Cervidian Tribe

The **Cervidian Tribe** is a society of deer-like ponies that served Princess Luna during her uprising, alongside the Thestral and Lycanequui Tribes and Dark Ones.

## History

### Forbidden Love

In ancient times, there was a race of cervids that were just as sentient and intelligent as ponies. These cervids were allies to the pony nation that existed before Equestria, but relations were as shaky as those between the three pony tribes. So, nopony expected for love to blossom between some cervids and unicorns. The children born of these illicit unions were pretty much ponies with short deer tails, deer ears, and tiny growths on their heads that would eventually grow out into antlers. These hybrid foals were kept secret. It was noted as they aged that the hybrids were able to channel magic through their antlers much like how unicorns did it through their horns. For years, the foals were kept hidden and more were born. The hybrid foals were eventually discovered and the unicorn king of that time issued a proclamation. Unicorns who broke their law of pure-breeding had to either kill their hybrid foals or leave the kingdom to be with their cervid lovers. Each and every one of them chose love over acceptance. Their cervidian lovers took them in and things seemed great for a time. The hybrids grew in numbers and it looked as if they'd have a fighting chance. Then came the great blizzard that drove ponykind to what would later be called Equestria. The cervids were the first to die, unable to survive in the harsh conditions that ponykind's hatred brought forth. This brought about the end of the cervid race. The blizzard killed off their kind completely, so one can say that ponykind had driven them to extinction. The rogue unicorns died next. Only the hybrids survived and managed to make their way to the newly founded kingdom of Equestria. While the Equestrians were hesitant to take them in, the hybrids were welcomed with open hooves. In honor of their cervid ancestors, the hybrids called themselves cervidians. Equestrians would later come up with the simplified term of "deer pony".

### The Pony of Shadows

It was said that the Pillars of Equestria were brought together by another who later grew jealous of their powers and sought to steal their magic from them. That is a lie. They were brought together by another, a scrawny and practically magic-less Cervidian named Stygian. However, he did not try to steal their powers. He actually tried to make copies of the artifacts he took from his friends to gain the strength and magic he needed to stand beside them in battle. However, countless rumors from those the Pillars aided came to color their views of him. They were often told that Stygian would one day betray them as it was in the nature of "his kind". When the stallion took their artifacts, all those rumors they refused to believe at first seemed to have been proven true. As a result, Stygian was cast out without being given so much as a chance to explain himself. Betrayed by those he thought were friends, Stygian found the Well of Shade and gave himself to the darkness, becoming the Pony of Shadows. In hopes of stopping him, the Pillars used the very power they believed the Cervidian sought to steal from them to seal him away in Limbo, sealing themselves with him in the process, though not before founding Shavindra Dynasty, a family of ponies with Cervidian-ancestry that would continue to this day. It wouldn't be until just over a thousand years later that they would all be set free and shown the error of their ways by the Harmony bearers. Shortly after the disappearance of the Pillars and the Pony of Shadows, the Royal Sisters were coronated and the existence of the Cervidians was brought to the attention of Princess Luna. Many ponies looked upon them with hatred ever since one of their own turned to the path of darkness, fearing that they were all the same. Luna was not so close-minded. Like she had done with the Thestrals and the Lycanequui, she befriended the Cervidians and offered them a place in her Night Guard and her court. Seeing a chance to prove they weren't backstabbers like Stygian had seemingly proven himself to be, the Cervidians took Luna's offer and swore to forever serve her in return for giving them a chance where most others wouldn't have.

### The Rise and Fall of Nightmare Moon

It was no secret that the "night ponies" as Cervidians, Thestrals, and Lycanequui called themselves were hated by their counterparts, the "day ponies". For a time, the most that broke out between the two warring factions were petty squabbles. Then, all that hatred between the day and night ponies came to a boil and the Night Hunts began. The day ponies began murdering their night counterparts in the cover of Luna's night, making each and every death look like some sort of freak accident. Luna wasn't fooled. She went to her sister in hopes that she would stop her subjects from their acts of cold-blooded murder. Celestia, however, had been fooled by her subjects' machinations. Not only did she refuse to believe that the day ponies would ever be that cruel, she accused Luna of making the whole thing up just because she was jealous that they didn't love her night as much as they loved the day. Luna couldn't believe that her own sister would be that stupid! Furious, Luna decided to leave Canterlot for the destabilised lands to the north with her followers. These icy north lands that had formerly made up the Northern Kingdom had recently been thrown into chaos upon the assassination of their king at the hands of the Black Lilly organisation. What few did not know is that soon after the kingdom's destabilization, Celestia had been visited by several members of the United Council, who, in a private meeting between them, Celestia, Luna and their brother, Night Shade, expressed their hope to Celestia that the Princess of Equestria would take their offer to reunite the North Kingdom. When Celestia declined, Luna urged her sister to reconsider, believing it to be their opportunity to share Equestria's progressive ways with the rest of the nation. Even though the older Equestrian princess explained that they would be seen as conquerors and only greeted with war, Luna reasoned that there were already wars and by becoming involved, they had the opportunity to change things. Celestia remained adamant in declining, which caused a rift between the two sisters. Her faith in her sister's judgement now shattered by Celestia's inability it accept that her "precious day ponies" would be involved in anything so brutal, Luna plotted to leave Equestria to forge an Empire from the shattered kingdom. She eventually turned her and Celestia's own brother, Night Shade, against their sister, and, together with Luna's other followers and the Night Pony tribes, conspired to escape the city and stabilize Ba Sing Se, the Northern Kingdom's former capital. Finally, having gained several highly-influential supporters, Luna, Night Shade and their followers constructed in secret a fleet of airships while Luna summoned those of her followers not situated in Canterlot to join them, including every member of the Night Pony tribes.

As they prepared to leave, Luna is confronted by her sister, who Luna boldly told that she and those accompanying her were leaving Equestria to restore order in the Northern Kingdoms. Threatened to be banished from the land if they were to leave, Luna remained unfazed, declaring that when she chose to return, it would be on her own terms. Luna would then leave in a fleet of airships with Night Shade, every member of the Thestral, Cervidian and Lycanequui tribes, no matter their age, a motley collection of ordinary Canterlot citizens, at least half of Canterlot's fighting force and some of Canterlot's wealthiest elites. They left for the city of Ba Sing Se and managed to stabilize the kingdom, an action that earned Luna the trust of the kingdoms leaders, who appointed her as their nations' provisional leader, which Luna accepted. The Night Ponies and their allies continued to stabilize the various fractured kingdoms. However, Luna and many of her Night Pony followers still nursed a grudge against Equestria for not accepting them. Finally, when the now-united Northern Kingdoms were under Luna's control, Luna merged them together to form the Empire of the Moon, or Lunar Empire, and set herself up as their leader. By this time, she had collected an enormous military, merging the Night Ponies and Earth Ponies, Unicorns and Pegasi who had accompanied her when she departed with the ponies of the nations she united, who she realized were very loyal to her. The army possessed enormous financial and military support (as, upon unification, the Northern Kingdoms were as large and powerful as Equestria), and, along with troops, the army was also equipped with which included modernized airships, mecha suits, and other tanks, as well as a mighty fleet of warships. She eventually stretched out to Equestria and, upon displaying her Empire's might, offered to allow Equestria to join them, though Equestria's ponies refused, unwilling to ally themselves with a nation ruled by Night Pony "freaks". Enraged beyond rational thought, the Princess of the Night gave herself to a dark power, transforming herself into Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn then launched an attack in a bid to seize the throne from her foolish and apparently heartless sister. Despite knowing that she had lost her mind, the Night Guard eagerly followed their princess into battle, joining forces with the forces of creatures of the night that Luna had united under her command to form The Army of the Moon and willed their mistress to power, leading to a long and bloody fourteen-year long war. The forces of Equestria were put at a critical disadvantage, as not all ponies were against Nightmare Moon's cause, leading to the Forces of the Moon gaining a loyal network of spies throughout Equestria and multiple recruits from Equestria and beyond, who willingly fought against the Equestrian Army and their own kind. These ponies (both spies and fighters alike), first began with the implantation of around a hundred spies from another shore (the Isles of the Moon), who worked their way into the Equestrian society and began recruiting from within. These Nightmare Moon-supporting ponies and all the Night Ponies fighting for Luna/Nightmare Moon's cause were given a mark in the shape of a black moon, given to them by the dark pony herself and eventually christened themselves The Dark Ones. However, it was growing increasingly harder to identify Luna's followers, as the Mark of the Moon could be camouflaged into the ponies skin. The Nightmare Forces were conquering their way through Equestria with ease, streaming past villages that posed no threat, attacking large towns and cities that housed enough warriors to bother them. The army's way of conquering was silent and clever, with the army waiting until enough of the Dark Ones had slipped into the community, then, upon signal - a violet outline of a full moon with Luna's face etched upon its surface - the Dark Ones would drop their friendly facade and strike out at the unsuspecting members of the community while the Night Ponies and Nightmare Forces struck, destroying any escapees and finishing off what the Dark Ones had started. Eventually, all but Canterlot and the communities around it were all that remained free and the Dark Forces, massively increased by the Dark Ones of the already-conquered communities marched towards the capital that destroy the last part of the nation that remained. As the army attack, Nightmare Moon made her way to the palace to confront her sister, and, while the two siblings dueled, the Night Guard distracting the Day Guard so Celestia would get no help in fighting Nightmare Moon. Their efforts were all for naught in the end however. Just when it seemed that Nightmare Moon would claim victory, Celestia used the Elements of Harmony to seal the wicked mare of darkness in the moon. With Nightmare Moon defeated and imprisoned, the Night Guard and Dark Ones retreated and the night ponies and followers collectively fled from Equestria, seeking refuge in the Undiscovered West where they knew Celestia and her Day Guard couldn't follow. Over the next thousand years, the night ponies trained themselves tirelessly, teaching their descendants everything they would need to know for when their beloved princess returned to resume her conquest of Equestria and bring about an eternal night, teaching them to loathe those who had driven them out for being different. When Nightmare Moon is inevitably defeated and turned back into Princess Luna, the night ponies began to actively integrate into Equestrian society. Some chose to remain in the Night Guard while others chose to work alongside the day ponies and live by their true talents. By the time Princess Cadance's wedding to Shining Armor rolls around, night ponies are as common a sight in just about every city in Equestria as day ponies.

However, though they were no longer at war with Equestria, the Cervidians, Thestrals and Lycanequui of the Night Guard still trained with the same readiness and determination as they had beforehand, a fact that earned them the scorn of the Day Guard, yet made them the stronger half of the Equestrian army. This harsh truth was practically shoved down everypony's throats, none more so than Celestia's, on the day of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding to Captain Shining Armor of the Day Guard. While the Day Guard was distracted by the upcoming nuptials, the Night Guard remained alert since a threat had been made against Canterlot. It was utterly foolish to think that Captain Armor's shield spell along would be the only protection they needed, but the Day Guard insisted that it was enough. Captain Midnight Paladin of the Night Guard wasn't nearly as stupid as to have that much faith in a single pony (no matter how much she wanted to believe that herself), so she made sure everypony under her command kept an eye out for anything suspicious. And nothing was more suspicious to them than Twilight Sparkle suddenly disappearing right after accusing the bride of being evil and deeming her unfit to marry her older brother. "Cadance" failed to take into account that the Night Guard would look into Celestia's prized student going missing. Because of that, they were able to bring both Twilight and the *real* Cadance to the ceremony just before Shining could be married off to Queen Chrysalis of the changelings, who had been posing as Cadance the entire time. The wicked changeling queen had fooled them all and they blew off the one pony who wasn't completely dazzled by the wedding to notice something was wrong. The only consolation to that was that Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash wised up and came to Twilight's rescue like any true friend would. After Chrysalis defeated Celestia with her strengthened magic, the changeling army broke through Shining's weakened shield and all hell broke loose as the Day and Night Guards rushed into battle with the invaders. This is when the real differences between the Day and Night Guards came to light. Try as they might, the ponies of the Day Guard found that they just *couldn't* compare to their Night Guard counterparts. Wherever a pony in golden armor had a hard time with a changeling, a pony in dark armor took one down with ease. It was clear to see that the Night Guard was prepared for a war while the Day Guard wasn't. This fact was not forgotten even when the changelings ultimately defeated the Equestrian army. However, as we all know, Shining and Cadance were able to expel Chrysalis and her forces with their "true love conquers all" shield spell. When all was said and done, Luna had a *very* hard time not chastising her sister for letting the Day Guard become so weak while the Night Guard remained strong and vigilant even in her thousand year absence. Celestia saw for herself that her actions nearly led to the fall of Equestria. She didn't need her little sister rubbing it in. Midnight then suggested that the Day Guard undergo the same training regiment as the Night Guard. Celestia and Shining both agreed since the Night Guard was clearly doing something right. They sadly didn't show any improvement during the Storm King's invasion. Then again, they did take a morale shattering blow when Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were struck down by Tempest Shadow in the blink of an eye. After the Storm King was defeated, Flash Magnus was recruited to be the Equestrian army's new drill sergeant. If anypony could whip the Day Guard into shape and make them more like the Night Guard, it was the last living legionnaire from the legendary Royal Legion of Cloudsdale.

## Appearance, Behavior, and Diet

Cervidians are recognized by their short deer tails, antlers, and their larger and rounder ears that sit a bit higher on the head than normal. Some also bear white markings on their tails, bellies, and chests. Antlers tend to be larger and thicker on stallions. The size of a pair of antlers, also called a rack, varies from pony to pony. Some have larger or smaller racks than others. Like their cervid ancestors, cervidians shed their antlers at a certain time of year to "refresh" them. A cervidian's antlers can be broken despite being naturally dense and hardy. While fractured or broken antlers are still very capable of channeling magic, perfect symmetry with them is required for a cervidian's magic to function properly. Spells tend to fizzle out or even backfire when a cervidian tries to perform with damaged equipment. Because of their innate magic, a cervidian's antlers will grow back rather quickly, so they aren't without their magic for long. Antlers grow back in as little as a day or as long as week. Unicorns actually envy cervidians for this because their horns don't grow back once they're broken. This is because unicorn horns are permanent whereas cervidian antlers are not. Cervidians also have a tendency to wear their manes in ways that don't cover the bases of their antlers. This is due to a myth that it's better for their antlers if the bases are allowed to breathe. Those that believe the myth tend to tie their manes back or wear them as mullets or mohawks. Those that know the myth is just a myth wear their manes in ways that cover their foreheads and let their antlers poke through. Antlers can vary in appearance as well. Most cervidians have "deer" or "elk" antlers. "Reindeer" and "moose" antlers have been seen as well, but only mares can have "reindeer" antlers and only stallions can have "moose" antlers. Like most other pony tribes, cervidians are herbivores. While they do eat all your typical pony foods, they do have two foods in particular that they absolutely love. Cervidians have a fondness for nuts and fruit. Their favorite nuts are acorns and pecans while their favorite fruits are berries of all kinds, persimmons, and apples (to answer a certain question that I'm sure everybody is asking, Applejack and Silverleap do become best friends since he visits Sweet Apple Acres all the time to buy apple products).

* **The Arcane Circle**: Like the unicorns have Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns (which was changed to "School for Gifted Mages" when Celestia herself insisted on admitting cervidians), the cervidians have the Arcane Circle to teach foals with unusually high magical ability. The Circle's original purpose was to train mages for the Night Guard. Since Princess Luna's return, they have abandoned that goal and chose instead to focus on teaching cervidian foals how to tame and properly harness their raw ability. Like the staff at Celestia's school, the cervidians of the Arcane Circle tend to be very selective on the foals they admit. Cervidian foals have to be at a certain level of power to qualify. To test this, they use a gemstone that absorbs and gauges magic. If a foal's magic level at least reaches the bare minimum requirement, the jewel glows and the foal is admitted into the Arcane Circle as an apprentice mage. Foals that fail are forced to attend a more public school and learn more basic magic. As for the gem itself, it's unknown how exactly the Arcane Circle came into possession of it. Some have speculated that it was a gift from the Kirin since its origin can be traced to the Peaks of Peril, but the gem has no concrete history.
* **The Lockhorn Tournament**: Around the time of year when they have to shed their antlers, cervidians hold a competition in which they literally butt heads to see who is stronger. The actual point of the tournament is for them to knock off their antlers or loosen them up so they fall out faster, so it's more or less a big game they like to play with each other. Ponies actually come from far and wide to see the competition and the shedded antlers are often ground to make colorful beads for souvenir necklaces and dreamcatchers or broken up so the prongs can be sold. Lycanequui and dog owners in particular buy the prongs as they make excellent long-lasting chew toys. The best looking shedded antlers are collected to be made into a trophy of the winner's choosing. Your typical trophies are a necklace or dreamcatcher with more ornate beads than those of the souvenir variety, a crown or tiara made from antler prongs, or just the very best pair of shedded antlers properly preserved and painted and/or carved with a simple but decorative design (think floral vines or Celtic circle/knot patterns).
* **Marriage with Dark Ones**: During their centuries of exile, the Cervidians and Luna's followers integrated with each other and it was common practice for Night Ponies and Dark Ones to mate, making hybrids between the races fairly common and are seen as normal members of the community.
* **Ideology to the Night**: Like their fellow Night Ponies and the Dark Ones, the Cervidians treat Luna with goddess-like reverence, obeying orders only from Luna or her representatives and worship her with utter devotion. Before Luna was freed, the Cervidians , like all their comrades, believe that their mistress was the real queen and parrot her belief that their deeds were all for "*The Greater Good*". The Cervidians, like all of Luna's followers, dedicate themselves to Luna and obey her every command, even if it will threaten their own lives and serve her with rigid obedience.
* **Cutie Marks**: Unlike Thestrals, Cervidians can and do have cutie marks just like any other pony tribe. However, their way of earning the Cutie Mark is different from the way of the ponies of the day, as, instead of marking their particular talent, it marks their achievement in life.
* **Trials**: Once a Cervidians turns seven, they will begin the "Trials." This is a considerably complex series of tests, which evaluates the skills that a wolf-pony has gained over the years. The purpose of this exam is to give possible employers an idea of what the individual Cervidians can do, but more importantly it is often considered to be a mark of acceptance into the tribe. Each Cervidians will take part in each test until it becomes too difficult and they can no longer continue. They will then be given their score for the select task, which can range from 1-100, and can have dozens of scores for individual fields. Cervidians can use their results to help plan for their future and to make improvements to their lifestyles. These various exams count as a Cervidian's final exam before graduating, however, "failing" a test does not negatively impact their grades; however, they can retake the test(s) to a certain extent. There have been only a few cases in Cervidians history where a wolf-foal has scoured 100 in every field, and those individuals are often instantly nominated as the next governor or married into the royal family in order to pass on their genetics.