//------------------------------//
// Lore: Canterlot Castle Explored and Its Rise to Prominence 
// Story: Three Sisters 
// by Cryohawk 
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By: Ember Comet


Chapter 1: A Brief History of Canterlot Castle



For most of Equestrian history, the now ruined Everfree city was the capital of Equestria, with the Castle of the Three Sisters being the main political body of the kingdom. 

After the disappearance of a “Princess Twilight”, some sources indicate that she had some relation to Princess Celestia, the Kingdom of Equestria experienced a decline. With this decline, Equestria’s Golden Age ended and the brief period of the Nightmare Era began.

The Nightmare Era was filled with fear and paranoia of the night itself, the creatures that dwelled in it, and the Princess of the Night, “Princess Luna”. Which in some sources also has some kind of relation to Princess Celestia. With this spread of hysteria, violent incidents started to become far more common to those who supported or were related to the night, especially with ponies of the secretive Thestral Tribe. This also caused “Princess Luna” to become more reclusive from the public as the crimes and hatred for the night grew. Though there are also contradictory accounts of “Princess Luna’s” reluctance starting as soon as the fall of “Princess Twilight”.

This vicious cycle of hatred was broken one night when “Princess Luna” began an uprising known as The Lunar Rebellion. Sources claim that “Princess Luna'' was corrupted by dark magic and transformed into the legend known as Nightmare Moon. 

Thankfully, the Lunar Rebellion was relatively short with Nightmare Moon and her thestral army’s assault on the Everfree failed. The Castle of the Three Sisters was where Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia fought their legendary duel. 

During their fight, it is stated that Princess Celestia used the mythical Elements of Harmony to banish Nightmare Moon to the moon for a thousand years. Which subsequently made the thestrials flee and end the Lunar Rebellion as fast as it started. 

With the defeat of Nightmare Moon, a new era dawned as the Nightmare Era ended and the Celestial Era began.

Not everything survived the titanic battle of the two alicorns as the entire Everfree city was decimated, the Castle of the Three Sisters was in ruin, and the Everfree Forest became unlivable. Princess Celestia decided that the ruins of Everfree city couldn't function as the capital anymore and decided to move the capital to a nearby fortified mountain city, Canterlot.

Canterlot before it was chosen to be the next capital was, relatively, unimportant to the overall scale of Equestria. Canterlot could barely be called a city at the time, with its population being more akin to a fortified town than a capital, and compared to the now-famous architecture it was far more simple and bland.

When Princess Celestia decided that Canterlot would become the new Equestrian capital it was dramatically changed. The old Duke of Canterlot, Crimsonblood, gave ownership of his castle to Princess Celestia, as a gift for the Princess’s new home. As a reward for helping the crown, Princess Celestia granted Crimsonblood the title of “Prince of Canterlot”. This was a semi-legitimate royal house and was unofficially adopted into the House of Solaris, later renamed to the current House of Blueblood.

With Canterlot decided to be the new capital of Equestria the process of making the town able to administrate the country began, with Canterlot Castle being completely remodeled to reflect this. 

Canterlot rapidly changed, with the castle being massively expanded and the once fortified town of Canterlot becoming the central hub of Equestria, mainly because of the massive surge of survivors from the ruins of the Everfree. 

Not long after Canterlot’s ascension a new era of peace and prosperity dawned in Equestria and with Princess Celestia as its sole ruler. To this day Canterlot is still the beacon of Equestrian, culture, society, and power. 

The only question is where will Canterlot go from here? Will Canterlot remain the center of Equestria? Or will another city rise to prominence and dethrone the mountain city? 

Where will we go from here?




Chapter 2: The “Normal” Section of Canterlot Castle 



Canterlot Castle is considered one of the wonders of the world, with its elegant architecture which is fashionable and functional, the hall of memories which has recorded Equestria’s most significant events in history, and with the world-famous Canterlot royal gardens. Canterlot Castle is the pride of Equestria, but what is in this ancient structure? 

This chapter will go over what is considered the “Normal Section” of the castle which is mostly the public section of the castle and a little in the private section. Most of Canterlot Castle is dominated by offices, guest rooms, and meeting rooms for the many ponies that help run the government, but some more interesting locations that are noteworthy.

To start off this journey is the grand entrance hall, which is in the castle’s typical color palette of white, purple, and reds. The entrance hall is also the main crossroads that could lead to many different areas of the castle.

The floor is made up of the familiar black and white marble checked pattern design that dominates most of the castle. Also, helping lead visitors around are exquisite red carpets with many of them having detailed artwork stitched onto them.

On the light purple walls of the entrance hall hang many different banners of major cities in Equestria from Manehattan, to Cloudsdale, to even the ancient banner of the Everfree. 

On the walls adjacent to the entranceway are three unique stained glass windows, each depicting a different design. The one on the left is blue and depicts the night, the middle is magenta with it depicting magic swirling around in the air, and the right one is yellow and depicting the day. 

Finally, on the domed ceiling was the crest of Equestria with the purple, blue, and white alicorns going around the sun and moon with the little magenta stars around the two celestial bodies.

Moving onto another famous room in the castle, the royal ballroom. The ballroom is, probably, one of the most well-known rooms in Canterlot Castle as many events are held here from the Galloping Gala to the Summer Sun Celebration Parties.

The ballroom is dominated by a large round elevated section with marble black and white tiles surrounding an alicorn statue at its center, this is used for dances. The rest of the room is also filled with the same type of tiles and scattered around the ballroom are multiple tables and chairs for any number of ponies to relax and socialize.
Holding up the room are multiple ornate pillars that line the walls, each pillar hangs a banner with the Equestrian symbol stitched into them. Lining the purple walls of the ballroom are large tall glass windows that give the viewer a perfect view of the royal gardens and/or Canterlot proper.
Finally, the large domed ceiling of the ballroom has large majestic chandeliers that hang from the center of the domes.
Some other noteworthy features of the room are the small balcony that overlooks the ballroom, this is traditionally used for announcements to the guests by royalty or the host, there is also a staircase that leads down to the main floor. 
Another feature of the room is a stage off to the side of the ballroom that can be used for a variety of things, such as the band or any other need that may arise.
Moving on from the ballroom and to the royal wedding hall. This hall has been used countless times over the years, from some of the most important and unimportant weddings, from rulers to nations to a lucky couple that had gained the Princesses blessing to use such a historic structure.
The floor had the typical black and white marble tiles, with the end of the hall having an incline which is used for the couple during the wedding. There is one long red carpet that leads to the incline with rows of chairs on either side of it and a couple of tables to the side of the room.
Keeping the room up are a few marble pillars that are on either side of the room and in between the pillars are large windows that overlook Canterlot.
Finally, on the ceiling hangs a large ornate chandelier that, from records, came from the mythical Crystal Empire, as a gift of friendship to the Princess.
The only other noteworthy addition to the wedding hall is a balcony that’s connected to the incline with two crystal glass doors leading outside. For tradition the couple, after they had married, would go to the balcony and give a short speech before the mare would throw a flower bouquet to the crowd below. 
The next stage of our journey in Canterlot Castle is its spa. The castle’s spa is one of its newer additions in the castle, with it only being built a few decades ago. When the spa was built it became quite the destination for the many employees and dignitaries that stayed at the castle, it is even rumored that the Princess herself commonly takes trips there.
Besides that, not much is of real noteworthy with the spa, besides it having the normal castle color palate and black and white marble tiles. There is also a waiting room with a typical canterlotion design. The spa also has multiple different types of relaxation methods such as a mud bath, massage chamber, sauna, or hot tubs. 
There is also a special section of the spa that was built to accommodate Princess Celestia’s unique size and is said to be truly luxurious.
The next destination is quite different. Instead of the fancy and clean spa, the next location is the dirty and murky dungeons. The Castle Dungeons were once a large labyrinth of tunnels that would go on for miles and hold some of the worst criminals in Equestrian history. Some records even indicate that some of the tunnels were connected to the now-abandoned crystal mines that once flourished under Canterlot. 
Now though the dungeons are a mere shadow of their former self, with the dawn of Equestria’s new era of peace large parts of the dungeons were abandoned and sealed up. This was done because the crime rate had rapidly decreased and to symbolize that Equestria was beyond petty crime and war.
Speaking of crime the next step of our journey is the Castle Barracks. The barracks houses one of the last true military institutions in the entirety of Equestria, it is the home of the ancient royal guard that has served Equestria since its founding.
During Equestria’s era of peace large parts of the royal guard had been cut down and the organization as a whole has been given very little funding. So the royal guards today have been brought to a far more ceremonial role, with them being peacekeepers around Canterlot. Other settlements have made their own local security forces to enforce the law.
To get back on track, with the downsizing of the Equestrian Military the Canterlot barracks were also shrunk by half. 
The barracks are located to the side of the main castle. The barracks contain a small courtyard that is used mainly for training royal guards. The building surrounding the courtyard is made up of the proper barracks for the guard, a military intelligence center that is used as a central command, multiple offices for the higher ranking members, and an emergency wartime room. That room is supposed to be used in case Equestria was ever to be attacked by another nation, though the room has not been used in centuries.
Some may ask “What will happen if any ponies in the guard were to get hurt?” Well, the answer to that question would be to take the guard to the Royal Medical Wing, or RMW for short. The RMW has some of the most advanced medical equipment and trained staff in the entire nation. The facility is equipped to help with almost any ailment that could befall a pony, it is even equipped to help Princess Celestia if anything were to happen to her.
    The RMW has many rooms to take patients to, as well as many different types of rooms to help ponies with any advanced issues. Such as physical therapy, magical therapy, to even extensive surgery if need be.
Canterlot Castle doesn't just boast one of the most advanced medical facilities in the kingdom, but also one of the most famous locations in the entirety of Equestria, the Royal Gardens. The Royal Gardens is considered one of the greatest wonders in Equestria as it became a symbol of harmony and peace.
The Royal Gardens are typically divided into two sections, the public, and private sectors. 
Out of these two, the public sector is bigger with its few acres large hedge maze, and its many secrets are hidden within it waiting to be discovered. At the mazes, center is an oak tree that was planted by Princess Celestia herself when Canterlot became Equestria’s new capital. 
There are also many different lifelike statues populating the gardens. Such as, a statue of General Horse Shoe a hero of the Lunar Rebellion, or a statue of the Great Star Swirl the Bearded one of the greatest archmages in Equestrian history, or even a depiction of the mad tyrant Discord that plunged Equestria into an age of Chaos.
Some other facts about the Royal Gardens are that they hold some of the most exotic flowers in the world, with many of the flower species that call the garden home being imported from far-off lands. 
The garden was also turned into an animal sanctuary, with many of the animals that live there being endangered and are considered protected by Equestria.
Leading the way to the seat of power in Equestria is the Hall of Memories. The Hall of Memories is an honored part of the castle, as it not only leads to the Throne Room but also has stained glass windows that have been created to record critical historical events in Equestrian history. 
A few historical events that have been recorded in the hall are the rise and subsequent fall of Discord which has a gray-colored discord in the center with three alicorns around it. Another event is the founding of the Celestial age with Princess Celestia standing in front of Canterlot castle with her wings extended and the sun dawning over the castle and ponies surrounding the Princess.
Besides the windows, the hall itself is not too special with it having a marble floor and pillars that hold it up a vaulted ceiling. On either side of the hall are large ornately crafted doors that were salvaged from the old Castle of the Three Sisters in the Everfree ruins.
The final destination of this journey is the long-awaited Throne Room. The Canterlot Throne Room is considered the most important location in the entirety of Equestria, with it being the seat of power of Princess Celestia. If ponies are troubled they can go to an open court to have their case heard by Princess Celestia herself.
Once you step into the throne room the floor is made of marble with matching marble walls and pillars. In between the pillars are large stained glass windows and leading to the throne is a red finely crafted carpet which at the end of the path is a double tier Dias with the throne placed on top. 
The throne is cushioned with red velvet, gold trimmings, and on top is a golden ornate sun that is based on her majesty's sun cutie mark. 
On either side of the throne on the first tier of the dias are two smaller chairs with one being for the personal assistant of the princess and the other being for any guest of the princess.
On the wall behind the throne hangs two large Equestrian banners and an oval stained glass window in between the banners and above the throne.
Behind the throne are a set of doors that lead to the private section of the castle, this is typically used by the princess to enter the room. 
These are all of the important locations that are noteworthy in the castle. Many of these locations and the castle itself are considered the greatest in all of Equestria, but the question is what other locations will be added to the castle in time?




Chapter 3: The Three Districts of Canterlot Castle  



One of the strangest features of Canterlot Castle is what is known as the “Three Districts” that make up the private section of the castle. When Canterlot Castle was completely remodeled Princess Celestia was oddly adamant about the private section of the castle being divided into three districts.
There are many rumors about why Princess Celestia decided to create the districts, the only recorded explanation from Princess Celestia is that “They are supposed to represent very important ponies”. 
One theory says that the Lunar and Magic districts because the Solar district is supposed to represent Princess Celestia, are supposed to represent the alleged “sisters” of the Princess, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight. To this day Princess Celestia hasn't commented on any theories, so we may never know.
There are three districts with the western Magic district, or it's popular name the Lavender district, the central Solar district, and the eastern Lunar district.
The Solar District like its sister districts has a distinct style and color palate. Its halls are unique as the floors are made of white marble infused with veins of gold and the edges of the floor are trimmed in a dark red. Leading ponies through the halls is an orange-yellow carpet with the orange lining the edge and the yellow dominating the center, also spaced throughout the carpet is Princess Celestia’s cutie mark with a darker yellow surrounding it.
The walls are dominated from the bottom up with orange while the curved ceiling changes from a yellow to a softer shade near the center. 
The doors follow a similar design as the rest of the distinct, with there being very angular designs depicting the sun rising over the crest of a hill.
Hanging on the walls helping light the room are these very peculiar devices that look like ornately crafted lanterns with gold designs on them. Inside the lanterns is a pulsating sphere of fire with jets of said fire coming out the top and bottom of the sphere and eventually re-entering the sphere, creating an endless loop. 
Lighting the curved ceiling however were large oval-shaped glass tubes that had runes placed in them to replicate the look and feel of the sun, besides the sunspots, so that anypony could feel like they were walking outside.
So a few interesting locations in the Solar distract are the few solariums that dot around the distinct. Most of these solariums are small as they are only able to hold a couple of ponies. Inside of the solariums are a few sitting pillows and low tables so ponies can have a meal, also the glass is enchanted so you could only see it one way.
One of the most significant additions that were added to the Solar district is the Great Sundial, which while not located in the district directly it is still rather close. Before the modern clock, the Great Sundial was used to tell the time in Canterlot and at every hour a pony would ring a bell the number of times of what hour it was. 
The sundial is located in a secluded part of the royal gardens where it is surrounded by tall trimmed shrubbery and exotic foreign flowers. The sundial itself is quite large and is made of gold plating as well as trimmed with orange metal. The bottom part of the sundial has the design of a rising sun with its rays coming off of it.
The centerpiece of the Solar district is Princess Celestia’s tower. While her tower was, strangely, the smallest of the three district towers, with it only being two floors high. Even still it is quite an impressive building with the walls being made of white marble with black veins and gold trimming. On the second floor is a balcony that overlooks the valley below Canterlot. The roof has the same swirl design as the rest of the castle, but instead of purple there is bright orange and on top is a golden statue outline of the sun.
Now some ponies might be curious about what’s inside the solar tower and its sister towers, but for respect and privacy to the princess and her wishes, we will not be going to explain what’s inside.
Moving on from the Solar district and to its eastern neighbor is the Lunar District. The Lunar distinct is quite the opposite of the Solar district, instead of warm colors, the Lunar district is bathed in cool colors with black, blues, and some purple making up the distinct.
What you would typically find in the halls of the Lunar district is the floor being made of cool obsidian with the edges being in dark blue marble. Leading through the halls is a dark blue carpet with a light blue interior and on the carpets are, possibly, a cutie mark with what looks like black ink splotches and a white crescent moon in the center.
The walls meanwhile are also dark blue with the top of the walls, which curves onto the ceiling, suddenly fading into black. Also placed seemingly randomly on the walls are silver stars.
  The doors in the Lunar distinct have lots of details on them with silver trimmings and beautiful designs on the black wooden doors that are simply mesmerizing, with the final accessory being a small white crescent moon stamped on the top of the door.
Unlike its sister districts, the Lunar distinct is considered the darkest of the three with the only light on the walls being the occasional steel lantern with silver trimmings that glows with a magically enchanted white fire.
But while the walls are mostly bare of light that is not true with the ceiling. With its curved black ceilings having tons of magical white pulsating rocks scattered along it, shaped like stars. Were a creature to look up at the ceiling they would see a wonderful recreation of the night sky to marvel at, some of these “stars” even recreate famous constellations.
Some other features that are noteworthy in the Lunar distinct is a small special area in the distinct that is located in the main intersection. The intersection is circular with benches built in around the edge and it has purple cushions. 
But the most significant feature is in the center of the intersection which has a small scale of Equis, with the moon revolving around it, and more of those little white stone stars dangling around the celestial bodies. The recreations of Equis and the moon are in fine detail with accurate geographic features to even miniature scale cities, though strangely enough there is a noticeable lack of the mare in the moon.
One of the most popular and interesting locations in the Lunar distinct by far is the royal observatory. The royal observatory is located not in the district itself but is jutted out the side of the building where it is attached to the mountainside so it can get a better view of the sky without the castle blocking it. The observatory has the same color palette as the rest of the district and etched above the entrance in old Equestrian is a quote saying “Beyond the Feared Night is Untold Beauty”. 
Inside the observatory is a library/study filled with astronomy equipment, books, sitting pillows, and low tables. At the center of the room is possibly the most advanced telescope in Equestria, it is expertly maintained and up to date with the newest astronomical technology there is. 
Finally, leading out to the upper catwalk around the outside of the observatory is one of the best views in the entirety of Canterlot, with ponies being able to look miles below the valley underneath Mt. Canterhorn to even a little past the mountains of the valley to the land beyond.
The final location of the Lunar distinct is the Lunar tower which is located at the end of the Lunar distinct. The tower is three floors tall, made up of obsidian walls with silver trimmings, and has a balcony on the third floor with a silver telescope attached to the edge. 
The roof keeps the Canterlotion dommed swirl, but instead of the castle’s traditional colors, it is instead two different shades of blue, one darker and one lighter. The final touch of the tower is a silver crescent moon at the top with one of those white pulsating crystals in the center.
Last but certainly not least of the districts is the Magic district. The western district is also distinct with the colors dominating it being violets, purple, lavender, and even some dark blue.
The Magic District’s style that somepony may find is the floor being a lavender marble and the edges being in a dark purple. Throughout the halls is a carpet with its edges being a dark blue and the interior part of the carpet is a mixture of pink, lavender, and purple. Finally, repeated through the middle is a six-pointed pink star that runs through the carpet.
The walls were mostly purple with vertical blue stripes, the curved ceiling became a dark purple.
The doors had various little details in them with a purple metal that made it look like magic was being used across the surface, the center of the door had a six-pointed purple star stamped into it.
Helping light the district were mesmerizing magically infused blue flamed torches that hung on the walls, these torches have also been made so they give off no heat and couldn't burn anything. Hanging on the ceiling with thick chains are these large purple crystals, that were mined from the ancient crystal mines underneath Canterlot, that gave off a faint blue glow.
Now a few interesting characteristics of the Magic distinct is that it's not uncommon to find small studies throughout the halls. What you would find in these alcoves typically were a few sitting pillows and a low table, with smaller versions of the purple crystals giving off some light. Filling the walls of these alcoves are bookshelves stocked to the brim with books of all kinds.
Now while the Magic distinct may not have such unique locations like in its sister districts it still has one unique feature. It is the only district that has a direct pathway to the royal archives, though this pathway can only be used by personal guests of the Princess.
Finally, onto the Magic tower, which is located at the end of the Magic district. Like the Lunar tower, the Magic tower is also three floors tall with the walls being made up of purple marble, and violet metal detailing the walls making it look like the tower is made of magic. On the third floor is a balcony with a few older-looking sitting pillows and a low table. The domed roof is made up of, once again, purple, lavender, and pink, the three colors meet at the top. The very top of the tower has a purple metal six-pointed star with the tips of the points holding a little of the purple crystals at the end.           




Epilogue: Finishing Details and Rumors of Canterlot Castle



With that, this mostly wraps up our tour of the ancient Canterlot Castle, but as one final goodbye gift for getting this far, we will go over some rumors about the castle.
One interesting fact is that there are unconfirmed rumors that when Canterlot Castle was remodeled that the original architects had designed and later built tons of secret passages, rooms, and tunnels. There are even rumors that a room was built to be completely disconnected from the rest of the castle and the only way to access the room is through teleportation, but as we said these are unconfirmed.
 Well, that’s all we have, but we would like to say goodbye and if you have not visited Canterlot Castle to do so, as it is truly a marvel of engineering and pride of Equestria. 






Property of the Royal Crown of the Secret Archives


Book Produced: CA (Celestial Age) 972


 If this book isn't in the Secret Archives then whoever finds this book WILL be returned to the head librarian of Canterlot Archives and you will forget the existence of the book