Brief Histories

Neo-Manehattan Where the smoky Noir-esque Art Deco meets futuristic cityscapes, Neo-Manehattan is as divisive now as it was when it started. Oftentimes referred to as Neo-Mane or simply Neon City by the less sophisticated, it is more akin to a mega city-nation, divided into sectors, diverging completely from Old Equestria's definition of a conventional city. It started as a nameless refugee settlement for those seeking sanctuary from a sinking Manehattan, and the vicious coasts of its neighbors: Fillydelphia and Baltimare. Their location blessed with the fact that it was minimally affected by the meteors, they began efforts to rebuild society, and initially expanded their territory to the west. It was not an easy feat, as all three states had different visions for the foundation of this new nation. It didn't take long before the infighting broke out. Should that continue, it would surely have marked their end, but the webs of fate had other plans. They encountered a foe, hailing from the far west, threatening to invade, and extinguish their way of life. Not wanting to lose what they have, the denizens from the three cities agreed to put aside their differences and repel this foreign threat. However, unlike their enemies, they did not possess the same quantity nor quality when it came to magic. But they do have technology, and amassed a collaboration of intellectuals, especially those enhanced the changing waves from the meteor crash. Fully utilizing the rich resources from Fillydelphia and Foal Mountains, they started a much, much faster version of the Industrial Revolution. Their age of chaos began. Official records of the war were scarce, not just because the enemy stopped abruptly, but because so much was being done after that. Documents were ignored, or just misplaced, then forgotten, as the progress of technology grew more and more rampant. Fillydephia's artisanal mines and agriculture became almost purely automated. Baltimare's ballistics now ranged from artillery that far outclassed simple powder-fed cannons, to portable firearms that just about anyone can carry on their person. But the city in which all three live in, from its design to way of life were dictated by Manehattan, and thus kept the name until this day. Unfortunately, as with most other nations, the need for power gave way to tyranny. Crucial industries and institutions became privatized, holding the city-nation's way of life in the palm of their hooves/hands/claws/appendage to hold things. The current government is near powerless, merely capable of acting as a mediator between these mega-corporations and the people. Gazlitt There is little to no doubt that the avians to the east; the gryphons suffered more than the pegasi in that many were left flightless after the shockwave. Add to that the suddenly choppy seas that once bridged it ro neighboring nations, Griffonstone was effectively cut off from mainland Equestria. However, what was lost in flight, they made up for with insight. Similar to Neo-Manehattan, a good chunk were gifted with advanced intellect, and with it, a knack for innovation. Once again, similar to the megacity, they were sitting on countless deposits of metals, and an age of progress sparked once again. However, the gryphons weren't as tech-savvy nor possess a well of arcane knowledge unlike Equestria, and thus their technology diverged. Thus, atop the ruins of the old, now forgotten ruins of Griffonstone, a new city of gears, steam, and brass was born. Gazlitt stands proud as a sign of Gryphon ingenuity. Flight returned to the flightless in the form of airships; grander and faster than whatever prized balloon-bound antiques of Old Equestria. Currently, they have trade routes to nearly every part of civilized Equestria, with a trading hub in the border intersection of Neo-Manehattan and Arcanea. Ardania Perhaps the closest civilization to mimic the path Equestrians would have taken, even if the sky hadn't fell. Ardania started out as one of the many settlements made by Canterlotian refugees, and Cloudsdale pegasi who lost their flight or wings from the rapid mutations during the apocalypse. What set Ardania apart from the other settlements, was the fact that they chose to live around the rims of an impact crater, whose massive clouds of dust almost spelled their end when no food would grow. The exact reason they chose to stay remains a mystery, but their perseverance was rewarded, as the shockwaves also created powerful spellcasters, many of whom took quite some time to learn their abilities, co-operated with the former residents of Cloudsdale who retained their flight, to divert the ocean of dust in the sky to the far southern regions. The dust gone and the sky clear for the sun to shine, life returned to a once barren land. A whole generation would pass before food shortage and vitamin D deficiency became non-problems. During this time, the population learned that living relatively close proximity to the meteor itself allowed them and their kin to be gifted with greater magic, vastly superior than the simple telekinesis of regular unicorns. Thus began their efforts to raise the crater itself to reach the meteor, by way of powerful magics. Soon enough, within the same generation, it became the center of a thriving kingdom of sorcerers, spellcasters, and elementalists. However, having all this power became a problem, for absolute power will corrupt even the most kindred of spirits, and set their entry into the age of chaos. It took another generation, and countless innocents to stop their forebearers; to put an end to their unquenchable thirst for conquest and more power. By that time, the kingdom had expanded till the far west coasts of Vanhoover, would have taken Neo-Manehattan, had the previous rulers not been stopped. Currently, after all that chaos and conquest, Ardania stands the capital for a much larger kingdom, and as a hub for scholars of magic from across the land. They had emancipated the northern regions bordering the Frozen North, as they deemed the nation expanded too aggressively to properly manage. However, for security to their sovereignty, they kept their hold of the southern regions, ending their borders by the river of Las Pegasus and the western half of Neighagra Falls. Addendum: Ardania was once a generic name; a placeholder for a much more suitable one, but is now a mainstay of the largest kingdom in this new Equestria.