Anno Equestria: A Brief History of the Pony Nation

by Insert Pen Name

The First Diarchy

Anno Equestria
A Brief History of the Pony Nation
A FiM fic by (Insert Pen Name)

The First Diarchy
AE673-950

Equestria’s troubles did not immediately end with the fall of Discord. Lawlessness had taken hold across the nation, infrastructure had all but vanished, and those towns and cities that hadn't been abandoned had devolved into isolated holdouts surrounded by wilderness. Though Discord was gone, fear and confusion reigned in his stead.

Only in Canterlot was the end of the Lost Years recognised with any significant jubilation. Following their triumphant descent from the Canterhorn, Celestia and Luna made their way to the ailing capital. Their new followers quickly determined that a celebration was in order, and runners hurried ahead to bring word to Canterlot of the alicorns’ approach. When Celestia and Luna finally arrived at the city gates, preparations were already underway for an ad hoc festival to commemorate their victory. The Feast of Canterlot, as it was later known, lasted for a full week, one day of joy for every year of chaos. It was during this time that the two sisters discovered their natural affinity for the Sun and Moon, each accomplishing single-hoofedly the task that traditionally required an entire team of able-minded unicorns.

During the Feast, Celestia and Luna made every effort to commune with the ponies they had saved. When the celebrations ended, however, they quietly withdrew from the public eye, seeking to contemplate on the Elements of Harmony and the responsibilities they represented. At least, that was their intent. Unfortunately, their over-zealous followers had no intention of leaving their beloved heroines in peace, and the two sisters were eventually forced to take refuge with the clerics of Canterlot Abbey. During this self-imposed hermitage, both sisters found the freedom to begin immersing themselves in individual pursuits. Celestia poured herself into study, taking full advantage of the fact that the monastery’s library was one of the few in Equestria to survive the Lost Years.* Luna devoted herself to art and poetry**, though she had her academic interests as well. Both sisters also studied the Abbey's extensive collections of the works of Starswirl the Bearded, whose magical treatises are said to have greatly benefited the Princesses in their development.

While Celestia and Luna were shut away in their monastic retreat, the tattered remnants of Pony Parliament gathered at Canterlot in an effort to restore some semblance of order to the struggling nation. Unfortunately, the circumstances seemed insurmountable; no copy of the Equestrian Constitution had survived the Lost Years, and none of the major cities had made any overtures towards reunification with Canterlot. To make matters worse, a veritable cult of personality was emerging around Celestia and Luna (undesired by the two sisters themselves). The ponies of Canterlot had ultimately lost faith in the abilities of politicians to safeguard them, and many began to vocally pledge their support to any act that might put their newfound heroines in power. Even in Parliament, there were those who openly suggested that the appearance of the alicorns must mark the start of something new and significant for the pony nation.

By Hearth’s Warming Eve, AE673, many weeks after the defeat of Discord, Parliament made their decision. Celestia and Luna were summoned from the Abbey to appear at Canterlot Palace. The two sisters were initially reluctant; though no official announcements had been made, they had heard the rumblings of the mob, and were not unprepared for what lay ahead. As the two sisters stood before the assembled crowd (which included a great many of their self-styled disciples), three representatives of Parliament approached with two newly crafted diadems, and asked the sisters, with no small amount of pomp and rhetoric, to accept the titles of Princess, Equestria’s new Heads of State.

To call the whole affair ‘coercive’ would be very much appropriate.

Nonetheless, Celestia and Luna accepted their fate and agreed. Celestia was crowned Princess Celestia of the Sun, and Luna was crowned Princess Luna of the Night. From that moment on, the old Triumvirate system became a relic, and the First Diarchy assumed its reign. The Equestrian Constitution was soon rewritten, almost identical to the original, save for the fact that both Celestia and Luna were officially identified by name as Equestria’s Heads of State. The new Princesses took up residence in Canterlot Palace, which was later renamed the Castle of the Two Sisters, and immediately began renovating it to suit their needs. Hundreds of architects, craftsponies, and engineers were employed over the decades, though the nature of their work is not recorded.

From the start, the Princesses faced massive challenges as the new rulers of Equestria. The Pony Nation was in a state of near-anarchy, and Canterlot itself was on the brink of collapse. Food and medicine were scarce, crime was rampant, and commerce was non-existent. With almost no lines of communication to the rest of the nation, the Princesses’ first years in power were spent restoring Canterlot to general stability. Parliament became little more than a liaison between the Princesses and their subjects, as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna assumed administration of local agriculture, industry, healthcare, education, and judicial courts. In AE674, the first new official judges were sworn in, and in AE675, Celestia formed the Royal Guard from remnants of the air and battlemage segments of the Equestrian Forces (the rangers were retained to safeguard the countryside from brigands). The Princesses openly extolled the values of Harmony, and publicly endorsed the clerics and their chapels, granting them resources to care for the sick and impoverished. By AE677, Canterlot had been restored to some semblance of peace and prosperity, and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna announced their intent to reunite Equestria.

Over the next several years, the Princesses embarked on a massive tour of Equestria, adding a very personal touch to their goal of reunification. The first city to return to the fold was Cloudsdale, closely followed by smaller towns such as Hoofington, Trottingham, and Hollow Shades. In AE678, Manehatten and Baltimare signed onto the new Equestria, then Fillydelphia in AE679, Tall Tale and Vanhoover in AE680, and finally Los Pegasus in AE682. In each city, the Princesses briefly assumed full control, overseeing sustainable agriculture and administration, and re-establishing trade with the rest of Equestria. Opposition to their rule was negligible; any would-be upstart quickly re-evaluated their position upon actually seeing the Princess for the first time.

In AE700, the Princesses celebrated the turn of the century with the first Pan-Equestrian Fair, celebrating new achievements in technology, commerce, art, science, and national unity. Both Princesses gave tremendous speeches to the assembled masses, and both were received with thunderous applause. For the first time in over thirty years, Equestria seemed on the verge of a new golden age. The next two centuries saw continued growth and progress under the Princesses’ rule. In AE732, Princess Celestia used her own personal money to fund the construction of a new library within the palace, and set about filling it with books of every conceivable subject and variety. Orders went out to all the surviving libraries in Equestria to have copies made of their collections, and rare books owned by private collectors were ‘appropriated’ for generous sums. Princess Luna became a great patron of the arts, and it was considered the mark of a truly great artist to be able to count the Princess of the Night among their sponsors.

Politically, the Princesses favoured and encouraged democracy and the rule of merit wherever the situation allowed. Though Parliament made no attempts to regain any of its waning powers, the nobility were extremely vocal in maintaining their long-held grip on local government. The Princesses were largely lenient in this issue until, in AE842, allegations of corruption and incompetence forced the noble mayor of Trottingham, Lady Crystal Slipper, to resign. Princess Celestia promptly stepped in and ordered democratic elections to select a new mayor. Within the year, a local earth-pony lawyer named Quill Nub*** was elected, and became the first elected mayor in Equestria. Building on this success, the Princesses later passed the Mayoral Act in AE846, which required democratic elections of all local political offices in Equestria.

The next 150 years were relatively (and mercifully) uneventful for Equestria, but Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were not idle. By AE950, the population of Equestria was counted at over 30 million, and quality of life was at an all time high. Unfortunately, the peace was not to last, and Equestria was soon to face two grim trials that would alter its history for centuries to come.

* Discord seems to have taken a particular pleasure in wiping out written knowledge at random. What few collections did survive seem to have done so but by the grace of his own whims of disinterest.

** The illuminations in the famous 8th century Canterlot Manuscript are traditionally attributed to the future Princess Luna, the only surviving works, if any, from the Princess's early portfolio.

*** Quill Nub served as Mayor of Trottingham until her retirement in AE867, and was honoured twice for administrative excellence. A statue of her now stands in Trottingham square.

Comments

[shutaro]

I pity the historian for the next chapters. Obviously a lot happened around the turn of the millennium that the princesses have not seen fit to share openly.
I'm pretty sure somewhere in Canterlot sits an old and bitter historian who would give an arm and a leg for an interview with Celestia or Luna.
But they are always to busy.
With cake and other important stuff.

[Insert Pen Name]

1640941 This historian was actually able to substitute cake for said arm and leg!

[djthomp]

Interesting, so no connection between Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded then, unless Starswirl was massively old somehow. Or a time traveler.

[shutaro]

1641500
Or the Hearth Warming Eve pageant is more of a history fanfiction and less of a reliable retelling of actual events. Which wouldn't be that much of a surprise.

[djthomp]

1643199 I was wondering about that so I went back and reread the first few chapters, and while that does seem like (IPN)'s interpretation, there is still mention of the characters in the pageant by name, including Clover. You are correct in that Clover being connected to Starswirl is historically questionable based on the events as presented so far, but there's still the matter of the time spells that are kept in the Starswirl the Bearded wing - they had to come from somewhere, which opens up the possibility that he did some timeline jumping after developing those spells.

[shutaro]

1643643
Oh yes, timetravel! Let's go down the wibbly wobbly timey wimey path of things.

[BenRG]

By human or pony standards, whilst Discord is immensely powerful, he suffers from some analogue of Attention Deficit Disorder. He is literally incapable of sustained focus towards a certain goal or activity. Thus, any attempt on his part to annihilate all trace of the Equestria that existed before his time would be hobbled by his own functional incapability to focus on that task for any duration of time.

Chaos, by its very nature, cannot follow the same path for too long. To be permanently malevolent and destructive is not to be chaotic. It is quite possible there were "light" periods under his rule when it may have amused Discord to be a benevolent god.

As for the Princesses, we see the degree to which modern Equestria is very much their creation (Celestia's primarily, due to her 1,000 years of lone rule). However, much of the shape and form of the state was created either at their suggestion, under their planning or in an attempt to please them.

I wonder if their cult ever became so dangerous that it had to be destroyed?

[SWEETOLEBOB18]

In Equestria the Ponies have Princesses. Queens (& kings) are always evil. It is my minor head canon that this is because the title Princess acknowledges that their power has limits (i.e. a constitutional monarchy). Kings and Queens claim absolute authority.

As to Starswhirl. There are 8 English King Henry, 18 French King Louis, etc. Could be several wizards named Starswhirl.