*SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3!* Speculations on the Crystal Kingdom.

[Nas 2,873]

From what we have, it doesn't look like there is much to go by. Based on their traditional-esque customs, such as jousting, I assume they are portrayed as a medieval culture, representing the Middle Ages and their respective activities, ways of life, etc.

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

Merged the Crystal Kingdom culture thread with this one.

[Magic Man 222]

Merged the Crystal Kingdom culture thread with this one.

 

Thank you, in hindsight, that is probably what I should have done. Posted it in this thread. My bad.

[Yellow Diamond 7,569]

Thank you, in hindsight, that is probably what I should have done. Posted it in this thread. My bad.

 

No worries! Just make certain to use the search function if you're uncertain whether or not a topic already has a dedicated thread.

[Magic Man 222]

No worries! Just make certain to use the search function if you're uncertain whether or not a topic already has a dedicated thread.

 

Unfortunately, that's the point. I made BOTH threads, but I did not consider just putting my second thread as just another post on my first thread. Oh well, you live, you learn.

[pinkiefan1287 610]

Hard to say what a Crystal Pony is. Could be a type of pony that is separate from earth, pegasus, and unicorn. Maybe it's a type of pony that is just good at finding crystals and making them into objects. They do have a nice kingdom.

[Magic Man 222]

Hard to say what a Crystal Pony is. Could be a type of pony that is separate from earth, pegasus, and unicorn. Maybe it's a type of pony that is just good at finding crystals and making them into objects. They do have a nice kingdom.

 

So I guess that would make 'Crystal pony' a nationality if correct.

[Eenohay 318]

From what I could infer, it seems they are a dead culture wich has almost been forgoten, and the mane 6 are simply trying to save their history, or the race itself, making it come back somehow.

 

Given that there's a Crystal Kingdom, it is suggested that these ponies lived outside of Equestria. Wether they are pre-Equestrian or not is not clear, but given that Cadence has some relation to them im gonna say no, as there's no evidence of alicorns before the founding of Equestria. I think that they were another kingdom that existed alongside Equestria and then dissapeared, maybe because of a war or natural disaster or maybe just because some evil spell of some sort

[pinkiefan1287 610]

From what I could infer, it seems they are a dead culture wich has almost been forgoten, and the mane 6 are simply trying to save their history, or the race itself, making it come back somehow.

 

Given that there's a Crystal Kingdom, it is suggested that these ponies lived outside of Equestria. Wether they are pre-Equestrian or not is not clear, but given that Cadence has some relation to them im gonna say no, as there's no evidence of alicorns before the founding of Equestria. I think that they were another kingdom that existed alongside Equestria and then dissapeared, maybe because of a war or natural disaster or maybe just because some evil spell of some sort

 

Not sure about that. Equestria is a very big land and I think maybe they don't communicate with the other kingdoms or towns of Equestria. But for right now we just don't have enough info to go on right now.

[None42069 520]

EPIC HUGE SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3! IT WILL INCLUDE:

 

(Warning. Revealing the following may ruin season 3 for you.)

 

 

ponies

 

 

Edited July 19, 2012 by Xidphel

[Jammo 986]

If there are crystal ponies, would Spike want to eat them?

[Nas 2,873]

Well, it's the news we've all been waiting for.

 

Yep. Cadance and Shining Armor are the leaders of the Crystal Empire.

 

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/07/spoiler-crystal-empire-information.html

 

Let the discussion begin.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

I'm going to crosspost something from my Tumblr, because this is the best topic for it. Spoilers ahead for everything, obviously.

 

The toy set specifically states that Shining Armor and Princess Cadance "lead the Crystal Empire." This suggests to me a radical revamp in how I picture the nature of politics and nations in the world Equestria lies within.

 

Prior to this, I had thought Equestria was the only pony nation. While other nations might lie outside it, such as a Gryphon nation, a possible Dragon civilization of some kind, perhaps a Minotaur civilization, I had thought all of ponykind lied within one nation. Instead, the existence of the Crystal Empire suggests that there is much more diversity, and possibly additional nations besides just Equestria and the Crystal Empire.

 

Given that Princess Cadance is said to lead the Empire, that suggests that she descends from their royalty, making it strange that she was raised in the Equestrian court in her youth. I propose that she was raised in the Equestrian court in a manner similar to a common practice amongst the Catholic nations of Europe during the fuedal ages. It was common for one court to send a child to be raised in another court by relatives, to gain an education, or to boost diplomatic ties. This means that Cadance's marriage to Shining Armor, while a marriage of love, was also probably highly convenient for the sake of diplomatic ties between Equestria and the Crystal Empire. They lucked out in this regard, as it were. After all, in the Middle Ages, marriages were entirely for the sake of diplomatic relations and the boosts for dynastic ties.

 

Of course, this still leaves some confusing questions, particularly given the content of the Crystal Fair song. First, why does Cadance now lead the Empire? Did she take over for her mother or father after they passed away? Why is Cadance's power fading? Why is a fair needed to "save the Crystal Ponies with their history?"

 

I propose a number of possible answers. First, Cadance's youth combined with her taking over leadership--as it is unlikely a full leader of another nation would stoop to the point of babysitting for a random pony in Equestria--suggests to me that the Alicorns of the Crystal Empire are unlike Celestia and Luna. It is possible they are lesser Aiicorns, whose lifespans are more akin to that of normal ponies, while Celestia and Luna are special due to their association with the Sun and the Moon.

 

Second, it is possible that the Alicorns of the Crystal Empire have a power that ties them into the land they occupy, using the power of love-based magic to keep said land alive. This would explain the reason for why a Renaissance Fair like celebration could be beneficial: it is meant to reawaken cultural pride within the Crystal Empire ponies, and cause them to love their land again, allowing the land to stay alive rather than turning into some form of desolate wasteland. (Thus, the lesson of the episode is to demonstrate how cultural pride can be a positive thing.)

 

The Alicorns of the Crystal Empire might transfer this power from descendent to descendent, on down the line, when that pony reaches full maturity, or perhaps, when that pony has married for love. This might very well explain another reason why Princess Cadance was living in Equestria: she needed to meet a pony she could fall in love with.

 

Equestria has reason to care about the stability and prosperity of the Crystal Empire for probably all kinds of behind the scenes political reasons, but within the episode we'll almost certainly see mostly the more personal, equinity reasons: the people, the ponies, and their livelihood and lives. (That's not to say these aren't important, but just that they're not the only reasons Equestria would choose to help. After all, I'm sure the Crystal Empire is an important trading partner, for example. Then there's also the possibility that if Equestria doesn't help now, the Crystal Empire might start falling apart and, in its anarchy, become more militaristic and invoke the Evil Empire trope, which would obviously result in terrible warfare.)

 

How the Failure/Success song ties into all of this, I am uncertain. In truth I strongly suspect that song is actually unrelated to the events of the Crystal Empire and deals with some other episode entirely, and thus I shall not speculate on it further apart from wondering what Twilight could possibly fail at that would leave her so flustered.

 

All of this speculation is based on the scant amount of information we have at this time, and is thus very much in flux. A lot of this is likely to change as we receive more information, and it could be the situation we see in the actual episode(s) is nothing like what I'm speculating here. Before the leak about the Crystal Empire toy line, for example, I had thought the Crystal Ponies belonged to some nation that had existed before Equestria, and were a people whose cultural identity had long since been subsumed within the identity of Equestria as a whole. (And thus, the Crystal Fair was more about preserving it, to prevent the cultural treasures from being lost.) So well shall see.

[Bright Honor 2,671]

Well according to the new upcoming toy set featureing Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, They apparently are the rulers of the Crystal Kingdom. Just some food for thought.

[Plasmastorm X-15 162]

Lol i accually had this though a while ago. It's kinda odd how ponies are completely made from such a rock.

[Half-Note 273]

Considering "I wasn't prepared for this," all I know is that the test was probably about the Crystal ponies. This gives leway into the episode. And as for who they are. I haven't a bucking idea.

[SBaby 660]

My guess? The Crystal Ponies live in an almost forgotten realm of Equestria.

 

So basically what you're saying is that they live in the... Forgotten Realms... of Equestria?

 

You know, I have a 17th level Weapon Master. I could send him there to end any potential problems and put the speculation to rest once and for all.

 

 

Actually though, what you said about the whole memory thing does sound like a good idea, in all honesty. I could almost see that being the Season 3 opener, or at least being somewhere in Season 3.

Edited July 22, 2012 by SBaby

[cuteycindyhoney 13,307]

So basically what you're saying is that they live in the... Forgotten Realms... of Equestria?

 

You know, I have a 17th level Weapon Master. I could send him there to end any potential problems and put the speculation to rest once and for all.

 

 

Actually though, what you said about the whole memory thing does sound like a good idea, in all honesty. I could almost see that being the Season 3 opener, or at least being somewhere in Season 3.

 

I have a feeling that if I were a gamer, I'd actually understand the first part of your post. Sorry Sbaby. Thanks though for the comments on my fading from memory idea. I don't know how things will turn out in the show, but as a fan of science fiction and fantasy, I'd like to see something along those lines. I think it would be exciting. I can imagine Shining Armor and the mane six struggling to help bring the Crystal ponies and Cadence back into reality. How does this sound? For the first part of the first episode, Shining Armor could be trying to convince Twilight that Cadence wasn't just her imaginary friend from filly-hood, and she had to help her BBBFF restore things with her magic. He could look his sister in the eyes and say "Twi, have I ever lied to you about anything?" His horn would glow, and then we'd see a similar spark in her eyes as from when she first discovered the element of magic. After a brief flashback to the wedding, Twilight would be horrified that she could forget someone so important.

 

I think I may be dwelling on it too much. I hope the actual episode doesn't disappoint me when it turns out I'm way wrong about it in my speculations!

[Mr. Jaguar 1,403]

It's interesting that the mane 6 talk of the crystal ponies in the crystal fair song in past tense, as if they no longer exist, but at the same time saying that they have to save them, which would imply that they're still around. I say past tense because they talk about the things they did as a people, "they liked to joust" instead of "they joust", but since they also say that they must save them, and apparently Cadence and Shining armor rule the crystal empire, they must still exist. So I guess, maybe, something happened to the crystal ponies and somehow this fair will save them, how, I have no bloody idea.

 

snip

 

Or this.

Edited July 22, 2012 by Pegasus25

[Mavlox 1]

Wait... Isn't there going to be another royal sister? Since Cadence is the niece of Celestia, but Luna hasn't given birth to a foal... Maybe Cadence is going to take over her mother's throne, since the mother's magic is wearing off and such....

 

 

 

I don't make any sense at all...

[SBaby 660]

Someone brought up another good point. The Crystal Ponies clearly have a love-based power which is so strong that it's used for things such as keeping Equestria's barrier going (which was alluded to needing to be periodically recharged). So the stakes are actually pretty high if they're a kingdom or civilization of some sort that's in danger of dying out. If the Crystal Ponies die out or lose their powers or whatever might happen to them, then who will recharge the barrier the next time it goes?

Edited July 22, 2012 by SBaby

[Princess_Molestia 1,460]

these crystal ponies have crystal skulls...

 

oh my god...

 

[The Awesome One 1,315]

I'm guessing they're a bit like the bat-ponies who were Luna's chariot drivers in the 'Luna Eclipsed' episode. They were sort of like a sub-species for Pegasi so I'm guessing these Crystal Ponies are a sub-species of Unicorns because Unicorns come from Canterlot and there is this crystal-cave thingy underneath Canterlot itself as shown in the last (awesome) finale.

[Half-Note 273]

It's interesting that the mane 6 talk of the crystal ponies in the crystal fair song in past tense, as if they no longer exist, but at the same time saying that they have to save them, which would imply that they're still around. I say past tense because they talk about the things they did as a people, "they liked to joust" instead of "they joust", but since they also say that they must save them, and apparently Cadence and Shining armor rule the crystal empire, they must still exist. So I guess, maybe, something happened to the crystal ponies and somehow this fair will save them, how, I have no bloody idea.

 

 

 

Or this.

 

I think the Crystal ponies may have forgotten about their proud history and the Mane 6 have to help them remember. It fits both the episode and the target Demographic in terms of plot. Not to mention it offers up a moral lesson of always being proud of your heritage.

[Princess_Molestia 1,460]

I think the Crystal ponies may have forgotten about their proud history and the Mane 6 have to help them remember. It fits both the episode and the target Demographic in terms of plot. Not to mention it offers up a moral lesson of always being proud of your heritage.

 

or bad Indiana Jones referances