So, in writing a story I was going to use a bat-pony, pretty centric to the plot (yes, I am aware of the contest)

However, I was going to introduce a weapon, called a pegasus spear.
To sum it up, some excerpts of what I wrote about it already and some explanations.
"The spear could only be described as a cruel weapon. A long pole-for that was all on could call it- tipped with silver only found in Griffonia, and from that silver cap a sharp arrow-point struck out. On one side, a small hook extremely rounded, protruded no more than an inch from the arrow-tip. The other side however, had a far longer and crueler looking blade.

It was a long curved hook, with a long edge (about 3-4 in.) with the tip curling down suddenly. The usage of the weapon struck fear more than its look. For if one thought of how a halberd is used to drag down mounted cavalry, so too was the pegasus spear to ponies. For the tip was to jab the pegasus, and the smaller hook to guard the user or slash the pony.

The real nightmare however, was the lengthened hook. Its usage was to penetrate the soft flesh of a pegasus’s wings, or perhaps just rip them, and drag the unfortunate soul back down to where the pony with the spear usually had a short hoof or wing blade."

Of course, in retrospect, the smaller hook could also be used to keep the blade in the wound.

Essentially, it's a polearm (spear) mixed with the uses of a halberd. (the hook) Halberds were used to drag mounted cavalry off their horses, so why not drag equines down?

The thing is... um... would it even work on a bat-pony?
See, the idea is either to hook the wing, or rip it. Now, ripping a bat wing is easy, because soft membrane. But, would a pony be able to hook and attack the bat-pony, or would it fall not from dragging but from lacerations?

Sorry if this was long or medieval jargony.

Bat-ponies!

It would tear through a bat pony wing without much resistance which would leave said pony not attached to the weapon anymore. In essence it would be less effective against them.

6172215
Any idea on how to use it so to not? Perhaps piercing a wing bone? Or perhaps just jabbing it in the side to work as a normal halberd?

I feel that a spear/halberd against flying opponents in general would be... eh. Neither types of weapon were meant for flying objects. I mean, with the way you make it sound, the spalberd would be something you point at them as they fly in for a dive. Not only do you point it at the enemy, but you hope to hit the fastest moving part of their body. If you're trying for the wing, that probably means you're only trying to incapacitate the enemy, which at that point I'd just use a net. If you aren't trying to incapacitate then It'd be better to just use a regular spear, so you can still use that in ground combat too.

If you don't want to change the design or take it out, then to answer your question on the efficacy of your weapon on bat pony wing as compared to pegasi wings, assuming that bat pone wings are leathery and tough like tanned leather, then your weapon wouldn't have same cutting power but would most likely end up crippling it by breaking the wing, still having the same result of wounded or dead (due to impact with the ground) bat pone/pegasus.

Sounds like a variation of a guisarme, a polearm specifically designed with the intent of dragging down mounted cavalry. Meanwhile, a halberd could be called an all-rounder weapon that technically excelled at nothing (relative to other polearms) but could be used to adequately do anything the other polearms could do.

Question: is this weapon intended to be used by bat-pony troops? Because the way you describe it makes it sound like its intended by design to be used against bat-ponies, not necessarily by bat-ponies. Although, to be honest, this kind of weapon would mess up a pegasus just as easily as it would mess up a bat-pony. It's really more suited as an anti-flier pole weapon for infantry attempting to snag low-flying enemies and drag them to the ground to be stabbed to death. This kind of weapon would ultimately be less useful to a pegasus, since it should be long and bulky enough to obstruct their flying.

6172238
That might work. The weapon is technically supposed to be used on pegasi who are traitors to their people. Or on the case of some pegasus civil war.I would reckon the main users are pegasus forces standing on clouds. As they aren't flying, they're probably trying to snag fliers. I would also like to mention that these pole arms are not distributed to the other races for good reason.

So yes, I'm trying to come up with an anti-flier pole weapon. Do you think it'd be possible to remove some weight somehow?

(I was using halberd as an example of dragging cavalry off)

6172242
Well, a shorter weapon would obviously be lighter. Polearms aren't really suited for fliers because of their awkward length. Actual cavalry used polearms extensively... but that worked because they were supported by a 500+ kilogram horse. So why not try something more like a hook-sword, like the fabled "Harpe" of Greek myth? That should be much more suitable for flying infantry.

Flying limits your choice of weaponry. It's why you never don't see anything close to large-caliber tank main guns mounted on jets—the aircraft has to be made big enough to carry the weapon, to the point that it's not a very effective set-up. So to be honest, fliers like pegasii or bat-ponies are ideally suited to being skirmishers: highly-mobile light infantry/light cavalry that fights with a emphasis on harassment, slowing and disrupting enemy movements using hit-and-run tactics. Other than skirmishers, the only other role similar to real-world medieval combat that they would be suited to is heavy cavalry—however, as opposed to the skirmishers who remain highly mobile throughout combat, these heavy cavalry fliers would only use their flight ability to get to the battle lines, and would not engage in flight during combat except to quickly re-position or retreat (you could think of them like the Knight piece in Chess, with the ability to jump over the front lines to engage enemies behind it). In fact, it would be best for them to cover their wings with armor while in combat—probably tucking them under flaps of chainmail, lamellar, scale or layered quilted fabric (which is actually surprisingly effective armor commonly known in the form of the gambeson or aketon; leather armor is fantasy-only, it didn't actually exist) to protect them from attacks.

6172242
Actually, you could chop off the head of the guisarme and attach a sword-style hilt to it and you'd have something that would suit your purposes.

6172276

that... could work.
The image I drew was like this:

except the hilt would be two hooks, and 1 hook way longer.

6172280
You can look at the spetum, ranseur, corseque, and partisan, which have much more conventional spear-like designs, and see if you like those. Alternatively, the bec de corbin and lucerne hammer are options that would be more effective against hard armor (read: actually effective, since blades are useless at defeating hard armor). Fliers would use the shorter warhammer (note: not the comically-oversized fantasy dwarven variety) or horseman's pick instead for reasons expressed previously.

6172285

I think I'm going to go with the ranseur (with a modification of the guard to be spikier) The design actually seems rather good for an anti-air, and it's extremely sleek, eliminating some of the speed problems.

Thanks man! (you just gave me an item of chekov )

6172293
Well, the "sleekness" isn't the issue with fliers, it's the length. Polearms are just too long, which should throw off the flier's sense of balance. Polearms work well when on ground when the wielder has good footing, allowing them to maneuver the weapon freely. That does not apply to the flier, obviously, so whenever they move their weapon around they have to account for the change in momentum themselves using their body and wings. Polearms have a center of mass nearer to the pointy end and further from their body, meaning the flier would have to do more mid-air twisting to compensate for the momentum compared to a shorter weapon..

6172304
Like I said, flying pegasi likely wouldn't use polearms, they'd use wingblades. Infantry pegasi on the other hand...

It is possible that on could in theory shorten the handle and attach a rope or chainto it, so one could throw the spear, and then reel it back in...

Honestly, I came up with pyrotechnics as an anti-air measure - firework-type rockets crossed with a sort of magical Molotov's cocktail and a bit of seeker-spell. They weren't particularly effective, but then, the fliers were the protagonists of the story.

And ground-based troops would have very little else other than Polybolos-type ballistae that would be effective in dealing with fliers. Pegasi and griffons could just stand off and bombard troops on the ground with javelins and heavy bollards from a stand-off distance.

And anti flyer polearm weapon would be more like this:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/88/f1/d0/88f1d08d7c783e9fc04364acdb56fad2.jpg

A military fork would have multiple tines meant to shred the wing in multiple place as opposed to just cutting through. THAT would latch into a pegasus wing, and on a bat pony would be more likely to completely disable a wing as it would tear it in two places along different wing joints at the same time.

I could even see a three tined option like a military trident spaced the correct distance apart to shred in three places on different wing joints.

6172308
Wings can't be armored (since it would be pretty hard to fly with armored wings) so a flier would logically want to keep them out of harm's way as much as possible. Attaching blades to them is... obviously the opposite of that. It might be more prudent to arm fliers with hoof-held weapons similar to katara or pata.

6172477
On that note, fire arrow emplacements like the hwacha might be useful for creating an anti-air screen against engaging flier groups.

A polybolos-type ballista wouldn't be very effective in this scenario. At the ranges which it would be effective for direct shot kills (about 70–90 meters), it would very likely need to point at a high angle, which would be awkward due to its pintle-mounted nature. Smaller hand-held cheiroballistra or crossbows would be much more effective (and cheaper to produce in numbers) with a similar effective direct shot kill range of 60–70 meters. This is around the upper limit for the average skilled javelin throw from what I researched, and while the altitude of the thrower should give them some extended range, the "stand-off" distance for flying javelin throwers is a surprisingly small territory.

You are correct when you said that pegasi and griffons could just bombard troops on the ground with javelins from a stand-off distance... but this is actually unlikely to work well in practice, because ground troops have access to two distinct advantages that can counter that strategy every time:

Good armor and a shield will do wonders to stalemate any attempts by fliers to defeat defenders from a distance using ranged attacks. Ground units can afford to deck themselves out in heavier, more restrictive, but more protective armor and carry shields, while flying units will find themselves limited by strength, endurance, and flexibility constraints. If flying units wear a similar caliber of armor to the ground units, they will be forced to sacrifice advantages they held as flying units, namely in the form of stamina and mobility.

...Also, "heavy bollards"? But aren't bollards those posts that ships are moored to at docks? Am I missing something?

6172511
That's actually why I recommended the spetum, ranseur, corseque, and partisan, which are all options that could be considered similar to but more "refined" than the military fork or trident.

6172206
Also, why is the spear made of silver? Silver is a terrible material for weapons.

6173087
'Heavy bollard' being a kinetic-kill weapon as heavy as the flyer can carry practicably. Carried like dive-bombers until on-target and released at terminal velocity. For use against fortifications and other hard targets, like ships.

6172215
If I put a hole through your arm instead of having the hook end up inside the wound, will you be able to use said arm (wing, in this case)?
No, you will not.
The only difference is that if the hook slips out of the hole, the victim will be able to have a somewhat controlled landing. They might be able to put some distance between you and them, but one way or another, they're going down.

6173130

It is quite a bit different than a hole through the arm. It is more like a sheeting of 2 layers of skin. Bats fly fine with holes in their wing membranes. You have to do considerable damage to down a bat.

Also considering that a lot of the flight of pegasi and bat ponies is magical, I'd sincerely doubt a single tear in a bat pony wing would stop it from being able to fly. It would be painful, but not as painful as you would think -- there aren't all that many nerves going through the sheet -- and very little bleeding as well.

I'd consider a bat pony simply impaired from a a polearm shot to the wing membrane.

6173225
Considering that they're much bigger than bats, I think it's safe to say that there's a certain amount of blood being supplied to said membrane. Granted, it does depend on where exactly the wing is injured, but it's not something that can be shrugged off.
Besides, why bother with a polearm when you can have archers take care of the problem.

6173241

If I were shooting arrows at a bat pony, and ponies don't seem to shoot arrows all that well, I would aim for the body not the wings. Putting an arrow hole through a wing wouldn't significantly affect the bat pony's flight and it wouldn't damage it much overall.

6173245
There's plenty of examples of ponies using bows and arrows. Granted, they to pull the string with their teeth, but those are minor details.
Obviously, you would go for the center of mass. Wings might be hard to hit, better to aim for the chest. Though you might get the wing if the arrow glances off the chest armor.

On a side note, I think earth ponies would make fearsome archers. Considering that strength is very important in archery, strong earth ponies (like Big Mac) might end up using bows with extreme poundage. Imagine being able to easily fire a ballista bolt. The arrow would go all the way through the unlucky target, regardless of what armor they're wearing.

6173106
Honestly? I was trying to come up with a base for the thing then edit on it from there. So flavor pretty much.

Actually, it wouldn't be an archer because the pole-arm is being used as a chekov's gun. I always imagined wingblade as being very light, very thin, sheets of metal used by elite flyers. Also, sharp. I'd also like to address, that this is pretty much only involving pegasi. And yes, Big Mac would make a scary archer.

Thanks a lot with the suggestions people! I honestly didn't know what to do.

6173241
Why not have archers and also have the polearms? It's not like a guisarme isn't also a deadly weapon in infantry combat. Variations of the guisarme can be used, like the guisarme-glaive or guisarme-voulge, to make it more deadly in general ground combat without sacrificing its flier-snagging utility.

6173245 6173258
I feel that some kind of crossbow design would be more ergonomically suited to ponies. I just feel that a conventional bow would actually be awkward for a pony to use. Flying units may be able to use bows, but the size and power of the bows would be severely limited since they would be unable to draw them very far back for fear of interrupting their wings.

As for Big Mac firing ballistae bolts from a bow... realistically, that's unlikely to happen. And it has nothing to do with strength in this case, but more size and material restraints. There's a reason why ballistae were the size they were, after all.

6173341
The ballistae comparison was more or less a fantasy, but the concept remains. The more strength you have, the more powerful bow you can use. As a result, you can fire heavier arrows at a longer range. Earth ponies, who tend to be known for their strength would make for better archers. The material issue could be solved by using more resilient materials. Sure, you could end up with a bow that's near impossible to string and use effectively for a pegasus or a unicorn, but that's merely a layer of safety which prevents the enemy from using your bow against you.

On the other hand, using a regular bow would allow earth ponies to use their strength to maintain a more consistent rate of fire, since they wouldn't get tired so quickly.

The archer and polearm combo could be effective. Especially if they're used in a formation. They're pretty much the same thing as the "Pike and Shot" formations we used to have. Archers take out the enemy from afar, while polearms prevent the enemy from attacking the archers. No one in their right mind would charge a pike wall.

6173369
Barring modern material technology or fantasy handwavium, I think you'll run into problems with the bow's material. Medieval steel probably won't work, because it'll suffer stress fractures from repeated flexing, and will eventually snap. Wood might work if you made it larger/thicker than usual bows, but it'll probably get too big and thick to carry and use without being awkward, and the thicker the wood gets the less likely it is to flex as opposed to just fracturing. Additionally, the bowstring's tensile strength becomes a problem. Under the heightened tension, normal bowstrings will start to fray far more rapidly, increasing the risk of it snapping, requiring that you use a thicker bowstring.

I know the show has shown ponies to be more dexterous and capable of more human-like movement than any real horse is capable of, meaning wielding polearms and swords would be easier.

Birds and bats fly very differently, so I think that should be taken into consideration when giving them weapons. Birds can soar on thermals and have wicked dive speeds, often just knocking prey from the air with the force of impact. Something hard-hitting, like a lance or battering ram would be best for that. Something like a peregrine or a goshawk is also highly maneuverable at speed, making slashing hit-and-run tactics also effective.

Bats are also highly maneuverable, but in a different way. They'll never match the speed of a bird, but they can often stop on a dime, flip upside down, use their wing membranes as parachutes to create massive drag to do a 180 pivot. Super useful when catching bugs. Also, in the real world, most fruit and nectar bats can hover in place, whereas very few birds can. This makes me think of almost matador strategy. Taunt and goad the opponent, then sidestep the charge and deliver the blow, targeting tendons and major arteries. I think small slashing blades would be best for this, like the hoof claws found in art by Equestria Prevails. Or something like a stiletto/Assassin's Creed blade that can quickly get between the ribs or through a gap in armor, or the eyes of a helmet.