The Should-Have-Been Refresher: Concerning Capricorns · 10:03pm Jul 21st, 2017
One of the biggest newcomers to the Abstract Saga is Lord Tydal, appearing for the first time in a truly serious fic. My biggest contribution to the MLP fandom has been the creation of the capricorn race and they are something I am very proud of. I am excited to, at long last, explore them in a non-comedic setting.
The Should-Have-Been King deals with the ancient history of the lands that would one day become Equestria and in that long forgotten history there are three groups that play vital roles: The pony tribes, who are nomadic wanderers searching for a new home; the precurser race, who (REDACTED), and the capricorns, who rule over the seas. Seaponies and other like aquatic creatures all once bowed to the mighty of the capricorn race and their ruler, Lord Tydal Coldwater.
For this refresher, I will be putting back up a previous blog, Concerning Capricorns, to help refresh you all on this race:
Concerning Capricorns
By Twilight Sparkle
Race: Capricorns
Homeland: The Mareatine Ocean (Capital Tydal’s Keep in Bridle Bay)
Rulers: Lord Tydal (king of the sea), Queen Merida, Princesses Coral and Misty
Biology: Of all the species I have met, Capricorns may be one of the most unusual. At first glance, they would appear to be quite like ponies: they are roughly our size, with some males being slightly larger than females. The first difference is their horns (yes, plural). Capricorns have two small horns that angle back from their forehead. These are barely more than nubs (much smaller than even a foal’s horn) in the average capricorn. A capricorn’s mane, save for those of the queen and princesses, tends to be quite shorter and thinner than a ponies; it is not uncommon for a capricorn female’s mane to resemble a male pony’s mane style. The colors of a capricorn’s mane tend to run towards blue, brown, and aqua marine. The royal family differs in that they have pink, red and green manes.
Capricorns also have unusual eye structures. The pupil is slit, like a dragon’s, and the iris has dark lines that run along it. This gives the capricorns amazing vision, including night vision that allows them to see in pitch black conditions (something needed when they spend time on the ocean floor), as well as thermal vision.
The third, and obvious difference, is their fish biology. It is improper, however, to call capricorns half fish, even though they themselves use the term. Capricorns are more closely related to sharks (a creature most ponies, thank Celestia, have never seen). These shark attributes can be first seen in their teeth: capricorns have sharp canines designed to tear apart meat (yes, as appalling at it is, capricorns are meat eaters… see below). They also have hidden gills that allow them to breath underwater; these gills seal up when they are on land, making them truly creatures of two worlds.
Of course, it goes without saying that the most eye-catching of their attributes is their backsides. Just before their rear legs capricorns’ bodies change from the common coat that us ponies have and becomes that of a shark-like creature. The scales of a capricorn, much like a pony’s tail, matches the color of its mane. The flank of a capricorn extends out into a long aquatic tail with a single dorsal fin on the spine and two smaller fins near the end that assist in swimming. The end of the tail at first appears to be fan-like; it is not. NOTE: NEVER ATTEMPT TO TOUCH A CAPRICORN’S TAIL! The ‘fan’ is, infact, what is known as a tail-blade or fan-blade; it is razor sharp and hard as steel. Capricorns use their tail as their main weapon and I have it on good authority from my brother, Shining Armor, that a capricorn can behead a pony with one swing of their tail.
Capricorns, due to their design, are not strong runners. Even their most powerful members are slower than the average pony and are easy to overtake. Capricorns make up for this by being very nimble; they can climb near vertical structures without use of their magic. They are, of course, natural swimmers and can keep pace with a pegasus flying overhead when they are in the water. This, however, leads to the negative tradeoff that capricorns can not handle dry conditions. If not kept hydrated, a capricorn will begin to ‘cook’ in the sun: the scales of their tail begin to burn, they lose the ability to move, and become delusional. This is why it is rare for Capricorns to head into deserts and other areas where there is little water. Capricorns also do not like icy conditions but are not weakened by them; according to my research capricorns can easily survive near freezing temperatures but avoid such areas because of their dislike of the cold, preferring more mild and warm waters. They can, however, easily dive to the deepest parts of the ocean.
Capricorns require on average 6 hours of sleep a night in order to function. Unlike ponies, capricorns’ internal clock does not require them to keep standard sleep schedules, as they will remain awake for roughly 22 hours before needing rest. Thus, capricorns function during the day and night and sleep whenever they choose. Their sleeping patterns are quite interesting, as they, like sharks, remain in motion; a sleeping capricorn will thrash, grumble, and shift as if caught in a nightmare. It is very dangerous to be around a capricorn while it is asleep and their rooms have almost nothing of value in them as they tend to destroy much while not awake.
I would like to take a moment to discuss the royal capricorns, or as I have deemed them, royicorns. Much like the alicorns, royicorns differ from their mortal subjects. It should be noted that the term royicorn is NOT accepted by the royal capricorns and is only used here to help identify them. All capricorns consider themselves capricorns and nothing else.
Royicorns, much like the alicorns, are larger than ponies. The largest of the royicorns, Lord Tydal and Queen Merida, stand at Princess Celestia’s height. The royicorns have much longer horns (roughly four inches longer than the standard unicorn horn) and their manes are longer. Lord Tydal, the only male royicorn, also has a small beard, the only capricorn to have one; it is unknown if this is a trait of all male royicorns or if Tydal’s is a genetic fluke.
Diet: As stated above, capricorns are omnivores. I have seen them eat flowers, grass and fruit… I have also seen them consume fish, including sharks (which is a delicacy in their culture). Capricorns WILL eat land animals, but tend to avoid such animals as fish are easier to catch. Capricorns have been known to consume pigs.
Magic: Capricorns, as a whole, have little to no magic within them. It has been seen that they can manipulate water, moving it and calling it forth, but even then it is on the level of a unicorn first learning to use his or her magic.
On the other hoof, the royicorns have IMMENSE magical abilities. Lord Tydal, Queen Merida, and Princesses Coral and Misty educated Princess Celestia and Luna in magic. Lord Tydal alone has shown examples of telekinesis, hydrokinesis, the ability to transform himself into water, duplication spells, energy blasts and shielding. It should also be noted that Lord Tydal has complete control over water, rival Celestia and Luna’s control of the sun and moon.
Language: Capricorns speak Equestrian, though with their own natural alternations. Owing to their goat-like nature, capricorns refer to their children as ‘kids’, while stallions and mares are bucks/billies and does/nannies. They use the species neutral ‘everyone’ instead of everypony. Their accents are a combination of Equestria and noble Griffish, due to their dealings with both nations.
Society: Capricorns have a very relaxed society with four guiding factors.
The first of these is the idea of ‘pulling one’s weight’. Capricorns do not believe in social standings and frown upon the idea that one’s family or wealth determines their worth. Every capricorn is expected to perform a task each day to help the society and those with more power, strength, and wisdom are held as needing to perform tougher duties.
The second aspect is their thirst for battle. Capricorns are a warrior race and love nothing more than fighting others, even if just for sport. Indeed, entire wars have been fought against the perytons of Reinssia without a single death, due to both species simply wishing to battle the other for fun.
The third aspect is their desire for a grand death. Capricorns hold that life is precious and filled with wonder and that, if they are to die, they would rather die in a way that will be told in song rather than peacefully. This leads to many of their elderly to embark on grand adventures across the globe; indeed, many discoveries in the ancient world were because a dying capricorn sought to fall in a foreign land and instead found a lost temple.
The final aspect is their belief in the defense of the innocence. While capricorns will sneer and look down upon those they view as cowards, those that can not fight, especially children, are guarded and treasured. Indeed, the surest way to die by way of capricorn is to threat a child, even a non-capricorn foal.
Interesting species. But one thing made me curious, why don't your ponies eat meat? Ponies and horses in real life do
"non-comedic"
oooh boy, dis gon be gud
4608535
Ponies and Horses will only eat meat when theres no other choice for nutrition, they wont go for meat first unless they desperately need something that meat can provide.
also grass has MUCH more energy for them than meat does.
4608820
I've known about ponies whose favorite meal was bacon. As in "raid you sandwich for it" bacon. Hell, horses have way deadlier bites than humans. That is, if you don't consider infections.
But then again I was curious about your why. Since your answer tends more towards "cultural bias of a people that can do it" it becomes way more interesting than the usual "pure herbivore herd prey" that goes around in fanfics
I really like this part for some reason (it also keeps both races from getting bored and going on rampages all over the world)
Though i do have a question: Will the Capricorns be as OP and awsome in your serious story as they are in your other stories ? (it's a small thing that i kinda was unsure about in those stories, i kinda often felt like the Capricorns were a little to... perfect ?, OP ?.... not really sure what it was about them, but something did not feel right when they interacted with other races)
4608535
In the show they don't. Type into Google "Do Ponies Eat Meat" and the first thing to pop up is NO
4608922
Depends on the timeline. We will see before the founding of Equestria that capricorns were one of the top races in the world. Now? Tydal is all that remains.
4609387
To me it's only "we have never seen it" that appears. I don't think there's ever been Word of God that they don't. But there's one thing that goes against that, too. They raise pigs. And the only reason you have to do so is to eat them. So unless Applejack raises then solely to feed whyona, then there's something weird going on...
Of course, nothing stops then from doing so on your stories. I was just curious on the why of it.
Ah, this again. It seems Twilight has never seen a shark, either. I think a barracuda fits better in the comparisons.