasus Rainbow Dash, who endeavoured to teach him everything she could about our society, from sports and games to work and personal interactions, up to and including romance and mating.
The concept remained dormant until I had spent more time with Lero and undertaken an embryonic attempt to construct a model for his society from analogues amongst the races that inhabit our world. That early model was, to say the least, of limited success due to there being no true analogue for his species here.
In fact, the world Lero originated from is dominated by a single sapient species, Homo sapiens sapiens – descended from creatures somewhat similar in appearance to the great apes3 – and has been so for many tens of thousands of years. As such, his view of the relationship between species is vastly different from our own and could be described as untainted by the assumptions we all have toward one another.
As I came to know Lero in a much more personal way I began to understand how truly different his worldview was. At that point I realised that it would be possible and indeed beneficial to use his views and modes of thought to undertake a complete examination of our society, in order to both provide him with a more detailed understanding of the world in which he now lived, to provide a means for any future visitors to quickly come to terms with our way of life and for ponies themselves to study and better appreciate the ways in which we subconsciously and consciously behave toward one another.
Because Lero has already begun to assimilate many of the concepts of Equestrian society it was not possible to provide a pure outsider's view of our social interactions. However, this instead created an opportunity to provide context through the inclusion of other works and in the process to produce a book that I hope will appeal to a much broader audience than my usual academic readers. Therefore, through the compilation of interviews and correspondence, interspersed with monographs and thoughts from myself, my family and experts in the field we have together endeavoured to provide you, the reader, with the most complete and detailed analysis of everything we ponies normally take for granted about ourselves.
Twilight Sparkle (M.Frnd, M.Scry, D.Thau)
of Bellerophon
Permanent Chair
Department of Metaphysics, Technomancy and Theoretical Magic
Canterlot University
So. Here I go with the experiment, the crazy, crazy experiment. I have no idea where it'll go, I have no idea why I did it, and I have no idea what will happen when people read it...
You see, the whole "human in equestria" thing is something I generaly avoid (apart from Arrow 18, which is awesome). And clop? Like frozen yoghurt, it's not something I usually enjoy, except that one time in South America... Yet somehow I've ended up writing this collection of ideas, based on HiE and clop (I can't write that stuff to save my life, so be thankful I'm not including any here), and... and I think I might be crazy.
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Twilight_Sparkle.png
This is gonna be good
INSTA-TRACKED.
A fictive story, something which by nature is meant to render the familiar strange and the strange familiar. All in the form of a textbook? You good sir are a wonderful, wonderful writer, and I applaud you for the endeavour.
EDIT: The video I tried posting was being fickle. It was the "Fucking Genius" Video.
A Xenophilia tie in? Must read!
I wondered when stuff like this would appear. Good work so far, I expect great things to happen! Geronimo!
This is beautifully written, rivaling that of the two Anon's in quality. The book format is especially unique. I can't wait to see where this goes.
What are the Degrees Twilight has? Also, yay! A Xenophillia tie in! Duly tracked.
1494916
I think they expand out as
Masters Degree, Friendship
Masters Degree, Sorcery
Doctorate Thaumotology
1491535
Yeah, that quote caught my eye as well. It always seemed to be a common thing among us. ^^;
Aaaaand, I'm hooked.
You put a quote source in the quote source??? How in the hay does that work???
Is it common for scholars to note their herd membership like that? It seems wrong. ("Of course it seems wrong, it's a different society, that's kind of the point of the story!" Yes, I know, but it's weird in a different way, beyond that.)
I love this though, I think you should take the foot notes and put them in their own chapter with links (as in the story: Whom the Princesses Would Destroy...) as it is now it breaks the flow.
Xenophillia sequel? Worth faving on that alone.
1486649
Believe me, I am thankful you're not planning to include any "intimate details..." It astonishes me that there would be fans of MLP who wouldn't see human-on-pony coupling as bestiality (which, if it were on Earth or Equestria were real, it would be).
Other than this, however, your premise looks interesting, especially the promised recipes. Alfalfa-sprout, oat, and apple ingredients, perchance?
1495000
Thanks mate, I had no idea what frnd was and I thought scry was scrying. I immediately thought she was spying on someone.
I want to read that one!
Anyway, this was a very solid start and I'll be tracking!
This sounds pretty darn good man!
1496076 How is pony-on-human any different from Captain Kirk banging a green alien chick, or Spock's mother being human? To name the first exemple that comes to mind. You just have bipede bias!
Though honestly the whole 'sentient being on human' thing (or Xenophilia I guess) is not something you usually enjoy on the first contact, and there is nothing wrong with not liking it EVER, but to call it outright beastiality just feels wrong to me. Plus it would be fairly demeaning if the ponies (the ones we are concerned about here) were real.
This is a great, great idea and based on the outstanding opening you give us here, I have high hopes that you'll continue to do justice to it.
1496076
On Earth it would be, definitely
If Equestria were real... it wouldn't. Isn't it the whole point of the title? Equestrian ponies are an intelligent species . Despite the hooves, it wouldn't be any more bestiality than Aragorn marrying Arwen.
1497682 I'm sure people of CERTAIN IDEOLOGY would beg to differ, and would be pushing for a Species Purity Act from the getgo.
So! I haven't read Xenophilia, but am I to understand Lero is in a polygamous relationship?
...what is the 4th footnote refering to?
Good god, the footnotes made me LAUGH.
'The Everfree Forest and why every bloody thing turns up there.'
Thehe
1497738
Yes, he is but it is presented as a norm for pony society, and it isn’t anything like Mormonism or Islam, it follows a matriarchy rule (like wild horses). In fact there’s are a few scenes of prejudice towards Lero because he’s a male, one of which I know is downright insulting but the rest are understandable by how the pony’s view gender (since females out number males like 10:1). It really is a good story and for the most part you can skip the clop since it isn't in every chapter.
I AM SOO OOOOF SDLF FJLKA SJLRFK JLFKDG jdlkjglfda; d
Happy :3
reactiongifs.com/wp-content/gallery/yes/yesjacknicholson.gif
> Despite it’s uncharacteristically disorganised nature,
"It's" should be "its" in this context, since you're indicating the possessive here rather than "it is".
1497996
It refers to the mark in the third footnote. lol.
1500069
-blink-
1496076 *clears throat*
Bestiality: the practice of sexual activity between humans and non-human animals (zoophilia), or a preference for or fixation on such practice.
Animal: An animal is a taxonomic member of the Kingdom Animalia. For the general public the term "animal" means only non-human animals.
Bestiality is frowned upon, for obvious reasons, chiefly among them being that one is more or less forcing themselves upon the non-human (This is one of the main factors for my despising the act). If I wanted to be technical, Equestria's ponies have yet to be classified by humanity as a whole, and evolved on a COMPLETELY different chain of evolution than anything on Earth did (obviously). If I wanted to make a more solid fact, Equestria's ponies (and many other species there, for that mater) are sentient; they think for themselves, have emotions, and interact within a society easily as complex as our own.
Furthermore: you'll notice if you go to chapter 1 of Xenophilia, Lero himself (or more technically, the author) debates this topic, and disregards it for basically the reasons above.
All in all, its complicated; deal with it. (also again, it's love in addition to lust, the attraction to the personality (see: sentience) and not just the physical form of them. (and if i want to be REALLY technical, emotions, reasoning and everything else all comes down to pulses of electricity and chemicals in the brain, so technically your personality has a physical, if nearly impossible to recreate or decipher perfectly, form)
EDIT AFTER READING OVER COMMENT: also, the physical form of the aforementioned ponies, while superfically resembling Earth's equines, are not actually ponies, nor horses, etc etc, or anything else under the Kingdom Animilia.
So far, so god. Let's see where this path leads.
Shit man you even made footnotes?! That is dedication you making an authentic feeling story. (Would this be called a story?)
Holy hell with the footnotes i don't even! Already i'm liking the level of detail in this work. I'm all fired up to keep reading.
1496076
Perhaps, but the fundamental difference between bestiality and sex with an Equestrian pony is that the Equestrian can understand the situation and give consent. But truth be told, if Equestrian ponies were real I would probably be really uncomfortable with the idea that people were having sex with them, even if I couldn't find an ethical reason to argue against it.
Wow, you even made the first page look like a real first book page. I am amazed and I continue reading, expecting the greatness.
TIL Twilight has her Masters in Friendship and Sorcery, and is a Doctor in Thaumaturgy.
Foot note #2 amuses me greatly
You know Twilight is writing a book when the footnotes have footnotes. Yo dawg, I heard you liked footnotes!
Should be "through". Princess I am disappoint.
Hah!
Haahaha, wow. Yup, Everything turns up there. I suspect leftover chaotic magic from the battle that led up to the banishment of Nightmare Moon, personally
Delicious madness. Colour me tickled.
Remarks and corrections:
> though which she has taught me as much as I have taught her
"[through] which" (What? Someone already pointed that out 6 weeks ago? Sheesh archonix, fix that already )
> Despite it's uncharacteristically disorganised nature
Aiie! An "it's"/"its" error!
> and experts in the field we have together endeavoured to provide you
This would read a lot more easily if there was a comma before "we have", to prevent "experts in the field we have together" from being mistaken as the last part of that summation.
Just one awesome question:
Where is the awesome fic that started this all? I'd like a link please!
4178346 Xenophilia
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/27874/xenophilia
Where was this footnote? I seemed to have missed it.
I'm trying to work out the mechanics of a herd system for my story and it sounds like this guide has just the references I'll need. Thanks.
6165870 See 1500069. (TLDR: It's inside the third footnote.)
“Psychical or arcane”
I love it.
9403054
It's the little things - the publisher note, the "physical or arcane" thing, the EBN (I assume it stands for Equestrian Book Number), the works. It feels wonderfully like a book, and I'm goddamn giddy just going through the damn foreword! I mean - I know this is fanfiction of a fanfiction, so to speak... but it makes those bits of my brain reserved for "about to read a book I've been meaning to read for a while now" light up. :D
> for all their differences our races are, at some fundamental sociological level, the same.
This... doesn't make any sense to me. The dragons and griffons are objectively different when looking at show lore. Griffons place overarching value on individual wealth, enough that it causes their society to be extremely transactional. Gilda doesn't even understand friendship outside of rivalry peers until later in the show. We see their society as in some decay fom this extreme transactional nature. Gabby admits to being highly unusual in her nature and having been inspired by ponies to her current POV.
Dragons are a fair bit like griffons from what we've seen of them. Hierarchy and personal standing seems to be more important to them, and a willingness to solve problems with violence is tolerated.
Yaks (as another example) have very high cultural pride (yaks best!) bordering on xenophobia. They have great difficulty accepting help from outsiders.
None of these are pony attributes. At all. So this statement about fundamental sociological values being the same doesn't make any sense at all. Humans are more like ponies than any of the other races.
9923930
It's talking about how you can't get an outsider's perspective from them because they already know the ponies exist, they have preconceptions about what ponies are like. Lero doesn't have those because he didn't know they existed until he arrived.