Pony Species

The continent is home to the three traditional pony species, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies, as well as Zebras.

Earth ponies

Appearance

Most Earth ponies work in the agriculture, forestry, or mining industries, so on average they are more muscular than Unicorns or Pegasi. Built for all climates and terrains, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They tend to keep their manes and tails shorter, up off the ground and out of their way. Since their towns are far apart and travel between them is sometimes difficult, each has their own distinct culture and beauty standards. But really, as the most diverse population, its difficult to describe their looks in general terms.

Common coat colors: brown, white, natural horse patterns.

Culture

Earth ponies live in small towns dotted across the Earth territory. Each town is dominated by a singular industry, which dictates what the local culture is like.

The central valley is mostly agriculture, and their towns are tight-knit communities of farmers and other professionals who benefit from the farming industry. They're a bit friendler around there, though some towns have tense rivalries with each other. To the north, mining resulted in dense urban towns with paved roads and stone buildings. Gambling has become a major pastime there. In the dense forests along the western border, ponies live relatively isolated from one another, on large properties with distant neighbors. Logging is their main industry. To the south is the beaches, and the Zebra base, so that region has the most Zebras. Generally, beach ponies are more likely to partake in the arts or sciences, rather than manual labor.

Zebra relations

The Earth territory has the only population of Zebras on the mainland continent. They've lived among the Earth ponies for generations, meaning there's a considerable amount of intermarriage and mixed Zebra-ponies. Stripes are often a sign of Zebra ancestry in a pony, though they can appear in a pony with 100% Earth ancenstry too.

Pegasi

Appearance

Pegasi typically keep their coats short and neat to reduce resistance in the air (and even more so if they live in marine communities, for swimming and diving). They might have small tufts on the tips of their ears. Generally, their appearance is more dictated by subtype than by gender.

Common coat colors: blues and greens.

Culture

Pegasi live in the Cloud Empire, mostly in the clouds but sometimes on land. Its generally considered strange or unnatural for a pegasus to live on land, but sometimes its necessary (for certain professions, for example). They often live austerely, with few physical possessions since they cannot store anything in the clouds. Military ponies especially own few things, and songbird entertainers are thought to own more things than usual. All pegasi are very proud and somewhat nationalistic.

Pegasi use their wings to operate string instruments and simple flutes. They value beauty as a form of relaxation-- warriors come back to the city and want to see a beautiful pony sing and play beautiful music.

Some pegasi go their whole life without ever touching the ground.

Combat

Pegasi are at a disadvantage since they don't have magic, but they do have access to projectile weapons like bows and arrows, and can quickly retreat out of a unicorn's magical range. They also make use of explosives, hidden by cloud cover and dropped from a great height.

Soarers and Songbirds

Pegasi come in two subtypes: songbird and soarer.

Songbirds are weak fliers, often with smaller or fluffier wings that can support their weight but aren't built for constant use. They tend to weigh more than soarers. They are also generally considered more beautiful than soarers on average.

Soarers, on the other hand, have large, strong wings built for long distance flight and speed. They tend to be taller and more muscular than songbirds. The Empire's military is 90% soarers.

Despite the name, songbirds aren't technically better singers; rather, they tend to hold entertainment jobs more often than soarers, and were once called 'songbirds' derogatorily with the implication that they were cowards or lazy for not joining the military. Over the years, the meaning has softened and become an accepted identity.

Soarers are more likely to join the empire's military, but it is not unheard of for particularly inspired songbirds to join up. However, they normally end up in noncombat roles.

In terms of beauty standards, 'handsomeness' for soarers means tall, well groomed with windswept hair and sleek wings. 'Beauty' for songbirds is fluffy wings, a soft body, big eyes and ornate hairstyles unaffected by wind. Technically, every Pegasus lands somewhere on a spectrum between these two types. Some lack particular features of either type and are just 'normal'.

Unicorns

Appearance

Unicorns tend to be tall and thin. They are surprisingly hardy, have great balance, and are well insulated against the cold. They value an elegant silhouette and a long, thin horn, as well as long manes/tails/feathers which symbolically represent wealth (as in, one who lives a life of leisure where their mane wouldn't become a hinderance). This goes for both genders. Unicorns are very androgynous. Unicorns with solid coat colors and few-to-no markings are considered more beautiful than others. Elegance is key. They are more likely to wear ornately designed accessories to compliment their simpler appearance.

Common coat colors: black, white, purples and pinks.

Culture

Unicorns live in Unicornia. Very few ever leave there, and those that do are sometimes not allowed to return. Unicorn culture is highly invested in aesthetic beauty-- as a group that doesn't do much manual labor, they have instead developed a keen eye for complex detail in mundane things. Every item produced by unicorns is covered in decorative flourishes, created with skilled magic techniques. Like all ponies, they love music, but their musical scene is dominated by woodwinds, pianos and other complex percussion instruments operated via magic.

Combat and the Curse

Unicorns normally have the home field advantage. They rarely attack pegasi on their eastern border, and instead start skirmishes on the much closer western border. They utilize archery, cannons, and catapults, often enchanted, as well as swords for close-range ground combat. The average range of a Unicorn's telekinesis is about 10 feet. Soldiers may train to increase their range, but none have every exceeded 30 feet and that's rare as it is.

Direct magical attacks are considered taboo. Culturally, its said to be a sign that a soldier lacks discipline, but more importantly it harms the wielder. Offensive magic, when making contact with something living, backfires on the user incrementally. This is colloquially called "the curse" or "darkness", and it shortens the Unicorn's life. It appears as a creeping desaturation or darkening that begins at the extremities and slowly creeps inward toward the heart.

There are no credible reports in recorded Unicorn history of a Unicorn being completely consumed by the curse. It was long assumed to cause death. Holy Steel is the first pony to ever reach that point, becoming a Nightmare Alicorn as a result.

Zebras

Appearance

Zebras come in all sorts of colors, with great variety in their stripe patterns. They have cloven hooves, leonine tails, and often have beards regardless of gender. Their manes and tails are likely to be curly, very rarely straight.

Home country

Zebras originate from a large country somewhere across the sea. Their arrival was quite a shock to the ponies that thought their continent was the only dry land in the world.

Culture

Zebras lack magic but make up for it with a unique knowledge of technology and metalsmithing, which they brought to the Earth territory when they arrived.