the frontier [Lore] Sveltahorse

[SteelEagle]

SVELTAHORSE - THE UNCONQUERABLE WILL

 

There are dozens upon dozens of small towns, villages, and hamlets that are nearly impossible to pinpoint on any map of Equestria. It would be impractical to do so and none of them are notable in and of themselves. For the vast majority of its existence, Sveltahorse followed the same model. A sleepy little fishing village to the southwest of Stalliongrad, it was never the site of any major event and little distinguished it from other river villages nearby. Life was as harsh as it was anywhere else in the north but the hardy ponies of Sveltahorse created a close knit community that worked hard and scrapped by with a solid if not spectacular standard of living. However, recent events have given this otherwise nondescript town reason to be put on the map.

 

During the Changeling attack on Ponyville during a recent Nightmare Night, Sveltahorse was stealthily overrun and occupied by Changelings to serve as a potential supply hub for a proposed invasion should the Ponyville attack be successful. In the span of minutes, the entire population was taken and replaced by Changelings. Had the story of Sveltahorse ended there it sadly would not have been remarkable, as more than a few Equestrian towns have vanished by the machinations of the Changelings. But it was not where their story ended and what would happen next gave Sveltahorse a certain kind of fame.

 

The ponies didn't just resist, the whole town broke free from their captors not far out of town and then fought to retake it. Unlike Ponyville or Canterlot where there were many highly skilled or powerful Equestrians present, the farming ponies of Sveltahorse were simple. In the absence of skill or power they used sheer guts and a willingness to do anything to win. When the Royal Equestrian Army routed the Changelings from Ponyville and returned to Sveltahorse, they found almost the whole city burned to the ground and more captured Changelings than were found in Ponyville. This included many high ranking Changelings who had fled from Ponyville after the defeat, only to walk into a town in flames as the townsponies discovered that one way to see who was who was to see who's reflections were those of ponies...and who had Changeling ones.

 

Of course, that is their tale. Maybe the town burned down during the battle for some other reason, but no matter what, the result is the same. The town was destroyed but is now being rebuilt bigger and better before, with ponies the nation over knowing the name of the town where normal Equestrian ejected Changelings by any means necessary. Most citizens of Sveltahorse would go back to their normal ways of life, but the town has grown and a segment of the population is more than willing to bank on that fame to turn this small farming village into a tourist attraction. Some may see it as poor form but ask them and they'll ask you what you did to defeat the Changeling menace.

- A History of Equestrian Geography, by Painted Fields