World Building 6 · 3:27am Jan 19th, 2014
The Legions of Equestria: Part 5
The Firebirds
Current Commander: Wildfire III
The Firebirds were formed near the city of Baltimare, and shared a close bond with the Fillydelphia Sentinels. A smaller Legion, even from it's time of creation, the Firebirds made a name for themselves in Celestia's service, winning renown for their lightning quick attacks that could overrun their opponents in minutes. To do this, the Firebirds focus on recruiting and training Pegasi and unicorns with teleportation capabilities, the two groups of ponies working together to defeat their opponents as quickly as possible.
The Firebirds number only 1,000 ponies, due to their fear of becoming too caught up in the pride of having a large legion. This fear is believed to come from their role in the Lunar Heresy; jealous of the praise given to other legions, the Wonderbolts in particular, the first commanders pushed themselves further towards what they deemed perfection, and Nightmare Moon tricked them into her service with promises of glory and recognition. It was only during the attack on Cloudsdale that the Firebirds began to see their folly, and before the Western Ranger counter attack they deserted Nightmare Moon's army en masse and surrendered to the Plainsrunners.
Celestia was furious with the Firebirds for their disloyalty, but did give them a chance to redeem themselves; with the aid of the Siege Breakers, another legion looking for redemption, the Firebirds lay siege to the Shadowspire, the last stronghold of the Traitor Night Warriors. After an intense bombardment by the Siege Breakers, the Firebirds swept in before the Traitors could fully recover, slaughtering all they could find while crying out praises to Celestia.
Since then, the Firebirds have done whatever they can to prove their Loyalty and regain their honor. Only a minimalist group remains in Baltimare; the rest lay scattered across the globe, crusading against the enemies of Equestria and returning only when a new Commander is appointed, or when new recruits are needed.
The Iron Hooves
Current Commander: Clan Council
On the border of Mexicolt lays the fortress of the Iron Hooves. Numbering 2,000 ponies divided into ten clans, the Iron Hooves provide Equestria with both a stern southern defense and most of its technology.
Where the Iron Hooves' love for creating mechanical devices came from is unknown. What is known is that the Iron Hooves revere any form of technology as an offering to Celestia, citing that it is their way of thanking her for the ability to create and the power that such creations give them. As a result, every Iron Hoof Legionnaire is trained to be capable of building fully functioning devices such as steam engines and even light cannon from any material they come across. It was an Iron Hoof Legionnaire that invented gunpowder, and another that discovered using circuits and electricity to replace heavier gems as warding and strength enhancers in Legionnaire armor.
The Iron Hooves played a major role in the defeat of the Drakeguard during the Lunar Heresy, joining with the Plainsrunners in ambushing the Traitor Legion. Although victorious, each of the ten clans was almost reduced to nothing, with only 500 Legionnaires returning from Appleoosa Ridge, and none of them unharmed. In response to this, the Iron Hooves now have a tradition of grafting pieces of metal or machinery into their bodies, sometimes even removing entire limbs, so that they may be better protected against the weapons of their enemies.
The Iron Hooves underwent a major change in the years immediately following the Lunar Heresy. During that time, with Celestia making changes and allowing more democratic feelings to spread throughout the land, the province of Mexicolt voiced interest in seceding from Equestria. Although Mexicolt secession was viewed with mostly positive response, problems arose. The Order of the Golden Sun, a radical secessionist group based near Plainsrunner territory, began launching terror raids into Iron Hooves territory, in the hopes that the Legion might overstep its boundaries and be forced to leave the region. Then-Commander Blackshield, outraged over the attacks, led his forces in pursuit of the radicals, but this drew the attention of Applejack of the Plainsrunners, who felt that the Iron Hooves had no right to launch a campaign into their land. Before the two Legions could come to blows, though, the Wonderbolts intervened and managed to force a compromise between the Iron Hooves and the Plainsruuners. The Mexicolt Secession Crisis ended when a small force made up of Legionnaires from each of the three Legions located the Order's hideout and killed their leaders in the ensuing raid.
After the Crisis, Commander Blackshield admitted to acting foolishly, saying that his emotions overcame his judgment. At a special meeting, he formed the Clan Council, where the heads of the Iron Hooves' clans would meet and control the Legion with logic and cool headedness. So far the setup has worked, although the Iron Hooves have had to add numerous check and balances to make sure that no one clan has too much power for too long.
Two more legions tonight.
Also, shameless self-promotion time: Here's a link to my other, non-Pony related stories. Check them out, give me a review, whatever you want, but they're there
Mexicolt, really?
1733447 I had that set up for some time... and I couldn't think of a reason why they'd name a region of territory "Medusa"
1733461
Still... the puns.
1733461 would it be alright if i did an iron hooves story?
1733728 Sure, go ahead
I wanted to do some stories exploring the Legions, but I've got a lot on my plate as of now
If you promoting them here, I think it's alright to ask about them.
Without much of the spoilers, in your PR/Godzilla x-over, is G the main antagonist, or just a 'middle man' to introduce bestiary of his universe to the PR one?
BTW. Gurren Jesus?...
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/529/710/6d0.jpg
That was beautiful.
images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/tears-of-joy-just-joszie.jpg
1739802 Godzilla is only the antagonist as far as he fights the humans because... well, he's Godzilla; he's not overly fond of humans to begin with, and they just find lots of ways to piss him off. the real villains will be revealed in due time
1740040 Oh, ok, thx. Then I think I'll try that one.
BTW. They will not be those aliens from Godzilla: Final Wars I hope?
1740498 There were other aliens besides the final wars ones... I'll think of something
1740579 Cool.