Weapons?

[Dessa]

Ponies would easily win against griffons.

1. They can rise and set the sun. Can they move it around? They could bathe Griffons in the dark and kill their crops. They could position it at their backs and blind griffons on or above a battlefield. Do the griffons have gods watching their backs?

2. The weather. Some seem to downplay this here, but the ability to summon tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, blizzards, heat waves, etc is major. Think of the damage that some of these natural disasters have wrought upon human communities. Now think about intelligent beings controlling these events with the intent to kill and destroy.

3. Unicorns. Again, downplayed. Hit and run tactics cannot work against an enemy that teleports. Guerrilla tactics are less effective against an enemy that can see through things (think of Rarity's gemfinding). That their numbers are low might well not matter. Well trained and equipped forces can handle MUCH larger groups of enemies. Having just a few wizards on a battlefield wound make a massive difference.

A unicorn could teleport into an enemy general's bedquarters and slay them while they sleep.

I'm convinced these ponies could actually beat modern-day humans, in fact. Look throughout history and you can find many examples of weather deciding a battle. Ever wonder where the advice "don't fight a land war in Asia" comes from? It's those Russian winters.

Ponies are Equestria's dominant force for a reason.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Ponies would easily win against griffons.

1. They can rise and set the sun. Can they move it around? They could bathe Griffons in the dark and kill their crops. They could position it at their backs and blind griffons on or above a battlefield. Do the griffons have gods watching their backs?

While this is possible, I don't think that would happen. It could alter the entirety of Equestria, changing things in the ponylands as well. If the Griffins are in the dark, where's the sun? Bathing the ponylands in heat, and killing their crops as well? Balance has to be maintained for things to grow, regardless of the area.

Also, Griffins are meat eaters, so they might not even grow crops.

2. The weather. Some seem to downplay this here, but the ability to summon tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, droughts, blizzards, heat waves, etc is major. Think of the damage that some of these natural disasters have wrought upon human communities. Now think about intelligent beings controlling these events with the intent to kill and destroy.

While this is true, that sounds like something that would just result in a massacre.

3. Unicorns. Again, downplayed. Hit and run tactics cannot work against an enemy that teleports. Guerrilla tactics are less effective against an enemy that can see through things (think of Rarity's gemfinding). That their numbers are low might well not matter. Well trained and equipped forces can handle MUCH larger groups of enemies. Having just a few wizards on a battlefield wound make a massive difference.

A unicorn could teleport into an enemy general's bedquarters and slay them while they sleep.

But, as we've seen, teleporting can take a lot out of a pony... and the only Unicorn we've seen teleport is Twilight (and possibly Trixie). And the only pony with multiple magical abilities is, again, Twilight. Rarity's power is finding gems, as well as telekinesis. Telekinesis seems to be a standard for Unicorns.

I'm convinced these ponies could actually beat modern-day humans, in fact. Look throughout history and you can find many examples of weather deciding a battle. Ever wonder where the advice "don't fight a land war in Asia" comes from? It's those Russian winters.

Ponies are Equestria's dominant force for a reason.

Well, numbers don't win a war, but they sure can help. But keep in mind that Griffins, unlike humans, have the ability of flight. Sure, humans can, using plains...but it's different when you're in absolute control of the flying. Plus, they have weapons attached to themselvesâ€â€Âclaws rather than hands, but that are still opposable.

[ziddia]

Well... I would imagine that, considering Friendship is Magic, this wouldn't be an issue in the real Equestria. But, for the sake of the topic, they would probably wear armor with some sort of weaponry on it, as in the pic on the second post. I think that possibly the ponies would wear horns, spikes, etc, to make up for their lack of thumbs.

Friendship is Magic.

[Dessa]

This is the best thread ever!

[Parodius]

...this thread is making me want to see a Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha-styled pony. You gonna get befriended.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

...this thread is making me want to see a Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha-styled pony. You gonna get befriended.

Well, this is...kinda.

3L6MJimBc-s

[Kirby Krackle]

I think it was mentioned somewhere on the first page about Earth Ponies going into melee, using a helm with an iron horn mounted unicorn style. If not, yay, firsties. But bam, every Earth Pony is now a jouster.

Let's talk about biology for a second. Like most herbivores, a horse's eyes are on the side of the head. We know this. This offers close to, if not 360 degree field of vision. I know there's a blind spot directly behind them. So suddenly a sword (or horn) fight between two ponies has changed dramatically. Swinging that sword around no longer means I can't see my opponent. In fact, unless he's right behind me, I see him just fine.

Finally, http://www.whmentors.org/saf/kick.html

A good swift kick from a horse's back legs could take someone's head clean off. I bet as people were trained to box with their hands, ponies are trained to Cow Kick. Heck, the thighs on Apple Jack pack enough wallop to knock every apple off a tree.

[Arix]

Whatever species I end up playing, I'll likely retain one attribute that most of my RP characters share - being a warrior. Any information regarding this would be helpful.

[Boss_Hoss1]

Secondly, what weapons are allowed? It seems like the world of Friendship is Magic is set in a more primitive time, right at the brink of the Steam Age more than likely. Now look at what kinds of more advanced weapons were available in these times: Guns and basic cannons. Pretty much anything that requires an explosion.

There's one weapon I've considered in other game and story settings for flyers that would be deadly in the air; bolas. As dexterous as Rainbow Dash has proven herself on-screen with mouth or hoof, (well except with lariats... ) I could see some adventurous pegasi learning to use bolas, even if using an aerobatic spin to get the balls up to speed before releasing it.

This is one weapon that could be potentially fatal to other winged opponents unless pegasi with lassos or nets are ready for a prisoner.

For that matter, I see no reason a pegasus could not learn rope tricks like Apple Jack if they spent as much time at it as AJ. -With RD, it seems a matter of her having as much rope time as I have IRL; virtually none.

Mongols and the Parthians before them were as known for their ability to lasso opponents as their bowmanship, IIRC. Take it to the air and you have a nasty trick indeed.

[Cracker3011]

I don't see the Royal Guard as presented in the show being very effective fighters, they seem to be mostly ceremonial. Gold is by its own nature a very weak metal, and is by no means effective armour. I always saw the Guard using it as ceremonial armour, then switching to standard steel armour when expecting combat.

Also, late medieval artillery such as trebuchets and cannons could easily be manipulated by a small crew of ponies of any type, as they do not require the operators to be particularly dextrous with their hands/hooves.

And then there is always the possibility of Assassin's Creed style retractable blades on a pony's forelegs as an emergency (or concealed) melee weapon.

Finally, the chinese used fireworks as weapons around that era, and Equestria has plenty of those lying about.

My Little Pony: Warfare is Magic!

Edit: You have NO idea how hard it was for me to not just keep writing here all day XD

[Zeal]

Two words: Magnetic horseshoes.

[Starfox64x]

I bet the could use a Colt 45 pretty well

...

I have no real insight to contribute... I'll be going now..

...

Well maybe a little. I figure the unicorn ponies are pretty good at using magic, which can do some pretty extensive damage. Pegusus are well adept at flying, which could be a tactical advantage. And earth ponies are often laborers in some way, so they would be fairly strong (AKA Applejack). Plus from what we've seen i nthe show, no one is really willing to kill their opponent, so there would be no need for knives or anything...

I suppose if we had a grimdark story, weapons and death would be around, but for everyday roleplaying, i dont think it would be necessary...

[ErrantIndy]

This is the exactly the sort of discussion that intrigues me. Heck, I'd been thinking about it along with other questions about Equestrian technology. But starting your introduction MLP through Fallout: Equestria can do that.

I don't see the Royal Guard as presented in the show being very effective fighters, they seem to be mostly ceremonial. Gold is by its own nature a very weak metal, and is by no means effective armour. I always saw the Guard using it as ceremonial armour, then switching to standard steel armour when expecting combat.

Also, late medieval artillery such as trebuchets and cannons could easily be manipulated by a small crew of ponies of any type, as they do not require the operators to be particularly dextrous with their hands/hooves.

You could easily assume that the armor the Royal Guard wears could be gold plating on top of a stronger material. Heck through in magic and alchemy, that could be some gold-colored unobtainium that's stronger than steel.

As previoiusly noted trebuchets and other throwing arm weapons would only be of use in siege situations or facing some force of massed enemies that moves slowly enough to be hit with the very powerful but slow weapons. I couldn't really see a use against an opposing force of equines and definitely not griffins and maybe not even diamond dogs or any other fast moving, agile predator.

However something like a ballista might be of more use, especially the smaller Roman variants. Basically large crossbows that throw spears, they'd be managable anti-air defense and more suited to engaging a faster moving ground force.

I think it was mentioned somewhere on the first page about Earth Ponies going into melee, using a helm with an iron horn mounted unicorn style. If not, yay, firsties. But bam, every Earth Pony is now a jouster.

Let's talk about biology for a second. Like most herbivores, a horse's eyes are on the side of the head. We know this. This offers close to, if not 360 degree field of vision. I know there's a blind spot directly behind them. So suddenly a sword (or horn) fight between two ponies has changed dramatically. Swinging that sword around no longer means I can't see my opponent. In fact, unless he's right behind me, I see him just fine.

Good use of biology, Kirby! So mouth-operated weapons aren't totally damned by a loss of sight, but I still can't see them being a main weapon style for ponies. A mouth-wielded weapons would still cut off another important warrior element, communication. I think a few warriors might use them out of personal preference or a specially-trained style or just appropriating enemy weapons on the battlefield. However, most of an armed force can't be reduced to mumbled, unintelligiable orders and warnings.

I'm all for the helm-mounted weapons that just makes sense. And someone stated before a lance-harness system. I think both would be great for earth ponies. However the lance system would have to have some way of quick-releasing it. Any good contact with them enemy would shatter the lance. Perhaps a tonfa-esque handle to pull it out of the harness.

While this is possible, I don't think that would happen. It could alter the entirety of Equestria, changing things in the ponylands as well. If the Griffins are in the dark, where's the sun? Bathing the ponylands in heat, and killing their crops as well? Balance has to be maintained for things to grow, regardless of the area.

Also, Griffins are meat eaters, so they might not even grow crops.

A solar eslipse only happens over a very narrow area where the Moon direct shadow passes over the Earth. Using Celestia AND Luna, ponies could have tactical darkness. To either damage a particular area or safely give equestrian forces the cover of nightfall for movement as long as they need. Also if the sun doesn't heat an area for long enough, it freezes. In 1816, a combination of low solar output and a large volanic eruption in 1815 caused a climatic change that had frosts in May, snow in June, and iced rivers and lakes in July all through New England down to Pennslyvania. And that's just reduced solar output and transmission through the atmosphere. The Cretaceous Extinction Event (end o'the dinosaurs) is theorized to have blocked the sun entirely for a year and reduced the sun's transmissions by ten to twenty percent for ten years. It killed just about every living thing on Earth.

What level of Weapon of Magical Destruction are we talking about here? Your guess is as good as mine. Anything I've tried to look up the subject delves into theoretical physics. I think it'd be along the lines of 1816's Year Without Summer but much, much quicker. Freezing, shortages and quick use of fuels, chaos, mass panic...like any sort of warfare you don't have to annihilate the enemy, you just have to crush their will to fight. Nightmare Moon caused enough panic way back when that Celestia banished Luna to the Moon. Just think what'd be like in a realm that doesn't have a God-Princess or six MacGuffin-armed heroines to solve your problems?

There's something I read in a really good fanfic series, It's a Dangerous Business, Going Out Your Door. Yep, it's very Tolkien-inspired, but it's just inspired with a good bit of original thought that feels a home with MLP-verse. It has mouth-spears which is hard to take, but also hoof-axes which are an interesting idea...even if I have no idea how they're wielded. The most intriguing idea is the earth-pony magic of "Standing Firm." Basically, in addition to knowing the land and being able to grow crops very well, earth ponies can sense the land around them and then root themselves to it, becoming as hard, anchored, and invincibile as the bedrock deep beneath their hooves (read chapter eight for the full explanation and chapter 18 for the full effect). A power such as this would not only make earth ponies the lancers of an equestrian army but also the pikeponies. Using their lances defensively, they could Stand Firm, and literally the enemy would break on them...well less like water on rocks and more like flies into windshields.

[Halide]

Actually, on this note, Earth Ponies -could- use projectile weapons just fine, just not ones that we with our fancy opposable thumbs are capable of handling. It strikes me that the bucking and kicking of mundane ponies can be both powerful and accurate, as seen in such cases as Applejack. One could conceivably make a sort of thrown spear with a 'handle' on the side which the pony could buck and kick, sending it soaring in a reasonably straight path at reasonable velocity. A rack of these, reasonably well placed, could turn a pony into a small, mobile ballistae.

We've also seen Applejack (who is probably a fairly good model for earthpony combatant ability, now that I think about it) using a lasoo - such actions could also be used for a sling - one of the oldest projectile weapons known to man, and certianly one of the most effective against unshileded and unarmored opponents. It strikes me a flail or spiked chain could also be used in such a manner, but that would likely provide a fair bit of risk to the wielding pony.

Speaking of which, mounted weaponry such as a ballistae would also be feisable, with ponies in teams of two or three working together to load, aim, and fire such a weapon - it would be cumbersone and require more hoofpower, but it would still beat trying to engage in melee against an opponent with melee and movement superiority. Pointy end goes into the other guy and all that.

There has also been evidence of reasonably advanced pyrotechnics, though whether this is earth pony chemistry or simply unicorn magic is, to my knowledge, unexplained. It strikes me that explosion-based projectile weaponry,

Finally, my curiosity lies in all the talk of Pony V Griffons - it strikes me that the two species are sentient and reasonably able to get along. There is of course the question of them coming into conflict, but I find the Ponies V Monstrosities to be a more likely scenario. We've already seen dragons, which are capable of speech, empathy and reason, but there are also hydras and the Ursa minor/major species, which seem much more feral, though equally dangerous. Siege weapons would likely be more effective against these, so such weaponry as ballistae seems more likely, whether the system is tension-based or uses chemical explosives - the ponies have iron-casting technology, as seen by the single-piece snowploughs used in Winter Wrap-Up though they seem to like using gold(plated?) armor for ceremonies.

However, it also seems that many of the ponies don't have access to weaponry or defensive structures - we see no evidence of any weapons in the show, in spite of such dangers such as the Hydra, the Ursa Minor, and a couple of Dragons. On the other hands, we're perfectly fine with the idea of pony military, while the target audience of the show probably isn't.

[BaconofChaos]

I haven't really been following this thread so sorry if this has been discussed. Bottom left corner of this pic:

Tail mace (or is it a morning star, or whatever those are called?). Would you say this is a viable weapon for a pony? Seems to me that having your weapon behind you would be a disadvantage in a fight.

[RarityDash]

Well, if Applejack's any indicator, ponies can have pretty amazing control of their tails.

So yeah, that might actually work.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

As for ponies and swords:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qf58nvsxJ4

[Apolline Allura]

Okay first off, that was one hell of a fight. I remember seeing that recently. In fact, Maximus vs Flynn is all I could think of when I was going through all the entries related to swordfighting.

But to the point of my entry, I'm not sure about the absolute extent of their knowledge of pyrotechnics, but my OC, Blaze Bright reminded me that certain things can be repurposed to war.

Like fireworks.

Consider it part of the special forces tactics of unicorns. They can modify these things, and be launched from distance to mid-range. Add unicorn magic into the mix and you get MAGIC MISSILES. And that's awesome

Mount a heavily armored Earth Pony with em and you've got a tank, mount a Pegasus with em, you've got a B-52 bomber. Actually, don't do that. Certain Pegasi are living nukes.

[Dessa]

I haven't really been following this thread so sorry if this has been discussed. Bottom left corner of this pic:

Tail mace (or is it a morning star, or whatever those are called?). Would you say this is a viable weapon for a pony? Seems to me that having your weapon behind you would be a disadvantage in a fight.

With four legged creatures, the rear legs are often the most powerful weapons. When horses fight, the head seems to be used for grabs and or painful nips as deterrents (sometimes, they'll go right for the private bits -- they fight dirty, for sure). The front legs seem like they're used to keep the opponent from being to aggressive with their heads, and the back legs are the weapons that pack the big wallop that make the other horse think twice about pursuing an attack.

It seems to require some maneuvering to bring the back legs to bear, but as far as I can tell, all of the other stuff is just jabs and setup to open up the opportunity for a big kick (or defense against the other horse trying to do the same).

THis is a bit of guesswork, but I imagine with a horse's almost 180 degree field of vision (the advantage to having side-mounted eyeballs), having someone behind you isn't as much a disadvantage as it is for a predator, whose eyes face forward for better 3d vision at the expense of field width.

Below is a video of a horse fight for reference. I've spoilered it because some people find it disturbing to see animal fights. But this isn't anything you wouldn't find in a nature video on public television. These seem to be wild horses, here, so there shouldn't be a concern about neglect or abuse by some rancher (because it seems if you poke deep enough in you tube, there are some fights set up, which is pretty messed up, IMO).

With weapons, I can see a horse wielding a sword or shield in the front and having a bashing weapon in the back. The intention would be to deflect or draw the enemy into in overly aggressive attack. You'd dodge a frontal strike while whirling your body. If you were fast enough, the enemy's head would be forward and wide open for a flail to hit it. Given how fast horses seem to spin on their feet in some videos, I can imagine having to be constantly wary of a rear weapon.

[Escrime]

Per the most recent episode, use of swords (at least in the form of fencing weapons... looks like an Epee to me) by ponies is canon:

And looks like I need to get Esc back into play...

[Dessa]

And they wield them with their hooves as well!

[Skye]

This is technically a gag item, though we do allow swordplay within reason where ponies would use their mouths to wield swords (And attacks as Dessa describes above), the way Applebloom and the other pony are wielding a sword is actually not a common thing.

We have to assume that grabbing and holding things with their hooves are a very rare and likely gag item sort of thing considering that just about everything they do, from opening doors, to drinking punch, to putting garnish on plates they do with their mouths.

[flutterscotch]

I just don't get why people keep wanting to introduce more problems into a land that is already rife with monsters with teeth and fangs sharper than swords and reality warpers (which the population seems to keep in check just fine sans steel). I think the last thing that Equestria needs is an excuse to have maladjusted, angsty ponies run around with lethal, spiky armor battling each other.

[Skye]

I just don't get why people keep wanting to introduce more problems into a land that is already rife with monsters with teeth and fangs sharper than swords and reality warpers (which the population seems to keep in check just fine sans steel). I think the last thing that Equestria needs is an excuse to have maladjusted, angsty ponies run around with lethal, spiky armor battling each other.

Yeah, I know. I don't understand why this has lately been such a big thing. I don't see why wars, and fights, and battles and such need to be a part of the roleplay here, it's not really necessary in my opinion.

[Dessa]

Wars, I don't get. I can see fights though. Ponies disagree, and sometimes disagreements escalate. I've seen otherwise calm people get really heated around eachother before, and I can't imagine a society that's SO civil that harsh words are the most serious things exchanged.