In the end; out of all the Great Houses, Cults, Neutral States, Mobs, Bandit Gangs, and Insurgencies; who will be the one who reunites Equestria-or perhaps to be more accurate, who'll be the last one standing?

In my opinion; it shall be the Griffin Kingdom with stakes in Stormwing. the Ponies time as the Rulers of the world is over. Now it's the time for the Griffin to ascend to greater heights and take the Ponies Place. Equestria is simply meant to be the first conquest for a new Empire, one that would make Julius Caesar from our own world envious.

1903508

k

1903508
You base that on your gryphon fanaticism <.<

Logically speaking, the Changelings or Earthborn are the ones that'll win. Both have insane millitary might, and while they nearly destroy each other, they still possess more strength than any of the other factions or houses. The gryphons have only enough to overthrow Stormwing in an ambush, not enough to overthrow all the houses.

Either the Laughing Mare or Twilight Sparkill, demons generally are cheats and Mages will usually attain higher powers when left without limits... even though Earthborn is the coolest.

Also... the Griffons are pretty meh.

I don't know I mean all that's in Equestria right now is a task force of griffons, I mean think of it this way while changeling and earthborn have might on the ground and superior forces if these two giants were to clash who's to say one of the other houses won't come in to finish them off? Griffons on the other hand have stength in the or on the ground, if the griffon kingdoms where to use a full force and bring to bear all their military might especially with there cousins I think the griffon would have a real chance at taking over Equestria not to mention what other allies they may bring from their side.

you mean "survive" .
I think no one. a windigo winter will take everyone out if the war keeps going for a longer period.

1903570
You underestimate the glorious might of the Griffins. Also take note that both the Bugs and the Mud Ponies will tear each other to pieces while the Griffins are marching through Equestria. Also take note that the House of Earthborn lacks air superiority, which the Griffins utterly dominate in. And yes; the Changelings can swarm all they want, but if the Earthborns situation get's desperate enough, they will turn to get help.

...And since by that time the Griffins are marching through Manehattan, they will be happy to oblige.

1903597
True on both counts. Of course; out of all the Pony factions, the Cult will probably be the victor. Seriously, these freakjobs are scary mofos... And are the second most funnest faction to play as, right after Unaligned Characters.

Griffins, meh? The Griffins are a glorious race that are meant to civilize the savage Pony after their two gods disappeared from the Earth. They are simply too savage, violent, and stupid to be left to their own devices, as the current civil war has shown. You are simply in denial, my friend.

1903639
True, only a small interventionist force currently lies in wait in Stormwing. But also remember; Yorick did plan for the Griffins to invade, and everyone pretty much saw it coming. Plus; for all that we know, the Griffin's could be amazing on the other side of the border as we speak.

Edit: And yes, seeing all the Kingdoms come together in a glorious alliance would truly be a sight to behold.

(and no, i'm not being serious with this thread people; but it is true that Air Superiority is a significant advantage)

1903724 I'm not sayin' nothin', dunno how anyone can get fanatical bout' this shit. But my opinion is Griffons aint even a major faction, aint even a variable.

1903731
For the record, i'm not being fanatical. I'm just having fun in a thread that's not meant to be taken seriously. Now, something like the Witcher Trilogy... Now that's something i'm fanatical about.

1903710
About that, well... Uh... Err... The Griffins will find a way!

Honestly I think that unless the Cult is dealt with quickly then they've won by default.

Every single pony the other Houses lose is a soldier the Cult gains. It's a matter of logistics.

Is it "So, who do you think will win?" or "So, who do you want to see win?" ?

There will be either all winners if they decide to make up or all losers at the end of Mutually Assured Destruction.

1903948
OOC: to be honest, everyone want's to see their favorite faction winning. I for one like Griffins, so naturally I root for them. But as for what faction I think is going to win... The Cult. Hands down. The Houses, the Changelings, the Griffins, the Caravan... Every single corrupt Nation State, Barbarian Tribe, Savage Cannibal Horde, two bit Bandit Gang and wannabe Rebel Alliance is at risk, and almost defenseless against it's influence. Unless of course some faction or someone takes these Cat's down fast, these guy's are going to dominate.

Edit: And let's keep the Cult as a force that's truly frightening, and grows to point where it's so powerful the Great Houses are seemingly insignificant in the face of it. And not nerf them or weaken them down to irrelevancy just so the Great Houses can beat each other to death.

Which House will end up on top?
Personally, I say none. I think the balance of power is so equally distributed that no house is really in any position to knock the other out. I think the houses are destined to fight one another for a very long time, with maybe only one house or two being completely destroyed.

You'd end up with a "Three Kingdoms" like scenario, where there are a number of clearly defined states that war against one another but never ultimately defeat each other. They never really beat each other but they fall apart at some point and a new faction takes over, a new dynasty or House is declared and the land continues to be trapped in a state of total war.

However, I can see this changing real quickly due to chance. All the houses appear to be too tightly connected to their House leaders. I imagine that with one well-placed assassination or one terribly brutal battle and you could see one of the Mane 6 fall, and with her the house would fall as well. Using Everfree as an example, if Fluttershy were to suddenly fall to an assassins blade I can see the various tribes breaking apart into civil war overnight. Who's going to lead them, Iron Will?

That all being said, if I did have to put money on one of them it would be the Cult of Laughter. Not because they've got all those demons and zombie armies that just replenish themselves, but because they aren't a state. They are a religion. Kingdoms and generals come and go in the span of years, sometimes months, but it can be so utterly hard to destroy a faith once its been organized and its teachings codified. However, for all I know this very same cult may fracture at some point and war with one another over some contrived reason should the Laughing Mare fail to keep her cheerful bunch smiling together.

If I am to pick up one, it's Whitegold. But not trough battle, but an economic asphixiation. They could be so wealthy that they have Equestrian economy by the balls, and every house, knowingly or unknowingly, legally or illegally trade with them.

Also, they could be the only house to be capable of asuring their own destruction if they let he Undercity to grow beyond their control, social unrest, or a recession or a good-ol fashioned crisis. AND if they fall, the chain of evens will proove disastrous

The winner will be the union of Earthborn, Stormwing, and Whitegold through the efforts of the former CMC crew using their positions to guarantee peace between each other. Sweetie Bell is the next in line for Whitegold under Rarity and the same goes for Applebloom, especially, seeing how Applebloom's inventions have saved plenty of lives and helped maintain Earthborn dominance in terms of deploying machinery. Scootalo is like family to RD and with the help of the likes of Soarin she could secure herself as the next in line to command Stormwing or at least turn RD toward accepting a truce with Earthborn. Most of the RPs we see including Lisboa's comic all suggest that both sides would unit out of need to secure their borders.

I wouldn't think that the Gryphons could do anything to really conquer Equestria as they would then deal with a united front. The ponies may have hatred of each other but once their homeland is threatened by who they would see as foreign usurpers the Houses would be quick to unite. The Gryphons would have to really wait out the war.

1904310 I agree that this is the most likely scenario at the current time for the conflict. Just a "Warring States / Three Kingdoms Era" kinda time period. The cult could in the end win but I think that once their main Prophet dies seeing how after all only he supposedly hears what the Laughing Mare has to say some false-Prophet would rise up in a bid for power and turn the Cult into splinter factions as they each go for leadership.

"The Sleeper shall awake, and all shall be despair. You cannot escape your doom"

OOC: If we are going by original canon then probably Earthborn, although I doubt that the cult will disappear, it will probably last centuries, outside of original canon I must admit I am biased towards my own faction winning.

If the Griffins are anything like Germany at the time like we assume than good luck with that! Their likely divided up among various noble families who spend most of their time fighting each other rather than together being more of a loose confederation of principalities than a unified country.

1903508
I think we can all agree that nobody really wins in this scenario, damage has been done to the land which is irreversible and technologies have opened doors which can't be closed.

Even if all Six Houses were to disappear the world would never achieve the peace it had once before ever again.

Pandora's box was opened and there is no chance of it closing shut.

(I still wave my little flag for the Bandits though, criminal scum...)

My personal opinion? Any future predictions is tempered by our limited knowledge, so this is pure guesswork. But here it is regardless.

First off examining previous bidders. The Griffins? No. Make no mistake, as a nation they're actually poised pretty well for invasion, and with a militaristic predatory culture it's not an unheard of idea. But a lot of people seem to be forgetting that the Griffins aren't the only ones in the North. King Sombra's return is MLP canon, and in this universe there was no one to stop him from reestablishing his rule over the Crystal Empire. He's off the map out of our sight, but he's very much in the bid to conquer Equestria, and has likely been biding his time to build up his forces. OR, he may conquer the Griffins while Equestria's ripping itself apart and they have an expeditionary force down there... But even if he wasn't in play, the Griffins wouldn't win, for the same reason as the Houses that I'm about to get to.

House Whitegold? No. They might survive but they're not going to be ruling anything but the economy. Now mind you that's a pretty useful thing to rule, but they don't play like a conquering army. They're daggers in the back, manipulators behind the scenes, who work through mercs and spies and lies. They may become the puppet-masters but they're never going to have the hooves on the ground to keep all of Equestria under their control, not in Rarity's lifetime. Also another reason that's coming up.

House Earthborn? They have the military, they have public support despite their atrocities, they have a powerful industrial infrastructure with an efficient military base that covers both fast-attack and devastating firepower. They are BUILT for war, and I can state with full belief that they are probably the single strongest faction in Equestria right now. But they've also got full-blown enemies on three sides, Changelings, Everfree, and Moon and Star. They're divided up, unable to put all their considerable power behind any one blow. Not good for them, plus the other reason.

House Everfree? Possible, but unlikely, at least in Fluttershy's lifetime unless she becomes immortal. For a similar reason as to Whitegold. Everfree fights extremely well IN the Everfree forest, and the Everfree forest is hard to destroy. It spreads, slowly, and they fight with it on their side. But get them out of the forest and they're a bunch of barbarians with little clothing wearing mud on their faces. Their strength lies in the forest, and their ability to spread it, and that goes slowly... So could they eventually win? Yes. In fact in the long-run, if they had the time, they might just overrun the whole civilized world and conquer it. But they don't have the time.

Changelings? No. They couldn't hack an invasion because of sappy romance once, why would it be different this time around? And if it was as simple as replacing everypony with copies then they would've done that in the first place instead of launching a full-on invasion of the nation. Their hives have numbers, and are dangerous, but with the recent innovations in war that everypony else has made, I seriously doubt they're going to be able to swarm over, plus the relative worthlessness of their individual fighters... The Mane Six beat a whole bunch before they got captured.

House Moon and Star? No. They've ripped apart their own social fabric and caused so many divisions in their own social sectors that even if they were by some miracle able to win the war with the other Houses, they'd suffer an internal collapse that would rip Equestria into a new civil war. Between slave revolts and the more probable war between Moon priests and Sun priests, and then with the Grand Inquisitor likely making her own bid for power, it's more likely to turn into warring states than unified faith.

House Stormwing? No, for the same reason as Whitegold actually. No hooves on the ground. Plus a generally backwater approach to fighting and obsession with the ancient times means that their fighting tactics and plans are going to be so predictable that you could almost certainly find them in a history book. Honor and glory doesn't win wars, and as tough and hard as they are they don't have the numbers, they use older weapons with little ranged support, and ancient values that lack progression and mean they'll always be predictable. They've got speed and powerful units, but you need a lot more than that to run a Nation.

Now the real reason why none of these bidders will make it? Why they won't overcome their problems and develop and grow to rule? The Cult of Laughter.

The Cult of Laughter isn't a nation, it isn't a country, it is an idea. An idea so pervasive, that it creates religious fanaticism in the ones it infects. So easily spread that entire regiments can drop their flags and join with it. So infectious and all-consuming that sanity takes a back-seat to service. The Cult of Laughter may look like two-bit rag-tag crazed corpse-worshippers and demonologists. But they are two-bit rag-tag crazed corpse-worshipping demonologists that are EVERYWHERE. Able to spread to ANYPONY. Hide among the masses, and strike where they are least expected! The only defense against things like them is extermination, but even then you're also exterminating what used to be your citizens! They make more troops out of your dead! They pull demons for even more cannon-fodder from another realm! And every one you miss just opens up a new potential outbreak of cult fanaticism somewhere else!

The Cult of Laughter is the winner in this war. Because it isn't a faction, or a nation, or an army. It's a plague. And if all the other Houses focused on it then MAYBE they'd have a chance... but they won't, they don't, and as such the Cult will spread and consume not only all of Equestria... but the entire world.

And that's my opinion... for what it's worth.

1904310
My thoughts as well. The Cult's the real danger out of the lot of 'em. A Religion, especially in a world where Magic exists, is a different entity from a Nation. And are a completely different thing to take down, when compared to a country.

1905169 1904866
I doubt they'd start a unified front. Especially with the likes of M&S and Stormwing-the former would just be waiting for a open opportunity to stab them in the back and conquer the Pegasi. Earthborn, and Whitegold are too far away and likely wouldn't give a toss; and the Everfree likely wouldn't care either. Unless of course you're implying that Rainbow Crash would sell her soul to the Laughing Mare in desperation, I really can't see the Great Houses uniting to push back a Griffin Invasion.

If i'm not mistaken, didn't Yorick mentioned multiple prophets that we currently didn't know the identities of? Besides, even if you do take down Derpy... It wouldn't be the first time a religion outlasted it's prophet. Also, don't you think that the Laughing Mare has a fail safe plan in store? She's many things but she certainly isn't foolish.

Also; cool comic by the way.

1907572
The only Griffin we've seen with a foreign accent was Gustav Le Grand, and you know what his accent was? French. And no, you can't pull the 'lol they'd surrender', nope. You're dealing with either Medieval or Early Industrial France.

In other words; you're dealing with the likes of Napoleon or Charlemagne, not Charles De Gaulle. And the Bonapartists and the Franks were very different from the French Army during the Second World War; hell the Franks were the ones who beat the Muslims back into Iberia and stopped their European Conquests. Trust me; Griffin versions of either of these two could easily take on Stormwing.

1910444
Heh, you certainly did put a lot of thought into this.

And yes, I agree. In truth, the Cult's going to be the victor unless a Little Pip or a Blackjack show's up and takes them down, but that's very unlikely. Conquering a Nation is very different from Conquering a Religion, especially in a Universe like ED.

1910631
Derpy isn't the prophet, I thought it was surely the Donkey character (forget his name). Derpy is just the messenger who relays information between the various cults on what their activity should be concentrated on. I'll have to have another look over what PoorYorick said about how the cult functions.

In regard to Houses forming a united front... don't think that just because one side may be bitter to another that such a thing like repelling a foreign invader is suddenly way out of character. European nations who engaged in various wars against one another for reasons of territory, religious ideology, and imperialism were quick to form a united front when the Ottoman Turks made their attempts at pushing into Europe. Looking back at India during their wars with the Muslims various kingdoms came together to fight.

Ponies of this Equestria are fighting for the right of their ideology and side. If another came in outside of not only their ideals but also species... well sir they would surely rally to kill the scum that dare belief they have any right to any Equestrian soil.

1910662
Derpy is too a Prophet:
"The Messenger of the Cult, the Mad Prophet and Bearer of Good News. She serves as the link between various cult Hideouts."

Cranky Doodle is just the leader on the mortal plane, sure he communicates with her, but Derpy's the one who hears the Laughing Mares voice. She has to get her directions from somewhere, not just Cranky Doodle.

Heh; you're forgetting that often the Houses of Jimena in Northern Iberia were at each other's throats just as much as they were with the Andalusians down south. You're also conveniently forgot that Ottoman Expansion in Eastern Europe was only stopped by Vlad Tepes of Transylvania. The feudal nations of Europe rarely worked together, and whenever they did, it was usually due to alliances from marriage or when the Papacy called for a Crusade.

If the Nobles had nothing to gain then they'd most likely ignore your plees for help if you were a two bit minor Barony somewhere in the Balkans getting WTF-pwned by the Turks during the 16'th-17'th Century, as war's are rather expensive and risky affairs. Thus making you hope some group like the Knights of Saint Malta or a zealous Noble will come to your aid, and even then that's unlikely.

Now convert that to ED. Things are even bleaker. Say you're the leader of Saints Trottersberg, the Griffins decide to invade and the only faction that'll make a move is M&S. Now let's make things a bit more complicated: Saint's Trottersberg is majority Mule. M&S enslaves entire regions en-masse if they aren't made up of Unicorns, Draka-style.

Not only that; but you are a Neutral Power. Rainbow Crash utterly hates your guts as you refused to side with a faction, or to be more accurate, you didn't side with Stormwing. M&S you don't want to get anywhere near your nation, as you'd be marched off to the Slave Domes before you could say 'what', while the latter would have you executed for treason.

M&S and Stormwing aren't Renaissance Feudal Nations. The former is a massive Slave State similar to the Domination of the Draka with a all-encompassing and Zealous Religion that demands that the Unicorns enslave all Equine Life. While the latter is a Military Dictatorship ran by a mad War-Dog that views anyone who isn't on her side as being against her. Both can and will resort to genocide to further their goals and don't give a utter crap about one another.

The Slavers will only get involved if the Griffins enter Unicorn Territory, but since they're busy with Stormwing; the Unicorns will likely just let the two bleed each other to death and then perhaps make a move and slaughter them both in their weakened state. And Rainbow Crash also views all the other houses as Traitors and will probably execute anyone who suggests asking them for aid.

OOC? Nope, Rainbow Dash resembles Loyalty, and hates people who betray their friends and family. She views the others as having betrayed her, and she will NOT welcome any of the other houses with open arms.

"But surely Whitegold and Earthborn will help!" No, they won't. Whitegold simply doesen't give a crap. They are far to the south, and Lady Rarity likely views the Griffins as getting rid of a pest. She probably welcomes it, as the chaos of the fighting likely strengthens her Spy Networks.

And Earthborn can't and won't; they are surrounded, even if they wanted to, they can't spare to send anyone off on a long haul to the Northern Borders to fight Stormwings War while the Changelings and Wildlings will tear through their weakened Defensive Lines.

In short; the Ponies won't unite.

They can't, they won't. It's as simple as that.

Edit:
1907911
Yay Bandits! Everyone moans about how great their romanticized views of scattered Resistance Cells and Insurgencies in fanon; but we've pretty much ignored the Criminal Underworld! I personally wouldn't mind a Bandit Faction.

1910752
And that's true. That's the point of even the title: Divided.
Even if they pact a truce, differences will emerge and the happy war will ensue again.
Of course if the ponyverse was intended as a RPG or semething, there is no point in playing if someone unites. It's a free-for-all. Small, temporary truces, but in the end, no enemies left to vanquish, well, force your will in the ally.

However, for story literary-licence sake...the possibility is still there if a writer manages to pull it off convincingly.

That being said, as it is unlikely...I still stick with the Windigo End. No one wins, everyone dies. Harmony returns in the form of anihilating those who disrupted the balance with their selfish, power entrusting-betrayal antics. Start over. The counter resets.

Then I stick with Whitegold.

And, tough I think that Rebels/Alternate races are an endearing plus to this story, and offers a wide variety of possibilities...the...fact, I assume that they are not all under a unified banner...and are pretty much unnamed tells me a small, detail:

The story is not about them. They might be affected by this turn of events, and may try to find a solution on their own, selfish, (like everyone else, really) ways, but without a unified front or the support of the main houses...they will fail.

As for the Changelings...no. If they feed on love (Canon) or other emotions (like a amazing idea from someone I don't remember...changelings who feeds on Hope and Hatred...).

Without love they will perish. Unless Evolution....and that at least here on earth takes a while, unless nature wants to murder your sepcies for good. That takes one third of their forces already, if we consider the cool Changeling idea. Even considering the coll idea...it's still fanon. So no...unlikely.

1910631

Oh so hot headed but otherwise incompetent.

1911840
The Wendigo End? That sounds cool, actually really cool as it gives the setting a real sense of urgency so when our heroes arise they have stakes to contend with. Of course if they fail, we better hope everything freezes over during the Ice Age or-

"My little Mastodon, my little Mastodon-"

Oh god! It's already beginning...

1915711
Charlemagne incompetent? Charlemagne drove the Andalusian's back into Iberia and then some, fought off the savage Slavic Tribes from the east, and Christianized the barbaric Saxons. Having himself get crowned as the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire-a thing that drove a great wedge between them with Rhomanion, and is widely regarded as the father of Europe. He's about as far from being Incompetent as you can get.

Now I will admit, Napoleon was a hot headed commander-but remember he pretty much drove the other European powers to ruin. His biggest mistake was invading Russia, and the Russians didn't beat him head on, you know what they did instead? They resorted to scorching the earth itself so his men wouldn't have anything to replenish themselves on, as they knew they couldn't beat Napoleon head-on.

So the Czar waited out the French and watched as they pulled back into Europe as the brutal winter took it's tool. Napoleon was not incompetent simply due to losing the Napoleonic Wars-in fact he was quite competent and only lost due to one terrible mistake that allowed the other European Powers to jump at their moment of weakness.

Now, someone like General Santa Anna on the other hand... Now he was incompetent.

1916675
ugh that santa anna church-gringo ass kisser son of a bitch....

1916755
Oh god. Santa Anna... Just read this from TV Tropes:
"Exiled after his defeat at the hands of the Republic of Texas, Santa Anna offered the Mexican government his military 'experience'. Needing generals, President Farias accepted the offer... not knowing that Santa Anna had been secretly dealing with the United States to quickly end the war and give all contested land to the US. Once in charge of the army, he reneged on both deals by proclaiming himself President again and refusing to deal any further with the United States. He proceeded to mismanage the Mexican forces into a humiliating defeat."

Edit: Rebels can be fun. I just like seeing them as being very diverse with different goals and methods-I mean, I would love seeing the Caravan fighting with a hostile Insurgency whose goals run against their own. It doesn't help that I tend to think of them as being similar to the many different resistance movements during World War II; including the Maquis, the PHA, the Chetniks, the Red Partisans, Mao's Guerrillas, and the Italian resistance that rose up against the Nazis and the Lex-Luther wannabe during the allied invasion of Italy.

1916675
Thats dark ages france. We're talking medieval france where the king of france had very little real power and french nobles spent most of their time fighting each other. Impetus and glory hungry french knights often ignored sound strategy and tactics in favor of massed charges. At Cercy they ran over their own mercenaries and got massacred by longbowmen. At agincourt they charged onto an open stretch of farmlands, got stuck in the mud, and were massacred by the english.

Also france is the only country to have lost to ITALY TWICE. Three times if you count early world war 2.

The Griffins will charge headlong into a shooty earthborn army or Whitegold force and get massacred. A wounding hit while flying is pretty much game over for them as the fall while it might not kill them out right will negate them from the battle. If they go by ground they contend with superior infantry forces of the houses and negate their own flying advantage.

1911840

I think PoorYorick's canon was that of the three Changeling Queens Queen Grey Monarch fed on hate and Queen Chitinous on hope.

1922076
Are you telling me that the cool guy with the cool idea was Yorick himself?
Is...is that what you ARE SAYING?

1922076>>1922128

PoorYorick suggested the queens 'fed' on different emotions. I did a sheet myself and posted it on here about how they consumed hope and hatred

I tried to stick as close to everything he suggested and hinted towards.

Edit: Link

1921327
You do realize that English Historians consider the 'Dark Ages' as being apart of the greater Medieval Period, but call it the 'Low Middle Ages'? So; you are disregarding the Low Middle Ages in favor of using the High Middle Ages. But even then, you're forgetting that the Hundred Years War was ultimately won by the French, who drove the Brit's back to England. And Joan of Ark being present still doesn't change the fact that the French won.

Since when did losing to Italy (or to be more accurate, one of the Italian States) count as a insult? Maybe during World War II, but if i'm not mistaken, the Italians had a terrible war record when going against the French. I'd also like to point out that the French expanded into the Pyrenees during the 17'th Century. Also remember that the French had a large colonial Empire at one point that included North Africa, Madagascar, and Vietnam. And i'm pretty sure they didn't get that by surrendering.

"Griffins charge headlong-"
Are you serious? Only in Movies you see that kind of tactic, and it's only from the Aboriginal Zulu.

Also; you're conveniently leaving out the fact that Renaissance Muskets and the Arquebus were notoriously inaccurate and incredibly short ranged. In short, they'd be firing at the sky and would miss-all of their shots would frikken miss. Also remember; if the Griffins use the Lion Side of their Nature, they'd instill fear in their enemies and break their morale, causing the ground soldiers to flee-it's one of the Lions tactics for hunting: crippling their prey with fear.

And I could go on and on over how Air dominance is very important and the Griffins would dominate the field but am getting tired.

1924429

I'm still seeing it as very unlikely.

1903508 Humans. Without the diarchs nobody can stop us.

Considering that war forces innovation, and innovation seems to be in the hoofs of everypony.

I figure whoever figures out WMDs first will have it. Whitegold has the budget and capitalist freethinking unconcern to just throw money and smarties at it. Earthborn has the same, except with more ponypower. Sun and Moon are probably breaking all sorts of laws on pony rights and going where mere mortals are not meant to go. Everfree, probably Biological warfare. No idea what Stormwind might have in their corner, but they might have something involving weather. The Cult, well full on demon driven apocalypse on their end.

My money is a outside faction swooping in after devastating on/off wars. Probably the Changelings or the Griffins given their own military aspirations.

All they need to do is wait and strike before whoever wins first gets time to consolidate and reconstruct.

Of course that will leave whoever truly "wins" with a devastated and resource depleted country with five regional populations and one hidden population that all hate each other and are in dire need of aid who will most probably continue to resist the occupation until the end of time.

Frankly, I can see Celestia and Luna returning from whatever thing waylaid them and seeing the mess and thinking they have to reconquer the landmass again. If there is a outside faction controlling it, they may just hand it back as the Ponies are cray cray.

3662213 And it would be recorded in the history as "The Equestrian Reconquista", "The Great Crusade", or if they've had a religious war before, oh god.
If they actually return, we have an interesting scenario here. Depending on Twilight's mental health. M&S will automatically be theirs to rule, the guilds are theirs to command respectively. Stormwing might join in considering their goal of protecting the throne or something like that. Earthborn will obviously be their enemies, they are their false gods. Whitegold's reaction to this is very unpredictable, we have to consider Rarity's mental health here as well. Same goes to the Tribes, as most of them had become feral. The Cult will probably lose some of their followers who believed in the sisters, or gain more Smiling Dolls in the process. No doubt they will be hostile to the sisters, considering their attitudes to other powers in Equestria...
This might be a good story!

3719108

True enough. I have a idea where Celestia had to reconquer Equestria about two hundred years after the Nightmare Moon banishment thing, when she just sort of went depressed and then everything went Mad Max when everyone forgot her and Luna.

Though if they do come back, I don't see it in the lifetimes of the Mane 6, or even their grandkids. Given the time periods involved, I wouldn't be surprised if it was a thousand years later and they have to start their own cult/conspiracy to retake the now sort of steampunk scifi Equestria of the future...

Assuming the Cult and Everfree never kill civilization, and the other four and all outside powers settle into a series of wars which end in their own status quos.

At the moment, I am just waiting for Loyal to get back.

They wouldn't need to start a cult, they already have a cult! Though it depends on the guilds members' devotion to their gods. Although, I don't think they will feel very comfortable having themselves being worshipped and all. But again, they would've felt disgusted seeing this madness anyway.

It depends whether during the passed millennium, if there are any changes to the ideologies. Maybe the Cult would suddenly realize that the Laughing Mare is just a mean ghost, and then they became a charity x vigilante of some sort when a century or two passes by. Many things can happen in short amount of time, let alone a thousand years!

By the way, was Loyal the person that did the Caravan? I really love the RP, and was wondering why you all didn't continue? If memory serves me right, were you the one whose role is that griffon doctor? Cesare de something I think.

3719252

We are waiting. Loyal has irl I think. So once she is free it will continue. She said she had a post in the works. So no worries...I miss writing Cesare and I do miss her.

Hmm...not many people read the rp I think. What do you think of it? There's a old thread for discussing that rp.

In phone. Will reply to rest tomorrow.

Can't wait for the next post!

1903508 House Whitegold for one simple reason, they are the Dutch/British/Spaniards of Equestria. They have both the money and resources to tech up ahead of their enemies since they can established colonies on other continents just like the Age of Imperialism in our world since they have the most powerful navy.

If they focused on colonization and trade outside of Equestria, they will be indestructible as an industrial era army would wiped the floor with the other factions.

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Nah , their level is just Venice at best. Those three you mentioned got rich mostly from their colonies. Whitegold would fall if other factions invest in exploration and possibly found a new continent, and if they deny any Whitegold influence there, then their wealth might be parallel to Whitegold, giving themselves an edge against the merchants and nobles...

But since Whitegold seems to be the best out of the six at naval capabilities, they would probably find it first. Well, IF they find it...

Whitegold relied on trade for their economy. Since they don't have much dominance to the sea (In fact, I think it's the pirates that dominated the sea..!) , a blockade of their entire gulf would be enough to put Manehattan into chaos. The Continental System didn't cripple the British, but it would surely be devastating for Whitegold. Most of Whitegold's driving force are aristocrats who never knew poverty. It would be an experience for them to be remembered...

3981610 How powerful is Whitegold at sea? The information I got made them look like the British Empire at its height. Oh well, we all know that the Chaos Gods from Wh40k would win here. All it takes is a single convert or person gone mad and Daemons and Warp corruption would swoop in faster than the crazed for gold!

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The only problem is unlike the Chaos, the Laughing Mare can't really interfere with the mortal realm as much as she wants to. It's just like there's already a wall that's holding her hordes of astral creatures...

I don't really like the idea of Whitegold being the monopoly at sea, just seems to over-powered. There are countless exploits to do with the sea, as much as you can do with the land. I proposed the pirates having dominance at sea, so that being a monopoly would be a bad idea since engaging a myriad of pirates on your own is really, really insane...

I've come up with some sort of "Privateers" for a few factions in the OC Units thread. I was thinking of them competing for the sea against Whitegold's conventional navy, what do you think..?

"The empire on which the sun never sets..." it really wonders me what the others would be like at their heights...

M&S possessing the largest library of the known world, and boasting the largest number of scholars, more than any other nations would have...

Earthborn being the most industrious and most prosperous nation, with daily food surpluses that had fed many poor neighboring zebran nations...

Stormwing dominating the sky. While their earth dwellers work hard below, they keep watch from the heavens. Being the angels protecting their subjects from any harm. Such is the duty of soldiers, to be the guardians...

Everfree, their territories would become undisturbed nature. Once they win, which would likely be conquering everything, the world will become more natural. No more will they need to focus on fighting. Rather, they will live in harmony with nature, using their instincts on their whole lives...

The Cult... how enigmatic, huh? Who knows what they will do once they win...

In my opinion, no one will as with every bit of fighting and hatred that infects the land, the return of the Windegos will blanket the land and bring about Armageddon to the land which you can own the damm cult and the damm five houses for that.

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That's gotta be the first question for everyone, huh..?

Why didn't the Windigos come..?

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Who knows? They're likely bidding their sweet ass time before pouncing.

4057162 What if they were "killed off"?