The story of Equestria’s founding is thoroughly documented and well preserved – anyone who ever sat through a Hearth’s Warming Eve celebration will agree to this. Yet while every child knows the tale of the three kingdoms, shockingly few of the Equestrian people would be able to tell you what happened after that. Thanks to the commendable support of Princess Celestia – who has offered us the vast library of early lore that is her personal memory – those times have never been lost; yet, having the story written down serves little purpose when no one bothers to read it. To fill this lamentable gap in the populace’s general knowledge, please allow me to reiterate why such ancient history is still important for us today.
As we all know, the three races came to modern Equestria from the southwest, fleeing from the blizzards that were ravaging their homelands at the time. Haunted by a powerful windigo population, they narrowly survived by overcoming the old barriers of hatred and mistrust between their people, and harnessing the power of Harmony for the first time in recorded history. The events of the first Hearth’s Warming Eve would climax in the ignition of the Fires of Friendship and the forging of the most influential alliance this world would ever see. Pegasi, unicorns and earth walkers joined their forces and declared their new home the United Realm of Equestria.
While this was a tremendous step towards unity, it was of course not as absolute as it may seem at first. All three races had come from different nations and were strangers to their new home, and they all had their own ways of adapting to it. While battling the windigos had made them fast friends, their cultures weren’t as easily fused.
The earth walkers spread out across the countryside, as they were used to. Having lost all faith in their Chancellor, they split into a plethora of independent settlements, often consisting of only a few families. They worked the rich soil of the new land to bring forth crops like nothing before them. Now pioneers as well as farmers, they would soon be famed for their hospitality, their easy smiles and their generous way of sharing the spoils of their labour.
While their approach was a very direct one, it was nothing compared to the pragmatism of the pegasi. Commander Hurricane and her warriors were a proud and fierce kind that valued their history and accomplishments. Where the other races left their home behind to build a new one in Equestria, the pegasi simply took theirs with them: Hurricane dispatched a squad of her most durable soldiers to return to their ancient cloud fortress of Stratopolis and simply move the entire city north. Once the feat was done, Commander Hurricane declared that Stratopolis would from then on carry a new name: Cloudsdale. It was a token of good will. The pegasi were ready for peace.
Meanwhile, many unicorns were fascinated by the mysterious fire that had driven out the windigos on Hearth’s Warming Eve. Keen to study that thrilling new power, the already studious scholars serving Princess Platinum grew more numerous and influential with every passing day. It wouldn’t take long until Starswirl the Bearded and his prize student Clover held more actual power than the royalty they were supposed to serve. It speaks volumes that Canterlot was a library before it was a palace – the unicorn kings built their homes beside the archives, not vice versa.
As it would turn out, they had chosen their subject wisely. Modern researchers generally agree that the founding day of Equestria was the first confirmed manifestation of the Elements of Harmony in this world. Some would go as far as to speculate that the very Spirits have been born that day. The actual influence of the three races’ alliance may not have been as strong, but it is for a certainty that their pact brought peace and kindness to a world that had known nothing but strife until then. What we do influences reality just as reality influences us – the new age dawned with the Elements stronger than ever before. They drank their people’s trust and friendship and rewarded them with milder seasons, kinder hearts and stronger magic. Most of all, they would soon after choose their champions among them, and change Equestria forever.