Essays Index
Locations series: Part 1 - Creation | Part 2 - The Nine Realms | Part 3 - Earth

An overview of the larger universe and the galaxies that we've seen in Borderworld stories.

Creation:
The universe that the Borderworld inhabits, commonly known as "Creation," or simply "the Universe," is one of many parallel realities in the greater multiverse, and is the setting of most Borderworld stories. It exists alongside many other similar universes, including the human world of Equestria Girls, the mirror universe of Reflections, and the seven alternate universes created by Starlight Glimmer's time traveling. For simplicity's sake, when discussing multiple universes, it is referred to as the prime universe, and the Borderworld of the prime universe is referred to as Earth Prime, or Earth-1.

The ponies of the Borderworld have not yet visited outer space or had official first contact with aliens, and still view the cosmos as a mysterious thing. Most believe that their reality was forged by a creator goddess known as Epona, and think of their reality as having been designed down to the tiniest detail by her. The name "Creation" therefore refers to everything that Epona created, including the Nine Realms.

Regardless of whether or not it had a creator, the universe is known to have been formed much like our own was, with a Big Bang which occurred thirteen billion years ago. A previous universe is known to have existed prior to Creation, with some stray elements of that universe persisting into this one. Magic itself is one such hold-over, as are the elder gods (see History Part 1 - Pre-Earth and Borderworld Pantheon Part 1 - Elder Gods and Outer Gods).

The universe contains countless stars, galaxies, and other celestial formations, just as our own does. Unlike the Borderworld, most star systems in the universe are natural, with planets orbiting their stars rather than vice versa. Not all star systems support life, and in fact, most of them don't. However, the sheer number of them in the universe means that there are still billions upon billions of inhabited worlds regardless, containing everything from barely sentient microscopic organisms, to spacefaring civilization-builders, whether ethereal, organic, or even entirely mechanical.

Across the stars, there are numerous empires, unions, and other space nations, some of which span multiple galaxies. The most notable of these is the Eternal Empire, the dominion of the Dark Lord of Order (see Borderworld Pantheon Part 2 - Greater Deities - Eternals), but there are many such civilizations, and a thriving intergalactic community exists between most of the advanced races and deities.

Mutter's Spiral:
Although there is plenty of life in the rest of the universe, most Borderworld stories take place within the galaxy known as Mutter's Spiral, also called the Milky Way by ponies. Much of the cosmic phenomena observable from Earth, such as the Secreteriat Comet, the Horsehead Nebula, and the various constellations, are located in this galaxy, as are Nine Realms and the Borderworld itself. It is notably home to several important deities, including the three Eternals, the last of the Timewyrms, the Smooze, and several living suns.

For much of its history, Mutter's Spiral was fairly unknown and innocuous. Like most galaxies, it briefly served as a battleground of the Eternal War, and many of its planets were seeded by Order with intent to evolve equinoid species. Earth was one such planet, with ponies, zebras, and donkeys being the descendents of this seed. The planet of Galgarbross was another, resulting in a species of green-skinned equinoids known as the horrins.

When the Eternals eventually moved on, Mutter's Spiral was allowed to progress on its own. In time, species such as the horrins achieved space travel, and began colonising other worlds and making contact with other alien lifeforms, giving rise to the fledgling space empires. The various different alien species traded, fought, competed, and cooperated at different times in their histories, but all eventually allied politically and militarily to form the galactic peacekeeping organisation known as the Starguard.

The Starguard still exists today, and is ran at the highest levels by the Galactic Council, a body made up of elected representatives from each major planet in the galaxy. The organisation is still considered to be in its infancy, as it has not yet even explored the whole galaxy, let alone unified it. However, the Starguard has had contact with several more advanced interstellar civilizations from outside the galaxy, most notably with the Galactic Alliance of Andromeda, with whom they have a trade agreement, and the Eternal Empire, who invaded and enslaved many of their member planets when Order returned to Mutter's Spiral following the Split.

The Split, the event which created the Nine Realms and their many dimensional rifts, portals, and gateways, attracted the Eternals back to Mutter's Spiral, and brought the Eternal War with it. Following this event, the galaxy became a contested zone fought over by the three Eternals and the Starguard.

The Tree of Harmony was the first to arrive, taking control of the majority of the Borderworld's portals and using them to spread her influence across Mutter's Spiral. With her position, she was able to influence thousands of planets into adopting her philosophies, initiating cultural revolutions across the galaxy that caused massive upheaval. At the same time, Order invaded with his Eternal Empire, warring with the Starguard and enslaving many of their worlds with a device known as the Loom, which he controlled from Niflheim. And Discord, though he often helped them against the Empire, also periodically terrorised the Starguard in his own way, seeking to tear their alliance apart and bring anarchy back to their member planets.

The Starguard was severely weakened by the collective efforts of the Eternals, and as such is a much smaller force today than it otherwise would have been. Although its remaining member worlds are relatively peaceful and prosperous under the guidance and influence of the Tree of Harmony, many other worlds are still under the Loom's control, or have separated from the Starguard due to Discord's influence. Interplanetary conflicts and violations of galactic law are thus common in Mutter's Spiral, with the Starguard often powerless to stop it.

As for Earth, although the Tree of Harmony currently has the greatest hold on it, the Eternal War is still being fought there today. The battle for the Borderworld is considered to be the last fight that really matters, as Discord and Order both still desire to exert their influence over the rest of Creation from the point that the Tree of Harmony currently occupies. While all three of the Eternals have been crippled or dormant for the past thousand years or so, a resurgence is beginning to take place, and if peace between the three forces is not reached, then there may soon finally be a victor.

And who takes the Borderworld, takes the universe.

Andromeda:
Less is known of the Andromeda galaxy, both to ponies and to the spacefaring races of Mutter's Spiral, but it is known that it plays host to two major space nations.

The first is the Galactic Alliance, a democratic coalition of planetary systems made up of many races, who began life as a similar entity to the Starguard, before growing in size, influence, and technological power. They encompass half of the Andromeda galaxy, and maintain law and order as best they can. They are one of the largest and oldest bodies of their kind in the known universe, with a history stretching back hundreds of thousands of years, during which time they have been known by many names.

The second is the Colomoric Empire, a much younger entity which is ruled from the planet Colomora by an immortal monarch. It originally began life as a union of separatist systems which wanted to break away from the Galactic Alliance, but was betrayed from within by the Colomorans and became part of a new Empire. Though the Alliance ultimately defeated the Empire in the resulting war, the Colomoric Empire still exists today in a much smaller form, retaining dominion over roughly a quarter of the galaxy, while many of the separatist systems that it previously conquered are now independent.

Although the Eternal Empire have never made incursions into Andromeda, the galaxy is considered to be a nominal dominion of Order, due to the presence of large, orderly bodies such as the Alliance and Empire ruling most of its space, rather than existing in the same state of relative anarchy as Mutter's Spiral. Order has also seeded planets in Andromeda with strains of equinoid DNA, as he has done in many galaxies, making Andromeda relatively homogenous and to his liking.

Nonetheless, Discord has visited the galaxy many times to stir the pot, both before the Split and afterwards. In the early days of Andromeda's history, he was responsible for the fall of the ancient spacefaring civilizations that existed before the Alliance, and he became known to many individual planets. He was also later involved in the Colomoric War, working to assist the Alliance, but he has also been subject to Alliance attempts to kill him.

Aside from Discord's occasional visits, Andromeda has a much lower level of spiritual activity than is usual for a galaxy of its size. This is largely due to the efforts of the Dragonfire Fleet in early galactic history, staunch anti-theists who hunted down and killed most gods they found. However, in the millennia since they were destroyed by Discord, new spirits have risen, and a few older ones also revealed themselves as having survived the purge. The Volorox Engine was one such survivor, until it was destroyed by Discord and the Galactic Alliance several hundred years ago, and the Orphaned Starchild has also made its presence known to Andromeda on at least one occasion, though thankfully, it did not stay long.

The most notable planet of interest in Andromeda is the husk of Zarlow, a world which was home to, among other species, a race of parasitic ghost-like beings known as the sakrassi. The planet was destroyed shortly after the Alliance made contact with the inhabitants, in what is now known as the Zarlow Disaster, an incident which prompted the writing of the ethical protocols that the Alliance still uses today for interacting with uncivilised planets. Sliske the Scourge, Andromeda's most-wanted terrorist, was also unleashed as a result of the Zarlow Disaster, which many thousands of years later would have consequences for the ponies of the Borderworld.

Pinwheel:
Also known as the Hated Galaxy (see Borderworld Pantheon Part 5 - Lesser Deities - Alien Gods).

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I like how you ended the Mutter's Spiral with an ominous note. It was both cool and rather spooky.

Pinwheel:

Also known as the Hated Galaxy. See Borderworld Pantheon Part 2 - Greater Deities.

I dot think I saw this back at that page. I guess it was something that was left out.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Borderworld or the Nine Realms had or will have alien contact soon enough. Jotunheim already has space ships that somehow got into that realm.
Most likely due to malfunction in the warp speed.

5688954

Like I told you in the other thread, the Locations series is out of date.

I'll revamp it at some point, I'm sure. It always says on the index page if revisions have taken place recently.

5688954

Hey there. So you know, the Locations series has finally been given that revamp I mentioned. Only took me two years. Just thought I'd tell you, since you always seemed particularly interested in the Nine Realms and such, and a lot of stuff was changed or added.