Equestria serves as the backdrop for the adventures of Twilight Sparkle, the main character of Friendship is Magic, and her friends, who are collectively referred to as the Mane Six.

This period is described as chaotic, when the horse-like windigos brought freezing temperatures and eternal darkness to the world, and other monsters terrorized the populace.

The birth of future princesses Celestia and Luna, alicorn sisters who could raise and lower the celestial bodies at will, ushered in an era of prosperity.

[12][13] Under Princess Celestia and Luna, Equestria could focus greater magic and resources on its development despite the emergence of threats like the evil Lord Tirek,[14] Discord, and wars between ponies and the Changeling Hive.

[16] The status quo remained unchanged until the corruption of Princess Luna, who transformed into Nightmare Moon with the intent of plunging Equestria into eternal night.

The period after the return of Princess Luna through the ascendancy of Twilight Sparkle is the era most detailed by the main comics, television series, and video games.

In the first alternate timeline shown, King Sombra expands the Crystal Empire's borders to cover half of Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom.

[23] Further alternate realities include one ruled by Discord, one in which Tirek ravages the land, one in which Flim and Flam bulldoze the Everfree Forest for development, and one in which Equestria is reduced to a barren wasteland.

In addition, Faust envisioned the ponies as realistic horses who ate hay, lived in barns, pulled carts, wore saddles, and used their mouths to pick up things—qualities that were formerly avoided.

[27] Throughout the later seasons of Friendship Is Magic, body types have varied, being designed to embody diverse characteristics, including age and personality.

Earth ponies form the backbone of Equestria's economy, operating within most industrial sectors involving natural resources, construction, or extraction.

[citation needed] In the episode "Hurricane Fluttershy," a coordinated team of one hundred pegasi demonstrates their ability to generate hurricane-force winds to funnel water from a lake.

Unicorns can directly absorb, wield, channel, create, and manipulate magic; this ability is powered by a horn of variable length, texture, and color on their forehead.

[7] While other ponies' innate magical talents are "intuitive or instinctive," unicorns require decades of higher education to master any spell beyond the most fundamental.

Equestria reaches from the western Luna Ocean to the eastern Celestia Sea, bordering the northern Crystal Empire and the southern Queendom of Changelings.

[1] The Equestrian continent's diverse geography ranges, biomes, provinces, and settlements are modeled after or based on North American cities and the Nearctic realm.

[citation needed] Notable settlements, territories, dependencies, and major population centers in Equestria are identified throughout the series and used as the setting for one or more episodes.

[citation needed] As the creator of the show wrote, Lauren Faust explained on various social media pages,[37] that the Everfree Forest is west of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres is southwest, and both Fluttershy's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm.

However, in subsequent interviews, both Faust and Jayson Thiessen mentioned that the geography and continuity of the show are fluidly defined and are subject to change as necessary,[38][39] The Capital Region is Equestria's foundation and "ancestral lands", where the united cooperation between the unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies brought an end to Eternal Winter.

[citation needed] Ponyville is the home of the series' main characters—Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike.

[citation needed] According to the book Art of Equestria, which describes the creation of Friendship is Magic, the creator of the series, Lauren Faust, originally proposed the name Fillydelphia (a pun on the city of Philadelphia) instead of Ponyville.

[44] Faust wrote in a comment on her DeviantArt page that the Everfree Forest is west of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres is southwest, Canterlot is northeast, and Fluttershy's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm.

It suggests that the Everfree Forest is to the east of Ponyville, Sweet Apple Acres to the southeast, and Fluttershy's cottage and meadow are located north of the farm.

It has short cool summers and long cold winters, and biomes consisting of taiga, treeless tundra, glaciers, exotic medicinal plants,[58] and permanent ice sheets.

[citation needed] The Crystal Heart is the empire's most sacred magical artifact, which possesses the power to absorb, magnify, and deflect emotions.

[citation needed] Manehattan is based on the archipelago of Manhattan and Long Island, portrayed as a large port metropolis, with many landmarks resembling those from New York City.

The city is characterized by 20th-century technologies; including tall buildings and skyscrapers with asphalt streets decorated with electric jumbotrons, neon signs, and lampposts.

Manehattan is the most densely populated and ethnically diverse city in Equestria, hosting all manner of races and species, and is a major commercial, financial and cultural center.

[citation needed] Seaward Shoals is portrayed as a small rocky coastal port town, similar to those of the New England region of the United States.

[citation needed] The Badlands are in the remote desert backcountry, and are known to be populated by terrifying creatures, such as diamond dogs, giant worms, and rogue dragons.