So three crabs celebrated Equestria, or whatever.

@Starswirl  
So, like, totally?

@Scrounge  
Hmm. They did found it in a valley. And they were all girls.

@Starswirl  
Was Equestria founded by valley girls or something?

@Scrounge  
Well, it’s obviously important enough to raise a flag.
 
Though it’s apparently a “whatever” flag…

@Starswirl  
I wouldn’t expect crabs to be something you celebrate, but whatever makes you happy I guess.

And none of you lot mentions how the flag originally celebrated the crabs?
 
For shame.

@armadiloeater  

 
Just watch out for Tantabuses… Or would that be Tantabi?

@Scrounge  
Well the book was written by Amy Keating Rogers, one of the writers that was with Lauren Faust since the start, and it’s official Hasbro merchandise (contrary to the comics that are IDW). So it’s as close to canon as it gets. Until the information inside is contradicted by the show itself that is.
 
As for Celestia I hope for an episode centered around her and Luna, maybe during the next heartswarming special. I mean who could be better at explaining the tradition than those who were actually there during the reunification. The setup could be about Spike and Twilight returning to Canterlot for the hollidays, and we could have more insight about their relations to each others. But now I’m dreaming.

@Scrounge  
Well the book was written by Amy Keating Rogers, one of the writers that was with Lauren Faust since the start, and it’s official Hasbro merchandise (contrary to the comics that are IDW). So it’s as close to canon as it gets. Until the information inside is contradicted by the show itself that is.
 
As for Celestia I hope for an episode centered around her and Luna, maybe during the next heartswarming special. I mean who could be better at explaining the tradition than those who were actually there during the reunification. The setup could be about Spike and Twilight returning to Canterlot for the hollidays, and we could have more insight about their relations to each others. But now I’m dreaming.

@armadiloeater  
I was under the impression that the books weren’t necessarily canon.
 
The crowns thing is harder to refute. I mean, it’s theoretically possible that they pranced around with crowns before actually ruling, but it would be very silly. I guess I wasn’t thinking about that, since I’m used to seeing them with crowns anyway and thus the significance of having them back then kind of escaped me.
 
And I agree, Celestia deserve her own episode, even if it doesn’t get any answers. Of all the major characters, she is the one the audience has gotten to know the least. Hell, we know less about Celestia on a personal level than we do about any number of comparatively minor characters. That seems a little odd to me.

@Scrounge  
Well I’m more of the “search for what’s cannon above all” type, I don’t manage to put personal theories above what’s proven right. In this case I really wish I could.
 
I also used to think to that defeating Discord put them in power, but in the “Princess Twilight” episode we see that Luna and Celestia already had their crowns when they blast Discord with the elements.
 
We are long overdue for an episode centered around Celestia, maybe we’ll get some answers then.

@armadiloeater  
My headcanon is that they wound up ruling Equestria because they defeated Discord and freed the ponies from his reign, and I see no reason not to stick with it for the time being.

@PonyPon  
Makes you wonder about Twilight’s coronation though: was she given the princess title because she deserved it, and the transformation was part of her prize, or was she given a crown just because she completed a spell that transformed her into an alicorn? If being an alicorn is the only condition to become royalty…

@armadiloeater  
Yeah, I had the exact same problems.
 
Well.
 
At least it’s in a chapter book I can ignore most of the time.

@PonyPon  
It’s weird, but reading about them being recruited into being princesses just because they are alicorns… Just doesn’t sit well. They didn’t come into power because they deserved it, were wiser because of a long life or because they had a hand in uniting the tribes (like I imagined); it was just because they were more powerful. It sorta cheapens them in a way, but I’m sure I’m looking at it too deeply.
 
Also the idea of them being inexperienced teens trying to rule a kingdom is interesting (as seen in fan comics and a somewhat in IDW comics), but it’s not what I imagined the canon would be.  
Oh well.

@armadiloeater  
To my infinite chagrin.

@PonyPon  
Wow really? I went to the wiki to read the summary, and that’s really not how I imagined Celestia and Luna coming into play. Not sure if I enjoy this new info, but seeing as it was written by Keating Rogers and is official merch, it’s pretty much canon uh?

>[cookie history]
 
Yes.
 
This is a good tag.

@PonyPon  
And yeah, that’s why I hate it.

@armadiloeater  
Nah, that’s the crystal heart spell.
 
The Journal states bringing up the sun and moon was so taxing on unicorns they had to swap out replacements often because they lost their magic doing it, even Starswirl prematurely aging from the strain.
 
When the sisters came along, they no such trouble, and actually gain energy from it.
 
So you see, unicorns never had anything to give to their fellow ponies but time for the alicorns to get their rears in gear.

“Wow those stars are all kinds of funky.”  
“Applebloom.”  
“Is that supposed to be Princess Celestia? Looks like a really confused dolphin.”  
“That took me four hours to bake.”  
“Well, good thing you’re not cookin’ dinner!”

@PonyPon  
Oh that book, I never took the time to read it. If I remember correctly that’s where the whole “Cadance was originally a pegasus” come from yes?  
What makes you hate it so much? If it’s full of nonsense I won’t bother searching for it.

@armadiloeater  
It’s the Journal of the Sister’s thing.
 
Though I should note I hate the book with a passion.
 
You could probably find the whole thing online.

@Sub Hoofer  
Fair point, the conspiracy theory is a fun idea. I can imagine the historians uncovering the truth years later.  
Great Scott! The unicorns controlling the day and night really was a cover up, in reality they were holding the rest of the world hostage with a device that could fire a magical death laser powerful enough to destroy the world! But where could they have hidden such a powerful… Oh… Ooooh!  
 
That’s no moon
 
@PonyPon  
So the play could just be flat out fabrication? Just a story more about symbolism than real historical facts? I could really go for that. Do you have any indications for the material in question?