Okay, why can't I edit?

The buttons are all broken at the moment.

TV Tropes is bork.

Well, I didn't consider the "nobody likes her" thing. I was thinking your issue was "how did they react to knowing their beloved Goddess went rogue?".

I dunno, really. Maybe... maybe their religion was born during the Moon Imprisonment, spread there by Celestia?

Here's a possible solution: the Hisaanin were only just beginning colonise the desert when Luna's betrayal occurs. They didn't hear of it as this region of Equestria was far too remote for much news of her betrayal to reach the desert (temporarily known as "Dar al-Hisaanin"), and their society grows in complete obliviousness of Nightmare Moon.

edited 8th Jan '12 3:48:18 PM by SantosLHalper

Makes sense. They would have to be pretty isolated, though, if they didn't find out she was imprisoned in the moon... Maybe they believe Celestia to be a villain, because they know that there goddess is in the moon, and that the queen did it?

My other idea is that this state of obliviousness only exists for a century or so. Once news of Luna's undoubted betrayal reaches Dar al-Hisaanin, their society essentially collapses into anarchy until a new sect forms where a messianic sect appears that preaches of Luna's eventual redemption on her return. The Mane Six, being the ones that destroy Nightmare Moon and thus bringing back Luna as they know and love, are almost regarded as saints as a regard. However, there would be a fringe militaristic cult that worships Nightmare Moon as the "true incarnation of night", that try to abduct the Mane Six and use them as sacrifices to restore her as rightful ruler of Equestria...

Damn, this is a pretty good idea for a fanfic.

Now if only I my writing skills weren't crap...

edited 8th Jan '12 4:47:33 PM by SantosLHalper

So would Luna show up in it?

Hmmmm. Good question. Maybe the cult tries to kidnap Luna so she can be transformed into Nightmare Moon again?

Then again, in Luna Eclipsed, she did transform into Nightmare Moon, if only in an aesthetic manner. Thus, our result is that they try and turn her into NM permanently.

edited 8th Jan '12 4:52:45 PM by SantosLHalper

Backfire!

Anypony who's still interested in Fighting Is Magic should look here.

Does anyone have a good name for My Little Arabia? Dar al-Hisaanin (which means Place of Horses*

I couldn't find the Arabic word for "pony"

, for the record) is at most a working name, and probably isn't even grammatically correct for that matter.

On a related note, I can't decide between Neighshabur, Desteriascus or Asilandria as the capital.

edited 8th Jan '12 8:29:27 PM by SantosLHalper

I tried to think of an Arabian Pony...

But then I thought about fezzes, which then made me think about Doctor Whooves.

Fezzes are Turkish, not Arabian.

Then there's something wrong with me...

And Turkey was rather close to the Mid-East, and I tend to get all of those mixed up...

It's ok, I make the same mistake and I'm half turkish.

Some ideas on geography:

• Cities:
  • The capital of Dar al-Hisaanin is Asilandria*
    A play on Alexandria and the Arabic term asil, which means "purebred"
    , which is also home to the Great Library, the second only to Canterlot's royal library in size.
  • The second biggest city is Neighshapur*
    A play on the onomatopoeia "neigh" and the Iranian city of Nishapur, which is famous for its turquoise
    , which is not only known for its jewelry and mineral wealth, but is also the headquarter of Luna's and Nightmare Moon's cult.
  • Destrierascus*
    A play on Damascus and "destrier", a type of Medieval European warhorse
    is the oldest settlement in Dar al-Hisaanin, but fell into decline after the century-long civil war which was caused by Luna's betrayal.

• The country's sole access to Equestria is the Turquoise Road, which is a series of trade routes that goes through several neighbouring areas, and is generally pretty dangerous. More important ponies can travel through a special carriage/wagon drawn by pegasi.

edited 9th Jan '12 9:09:25 AM by SantosLHalper

Well, you've got your big city, your smaller, slightly more seedy city, and your ancient ruins right there. Sounds like a set up for Indian Jones movie.

SOCKS!

Is this another non-sequitur?

I'm bored.

Can you please at least not spam the thread then?

Your avatars work very well for this discussion.

Ponies + Socks = Awesome...

A simple equation, really...

Eeyup.

Socks + ponies = Sonies?