Missing Pages & Scrawled Footnotes

by Ice Star

Failed Footnotes #4 (Lore)

Author's Note:

Another random dump of "stuff that never made it into stories" for one reason or another. The contents below are once again, unrated. Expect possible spoilers for anyone who doesn't read my stories obsessively; specific spoilers for individual stories are otherwise marked.

Tetrachromacy is a condition that impacts the vast majority of the qilin/kirin population. This particular quirk is found most often in bloodlines with draconic roots, and is one of the many biological compulsions behind why dragons crave jewels. In them, they perceive a multitude of colors that cannot be sensed by any other creatures except their hybrid descendants: the qilin/kirin. One of the major reasons behind the vanity perpetuated by the creatures is because of the transcendent beauty they are able to see in gold and jewels.

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For countries not ruled by gods, oaths in common speech (ie. "Sweet Celestia!" and the like) are somewhat different. Swearing by the names of gods is still very common, even if that god is not one's ruler, but a variety of other expressions still exist. One that is incredibly common in mortal-ruled nations on the Southern continent is "By the Pantheon and the Palace" which exists in almost all countries under the Pax Equestria law and in the United Council of Civilized Kingdoms. The Pantheon, of course, refers to the divine council above all mortal authority and floating over the unseen realm of Paradise. 'Palace' does not refer to any particular palace, just whatever dynasty is currently in place. This is because of the upheaval these nations see. Palaces usually outlast the ponies in them, and to swear on them is to swear on something that lasts. It is also an ideal way to mask whether one supports the current regime of royals or not, since 'palace' can be incredibly vague.

(Meta note: 'The Pantheon and the Palace' was the original title for Divine Move in its earliest form.)

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The United Council of Civilized Kingdoms is the name given to a group of mature nations on the Northern and Southern Eastern continents. They are in agreement with each other to the point of having a treaty with shared laws. While some nations were hesitant to join, most willingly joined in an effort to mimic the stability seen in Equestria, Aquastria, and the few remaining nations ruled by gods. While the organization possesses no shared military, they frequently exchange troops and goods. Members are required to extradite criminals from one another as well. Travel restrictions between nations on the Council are less strict and meetings happen at various locations within participating nations. A goal of the Council is to be able to hold participating nations accountable, but the double-standard favors older nation members and conflict is less likely to be examined if it falls short of all-out war or armed conflict. This means that various diplomatic trifles and other conflicts may become incredibly prolonged or go unresolved unless they come to a violent head.

The Council is generally effective since mortal-ruled nations within it generally have longer lives. Borders are negotiated more easily among participating nations. However, no one mortal dynasty has remained in power since it has joined. The Council does not generally interfere with any internal affairs so as long as crimes against sapient life are not observed or declared by numerous fleeing emigrants. This leaves room for many exchanges of power, coups, and other events that lead to the change in royal powers to happen.

The Council has some nations who are allies with it, but not participating members. These allies are not subject to the same treaties and laws that participating countries are.

Participating nations include:

• Equestria (founding nation; emerged because of Princess Celestia during the Solar Millenium; Northern continent)
• Germaneigh (Southern continent)
• Prance (Southern continent)
• Trotsia (Southern continent)
• Aquastria (as of the Resurgence; includes colonies; off the coast of the Northern and Southern continents)
• Trotland (Northern continent)
• The Crystal Empire (as of its reemergence; originally as an Equestrian colony until Arc Two; Northern continent)
• Saddle Arabia (Southern continent)
• Maretonia (Southern continent)
• Buffalo tribes (Northern and Southern continent)
• Non-Chrysalis changeling hives (Northern and Southern continents)
• Butterfly Island (as an Equestrian-involved territory; near Aquastria's waters)

Allied nations:

• Griffonstone (as a Shirdalian colony; Southern continent)
• Shirdal Island (far into the middle of the sea between the East and West, closer to the Northern continent)
• The Dragonlands (Mostly Southern continent)
• Non-Chrysalis changeling hives (Some in the Western continents)
• Colthuacan (Southern continent)
• Mustainia (Southern continent)
• Yakyakistan (Northern continentt)
• Istallia (Western continents)
• Arcadia (Western continents)
• Shaman Isle (off the coast of the Southern continent)
• Sibearia (Western continents)
• Boara-Boara Islands (near Butterfly Island)
• Andalusia (Western continents)
• Brumbralia (Western continents)

No involvement:

• Qilin (the country; not the character; Western continents)
• Neighpon (Western continents)
• Chrysalis' hive (extinct post-Canterlot Wedding)
• Some non-Chrysalis hives (all known continents)
• Cervidaine (Western continents)
• Ibexia (Western continents)
• Capreolia (Western continents)
• Trampylvania (Western continents)
• Mirkaysia (Western continents)
• Saddle Lanka (Western continents)
• Llamalayan Mountain Kingdom (Western continents)
• Brayzil (Western continents)
• Isle of Albion (Distantly off the coast of Trotland)
• Kingdom of the Isles of Mares and Shetland (Distantly off the coast of Trotland)

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Of the Mane Six, only Twi, Rarity, and AJ have completed their education and a high school level education. Rarity barely had the chance to, due to the difficulties with unicorns in the Equestrian school system, and also because she was eventually pulled from Ponyville's public schoolhouse and put into charm and finishing schools that her parents paid to have her boarded at. That her education depended on payment for her to learn good shit (like magic) was something she knows that she was lucky to have since most other unicorns in Ponyville didn't fare nearly as well. Pinkie and two of her sisters (Marble and Limestone) were made to drop out of homeschooling at 12 (the legal age in Solar Equestria) because of earth pony tradition, were put into family labor, then their roam-springa's, which led to Pinkie being apprenticed. All of this is incredibly typical of earth ponies in Equestria, and most of the school system's traditions in the nation can trace their route back to the early, ex-tribal earth ponies. Because Flutters was emancipated as a minor from her foster home, she decided to drop out too and worked menial ground labor jobs to pay for her home, which fostered her gardening, sewing, and animal skills. RD dropped out because the school system didn't handle her ADHD well (especially with how it mingled with her pegasus nature) and she was put in a Jr. Weather Trade program. This is an extremely common situation in Equestria, and nopony would be surprised by it.

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The opposites of the four princesses would be:

• Mi Amore Cadenza: love --> lust/perversion (and she would bear the name Decadence if she had a proper corrupted/antithesis form.)
• Luna Galaxia: hope and dreams --> submission and static (Though this isn't exactly what Nightmare Moon would hold domain over, since she wasn't an exact antithesis, as Favorable Alignment and other stories touch upon.)
• Twilight Sparkle: magic --> non-being/nothingness
• In Celestia's case, it is unknown because she never gained more domains. Night and day still share the same sky and don't have virtue opposites or even more elemental ones (which in turn can double as virtues) like magic.
• Factoring in Sombra would be: knowledge --> ignorance

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End #4