Pony Mating Rituals
written by Twilight Sparkle
Very few things that ponies do both during flirting, or courting as it would be referred to in the animal kingdom and in more ancient times, and during actual intercourse are considered 'rituals' anymore. It just isn't a word we apply to ourselves as ponykind because we usually use such things to describe the mating habits of creatures that lack the sentient thinking potential that ponykind and some other races have. Nonetheless, a lot of ponies still do certain mating rituals from more primitive times, possibly without even realizing it. This report will be summarizing earth pony, pegasi and unicorn mating rituals through the ages, mostly focusing on the most common: earth ponies.
Earth ponies are easily the most common race of pony in Equestria, with pegasi a close second and unicorns the rarest. The reasons for this can theoretically lie within the complexity of mating rituals, given the fact that earth ponies have the least complicated of mating rituals, their mating rituals technically consisting of methods that all pony races have as a part of their mating rituals.
Mating rituals for earth ponies consists mostly of instinctual methods that have been around since the dawn of time, but there are obvious additions that earth ponies have enjoyed for years. Only in more modern times have we begun to embrace more universal methods of attracting a mate, but even now our old traditions seem hard-wired into us to some extent.
For example, earth ponies seem to have a natural and positive response to any pony having a large amount of strength, endurance, stamina, or all three especially. This should not lead to the belief that all earth ponies have 'rough-and-tumble' in their genes.
Through the ages, as society began to lead further away from violence and more towards finding ways to be at peace, earth pony mating rituals became less standardized, but at the same time, more widely used due to their effectiveness with all pony species, with very few exceptions. The tender nibbling and grooming of a lover's mane, wrestling one another to assert dominance and instill arousal in one another while at the same time showing off each other's strength, kissing and nibbling along the more tender and sensitive parts of a pony's neck, all of these and more originated with earth ponies.
All of these mating rituals and more are now used by all pony species because of how universally effective they are. With that in mind, it has also been theorized that earth ponies have contributed the most to this field of study compared to any other pony species, and many agree.
Earth ponies were the first species of pony on Earth before evolution created the Pegasi and Unicorn races. Because of this, pegasi and unicorns have more specialized bodies while earth pony bodies are more generalized and 'basic' versions of pegasi and unicorns, thus it makes sense that their mating rituals would also work on their more 'specific' counterparts.
It is worth keeping in mind that while it doesn't stand as a universal truth, earth ponies have a very unusual weakness that only becomes apparent when an earth pony is in an intimate and potentially sexual moment: their Cutie Marks become highly erogenous zones, sensitive to the touch, to the point that constant rubbing and caressing could be considered equal to a hoofjob. Pegasi and unicorns have their own special erogenous zones that become as such when they get locked in such situations as well, but Cutie Marks seem to be the earth pony standard. For each race however, there are ponies that simply aren't very sensitive, and thus do not have these special erogenous zones at all, even when aroused.
Pegasi have very interesting rituals throughout history. As a very militaristic society, strength was a universal way of measuring a pony's worth. Combat skill, strategy, intelligence, virility, for a long time a pony's skill in battle determined their worth off of the battlefield, and when there was no war for new and growing pegasi to prove themselves in, they began to indulge in the growth of their culture by way of inventing arenas, competitions and even sports to 'blow off steam'.
In ancient times, a pegasi's wings were a large part of their sex appeal, and even today this still rings true. For many pegasi, even if they aren't consciously aware of it, scientific studies of anonymous single and mated ponies showed that pegasi liked things large. This coincides with the fact that through the ages, if you had the biggest wings in pegasus society, you were the hottest and studliest stallion or mare around.
Whenever a pegasus is attracted physically to a non-pegasus pony, their attraction usually winds up having something to do with a large part of that pony that they particularly like. Large genitalia if you're a stallion, or a big rear end, perhaps even a large horn or you're very muscular and strong. Essentially, excess is best to pegasi subconsciously.
Why do I speak of wings the most when regarding pegasi? Well, wings have everything to do with one of the oldest and most well-known mating rituals amongst their kind, so well-known in fact that some traditionalists still perform these wordless rituals to this day. It begins with simple flirtation that also acts as courtship.
A pegasus either male or female will stand tall and proud and put their wings on display after moving in front of the target of their affections, and will oh-so-gently flap their wings forward, wafting their scent over their intended target. By purposely displaying their interest and urging their scent upon that pony while displaying their body and showing off essentially, they are wordlessly saying 'You've really caught my eye! I hope you'll take interest in me as well.' Keep in mind that even a non-pegasus can do this by utilizing their tails to wave their scent in the direction of the pony they have their eye on, and this initiates the ritual just the same.
After the wing flapping (or tail-wafting), the pony will deflate and bow to the pony they've just pretty much laid themselves bare for. Keep in mind that this kind of behavior is appropriate both if you simply want to have a fling or if you're more interested in something long-term, but such details are meant to be private. Anyways, this display of what may seem like submission is actually a sign of respect.
Forgetting this vital step in the ritual is a grievous sign of disrespect, equivalent to saying 'You've really caught my eye! I hope you'll take interest in me as well, even though I think you're just an inferior piece of meat.' More than a few pegasi have been killed in less peaceful times over such a thing, and even now pegasi are more than willing to beat the snot out of anypony that does something like this, accident or not, if they dare to perform this ritual. If you don't know this ritual like the back of your hoof to the point that you might forget this step, you shouldn't be performing such a culturally sensitive act to begin with!
Remembering to bow is equal to saying 'You've really caught my eye! I hope you'll take interest in me as well, but if you don't I fully respect your decision as an equal.' After bowing, one of two things may happen. The pony executing the courtship may turn to leave, perhaps because the other pony doesn't immediately show interest, instead bowing in return and leaving it at that, essentially saying 'Yes, I'm interested, but we should speak later.' However, if the other pony shows interest immediately, they will step forward and off to one side of the courting pony, and will run their wing (or hoof if they are a non-pegasus) across that pony's cheek, drawing a line over the side of their neck with the tip of their wing or hoof.
That line, if the ritual is performed correctly, will draw the joint of their wing or their foreleg over the wing of the pegasus courting them, gently and tenderly. This essentially says 'Oh yes, I am very interested! Let's go somewhere else, where we can be alone....' After this, intercourse is expected. Pegasi were not a shy race in ancient times, and even now they usually aren't, though since most pegasi live amongst unicorns and earth ponies, they like the other two pony races have become a melting pot culture, and have thus become much more reserved. Back in ancient times however, whenever such a ritual was observed, if this happened, everypony knew what those two were going off to do together.
The third possibility is that the pony being courted refuses the advances of the courting pegasus. To refuse, the recipient of such attention would turn to display their side to the courting pegasus, extend their wings upwards fully, then flap firmly downwards, as if washing the courting pony's scent away from themselves, casting it downward, undesired. Non-pegasus ponies can have the same effect by swishing their tails around rapidly and widely, as if trying to wave the scent away from themselves, usually while shaking their heads at the same time. This may seem harsh, but it gets the point across clearly, something necessary for a race that was known for being very bullheaded back then.
This mating ritual is one of the most well-known, only outstripped by the most well-known unicorn mating ritual of all that will be explained below. This pegasi mating ritual came about during a time when pegasi didn't have time for extensive romances and deep relationships due to constant and very deadly wars with the Gryphon Kingdoms. Such wars had been happening non-stop for several millennia, thus it is no surprise that a ritual essentially focused on creating an instantaneous connection with somepony would come into universal practice amongst the entire pegasi race.
Even after peace began to reign supreme, pegasi didn't abandon this ritual as a necessary standard for another eight-hundred years, as a rough estimation of time. The retiring of this ritual coincided with the pegasi race becoming a part of Equestria, an idea that the unicorn race came up with to unify all three pony tribes under one banner. By merging their cultures, the pegasi realized that they no longer had any need for such a shallow method of proposing intercourse or possible romance or love to another pony, and thus more modern ways of courting prevailed.
However, almost all pegasi are taught about their history and their heritage, and almost all pegasi families have great pride in their history as a strong, proud and confident race that bore the most powerful army in all of Earth, and then Equestria when they united with the other three pony tribes. Because of this, lots of pegasi are fully aware of this old mating ritual.
For many pegasi, performing this mating ritual to say, after a date for example, that you're interested in seeing them again, or sleeping with them, or perhaps becoming something more? Doing this is considered extremely romantic and impressive, especially if a non-pegasus does it to a pegasus since it doesn't have anything to do with non-pegasi culture. Even if they turn you down, doing so can really spark a pegasus's interest!
Now for the most unique mating ritual, one that exists between the unicorns. Unlike the most well-known pegasi mating ritual, the unicorn mating ritual is very private and cannot be witnessed occuring. This ritual almost entirely takes place between the minds of two ponies, as well as the souls of those two ponies. However, the courting part of this ritual is something that can happen between a unicorn and an earth pony, pegasus, or another unicorn, it isn't limited to just unicorn-on-unicorn here. However, this part of the ritual is almost entirely flirtation and even possibly sexual, depending on how some look at it.
In ancient times this ritual was more common, but even today ponies practice it to some degree. Every unicorn has a kind of magical aura about their magic that never ever changes aside from altering color. A pony's aura color can be seen with every bit of telekinesis magic they perform, or even with any other kind of spell that doesn't go beyond performing a simple task.
The only time a unicorn's aura changes color is when their aura interacts with another pony's magical aura by way of mixing their spells together. This happens most often when a pony tries telekinesis on the same object another pony is performing telekinesis upon, since telekinesis is the most standard magical skill unicorns know. For most unicorns, it's a spell they learn naturally rather than needing to be taught.
However, the key aspect to an aura changing color depends on a pony's emotions. If a unicorn is attracted to another unicorn, when their magic connects, one or both of them will switch or swap colors with one another. If they are in love, however, the color is new for both unicorns; their two aura colors will mix and create an entirely different color for both of them, based on what color you would get if their two colors were mixed together.
Why does color matter? Well, it is the most discreet way that unicorns can state that they are attracted to one another. This ritual usually starts with one unicorn approaching another, gender doesn't matter in this regard, nor has it ever mattered to unicorns in the past. Only recently has gender become a subject of debate as to whether it is socially acceptable or not.
Anyways, upon being approached, usually during lunch or whenever your suitor can show off their magic to you, they will make small talk with you, compliment you and the like, just the same as most ponies do in these more modern times. However, when the opportunity arises, the courting unicorn will take it a step further and purposely attempt to manipulate whatever object that you are also manipulating with your magic. In doing so, their aura will change to the same color as your aura, giving the clear message that they are attracted to you.
Upon noticing this, one of two things may or may not automatically happen to you: your aura will switch to your suitor's color, indicating that you find them attractive as well, or if they have failed to pique your interest as well, your aura color will retain its normal color. If you wind up being attracted to the other pony, the next step in this flirting will take place in the form of the same type of suggestive flirting we all indulge in no matter the race in more modern times.
This next part, however, is something that only unicorns can do together. It is possible for a unicorn and a non-unicorn to do this, but the experience is entirely one-sided in terms of who puts forth the magical power necessary to make it happen, and this causes undue stress on the mind of the unicorn performing it, therefore it's much more rare.
For unicorns, touching horns and flowing their magic into one another is a very, very erotic experience and nowadays is normally restricted to the bedroom (or wherever you might wish to enjoy your lover's more intimate touch). Back then, however, a brief and short moment of doing this included transferring your emotions, your feelings for that other pony and thus getting their feelings in return. Doing so proves both to you and to the other pony that you both desire one another and it lets you both know exactly what you think of one another, whether or not you respect each other and have more long-term or short-term intentions with this proposition.
Once this step is done, the obvious will happen if both ponies want that sort of intimacy at that moment. Otherwise, they will either plan to do something together later, or they will go their separate ways. The first step establishes physical attraction. This step establishes a deeper interest based on that short amount of time spent together, and is necessary to make such mating propositions mean more than just a quick romp. However, some still only stopped at the first step, feeling that deep intimacy wasn't necessary to have some quick fun.
The reason no specific mating rituals were spoken of regarding earth ponies is because earth ponies didn't have any specific rituals that were universally accepted outside of conversing, picking up one another's scent, and then doing their own thing from there. This is the most common practice these days among pegasi and earth ponies, but unicorns often use parts of their old mating ritual to be sure of their feelings for another pony or to be sure they aren't simply being led on by somepony that just can't say 'no, I'm not interested, sorry'.
There are many, many more obscure mating rituals out there, especially amongst the Gryphons, the Zebras and the Dragons, but details of any large, universally accepted mating rituals are sketchy at best, and not accurately recorded in Equestrian records. To find out more about mating rituals amongst those species, you would likely have to travel to their respective kingdoms, though with dragons you would have to work up the courage to approach and try to converse with a grown, adult dragon about such a thing. As of right now, it's unknown whether or not there is a dragon kingdom that they keep records of all their history at or not.