Equestria was a state on Equus before the Catastrophe, and the term is now used to refer to the geographical region it once occupied. Equestria was a constitutional monarchy by the Golden Age, ruled by immortal Alicorn Princesses Celestia and Luna. The centeral government, based in Canterlot, fell during the Catastrophe and has not been successfully reestablished.
Equestria, being separated from the Isle of Yore by the vast Ocean of Dreams, is not well known to the inhabitants of the Dusts. It has been overgrown by the Everfree Forest.