King of Crystallum · 12:13am Aug 21st, 2017
The King of Crystallum is an alternative history fan-series set over 1000 years before the events of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. The series concerns intrigues between the various nations -primarily the Crystal Empire, Equestria, and Saddle Arabia- as they maintain the balance of power over the PreFIM world, as well as daily life for various characters, including the Regal Sisters, Celestia and Luna, King Sombra, and the distant ancestors of the Mane Six themselves.
BACKGROUND
In the series parallel history, Sombra was the son of Empress Amore, and sole legitimate heir to the Imperial Throne. Across the Celestial Sea, Saddle Arabia has conquered most of the Arab states and Zebrica, enslaving non-pony species, and other undesirables. Meanwhile, Raddfa Haul, the Lord of Fire, led the Dragons to destroy the Azteca Alliance, retrieving the legendary Bloodstone Scepter and reinforcing his position as Dragon Lord. The citizens of Baltimare then help the Azteca seeking asylum in the city-states. As the Crystal Empire push the Griffins out of Trottingham, Saddle Arabia invades the Arab West Coast, forcing the defending Imperials back into Coltstantinople. By the time of Empress Amore's death, the Crystal Empire and Saddle Arabia have signed a peace treaty, and the Griffins have been forced out of the Empire.
By the time the series begins, the Crystal Empire and Saddle Arabia are the world's competing superpowers, with the Empire still controlling Coltstantinople, and Saddle Arabia establishing their empire under the absolute rule of the Sultan. The Griffins build a new life for themselves in the northeast, but are under constant threat by Imperial colonist. However, their expansion in the northeast is slowed considerably, as internal conflicts continue to stifle the Empire's development.
Sombra, though technically the new King of Crystallum and Emperor to the Empire, is too young to be an effective ruler, and Dream Drifter has become Regent, with Wysteria, Silver Haze, Solar Spark (who oversees the hunting and forced removal of the griffins), and other Imperial leaders soon vying for power. The Empire has designed powerful flying vessels called iron-clouds, developed a nation-wide weather control program, and have established the Imperial Engineers School, later responsible for developing the first magically-powered tanks.
Meanwhile, Discord the Spirit of Chaos, is turned to stone by the Alicorn sisters, Celestia and Luna, and the short-lived Equestrian Confederation is established south of the Empire. Their presence quickly complicates matters, however, as ponies at the time considered Alicorns to be the descendants of the Goddess, the patron-deity of ponies in both the Empire and Saddle Arabia.
INSPIRATIONS
The King of Crystallum was inspired by the Horus Heresy series, produced by Games-Workshop, which followed the early years of the Imperium of Man, and the eventual fall of the Emperors most favored son, Horus Lupercal. Other influences include, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibson; The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K. Dick; On War, by Carl von Clausewitz; The Oxford History of Medieval Europe, by George Holmes; and the 2016 translation of the Quran, by Allamah Nooruddin. A
So who controls all that territory to the south? The Storm King’s ancestor?
Also, shouldn’t Equestria be a bit bigger? Pretty sure they had the Everfree and Canterhorn from the start, which is further south.
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The map design is not perfect, but Everfree is part of Equestrian territory, though it technically only covers the area containing the Castle of the Two Sisters. Canterlot at the time was originally an Imperial outpost looking over their southern border. The grey areas represent unaligned territory, with some areas almost inaccessible due to limitations in transportation, food preservation, and agriculture, as well as the overall political and economic climate.
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OH! Canterhorn is controlled by the Empire then! That makes a lot more sense.