Essays Index
Canon series: Story archival | Story chronology | Primary canon

For the record, while I'm not the biggest fan of the latter half of the series to say the least, my choices for what to include and exclude from Borderworld canon were less based on my personal likes and dislikes and more based on what I had ideas for and what I thought I could make work with my previous writing, and I think I kept a lot more than I was expecting to.

Primary canon
When first conceived, the Borderworld's lore and stories were intended to be canon compliant, not just with the primary canon of the show, but also with as many branches of its expanded universe as possible, including Equestria Girls, the IDW comics, the books, and to a lesser extent some other sources as well. Until as far as season six, the Borderworld's lore essays were periodically revised and adapted in response to canon, and incompatible stories removed from full Borderworld canonicity status, as detailed in the story archival thread.

This is no longer the case, as beginning with season seven, the characterisation, setting, and lore differences between canon and the Borderworld became irreconcilable. Canon itself became too rife with internal inconsistencies to maintain a single unified continuity, with the show contradicting many of the expanded universe books and comics which the Borderworld incorporated. Many of the show's changes and additions to canon from season seven and beyond are also incompatible with the Borderworld's lore and stories in general.

As such, the Borderworld's canon now definitively breaks from the show's canon after season six, with To Where and Back Again being the final episode of the show that it acknowledges as gospel. As well, the Borderworld also breaks continuity from the Equestria Girls series after Mirror Magic and the Summertime Shorts series, and breaks from the IDW comic series after the Ponies of Dark Water arc. Despite these breaks, some elements of later canon do still appear in the lore.

To resolve any possible confusion resulting from these exceptions, the following document clarifies what is and is not considered Borderworld canon from the primary sources of the show and movies, and a second essay will later detail the same for secondary canon such as the comics and books.

The Show:
The Borderworld strictly follows show canon up until season seven with no intentional changes from what is depicted onscreen, although it does assume a non-linear chronology, and episodes are subject to being reinterpreted or recontextualised. As previously stated, every episode of the show from season seven onwards is non-canonical to the Borderworld, due to their general incompatibility with earlier expanded universe stories, as well as numerous issues relating to characterisation, world-building, and inconsistencies. However, the Borderworld does still acknowledge and incorporate the following of the show's later additions to canon:

• Flurry of Emotions: Although most of the episode is non-canonical, there was still an incident where Twilight Sparkle spent a day babysitting Flurry Heart in Ponyville. This occurred shortly before To Where and Back Again, and it was during these events that Chrysalis and her changelings kidnapped and replaced the Crystal Empire's royalty. Spearhead, a returning character from Rarity Investigates, is also still an old friend of Shining Armor, but the Borderworld version of Spearhead does not retire from the Royal Guard until much later on.
• Rock Solid Friendship: Maud Pie still finishes her rocktorate some time after the events of Where and Back Again, but she does not move to Ponyville afterwards. Instead, she returns to the rock farm to apply her education to expand the family business.
• Parental Glideance: Rainbow Dash's parents, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles, both still exist, but have always been aware of Rainbow Dash's Wonderbolt career, and already learned to be careful about embarrassing their daughter a long time ago. The reasoning for their absence in episodes such as Sonic Rainboom and a Hearth's Warming Tail is instead simply that they both have very important careers that keep them inconveniently busy.
• A Royal Problem: Daybreaker has never existed in the Borderworld's primary timeline, but is still a possible fate for Celestia if she were ever to be possessed by a nightmare as Luna was, and may appear in some close alternate timelines.
• The Perfect Pear: Applejack's parents, Bright Mac and Pear Butter, both existed, as does Grand Pear and Burnt Oak. The backstory of the Apple parents occurred almost exactly as depicted in the episode's flashback sequences, with the minor difference that the two were not babies when they first spoke, but slightly older. Grand Pear also returns to Ponyville some time after Where and Back Again to reconnect with his grandkids, but the rest of the present day sequences are non-canonical, as the Apple siblings already heard most of the stories about their parents while growing up.
• Triple Threat: King Thorax and Dragon Lord Ember still meet and establish a friendly rapport with each other, but their first meeting occurs under diplomatic conditions at a convergence of the Cosmic Council, not after a misunderstanding in Ponyville.
• Campfire Tales: Aside from Star Swirl the Bearded, the Pillars of Equestria do not actually exist, but their legends do. Rockhoof and his village are a myth from Thoroupean folklore, passed down through the oral traditions of the earth ponies. Flash Magnus, also called Flash Prance in some texts, is a mythical hero of the ancient Pegasus Legion. The story of Mistmane is a legend from Neighsia, which spread to Equestria after the Reunification Wars. Somnambula is an ancient Neighyptian legend, spread to Equestria by the donkeys and zebras, which later mutated into a version set in the equally mythical Southern Equestria. And Mage Meadowbrook the earth pony is another Thoroupean folk hero, whose legend somehow became conflated with the name of the real Meadowbrook, who was an eastern unicorn wizard. Star Swirl the Bearded was a collector of lore and stories from different cultures, and was fond of these legends in particular, and so he named several spells in their honour, much to the real Meadowbrook's chagrin.
• To Change a Changeling: Pharynx still exists, and was still head of hive security under Chrysalis, though his personality is slightly different, as he is more loyal to Chrysalis than he is to Thorax. The changelings still have a conflict after the events of Where and Back Again, but it plays out differently than it did in canon. Rather than fleeing to live in the woods, Chrysalis rallies the remaining loyalist changelings, including Pharynx, and leads them against Thorax's rebels. This civil war is much longer and bloodier than the brief offscreen insurgency mentioned in canon, and is eventually resolved with a peace treaty, negotiated with Equestrian assistance, leading into a situation similar to the one which began the World on Fire timeline.
• Marks and Recreation: The Crusaders still establish a summer camp for blank flanks to discover their special talents, but they do not begin this venture until they are already adults themselves. Thunderlane also rises through the ranks to become a full Wonderbolt, but again, it takes him much longer than it did in canon.
• Shadow Play: Star Swirl the Bearded still eventually reappears in modern Equestria after mysteriously vanishing a thousand years ago. However, this is not the Star Swirl of Shadow Play, but the Star Swirl of Journal of the Two Sisters and Reflections, and he did not trap himself in Limbo fighting a villain, but rather time-travelled to the future and decided to stay.
• The Movie: Tempest Shadow still exists, and her backstory remains the same as in the movie, but she never met the Storm King and never became his general, and so works as a professional monster-hunter instead. The Storm King and his air fleet also still exist, but his empire in Southern Equestria, including Klugetown, does not. This version of the Storm King is an invader from another universe, whose ships by chance sailed through the Nexus and into Jotunheim instead of canon Equestria. Hippogriffs still exist as well, but only as artificial hybrids of ponies and griffons, occasionally conceived by interspecies couples with magical assistance. They are not a naturally occurring species, and do not have a kingdom of their own. The movie background pony known as Symphonia Melody also still exists, and is assumed to be Octavia's younger sister.
• School Daze: The Equestrian Education Association exists, but is headed by the pony version of Abacus Cinch instead of Chancellor Neighsay. Neighsay still exists as well, but he holds no position of power or influence in the EEA, as he was fired from teaching early on in his career over allegations of racial abuse against students, in what was at the time considered a national scandal.
• The Maud Couple: Maud still meets and begins dating Mudbriar at some point, but Pinkie Pie has no problem with him, and so the general events of the episode do not occur.
• Grannies Gone Wild: Jackpot and Big Bucks both still exist, and still perform their double act in Las Pegasus, both before and after Flim and Flam's takeover. Jackpot is assumed to be Trixie's father.
• The Parent Map: Firelight, Stellar Flare, and the town and people of Sire's Hollow all still exist, and Starlight and Sunburst had the same history and relationships with their parents as shown in canon, but they are not sent back to the town on a friendship mission, as the Cutie Map of the Borderworld only calls on the Bearers of Harmony for missions. Their issues with their parents are eventually resolved, but not until some years later.
• Molt Down: Dragons still undergo a molt in their adolescence which results in them growing wings, and this does eventually happen to Spike, but the details of the process are different than as shown in the episode, and the change occurs slowly over time, rather than instantly in a flash of light.
• Marks For Effort: Cozy Glow still exists, and is still a manipulative brat, but she never becomes a world-threatening menace, both because she has no opportunity to without the School of Friendship or open communication with Tirek, and because her plans in season eight would be physically impossible in the Borderworld anyway due to the way magic works.
• The Beginning of the End: A version of Grogar exists in the Borderworld, but he shares nothing in common with season nine's Grogar (real or fake).
• The Summer Sun Setback: The fireworks specialist pony called Fire Flare still exists, and is mostly the same, though she does not have the hidden racist tendencies she shows in canon, as such sentiments are extremely uncommon in the Borderworld's Equestria. She is interpreted here as a sister to Stellar Flare and Stormy Flare (and thus an aunt to Sunburst and Spitfire), and is also the mother of Sunset Shimmer.
• The Last Problem: Several decades after the events of Where and Back Again, many of the characters have similar endgames to their canon counterparts. Twilight Sparkle still gains a magical, ethereal mane just like the Royal Sisters, but does not grow to Celestia's size or proportions, and never becomes the sole monarch. Applejack and Rainbow Dash still share a romantic relationship, as do Discord and Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, but none of them keep their finale redesigns. Pinkie Pie and Cheese still have Lil' Cheese, and Gummy still grows much larger, but none of them still live in Sugarcube Corner by the time they start their family. The bakery is also still taken over by Pound and Pumpkin Cake. The Equestrian Heartland does still eventually become somewhat more diverse as a result of the mane six's diplomacy and friendship missions, but not to the same degree as in canon, as there is no School of Friendship.

Every other addition from season seven and beyond, if not mentioned, can be safely assumed to be non-canonical to the Borderworld. This means that elements such as the School of Friendship, Scootaloo's parents, Big Mac's courtship of Sugar Belle, or the late series characterisation of Celestia and Luna, are entirely ignored.

Equestria Girls:
As with the show, the Borderworld follows all Equestria Girls movies, specials, and shorts until its cut-off point, after which it begins only selectively incorporating elements. For Equestria Girls, this cut-off point is after Mirror Magic and the Summertime Shorts series, but before Forgotten Friendship and the Better Together series.

To clarify, since the difference is not obvious, Summertime Shorts introduced concepts such as the girls all having jobs at the local mall, Sunset's painting skills, and her pet lizard, Ray, which all remain fully within Borderworld canon. On the other hand, Better Together introduced ideas such as Tirek being a video game villain, Sunset being a locally famous graffiti artist, and Spike running a YouTube channel, and was also closely tied to the later Equestria Girls specials. All of this is non-canonical to the Borderworld, with the following exceptions:

• School of Rock: Maud still works at a museum.
• Queen of Clubs: Most of the clubs seen in the short still exist, and they have mostly the same membership, though the details are not exact. Sunset Shimmer, at least, is still a member of the fencing club.
• Overpowered: The magic of the Geodes of Harmony still evolves and gets stronger with more frequent use, but it does not grow out of the girls' control as it did in the short, and it works on an individual rather than a group basis, meaning that Rainbow Dash abusing her super-speed for everyday tasks does not affect the strength of anyone else's powers. In particular, Sunset eventually grows her powers to the point that her telepathy works without the need for physical contact, and Rainbow Dash's super speed evolves to the point that she can spend a whole day in slow motion, as in the "Run to Break Free" video.
• The Finals Countdown: The Rainbooms still take their final exams sometime after the events of Mirror Magic. However, this event marks the end of their senior year, and the end of high school for them, not just the end of another school year as it does in the short.
• Game Stream: Sunset Shimmer still starts a streaming channel called Shimmercode, which she invites her friends onto.
• Forgotten Friendship: Wallflower Blush still exists, and struggled with not being noticed and feeling invisible, but this version of her never discovered the Memory Stone, because it does not exist. As a result, she never had any direct magical conflict with Sunset Shimmer, but the two still eventually reconcile and become friends by other means. Sunset also still (at various different times) befriends Trixie, returns to Equestria again to finally reconcile with Celestia, and was a member of the Yearbook Committee throughout high school.
• Rollercoaster of Friendship: The human versions of Applejack and Rarity still have some romantic tension for a time, though unlike in canon, it does not take long after it manifests for the two to officially become an item.
• Spring Breakdown: As the Rainbooms perform more and more publically visible acts of magical heroism, they begin wearing their geodes as integrated parts of their outfits, start thinking of themselves as superheroes, and are also publically recognised as such, though they become much more well-known as a result of this than they are in the later specials. Sunset Shimmer also still eventually takes her friends to visit Equestria, though it is on a planned visit rather than part of any adventure. The song "All Good" still exists as part of the Rainbooms' discography, and actually becomes one of their best-selling singles.
• Sunset's Backstage Pass: The Dazzlings eventually move on from their defeat, recover their singing talents, and begin a legitimate music career without any help from the Rainbooms, and "Find the Magic" is still one of their songs. The background characters known as Summer Solstice and Space Camp still exist, and are here interpreted as the daughters of Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna respectively, though they do not yet have any Equestrian counterparts.
• Music videos: Within the context of the Borderworld, most of the music videos of the Equestria Girls franchise do not depict literal events, but are actually in-universe songs and music videos produced by the Rainbooms, sometimes starring fellow Canterlot High students as extras, or using magic to supplement the special effects. This includes most music videos from after the cut-off point, such as "Five to Nine," "The Other Side," and "Let it Rain," though not "I'm on a Yacht," "Cheer You On," or any other song which refers to the Rainbooms as the "Equestria Girls," as this is not a name they ever use for themselves.

Acknowledgements:
-Although it feels obvious in hindsight, I have to credit BunnAri for drawing the connection between the Flare sisters for me.

Also, I want everybody to know how incredibly painful it was for me to declare "I'm on a Yacht" non-canon to my universe, because I love everything about this beautiful mess of a video.

7339599

Star Swirl the Bearded was a collector of lore and stories from different cultures, and was fond of these legends in particular, and so he named several spells in their honour, much to the real Meadowbrook's chagrin.

That does seem perfectly in character for Star Swirl.
"Not you, the other Meadowbrook."
"The other Meadowbrook doesn't exist!"
"I fail to see how that should concern me."

The changeling civil war and its aftereffects definitely intrigue me.

Very nice touch with the Flare sisters. Kudos to BunnAri on that one.

Wallflower Blush still exists, and struggled with not being noticed and feeling invisible, but this version of her never discovered the Memory Stone, because it does not exist.

Or is that just what it wants us all to believe?

Sunset Shimmer also still eventually takes her friends to visit Equestria, though it is on a planned visit rather than part of any adventure.

Implying that some manner of misadventure doesn't result as an inevitable outcome of bringing those six to Equestria. Especially if Discord notices an additional Fluttershy.

The background characters known as Summer Solstice and Space Camp still exist, and in the Borderworld are the daughters of Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna respectively, though they do not yet have any Equestrian counterparts.

That still raises considerable questions, especially concerning the identity of the fathers. And goodness, if the alicorn sisters ever find out about this...
Yeah, writing that idea down.

In all, this is a bit like reading RPG errata or video game patch notes, only the other way around. Less developers reacting to the player base exploiting things in ways they didn't expect and more a player trying to debug product that got rushed out the door. The KOTOR 2 of Friendship is Magic, as it were. Looking forward to seeing how these elements factor into the Borderworld.

Also, any exceptions you plan on bringing in from the comics?

7339631

The changeling civil war and its aftereffects definitely intrigue me.

I can actually answer this! Quite a lot of those aftereffects are very similar to the events detailed in The World on Fire, the backstory for one of the core stories of this world. To Keep the Fire Burning was originally written to be the canonical future of the Borderworld, but Where and Back Again threw a wrench in things, so now it is instead a very close alternate timeline.

In the World on Fire timeline, Thorax starved to death in his cave without ever meeting Spike, Equestria made peace with Chrysalis for its own reasons, and Chrysalis eventually betrayed them and ruined everything forever, leading to the post-apocalyptic future in which black changelings still roam, providing a metal enough setting for a Dark Souls crossover. In the main timeline, meanwhile, it was the civil war that led to the peace agreement instead, and Chrysalis still betrayed the peace, but with the major difference that in this timeline, she murdered Thorax. Centuries later, around the time where Fire Burning would take place, the most noticeable result of this divergence is that both black and colourful changelings exist simultaneously, though by that time they're functionally the same since neither Thorax or Chrysalis are in the picture anymore.

Not sure how much any of this will mean to you, since I don't think you read Fire Burning or World on Fire, but if you ever do, all your questions are answered in... excruciating detail.

That still raises considerable questions, especially concerning the identity of the fathers. And goodness, if the alicorn sisters ever find out about this...

Without an immortal Celestia, there must instead be a series of Celestias. Mini Celestias. Celestia Juniors. Summer Solstice.

I think MythrilMoth (rest his soul) once wrote a story about that exact concept.

Less developers reacting to the player base exploiting things in ways they didn't expect and more a player trying to debug product that got rushed out the door.

Apt.

Also, any exceptions you plan on bringing in from the comics?

In the comics, I kind of have the opposite problem. I actually have several comics from before the cut-off point that I have to selectively ignore in order to make sense of things. The EG Holiday Special, for instance, is beyond my ability or desire to fix. Part of the reason I'm doing primary and secondary canon as separate threads is because I still haven't finished re-reading all the old comics to see how much I can keep. I'm still not sure yet whether or not Siege of the Crystal Empire happened as depicted, for one. On the other hand, I haven't even read most of the comics from after the designated cut-off point, and those that I have such as Chaos Theory tend to be uninspiring to me, on top of being wildly incompatible. The Election arc had enough interesting ideas for me to borrow, but beyond that, there wasn't much.

I kind of like Shadow Lock as a character, just because his whole plan and everything about him is so completely absurd, but I don't really have any ideas about how to incorporate him, because his character is so couched in the Pony of Shadows and I don't want that narrative baggage. It's the same reason I don't do anything with the student six, even though I don't mind them, because I just can't mentally separate them from the School of Friendship.

Which reminds me, added Cozy Glow to this list, because I actually did have an idea for her, and she may appear in a future story.