Canterlot

Canterlot is a city first featured in the series' premiere episode as the residence of Twilight Sparkle, where she studies under Princess Celestia. The city holds the royal castle, making it the capital of Equestria. It is also the venue of important cultural events like the Grand Galloping Gala. The name of the city is a portmanteau of "canter," a three-beat horse gait, and Camelot, a British kingdom from Arthurian legends.

Development
Lauren Faust's inspiration for Canterlot, with its castle carved into the side of the mountain, was Minas Tirith from The Lord of the Rings. Ted Anderson and Agnes Garbowska's inspiration for ancient Canterlot was ancient Rome.

According to Lauren Faust, Canterlot was originally called "Canterbury", after the historical English city, and the name "Canterlot" was suggested by her husband Craig McCracken.

Geographical location and features
Canterlot is built into the side of a tall mountain that overlooks Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle and Spike travel the distance between the two locations in a short amount of time, riding in a flying chariot pulled by two Pegasus royal guards in Friendship is Magic, part 1. Princess Celestia travels in the same way in Swarm of the Century, and in Sweet and Elite, Rarity's friends manage to get from Ponyville to Canterlot within a day. In MMMystery on the Friendship Express, Pinkie Pie and her friends travel from Ponyville to Canterlot via train on an overnight trip. The spires of Canterlot, protruding from the mountain, have been shown to be visible from Ponyville.

History
Many high-society ponies in the show hail from Canterlot, including Photo Finish, Hoity Toity, Sapphire Shores, and Fancy Pants. In Sweet and Elite, the vast majority of its residents are unicorns. According to Spike in Winter Wrap Up, the residents use magic to change the seasons, rather than by hoof like in Ponyville.

The city is featured prominently in such Canterlot-centered episodes as Sweet and Elite, during Rarity's stay at Princess Celestia's castle, and in A Canterlot Wedding, when Twilight Sparkle's brother Shining Armor gets married to Princess Cadance. In the latter episode, the city briefly comes under siege by Queen Chrysalis and the changelings.

The hills of Canterlot are mentioned in The Journal of the Two Sisters. The initial construction of Canterlot is featured in ; the construction of the city of Canterlot is briefly shown on page 1 and briefly described in Twilight Sparkle: Teacher for a Day and its Ruckus Reader later version Twilight Sparkle's Special Lesson. Ancient Canterlot is featured in, and Canterlot during Granny Smith's youth is briefly featured in a flashback in Family Appreciation Day.

Infrastructure and places
The city features numerous ivory towers with golden spires and many waterfalls and rivers running through it.

Twilight Sparkle's tower
Twilight Sparkle and Spike's original home is first featured in Friendship is Magic, part 1. It is a loft at the top of a tall tower where Twilight keeps multiple shelves worth of books and reference material as well as a large hourglass. In Amending Fences, Twilight gives Moon Dancer the key to the tower and allows her to come and go as she pleases.

Canterlot Castle
Canterlot Castle is the palace where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna live and rule Equestria from, first featured in The Best Night Ever. It consists of at least the throne room, a large ballroom, a kitchen, a telescope observatory, and the Pony Princess Wedding Castle ceremonial hall. Starting with School Daze - Part 2, the throne room is redesigned so that now both Celestia and Luna have their own thrones, patterning after its design in My Little Pony The Movie.

Sculpture garden and hedge maze
The royal sculpture garden and hedge maze are featured in The Return of Harmony. The garden holds several statues depicting ponies in regal capes and Discord's stone prison. Cheerilee takes her class of foals on a field trip to the sculpture garden, and an argument between the Cutie Mark Crusaders helps Discord escape confinement. The sculpture garden and hedge maze are also featured in various merchandise and promotional material. In A Royal Problem, the hedge maze appears in a dream of Dr. Hooves.

Pony Princess Wedding Castle
The Pony Princess Wedding Castle is featured in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 during Shining Armor and Princess Cadance's wedding, in Pony Wedding merchandise, in The Crystal Empire - Part 1, in The Crystal Empire - Part 2, in Magical Mystery Cure during Twilight Sparkle's princess coronation, in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1, in Princess Spike, and in Horse Play.

Caverns
In, the Mane Six are led by Princess Luna to an intricate cave system inside the mountain that Canterlot is built on. The caves contain Star Swirl the Bearded's personal library and large collection of magical artifacts.

Canterlot Tower
Canterlot Tower is first featured in The Return of Harmony Part 1 as the location where the Elements of Harmony are stored prior to Keep Calm and Flutter On. When Princess Celestia tasks the Mane Six with using the Elements on Discord, she uses her horn to unlock the tower and retrieve the Elements, but Discord has already stolen them. The tower is featured again in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 when the Mane Six try to reach the Elements and use them on Queen Chrysalis and the changelings, but a large swarm of changelings blocks their path.

School for Gifted Unicorns
Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns is first featured in a flashback in The Cutie Mark Chronicles, where Twilight Sparkle began her studies under Princess Celestia. Other notable students of the school include Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, Moon Dancer, Lemon Hearts, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lyra Heartstrings. In Gameloft's mobile game, Sunset Shimmer, "Rotten Apple", and S06E08 Unnamed Unicorn Stallion #3 live in the Canterlot School for Unicorns.

Library of Magic
The Canterlot Library of Magic is first mentioned in Luna Eclipsed and physically featured in Amending Fences. According to Twilight in the former episode, Star Swirl the Bearded has a shelf in the library named after him. The library has been staffed by Issue 40 Unnamed Mare - Librarian.

Cloud stadium
Canterlot's cloud stadium is featured in Sweet and Elite during the Wonderbolts Derby, in Rarity Investigates!, and in Parental Glideance. It is a stadium consisting of three sections of bleachers and a private seating box that overlook a steep cliff and a ring of clouds shaped like a racing track.

Opera house
Canterlot's opera house is briefly featured in Sweet and Elite during Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know). Rarity attends an opera performed by Lyrica Lilac in the episode.

Train station
The Canterlot train station is first featured in Hearth's Warming Eve; the Mane Six take the Friendship Express train to participate in Canterlot's Hearth's Warming Eve pageant. The station is also featured in The Last Roundup, It's About Time, MMMystery on the Friendship Express, A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, promotional material, The Crystal Empire - Part 1, Magical Mystery Cure, Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1, Canterlot Boutique, and the My Little Pony Holiday Special.

Coffee stand
The train station's coffee stand is introduced in the My Little Pony Holiday Special. It is run by Cuppa Joe.

Canterlot Theater
The Canterlot Theater is featured in Hearth's Warming Eve and serves as the venue for Canterlot's Hearth's Warming Eve pageant. The theater is also featured in Rarity Investigates!

Canterlot Archives
The Canterlot Archives are featured in It's About Time; Twilight is first told about the Archives by her future self. Near the end of the episode, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Spike sneak into the Archives' Star Swirl the Bearded Wing, where Twilight uses a time travel spell to go back in time and deliver a message to her past self.

Shining Armor's house
Shining Armor's house/living quarters are briefly featured in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 when Twilight visits him on the evening before his wedding to Princess Cadance. It is furnished with various royal guard regalia, including a coat of arms and a suit of pony armor.

Crystal caves
In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, there is revealed to be an extensive cave system underneath Canterlot that was mined for its precious gems by greedy unicorns until it was exhausted, sealed up, and forgotten, according to Queen Chrysalis. The cave system has a mine-cart and railway running through it. Chrysalis uses the caves to imprison Twilight and Cadance, but they eventually escape. The caves are also featured in promotional material and on Trixie and the Razzle-Dazzle Ruse 's cover.

Dance studio
In For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils, Sapphire Shores and her backup dancers use a dance studio to rehearse for Sapphire's upcoming Equestria-wide tour.

Canterlot Historical Society
Mentioned in Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Forgotten Books of Autumn and The Mean 6. In the former, Moon Dancer's father is stated to have worked for the Canterlot Historical Society; in the latter, Queen Chrysalis disguises herself as a Canterlot Historical Society photographer sent to document the School of Friendship teachers' friendship work.

Best of the Best Boutique
Hoity Toity mentions his Best of the Best Boutique in Suited For Success; he orders six dozen dresses from Rarity to put on display at his boutique in Canterlot.

Joe's donut shop
Joe's donut shop is first featured at the end of The Best Night Ever. Spike, unable to enjoy the Grand Galloping Gala with his friends, drowns his sorrows in donuts and hot chocolate before the Mane Six arrive. In Amending Fences, Twilight, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine share sweets together at the donut shop.

Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop
A Canterlot outdoor café is first featured in Sweet and Elite when Rarity has lunch with her cat Opalescence. The same café appears in A Friend in Deed during a flashback, in It's About Time, in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1, in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, in The Crystal Empire - Part 1 during The Failure Song, in One Bad Apple during Babs Seed, in Magical Mystery Cure during Life in Equestria, in during The Trials of Hayseed Turnip Truck, in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1, in Princess Spike while Spike talks with "Frazzle Rock" of the Grand Equestria Pony Summit delegates, in Amending Fences with Café Hay menus, in Rarity Investigates! wherein its building is identified as Cinnamon Chai's Tea and Cake Shop, and in Spice Up Your Life; its shaded tables also appear in Hearts and Hooves Day at an outdoor Ponyville location during The Perfect Stallion. The Tea and Cake Shop is owned and managed by Cinnamon Chai and has had a window of its cleaned by Hayseed Turnip Truck, and its main attraction is a chocolate cherry cake with custard filling and buttercream frosting rosettes; the outdoor café has been staffed by "Earl Grey", "Sir Pony Moore", and unicorn Savoir Fare.

Art gallery
An art gallery owned by Silver Frames is briefly featured in Sweet and Elite during Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know). At Silver Frames' request, Rarity attends the gallery opening and brings it a lot of attention. The art gallery is also featured in during Princess Celestia's Extreme Art Contest.

Auction house
An auction house owned by Golden Gavel is briefly featured in Sweet and Elite during Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know). At Golden Gavel's request, Rarity attends a charity auction and brings it a lot of attention.

Curio shop
At the beginning of Magic Duel, Trixie gallops through an alley and enters a curio shop, where she persuades the shopkeeper to sell her the Alicorn Amulet for a sack of bits. This location is unnamed in the show, but the filename of a piece of production art posted online prior to the episode's airing identifies it as Canterlot, and one of the show's layout artists who worked on the episode recalls the script identifying it as Canterlot.

House of Enchanted Comics
The House of Enchanted Comics is mentioned in Power Ponies as the store where Spike purchases a magically-enchanted Power Ponies comic book.

Restaurant
An unnamed restaurant is featured in Amending Fences when Twilight, Spike, Moon Dancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine have dinner together.

Canterlot Carousel
Canterlot Carousel, the Canterlot branch of Rarity's Carousel Boutique, is first featured in Canterlot Boutique. Rarity debuts her "Royal Regalia" line of dresses here and hires Sassy Saddles to serve as the store's manager. The boutique is also featured in Rarity Investigates! and Forever Filly.

Restaurant Row
Restaurant Row is a street in Canterlot featured in Spice Up Your Life. It is made up of numerous restaurants, most of which have been rated by Zesty Gourmand's three-hoof rating system, and described by Rarity as "the absolute best place for fine dining in all of Equestria". Restaurants located on this street include The Smoked Oat and The Bake Stop.

The Tasty Treat
The Tasty Treat is an initially-failing Canterlot restaurant featured in Spice Up Your Life. It is owned by Coriander Cumin and Saffron Masala and serves very exotic foods. When Rarity and Pinkie Pie are summoned by the Cutie Map to solve a friendship problem, The Tasty Treat is briefly retooled to serve the same food as other restaurants on Restaurant Row, but Coriander and Saffron return it to its original state at the end of the episode.

Social events
Canterlot's most prominent social event is the Grand Galloping Gala, a formal royal ball held in Canterlot Castle and attended only by select ponies, which is mentioned in The Ticket Master and Suited For Success and featured in The Best Night Ever and Make New Friends but Keep Discord.

Another high society event is the Canterlot Garden Party, also held on the castle grounds. Featured in Sweet and Elite, it is a very exclusive event that, according to Rarity, is second to only the Grand Galloping Gala. In Hearth's Warming Eve, a pageant depicting the founding of Equestria is put on by the Mane Six. In the season four premiere, Canterlot holds a new Summer Sun Celebration, stated to be the first such event since the one in Ponyville in the season one premiere. The Canterlot Magic Fair is held in the Signature My Little Pony magazine issue 69 comic Daring friends and the missing story!

Other various events held in Canterlot include the Wonderbolts Derby in Sweet and Elite, the Equestria Rodeo in The Last Roundup, the National Dessert Competition in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, and the Grand Equestria Pony Summit in Princess Spike.

Miscellaneous features
In Family Appreciation Day, Granny Smith mentions "all the tea in Canterlot".

In Canterlot Boutique, Rarity is featured in the front cover of Cosmare magazine.

In A Hearth's Warming Tail, an old-timey fictionalized version of Canterlot is featured in the storybook A Hearth's Warming Tale.

Equestria Girls: Friendship Games
In My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games, some Canterlot buildings appear in a giant hole in the ground caused by Midnight Sparkle.

Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship
In My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Forgotten Friendship, Orange Swirl, Royal Guard, Sandbar, S06E20 Unnamed Unicorn Mare #6, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna appear at Canterlot.

Depiction in My Little Pony The Movie
In My Little Pony The Movie, the first Friendship Festival is held in Canterlot, and the city comes under attack by the Storm King's forces. In the film, Canterlot is given somewhat of a redesign and expansion, especially the area surrounding the castle.

IDW comics
My Little Pony Animated volume 1, My Little Pony: The Magic Begins, retells the events of Friendship is Magic, part 1 and Friendship is Magic, part 2. Twilight Sparkle is shown to live in a dormitory "high atop the Centerlot [sic] observatory" before she moves to Ponyville.

Dark magic library
A dark magic library is introduced in The Fall of Sunset Shimmer. It has been staffed by Annual 2013 Unnamed Mare - Librarian.

Elite Equine Spa
A spa called the Elite Equine Spa is featured in. It is run by Micro 10 Unnamed Mare - Scissors and Micro 10 Unnamed Mare - Waterfall.

Tealove's Tea Room
A café called Tealove's Tea Room is introduced in the story arc Neigh Anything. It is run by Tealove.

Canterlot Academy
A school called Canterlot Academy is introduced in the story arc Neigh Anything. It appears to be the Equestrian counterpart of Canterlot High, as it shares the human high school's Fall Formal event.

Canterlot's Wonderous Bolts of Fabric
A boutique called Canterlot's Wonderous [sic] Bolts of Fabric is featured in. It is run by Friends Forever 19 Unnamed Mare - Thread and Needle.

The Canterlot Museum
The Canterlot Museum is introduced in the story arc From the Shadows. Its director is Issue 52 Unnamed Mare - Museum Director.

Storybooks
The Adventures in Canterlot storybook, Festival of Friendship, features a competition in Canterlot.

According to the My Little Pony The Movie prequel chapter book, The Stormy Road to Canterlot, The Storm King's second-in-command, Tempest Shadow, originally lived near Canterlot. It is also featured in Beyond Equestria: Fluttershy Balances the Scales, with Tempest taking up residence in the city and visiting various locations with the Mane Six.

Software
Canterlot is featured in the online Flash game Castle Creator.

Residents

 * Chase Palomino
 * Coriander Cumin
 * Fancy Pants
 * Glitter Drops (formerly)
 * Hoity Toity
 * Jet Set
 * Joe
 * Kibitz
 * Lemon Hearts
 * Lyra Heartstrings (formerly)
 * Minuette
 * Moon Dancer
 * Night Light
 * Prince Blueblood
 * Princess Cadance (formerly)
 * Princess Celestia
 * Princess Luna
 * Professor Gully Trotter
 * Saffron Masala
 * Sapphire Shores
 * Sassy Saddles
 * Shining Armor (formerly)
 * Spike (formerly)
 * Spring Rain
 * Sunset Shimmer (formerly)
 * Tempest Shadow (sometimes)
 * Twilight Sparkle (formerly)
 * Trixie (formerly)
 * Twilight Velvet
 * Twinkleshine
 * Upper Crust
 * Zesty Gourmand

Merchandise
Canterlot: "CANTERLOT is the royal city in EQUESTRIA and home to PRINCESS CELESTIA. The princess lives in a magical castle. Every pony dreams of visiting CANTERLOT!"

Pony Princess Wedding Castle: "PRINCESS CADANCE and SHINING ARMOR are getting married at the castle! Ponies from all over EQUESTRIA can't wait to go to the royal wedding!"

Midnight in Canterlot Pony Collection: "At the stroke of midnight, PRINCESS LUNA uses a special spell to turn into NIGHTMARE MOON." "This time, she just wants to celebrate the magic of the stars with all of her friends in CANTERLOT!"

Canterlot Castle: "It’s a castle fit for a princess! Create mystical, royal adventures in the incredible three-story my little pony canterlot castle Playset. Venture up the grand staircase leading to a beautiful throne that can slide up and down between floors. Fans can instantly become a princess by wearing the detachable tiara atop of the castle. Playset includes a special edition PRINCESS CELESTIA pony figure, SPIKE THE DRAGON figure, tiara and themed accessories."

Pinkie Pie Donut Shop: "She throws a party at the donut shop!"

Canterlot & Seaquestria Castle: "[...] Fans can recreate adventures from the movie with QUEEN NOVO and SPIKE the Pufferfish figures, and this 2-worlds-in-1, 29-inch playset. Place the figures on the slide or in the bubble-shaped elevator and have them ride from Canterlot down to the kingdom of Seaquestria or on the dance floor and spin the light up tower. [...] The set includes 30+ accessories for bedtime, beach time, tea time, and more!"

Canterlot Castle: "The Friendship Festival is filled with friends and excitement! Kids can imagine celebrating the fabulousness of friendship by bringing their pony friends together at the CANTERLOT CASTLE playset! The playset includes 3-inch PRINCESS CELESTIA and STORM KING figures, and 13 accessories to help kids act out their favorite Canterlot stories and Grand Galloping Gala scenes."

A poster which features an official map of Equestria was released on August 3, 2012. This places Canterlot roughly in the center of Equestria and the hub of the train network, which goes under the mountain. Two mountain ranges are placed next to it, the Unicorn Range to the west and the Foal Mountains to the east.