Sabertooth pony relations with Equestria - FiM fanart
Information chapters: First | previous.
Among the current Equestrian populace, only about 19 % of all ponies know about the existence of sabertooth ponies.
While mabye a third of them could describe one if you asked out on the street, it's only because of a mention in one of the latter A. K. Yearling books. Many readers don't believe they're an actual race.
It's because the races live far away from each other and because of the laws enforced against them not many sabertooth ponies travel to Equestria, and when they do, the Equestrians don't actually have much chance to recognize one.
The laws they have to folllow are the following:
1. They have to have a special permit to enter Equestria (a visa)
2. They havve to hide their fangs in public or get rid of them altogether
3. They have to tell their planned whereabouts to the authorities, as well as how long they plan to stay and for what reason. They also have to periodically report, if possible.
4. They need another special permit to enter a number of named locations (eg. Canterlot, Las Pegasus, rumor has it Ponyville will appear on this list as well)
5. They cannot hunt on Equestrian ground, with the exception of the Everfree forest* and fishing for immediate use (they may not fish out more than the can eat at once)
6. Their own travel supplies may only consist of vegetarian produce, which means plants, eggs or milk**
7. They are forbidden to own buildings and land
8. Before selling any goods they have to pay an extra fee depending on the nature of these goods***
9. The only jobs they may apply for are temp jobs.
* the Everfree forest is, in general, the only place they are given lenience in the laws, with the exception of visas and reporting (#3)
** which is a useless item anway, as most sabertooth ponies are lactose intolerant
*** this is why they ahrdly ever try to enter Equestrian marketplaces. Their products do get there anyway, but through griffin merchants, which is why many ponies believe them to be of griffin origin
Punishment for breaking these laws is a fine and prison, after a negotiation with their embassy also banisment and automatic rejection of the convict's visa requests in length proportional to the offense.
The reasons why princess Celestia made and harshly enforces these laws aren't very clear. According to her, it's to prevent panic. They are predators, and what makes them even more frightening is the fact they don't look that much different from earth ponies. She also explained that when dealing with her little ponies, they might have the tendency to use various fear-inducing techniques. Her reasoning was also influenced by a number of separatist groups that caused trouble on the outskirts of Equestria. Even Seabrians, however, condemned and punished them after their deportation.
Contemporaries also mention Celestia talking about sabertooth ponies as a remnant of Discord's chaotic magic. Opinions on this matter are mixed, as none of them remember her wording exactly, and as such this is most likely a misunderstanding. This is confirmed as even the now reformed Discord addmited that sabertooth ponies are one race that gives him goosebumps (and then, in a TMI moment, also showed where exactly).
Despite these reasons, academics agree the laws are too strict and that princess Celestia has more secret personal reasons for them.
These laws haven't been loosened even after the return of princess Luna, even though she is regarded as a patron of things other ponies find frightening or weird. These laws did come into effect a few years after the first defeat of Discord, which means both sisters still ruled together. So while for the batponies the rumors and myths surrounding them were dispersed and the only thing that keeps them from massively integrating with the general populace is their nocturnal schedule, we cannot expect the same for sabertooth ponies anytime soon*.
* Just for illustration, the most widespread myth about batponies was that they just sleep near the castle ruin in the Everfree, and will fly to help when Equestria is in it's greatest peril. Whom they were to help varies by region. Sabertooth ponies don't have any consistent myths, but instead seem to merge with stroies about other creatues, like vamponies, changelings and even seaponies, though nopony is able to figure out where that one came from.
Some of the aforementioned laws apply to griffins as well, even though in more lenient versions. This leniency is applied because griffin lands are Equestria's main rival, hold noteworthy political power and they have historically shown they aren't afraid of military conquest. Seabrian emissaries then get less time and they also lack a more convinient position from which they can push in negotiations for their own benefits.
We have also mentioned, in the previous part, that sometimes, sabertooth ponies give birth to other kinds of ponies. As such, one can be also born to Equestrian ponies. Their parents can then pick one of the following options.
One option is surgery, in which they remore the fangs and use long-term low-effect magic to alter the inside biology. While a pony after this procedure retains most of it's temperament, they are usually brought up as earth ponies. This option is mostly used by wealthy families that take great pride in their heritage and prestige.
Usualy recommended, but least chosen, is the option to switch foals with a sabertooth family that gave birth to a non-sabertooth foal. The biggest obstacles for this option are fear especially from the Ëquestrian parent's side. It is also very often used as a source of nasty rumors*.
Most parents decide to risk fines and pick the path of responsibility, where they bring up their foals as they would anyway (with a few extra information and suggestions) without altering their biology, and even put significant amounts of money into illusion spells to make it easier for them to fit in and griffin food imports for a proper diet.
* The most famous target of these rumors is the pegasus mare Fluttershy who takes care of animals around Ponyville. There are ponies who claim she originally comes from Seabria, that she regularily has to file her fangs etc. These rumors are, however, completely unfounded and only started by conspiracy theorists** who are jealous of her title of national hero and that all princesses listen to her opinions.
** Namely these two:
-See Prophet (Crazy Prophet, as registered in the official records), who, among other things, claims she figured out the date of king Sombra's return and nopony did a thing about it. What she doesn't mention is that she actually did it right on her twenty-third try.
-Colourful Language, who earned his notoriety after pointing out that nopony bothered to give attention to the Manehatten hobo Loud Voice, who was walking around with a "The Night Cometh" sign before the return of Nightmare Moon, even though Loud Voice used variations of this sign years before to get bits out of ponies on their late way home.
Among the current Equestrian populace, only about 19 % of all ponies know about the existence of sabertooth ponies.
While mabye a third of them could describe one if you asked out on the street, it's only because of a mention in one of the latter A. K. Yearling books. Many readers don't believe they're an actual race.
It's because the races live far away from each other and because of the laws enforced against them not many sabertooth ponies travel to Equestria, and when they do, the Equestrians don't actually have much chance to recognize one.
The laws they have to folllow are the following:
1. They have to have a special permit to enter Equestria (a visa)
2. They havve to hide their fangs in public or get rid of them altogether
3. They have to tell their planned whereabouts to the authorities, as well as how long they plan to stay and for what reason. They also have to periodically report, if possible.
4. They need another special permit to enter a number of named locations (eg. Canterlot, Las Pegasus, rumor has it Ponyville will appear on this list as well)
5. They cannot hunt on Equestrian ground, with the exception of the Everfree forest* and fishing for immediate use (they may not fish out more than the can eat at once)
6. Their own travel supplies may only consist of vegetarian produce, which means plants, eggs or milk**
7. They are forbidden to own buildings and land
8. Before selling any goods they have to pay an extra fee depending on the nature of these goods***
9. The only jobs they may apply for are temp jobs.
* the Everfree forest is, in general, the only place they are given lenience in the laws, with the exception of visas and reporting (#3)
** which is a useless item anway, as most sabertooth ponies are lactose intolerant
*** this is why they ahrdly ever try to enter Equestrian marketplaces. Their products do get there anyway, but through griffin merchants, which is why many ponies believe them to be of griffin origin
Punishment for breaking these laws is a fine and prison, after a negotiation with their embassy also banisment and automatic rejection of the convict's visa requests in length proportional to the offense.
The reasons why princess Celestia made and harshly enforces these laws aren't very clear. According to her, it's to prevent panic. They are predators, and what makes them even more frightening is the fact they don't look that much different from earth ponies. She also explained that when dealing with her little ponies, they might have the tendency to use various fear-inducing techniques. Her reasoning was also influenced by a number of separatist groups that caused trouble on the outskirts of Equestria. Even Seabrians, however, condemned and punished them after their deportation.
Contemporaries also mention Celestia talking about sabertooth ponies as a remnant of Discord's chaotic magic. Opinions on this matter are mixed, as none of them remember her wording exactly, and as such this is most likely a misunderstanding. This is confirmed as even the now reformed Discord addmited that sabertooth ponies are one race that gives him goosebumps (and then, in a TMI moment, also showed where exactly).
Despite these reasons, academics agree the laws are too strict and that princess Celestia has more secret personal reasons for them.
These laws haven't been loosened even after the return of princess Luna, even though she is regarded as a patron of things other ponies find frightening or weird. These laws did come into effect a few years after the first defeat of Discord, which means both sisters still ruled together. So while for the batponies the rumors and myths surrounding them were dispersed and the only thing that keeps them from massively integrating with the general populace is their nocturnal schedule, we cannot expect the same for sabertooth ponies anytime soon*.
* Just for illustration, the most widespread myth about batponies was that they just sleep near the castle ruin in the Everfree, and will fly to help when Equestria is in it's greatest peril. Whom they were to help varies by region. Sabertooth ponies don't have any consistent myths, but instead seem to merge with stroies about other creatues, like vamponies, changelings and even seaponies, though nopony is able to figure out where that one came from.
Some of the aforementioned laws apply to griffins as well, even though in more lenient versions. This leniency is applied because griffin lands are Equestria's main rival, hold noteworthy political power and they have historically shown they aren't afraid of military conquest. Seabrian emissaries then get less time and they also lack a more convinient position from which they can push in negotiations for their own benefits.
We have also mentioned, in the previous part, that sometimes, sabertooth ponies give birth to other kinds of ponies. As such, one can be also born to Equestrian ponies. Their parents can then pick one of the following options.
One option is surgery, in which they remore the fangs and use long-term low-effect magic to alter the inside biology. While a pony after this procedure retains most of it's temperament, they are usually brought up as earth ponies. This option is mostly used by wealthy families that take great pride in their heritage and prestige.
Usualy recommended, but least chosen, is the option to switch foals with a sabertooth family that gave birth to a non-sabertooth foal. The biggest obstacles for this option are fear especially from the Ëquestrian parent's side. It is also very often used as a source of nasty rumors*.
Most parents decide to risk fines and pick the path of responsibility, where they bring up their foals as they would anyway (with a few extra information and suggestions) without altering their biology, and even put significant amounts of money into illusion spells to make it easier for them to fit in and griffin food imports for a proper diet.
* The most famous target of these rumors is the pegasus mare Fluttershy who takes care of animals around Ponyville. There are ponies who claim she originally comes from Seabria, that she regularily has to file her fangs etc. These rumors are, however, completely unfounded and only started by conspiracy theorists** who are jealous of her title of national hero and that all princesses listen to her opinions.
** Namely these two:
-See Prophet (Crazy Prophet, as registered in the official records), who, among other things, claims she figured out the date of king Sombra's return and nopony did a thing about it. What she doesn't mention is that she actually did it right on her twenty-third try.
-Colourful Language, who earned his notoriety after pointing out that nopony bothered to give attention to the Manehatten hobo Loud Voice, who was walking around with a "The Night Cometh" sign before the return of Nightmare Moon, even though Loud Voice used variations of this sign years before to get bits out of ponies on their late way home.
23.II.2014 15:00
