Vanhoover

Vanhoover is a location in Tales of Equestria, located over the steep, treacherous mountainsides right next to Ponyvale. There has been talk of a tunnel being built through the mountain, but as of now, the only way into Vanhoover from Ponyvale is up and over.

Vanhoover is a successful mining town, boasting large beautiful stone buildings made of the same stone mined everyday. Much of their fortune has come from the mines, and has funded their lavish Clocktower and beautiful buildings. In the spring and summertime, their breezy valley is one of the prittiest places in Equestria. Known factions in Vanhoover are The Adventurers Guild and the Miners Guild.

About Vanhoover
The town of Vanhoover has grown from very small to quite large in the time since it originally sprang up, the population growing exponentially from immigration. The original draw of gold had dried up decades ago and the mines that provided them have been closed for ages, but still individuals flock to the mountain town for reasons of their own. The growth of population has put much strain on the resources the town is able to provide, and the construction of public facilities and amenities has been a slow process.

Just recently Vanhoover has grown to a population of registered citizens in the thousand range, though not all residents are registered and a great many are simply foreign visitors. With such a high population and little ability to produce food it relies heavily on import, using the considerable wealth accrued during the days of its gold-rush era to fund much of the public works and in maintaining what few roads exist.

In recent days the mining system closest to the town has been reopened, with a supply of raw materials exiting from it in a slow but steady trickle thanks to the excavations of the hard-working but mysterious Miners Guild, and the town is looking forwards to a prosperous future.

The citizens of Vanhoover bask in the relative safety of the town center and the settled countryside, but for many there is always the knowledge that the bleak wilderness lies on their doorstep. Within only a kilometer of the city center the roads quickly vanish and the trees close in tightly. Within sight of the Clocktower are the frozen mountains and the vast swathes of uncharted wilderness, stretching far into the horizon and out of sight entirely.

Vanhoover is a bastion of civilization, but the nearby wilderness makes life here often very strange compared to life in the far south. There are mysteries both wonderful and horrible just barely out of sight or out of reach here in the North, and though most locals enjoy the stability of city life, they know that they stand quite literally on the edge of all civilization as we know it.

History of Vanhoover
The cold and uncharted North. Deep, silent forests blanketed in white and stretching from one horizon to the next; jagged mountain peaks that reach ever upwards and slash at the clouds like razor teeth; deep, dark lakes of water and streams fed by melting snow, glimmering pure and cold in the sun. The harsh realities of this unforgiving land are a constant obstacle to those who travel through it, hiding mysteries fantastic and terrifying alike in the far reaches of the northern frontier.

It seems odd that anypony would want to make their home here, but the reality is that there are those who have been doing that for so long that much of their history is long forgotten and unrecorded. The native tribes who have long lived here in seclusion have only recently faced and interacted with the people of the southern lands, and much of the wilderness is unknown and unmapped, traveled only by the confident and experienced. Here at the edge of the western sea a colony was formed by travelers from across the world, from the magical unicorns to the adventurous pegasi, the stoic earth ponies to fearless griffons. Settlers from every species and every walk of life braved the wild northern lands to make it to the coastal colony, drawn by the lure of gold, adventure, and a new start in new lands.

These settlers, brought here over two-hundred years ago, founded the town of Vanhoover at the edge of the northern territories, braving the unknown to stake their claim, and here Vanhoover has remained and grown.

Vanhoover was formed from a combination of many cultures and ethnic groups, and as such isn't actually a part of Equestria. With so many settlers from so many lands, so far in the frontier, Vanhoover has long been forced to make its own ends meet; it is a sovereign territory separate from the Kingdom of Equestria to the south and the now reborn Crystal Empire to the east. Though most of the town is widely spread over a large area and many locals are self-sufficient, the territory is watched over by a municipal council and an elected mayor, with the frontier territory itself presided over by the Rangers, ponies and otherwise that protect the wilderness from needless destruction and that protect the town from dangers beyond its borders.

Batpony
An offshoot of the Pegasus species and one that is almost purely nocturnal, differentiated by their leathery bat wings rather than feathered ones and large ears. Batponies are semi-native to this region in that they tend to live in mountains where they can build their homes into solid rock or colonize cavern networks, and a few of the abandoned mine systems from the Goldrush Era have since been claimed by these ponies. Batponies pay homage more to Luna than to Celestia, and are known to serve as Luna's Nightguard in the far southeast.

Flutterponies
An exceptionally rare offshoot breed of ponies that prefers the far-reaching meadows of the south, similar to pegasus ponies in that they have wings and can land on clouds, but differing greatly otherwise. Flutterponies are smaller than other pony breeds and could be mistaken for foals, but their large insect-like wings give them away as something entirely different. Flutterponies practice a kind of magic that heavily relies on their seemingly close connection to nature, but have neither the fast-flying abilities of pegasus ponies, nor the magical skill of unicorns, nor the strength of earth-ponies. Flutterponies very rarely come this far north, and if they do it is often because of pressing need.

Mountain Goats
Mountain Goats have lived in the region of Vanhoover's town for a very long time as well, but unlike the other natives they don't migrate to and fro through the wilderness, instead staking out claims to arbitrary sections of land and competing among each other in feats of strength, wit, and plain guts. Goat society has meshed very rapidly into the modern world here in Vanhoover, but among each other they still operate on a meritocracy; the most influential members of Goat society are 'the most awesome'. The single most sacred ritual in goat society is The Dare. Dares are a very serious matter!