Race to the sky

The **race to the sky** is an ongoing period where countries and companies compete for the construction of the tallest structures as a way to assert their wealth and capabilities.

## History

When the construction of the Steel Tower in Pierrebourg (Griffonstone) was finished, the newly crowned tallest structure ever impressed creatures across Equus. With an staggering 1200 royal hooves in height, it was the first structure to have a four digit height and no other structure came close.

Some Equestrian provincial governments, in an effort not to be outdone by Griffonstone, started promoting the construction of taller buildings by offering tax advantages and easier regulations to tall building projects. Manehattan was particularly successful and came to host most of Equestria's tallest buildings.

The Equestrian side of the race started when the Cerian government commissioned the construction of a new city hall, which became the tallest building in Equestria although its height of 600 royal hooves left it far behind the Steel Tower still.

In Manehattan (Gaia), construction companies competed to build the tallest building in the country as a publicity stunt. After several years, new office buildings downtown managed to set new records and get close to 800 royal hooves.

However, with these new buildings still not coming close to the safe record of the Steel Tower and (later proven false) rumors circulating that a new taller Steel Tower was under construction, clamors for an Equestrian record rang through the country.

Some of Equestria's most prestigious architects started drafting blueprints for hypothetical buildings that could be even taller. The tallest of these blueprints, featuring an 1500 royal hoof tall tower, was decided to be built in Cloudsdale (Icaria) and be named the Celestial Tower, in honor of Princess Celestia. The tower managed to be theoretically feasible thanks to its low weight, consisting only of a lookout, an elevator shaft going up to it and steel bars holding the structure up.

Construction was slow at first, but even in its unfinished state it was considered the pride of Equestria and the greatest show of Equestrian engineering, a tower far taller than even the Steel Tower and a symbol of the princess herself.

However, tragedy struck as the tower bent and then collapsed with most of the construction underway, causing tens of deaths and drawing criticisms towards the construction companies, the architects, the steel manufacturers and even Princess Celestia herself.

Post-collapse investigations suggest multiple possibilities which aren't mutually exclusive, such as lower quality steel and thinner bars used in an attempt to cut prices, workers without relevant experience and insufficient support in the original design.

After the disaster, the race cooled off in Equestria. Tall buildings are still being built and regional records are still being set, but safety is now prioritized.

As of present day, the Steel Tower remains the tallest structure in Equus, although recent structures are coming closer to breaking its record. The Great Obelisk, in Hetra, is second in place with a height of 1000 royal hooves.

Other significant structures include the Interplanetary Radio Tower, the tallest radio tower at 600 royal hooves.