My headcanon for the Equestria Girls world. · 5:35pm Jul 1st, 2020
One of the more disappointing things about Equestria Girls, aside from the lack of a full length series, was that we never really got a lot of world building.
We saw little of the EG world beyond Canterlot. We didn't even get the name of the country. Which we know is not the United States.
So, to make up for the weakness, I have my own headcanon for the EG world.
Planet
The planet of the EG world is known as Terra Prime. Terra Prime is located in the Andromeda Galaxy, orbits around a sun similar to ours, and has a moon similar to our own. It is the only habitable planet in its solar system.
Terra Prime has six major oceans, and is divided between six continents: North Terra (North America), South Terra (South America), Meridian (Europe), Savannah (Africa), Middle Terra (Asia), and Frostland (Antarctica). The EG Australia (Incognita) is small enough to be considered an island rather than a continent. The surface area to ocean ratio is about 1:5.
The human population is roughly 4.7 billion souls spread out among 79 sovereign states.
Human Biology
Prime Humans are almost identical to Earth Humans in genetic makeup. It is possible for the two groups to reproduce and share genes.
But there are some differences in biology.
Skin color is the most obvious. A quirk in the evolution of bacteria in Terra Prime's geological past altered their mitochondria. The skin color is the result of Prime Humans processing ATP differently. A sign of aging among Prime Humans is one's skin color fading as cell activity declines. Prime Humans are slightly taller and skinner due to slight differences in gravity.
Human Culture
The world of Terra Prime does not have the same notions of racial identity that Terra Prime does. An African-American man who ended up in Terra Prime would not be given an odd look for his skin color.
Bigotry does exist, but the dividing line between humans in Terra Prime is often culture and nationality.
Religion in Terra Prime remains wedded to polytheism. Even the Terra Prime version of Christianity, Ameliorism, has a creator God that must face off against a destroyer God.
The year of Terra Prime when Sunset stole the crown was 1957 PE, or Post Ebullitonium, or "after the eruption". The dividing line in years was a volcanic disaster known as the Great Eruption. As destructive as Mount Toba, it plunged the world of Terra Prime into a literal and figurative dark age, wiping out all the great civilizations of Terra Prime and setting back progress by centuries.
United Provinces
The nation where Canterlot is set is known as the United Provinces of North Terra, or the UPNT. It is a federal republic consisting of 34 provinces and various dependencies and other territories. The head of state is known as the Chief Minister, which is a combination of the roles of President and Prime Minister as head of state and head of government. The Chief Minister is limited to a single five year term.
Its population is 242 million people, and its capital is known as Capital Territory.
It is similar culturally and geographically to a fusion of the United States and Canada. A democratic superpower with a history of diversity , immigration, innovation, and human rights. However, unlike the US and Canada, power is more centralized, with more power given to the government than the states.
It is the richest nation in the world, but it is not a hyperpower. The world is far more multipolar than our own.
While the symbol of the United States is the bald eagle, the symbol of the United Provinces is the horse. The horse reflects the frontier history of the UP. This is why many cities in UP are often given horse puns, and why the horse statue of Canterlot High is a big deal.
Education is divided into primary and secondary. Primary lasts from age 6 to 12, while secondary lasts from 13 to 19. College education can take about three years to get a BA, and eight years to get a doctorate.
Canterlot
Canterlot is located in the Province of Seaboard, which consists of the EG version of the Northeastern Megalopolis. Located roughly 45 minutes north of Manehattan, it is home to about 55,000 people.
Canterlot is a mid-sized city, with a mixed economy consisting mainly of services. Due to its low-taxes, it is home to some Manehatten studios, such as Canter Zoom productions. Despite its small size, it is very diverse due to its past history as a factory town.
The location of CHS is in West Canterlot, a largely middle-income neighborhood.
Crystal Prep (and Sci-Twi's house) are located in the upper income neighborhood of Crystal Heights, in the northwest.
Wow, you put a lot of thought into that. I'm impressed and intimidated
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I plan to do more world building in my Sunset Steps series using these facts.
But I am also considering writing an In-Universe Almanac for Terra Prime.
I always thought it was like a limbo, like the pillars were in. No one ever ages there. The sirens were sent there and were in high school still.
I agree with this statement. Another problem is that there was no mention of anything about EG in the MLP season 9 ending other then a still image of Sunset.
5299288
They showed the Sirens in their original forms back in Shadow Play.
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I doubt Sunset would stay somewhere in some weird limbo.
5299288
The problem with the Equestria Girls was this: according to some accounts, like this one, it wasn't a franchise that anybody really wanted to do. It was basically conceived of for the purpose of marketing new toys. Unlike MLP, which was birthed from the creative passion of Lauren Faust, EG was something created for the purpose of making money for a toy company.
When you have a show that is ordered, and not created through an organic creative process, the writers are not going to care for it.
EG 1 demonstrates this: it has a weak plot, weak characters, and a shallow, shallow villain. Some of the songs are nice, but it leaves a lot of to be desired in plot, structure, and commentary.
Rainbow Rocks was so, so much better. Because it made us care about the characters, made us excited about the villains, and made us excited about the songs. But again, because it was a premise written by a corporate balance sheet, the writers had no interest, and thus no desire to really explore this alternate human world.
That's the frustrating thing: they made this world full of multi-colored people just good enough to want more, but didn't have the faith to build on it. When well before EG was conceived, fanfic writers produced a plethora of content involving MLP and human worlds.
5299490
For having no interest, the writers still managed to do a decent job with a executive mandate.
5299537
Yeah, but it wasn’t as good as it should’ve been.
5299712
Agreed.
5299490
She was forced there and then made friends. I think she would.