Disclaimer: I am not Lauren Faust nor Hasbro. I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, nor Equestria Girls.
Opening Note:
See the opening note of the 'preludes.'
This interlude concerns background material I have been putting together on the origins of the city known as 'Canterlot' in the human world, and is written as if part of a paper for a 'myths and stories' society. It gives some general idea of what tales 'modern day' humans might have about how Canterlot originated, which tales may or may not be accurate. The main story will be back in the next instalment.
Warning: As noted in the preludes, this story is rated 'M'.
Interlude:
'On the legends of the founding of Canterlot':
Scorpan, the legends all agree, was a noble prince. He was also, so the legends all agree, young, handsome, and the ruler of a people. There is some variance as to whether at this stage he was 'wise'. Certainly some of his earlier actions, even allowing for the knowledge and attitudes of the presumed era, seem at times to have been questionable. And he was living and governing his people in an age of the world when magic supposedly existed. This latter was to be a source of some grief to Prince Scorpan and his subjects, since what the tales all describe as an animate skeleton horse appeared in his lands – which rapidly became known as 'The Grey Mare of Ruin', on account of the destruction and havoc that it spread. At some point Prince Scorpan gathered his mightiest warriors and cleverest sages and marched out to confront 'The Grey Mare of Ruin'. The timing of this encounter varies from legend to legend. In some tales Prince Scorpan marches out in headstrong rashness to confront the skeletal horse when it is in other lands, thereby bringing its attention down upon his own lands; in other stories the confrontation only takes place once the entity is already attacking Prince Scorpan's lands. At any rate, Prince Scorpan confronts the being, and he loses badly, and the ravaging of his lands either commences or continues as it was before. The epic battle has resulted in defeat for the prince, and his lands are being ravaged unchecked.
Faced with a supernatural being apparently beyond his ability to stop, in some tales scarred or lamed by the creature, and certainly having lost dozens of men-at-arms, Prince Scorpan decides that the only thing to do is for his people to pack what they can and emigrate, hoping that the thing will not follow them. The journey is hard, and the creature is in pursuit, at least until the prince and his people reach the edge of the Everfree Forest, which the Grey Mare is reluctant to enter, for some reason – no doubt to do with magic. But the Everfree Forest is a roadless and confusing place, and the trees resist being cleared by axes, making it no easy place to settle. Harassed now by dangers of the forest, the prince and his people wander on, until their fortunes take a turn for the better and they come upon a young magical horse. In some stories the prince saves the colt from some forest peril, and in others it is sent by the goddess of the moon who has taken pity on the prince. At any rate, the horse through obligation either to mortal rescuers or to a divine patron comes to lead the prince and his people through the depths of the forest, through a secret pass in the hills on one edge of the forest, and out onto plains in a land free from the menace of the skeletal horse. The prince and his people like the look of this new land and decide to settle here and to call it Cantref y Lloches – the land of refuge. They adopt the image of a rearing horse as their emblem, to commemorate the magical horse which led them to this place, and in time the name of the land will be given to their first settlement and become linguistically altered to its modern form, 'Canterlot'.
Life in the new lands is not completely free from troublesome incidents, however. There are confusions and misunderstanding with a sage called 'Wetherlam' who never removes the suit of plate armour that he wears – in fact some stories say that the sage is the suit of armour, made animate and given voice. There is trouble with local river spirits who cause mischief by night until they are appeased with gifts of combs and ribbons. And there is a giant who comes to the wedding feast of Prince Scorpan's sister to abuse the laws of hospitality who has to be outwitted – the sage, Wetherlam with whom Prince Scorpan is usually on good terms by this point in most traditions assists with this last one.
And the settlement prospers and grows…
- Extract from a paper for the 'Myths and Stories Society' of Mainhattan University
Author Notes:
This provides at least some idea of what characters may generally know in the human world about the founding of their version of Canterlot. As indicated in the opening notes, the stories that have reached the modern day may not necessarily be accurate, but this is what people are making musicals and school-plays in the human world on the basis of. I considered it necessary to establish a founding myth which at least tried to give a reason for why horse-related themes are sufficiently popular in human world Canterlot that there is a statue of a pony or horse on a plinth right outside of Canterlot High School.
Regarding some of the names used here, in both the first and fourth generation versions of My Little Pony there are characters called 'Prince Scorpan'; here, a human 'Prince Scorpan' (who is a separate entity from the Friendship is Magic character of that name) was involved in the founding of human world Canterlot. 'Wetherlam' is the name of a fell in the real-world English Lake District. There is a real-world Welsh tradition featuring something called the 'Mari Lwyd' (or Y Fari Lwyd) which some people translate as 'Grey Mare' and often involves a hobby horse with a horse's skull for a head.
Not mentioned in the 'paper' excerpt presented above is a character called Meghan, the Witch-Queen, who also features in Prince Scorpan legends in this version of the human world, nor is mentioned a magic sword which Prince Scorpan acquires called either 'Rainbow of Night' or 'Rainbow of the Night'. These come into the stories some time after human world Canterlot is established. For the record, the first generation of My Little Pony featured a character called 'Megan Williams', a 'Rainbow of Light', and a 'Rainbow of Darkness'.
Since the default assumption of most members of the human world as of the onset of 'Nemesis: (part one: Adeste Fideles)' is that there is no such thing as magic, even though there is fairly strong archaeological evidence that some historic personality called 'Scorpan' existed in the right time-frame, other things about the myths and legends are assumed to be metaphors and the like – so academics interpret that 'The Grey Mare of Ruin' was actually a plague or famine, river spirits were in fact hunter-gatherers of a stone-age culture, the giant at the wedding feast a local warlord, and so on and so forth. Although there is a superstition amongst human-world academics about a 'Curse of the Witch-Queen' which strikes down with misfortune any public commentator particularly uncomplimentary in an interpretation they make concerning Meghan, the Witch-Queen.
Omake: ('The Founding of Canterlot' blooper reels – these are 'cuts' from an imaginary TV show being made about the founding of (human world) Canterlot)
X-X-X
(crash of prop falling apart)
(actors laughing)
Director: Using a real prop for this skeletal horse thing is going to be a problem isn't it?
X-X-X
'Prince Scorpan': What news from the frontier, my brave man?
'Messenger': (bursts out laughing)
Director: Cut, cut! What's the problem.
'Messenger': Sorry. It's the way he said 'frontier'. It was like we were in a different kind of genre altogether.
X-X-X
'Prince Scorpan': What news from the frontier, my brave man?
'Messenger': (bursts out laughing)
Director: Cut, cut! What is it this time?
'Messenger': I was thinking about the way that he said it last time.
Director: Okay, you're fired. Someone find me an actor without a sense of humour to play this part.
X-X-X
(crash of prop falling apart)
Director: (profanities)
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: If you would excuse me?
Director: No no no. I don't care who you know. You may have managed to talk your way into this production as a background character, even though the Witch-Queen has nothing to do with the Founding of Canterlot, but you do not get a talking role.
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: Actually, I may have a solution to the skeletal horse problem.
Director: No I am absolutely not going with CGI. I want something which looks real.
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: Actually…
Director: (ignores Meghan) Someone call the props guys and get them to fix this thing. Again.
X-X-X
'Senior Sage': My liege. I believe that I have identified the creature ink western. Oops. That didn't come out right, did it? It should have been 'in question'.
Director: Cut, cut!
X-X-X
(chaos and people bumping into one another, falling over)
Director: Cut, cut!
'Second Washerwoman': (giggling) Nobody told us the forest satyrs were going to be quite so hunky.
'First Washerwoman': Or nearly nude.
Director: Because I wanted a natural reaction. But maybe that wasn't a good idea. And has anyone fixed that (profanities) horse yet? Can we try to shoot the earlier scenes again yet?
X-X-X
(crash of prop falling apart)
Director: Nobody was anywhere near it this time. So what's the matter now?
Props Guy: The budget department told me they wanted it fixed cheaply. So I had to use water-soluble glue. And it's started raining. (pause) I told them, but they wouldn't listen.
X-X-X
'Prince Scorpan': And I shall name this land Cantref y… uh….
Director: Cut, cut!
'Prince Scorpan': Sorry, but how do you pronounce this double 'l' again?
X-X-X
Director: Cut, cut! What is it?
'Giant': I don't feel like a giant. You're sure I'm going to look like one, on the screen?
Director: Yes! That's why we have the cameras in different positions when they film you.
'Giant': Oh. Okay. And you know that suit of armour? The one that's supposed to be talking?
Director: 'The Sage, Wetherlam'. Yes, what about it?
'Giant': Well is it right that there'd be a suit of armour like that in this period?
Director: So you don't know anything about camera angles and filming techniques, but you're an expert in antique arms and armour?
'Giant': Uh…
Director: This is about mythological and magical beings. Tell yourself it's a suit of armour from another world or something. Act! You can do that, can't you?
'Giant': Oh, uh, that might work.
X-X-X
(crash of prop falling apart yet again)
Director: (sits disconsolately, head in hands) I just don't understand how Prince Scorpan could have had so much trouble defeating one skeletal horse. This one defeats itself at any possible opportunity.
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: Prince Scorpan was getting his butt repeatedly kicked by an undead demonic skeletal horse. Hence his eventually needing a magic sword, Rainbow of Night, from The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath, after Canterlot was safely established – to go back and defeat it. But as you have repeatedly reminded me, I do not get a speaking role in this venture, which only covers the founding of Canterlot.
Director: No I'm not budging on that.
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: Actually, I may have a solution to your skeletal horse problem, and one which doesn't involve CGI. But whilst not technically illegal, I'd feel happier talking if that camera over there was turned off.
X-X-X
Police Interviewer: So do you know what happened, ma'am?
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: I certainly can't explain it at all. The director had been having trouble with the Grey Mare of Ruin prop and was getting more and more frustrated about it. I think in the end he must have gone over the edge and done something truly desperate. (sniffs tearfully) Am I the only survivor?
Police Interviewer: You appear to be the only sane one.
Meghan, The Witch-Queen of Lakey Heath: Oh dear. How tragic! I suppose the contract will have to be fulfilled now by a ten-minute documentary funded by what's left of the budget with cartoon background and an academic doing a voiceover.
X-X-X
Note: There are of course 'blooper reels' for several of the Equestria Girls films, where the films are treated as if they are being made by real actors and actresses; this omake is in the spirit of those, featuring an attempt by humans to make a TV show about the founding of Canterlot.
The late Sir Terry Pratchett had a joke about the problems a character experienced with a skeletal horse in his 'Discworld' series, which I have run with a bit here.
Oh yes: and note that Meghan, the Witch Queen of Lakey Heath is not bracketed in apostrophes. This is a clue that not all is as it should be, which the production crew, cast, and police-clearing-up-after-the-event are not in on…
