I'm putting this here so that we can compile all of the world-building ideas in one place. It seems prudent to do: we have six people contributing to the story, and I think it would be easier and more streamlined to have one thread full of ideas than to pass them around through the mail.

I'd ask that all suggestions have their own posts, but that might be overstepping my bounds. I can't keep you from posting five suggestions at once. Just know that it might be harder to find unless your post is well-organized. As for judgement calls on what's canon, always defer to S.W.B. (unless he explicitly states otherwise): it's his project, after all.

Addendum: please do not delete posts or suggestions that get denied. Strike them out so we'll know what's already been discussed. Danks mush.

5173245 5173246
Yes to all of it, good call Hatter.

S.W.B.

5173245 5175205 We need to discuss how does the map look and if we want to use alternate nationalities. I vote to use them as I want the griffons to be slavic. I also propose the Earth ponies to be arabic, pegasi european, zebras black, unicorns asians and crystal ponies arctic. And buffaloos to be native american, south amaerican and indonesian.

5175984
O'k I can get behind this, but there in the wrong order for some. The buffalo's and the dear are of north Equestria, lamas are in south Equestria/the lunar democracy. (Yes luna did the whole foalnapping thing in this verse, and I made them a democracy, because "republic" is over used and the elected within such can be corrupted more easily.) The three tribes are of Europe, Spain, England and France. The dragons are in Australia, the yaks in the Himalayas. The minutores are of Rome,(before it expanded and then fell) and the griffons hold the mother land.;) monkeys in india, and lemurs in Madagascar with other equines living on the in between.

S.W.B.

5177015 Sounds like it works. But... lemurs? Okay, but if that's the case we need a penguin state on Antarctica. With an army of medieval submarines.

5177022
Ha ha yes! Oh, lets not forget the reindeer, native to the frozen north. Also, the map we got needs some detail added to it,(besides the towns and city's.) such as showing the roads, rivers and Terran.

S.W.B.

5177031 Okay, but how are we gonna approch the topic of why some beeing look alike humans? Like Centaur for example. In my headcannon it was because a comet from earth once brought human DNA to Equus, wonder if we could incorporate that.

5177032

Okay, but how are we gonna approch the topic of why some beeing look alike humans?

I've got three theories.

One: miraculous coincidence. It doesn't do anything to add to the lore of the universe, but nopony on Equus knows what a human is, so why would it bear explaining? Centaurs just look like centaurs.

Two: extraterrestrial humans going native. Anything physiologically similar to humans might have been descended from humans. We don't have magic on Earth, but on Equus, there's magic. If you explain how magic functions, then you could formulate an explanation for why humans traded out their bottoms to fit in with the natives.

Three: Earth all along. Diaries of a Madman did it, which proves that the trope isn't totally worn out. Of course, you'd eventually have to explain the origin of magic, since us meager Earthlings don't have it. Otherwise, it'd explain a lot of things: anthropomorphic critters; Earth-like cultures and continents; English; rehashed city names, like "Manehattan" and "Trottingham".

5177015
I'm not sure why Luna would bother making a republic when she could just form a rival monarchy. After a couple generations, she'll have more experience with politics than anypony else: in fact, one of the big hurdles of a traditional monarchy is that the monarch always dies. Someone else will take his/her place, and they'll have to learn everything the monarch already knew. Else, they didn't care a wit about the country or its people, and as a result their rule was decadent and hedonistic, until a revolutionary put an end to it and a new king (or government) was crowned (or founded).

I don't claim to know anything about this universe's Luna, but I don't see why she'd make a government, then take no part in it. She could at least be a diplomat: other countries would probably be ecstatic about playing host to an immortal, god-like figure. Combine that with her presumed experience, and she'd be the best diplomat the Democracy has ever known. (Unless that's not what you implied, in which case, ignore this paragraph.)

5178511
She became nightmare moon and was banished before she could implement a government body, so they had to make one on their own and left the spot open for her to take over when and if she want's to.

S.W.B.

5178842
Gotcha. Maybe, while we're at it, we could also write a book on the history of Equus? We're already writing pony taxonomy in another thread: this one could be devoted to geography and history.

5178847
The geography needs to be worked on, as I'v stated before. As for a back story, let me give a basic for what I'm thinking for this verse.

It has been 900 years sense Equestria was born, and while it's not the bast their going strong. The other nation's are going strong as well, you could say all was normal. But then Discord arrives, and rains over all for 90 years. And during this time he makes several other races thru combining others together, these races are minutores, griffons, Centaurs, gargoyles, changelings and seaponies. This also includes all sorts of monsters, but he's not the only one to do this.
In need of some way to stop Discord, star swirl makes and casts the ascendance spell on hes own twin daughters. And after several attempts at fighting him directly, they make the tree of harmony using crystal alchemy and runic enchantments. Which in turn gives them the key to stop discord,ending hes rule and freeing all.
After that, all the races of equues agree to a 30 year non aggression pact. For during those 90 years a lot of knowledge was lost, so to regain some of it they send out explores and so on to find it. During this time Luna and celestia are giving charge of Equestria, along with the resources to build their castle. Not long after they receive the first editions of the books made with the regained knowledge, these are the same books we will find and use in the first arc of the story.
Not 5 years after the end of the non aggression pact ends, Tirek attacks. 60 years after that, Sombra is banished and the crystal empire cursed. 50 years to that, and we see Luna moving a herd of foals south ward and continuing to do so for three years. After three years Luna is finely consumed by the darkness within her, becomes nightmare moon and is banished for 1000 years.

And so that brings us to where we are now, so if you got any suggestions please leave them below. Thank you

Wow that is long, did I do that?

S.W.B.

5178504 We could never explain it but hint at the last two theories at the same time to confuse anything.

Well, there also a 4th where humans come from a difrent dimension. Or are affecting this universe by egzisting in a parrael one to that of Equus.

5178970
Nothing yet. I need to make a time-line so I know what happened and when.

5179042
Extraterrestrials, extrauniversals; they're almost the same to me. Need to get off our planet and go home. Build a giant space-wall.

5187282 Nah, I like the "DNA can travel dimensions" one.

5187387
Cool beans. Just know that, once a rip in space-time has been opened, it's not easy to sew it shut. All sorts of nasty things might wander through there.

5187417 Like we XD

5187444
Oh Lawdy.
They's in for a ride.

5187461 U bet, crazy Hatter.

(continued from The Writing Method)
5202062
5202098
I agree with the Discord ruling for 90 years part being odd. I’d reckon that even five to eight years would be enough to make Equestria (and the entire of Equus) sick of him by that point.

5202108 Since Twilight (I’m going by the MLP wiki) says that Ponyville’s had their Winter Wrap Up tradition for "hundreds of years.", I suppose it wouldn’t be any stretch to have ponies, or earth ponies’ at the least, have very long lives.

5202127
Oh they where fed up with him alright, they just couldn't do any thing against him until >

In need of some way to stop Discord, star swirl makes and casts the ascendance spell on hes own twin daughters. And after several attempts at fighting him directly, they make the tree of harmony using crystal alchemy and runic enchantments. Which in turn gives them the key to stop discord,ending hes rule and freeing all.

And also, I'm thinking of having it that star swirl died a month before Luna went NMM on her sister, this being because she was a daddy's girl (short of speak) and that he was the only one that know her troubles.

S.W.B.

5202147 I’d like to add some bat pony history, based on my comment in World building: the first book, whilst keeping your comments on About technology on Equus and World building: the first book in mind (below). I’ll also try not to tread on any existing headcanons that you all may have (edit: though after writing this, I certainly have).

The batponies came about in the early day's of equestira's founding, not after or during the time of Discord.

Batponies and thestrals are one in the same, do not Change that.

Historically, bat ponies and vamponies, both nocturnal creatures, lived in separate, and mutually secluded communities, leaving each other to their own devices. Bat ponies, being herbivores (mainly fruit-eaters like the Egyptian fruit bat), had established themselves in small villages with modest fruit farms. Meanwhile, vamponies, being haemavores (i.e. requiring blood as the main part of their diet), had villages as well, but it wasn’t uncommon for some to be nomad-like.

Bat ponies also got their fruit from foraging the nearby forest, which was how they originally got their fruit, before they set up their own farms. However, one bat pony village, which happened to be situated near a pony village, saw the large, juicy fruit that the nearby earth ponies were growing, and started stealing fruit from the earth ponies’ farms to supplement their sources of fruit. This continued for a few months until a group got caught in the act, leading the bat ponies to meet the earth ponies for the first time in history.

Despite a rocky start, the bat ponies and the earth ponies found that trade would prove beneficial for both parties, and they started trading unique bat pony specialties and items for the earth ponies’ fruit. As earth ponies’ connection to the soil made their fruit far superior in size and juiciness, and with access to this fruit, bat ponies could thrive, not just survive. Since the earth ponies were the vamponies’ prey (with the drinking blood and all), the bat ponies vowed to protect earth ponies against any vampony attack, especially at night. Word of this trade and of this alliance spread to the other bat pony and earth pony villages, and soon after many other villages had similar agreements in place, or at least friendly relations of some sort.

Vexed by the earth ponies now having extra allies who were also active at night, and with ponies being an important source of blood for the vamponies, the vamponies wanted revenge. To attain this, the vamponies got into large hordes, and each horde attacked one of the four most prominent villages at noon. Although the four prominent villages arguably had the strongest alliances with earth ponies, and each had large population increases from the availability of the earth ponies’ fruit, the ferocity of the vamponies and them being in such large groups caught the bat ponies entirely by surprise. What resulted was a massacre of bat ponies, as they lacked silver and garlic to protect them. The number of casualties is debatable, as while some historians place the death estimates higher than the deaths from Discord’s reign caused more deaths (due to famine), others place it lower. Nonetheless, the massacre was a severe blow for the bat ponies’ population.

After the massacre, the earth pony allies drastically increased the production of silver tools and intensified garlic production, to aid with defending both earth and bat ponies alike against the heightened vampony threat. New weapons were made (of silver, of course) as well, all to prepare for a counter-attack. This counter-attack came in the form of earth ponies (and what remained of the bat ponies) scouring the forests, and attacking the vamponies when they encountered them. They scoured the forests because the vamponies, to prevent a massacre from occuring to them, decided to move out of their (i.e. the vamponies’) established villages and became fully nomadic. Armed with silver and garlic (and most importantly, preparedness), they fought the vamponies with moderate success—they managed to kill many of the vamponies they encountered, though not without casualties.

Of course, by then, it had escalated into a war between the bat and earth ponies and the vamponies. Both sides were ravaged in the conflicts, and the war continued as both sides’ populations dwindled… until the Two Pony Sisters intervened. Both the bat and earth ponies and the vamponies realised that the war they were fighting was pointless, and, under the guidance of the alicorns, agreed to a treaty (actually more like a ceasefire): bat and earth ponies and vamponies would never fight each other again, lest the alicorns take aggressive action.

Neither parties were satisfied with the deal, with their hatred for each others’ kinds, but who could question the might of the alicorns? After the signing of the treaty, the alicorns’ protection kept both parties in line, and, after Luna became NMM, Celestia alone kept the ceasefire active, to this day.

(When each of those events would occur is intentionally left unstated, since I’m not the person writing the timeline.)

I’m not quite satisfied with it ending in a ceasefire and would work on editing the history a bit more, but to be honest I can’t think of anything else and I’m getting tired sigh.

So, to wrap this up, tell me what you think.

5202147 You say he would:
a. stop on Equestria and not try to take over the world in 90 years?
b. the whole planet wouldn't frikking unite to take him down.

That are two ridiculous ideas. There is a bunch of beeings that would fight against him - dragons, changelings, the Daring Do aztec villian, griffons, yacs [oh, they would love to fight him], faraway alicorns, I bet someone would get elements of harmony from another dimension, ready to blast him into pieces.

5202267
Ack am, he sowed distrust between all nation's, you remember how he turned the mane six gray, right? He could do that to the ambassadors to them, there for giving him power over there government's.

5202222
I like it, I'm thinking some where between Tirek and Sombra's time's.

S.W.B.

5202610 "Goverments"? Equus seems like a planet where most nations are run by monarchs, and they aren't gonna let Discord expand.

5202684 5202610 That would be even easier, since there’s less people in power to convince.

Though considering the events in The Cutie Re-Mark, it sounds more like his thing to just take away everyone’s powers and do his jolly ol’ chaos without being interfered. He could sow some distrust in the rulers just for some extra chaos as well, but it wouldn’t be necessary for his plans.

5203112 Even if they're living internal magic makes them save from any kind of externalminfluence?

I could see him doing some expionage to start off a few wars between others but him openly expanding from Equestria would be met with an imminate coalition that would bring down the zebrican magics to banish him.

5203131 For Zebrican magic, I’d imagine him (to put it bluntly) just staying the Tartarus out of where the zebras can apply spells on him, or at least performing what I call a ‘selective shield spell’ that bars any spell from affecting Discord that isn’t conjured by Discord himself.

As for unicorn/alicorn magic, the unicorns of the Mane 6 had their horns removed back in the Season 2 premiere. I theorise that while their magic may still be intact, their means of applying the magic into spell matrices, and in turn, spells is removed.

And finally, for other types of magic, I’ll assume that the Lord of Chaos is creative, and can figure something out in due time.

5203369
Vary good point's
5203131
He's gotcha there my friend

S.W.B.

5203369 He would already be in the trap when he will use his brain cells. Like with the Elements of harmony - he never seen that coming.

5203812 Hmm… null magic zones (or whatever they’re called similar to the void stones in Of the Hive, except they’re chaos magic spells!) that renders all magic except chaos magic useless.
If it sounds like I’m just making up contingency plans as I go, that’s because it’s how I imagine Discord’s chaos magic operates.

5203845 From what I read null zones work agaist all forms of magic save for high (alicorn) magic. And he would be rendered useless too as the zebras would cover him in the green stuff.

5203850 Okay, you got me there.
What’s the green stuff you refer to? Is it the cauldron in the middle of Zecora’s hut (which, as Zecora admits, doesn’t actually do anything apart from aesthetics)?

So suppose he can’t use null spells, what Zebrican magics can be used against him (apart from this green stuff)?

5203878 I think it's a smear from some anti-magic plant.

Curses, magical disruptions, insanity, a discord voodoo doll... the list is massive and imagine the effects when a whole army of shamans is doing all this at once. It would paralise discord in terms of magic as he would hurt himself more than dovanything real to his enemies.

I suppose it all boils down to how resistant to spells one imagines Discord as being. Whether Discord can shrug the effects of Zebrican magic off or not would fall squarely into one’s interpretation of the limits of chaos magic. Is the Elements of Harmony the only thing that can stop him, or is there something else? Honestly, we could go on forever back and forth with this, but I’d prefer not to.

5202222
Looks good. I was hoping for something more like the aristocratic vampires everyone is already familiar with, but this fits into the lore better.

Besides: unicorn liches can fill that role just as well, and they're the main group in Canterlot anyway.

5202147
I agree with Dragon and Chrissi; Discord wouldn't "rule" for ninety years.

He's already got all the power he wants or needs. What would he need a crown for? If anything, his ninety year reign is just him metaphorically sitting on a throne, not really using his authority for anything while the country falls apart around him. Shoot, maybe he'd help tear it apart, if it amused him.

5214024
O'k then, will make that an enumerable amount of year's, being that he teared it down and rebuilt it over and over again so he's play time was infinite. Until the sister's came about, that is.

S.W.B.

5214114
Really, my gripe wasn't with the time period, but what was going on during that time period. Discord could build up and tear down the kingdom for as long as he wanted to: history wasn't going to pass him by, and nothing was going to happen until after he was gone.

I just didn't see him, with the power at his disposal, playing petty politics.

5217263

I just didn't see him, with the power at his disposal, playing petty politics.

What, don't you know how chaotic politics are? they have so many rules, loop holes and gray areas in it, it's just amazing how we aren't all already died by now with what's going on at the moment.

Hack my Dad's been being harassed lately by this stupid health inspector just because of the guy he was sitting next to at the farmers market (this one time, he passed him all the time until then) selling mushrooms in Springfield, and the MO,health code is so old(from 47, they never adopted the moderation act) that we may just... I don't know, it's just chaotic at the moment.

S.W.B.

5217329
The chaos in politics is a result of poor structuring more often than not. I've heard it said, at least in the USA, that we ought to have a tax code that doesn't look like it was made on accident. With so many bureaus and intertwining offices, each headed and staffed by people trying to pull in every feasible direction, it's hard to imagine a government that isn't chaotic to some degree. My problem is, at least with your rebuttal, that this is more... how should I describe it other than "dry". This is the mundane kind of chaos that gets caused by people all the time. It's not really extraordinary or remarkable; even if you throw a global community of countries into the mix, all with different cultures and beliefs, it just makes more of the same dry chaos.

Just try to imagine Discord, the guy who turns rain clouds into chocolate-milk-spewing, cotton candy clouds, doing something as benign as throwing a monkey wrench into the political machine. It'd be chaotic, but it doesn't seem as theatrical as it ought to be, given Discord's tendency towards melodrama.

5225448
Does it have ta be dry? I can just see it now as he wets down their noddles. Oye, now that be interesting to see laddie.

S.W.B.

5228227
I just can't get excited about Discord's mail-bombing scheme, or that time he accumulated twenty parking tickets and didn't pay them. Or the time he jaywalked.

It's your show, so you can run it however you like. If you're going to turn Discord into a politician, I expect you to dress him for the part, though. Suit and tie, maybe a faux-combover.

I do not think you get the jock, hmm, let me try that again. Discord goes as Eris, and said noodles are sclong's.
Now do ya get it? politics are vary stressful are they not, laddie.

S.W.B.