CIRRUS

Bordering the Middle Sea, this country is often referred to as the "Birthplace of the Pegasi", and was in fact the seat of the ancient Pegasus Empire.

Cirrus is a democracy, an unusual concept considering most countries have monarchies of one sort or another, and is divided into several City-States, of which the cloud city of Mare-a-Thon is the most important. Here, the Speaker of the Assembly (the ruler) governs. it is interesting to note that the current speaker, Ambrosia, is an Earth Pony.

Like Cheval, Cirrus has two separate types of warrior. These are the Hooflites. These proud pegasi are the most elite of the soldiers and defenders of Democracy to the City-states.

Less Important are the Spartans, from one of the smallest city-states in the country.

A word about the Spartans historically: Some of you may have watched that movie, “The 300.” It’s very nice. But the truth is that the ancient Spartans were the assholes of Cirrus. Their history is that they had conquered a neighboring state and ruled it badly. Their subjects eventually, understandably, revolted. In the ensuing civil war, the Spartans were almost destroyed, but eventually triumphed. The experience was traumatic, scarring their nation and driving them to become a nation of warriors. The Spartans made themselves into what they were, Cirrus’s ultimate soldiers, because they were afraid. They were terrified of their own slaves, and forever terrified of those slaves rising up against them. Because of their fear, they sacrificed everything about themselves except for power and strength, they abandoned every virtue but violence. Their terror of their slaves and subjects lead them to abuse and mistreat their subjects, mocking them, subjugating them, humiliating them at every opportunity, always convinced that if they spared one inch of brutality, that would be the room the slaves needed to strike back. They lived in an imaginary world of terror, always surrounded, always beleaguered, always taking up arms against a host of enemies, and by those actions, creating enemies, and victimizing everyone around them.

The ancient Spartans produced nothing of worth. They left no art, no theatre, no discourses, no politics, no science, no philosophy, no monuments. They pitched in for a couple of crucial battles in the Camel Wars. After that, they played spoilers, struggling to displace Mare-a-Thon and to conquer Cirrus. Unfortunately for them, all their vaunted military prowess was insufficient to the task. No matter how mighty their soldiers, they couldn’t conquer Cirrus. They might defeat Mare-a-Thon or Unicorinth, but they couldn’t hold it. Indeed, other Cirran states proved to be as formidable on the field. The Spartans were defeated in battles.

In the end, they proved to be a historical dead end. The Spartans sat on their hooves and pouted as the Roamane Empire took over. They came to nothing.

Today, they act as the heavy-hitting guard force.

Also worth mention are the Amazons. A race of all-female warriors descended from a group of mares who an independent kingdom under the government of a queen named Hippolyta or Hippolyte ("loose, unbridled mare").

In ancient times, no stallions were permitted to have sexual encounters or reside in Amazon country; but once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighboring tribe. The male foals who were the result of these visits were either killed, sent back to their fathers or exposed in the wilderness to fend for themselves; the fillies were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war. In addition, when the Amazons went to war they would not kill all the stallions. Some they would take as slaves, and once or twice a year they would have sex with their slaves.

Nowadays, stallions are allowed in Amazon lands, and are treated somewhat better.