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| Free Equestria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official name | Free Equestria |
| Also known as | Free Ponyland, “the World in the Mirror” |
| Capital | Freeport |
| Head of state | Sunset Shimmer |
| Ruling party | Free Harmony Party |
| Ideology | Democracy |
| Faction | Mount Aris Accord |
| Enemy states | Equestrian Empire, Lomaki Special Economic Zone |
| Suzerain | None |
Love, Death and Equestria
Free Equestria lies in the south of the Equestrian continent, on the former Storm Island once ruled by the Storm King, facing the Hippogriff–Seapony Confederation across the sea, with the Luna Ocean to the west and the Celestia Ocean to the east. Guarding the passage between the two oceans, the island has great strategic value.
Free Equestria is a federal republic of seven states (only two of them actually controlled in 1002), with its capital at Freeport. The country is a representative democracy. The highest governing body is the Free Equestria Committee, and the head of state and head of government is an elected president (an interim prime minister before the formal constitution was promulgated), serving a three-year term and limited to two consecutive terms. In 1002 the highest leader and interim prime minister is Sunset Shimmer.
Free Equestria is made up of former Equestrian officials, soldiers and refugees who fled to Storm Island. They do not recognise Cozy Glow's rule over Equestria and try to cooperate with the resistance and other countries against the so-called new order established by the Triumvirate. Besides ponies, the island is also home to storm creatures, griffons, fishfolk, seaponies and many other species — a country of many peoples living together.
History
The Storm Empire
“I'm not the king of the storm — I am the storm! I am a force of nature, greater than any individual, and I will prove it. —— the Storm King”
As early as ancient times, intelligent beings — the “storm creatures” — had already emerged on Storm Island, but the local natural conditions were extremely harsh. The storm creatures lived for generations in a severe environment, in loose tribal groupings, and developed very slowly. Years of poverty gave the local storm creature tribes a distinctive culture of being brave, warlike and eager to expand.
In the early 10th century, a powerful storm creature — later known as the “Storm King” — conquered the island's various powers with powerful magic, especially the power of the Staff of Sacanas, and reorganised the loose tribal confederation into a new military dictatorship: the Storm Empire. The Storm King became the empire's first emperor,
After becoming emperor, the Storm King immediately reorganised the country's loose, fragmented military forces and quickly began a vast campaign of conquest. With advantages in technology and organisation, the Storm Empire's armies swept all before them, enslaving a great many nations and leaving nothing behind them. Two wars were especially important — the Abyssinian War and the Seaquestrian War: the former accumulated enormous wealth for the Storm Empire, while the latter drove the seaponies into the sea, splitting the seaponies from the hippogriffs.
During the Storm King's reign his cruelty and his heavy-handed suppression of his subordinates bred resentment among them — above all in his lieutenant 纷争. After the Abyssinian War, the Storm King seized a treasure from the local vaults: the Misfortune Malachite. But 纷争 had made contact with a band of pirates before the war, and while the Storm King's fleet was passing they launched a night raid; 纷争 helped the pirates carry off much of the treasure, including the malachite, and fled with them. The Storm King soon caught up with the pirates and threw 纷争 off his airship, after which 纷争 was never heard of again. The malachite passed from hand to hand until a pony found it; she then cooperated with the Storm King and became his new lieutenant — Tempest Shadow.
The Equestrian War
In 996, the Storm King began the grandest plan of his conquests — conquering Equestria and seizing the mighty magic of the alicorns. With Tempest Shadow's help, he launched a surprise attack while the Equestrian capital Canterlot was holding a festival and its defences were lax. The Storm King very nearly succeeded: he took the four princesses captive and seized their magic. But under the blows of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and with Tempest Shadow's betrayal, the Storm Empire's army was routed, the Staff of Sacanas was taken, and the Storm King fell with his empire in Canterlot.
After the war of conquest against Equestria died with the Storm King, the nations that had been enslaved by the empire rose up one after another. Inside the empire, the factions that the war had united, along with countless outside forces, quickly began carving up its inheritance, and Storm Island fell into enormous chaos. The empire that had once terrified countless beings was gone.
After the Storm Empire's fall, the island's rich natural resources drew some ponies to emigrate there, and griffons, catfolk and others came as well, bringing their ideas, cultures and technology. Through cooperation and friction between many species, a large multi-species southern port — Freeport — gradually took shape and began to grow into a key southern trading hub. But many species living together inevitably produces friction.
Free Equestria
The Refugee Tide
After the Final Battle broke out, with the bearers of the Elements of Harmony captured and the Equestrian army routed in the field, tens of thousands of Equestrian residents were forced to abandon their homes and became refugees. This vast tide of refugees moved south, crossing the Everfree Forest, Quarry Farm, Appleloosa, the Forbidden Jungle and Anji, dispersing along the way; the furthest group reached Storm Island.
After entering Storm Island, the great majority of the ponies chose to settle in Freeport, which caused the local population to swell sharply in a short time and produced a great many social problems. Issues such as refugee resettlement, subsistence, and ethnic conflict grew steadily worse. Freeport's public order soon deteriorated again, conflict between the various groups reached a peak, and gangs sprang up like bamboo shoots to protect themselves, further worsening the already fragile situation.
Outside Freeport, the pony refugees established several new settlements, such as New Ponyville. Friction and exchange between the various species gradually formed Storm Island's distinctive local culture — such as the “Claw and Hoof Festival”, which combines Equestria's Summer Celebration with the griffons' traditional Blue Moon Festival.
The Founding of Free Equestria
During the Crystal Empire War of 1000, the captured former Crystal Empire royal guard Flash Sentry, Twilight Sparkle's student Sandbar, and a group of soldiers and officials seized a troop transport and made their way to Storm Island. In the spring of 1001, Starlight Glimmer and Discord launched their first uprising and began marching on Canterlot, hoping to overthrow Cozy Glow and her puppet Royal Committee. When the news reached Storm Island, the ponies rejoiced. Flash Sentry and Sandbar jointly issued the “Address to All the Peoples of Equestria”, announcing the founding of Free Equestria. They condemned the Triumvirate's conduct of the war and mobilised elite troops to support Starlight Glimmer and Discord. Most of these troops were ponies, but a few were of other species, including storm creatures; the Free Equestrian government promised to grant them and their families citizenship after Equestria was restored.
But the uprising lasted only half a year before it was declared a failure. Cozy Glow's armies beat back the joint offensive of Starlight and Discord, and armed uprisings across Equestria were almost entirely suppressed. Covering the Discord Legion's withdrawal, this elite force was surrounded and annihilated. When the news reached Storm Island it shocked everyone. The veterans came home maimed and, because of economic hardship, received no proper resettlement. Great crowds of protesters immediately filled every street and alley, and faced with this Flash Sentry declared martial law outright, maintaining Free Equestria's military government by heavy-handed control. The Free Equestrian government briefly became the target of every species on the island, and the pony refugees fell into despair. Bewilderment and anger spread across Storm Island.
The March Storm
In March 1002, Flash Sentry announced a new round of conscription on Storm Island to meet the threat. But the islanders, having lived through the failure of the war, openly resisted conscription, and the two sides clashed violently in the streets of Freeport. Many areas, unable to bear being dragged into “the ponies' conflict”, publicly declared themselves outside Free Equestria's rule. Within the government, the faction led by Sandbar began to make trouble: Sandbar held that the Free Equestria Flash Sentry had built was in fact a military dictatorship that had betrayed the spirit of Harmony. The former Storm King's lieutenant 纷争 also returned to Storm Island at this time; backed by a great many storm creature nationalists, he publicly opposed the ponies' monopoly of all power in Free Equestria and demanded that “Storm Island decide Storm Island's fate!”
At the end of March the situation began to develop towards the most dangerous outcome, coming almost to the brink of civil war. Everyone thought Free Equestria's days were numbered — but just then the arrival of one pony brought a turn for the better.
Sunset Shimmer and the “New Ponyville Declaration”
When the Final Battle first broke out, Sunset Shimmer knew nothing about it. She only sensed that no news had come from Equestria for some time, and every portal to Equestria had either failed or been shut. A sense of foreboding began to haunt her.
After the Starlight–Discord uprising failed, Discord found the magic notebook through which Princess Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer had communicated, and gave it to Starlight Glimmer; having made contact with Sunset Shimmer, Starlight told her everything that had happened in Equestria. Because time passes at different rates, Sunset Shimmer realised that several years had passed in Equestria during her few months.
After the initial shock, Sunset decided to support the resistance. Together with her friend human Twilight Sparkle (Sci-Twi) she began researching Equestrian magic in earnest. A few months later Sunset Shimmer built a usable one-way portal, left a letter and slipped away without saying goodbye, returning to Equestria. Through this portal she came to Storm Island and began investigating and exploring the island.
In April 1002, having learned of the situation on Storm Island, Sunset Shimmer decided to ease the tension there. She began spreading her democratic ideas in the streets and alleys, winning considerable public support. She then used her status as a former student of Celestia to make contact with Sandbar and Flash Sentry, and after long efforts succeeded in inviting representatives of the various factions within Free Equestria and of the states to talks in New Ponyville. After a full day of tense discussion and strenuous mediation by Sunset Shimmer, the states agreed to continue under the rule of the Free Equestrian government while retaining a great deal of autonomy, and the representatives of Freeport and the island's factions could form parties to take part in the Free Equestrian government. The parties then signed the New Ponyville Declaration: it provided that Free Equestria is a federal republic of seven equal states, that its form of government is a parliamentary republic, and that every adult citizen has the vote. The New Ponyville Declaration also served as a provisional constitution. From then on, Free Equestria's democratic era began.
This measure successfully eased the tension and averted a greater conflict. The conference made everyone look at this girl named Sunset Shimmer with new eyes. Over the following period Sunset Shimmer used the notebook to put Free Equestria in contact with Our Town, spreading new technology and culture — for example, popularising rock music across the island. And because of her open, straightforward character, all the factions in the government got on well with her. In the end, though she was not especially willing, she was elected “interim Prime Minister” of Free Equestria by an overwhelming margin.
In July 1002, Sunset Shimmer was sworn in at Freeport and announced her governing goals: to improve living conditions on Storm Island, end ethnic conflict and win the war abroad.
But it must be noted that the conference only eased, and did not remove, the main contradictions; the establishment of a democratic government was not a result that satisfied every being either. The conflicts between the factions continued to accumulate and to grow more intense.
A New Era Approaches
It is December 1002, a new year is about to begin, and Free Equestria is still mired in division and ethnic conflict.
For Sunset Shimmer, the excitement of leading a country for the first time was quickly shattered by endless petty work; the difficulty and pressure of ruling a country far exceeded her imagination. She took all the responsibility and all the work on herself. Simply dealing with the factions' divisions and confrontations left her physically and mentally exhausted, and as interim prime minister she was undoubtedly pushed into the spotlight to bear all the blame; her guilt at failing to save Twilight and Equestria began to crush her from within, tormenting the girl nearly to breaking point. And on the other side of the portal, Canterlot City was hardly peaceful either: magic leaks were becoming ever more common, even setting off a severe cold wave across the United States. Sunset Shimmer's friends anxiously tried to restart the portal to find her — and they were not the only ones eyeing the power of magic...
Both worlds are heading into the unknown, and the scales of the dimensions rest on one girl's shoulders.
Within the government, the situation is even more tangled. The democratic reforms did not effectively ease the conflicts between factions; on the contrary, with Sunset Shimmer there to take the blame, factionalism ran rampant inside the government. The divisions and infighting between the factions became more brazen still. Reformists, conservatives, democrats, harmonists, griffons, ponies and storm creatures argued endlessly at every meeting. Broadly speaking, four parties currently have the greatest influence in the government:
The Friendship Party: led by Sandbar, Princess Twilight Sparkle's student and regarded as the successor of the element of “kindness”. They are seen as the voice of the “silent majority”. Their members and supporters consist mainly of pony refugees who want calm and stability, and of people of every species who hold traditional harmonist views. They adhere to traditional harmonist thinking, advocate peace and stability, the easing of conflicts, and oppose ethnic discrimination. Under Sandbar's leadership the Friendship Party carries out extensive charitable work, comforting victims and helping the poor. As a result the Friendship Party is warmly welcomed by Free Equestria's broad poor and common classes, and is a powerful driver of the anti-discrimination movement. On the Equestrian question, Sandbar and most party members hold that the economy should be developed and domestic politics stabilised first, acting when the time is ripe rather than rashly launching a futile “northern expedition”.
The Free Harmony Party: founded by Sunset Shimmer and currently the ruling party of Free Equestria; most of its members advocate sweeping reform to build a genuinely democratic government. They are ambitious, committed to forging a new age and making Free Equestria a beacon of southern prosperity. Like the Friendship Party, most members of the Free Harmony Party also accept harmonist ideas and take progressive positions on ethnic and economic questions. The two often cooperate in various ways. The difference is that the Free Harmony Party's supporters are more radical, with a large contingent of young people who are cynical, rebellious, and eager for a real transformation and for it to spread. On Equestria their attitude is ambiguous.
The Storm Party: headed by the former Storm King's lieutenant 纷争, the Storm Party is a highly controversial group, made up mainly of the leading military and political figures of the Storm Empire era and of radical storm creature populists. Their platform looks quite conservative: to build a new state founded on Storm Island's traditions and to oppose the excessive admission of outside migrants. In foreign policy they are eager to restore the Storm Empire's former influence and extend their reach across the whole south to counter the “New Era order”. Facing controversy, 纷争 has stressed that the Storm Party will never neglect people's livelihoods and does not support dictatorship; it wants a stable, tradition-based state and gradual reform, one able to stand up to the so-called Equestrian Empire and block outside threats.
The Pony Power Party: led by Flash Sentry, former Royal Guard of Equestria and supreme commander of the Equestrian force stationed on Storm Island. The Pony Power Party is a force not to be underestimated; since Flash Sentry single-handedly built Free Equestria's military government, the party's reputation is poor. But there is no denying that its platform appeals greatly to many ponies, especially former Equestrian officials, nobles and military men: to build a stable, powerful industry, and to use advanced technology and the Storm Empire's legacy to arm an invincible army and crush the so-called “pseudo-Equestrian Empire” at a stroke. Many nationalists are fervent supporters of this party. In their view Storm Island's government is merely a stopgap, and they will return to Canterlot in the end.
Besides the four major parties there are many smaller groups, such as the “Freeport Trade Union” and the “Storm Brotherhood”; their influence is limited, but they are still worth noting.
Although the parties differ in many ways, their ultimate aim is the same: to break up the Equestrian Empire's sphere of influence and end the dark “New Era”.
On Storm Island, the failure of the resistance war deeply shocked every local resident, and pessimism and bewilderment hung over the whole island. The stability and development the democratic government promised seemed endlessly distant; protests and clashes happened every day in the streets of Freeport, the gulf between species grew deeper, violent crime proliferated, and the economy was in chaos — public trust in the Free Equestrian government had fallen to freezing point. In the countryside and deep mountains, the poor regions were still plagued by hunger and cold; to them Free Equestria was an outsider, even an invader. In places beyond the reach of these outsiders, new forces rooted in the land were quietly rising.
A cold tundra with hardly a clear day all year, settlements cut to pieces by mountain peaks. A chaotic city and a poverty-stricken countryside, councillors arguing endlessly in parliament, a young leader breaking down under the pressure. New technology and new ideas battering tradition, endless ethnic conflict, social ties growing ever more atomised. Longing for Equestria and doubt about where she belongs, the devastation of war and the anxiety of the Windigos' approach — welcome to Free Equestria. Unlike the fanatical draconequus bent on revenge or the northern resistance fighters full of fighting spirit and sworn to defend their homeland, this place is full of cold, fanaticism, decadence and a strong streak of self-destruction. Like an inner void scoured into ruins after a violent storm.
It is now the end of 1002, and a new era is about to begin...
New content will arrive in the “Love, Death and Equestria: The Storm Approaches” version.