Eras of Pony History

Pre-Classical: the three tribes of pony unify into three separate distinct nations; various intertribal conflicts erupt over the years as each attempts to gain control over the other two; although the balance of power shifts, the tribes always revert to an unstable equilibrium with one another; small sects of each of the three tribes, tired of the endless wars, establish a religion known as Faustism worshipping a mythical being known as the alicorn which is said to possess the traits of all the pony races and would one day appear to lead ponykind to a glorious age of peace and harmony (approx. 1200 years)

Classical (aka The First Age of Equestria): as the encroach of the windigos renders their homelands uninhabitable, the pony tribes each arrange an exodus; the tribes migrate south and are forced to cooperate with one another for mutual survival; Equestria is founded from the union of the three tribes on the first Hearth’s Warming; a democratic government is established although the old unicorn monarchy retains a significant amount of influence; a Golden Age of Ponykind begins (approx. 200 years)

Discordian (aka The Second Age of Equestria or The Burning Century): the creature known as Discord introduces himself to Equestria; disliking the harmony engendered by the fledgling nation, he sets about plunging it into chaos; he makes his home in the Eternal Forest and uses his draconequus magic to render the flora, fauna and weather wild and untamable by pony magic; he then takes the native creatures of the Eternal Forest and mutates them to create basilisks, chimera and a host of monstrosities to attack ponykind; after a single year of brutal warfare Equestria falls under his control; Discord’s first order of business is to burn any scrolls or books containing ponykind’s history so that nopony will ever remember a time before his brutal rule; it is said every day that Discord reigned, a thousand irreplaceable works of art and literature were destroyed, lending the moniker of “The Burning Century” to this period; foremost amongst the knowledge lost is the spell that the unicorn monarchs used to move the sun and moon; having stolen this spell, Discord gains control of the heavenly Firmament and the sun and moon fall under his control as well (approx. 100 years)

Concordian (aka The Third Age of Equestria): Celestia and Luna appear in Equestria and defeat Discord with the artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony; the followers of the Faustian religion worship the pair as saviors and goddesses; with popular demand for them to rule Equestria rising and the need for strong leadership to help rebuild, the sisters become rulers by necessity; when the unicorn nobility becomes worried by the rising popularity of the alicorn sisters, a compromise is reached wherein they are named Princesses but agree to never claim the title of Queen; the sisters establish their capital city in the Eternal Forest where they defeated Discord, renaming it the Everfree to signify their victory; using their potent magicks the sisters manage to undo much of Discord’s chaos and bring the wild forest back under pony control; Celestia forms the Day Guard to serve as Equestria’s defenders and enforcers of the law; Luna forms the Night Guard to hunt down the remaining monsters of Discord and imprison them in Tartarus; a second Golden Age of Ponykind begins (approx. 200 years) NOTE: “Legends of the Night Guard” takes place in this period

Celestial (aka The Fourth Age of Equestria): Princess Luna becomes Nightmare Moon and attempts to seize total control of Equestria for herself; in the ensuing battle with Celestia the proud city of Everfree is destroyed and the magicks used to suppress Discord’s chaos are torn apart; Celestia banishes her to the moon and rules alone from new capital of Canterlot as the Everfree once again becomes untamed and chaotic (approx. 1000 years)

Modern (aka The Fifth Age of Equestria): Twilight Sparkle discovers the prophecy of Nightmare Moon’s return; Princess Luna is restored by the Elements of Harmony and returns to rule besides Celestia