Cloudsdale's Finest, the Sonic

: Although not as powerful and as magnificent as the legendary Sonic Rainboom, the stunts done by these elite hoplites are devastating enough. Each trained personally by the Force Commander Supreme herself, even Lightning's Finests would probably have a hard time dealing with them...

: What makes them special is their ability to perform the Sonic Boom, the stunt even the now disbanded Wonderbolts find impossible to perform. But with experience, Rainbow Dash can train aspiring pegasi to perform this stunt. The force of the Sonic Boom would not only stun, but also throw many things away with it, including soldiers...

: There are rumors that quite a few managed to not alone, throw, but literally disintegrate everything with their attempts. Of course, the Force Commander Supreme is in that few...

4061573 Man there are some strange things in Equestria that could happen. Stormwing isn't exactly against magic, for all we know Tank could have been affected by magic in some way.
However, to go into a scientific point of view..... NO IDEA, dont ask me ive got nothing. Its quite possible Tank didnt even become one. Though there is the "copes rule" in which animals tend to slowly and surely get bigger on bigger. basically since in nature animals that are bigger are stronger and can survive more efficiently and so on and so on, however they eventually die out because of problems caused by getting bigger and so on. However i doubt there would be enough time for "Tank" to grow bigger unless "Copes rule" works differently in Equestria, which so far it seems like it doesn't. Plus the rule probably doesn't apply to already alive and fully grown animals so we can throw that out the window. Though maybe in the far future....

However considering what Lisboa came up with for spike, as in he was continuously changed with magic, its possible Tank could have gone through a similar situation. The only thing we really know of from the north of Equestria is the Crystal Empire, Anything can be up there. In the long run, no matter how good this idea is, i cant think of how Tank and such could have grown massive, we'd have to somewhat invent a location high up north or something that's a lake or ocean inhabited by giant turtles. That or once again, the eastern ocean is inhabited by them and Stormwing can only get a very small number of them from there back to Stormwing territory.

(also, i was thinking the same thing as you. However, many smaller ones on the turtle also works, that actually would look pretty cool, not sure if that's what romanti is talking about however.)

: Here's my take on the size issue, 4073457. How about the Everfree had something to do with this..?

: If it's not the forest itself that had influenced Tank, then the another likely culprit would be the Tribes...

: What if some druids in the Everfree is creating lots of humongous creatures with their druidic magic..?

: Not sure what to write in as a description though...

4074490
Maybe the tribes did this and Stormwing had maybe seized a camp or something of the Tribes, a smaller one or something and found a few turtles and have since been breeding them?

I doubt there are ONLY 6 Tribes, and that the ones we know of are simply the 6 major ones, so these turtles could have been made within the Tribes and eventually, Stormwing found them and was able to use their size with the machines they made, plus their weather control ability to make this formidable defensive unit.

: So are you saying that those six tribes are major ones of the Everfree Forest, and there are many more minor tribes out there, 4080802..?

: Might as well have a go coming up with some of those small tribes, it might get interesting...

4081297 Exactly, I mean its probably true that most of the Everfree members go at those 6 tribes however, these tribes we're founded by survivors of the flood and those looking for somewhere to live that had nowhere else to go. I doubt only 6 tribes where formed during this time. Remember that a tribe was also attacked and ravaged by Earthborn at one point, this might have been one of the more minor tribes, since attacking one of the major tribes requires one to go into the Everfree forest itself and go through many difficulties just to reach said tribe. However a smaller tribe near the edge of the forest would be a much easier target for such an attack. Dunno, when it comes to tribes it seems like there would be more then just 6 to make an entire faction, its just those 6 are the biggest and most notable tribes that we should REALLY take note of. It be pretty cool to see some other smaller tribes as well.

4106377
4081297
Wow. Well, I certainly appreciate all the thought you guys made into trying to make my silly SW giant electro-tortoise-tower idea work. XD Thanks for the complements, too! Yeah, the giant war tortoise business was a reference to Tank, and I felt like some sort of war tower (whether it's an electric pylon or some sort of mini weather factory) would feel more "Stormwing" on top of a beast, rather than on wheels like a traditional siege tower (as 0_Alpha said, giant wheeled engines of war is more an Earthborn thing).

: This has been in my mind for awhile...

Anthromorphs
Countless attempts were made to establish a link to the Human World, but failure was always the answer. And so Lyra Heartstrings moved on with her new project. Instead of summoning from their own realm, she aimed to create them herself. Those creations are called Anthromorphs...

A combination of spells, gadgets, and potions, the transformation process is nothing but horrifying. A subject would first feel intense pain throughout the body for a prolonged time. This is the process of which the skeletal structure transforms. The subject's body would shift so that walking on hindlegs is much preferable...

The second phase is the growth of new body parts. A number would sprout from the subject's hooves, acting as a grapple of sort alike to that of the Minotaurs'. Control training on these new parts would take at least a year to master. Another research group is currently working on a drug to shorten the time period...

: My attempt on adding "Anthros" to Equestria Divided. I think they kinda fit with the Cult best since Lyra's the only one with some sort of connection to humans...

Legionnaire Teleporteers

Teleportation spells are complex even for Unicorns who are adept at spellcasting. Legionnaires who find otherwise, which is rare since understanding its essential concepts alone is considered to be an advanced-tier knowledge, would be assigned for further training to become Legionnaire Teleporteers: swift soldiers who implement their greatly-enhanced mobility to their advantage.

Their usual role is to screen far ahead of the main force as scouts and skirmishers, often the very first to engage the enemy forces, usually their skirmishers. The sudden nature of the teleportation spells creates confusion and opportunity for the kill. Since they rely on evasion and sudden movements, their preferred style of combat is deadly melee when they always have the element of surprise. When coupled with the Magic Missile spells, they make extremely mobile skirmishers, but due to the amount of magic they have to discharge, much persuasion has to be made.

Legionnaire Sentinels

Those who have learned the Bubble Shield spell would know how fragile their magical barrier is after several beatings. Legionnaires specializing in this spell are used solely for defensive purposes: to be a shield for allies against any threat. They are especially valuable against the gun batteries and sheer numbers of Earthborn. Not often would either of those two break a Legionnaire Sentinel's barrier.

Many advanced variants of the spell exist. For example: there have been several reliable reports of some sentinels consuming instead of deflecting any direct hit to their barrier. This particular variant is invaluable when holding out against rains of projectiles, twice deadly, though slightly morbid, against foolish soldiers charging head-on to the barrier. Another example would be the summon of a permanent barrier independent of the sentinel’s channeling: fortifications at near instant.

Levitationists
Levitating near hundred objects is near impossible task for normal unicorns. Luckily, none exists in the Cult can be considered normal. With much training and drugs taken, these mind jugglers can levitate virtually anything with their horn. There are multiple witnesses of a lone cultist levitating an entire crowd in the middle of Fillydelphia...

In range, they would use explosives alike to that of the Battle Buckers, albeit at fast speed. In melee, their signature is a set of blades, tens of them. Most victims who engaged them in melee usually got stabbed first from the back, then died horribly with the rest of the blades impaling them from all sides...

Ventriloquists
Voice throwing is a well known stage act in Equestria, but combining it with magic produces spectacular results, especially with the abysmal magics of the Cult. Unlike the infamous Sirens of Whitegold, these singers "throw" their voices, barely moving their lips. Their ability to appear silent whilst performing their "show" makes them ideal for the Cult's subtle operations, but their expertise is also well appreciated for the occasional uprisings...

Climates

Not experts alone, but even adepts of the weather spells are collectively Climates due to the sheer complexity of the subject. Though it is normal to have the Pegasi handle the responsibilities of weather manipulation as it is their natural affinity, Unicorn Ponies can still produce satisfactory results with their magical powers given enough experience, though most of the Climates are currently no match for even a Pegasus foal.

A luckily one-time employment of Pegasi slaves instead of the expensive private companies for the responsibility ended up in an almost-complete disaster, hence the transition to the somewhat unreliable weather spells. The Sun Guild is currently conducting research on the spells, aiming to improve their reliability and potential through empirical monitoring of the nature and techniques of their neighbors from afar and studying the affinities from their guests nearby.

Bearers
Back in the days of old, Lady Fluttershy wasn't the only pony the animals turned to, not all swore fealty to her. The cold climate of the Northern Expansion makes it favorable to the bear population, and many are domesticated by Stormwing's Ground Guards for use solely for warfare...

Bearers are keepers responsible for the behaviors of their respective bears. They are expected to fight like every other guards, but aren't expected to take the heavy beating. They prefer swift earth ponies to catch up with their bears. Wearing lighter armors and carrying lighter weapons whilst the complete opposite for their responsibilities, they are ideal for flanking maneuvers, but a bear's charge is as effective and deadly as a juggernaut's...

The Prominence >>> Prominence Class
The Batteries of Studgart are feared by all pirates who once roamed the area. A single hit, no matter how slight, is enough to set a wooden ship aflame. A direct hit is well known to turn one into a floating bonfire. Countless skirmishes on that shore prove that a volley of Sunray Cannons are more than just effective against enemy fleets...

An attempt to utilize the same tactic Studgart uses to fend off pirates, the Prominence is a sweet fruit of tireless research hours. An experimental flagship fitted with slightly smaller versions of the Sunray Cannon along its triple decks both sides; to survive a full volley would be a miracle...

When there's enough security even Nighthooves couldn't dig in, you will know that the owner doesn't want it to be found out. The flagship is an experiment. There's only one order for its crew to follow, leave no survivors. The research team on board handles any scientific process, observation mostly. Should the ship be damaged, the team would repair it, or make do with likely anything on hoof until they get back to port for irregular maintenance...

: The description is pretty bad, I admit. I hope this wallpaper would suffice for you to know where I'm going with this...

Edge Horns
Donning the traditional champron which effectively gives the horn deadly combat capabilities, amplifying both the aspects of melee and ranged through magically constructed-infused edges, these Unicorns bring swift certain death to their enemies with it. Edge Horns are a highly-trained warrior sect which had unveiled itself as an acceptance to the renewed concept of Unicorn superiority ignited by the formation of Moon and Star.

Originally one of the most feared military units the Old Unicorn Kingdom can ever field. They disappeared into obscurity after the Founding of Equestria: when the three tribes not only agreed on a truce, but united together under a single banner. Like the Edge Horns, there were many who wouldn’t accept change so sudden. Now that they have revealed themselves and sworn their fealty towards the noble cause of Moon and Star, the lesser races will tremble once more the dread their ancestors felt on the battlefields of old.

Dreamers

Devout priestesses who follow the Way of the Dreams are blessed with the power to control the consciousness in slumber, the power to traverse the hallowed Dreamscape. Before having the privilege of entering the Dreamscape at will though, one must be capable of more than just a simple slumber, one must be able to concentrate their very spirit whilst performing it. Though meditation is a widely accepted standard, usage of (generally accepted as) lethal drugs in small doses to induce the trance is not uncommon; in large doses, uncommon.

The Dreamscape is a plane where the Moon Princess treads every moment the Moon shines bright in the night sky. The joy when her faithful followers finally entered it was short-lived when they couldn’t find what they were actually looking for. Nevertheless the Dreamscape offers many opportunities, but rewards also come with costs. Accounts from the Dreamers detail their violent encounters with nightmarish creatures akin to the Cult's twisted nature whilst roaming the Dreamscape. Those who didn't manage to escape from their trances became insane no less different than any other maniacal Revelers and all had to be silently put down by the Inquisition. This danger imposed by the Cult severely limits their numbers.

Dreamers are the priestesses who have been deemed worthy to participate on the field. In their support role they would manipulate dreams of the soldiers in their sleep to make them ready for their waking, or actually put one into sleep, assuming that one is suffering from insomnia. This ability can also be implemented on the opposition as well by inducing nightmares to their personnel. Under combat situations on the other hand, exclusive to whose expertise has been honed as a Dreamer, they can induce freshly-woven dreams to the already-awoken combatants: an illusion viewed by the target's own consciousness. Affecting multiple marks at once is difficult and requires great mental strength, but the feat has flipped the tables more than once.

Bards
Musicians give entertainment and inspiration in times of depression, big and small, but that is the limit of their worth. How much more would it be if they can fight in combat alike the common mercenaries? That is exactly what Bards are, warrior poets who can perform their instruments as good as they can wield their weapons...

Entertainers are typically employed to uplift the soldiers' morale before an upcoming battle. Bards can do this and join the fight as well. Commanders cannot deny a soldier of fortune who can inspire their fellows, after considering their prices, can they? In terms of capability, their versatility grants neither advantages over either specialized professions...

Bards were usually trained as musicians before taking up combat, though vice versa isn't rare either. Bards employed are often lacking in combat skills, so they often don heavy armor, some almost akin to that of a Juggernaut's. Their weaponry rests to their personal proficiency and race, but their heavy armory is nothing if not iconic...

: Let's see if anyone sees the pun...

Dragon Mercenaries
Wyrms are creatures of greed. They grow in power as their vice is satisfied. The constant warfare has open an opportunity for the recluse dragons to become even more powerful. These dragons will lend their enormous powers to those who can pay their outrageous fees. Most of the rare times they were employed, the client was Whitegold...

: Hey! Elephants were a menace of the battlefield back in the ancient times. I doubt that everyone wants to enslave a non-sentient elephant for battle. Since we haven't seen any in Equestria, sentient mercenaries are unlikely, but possible still...

Minotaur Mercenaries
Contrary to the popular belief, not all Minotaurs swore fealty to Everfree despite the well-known presence of the impregnable Iron Bulls Stronghold. Few can match their brute force, and few can match their price for it...

: Huh, I hope that's enough for a description. Not much can be told about them from here...

4073457

So kinda like the Flying Island Turtle from Naruto?

I can see it happening but like you said I can not think of anything of how it would get that big.

Equestria Divided is well-known to the outside world. Adventurers and mercenaries flock to war-torn land in search for wealth and plunder, or maybe a more ambitious goal..?

Nhorse Shieldmares
In nhorse society, mares' roles are mostly kept within the border civil duties, rarely would one find any of them fighting on the battlefield. But if one did find one, then one has found a shieldmare, whose ferocity may surpass their fellow stallions...

Nhorse Valkyries
Veteran shieldmares who have taken part in many battles may don the title, Valkyrie. They are nothing if not deadly with their accumulation of experiences, whether it's personal duels, cunning attacks, or berserk rampages...

Saddle Arabian Warriors
Saddle Arabians are much larger than their cousins which contributes to the intimidation they carry. These warriors however, carry the exotic combat skills of the southeast with them too, making them ideal to make the Everfree taste their own medicine, especially the unorthodox, tribal warfare of the exiled zebras...

Ottomare Janissaries
The result of the military modernization of the vast Ottomare Empire, janissaries are elite soldiers trained at a very young age, combining the attributes of various combat styles native to their collection of territories with other foreign powers', particularly the equestrians' who were considered the most powerful back in the past. These "New Soldiers" have arrived from the south to test their capabilities on the now disunited, divided Equestria...

Neighponese Blades
Neighpon, the nation far to the northeast, haven't had any conflicts since their unification centuries ago due to no small contribution from the nation of Equestria. Although peaceful in nature, they haven't forgotten their arts of old. These qilins have arrived to show their skills with their sharp, beautiful blade, for a modest price...

Rogue Changelings
There are times that a new-born changeling refuses to obey its queen. Those changelings would eventually escape its hive and integrate into neighboring territories. Their natural shape shifting makes them a valuable asset in infiltration, espionage, and a wide array of sabotage operations...

Gryphon Archers
Bows and arrows are usually associated with the Gryphon Kingdom, masters of this simple, yet terrifying weapon. It can take years to perfect the skill of archery. Though these individuals find real battles an ideal practice over stationary targets and other practices, they still need to make a living for themselves...

Griffon Crossbows
Though intricate to make, crossbows are easy to be acquainted to. This is the reason why the Griffon Kingdom issued their soldiers crossbows. Reloading can be tedious, but its power pierces even the thickest armor, and they may find some for a price...

Griffon Gunslingers
With the introduction of gunpowder, griffons integrated the new discovery into their crossbows. The result is a gun, a cousin whose capabilities range between Earthborn's and Whitegold's. On its fast rate of fire, an ability well sought after by commanders who wish to utilize it on the battlefield...

Minotaur Cannoneers
It doesn't matter how these minotaurs manage to get themselves a bucker cannon, they know how to use theirs. It might be funny to see them each carrying a cannon rolled in thick cloth, but you have to admit, explosions make metal really hot...

Vampire Bats
Something changed them. No longer do they thirst for the juices within fruits, their thirst have been deviated to those running in organic bodies, blood. Bat ponies were just and still a myth, but it doesn't hurt to be on the lookout for them, and corpses on the battlefield can sum up pretty much their pay too...

: Mercenaries...

Faith must not be overlooked among the lesser ponies...

Tectonic Knights

Having sworn their hallowed oath, they shall repent their disgrace of the lost their affinity with vengeance. Tectonic Knights are not necessary great combatants, but their revenge-driven desire coupled with their faith to the Celestial Sisters results a zealous fury rarely found anywhere else. This passion alone is enough to make them dangerous in battle, but it is not their violent devotion which makes them stand out. It is their other expertise. Because many of them were refugees from Earthborn territories, some of these knights carry with them a set of skills which allows them to construct siege engines, and these engineers pass their skills to their brothers and sisters in arms.

Tectonic Knights are then called forth when this expertise of theirs is needed as well as their passion, their engines-of-war always ready to crush the infidels who wronged them. Their different understanding of mechanical engineering combined with the arcane technologies of Moon and Star also usually results in unexpected, occasionally combustible, scientific breakthroughs. This creates humorous tensions between scientists and commanders: one wanting their expertise with their projects, the other wanting their fury to participate in their battles.

Honorary Knights

They may be treated as second-class citizens at best, but there are no few in the crowd who wish to join the flock because of their zeal and faith. As to Princess Cadance's decree, any non-Unicorns who are able prove that their fidelity to the Sisters are beyond the ordinary may become Honorary Knights, fighting against heathens and heretics alongside their true brothers and sisters; and of course gaining both the loathing from their fellow true knights and the slaves who can have many thoughts about them, barely any of them are good.

They are young. They are learning. They are weak. Give them valuable lessons, do not waste their lives for nothing...

Celestial Squires

Exceptional deeds distinguish potential knights away from the sinners; such is the common sign used to find candidates to be knighted and join their ranks. This alone won’t sustain their numbers. Celestial Squires are foals-in-training under tutelage of a veteran knight, learning the arduous path of the Celestial Knighthood. Since they are inexperienced, they are disallowed yet to swear fealty to one of the Celestial Sisters, being mandatory to clearly understand both sides of the spectrum first before their fateful choosing; ignorance is one of the greater sins to be committed.

The prerequisites for becoming a Celestial Squire is quite simple: being a foal. Foals are superior than their adults on the factor that they are generally better learners. As long as the foal can learn from their mentor, then they are qualified. The bond between a knight and a squire is sacred to some extent; one harming the other is a sin unforgivable within the knighthood. Other than learning from their mentor, other duties of a squire revolved around basically what their mentor wants from them: typically daily chores such as maintenance of equipment, but always by the side of the knight on the field of battle, learning how to survive in that carnage through direct experience.

Celestial Acolytes

They are typically orphaned foals who seek refuge within the embrace of Celestial Faith. Celestial Acolytes tend to their respective church as well as learn the ways of the priesthood to better serve the Celestial Sisters as they grow. It is forbidden for a Celestial Acolyte to have preference on one of the Celestial Sister over the other, for currently they are under the guardianship of both; fundamental understanding of their nature is essential in the solemn subject of theology.

On moments they are not with their intensive studies, a balance between theology and science, they can be seen maintaining the church: cleaning it mostly, but you can on occasions find acolytes renovating their church. As the nature of the young, they can be seen playing together, even with the priests sometimes. Acolytes are often sent out of their church to perform charity works at their surroundings. This can be in the form of the typical self-volunteering, or something which is long-term in nature. One can never know how child prodigies think.

Field Interns
They are here for fresh, real experience, give it to them until they are satisfied, but do not risk anything on them. It's a wild gambit resting anything important on their shoulders. It is more likely that they would fall...

Recruits
Fresh, trained, and ready to learn to become what killing machines fated to death...

Younglings
Young lives learning the way of the forest and nature, the way of living in harmony with it...

Mischiefs
Who would ever expect any mad young foals born into the Cult..?

With countless designs going through trials and errors, the Engineer's Guild has finally completed a new type of cannon which not only is better in all respects to the bucker's designs, it can also be produced in various sizes with little modifications to its core design. The engineers dubbed this revolutionary concept finally made reality, "Earthpounder"...

36 Earthpounders
36 pounds shots are heavy, ideal for rendering large objects to rubble...

24 Earthpounders
24 pounds shots are found to be the most balanced between accuracy and destructive power...

12 Earthpounders
12 pounds shots are light, fast, and accurate...

: It's odd to see Earthpounder being exclusive to Beastbusters only. It looks like napoleonic cannons to me so I figured that it might be a new cannon type that will replace the bucker cannons...

First attempts of applying the "Earthpounder" concept to the behemoth's designs testified that the concept is limited too its size degree. If the barrel didn't damage itself or explode, then the cannonball simply didn't land on its determined hit sites...

The Engineer's Guild feared the worst, they had to extend the cannon's barrel to make more room to contain the explosion, which not only means they are much more expensive, but almost impossible to reload...

They were forced to utilize their recent innovation, the pile driver, which uses the power of gravity to push large poles, which are common in Earthborn architecture, down into the soil...

This means that the cannon would need a specialized crane to not only put the cannonball in, but to push it deep into the barrel as well. The behemoth's designs had no complications like this, as the cannonball just fits right in due to the height from the crane was enough to push it into the barrel...

In the end, the mammoth didn't replace the behemoth due to one of its drawbacks, mobility. With a much bigger cannon than before, it is almost impossible to move it fast, even when fitted with wheels. Not to mention bigger crane and cannonballs...

Field Mammoth
It's not usual when behemoths aren't enough for the job that a mammoth must be assembled on the field...

Entrenched Mammoth
Since it's obvious to let the ground handle the mammoth's recoil, why not dig in and fortify?

Tower Mammoth
You would know the tower is Earthborn when it can handle a mammoth's kick...

Light Guards
Stormwing demands swiftness in their ranks, the Ground Guards are subjected to this as well. Many ground guards embrace lighter equipment to be akin to the wind. These ground ponies tend to be small and swift. Most often seen tends to be foals performing duties of reconnaissance. Their mobility makes them excellent flanking units.

Heavy Guards
It is instinct to protect oneself with armor. Though not as heavy as the Earthborn Juggernauts, they still prove excellent as breakthrough units. They may clad themselves with heavy armor, but they are still swift enough to make flanking maneuvers. Being flanked by a heavy unit is never a good sign for the allied formation. A great thing that Stormwing doesn’t take those chances with sluggish, heavy soldiers.

Ursa Majors

The Way of the Beast of the Everfree Tribes provides the Moon Guild profound insights to tame more Ursa Minors roaming deep under the shadows of the Canterlotian Mountains. With tribal insights no longer they have to fear the primal wrath of any Ursa Major, mothers of their hunted offsprings. The translated Way of the Beast describes in great detail to innately understand animals: how they think, how they act, what they eat, what they drink; and the list goes on.

At times past the Moon Guild had to tirelessly isolate and tame a relatively weak Ursa Minor and train them further on, and that process alone isn’t without casualties. Now they may take a step further to the countless Ursa lairs surrounding the Moon Guild. The mythical bears were captured and tamed numbered not only more than just thousands of Ursa Minors, but many hundreds of Ursa Majors as well. An Ursa Major in battle always have with herself multiple Ursa Minors. Battle formations scattered in little pieces as the family tear away the battlefield.

Knighthooves
Reserved for larger pegasi, Knighthooves are the muscle of the Order. They are not trained primarily to best their foes with their sheer strength, but to misguide and protect their more-nimble companions at work with their mischiefs. The intimidation they carry is as much as the sharpness their tongues possess. Their facade tends to brush them with the chivalrous nature of the Knights of Moon and Star, hence their name played by their fellow Nighthooves.

Nighthoof Angels
Seraph turncoats trained with the skills of a Nighthoof, these unicorns renounced their faith to the Celestial Sisters and now lend their wings to the Nighthoof Order. Though their magic will be instrumental to any of their operations, the frail nature of the Wing Spell is still a drawback worth of concern. Escapes are demanding, and should their wings fail at those moments, so would their lives.

Nighthoof Sharpshooters
As Arqueteers are compared to Hoof Cannoneers, Sharpshooters of the Nighthoof Order are often compared to Wing Cannoneers of Earthborn. Though it is obvious that these Nighthooves are to deliver their marks death from afar in the manner of assassination, they are regularly employed by Whitegold to support their bands of mercenaries in battle.
As arquebuses may only be operated by telekinesis, Sharpshooters are Nighthoof Angels issued and trained with their arquebuses. In battle, they would hide themselves in the clouds and fire upon unsuspecting enemies from above. Should the enemy be Earthborn, they would often find themselves in firefights with Wing Cannoneers as both parties struggle to provide aerial support for both their own allies fighting on the ground and in the air.

Diamond Dogs.

Terriers
Small Diamond Dogs are often called Terriers. Though they are smaller than Earth Ponies in general, they make up their lacking strength with their agility. They would screen ahead of the main forces and dig burrows to hide in. Once the battle commences, they would execute their ambush. Their build allows them to execute high jumps that, either through precision or pure luck, can take down airborne enemies such as Pegasi and Griffons.

Boxers
Hailed from the city of Bullenbeiss, Boxers are Diamond Dogs specialized in the art of unarmed combat, their cestuses being their signature weapons. They would first attack their opponents with intimidation using their large builds honed by years of physical training. In actual fights, they would disarm their opponents and dodge those they cannot. These evasive maneuvers sacrificed any armor that would have protected them from deadly blows. Their choice of clothing tends to be shorts no longer than their knee-length to allow their legs free movement that will allow them to evade and outmaneuver their foes.

Bulldogs
Despite their sizes outshone by many other of their kin, Diamond Dogs of Bondogge are one of the most sturdy of the Kingdom of Dimondia. Bulldogs wear helms decorated with the best pair of horns of the Minotaurs they killed. In battle, they act as vanguards. Like bulls, they would charge into the enemy formation in hopes of breaking it apart, and they would fight with great ferocity no different to their fellow Dogs-of-War.

Retrievers
Specialized Diamond Dog scavengers, they are renowned for their ability to retrieve specific items lost in the battlefield professionally and cleanly, but they are also skilled as much in scouring the same battlefield clean of loots as if a bloody massacre didn’t happen. Though they lack the ferocity that would have aided them in combat, their senses are much better than their warrior kin’s.

Sighthounds
Sighthounds are in general, fast Diamond Dogs who use their sights to detect their preys, and their swiftness to pursue them. Though their lean builds would prefer them to support the formation from the back, their agility demands their presence on the far flanks, ready to pick out routing and isolated enemy soldiers.

Scenthounds
Diamond Dogs whose noses are deemed exceptional are called Scenthounds. They are best on detecting their preys, or better yet, unexpecting ambushes. Aside from reconnaissance, their talents are also used internally, specifically policing. Those that specialized in the latter are called Guard Dogs, employed primarily to sniff out hostile espionage agents like the Nighthooves.

Slavers
Typically unicorns, what sets them apart from common warriors is the nature of their profession. Being no strangers to torture and gore, the perks for being in this line of work, they are less likely to be intimidated. If anything, it’s their enemies that should be intimidated by them. The only conflict they would be interested to get themselves into is the type that results in prisoners, usually large battles. Slaves are often acquired in no discreet way, which makes Slavers not to be underestimated in combat. Their priority is not to kill their foes, but to knock them out and enslave them. Blunt weapons are their favorite, but a blade also works as well.

Cult of Honesty's forces: (note: due to the Inquesition, no members can be found in Moon and Star.)

Police: "Freeze! You are under arrest by the Honesty PD!" Every Police Officer has a duty, whether they know it or not, to Honesty. Those that find out are given a special ability: the one true sight in exchange for eternal service. Much like Applejack's, except that they can only see through lies on paper, needless to say, they should avoid reading fiction books. They are equiped with mostly Whitegold Miltia gear and training, or whoever's House they happen to be in, and instead of the houses symbol they have an Eye of Truth on their badges.

P.I.: "So, what do ya got for me?" They are the saboteurs of the cult, having access to almost anywhere in the cities they are in, also having the freedom to strike where and when they want and the abilty to see through illusions.

Judge: "You may join your requested Cult." They are the ones who root out the most spies, the ones who can hear lies, none can get past them as Mistress Rarity wouldn't bother with joining the Cults of Harmony. In battle they use their Warhammer-like gavel, perfect for bringing order to the courtroom and smashing in heads.

Forces of the Cult of Magic:

Levitators: "Sometimes the simple spells are the best." Masters of the Levitation spell, these forces are not to be taken lightly. Their ability to pick up anything is well to be feared. If powered up by Magic, these forces can crush a Jugernaut, while it's charging, with it's own armor.

Necromancers: "Time to rejoin the fight!" the ability to raise the dead is a powerful tool. Having this ability the Necromancers are able to give a boost to their forces, unfortunatly they are hunted down by the Cult of Laughter as top priority targets, so their numbers are few.

Want it, Get it: "If you want it. You should GET IT!" these units are rarer than the necromancers, manly due to the high death rates, if you see one of these units you should run. Too late! You're already under the spell. They are the choas makers, the destroyer of armies. They use the one spell they know to incredable effectivness. Unfortunetly they are alone and easly overpowered...... if you can get past the spell.

Illutionists: Masters of Disguise, these are the infultrators of the cult, when powered up by Magic, their Illutions become more real.

The Cult of Joy forces:

Band: "Are you ready to ROCK?!?!?!" These forces are the shock troops of the Cult, able to see a member of the Cult of Laughter a mile away due to a weird '6th sense' they got from Lady Laughter, they tend to go beserk, dropping everything to kill him/her and shoving anything or anyone else out of the way.

Jesters of Happyness: "Allow us to be your entertainment for tonight." Much like the Cult of Laughter's Jesters of Baltimare, these forces are able to turn any stage prop into a deadly weapon and are the Assassions of the Cult. Battles between the two forces are a spectical to be seen. Due to a gift from Lady Laughter they can instantly see what it will take to make the person they are entertaining happy. (Note: This abilty works poorly when dealing with crowds)

Pranksters: These are the Scouts, sabators, and spies of the Cult. They can sneak into almost anywhere and blend in, you have to be a good actor if you're going to blame one of your pranks on another after all.

Drawing a blank as to what the other cults should have.
Cults left: Cult of Generosity, Cult of Loyalty

: Eh... you should spend some more time on formatting, 4524878; some spaces here and there to divide the contents is a good start, and a good read too.

: I'm sure that you have something ambitious in mind, "Cults of Harmony", never have thought of that before.

Guard Repeaters
Sacrificing power for speed, Repeaters are meant to launch multiple bolts in quick succession alike the Repeating Hoof Cannon. But unlike them, Repeaters are much faster to reload with their wooden magazines containing up to 10 bolts, clearing them all in mere seconds.

Storm Cells
Unlike simple cloud foundations, Storm Cells are specialized constructs that not only are more enduring, but also hazardous to some extent. They are usually called Thunder Clouds due to their shocking nature of electrocuting nearby objects. In combat, Pegasi would naturally use any Thunder Cloud around the area to their advantage. Storm Cells are designed with the tactic in mind.

Storm Cells are modular. They can be connected to create a larger platform to discharge thunder. Cloud platforms are essential to Stormwing, as Pegasi need a moment of respite to their wings before engaging in aviation again, and aerial combat drains much of stamina.

A variant known as Supercells dwarf all Stormwing has to offer but any of their Flying City as a whole. Along with enhanced potentials of cloud platforms, with so much storm brewing, Supercells can produce tornadoes on its own, a feat requiring an army of skilled fliers to exhaust themselves.

Witch Doctors
If you contracted a disease in the Forest, then the local Witch Doctor would be your next stop. Witch Doctors are zebras specially trained in healing. They cure flus, heal wounds, and possibly rejuvenate (which is most likely relaxing placebo). They are most likely to be the most experienced in alchemy due to their background of being educated from the south-east. The most famous of the Witch Doctors of the Forest is none other than Zecora of the Exiled Tribe.

Nightshades
Nightshades specialized in using their mystical charm to lure their targets and poison them unwittingly. They are the closest to what the civilized world calls beauty in the Tribes, and are somewhat despised by most. Their iconic feature are the dilated pupils they all possess as the result of special eye drops made from nightshade. Along with the cosmetic perks, their pupils allow more light to enter, making them more effective in nighttime operations; needless to say, subtle.

: Realized that I haven't touched the Tribes for awhile.

Cult of Kindness troops:
Healing Berserkers: "Don't worry, this will only sting for a moment." These ponies can heal just about any wound, due to a gift from Kindness herself and if their patients are in danger they will go into a wild rage, using whatever they can to protect their patients. However, should they be caught alone they put up an incredible weak fight.

Guardians: "I will protect you until my dying breath!" These are the Bodyguards of the Cult, and they are heavily armored, almost as much, if not more than, a Earthborn Jugernaught. Usually they can be spotted protecting the high ranking members, children, and Doctors. Should they fall they become time bombs, which does two things. 1: takes the attacker down with him/her. And 2: prevents them from joining the Cult of Laughter.

Healers: "Stop your wining, I'm here alright." For those who get injured in battle and need a helping hoof, these unicorns are the way to go, able to project a shield around the patient that can deflect almost anything, they are quite weak when encountered so they usually have a Guardian with them.

Hypnotizers: "You are getting sleepy." They can hypnotize people. If the Hypnotist is a unicorn, they can use their spells, if not, they use the coin on a string trick.

Venti Flotilla

The Venti Flotilla is a small group of warships all having one in common: their sails. An invention called Ventus Engine is installed in every of the eight ships of the flotilla. A Ventus Engine is a magical device capable of creating artificial wind, concentrating itself into an orb, blowing at its predefined direction. Changing the properties of the orb, its direction and power, is as arduous and time-consuming as taking it out for daily maintenance; possibly the main reason why the crew of the Venti Flotilla are so skilled at steering their ships in swift motion. They cannot afford the patience.

Ships of the Venti Flotilla are equipped with small Sunray Cannons to suffice for their precious speed. The most prominent part of the ships is undoubtedly their sails, each uniquely shaped yet unfaltered because of constant wing. In battle they would rely on their advantageous mobility to outmaneuver hostile ships, blazing their armaments until those ships or their crew burn entirely.

The eight ships of the Venti Flotilla are: Septentrio, Auster, Subsolanus, Favonius, Caecius, Apeliotus, Corus, Africus.

Marksmares
Equipped with a heavily-modified variant of the device that is used by the elite Marksmages of Moon and Star, these mares bring smiles to their marks from afar. They are a suborder of the legendary Jesters of Baltimare whose members are all females (though there are sightings of stallions fitting the description of a Marksmare in appearance).

As always the ways of the Cult are, when they’re not subtle, they’re really loud. Marksmares are no exception to that rule, but not to the extreme cases that the zealous ones would do. They are comfortable enough picking out their marks in the middle of a carnage as they do normally in relatively safe hiding spots which are most often unexpected.

When one wants to know whether one has become one of the Marksmares’ “marks”, one just have to check whether they have any on them. It’s not hard to find since the marks themselves tend to be very distinctive. The clearer the mark, the higher the priority of the target. An interrogation on one of them bears fruit on why they put on marks on their would-be targets. These statements were separated from the typical topic deviation during the said interrogation:

“Why we left marks on our marks? Heh heh; get it? Heh heh... when you’re planning a birthday party as a surprise for somepony, that same pony would obviously know that surprise! Seriously, who forgets their own birthdays, huh? Huh?”

“A surprise can’t be random, else it ain’t a surprise. Well, Surprise is random most of the time, but that’s not the point. Well, that is the point. Wait, she’s not a point, is she?”

“Ok, ok, it’s not all about “it would’ve been too easy” that you serious faces think it is; well, part of it is true. Not showing off or anything, but me and my fellow fillies are waaaay better than those sharp-eyed hornies I heard you guys boasting here and there. I even pick out a few mysel- ho ho houuu dear Muffins! Here comes another shoc-”

“Aight aight, I’ll tell what you guys want. But don’t forget the Pinkie Promise! That cake better have cheese all over it too! And hold off that fire, you’re putting pressure on me! As I was saying, a surprise won’t be a surprise if the target does not expect the surprise by the least. If it’s too random, they won’t laugh. They’ll be confused and serious like you ponies, the opposite of what we’re trying to do! So we leave our marks to remind them that they are marks!”

“Hmm, that cake should be frosted by now~ Huh? What? Oh, those who don’t see them marks? Well, nothing’s perfect. Not sloppy! We took consideration of how good they are at finding stuff too, you know?! Wait, why are you blindfolding me again? Keep doing that -agh- and I would build an immuni-”

Teddy Bears
Who says the Cult can’t tame bears? Teddy Bears can range from little bear cubs to colossal Ursa Minors. Unlike the latter in their well-known role, Teddy Bears serve in very a passive role for the cultists of the Laughing Mare. Their appearances almost lifeless, they exist to follow their masters. Their soft mateirla meant that they are at best temporary (artificial) meat shields in combat.

Their actual purpose though, is to bring joy to its holder. When even a slight sorrow enters the mind of its master, the Teddy Bear would simply hug that poor soul, granting morale and inspiration to that cultist to continue his or her work for the Laughing Mare and the Cult.

Hellequines
One notable difference between the Jesters of Baltimare and the Harlequines is that the latter does not follow a strict set of rules like the former. Harlequines are not strictly controlled by a single entity, but are rather separated far and wide. Separation tends to harbor changes. Hellequines is one of the many results of those changes.

Hellequines underwent various types of dark rituals under the Laughing Mare which transform them into “living grotesque” as many would put it. They are acrobatic monstrosities each possessing their own special powers and appearances. Some might not look like one, while others would surely convince any sane to see themselves as something out of the mythological “Hell”.

Social Butterflies
There are reasons why Unicorns are ideal for spreading dissents and inciting revolts in the name of the Laughing Mare, they can escape easily provided that they know their Wing spell. Social Butterflies are one of the more indistinguishable members of the Cult, spreading discord within pure societies to make way for laughter that is graciously from Her smile. They are subtle. Be wary, some of your friends might be Social Butterflies themselves.

If the they are not escaping, but actually fighting, they are virtually indifferent in terms of roles when compared to the Seraphs of Moon and Star, though the usual recklessness that is typical within the Cult would rather result themselves death from sheer heights due to their artificial wings, which is colored with their color scheme, giving up before they do.

Harpies
Constructed in the same manner as the Firebirds, these giggling, smoking-hot avians, are not what many expects them to be. Distance can be an illusion. As these creatures fly high in the sky, one cannot make out their appearances in detail. But once one has examined one up close, one would see most of the time, a pony, whose every limbs but the chest and the head are replaced by that of avian’s. Their rare speech, one would then realize that they have little left of their former self, for a chuckling squawk isn’t something normal ponies would do.

Literally Nightmares
Nightmares are well-known for their lifetime devotion to Luna. It’s hard to imagine any of them to suddenly change their devotion to the Laughing Mare, though that does not mean that lot doesn’t exist. Blessed with the dark and sinister magics of the Cult, they are now terror incarnate, literally nightmares existing in the fabric of reality; gleeful dreams in their perspective though.

Antennae of Joy
Based upon the designs of the intricate Arcane Manipulator, this part-grotesque device invites the Laughing Mare’s influence through the power of science. It’s one of the few contraptions made by the Cult that is more science and less dark rituals and sorcery. Rarely found in battle, they are usually used in cells and hideouts to bring Her influence in without the ruckus. The top of the antenna is very slim alike a needle, very ideal when discretion is necessary.

Auxilia

Following Stormwing’s solution for ground support, to much disapproval of the Celestial Inquisition, Moon and Star now recruits Auxilia which shall provide critical support in battle. Virtually everyone expected none to join up after considering Moon and Star’s reputation. The unexpected happened. Flows of volunteers from all directions across Equestria come and enlist themselves to be part of the newly-formed Auxilia, their reasons differ.

On acquiring these recruits, Moon and Star not only opened their borders for enlisting, but also allow any unsatisfied individuals to leave and to spread word about their new Auxilia; even the shadowy Nighthooves cannot possibly disclose information which spreads by an enormous number of common ponies. It is indeed the accumulation of experiences of the Celestial Inquisition in internal security that manage to keep order to the realm as influxes of immigrants and emigrants which traffic their borders threaten it.

There are warriors exiled or deserted because they did something wrong to their masters. These exiles have no place to go but to sell themselves as mercenaries. The Auxilia gives them a new purpose to fight, something more honorable than being hired muscles.
There are soldiers who find Earthborn and Stormwing too harsh, hoping that the Auxilia would be more lenient.
There are believers to the Celestial Sisters who didn’t have any chance to show their faith because they are not Unicorn Ponies.
There are young to veteran mercenaries who can’t find any work and ended up enlisting.
There are those who came to learn, scholars and spies alike. There are also aspiring warriors unaware of their new master’s reputation.

Though undisciplined and comes in many flavors, with some even poisonous, this gives Moon and Star a new edge on its blade. No longer do they have to rely on the frail Slave Warriors, as their Auxilia numbered relatively equal and are much more proficient to their liking, Best of all, the overall pay rate they demand is only a little higher than what is used to put those same slaves to work. As long as they keep the Auxilia occupied and satisfied, with a pepper of order and discipline, they would serve well in campaigns to come carried in the names of the Celestial Sisters.

Disciplinaria

Disciplinaria are responsible for the military prowess of the Auxilia, hosting drills and keeping them in line in general by dealing with paperwork nightmares that come with the process of administration, and their focus is not actual discipline despite their name, thus the leniency when compared to Earthborn and Stormwing. Their focus is to act as arms of the Inquisition, reporting any suspects for treasons, and, although rare, bringing punishment (most often in the form of what should be considered death penalty) to the treacherous Auxilia under their authority.

Though incomparable to the agents of the Celestial Inquisition, they are nevertheless instrumental in keeping the Auxilia from becoming disorganized mercenary warbands. Their relationship to the soldiers of the Auxilia is comparable to that of teachers and students, lots of students. Though the first Disciplinaria, who now manage the organization themselves, were once Inquisitors, those who come after are far from one unless they choose to be. New Disciplinarians are chosen from the ranks of the Auxilia to be trained by the Inquisition: not as intense as those done to shape Inquisitors. Indeed their skillset would often label themselves as Inquisitors-to-be.

Centuria

Each unit of Legionnaires are under the leadership of their respective Centuria: veteran Legionnaires themselves who have served many years under the banner of the Celestial Sisters. It is their responsibilities to use their experiences to improve the efficiency of both in and out of combat along with enforcing discipline of a hundred Legionnaires.

In battle, along with ensuring that their unit is fighting according to the orders from the battle command, they would fight indifferent to those under their command. Centuria are expected to be adept with all the three spells taught to each and every Legionnaires; indeed, these Centuria would most likely learned other spells in their long years, and they are often willing to share their trade secrets and possibly dark secrets covered under the veil of enigma by the Inquisition.

Angels

Seraphs who have honed their Wing Spell to great extents would be instructed with more advanced aerial maneuvers and effectively becoming Angels. No longer fashioning their wings in the guise of that of butterflies, they are now somewhat similar to those used by the Pegasi. Angels are also trained with a specialized Magic Missile spell whose trajectory can be controlled, and the rapid-firing variant for making swift strikes to the ground.

Compared to the Seraphs, Angels are more suitable for aerial dogfights and prolonged combat as their flying maneuvers are relatively similar to most Pegasi warriors, whereas Seraphs are to be utilized in swift strikes to soften up the enemy. Despite the superior quality of their wings, Seraphs are faster in comparison since they wear lighter armor compared to those worn by Angels.

Archangels

Speed unmatched by all but the Wind Riders of Stormwing, Archangels are undoubtedly masters of the Wing Spell and any other which comes along with it. Their capabilities of fighting on-ground can be compared to that nature of the Appleloosan Rangers; on air, Hoplites. Archangels lead their own personal unit of veteran Angels, though it is not unheard for a unit to be made up entirely of Archangels; either are feared and awed by many. Being rightful champions of the sky under the Celestial bodies, their very presence is that of harbingers of victory.

Solsmiths

Though the creation of arms and armor in Moon and Star falls on the hooves of second-class artisans (the creation of such equipment cannot be entrusted to the slaves), those crafted by the intricate skills of Solsmiths are one of the highest qualities Moon and Star has to offer. They utilize not the fires of burned timbers, but the blessings of Celestia. Every pieces of their creation are marked with a seal of gold carefully embedded into the shape of Her Sun.

Embersmiths

The Firebirds and similar creations are all made by the Embersmiths. Other than creating them, it is their sole duties to collect their ashes after the creatures died the second time. With those ashes they would resurrect the phoenix anew. If the creation survived the battle, they would be the ones tending it to be fit to soar the skies with the flames of Her Sun once more.

Battle Choirs

A seemingly ridiculous practice at first glance, the application of voice-enhanced choirs overseeing the carnage of battle is very effective and had turned the tide of a number of battles before. While fear grows slowly within the hearts of enemies, believers of the Celestial Sisters become more encouraged to fight for the faith that is within every of their hearts. They would be willing to face death in the names of their beloved deities should it needs to be done so. Though they are indeed similar to the Sirens of Whitegold, they may only dream to be of that quality.

Fragments of Her Sun

These artificial Suns serve both as a great symbol of faith to light up the darkness of the heart and literally the battlefield. Usually unveiled in night battles, it is not unheard of for commanders to blind their foes -and friends- using these treasured artifacts during broad daylight.

Ideally for the sake of their vision, every nearby soldiers should be issued exceptionally-dark goggles to avoid blindness from Her eternal light which Her Sun shines. The presence of a single fragment would also allow Her followers in the vicinity to utilize their spells to even greater effect since the nearest Sun -or perhaps Suns, should they have a great reason to bring out more than one- isn’t aeons away. It is a scientific miracle that these devices imitate virtually all of its magical properties with the heat being an exception, kept clear in acceptable temperatures; not to mention the hypothetical radiations preached by the more radical scholars and magisters.

Celestial Champions

Knights who have endured much horror and heresy the war has eternally provided are carefully selected to become Celestial Champions, warriors with few equals. They are given the finest equipment to their preferences. Celestial Champions are undoubtedly the best warriors trained by Moon and Star and the war itself. Their presence lifts fear from hearts up to what is determination, determined to win and live on for the sake of the next, and the lost princesses.

The Laughing Legion
An ideal explanation why Inquisitors of the Celestial Inquisition have to be thorough and ruthless in their duty. Failure to detect heresy in one of the Sun Legions of Moon and Star resulted in an uprising of the said legion. Though the uprising was quelled, it was but a pyrrhic victory, and the traitorous Knights, Magisters, Slaves and Legionnaires still survive and hide themselves within the myriad cells of the Cult throughout Equestria.

Should the Cult be in need of a professional paramilitary force to deal with a military inconvenience put down by the opposition that would be costly to be taken down by means subtle, the Laughing Legion shall then march out of the darkness with their dark magics, grim tactics and the blessings of the Laughing Mare to meet their foes. Upon finishing their duties, they would disband and vanish into the darkness once more, remaining incognito until new orders reached their persona, which may take many weeks without the help of the Second Prophet.

: If there's more than one "Traitor Legion", it would be too similar to 40K, no?

Rogue Rangers
It is likely that from time to time, Appleloosan Rangers would be exposed for other beliefs other than that of Earthborn, topics that are utterly silenced in the barracks. Since they have the comfort of freedom in their duties which are those of skirmishers, little are left stopping them from acquiring true freedom, unchained from their prison cells that are their supposed duties.
Although their former masters offer bounties for the heads of their traitors, few have the mettle and guts to face them, let alone finding one. The name Rogue Rangers, which is the term Earthborn uses to address these lot of Rangers, stuck as the result of many failed attempts to complete the task. Despite the urban legends surrounding their entities, Rogue Rangers are certainly available for employ for a price should they know nothing else to make a living of incognito.

Hi all. I've been playing with some new concepts and decided to share them with you all. I won't promise to sketch them anytime soon, but if anyone wants to that'd be awesome and I'll link em in the text if you'd like :)

Now, as you all may know, the prototypical Aegis Defense Line is a Warhammer 40k 'unit' which is actually a terrain feature, typically providing cover for a gunline. Now, it's a bit absurd that all factions including Tau, Eldar, Necrons and Tyranids would have access to the exact same fortification so naturally some people (especially ChapterHouse) went and made defense lines for specific non-human factions.

And of course, because EqD HAS to grow, I've been brainstorming a few ideas for our little game-in-the-making. Just remember, these are 'inspired' by each faction's need for a defense line. Not every 'unit' will look, react or function the same in game terms.

House Moon and Star.
-Unstable Rift. Every unicorn mage has to start somewhere and while House Moon and Star needs its most promising students to adapt to the circumstances of battle as quickly as possible it retains a vested interest in having its Neophytes survive their first battles. As such a compromise was reached and magi underlings spend their tours of duty behind the front lines guarding targets of interest whether they be supply caches, defensive fortifications, or the field commander's tent. They do so through various area of effect spells which for simplicity's sake have been dubbed 'Rifts'. Each neophyte creates a rift from which a defensive element is formed, whether it be stone walls, living plants, magic force shields, crystal walls, living ice, or flowing magma among others. Of course, when taking anything other than their own hoof-picked subordinates a field commander may find himself burdened with a defense that's less than ideal to his current situation. Most of the elements summoned bow to the mastery of Moon and Star but many are also mastered by the House's foes, meaning only a fool would expect a novice unicorn to defeat a seasoned Shadowmage with a wall of dark magic. When such mismatches inevitably happen a proper field Inquisitor will have pulled strings to have a seasoned Mage in play to take the lead from his underling... or take the right candidate from a specific team of supplicants.
-Properties: Spell Effect (magic), Limited Duaration. Crew (1 lvl 1 caster, unicorn). Crew may be upgraded as per the regular rules. Crew makes one roll on Unstable Rift spell list (roll D10 / D12?). Result is Crew's spell for the duration of the game and is taken in place of a regular Mage spell. Crew with Caster ability Versatile (2) may roll a 2nd D10/D12 to gain access to a 2nd Unstable Rift spell re-rolling duplicate results, or an ordinary Mage spell per normal -see Rulebook section on Magic. Crew with Versatile (3) may make up to 3 rolls on the Unstable Rift table or take ordinary Mage spells as desired. In short, no matter what their level or equipment, a Crew must always have at least 1 spell from the Unstable Rift list. The army commander may purchase the trait 'Selective Master' to halve the list of potential spells available to D5/D6. On a roll of 6 the Crew may have whatever specific Unstable Rift spell desired.

House Earthborn.
-SmartESTpants Mines. Most faction's armies use landmines to one degree or another but only Applebloom could take it to 11. The SmartESTpants series are guaranteed to be the strongest, smartest, most versatile mines in Equestria, guaranteed. They're also the heaviest and most expensive. That's because each SmartESTpants is more of a sentrygun than a mine, armed with aa-flak cannons, bola launchers, adhesive foam sprayers, snap-saw blade spinners (cuisanart), sonar field generators and mole-mine driller-torpedoes. You can't fly over them, tunnel under them, sneak past them or luck your way through them. It used to be the only way to get past was to hit them en mass so hard you smashed them up before they killed too many of your troops - but Earthborn's taken to deploy them in clusters tight enough to render that particular strategy obsolete. To Applejack's immense irritation, however, Applebloom still hasn't found a way to overcome the mine's only weakness: unicorns teleporting completely past their effective range.
-Properties: Each SmartESTpants mine is a modular construct with pieces 'built in' to its design when ordered, as a result each individual weapons system must be purchased in bulk for the fight you're going to play. ie, you may only design one type of mine per game. Each design may incorporate as many weapons as desired at the total cost per mine. You may purchase as many mines as you wish. All mines deploy within X inches of your deployment zone and / or within X inches of any starting objective you control. You may purchase 1-x field engineers with up to 3 Earthborn Teamster per engineer. Each Teamster may carry one mine. On your turn you may place a mine within x" from its Teamster. After all teamsters have placed their mines your Engineer may spend their action to 'activate' all mines from its team. From then on treat as a Deployed Mine. Undeployed mines may be toggled between 'safemode' or 'livemode' as a free action by their Engineer at the beginning of their turn. 'livemode' mines may be activated after their teamster places them as a 'free action' instead of your engineers regular action. If a teamster is eliminated for any reason its 'livemode' mine immediately detonates. 'safemode' mines do not immediately detonate when their teamster is eliminated. Instead place the mine on the spot where the teamster was before it was eliminated. All mines, deployed or placed in 'safemode' may be destroyed by enemy attacks, upon which they detonate doing X total X type damage to everything within X inches.

House Whitegold.
-Arquebus Line. Ordinarily, somepony would think it would be House Moon and Star or perhaps House Earthborn who would conceive of the Arquebus Line, that is until one realizes it takes the attributes essential to both Houses working together to create and operate the damn thing. In principle the weapon is ridiculously simple: arrange a score or so of arquebuses, load them properly with shot and powder, and then fire. Squads of Arqueteers do it all the time. Unfortunately a squad of Arqueteers has a relatively large hoofprint and don't get Rarity started on the costs involved feeding, training and garrisoning them all. In contrast, the framework for the Line's rack is relatively simple to build, easy to replace, as strong and sturdy as scaffolding and just as cheap. Unfortunately not even Applebloom has managed to design a miniaturized mechanism capable of firing twenty arquebuses at once... yet. So instead House Whitegold employs a specialized cadre of siege engineers, typically no more than two to a line, to set up the metal frameworks, mount the guns, fire a volley, reload, and disassemble them. As always there are trade-offs. The Line is a static firing squad, better suited to defending against a direct charge than maneuvering enemies. And while the reduced number of crew means the Line is more likely to survive area bombardment from weapons like mortars without suffering reduction to its firing capacity, a lucky shot damaging the Line's mechanisms will take the entire device out of the fight. Snipers and assassins will also dispatch the weapon easily; it's still just two ponies maning the thing after all.
-Properties: Barrage, 'Quick Deploy', Mobile (while the crew is alive), Living (crew only), Fixed Rate of Fire ('gun' has 20 ranged attacks and may not fire more via effects like Empty Magazine or less via effects like Hesitation. If the gun can fire it will always fire 20 shots at once, resolve together immediately.) Manned (gun cannot fire without at least one crew, gun cannot move without two crew). Salvage (if 'gun' is destroyed 'crew' become armed with a single arquebus matching the 'gun's' profile. Arquebus loses all properties including Barrage and Quick Deploy and each crew may only fire one shot per player turn)

House Stormwing.
-Speed Strip. For Better or worse, Pegasi prefer to keep their heads in the clouds and it shows. Building defenses is a rather two-dimensional exercise (X and Y really) and Pegasi typically deal with three (X, Y, Z). How can anypony get caught by a trap set up between two points when you can easily go above or below it? Unfortunately for everypony else, the best Pegasi battle commanders have always realized the inherent weaknesses of the grounded tribes. Speed Strips appear to be ordinary gas clouds but, of course, foes soon learn to watch out because they're not ordinary gas clouds. Inside each Strip is a weak electric pulse that gets tripped whenever anything walks through it. Because Pegasi naturally step on clouds instead of through them this feature is rarely a problem. As soon as the weak circuit is interrupted a strong current is released, electrocuting anypony that goes through. Additionally, because messing with ponies' minds is fun, other Stormwing tacticians have noticed that creating a 'fence' with ordinary 'decoy' clouds in addition to the relatively expensive-to-produce Speed Strip increases the network's effectiveness at both keeping ponies away from a larger area, and slowing down a pursuing force after a hasty retreat.
-Properties: 'Quick Deploy'. Gains "Undetectable" when on a board with significant 'Cloud' terrain or fog. When purchasing Speed Strips you may also purchase Decoys (identical template, provides no benefits other than light concealment (no armor +), costs 1/10th the value of Actual Speed Strips)

House Everfree.
Thorn Garden. The black creeper plants from within the Everfree Forest are a vicious reminder that life unbound is savage and untameable. The roots spread beneath the earth, slowly making their way to their target until they deliver a central pod to the surface. The pod quickly overtakes the terrain with thick black vines lined with needle-sharp thorns and flora or spore pods that exhale pollens. Formidable enough on their own, these flora often include a variety of natural agents like thick saps, corrosive acids, neural toxins and hallucinogenic mushrooms in a parasitic / symbiosis relationship with the primary pod species. Additionally, once severed from its birth stalk the central pod creates roots of its own, maturing into a full black creeper in its own right. While the plant is unintelligent, and it requires the guidance of a proper Everfree Shaman or Zebra Witch to direct its growth to produce and deposit a new child pod, a single black creeper is enough to render a light garrison and the immediate land around it uninhabitable, leaving nothing but a Thorn Garden for House Everfree to claim or its enemies to prune.
Properties: Reserve Deploy (at the start of the game chose a location or objective for the Thorn Garden to take over. If within X inches from your deployment zone the Thorn Garden may begin the game in play, if not deploy the Central Pod at the beginning of turn 2. You may intentionally delay the deployment of the Central Pod a maximum of 1 turn. Upon deployment the Central Pod has the following profile (x). Your commander may purchase upgrades from the following symbiotes list and these become part of the Central Pod's profile. At the beginning of the next turn if the Central Pod is below Damage Threshold (x) it will have taken over an area x" in radius around its center. Any objectives within this area are immediately negated / count as contested and provide no benefit. After two turns below Damage Threshold the Central Pod will be replaced permanently with a Thorn Garden terrain feature / objective. The Thorn Garden counts as a claimed objective for House Everfree only. A Central Pod damaged past Damage Threshold will not spread to take over an area, it will instead regenerate X damage at the beginning of its turn. A Thorn Garden always regenerates X damage until completely cleared (remove the terrain feature / objective).

The Cult of Laughter.
-Slumber Party. Don't let the cute name fool you, each unit of 'Sleeping Bags' is a cult euphemism for a shallow grave with a fresh occupant. If 'fresh' can be used to describe the rotting corpses that are the laughing dead. For reasons unknown to anyone outside the cult some Laughing Dead will play games with each other in the dead of the night until they decide it's time to 'turn in', at which point the corpses dig into the earth and stay there. Whether they are really sleeping or just playing a remarkable game of hide-and-seek is anypony's guess but it happens often enough that members of a House battleforce will stumble upon the site and suddenly find themselves ambushed by the unburied host. To make matters worse, there have been reports of sites producing relatively few proper Laughing Dead in the middle of Slumber Parties featuring dozens of other House corpses and undefiled graveyards. How the Necromancers managed to make ponies previously unsuitable to join the Laughing Dead to 'join the party' as it were remains a mystery. Fortunately these corpses are in a greater state of decay than even the Laughing Dead so they lack the strength or number of limbs of an ordinary infantry unit. They are also rarely able to move from the Slumber Party site, requiring the use of a corpse wagon or Cadaver Carousel to redeploy.
Properties: Stealth, Undetectable, Undead, Random # Attacks, Random Attack Strength. Immobile.

The Changeling Hive.
-Slime Pit. Some pits are sinkholes, some are shallow trenches, some are actually wall alcoves or hang from ceilings like chandeliers; all serve the same function - trap the pony that lands in them. Typically Changeling shapechanging requires a certain amount of familiarity with the target. Slime pits serve as holding pods for the swarm's prisoners, their containment facilitates the imitation process and makes it more likely the hive secures a high-priority target able to infiltrate deeper into important territory. Additionally, over time slime pods make their prisoners susceptible to suggestion / hypnosis adding actual ponies to their unwitting workforce. In sufficient numbers these 'infected' turn from their roles as infiltrators to rioters or even invaders, creating distractions and overpowering enough of the population to facilitate the changeling invasion.
Properties: Immobile, Hazard / Trap, Prison. For any pony defeated or removed from combat by means other than 'Retreat' or 'Scattered' within X inches roll a dice. On a result of X the pony is placed within the trap. All changelings gain X to their stealth and infiltration tests. At the beginning of each turn roll a dice for every prisoner within the Slime Pit. On a result of X the prisoner exits the pit as an Infected. All Infected count as a unit of unarmed and unarmored members of their race, controlled by the hive player, with a penalty of -X to their intelligence / disciple / will values. Infected may not cast spells.

The Crystal Dominion.
-Slave Trench. Crystal Pony chain gangs are common sights, seen marching off to war to the horn-call of cruel masters. Ironically, not every chain gang is a death sentence. Many ponies hesitate to finish off whimpering, maltreated slaves, especially when killing the taskmaster lording over them will make the unit rout as readily as combat losses. Others among Sombras generals prefer to use more disposable assets like illusions and crystalkin constructs. After all, crystals can be harvested and grown indefinitely whereas the crystal ponies, needed to power up Crystal Echoes, are rare. All this contributes to a solid population of slaves coming back wounded and shell-shocked, unfit for front-line duties. Unfortunately retirement isn't in their immediate futures.
A Trench Slaves team is little more than a chain gang marched into position by Crystal Traitors who then hammer, drill, melt or crystalmance stakes into the ground, keeping the slave team hobbled in place. Because the unit is immobile its a frequent reassignment for ponies wounded in battle who become ill-suited for long marches or lightning attacks, as well as prisoners of war whose House refused to put up ransom. With the proper care, a Dominion overlord can arrange to have to have just the right targets between himself and the force he's about to face. The Dominion may be hated but no commander dismisses the edge of laying unicorns in the path of Earthborn juggernauts, traitor griffins and fallen in the path of Stormwings, or Earthborn deforesters in the path of Everfree thorners, just to name a few. Recently the Trench teams have been outfitted with bucklers. The tiny shields don't create too many problems when managing the slaves and significantly increase the team's survivability against melee and ranged fire.
Properties: 'Quick' Deploy, Mobile, Living. Can be upgraded to contain war prisoners hostile to the enemy faction, granting 'Irrationally Hated'

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I must say, I've never thought of defensive units like those before. (And God bless that school's over for now!)

Now note that I don't play these tabletop wargames (aka 40K) 'cause I don't have the budget to get the figures, let alone the rulebooks and paints, so I have no idea how those numbers work (although I do know some details on the fluff).

Indeed that deploying novice mages to defensive roles of creating magical rifts such is a defensive line guarantees better survival chances for them, but wouldn't it be more ideal to have some Legionnaires to do it? Also, this brings up the question on the role of the "Magisters" of Moon and Star, what are they exactly? My headcanon only reaches up to the point that they are scholars, but no higher.
Maybe they are material for advanced labor such as the nightmarish realms of administrations or perhaps the thrill of research and development, or maybe an ideal candidate for further training to become something higher, perhaps an Inquisitor for the Great and Powerful ?
A field trip to a war zone for newly-inducted magisters would mean that they are bound to serve in the military, but not as soldiers in the rank and file. Being retinues for generals seem to be a reasonable explanation, providing their expertise in magic and lore to service whilst being able to hold out on their own in a fight. Other than that, I have no other idea of why Moon and Star would sent a brilliant mind into a carnage of deaths and battle cries.

Now it ain't a landmine if a crew is needed to man them. Gotta admit that I had automatic sentry guns confused with this. With that much armament, it's more of a mobile sentry outpost than simply a crew-operated weapon. I know that Earthborn is huge and produce more than they possibly use it all up in a decade (which might be exaggeration on my part, but you got the point), but fueling that entire thing would definitely be more than an entire battery of cannons!
Anti-Air cannons used against the swift Pegasi is likely due to their war against Stormwing. Due to their speed and sizes, a powerful cannon wouldn't do no matter how accurate it is, or how accurate the gunner is, however it would be ideal against aircraft such as Whitegold airships or the scales of dragons and hydras. Against Pegasi, the best weaponry to attack from ground is scattershot. I doubt that a blunderbuss has the punch to go up high enough whilst retaining the penetrative power to kill a Pegasus, so it has to be a bigger shotgun, albeit a fairly unreliable one. I mean, firing one ball from a cannon isn't the same thing as firing dozens at once!
Question: What is a Bola Launcher?
Adhesive foam... really? Well, it does sound better than "Resin Spray", that, I am sure of. I can see Earthborn utilizing this, imported from the Buffaloes perhaps ('cause no way the Tribes would let them have anything of theirs), then be made into a foam to be sprayed. Wait, foam? Perhaps a substance in a state akin to what the Firespitters use?
I shall assume that Snap-Saw Blade refers to something similar to those used by a food processor, nothing more complex than that. That technology is again, likely. It works as an improvement to dozer blades which is likely to be less effective on crushing enemies and more effective at shielding allies, considering the setting lacking in conventional motor power necessary to put them into good use.
Now I assume that you meant "Solar Field Generators", as manipulating sound waves with their current technology seems impossible without the use of the universal Unicorn magic. Back to topic, field generators? I would understand steam engines needed to propel some of the more advanced machinery in there, but solar power is far from Earthborn and more of a thing for the Sun Guild of Moon and Star.
In early context, a torpedo is a primitive naval mine, which I would then assume that the More-Mine Driller Torpedoes work in the same concept except the naval part. If so, then it's basically an underground landmine designed to counter Diamond Dog tunnel diggers. An explosion underground has more nasty consequences than being occurred on the surface above after all.
Again, back to the first point. Deploying the thing in tight clusters is undoubtedly a waste of resources. What I see here is a mildly self-sufficient mobile sentry outpost to be deployed at risky locations afar from the main forces. Using that tactic is unlikely to be a popular custom, but rather a necessity and circumstantial in defensive operations.

From what I read on the Arquebus Line, a framework for Arqueteers to fire on, am I right? Professional siege engineers are to be expected in the fold of the mercenaries of Whitegold. What is unexpected is the amount of Arqueteers to create the volley. Why are Arqueteers only wealthy unicorns (other than the fact that only Unicorns can operate the thing)? A reasonable explanation is that the wealthy has access to resources, which are of their own, to maintain their arquebuses. That way, Whitegold's administration doesn't have to pay to maintain the guns, and doesn't have to pray that they are delicate enough to take good care of them.
Suppose that they have enough wealthy Unicorns to be Arqueteers, Whitegold is unlikely to have access to facilities to mass produce arquebuses to apply the volley tactic in a large scale. That volley tactic is again, circumstantial and likely to be a specialized tactical move. Since Arqueteers are more accurate than Hoof Cannons, they are expected to be used as battlefield snipers, not line infantry.

I think it's better to apply the Speed Strip's concept on thick fogs rather than the clouds up high. I mean, when clouds are near the ground, wouldn't they might as well be a fog? Other than that, an electrocuting fog might as well be a sister tactic to the common(?) thundercloud strike.

Ah, Thorn Garden, the classic rendition of nature's wrath and the Thorners as heavy units, though it would rather be a super unit considering its armaments containing various things other than great thorns akin to those Plunderseeds. Assuming the Hydra's the Way of the Beast's super unit, then the Garden would be the Way of the Forest's super unit!

So a Slumber Party is a lot of Laughing Dead dug into the soil before ambushing the unsuspected with the sight of tens, if not hundreds, of the dead rising up from the earth. It is likely that there's a necromancer hiding somewhere nearby to execute the ambush. Surely, typical Laughing Deads don't possess some sort of cunning to some extent.

Hmm, the Slime Pit clearly dictates a headcanon on the Changelings, their imitation process, and their tactics of infiltration, much of their lore in general. I have nothing for this, yet.

Actually, the doctrine of Slave Trenches are likely to be applied by ruthless commanders of Moon and Star as well, with those same tactics too I might add!

Alright, since this is a Non-Canon Units thread, I didn't just come here empty-handed...

Magicians
Trickery alone, employed by a skilled performer, can be extremely convincing to an unsuspecting mind already. Augmented by the powers of sorcery, illusions now cross the borders of reality. Magicians are no less experts in magic, and they are more than able to perform any advanced stunt, those that make saner cultists think twice, whilst they don’t.

Unicycler Gangs
Riding the roads of Equestria along with the countless rogues and bandits that prey them are acrobatic cultists with their nimble unicycles that can outmaneuver possibly anything chasing them, or what they are chasing after. If they don’t want to rob something away, then they are there just to kill someone, or something.

Bicycler Gangs
Unlike their Unicyclers counterpart, Bicyclers will not, or rather unable, spare their would-be targets; their bicycles, which are actually two unicycles joined together, equipped with oddly-shaped dozer blades along with their unnatural leg powers, would mow down all but the biggest ponies.

Bouncy Legs
Attachments for the legs that allow ponies to not only extended height, but also the ability to traverse quickly with the use of the springs inside; Bouncy Legs use devices like this to swiftly relocate from one place to another, provided that it’s an open space of course. Though there are some whose heads are hard enough to break through several ceiling. Running with stilts alone is difficult enough already, how long did it take for these ponies to master bouncing with theirs?

Skytrotters
It is a norm for acrobatic cultists being able to walk on thin ropes and strings. It is an another topic for cultists to possibly sprint on them, as they would then be called Skytrotters, specialized performers who utilize a special device to simultaneously shoot a number projectiles resembling a hook. What matters most isn’t whether the hooks hit any target, but how the metal wires following them align, for they are pathways for Skytrotters to reach their foes.

Jugglers
Unlike most cultists who are able to juggle to some extent, Jugglers are not to be folded along with the rest of the chaffe. Not only are they great shots at throwing, they also know the best items to throw, how to throw them, and where to keep them amongst other items hidden underneath the labyrinth of pockets all over their garments. For such abilities, the Toymakers would consent to build more eccentric things for the Jugglers to throw, something rather surprising, perhaps even for the Juggler himself as well.

Flying Saucers
Despite the name, Flying Saucers technically do not fly. Poles with a circular end of various lengths are used as a base for sharp-edged saucers to spin upon, with the said end vital for the mobility factor of these toys. To put it simply, they move, fast. Overseeing a group of Flying Saucers is a cultist trained to spin the Saucers should they become slow over time, or replace a new one should any be broken due to usually expected circumstances.

Silk Cloaks
Evidently named for their trademark wear and weapon of choice, Silk Cloaks are acrobatic assassins who infiltrate the surface disguising their intentions with a modest cloak made of silk, the humble appearance is enough for them to reach their targets and strangle them with those same cloaks before using them to climb away and escape. Sometimes, it’s the other way around.

Feral Charmers
There are only a few types of wildlife that Feral Charmers would not capture and tame for their own uses, which is most likely either there aren’t any in their immediate area or the subject is just not suitable for the methods they use to “train” them, or indoctrination as the Unicorns would call it. Nature is powerful, especially those from the Everfree. Skilled Charmers are likely to have scores of thralls whose origins are the Everfree, with possibly a few Wraiths among them.

Fireaters
A recent addition to the Cult’s general arsenal against Fillydelphia’s recent inventions, the Firespitters, Fireaters exist solely to intercept the burning fluids by swallowing them whole before they grasp on anything that they better not. To carry out the act, they have to not cool down their mouths, but chill them to extreme freezing temperatures using the dark magics of the Cult to withstand the fire fluids of the Firespitters.
For those who managed to not swallow the whole thing down to their stomachs, they are bound to be able to spit the fire back out. Indeed that these veterans would have with themselves special apparatus filled with fire fluids to spit fire which work as well coating cold weaponry as they burn their enemies. Note that cultists would rather use those from the opposition’s Firespitters as fire fluids are hard to come by, not to mention the ingredients used for brewing it.

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Thanks for commenting. Looks like I have some notes, design theorycrafting and more in-depth explaining to do so here I go

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Moon and Star

I chose novice magi in keeping with the idea of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. As with Earth Ponies and Pegasi, all ponies are born with innate abilities but not every pony truly develops them so that they're amazing at them. So, a Legionnair may be a veteran unicorn and such but they don't have the potential or raw power to be a true mage, mage meaning someone who masters more than the basic spells like levitation common to all unicorns. The nuance with Magisters and Inquisitors and such is that PoorYorick (in my eyes) designed his 'game' whether it was meant to be tabletop or rpg with the raw armies designed but he never go t so far as to design the general leaders other than most of the named characters. Which is why there are obvious gaps when comparing EqD to Warhammer Fantasy or 40k or any wargame in general, which in turn brought me here. : ) Back to the 'why's: skilled Magi can turn the tide of battle as a few well placed spells can undermine or undo the effect of a squad or perhaps even a whole army depending on the mage. It's always a risk training such individuals but if having a unicorn you can trust negates something massive like an enemy hydra or siege weapon it's worth it, no?

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Earthborn.

The landmine only requires teamsters for deployment, just like any other mine. Once activated it's 'deployed' and acts independently, leaving you with a crew that has no real use but that's the price you pay to get mines ahead of your established defenses.
The mines were designed to use a variety of tools on one chassis rather than design 6 or 8 variants (and make up names for all of them). So let me go throught he weapons list to answer your queries.
AA cannons are flak cannons, flak operates by sending projectiles into the air that explode into clouds of shrapnel. Flak is typically effective against aerial units even if the explosion misses because the high-speed aerial unit may end up flying into the cloud of razor sharp metal at near-sonic or supersonic speeds, making them equally effective against Pegasi as against larger or slower moving targets.
A bola is a weapon where 2-3 or 4 weights are bound by a rope or chain. When thrown it resembles a propeller. When it 'hits' its target the bolas snare around the target quite tightly as a result of centrifugal motion, typically resulting in the weights hitting at high speed. If the bolas hit the neck the victim is typically garroted and die instantly. in this setting this weapon is effective against larger or heavily armored targets.
Adhesive foam is effective primarily against the hordes or laughing dead. Assuming they're headed towards the mine they'll walk into the stuff en masse and get stuck with no way to get themselves out unlike smarter targets. It's essentially a horde-negating weapon.
Snap-saw blade, you're totally spot on. It's basic chainsaw mechanics. If you've got a world with tank treads, this one's easy. Like the adhesive foam this one is mostly area denial since few intelligent species would be stupid enough to walk into it.
Actually I did mean Sonar, the tirck being that it's not sonar for the air but for the earth. The sonar field is used in conjunction with the mole-torpedoes to detect and counterattack hostile burrowers like diamond dogs, Everfree creepers or whatever changelings might come up with.

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Whitegold

It's not a framework, it's more like an automated assembly line. It'd be carried out no different than a clothes rack from Rarity's boutique only instead of rows of dresses it'd be rows of arquebus. The 2-pony crew would load and lug the line to whatever point needed the temporary reinforcement and set it up in anticipation of an enemy charge. Once the enemy's in range, instant firing squad. I may add something like the crew each levitating a massive pavise shield to provide them with ranged cover and relative safety as they wait, reload or relocate.
Individual Arqueteers may indeed work as snipers, though if you look at things like the US Revolutionary war you may get an idea of the advantages of lines of riflemen. Pony's guns haven't advanced to such a degree that massed riflemen should be relegated to trench warfare or blitzes.

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Stormwing

Lightning fog may work as a scenario or special bettlefield objective but for anything like a regular army vs army setup I don't imagine the Pegasi having the time to set up such a thing on the entire battlefield. Similarly I don't see the lightweight pegasi divisions hauling around fog fields like that for anything other than the flying fortress cities. In contrast Speed Strips can be transported and rolled out as easily as rows of razorwire for WW2 or speed traps on modern highways (to blow out car tires)

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Everfree

I went a little different with this unit compared to the others, since in my headcanon Fluttershy's forces engage in guerilla warfare more than outright combat warfare. I just don't see them as the kind to dig trenches and mass for assaults and such. Instead of being a defensive unit that protects vital Everfree areas, because in all likelyhood only a forest would count as vital for Everfree (any other ground would be something Everfree would be ok abandoning) and its soldiers are already skilled at ambushing, sniping and then escaping into cover, So the Thorn Garden serves as an objective-nullifier, army speedbump, or a catastrophic sabotage. That field hospital your troops need to capture? Mech shop? A bridge that needs to be crossed? Thorned. Suddenly your enemy's army is divided between dealing with your harrassers and ambushers or making due without a vital structure, or perhaps a unit is cut off from the main force and is easy pickings for your fast troops who can get in, wipe them out, and then start retreating before the enemy's cleared it out.

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Cult of Laughter

More like a group of Laughing Dead who set up an ambush point even after they've been rendered tactically useless to most cults raiders (losing your hind legs, or perhaps your entire lower half, tends to do that). Having a necromancer nearby could make the unit realiable but I see them more like (un)living landmines. Lore-wise they could have been modified in such a way that they seek to propagate the slumber party, killing anything that wanders over them and burying them in among them as their form of 'invitation'. Of course these particular sleeping bags are also 'seeded' into existing graveyards to 'turn' ordinary dead to join the party. Game-wise it could also be a way to create a 'source' from which necromancers could spawn more laughing dead.

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The Changelings pit is based heavily on what I saw in the Episodes and the IDW comics so it's more an adaptation to a game than a full invention.

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Of course M&S could, but why would they trust their defenses to inferior tribes when they can have a neophyte summon a pillar of fire, a self-regenerating wall of ice, or a teleportation ring that sends anything that falls into it into the other side of Equestria?

Thanks for the chance to expand on all this stuff : )

4765142

That is very reasonable! This would imply that Unicorn spells are hard to learn, let alone to master, possibly like learning another language for most cases. So Legionnaires are then Unicorns conscripted to duty (If they want to join out of faith to the Celestial Sisters, they are material for Knights!) who are no scholars to their innate abilities, thus they require a considerable amount of time to train all the three spells that make them so versatile on the battlefield.

Magisters on the other hand, would then be the scholars as I have implied. They know a lot of spells, a large portion of them being destructive ones no doubt for self-defense, but that's the matter of preference. Hmm, how about the Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was converted into an educational/training center for those potential Unicorns to serve Moon and Star? I mean, that school is like elite!

Other aspiring Unicorns would then apply to other lesser schools, each with its own specialization. It's a really magnificent sight, a great university dedicated to training Magisters and research, with different branches specializing in different types of magics, all right in the heart of the great city of Canterlot! Yes, it's a "Wizarding School" trope, right there.

Back to the Magisters themselves, there seem to be different types of Magisters that exist. There's the normal Magister, then there's this Warmage, which I believe is a shortened form of "Warmagister". Following the mage training pattern, the title Warmage would imply specialization on war strategy and tactics, and combat spells in general. A Battlemage would be combat specialists, and so forth. Magisters on the other hand, are those that are strong all-round.

Actually, naming all of them isn't compulsory at all, along with designing variants. An all-in-one chassis is fine, but a versatile chassis is better, the type that the engineers can install appropriate armaments and devices according to the situation that demands it (and if memory serves me right from reading 40K fluff on the vehicles of the Imperium, a lot of them can change their armaments as well). It would be much cheaper than an all-in-one chassis in most cases (although, if the situation is that worse, an all-in-one chassis would be cheaper), no?

The technological advances of Earthborn is comparable at best to our 19ᵗʰ Century, to be specific, the (American) Civil War era. Explosive shells already exist using the current technology of that timeline, so a flak cannon is plausible in the setting. I believe that early variations of such weapon made by Earthborn is an over-sized blunderbuss (shotgun) . It's like hunting birds, you don't shoot them (while they are flying) with rifles, do you?

Ohhh, so that's what they call them. A bola launcher is extremely likely, as well as a dozen being carried by individual Rangers. It's such a simple weapon, yet so deadly in the right hands (hooves?).

That tactic is likely to be a cheaper version of using an over-sized Firespitter. A resin mix is definitely much cheaper than a fire fluid mix, that I'm sure of. If I remember correctly, back then when they use Greek Fire (an archaic flamethrower), they had resin in there as well.

That snap-saw blade would work well with the Busters (Earthborn's super unit), they'll mow down the enemy lines!

Now SONAR technologies were first implemented during the 20ᵗʰ Century (World Wars Era!), really advanced even by Moon and Star's standard. I can't really imagine an archaic version of the system without the use of Unicorn magic. Sending the sound wave, receiving the reflection; there relatively few animals which can perform them. Notable mentions would be bats, whales and dolphins. Moon and Star can use magic imitate that. The Cult can enslave bats and rig them to what dreadful devices they have in store. The Tribes have nature on their side, the Wraiths to be specific. But how would Earthborn utilize such echolocation? Sending the sound waves is one thing, but receiving it is another entirely.

Ah, an advanced firearms volley system too intricate to be made by Earthborn with its essential parts (Reload and Fire) minimally manned whilst the rest of the group works to defend it, I see. I can see larger versions being deployed by Earthborn, but not mobile versions like this, too professional to be handled by common artillery crew.

I don't think that the guns necessarily have to be arquebuses, rather they can be specially-made rifled barrels, as those are the crucial parts for the volley gun. Manned only by two ponies, I don't think that they'll last long if a frenzied charge is coming at them, and they can only shoot two arquebuses at a time, so a universal trigger is much more ideal.

I went on a little research on what a fog is: A cloud near the ground, pretty much. As you put it, fog fields are no-no, but small pieces that can be hauled around by Pegasi squads is likely. I believe that there would be more lethal variants of this, specifically the darker grey ones.

Yep, that description supports it more. Thorn Garden is too powerful to be a typical unit, more of a super-unit, as I implied, for those who follow the Path of the Forest. Hmm, how about individual vines/thorns being sub-units themselves?

I have nothing left now. The Slumber Party is already great as it is currently, can't figure out anything to suggest.

I'm quite sure that slave warriors are readily more available than Magisters of all levels, and that the majority of Moon and Star commanders lack sympathy for the lesser races, more than willing to use them as meat-shields in dozens of rank and file if they have to; monsters in moral perspective, but there aren't any in the first place in times of war...

Mirror Mages

It is something of a norm for a Sun Mage to utilize an intricate device called Solar Diopter to greatly increase the amount of Solar Power to be used at a time, making him generally more powerful as a result. Though they are made for Sun Mages to use in certain situations in which they require more holy power, but cannot afford to drag out a Sunray Cannon and its crew, some specialized themselves in the usage of the Solar Dioptre, and they call themselves Mirror Mages.

Mirror Mages are quite similar to the Marksmages with a few exceptions. First of all, they don’t actually utilize a Magic Missile variant, but a distinct variation of it based on the same concept resulting in similar effects to that of Sunray Cannons. Secondly, the equipment they have to haul around are much more both in terms of number and fragility. Next, because their Diopters are heavily-modified, they can unleash more firepower than any but the gifted can outdo.

On the battlefield, Mirror Mages serve as small artillery units to be positioned in places whereas the colossal Sunray Cannon and its variants would be a blunder. Due to their sizes and mobility compared to the Sun Guild’s conventional artillery, they are usually assigned with skirmishers and ambush parties to provide support. Less cunning commanders would have them positioned to support the ever-shifting flanks; while others would sometimes separate them entirely from the main formation and have them provide fire support from advantageous positions afar from the actual battlefield. This tactic is utilized many times in the campaigns for supremacy upon the tundra expanse of the Borderlands.

Skintight Balloons
Cultists would often fill their balloons with a plethora of substances other than the common air from the lungs, with acid unsurprisingly tried and failed many times. Skintight Balloons are made to accommodate the fellow’s eccentricities more common as they become more insane.

Indeed that pure resin alone won’t possibly withstand any corrosive material, let alone any live critter or two in there, thus the Toymakers would brew a mixture consisting majorly of resins tapped from trees of the mystical Everfree to coat a collection skins freshly torn apart from many young Earth Pony foals before shaping them into something more akin to a desired product and less likely to be eaten by cannibals who lack self-control to distinguish flesh from leather.

Skintight Balloons are tightly sealed and very enduring, which make them ideal for transport of fragile materials, or around hostile environments, or both. Also, these balloons have very different textures compared to traditional balloons due to the production process, making it quite easy to detect should one be curious enough to actually touch any balloon made by the Cult; knowingly or not, few consider it to be bravery, but foolishness by the many.

The majority of Skintight Balloon used by the Cult are for the creation of Balloon Thralls by technical-oriented Necromancers who would shape several balloons together to create something usually grotesque to become their thralls. There are reports of Skintight Balloons as large as those conventional ones used by Earthborn to patrol their surrounding territory as well as their own, with airship-sized nervously expected by many denying to preach with the Cult of Laughter.

: I was thinking something for Balloon Animals, but Necromancers crafting their own ones fit better in my opinion.

Firebuck Cannons
There are accounts of rare cases a battery of Firebuck Cannons deployed on the battlefield with intents other than to burn the Everfree to cinder, which is actually the catalyst that gave birth to these mechanical dragons. Though they consume much more fuel, Firebucks are far more powerful and possess an ability Firespitters do not. With pressurized air and concentrated fire fluids, great fireballs burst from their bellows, burning everything thought safe from their wrath.

Birdbane Cannons
With a barrel almost as wide as the giant Behemoth’s, hoof-sized pellets fired from it up to the sky unto the enemies above, Birdbane Cannons are an anathema for all dwellers of the clouds and skies. Working on the same principle as the Scattergun found in the black markets, these cannons rely on the spread range of their ammunition to hit the swift aerial targets such as Pegasi warriors, or perhaps dwellers of the ground should they prefer a bloody slaughter.

Birdbanes are unpopular against ground forces due to only half of the pellets shot are bound to hit whilst the other half would probably fly elsewhere, a waste of ammunition in the long run. Besides, supposedly a Birdbane shot a single Pegasi, and with all the scattering, where do you think those pellets that didn’t hit the bird would go next? Pray that they would land on the enemies, or at least somewhere with no one at all, and preferably not allies.

Archaics
The ancient Earthborn ponies, even after much uncovered during the past decade which led to the formation of the confederation that is the present Earthborn, still little is known about this ancient civilization which was supposedly annihilated by the supposed rulers of Equestria. Archaics are members of the Archaic Guild, which is a collection of Earthborn’s archaeologists, aspiring and veterans alike, who operate independently in search for ancient artifacts for archaeologists back at the guild to catalogue and analyze, hopefully shedding more light on this ancient civilization.

The legacy left by the ancient Earthborn are to be found all across the Frontier and beyond its borders. The dangers imposed in the wilderness are plenty, and hired escorts would only last for so long until they exhaust themselves. Archaics are then trained, independent archaeologists and explorers who are expected to survive in hostile environments, sometimes literally. They can be found often times with precious relics of old they found and acquired.

Often times Archaics would hoard items that are unrelated to the ancient civilization. Often times they thought it was, other times they were intrigued by their findings. Most Archaics are devoted to the ancient Earthborn, so much that many of them have only little more knowledge than common folks about the three tribes that founded Equestria. The lack of willingness to accept new ideas may keep their ideologies intact, but makes impossible to know whether their ideology is truth or not. Luckily, archeologists who analyze the findings do not share their narrow-minded belief, owing this trait from working alongside their supervisor, Chief Archaeologist Marble Pie.

Hoof Bomb Cannoneers
Explosives have been a core to Earthborn warfare ever since their first gunpowder was lit years ago. Battle Buckers provide crucial support in the battlefield, but the range of that support always rests on how far and how accurate a Battle Bucker can buck her projectiles; preferably bombs, the most difficult one since timing is key when she wants the thing to blow up her targets and preferably not her hinds along with her life.

Hoof Cannons can launch projectiles further than most Earth Ponies could throw or buck. Many redesigns had to be implemented to do the same to bombs. The bombs themselves are different from those used by the Battle Buckers since they are too heavy. Instead they use Hoof Bombs, miniaturized version of the common explosive projectile that can be, albeit unreliably, thrown, usually seen with acrobats of the Cult. The fuse is also significantly longer for users to light it after it is loaded. The barrel itself has to be wider to accommodate the bombs as well in return.

In the end, Hoof Bomb Cannons trade the ever-potent combustion power for longer range. Though Battle Buckers remain ideal for skirmishing due to their agility and being light infantry by their nature, a group of well-positioned Hoof Bomb Cannoneers can prove to be more than a mere annoyance when harassing bombards come from afar.

Bombardiers
Often found working in unison with Battle Buckers, Bombardiers are Pegasi Auxiliaries who specialize in raining not water usually, but practically anything over their foes. Since Battle Buckers always carry with them much ammunition, it is unusual for a unit alone to run out. These excess are better used in battle than left back in a storehouse.

Though many others, especially the logisticians, would gladly take the leftover ammunition, few can beat the destruction wrought upon by the Bombardiers that would always deplete them, who would haul a bagful of anything, even pre-lit bombs reserved for suicidal Pegasi, and drop them down to a packful of enemies. Bombardiers can also operate separately by setting up hidden ammunition caches instead of relying on stockpiles provided from the main unit.

Stonehooves
Earth Ponies are renowned for being able to naturally deliver blunt strikes, very powerful strikes, with no small help from their remarkable physiology, especially their hooves; even the most scholarly of mages would only dream to imitate their concrete structure on their weaponry. Though this feature is supposed to help Earth Ponies with their manual labor, it simply cannot be denied the combat potential from it.

Stonehooves are considered to be elite by Earthborn for the intense training they went through to learn their destructive martial art along their stoic determination to master it. They are lightly equipped by Earthborn standard, save for their iconic cestuses, which would depend on the preference of the user. While some might prefer a very heavy iron on their hooves, others would enter battle with nothing on theirs.

Due to their destructive power, Stonehooves are almost always placed at the forefront of the rank of battle. Though they are capable of surviving outnumbered on their own, their virtue shines only during siege battles, their strength destroying the very existence of fortifications, no matter how large. The most notable example would be the feat of Maud Pie, who single-hoofedly destroyed not one, but two Idols of the vile magisters of Moon and Star.

Earthborn is tricky since I still have no idea on how advanced they really are... For example, how much Ponycopters do they make compared to their entire military?

Everfree Tribal Warriors
Unlike the increasingly common Wildlings, there are ponies who prefer to be less feral to serve the Forest, much like how it is rare to find a Zebran Wildling since the Exiled Zebras proudly uphold their own traditions as much as they are loyal to the Lady. Though they are no match to the caliber presented by their Tribal Warriors, for what they lack in skills, they make up for their numbers which would always make up the core of every warband.

Wooden Warriors
There are many things the Old Oaks are famous (or rather infamous) for, their Wooden Plates being one of them. Unlike the civilized ways, Wooden Plates are grown from the Forest and harvested, rather than cut and be turned into various oddities. This makes them enchanted with the mystical powers of the Everfree, creating material that can easily withstand fire and steel alike.
Wooden Warriors are Tribal Warriors who, instead of by the least some sort of armor, clad themselves with these Wooden Plates, effectively turning them into shock troops with surprisingly (for the enemy) little loss in their mobility due to Wooden Plates being surprisingly (even themselves) light despite its hardy endurance. Attempts of equipping these with Wildlings have been done before, and their definite reaction, to the Old Oaks dismay, is always tearing the plates apart from their body, more often before a battle than during it!

Tree Wraiths
Usually mistaken as either a Wooden Warrior (if small) or an Ent (if large), if one were to name their difference from the two, it would be that neither of them are as swift and feared as the Tree Wraiths. These Wraiths are entirely covered with superior Wooden Plates which are seemingly growing out of their bodies, clearing the issue which persists between Wildlings and Wooden Plates, as they are now effectively part of their body.
A number of Tree Wraiths also exploit other noteworthy abilities such as rooting themselves into the soil to bolster their already aggressive regeneration. One in particular has a gambling side to it, for some Tree Wraiths can even bear fruits after they mate, some of which might be beneficial, while others are outright poisonous. The worst part for the unlucky fool who has to use (or worse, consume) them is that there is no known way to tell the properties of the fruit.

Bamboo Raiders
An offshoot of the Old Oaks, the Bamboo Raiders specialize in the cultivation and usage of a fairly versatile plant, the Bamboo. These tall grass are deceptively durable, tougher even than the likes of steel. Coupled with its light weight, it is evident that they are more ideal than the common wood. The reason why Bamboo has not replaced wood is because of how deep the only known grove is located, and the Tribes are not known to cultivate in a large scale.
Bamboo Raiders are light infantry using their iconic Green Javelins to rain death to the enemy. Indeed that most of the Bamboo they forage are used to create these Javelins for them to carry to battle. Though their armor tough with Bamboo strength, they are still unlikely to survive in prolonged melee; ferocity isn’t everything. Bamboo Raider Thorners are one of the few variants who are capable of shooting their thorns, bamboos in this case, up into the sky, claiming it.

Beastmasters
Indeed that all of Bear Tooth possess the ability to call creatures of the Everfree to their aid, but there can only be few who are skilled enough to be called Beastmaster. With training and experience the Beastmasters can call up to a warband worth of animals to their aid depending on how loud they can scream, and how many animals are in the area. Beastmasters are often found individually leading their own raiding parties consisting of mostly terrifying beasts of the Forest.

Insect Callers
The Bear Tooth call their animals into battle. Sadly, only animals can hear the Bestial Call. Insect Callers gave up their own voice to utilize the Insect Call. Insects are commonly small and unsuited for any battle directly, no matter the scale. They make up for this by being invisible by their nature. Insects make ideal spies and saboteurs to the enemy. Accompanying their tiny sizes is their most common weapon following their conventional fangs, venom. Insect Callers are rare since the Bear Tooth, the only tribe possessing the innate ability to call creatures of the Everfree to their aid, is more intrigued to the hardy animals rather than the tactically potent insects.

Head Hunters
Warriors collect battlefield trophies to remind them of their savage massacre. The more trophies a warrior has, the more skilled in the arts of killing and war. All Head Hunters have at least hundreds or so, heads they brought death upon, all killed by them personally. Entering their abode would mean to be gazed upon by the heads of those they killed, or skulls for older ones.
This savage tradition existing in a part of Nature’s Fury gives incentives for their warriors, lacking in ferociousness compared to the more superior Wraiths, to fight so that they would kill their foes, and keep their heads for themselves to be proud of, carrying with them the best they have bested: Skilled warriors, powerful wizards, or perhaps just sly rogues they spent months of tracking.

Everfree Vigils
The Forest has eyes and ears everywhere, this statement should be taken more seriously for ambitious adventurers unwary of the deathtrap that is the Everfree itself. The Vigils are specialized Wraiths of Her Watchful Eyes who traverse the Forest, keeping keen eyes and ears wherever they went, and report their findings when they return with great details, always.
Vigils are not true Wraiths, technically. They underwent a variant ritual which grants them a little above half the power all Wraiths would have, but for their case, that is more than enough. This makes them not entirely feral, though they still have the intimate attachments with the Forest as all Wraiths do, retaining with themselves tactical acumen vital in irregular warfare.

Blood Drinkers
Cannibalism in Nature’s Fury is a norm. But to be strengthened by drinking the blood of their foes, that is sheer fantasy and dream for virtually every member of the tribe. Blood Drinkers are Wraiths whose ferocity unmatched, they gained ability to empower themselves with the essence of their fallen, friendlies and enemies alike. Though in the end they consume the entire corpse, blood is their all-time favorite for being (crimson) mouth-watering and the easiest to swallow, being the most fluid of them all other than urine from the bladder, which is definitely not their favorite part of their meal along with the digestive fluid in the stomach which they described as “very sour”.

Mindbreakers
Through the chosen eight trained in the Stare by the Lady herself, these individuals are the next generation trained by them. Though they are no match for their teachers, these new Mindbreakers are still dangerous for most foes who are unlikely to survive an encounter with them and meet with the old Mindbreakers to compare the differences, and vice versa. They may be unable to instill fear to the entire battlefield, but a battle group’s worth does not exceed their mettle.

I have no idea of what degree the Children has to offer...
something that's not part of the other five...