Colours are named after the natural objects found on the Swirling Mist Isles and represent the classes of the Order of the Golden MerPony. The colours chosen fall into 4 main groups, representing the four seasons:

Greens/light blues - (Healer/Sorceror classes) - Spring

Pinks/reds - (Protector/Diplomat classes) - Summer

Dark blues/purples - (Priest/Seer classes) - Winter

Yellows/golds/oranges/browns - (Advocate class) - Autumn/Fall

The colours a pony is born with do not correspond with the season of their birth, but rather indicate their inherent natures, showing the season of the year in which they are more at ease and their skills will be maximised. So, a Spring-coloured pony born in Winter will find they have an aptitude for the Healer/Sorceror classes, and that their abilities will be at their peak during the Spring season. The fact that they were born in Winter will not affect this. A Spring-coloured pony born in Spring will have no extra power because of this.

Ponies of any of the basic classes may in time qualify for Advocate class, even if they do not possess any Advocate hexes. Those born with Advocate hexes will still need to work their way up the basic classes but for them it will be easier as they have a natural aptitude for the Advocate class.

How the colours were chosen

The number 4 is of significance to the followers of the Golden MerPony (for reasons not yet revealed). The Golden Temple has 4 turrets. There are 4 seasons in the year. The sixteen numbers/letters that make up the hex codes are divisible by 4. If these 16 numbers/letters are laid out in a circle then you can see that pairs of numbers/letters result.



The colours chosen used 4, 8, C and 0 as part of their hex codes, these numbers/letters are evenly spaced around the hex wheel, representing every fourth place. So I decided to use combinations of colours where every second hex number was either 0, 4, 8, or C. (e.g. x0x4xC) Then I combined these with numbers over the range 0 to F but found a good deal of overlap or colours that were too close to distinguish. So I decided to use just F, 9, 6 and 3. This still resulted in some colours that were too close to distinguish clearly, so these were eliminated. Others were outside the requirements of the theme of the four seasons. What remained were sorted and pared down to give 15 colour shades for each Season. Colours were named after the local flora and fauna or things associated with the Swirling Mist Isles.

Possible criticism of this range: hexes not 'memorable' enough nor in a clearly recognisable sequence. I see this as an outcome of having more and more islands, each wishing to have their own colour ranges. The main hexes have been used by LSPP and KORR. If those hexes are off limits then it is necessary to use others, and over time this will result in more and more 'impure' colours being included in the colour ranges of islands/clusters. It thus becomes ever more difficult to achieve a clear sequence of hexes, or neatly numbered hexes. I don't believe this should matter as colour groupings will be unique to each island and will only have importance there or to individuals from that island.