The Ponyverse

To those that haven't watched Friendship is Magic, or have only seen images around, the My Little Pony universe is generally seen as a sugar-coated, girly, 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' style universe.

My readers and I know, however, that that is far from the truth. The Ponyverse is a land of magic and mayhem.

I'm setting up this page as a reference guide to the dark side of the Ponyverse. (Feel free to let me know if I missed anything!)

The Ponyverse may have been built on the ruins of humanity. Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Trottingham, Van Hoover, Applewood, Baltimare, etc.

The land is ruled over by two 'royalty' breed (pegasus wings/flight, Earth pony strength/endurance, Unicorn horn/magic) Princess sisters. Celestia, that rules during the day, and Luna, who rules at night. They are both at least 1,000 years old and have terrifying magical prowess. Celestia seems to have grown bored with her life, and 'trolls' her citizens for entertainment. Until recently, Luna was an evil entity known as Nightmare Moon, imprisoned for 1,000 years and cleansed of evil by the Elements of Harmony, and may have been a cannibal before her own sister used the Elements to imprison her in the moon.

 

Both of the royal pony sisters, or just Celestia, have likely been guiding events to further their Chosen One, Twilight Sparkle, and whatever her destiny is. The Ponyville region wasn't settled until pretty recently by the Apple family, one of which is an Element of Harmony. Who gave them that land? Celestia. Where did all the Elements except Magic end up? Ponyville. Rainbow and Fluttershy lived in Cloudsdale, but Fluttershy had her traumatic childhood so she ended up on the ground anyway. but what happened to Rainbow? Assigned to manage weather in Ponyville.

Dragons exist, and they ain't nice! They eat and hoard gems (and sometimes hoard other objects) and gleefully try to kill unborn/newborns of other races and even baby dragons. They can breathe fire, are immune to fire, and their scales provide natural armor plating.

A dragon also will 'nap' for 100 years, constantly sending out smoke from their snores, which will destroy the environment of wherever they happen to be napping.

Magic is real and an everyday part of life. One of the three pony tribes, Unicorns, as well as 'royalty' ponies (mixes of all three tribes) as well as some non-pony things like Changelings can wield magic. Magic usage ranges from ho-hum conveniences like opening jars, manipulating objects, writing, providing light, etc. to terrifying fine-line-between-good-and-evil uses like walking through walls, mind control, time travel, time stopping, energy attacks, polymorphing victims, etc.

 

Magic can also be abused for 'evil' or just plain misused. An 'Apple to Orange' spell can be used on living creatures. The 'highest level unicorns' have access to badass things like an age spell, with an unknown duration. There is also dark side magic, which is possibly linked to channeling negative emotions like hatred and fear.

The Wonderbolts are possibly Equestria's Air Force. They are near useless and fail at almost everything they do. Seen above, they couldn't even save a pie that fell a foot in front of them.

Perverts are an unfortunate reality.

Even pony babies are a threat, being born able to use incredible powers.

Magical plagues exist, sometimes with no known cures.

 

Famine exists.

 

 Death is a reality, as is aging.

War is a reality.
(Hmm, Pestilence, Famine, Death, and War...)

Cerberus exists and is the guardian of Tartarus, said to contain great evils. Tartarus is also known as Hades, also known as Hell.

All kinds of mythological creatures exist, and most are evil.

Confidence men exist, and presumably other criminals. Most are probably Unicorns, since magic has many helpful uses to allow one to steal things extremely easy.

The roads, especially in Ponyville, are death traps: steep slopes leading to ramps off cliffs.

Cute little Spike is a dragon, and thus has the capacity for great evil within him. This inner evil has emerged on a few occasions already, and he is still considered a baby as far as dragons go.

Not far from Ponyville is a tunnel system full of gem-crazed, bipedal dogs, some of which are armored. It is highly likely that they kidnapped Twilight Sparkle when she was young, as she seems to have recurring flashbacks of the Diamond Dog's dungeon.

The Everfree Forest is a place of many evils, and is right near Ponyville. There are the Timber Wolves, wolves made of wood that guard zap apple trees, and now cockatrice: chicken headed, snake bodied creatures that can turn living things to stone by looking into its eyes. They can also remove their stone curse effect, if they feel like it or are forced. I don't think they eat the petrified victims, so these things are just assholes. There are also manticore(s) and sea serpent(s). The Royal Pony Sisters, Luna and Celestia, used to live in a castle here, but it has since fallen into disrepair.

Mutant powers probably exist. Fluttershy is able to communicate with animals, and use a stare that forces the victim to bend to her will. Pinkie Pie has her Bugs Bunny powers, and Pinkie Sense, which lets her dodge incoming projectiles. Twilight can burst into flames from extreme rage.

Freshwater lakes near Ponyville have murderous squids lurking within.

Evil spirits exist. These range from windigos that feed off hatred and fighting, to Discord, an omnipotent being that thrives on chaos and disharmony.

The weather is almost completely manufactured by pegasi. Rainbows, clouds, rain, snow, all of it has to be created and carefully controlled. The effects of them not being in control of the weather can be seen in Hearth's Warming Eve, where windigos plague the land with perpetual winter.

They also have to manually change the seasons. Most places just use Unicorn magic, Ponyville has to do it all the hard way, as part of their tradition. The leaves on the trees also have to be manually removed. Presumably other places use magic, but Ponyville does the Running of the Leaves, where racing ponies knock the leaves off the trees with the vibrations.

Not far from Sweet Apple Acres is Froggy Bottom Bog. A hydra lives there, and it apparently eats ponies.

Parasprites are super powered locusts that can self-replicate. One parasprite can produce a huge swarm in hours. They will eat all the food they can, or in the case of the one's Twilight cast a spell on, will eat anything that isn't food, like houses and words off books.

Griffons exist and are 'human,' they mingle with ponies but are said to be a rarity. They can fly as well as the best of pegasi, and may have enhanced strength.

The Crystal Empire is a mysterious place that was cursed for 1,000 years. If the citizens are full of hope and harmony, those feelings are reflected across Equestria by the power of the Crystal Empire/Crystal Heart. If hatred and fear plague the crystal ponies, those are reflected instead. Despite this effect seeming to be something important, the Crystal Empire fell to King Sombra.

King Sombra was a unicorn with a heart as black as night. He took over the Crystal Empire, although we're not really sure what he was doing besides enslaving them. He possibly was using them to horde crystals, since we know Unicorns love gems. Sometime after he came to power, Celestia and Luna came and tried to defeat him. Essentially what they did looks to be the 8th level D&D spell 'Binding.' Multiple casters can assist in the casting of this spell. Check. You can set trigger conditions to end the effects of the spell. Check. (Sombra turns back to his unicorn body as he gets near the crystal heart, and is shocked by it)  One of the binding options is Metamorphosis, 'the subject assumes a gaseous form, except for its head or face.' Check. 'The creature is held harmless in a jar or other container.' Check, Sombra was entombed in ice.

Corruptive artifacts exist, offering their wielder great power at the cost of their sanity. Are they locked up somewhere in Celestia's bedchambers, or with Luna on the moon? Nope, this one, the Alicorn Amulet which greatly enhances the wearer's magic, was just sitting in a store, and the owner handed it right over, including offering to gift wrap it, at the sight of a bag of bits.

Within the Everfree Forest (which we know is full of messed up stuff) lies the Mirror Pool. Gazing into the pool while reciting a rhyme (which for some reason Pinkie Pie's grandma taught her) activates the magic of the pool and produces a mirror image of yourself. These images are but a shadow of the original, possibly having one-track minds, but they can show moments of clarity, such as being able to make mirror images of themselves.

The way to banish the images is to use a magic spell, which Spike found hidden in the Ponyville Library behind a secret panel. (No attention was brought by the characters themselves to this bizarre fact) The spell has the downside of being able to banish the original alongside the duplicates.

Children are not only able to, they are allowed, with no adult supervision, to build parade floats, which are basically cars. They are also allowed to drive them without any supervision. Worse yet, Pinkie Pie is allowed to make and drive one.

What about our beloved 'mane 6'? Surely they are as sweet as can be? Not so, my friend.

Twilight Sparkle is the Anakin Skywalker of the Ponyverse, having massive innate magical potential. She also possesses massive rage, and doesn't hesitate meddling in others' lives if they don't adhere to her beliefs. While generally kind to her friends, she still has used magic to hurt them, regularly punishes Spike, and has a tendency to obsess over things, making her get pretty crazy.

Rainbow Dash is one of the fastest pegasi around, so fast she can cause rainbow-hued nuclear explosions. She also isn't afraid to fight, especially when insulted or threatened, and has even kicked a dragon in the face. She also has a mean streak, thinking electrocuting ponies with lightning is a good 'prank.'

Rarity is a powder keg waiting to go off, bottling up her anger like Lloyd Braun from Seinfeld. Serenity now, insanity later. She is also a unicorn with some magical talent, and Celestia help you if you sully her dress.

If you opened a Ponyverse dictionary, under 'damaged goods' would be a picture of Fluttershy. Her traumatic experiences at flight camp have left her scarred for life. A darkness lurks in her sweet little soul, and at times is allowed to manifest, where she becomes a cruel and abusive pony. She also possesses 'the stare,' which lets her bend the victims of her gaze to her will. Threatening her friends sparks a powerful fury within her.

Applejack may be the least dangerous of the 'mane 6' as she is generally good-natured and trustworthy. She does possess immense strength, possibly more than normal for an Earth pony, and could likely kill you with a kick. Extremely stubborn. If she makes a promise, however impossible it may be, she will keep pursuing it. Even if she ends up extremely sleep deprived, where she then becomes a danger to herself and others.

When the Ponyverse Apocalypse comes, it will be caused by one pony: Pinkie Pie. She possesses terrifying Bugs Bunny-esque powers, able to be anything, anywhere, and anyone she wants to be. Her seemingly sweet songs can drive listeners into a rage. If you cross her, or if you break a promise, and especially a Pinkie Promise, she can make your life a living hell. She also has Pinkie Sense, which allows her to predict events and dodge incoming projectiles, so good luck shooting her if that's your plan, as she'll go all Matrix on you, stick a carrot up the gun barrel, and you'll end up with a face full of shrapnel as your gun backfires like Elmer Fudd's.