Broad Daylight Appendix B Factions: Equestria, Slayer's Association · 10:11pm Dec 23rd, 2021
The following is part of the appendix of A Witch in Broad Daylight. It contains some additional information, but only marginal spoilers if you've read past the Aliens chapter. Everything contained here is largely useless and if any of it becomes important it will be mentioned in the story. This is simply a way to organize information and give additional details to anyone who wants them.
The full appendix (work in progress) can be found here. Appendix B will give information on all of the factions.
Equestria:
Leader: President Starlight Glimmer.
Headquarters: Canterlot
Equestria is a truly ancient nation who’s founding has long since become shrouded in legend. The most often repeated story Equestria’s origins springs from a pegasus named Golden Feather. Also credited as the first pony who ever lived, Golden Feather is considered by many to be the literal mother of Equestria and all ponies in general, as all ponies are ultimately descended from her. What started as Golden Feather’s family eventually grew into a nation that spanned the entirety of the continent.
Historians debate whether Golden Feather was an actual pony and how mythologized her legacy was if she did exist. Many conflicting accounts of her life and Equestria during the Mythic Era exist with little way to discern fact from fiction.
Equestrian history is split into three eras:
The Mythic Era: 0-10,000 ME. The period of time Golden Feather was said to rule over Equestria. Very little historical documentation from this period still exists. It is named as such because myth and fact are near impossible to distinguish during this time. Even the dates are an arbitrary approximation. Time before the Mythic Era is dated as BME or before Mythic Era.
The Royal Era: 0-4222 RE: It is said this era began when Golden Feather ascended beyond the mortal realm. The royal family and nobility of the time claimed to have been appointed by Golden Feather to lead in her absence, thus deriving their right to rule. Princess and prince are the highest titles because Golden Feather is still considered Equestria’s queen even to present day.
Today, the Royal Era is seen as Equestria’s dark ages. It was a period filled with disaster, despair and decline. A great deal of knowledge was lost during these millennia. Equestria slowly fractured into ever smaller nations as it lost its ability to control the entire continent.
The Slayer Association was established in the 42nd century in response and quickly gained immense power. This even is generally considered to be the beginning of the end of the era. Within 100 years, the SA had amassed enough power to challenge the royal family and the Royal Era ultimately ended in revolt against them.
The Democratic Era: 0-1355 DE (present): At the dawn of this era, the Slayer Association led a revolt against the monarchy, viewed as comparatively inept by the public, and ultimately prevailed.
After the monarchy was disbanded, Equestria instated a democracy which persists to this day. The only nobility that persists are Golden Feather, who still hypothetically has absolute control as Equestria’s queen, and the North Equestrian royal family who assume a ceremonial role.
Though Equestria is now a democracy, the SA still maintains massive influence over Equestria. It acts as a third branch of government, and it is generally considered impossible to be elected president without having a high rank in the SA. Nopony outside the SA has ever been elected to the office.
Equestria’s parliament is made up of the elite four of the SA, up to 15 S-ranked ponies of the SA, 25 nationally elected senators and 61 elected representatives, one from each of Equestria’s provinces, with voting power in that order.
The Slayer Association (SA):
Leader: Elite four.
Headquarters: Canterlot.
The most powerful faction in Equestria, established over 1400 years ago in the year 4120 RE. At the time, Equestria was largely consumed in chaos with the royal family controlling little territory outside of Canterlot. Most of the nobles, supposedly loyal to Equestria, considered themselves the rulers of their own nations, often assuming the title of prince or princess.
Originally established as an elite strike force to deal with the various threats besieging Equestria, the SA quickly gained far more power than they were ever intended to have.
Adventuring made the already elite ponies of the SA even stronger as they gained experience and magical artifacts. They also gained increasing public favor and influence as they brought order and stability to more and more of Equestria. Reverence of the SA was echoed with growing resentment towards the nobles who were seen as having only made things worse over the past 4000 years.
Eventually, the SA revolted against the royal family with overwhelming support from the public to install a democracy. The first seven hundred years of the resulting Democratic Era are known as the reunification period. During this time, the SA slowly conquered and annexed the independent territories until every pony nation was united under one banner and Equestria once again covered the entire continent.
To this day, they wield enormous political power and are seen by the public as the only thing keeping Equestria from falling into another dark age.
The SA values strength above all else, deeming power as the key that took Equestria out of the dark ages. As such, their leaders are determined primarily through their record in defeating monsters and threats to Equestria.
Security and order are also highly valued, placing little tolerance on anything that might threaten the stability of the nation. An increasingly controversial ideal is that of harmony – specifically the belief that all ponies should be united as one nation again.
Slayers are given a rank from D to A, based on their record of monster slaying.
To be promoted to S-rank, you need to be nominated, based on accomplishments in battle, by an elite 4 member or 3 current S-rank ponies. If any one pony from these two groups objects to the promotion, a trail and vote is held. Any slayer ranked B or higher is allowed to vote in this election, though their votes are weighted by rank.
Up to 15 ponies can be S-rank at once, though the slots are rarely filled out due to the dangerous nature of the job. If there are already 15 S-ranked ponies, then the nominee must suggest which pony they should replace, all but guaranteeing an objection.
The 12 S-rank ponies as of chapter 1 are:
Fleetfoot, Deathblow, Spitfire, Lightning Dust, Night Glider, Void Walker, Sunshine Smiles, Moonlight Raven, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Bonbon, Molotov
Above this are the elite four. These are generally considered to be the most powerful ponies in Equestria in terms of both political power and combat ability. An S-ranked pony may, once every ten years, challenge a current member of the elite four. A vote is then held to decide the replacement. The current elite four get 5 votes, the S-ranked ponies get 3 votes, and the senators get 1 vote. The vote is supposed to be based entirely on their combat abilities and achievements in the organization, though this is often ignored in favor of politics.
If a current elite 4 member retires or dies, the same vote is held but the same pool can vote for any S-ranked pony.
The elite 4 as of chapter 1 are:
Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Flash Bang, Nailbat.
It's really cool to have all this information about the world, thank's for taking the time to put it all in an appendix for your readers to enjoy. Also, love that Vinyl Scratch and Octavia are both S-ranks.