Iron Kingdom Equestria

by Bitt_Player

Pendrake's Report: Equestrian Ponies

To: Scout General Bolden Rebald
Cygnaran Reconnaissance Service
Caspia, Cygnar

From: Professor Victor Pendrake
Department of Extraordinary Zoology
Corvis University, Cygnar

Scout General,

You are already aware that I was asked to join Swift Sergeant Aaron Wallace's CRS Ranger squad on their expedition to the ruins of Deepwood Tower, and I feel the time has come to pen a report on what we have found in the course of that venture.

The ruins of Deepwood Tower, and indeed a large section of the Thornwood and southern Khador, no longer exist, or at least are no longer present on the face of Caen. In place of this large section of land lies a nation that has existed for thousands of years, but has only recently appeared in this world. This nation is called Equestria, and it is a curious place indeed.

Equestria's population consists almost entirely of a people who call themselves 'ponies'. Ponies are superficially similar to horses, but smaller and proportionally very different. Ponies, unlike horses, are sapient, exhibiting a level of intelligence very close to that of civilized humans, and far above base animals or even the Tharn or other tribes of barbaric humans. Equestria boasts complex machines, many of which are augmented or powered by magic, not unlike human mechanika. The steam engine is known to them, and they use it mainly to power trains -though Equestrian trains cannot match the size or speed of any Cygnaran freight train, and are used mostly to transport passengers. Equestrian ponies live in houses, form towns and cities, and have an economy and government. I have prepared a detailed report on pony physiology and society.

Ponies exist primarily in three varieties: earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns. All of them appear to have innate magical power, and indeed the most learned of Equestria's population seem to believe that all things, from simple objects to abstract concepts, contain magical potential.

Earth ponies, as their name implies, carry a strong connection to the earth, as well as the flora and fauna that grow from it. Earth ponies are mainly farmers, handlers of animals, and laborers. They boast strength and endurance well beyond what would appear to be possible for beings of their size and muscle mass.

Pegasi, or pegasus ponies, have wings not unlike those seen on common birds, albeit larger, growing from their backs. These wings do not seem large enough to lift them, yet pegasi are fully capable of flight, and some can perform complex aerial maneuvers with ease. Pegasus ponies are masters of the weather in Equestria. They can stand on, move, or break apart clouds, as well as cause those clouds to produce rain, rainbows, or lightning. Each city and town in Equestria maintains a group of pegasi known as a Weather Patrol, which is in charge of controlling the region's weather according to a strict and inscrutable schedule.

Unicorns are the only ponies able to overtly control magic. Unicorns each have a horn growing from their forehead, which is evidently the focal point of their arcane powers. This horn is sometimes referred to as an alicorn, though this term seems to be considered archaic. when a unicorn uses magic, no runes appear as with most magic known to Immoren, but an arcane glow can be seen surrounding the caster's horn. Unicorns all seem to be able to manipulate objects using magic, although the level of force and precision they can exert in this way seems to vary. Unicorns are typically able to produce other effects using their magic, and this capability seems to be based on the particular unicorn.

Pony anatomy is somewhat unusual. They have four legs, a tail, and head. The average adult pony stands roughly four feet at the shoulder. Their eyes are larger than those of horses, their snouts smaller. Pony feet terminate in what they refer to as hooves, but which are nothing like a horse's hooves. Pony hooves are thick pads at the ends of their legs, which on most ponies will be the same color as their coat of hair. These hooves are not unlike the pads on the paws of felines or canines, but are much more solid. Ponies walking on stone or other hard surfaces will produce clopping sounds much as horses will. I have had difficulty in determining whether these pads are flesh or bone.

The coat of hair on a pony's body, as well as the pony's mane and tail, seem capable of taking almost any color. While I have overheard ponies discussing dying their coats, the ponies that permitted me to examine them shows no signs of any dyes or other unnatural coloration, leading me to conclude that lavender, fuchsia, and cyan, among other colors, are perfectly normal pony coloration. Interestingly, a unicorn's horn will always be the same color as its coat. As an alicorn is essentially a spur of bone protruding from the unicorn's skull, it is at least possible that a pony's entire skeleton matches the color of its coat.

Equestria is a semi-theocratic diarchy. Its rulers are a pair of sisters named Celestia and Luna, who identify themselves as princesses despite being the highest powers in the land, suggesting that the title has a different meaning in Equestria than in the Iron Kingdoms. Celestia and Luna are of a highly unusual type of pony, known as winged unicorns or pegasus unicorns. Pegasus unicorns are extremely rare, and can grow to sizes much larger than any normal pony. In addition, pegasus unicorns tend to boast incredible arcane power. While Equestria has no organized religions, Celestia and Luna are afforded a level of reverence normally reserved for gods, and their names are invoked in a similar way. I have actually heard one pony exclaim, "by Celestia's mane!" in startled reaction to my own appearance.

I have decided to remain in Equestria for some time, as I intend to learn more about these ponies and their culture. I am staying with a pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle (pony naming conventions are absolutely fascinating), who is in fact the personal apprentice of Princess Celestia, as well as a librarian in the town of Ponyville, Equestria's southern-most settlement and the location Sergeant Wallace and his team discovered along with myself. Miss Sparkle is assisted by a small, reptilian individual named Spike. Spike identifies himself as a "baby dragon", but is nothing like any dragon or dragonspawn in Immoren. Indeed, he bears a closer resemblance to a gatorman hatchling. Twilight Sparkle and Spike intend to arrange a meeting between the royal princesses and myself, which I believe will prove fruitful for creating a rapport between Cygnar and Equestria, as well as highly enlightening. I am entrusting this letter to Sergeant Wallace, who plans to return with his unit to Caspia. I hope it finds you well.

VP

Comments

[Bitt_Player]

Holy dang! People are reading my fan fiction!
Double holy dang! People are reading my fan fiction and they like it!

I know that so far there's been a lot of talking and explaining, but not very much... doing. That's going to change soon. This is a crossover with a wargame after all, and I didn't dump Equestria into the Thornwood because it's the most peaceful region in the setting.

[Celestias Paladin]

So you are not calling the Sisters Alicorns? I have no clue about that universe you are crossing with but it seems interesting and having humans not wanting to enslave Equestria right off the bat is a good start.... oh and Celestia pulling off a Gendo pose? That is a bit scary

[DavidPony]

i have no clue what this is a crossover with but so far...........I LOVE IT!

[Bitt_Player]

449902
Within they show they're always called "winged unicorns" or "pegasus unicorns". Also, "alicorn" is in fact the name for a unicorn's horn, so every time I see the Sisters called "alicorns" I can't help but imagine a four-inch tall Celestia with her hooves super-glued to Twilight Sparkle's forehead.
This probably means I'm not entirely normal.

[Celestias Paladin]

452862
I really don't remember what their species is called in canon, outside the intro for Ep1. Alicorn can be a proper term to be used for a winged unicorn, since the term could originate from the Latin alacorn, meaning wing horn. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_unicorn
Who ever first started using the term did their research

[gforce]

Interesting, I'm looking forward to the rest of this story, especially if the legion of ever-blight comes into play. I do so love my soulless abominations.

[Bitt_Player]

456983
www.privateerpress.com has some lore on the games, being the manufacturer. The info there is unfortunately a bit sparse, though. Brief summaries of factions and models, that sort of thing. Their forums do have some pretty in-depth information, though. Look for posts by PPS_DougSeacat, he's Privateer's master of lore and background info.
battlecollege.wikispaces.com has some info on the models. Not a lot of fluff, but they can give you a general idea of what various people and entities can do in combat. Like most wikis they're heavily opinionated and not 100% reliable when talking about how good or bad models are, but they're pretty accurate in terms of what things are capable of.
If you have any specific questions, you can always ask me. I'm pretty crazy about the lore for Warmachine and Hordes, I can probably come up with an answer to any questions you might have.