Information Change/Progress Update 1 [Metroid Equis] · 6:17am Mar 4th, 2015
Hi all, rereading some stuff, I'm going to make a change to a small detail to add some more semblance of realism:
The Magickakorps, according to Luna, capped out at 6,500 unicorns strong. Thinking this through, that's a bit much... like, quite too much given the span of time she had to assemble the force. Also, considering the immense power each individual unicorn of the force possesses, 6,500 could devastate most infantry (and in some cases, armor) formations short of a goddamn field army. Even more, the gradual 'transfer' of 6,500 troops from all areas of the Equestrian Military seems a bit far-fetched to have gone unnoticed.
Ergo, I'm tweaking that number to 2,500. Much more reasonable in my opinion, perhaps still even a bit too high.
As always, your thoughts are welcome on the subject.
ALSO, Chapter 32 is about 3/4ths finished.
~FW
2,500 is indeed more reasonable than 6,500 but over 2,500 unicorn mages seems OP as fuck to me. But I'm sure you can balance it out.
The first time I read it, I thought you'd accidentally added an extra zero, and the Korps were only 650 strong. That seemed reasonable for a "Secret Elite" team, especially since the relative population of Equestria seems much less than the population of, say, America. I'd be genuinely surprised if Equestria's entire armed forces totaled 10,000. Not only that, based on the numbers we've seen in the show, Unicorns seem to have the smallest population of the three races, and those with genuine magical talent - along the lines of Twilight or the Korps - being even fewer.
2848367 Indeed, though for plot purposes I can't drag it much lower than that. Luna deployed a thousand of them to Trottingham, half the force nearly, in this case. Everything else still holds... for now. If I decide on any more changes I'll push out an appropriate notice.
2848375 There are different estimates to the entire population of Equestria, and most stories I've seen don't take the canon implications on population and nation size. The force was supposed to be secret but revealed at an appropriate time. Luna wanted a special forces but a force that could also stand in direct combat with an enemy if need be. Thus, about 2000 works much better, as a few hundred wouldn't make much of a dent against massive armies. Considering the somewhat pitiful state of the regular military, such a force would be needed. Thus, in this story, I'd consider the Equestrian population to be around 500,000 maximum.
2848392
500,000?
According to a standard google search, 0.5% of the population of America is military currently. In World War 2, it was 15%
Going by that, at the top end, that would mean a total of 75,000 military ponies maximum, or 500 total minimum. Given that Equestria hasn't actually been at war for a long time, it's probably closer to the latter, building up towards the former after the initial Changeling invasion and the Crystal Empire's return. Given that it is a secret, off the books force, I'd estimate that no more than 2% of total armed forces can be a part of it. That's at most 1,500 at the high end. Of course, then you have to cut again because it's only unicorns. Assuming even population divisions, that's still only 500.
2848402 You're also assuming that humans and ponies hold similar values or feel they bear the same probability of risk going into the military. The Guard Force is still military, and by canon and other fics, is a coveted job despite what it officially entails. A maximum of 75,000 is actually quite a good number, though probably a bit high; but a 'resting' force of 500 minimum would be quite small. Again, we're going off of America's recruitment rates, military values, and incentives for enlisting, and desire for a standing force. We have no reason to assume Equestria is at all the same. Even more, unicorns would be much more highly sought after over Earth Ponies, which are probably the more numerous. Incentive to enlist for unicorns would be much higher, is my guess... specialization in skills and what not.
As well, I wouldn't say 'off the books' in the sense that 2500 unicorn troops disappeared from record, but that they had forged directories and registries.
I may cut the number of Magickakorps again, but for right now, 2500 will suit plot devices. More of this exact stuff will actually be detailed in 34.10 when Celestia and Luna attempt to reform their military into something more modern. Plenty of logistics issues arise and when, by the sequel, the ponies get a fleet, there will be staffing issues that need to be worked out.
2848438
Actually, you could easily have a lot more leeway with how many unicorns were recruited by Luna if you stated that her recruitment was not limited to unicorns already in the military. University unicorns who specialized in the study of combat magic for the pure science of it, things like that. Then it can be a lot bigger.
However, I still feel 2,500 is a bit large, if only for the size of the few places Luna would have available to train them. None of them would be large enough to train that many simultaneously.
2848444 You raise a valid point, and I'll probably say something to those likes in the extra scene. I wouldn't say they were trained simultaneously, because that indeed would be nearly impossible. I'd say there'd be rotations of a few hundred at a time, as the extraordinarily demanding sessions would physically 'knock out' any beginning unicorn for a couple of days. As well, Luna would probably promote lieutenants who showed promise to train in her stead if she could not be available for whatever reason.
Goddamn I could write a fic on the Magickakorps itself with how much thought needs to go into just the realistic aspect of it all
2500 if fine.
I wonder if Twilight will join the Magicka Corps after the war is over.
2848452
That would actually be fun to read.