My Little Pony

Heirs of the Herb Garden Isles

Today, all of Equestria is merry, for it is the one-thousandth Summer Sun Celebration of the 3rd Era. All merry, but one pony, who has discovered that today is the day of the return of the tyrant, Nightmare Moon. Her battle with and eventual defeat of the tyrant is well known, but this is not their story.

This is the story of the tyrant's followers, and their visit to the laconic, bohemian port town of Fillydelphia. A thousand years ago, the tyrant was banished to the moon, and her followers were banished to a wild archipelago: the Herb Garden Isles. Before the banishment, the Islanders were the Nocturnal, proud members of Equestrian society, carving out the night-time hours as their territory and living in harmony with their sun-loving cousins. Afterward, they were a broken people, lost without the guidance of their princess. With no unifying cultural identity, they separated and spread out to different islands. Over the generations, they built squalid, thuggish kingdoms in their vast archipelago, the sort of place a parent might threaten to send a naughty child or so the stories tell. In any case, the Islanders are far from the minds of the ponies of prosperous, modern Equestria. Who could have guessed that they were counting the nights until the tyrant's return, with their own sinister plan for today?

Characters

Pony	Player	Race	Occupation	Obsession	Cutie Mark	Mark Talent	Hidden Talent
Aurora Heart	Melissa	Pegasus	Climatic Designer	Natural Beauty	Rainbow Heart	Prismatic Weather Control	Empathy
Brownie	Rob	Earth	Scout Leader	Awards	Compass	Danger navigation	Macguyvering
Crackle	Dani	Unicorn	Power Plant Operator	Efficiency	Contact Symbol	Control Lightning	Excitation
Crystal Clear	Billy	Pegasus	Journalist	News	Sparkling Crystal	X-Ray Vision	Awareness
Pinkie Pie	Andrea	Earth	Baker, Event Planner	Happiness	Party Balloons	Partying	Cartoon Logic
Tall Tale	Ben	Earth	Royal Messenger	Accuracy	Locked Letter	Perfect Recall	Travel
Twilight Sparkle	Tara	Unicorn	Scholar	Order	Magic Sparkles	Magic	Leadership

Races

The three pony races are unicorn, pegasus, and earth ponies. A fourth type of pony, the alicorn (or winged unicorn), exists, but the only known examples are the female members of the royal family, so it is not considered a separate race. Speaking non-pony species also exist, including both ungulates such as deer, buffalo, donkeys, and zebras, as well as non-ungulates such as griffons and dragons. The vast majority (>95%) of the Equestrian population is accounted for by the three pony races.

Unicorns have a single spiral horn on their head. This horn gives them the ability to use unicorn magic. This type of magic is invoked by will alone, and any type of effect is theoretically possible, though most unicorns only have access to one or two types of spell (their talents). Additionally, all unicorns learn spells that give them a form of telekinesis and the ability to create small amounts of light. The use of unicorn magic is extremely obvious to anyone who can see the caster, as it causes their horn to glow with a signature color.

Pegasi have feathered wings that allow them to fly, as well as the ability to walk on clouds. Most pegasi will have a talent that relates to the weather in some way, which gives them access to pegasus magic. This type of magic operates across a range of weather-related effects, which pegasi use to fulfill their duties in the area of weather control. This mainly refers to the water cycle as well as the cycle of seasons, but also includes secondary phenomena such as wind, lightning, and rainbows. Aside from the weather and flight-related abilities of pegasus magic, pegasus talents are usually rather subtle.

Earth ponies have neither horns nor wings. They do however have a unique ability to clearly understand the earth and its life, including plants, wild animals, and ponies. As such, they are the growers of crops and providers of food, making them the foundation of Equestrian society. Additionally, they have natural healing abilities, and their endurance is unmatched among the other races. The talents of earth ponies are always very subtle, though their effects may not be.

Mechanics

Crisis

A PC (pony character) can assume narrative control of the game by resolving a crisis. A crisis can be initiated by a PC at any time. For the duration of the crisis, the PC will take on some irrational attitude or behavior appropriate to their obsession. The crisis ends at any time after all players agree that the crisis has been fully expressed; one possible metric of expression is for it to negatively affect all of the PCs.

Musical Number

If you sing us a song about the situation then you can narrate what happens next.

Setting

Fillydelphia is a small Equestrian city. It's more urban and avante-garde than sleepy Ponyville, but less frantic and wealthy than posh Canterlot. It is notable for being the largest port city in Equestria; Equestria, however, is not notable for its ports, which have gone into significant decline with the advent of airship technology. Fillydelphia does not yet have an airport, but water-based travel is highly available, along with a relatively modern above-ground rail system. Geographically, the city is built on a strip of land between the Fillypeak mountains to the east and the river Delphi to the west, which empties into the Eternian Ocean to the south. Buildings uniformly become older as one travels from north to south through the city. Farms can be found across the river, and around the marshy lands of the river delta, both areas being referred to by the locals as "in the county". Beyond the mountains to the east are arid badlands. Commercially, Fillydelphia is still a center of international trade for Equestria, and strange foreign curios are commonplace. It is the closest Equestrian population center to the Herb Garden Isles, but also to many other international locations, earning it the title of "Gateway to the East". Declining rents in the city have started to attract artists and eccentrics away from basically-free shacks in the mountains and badlands. Like most towns in Equestria, Fillydelphia has a royally-appointed mayor who oversees the many annual public works projects that all citizens are expected to participate in, but otherwise takes a laissez-faire approach to the day-to-day operation of the city, relying on the overpowering benevolence of the ponies of Equestria to maintain order and public welfare. As such, law enforcement and social services are unknown. The currency of Equestria is the bit.

Ponies of Fillydelphia

• Junior Filly Scouts
  • Cherry Blossom
    
    • earth pony
    • baker
    • oldest, most responsible junior scout
    • Cherry family operates a small farm
  • Dizzy Bear
    
    • pegasus
    • walleyed
    • big for her age
    • has a sense of responsible fun
    • joined the scouts after washing out of flight camp
  • Shining Sunbeam
    
    • unicorn
    • musician
    • youngest, most irresponsible junior scout
    • Sunbeam family is rather wealthy
• Earth Pony Industrialists
  • Hot Dam
    
    • runs the hydroelectric plant
    • rather old and frail now
    • has a lot of connections
  • Pig Iron
    
    • runs the steel plant
    • jolly and lecherous
    • makes bad jokes
  • Wood Pulp
    
    • runs the paper mill
    • very serious
    • occasionally sarcastic
• Pegasus Weather Patrol
  • Cloud Twister
    
    • wind specialist
    • busy bee
  • Lazy Day
    
    • rain specialist
    • slacker
• Fillydelphia Interrogator Staff
  • Brown Ink
    
    • earth pony
    • editor
    • responsible, conservative
  • Glitter Flash
    
    • unicorn
    • photographer
    • mischievous, daring
• Unicorn Artists
  • Top Style
    
    • hatmaker
    • timid, sheltered
    • shop is “Top Form”
  • Ruby Chisel
    
    • sculptor
    • earthy, physical
    • gallery is “Ruby Repose”

Link to earlier game page

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