• Published 18th May 2012
  • 12,417 Views, 1,757 Comments

Death Battle: Equestria - RLYoshi



Death Battle with ponies. Characters are researched, then pitted against each other in fights to the death, with pacifistic tendencies removed. Who would win in an Equestrian Death Battle?

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Q&A

Why are there so many questions in the comments?

Because of the Q&A we announced, Arrell.

The cue what?

The question thing...never mind. Just go with it.

Okay!

So we got a LOT of questions from you guys, and it's time to answer them! Let's start off, shall we? It's a little early, but since the next battle is taking a while, we figured we might as well get this out. If you guys ask a lot more questions, we'll have a part two. For now, let's get going!

enigmaMystere asks:

"Who would win between you two in a Death Battle without weapons? And (assuming you've heard of them) which of the Dubstep Guns would you want to use in a Changeling invasion? These are important questions!~"

Dubstep Guns?

Well, in a battle between the two of us-

Dubstep Guns? What are those? I want one!

Arrell, they're-

Be right back! Getting a Dubstep Gun!

...ugh. Well, while he's gone...having the two of us in a battle would be rather difficult. This story hasn't really given us much characterization in terms of abilities - heck, it didn't even tell you readers our appearance until the tournament started, and even then it was kind of generic. Unless the two of us get some actual screentime, I doubt we'll be fighting each other...though I personally think with my completely unbiased opinion that I'd win.

Back.

Didn't get a Dubstep Gun, I take it?

A what?

...moving on from his bad memory...

the-master asks:

"Well I have three:

1) How does hay bacon stack up against regular bacon?

2) Ponies and horses tend to have a greater skin and tissue density when compared to humans. Will this factor be taken into account when working out what hits would be critical and what hits would be ineffective, eg: blunt damage.

3) How do you plan on testing what weapons can penatrate a certain type of amour, eg tempered steel schitmisher against steel studded leather armour?"

Well, being ponies, we can't exactly eat regular bacon. But from what we've gathered from the few humans we've talked to, the way regular bacon tastes to them is the same as how hay bacon tastes to us...though they think hay bacon tastes awful.

As for your second question, this kind of thing is one of many that are debatable whether they apply to us ponies. They may apply to horses from Earth, but in Equestria, possibly not. We'll do some research, and if the difference isn't particularly big, we'll be ignoring this fact. Otherwise, we'll see about applying it to any battles involving a human against a pony.

And for your third question, I dunno what those things are, but I want them!

We do research on the properties of the armor specified while doing all other research, along with the weapons. Basically, we just figure out how strong the armor is and see if the weapon can penetrate an object of that material, mass, density, et cetera. We then see if there would be any other effects - for example, would the weapon be damaged severely after having to pass through it, and would it take a few seconds? Things like that are all done in general research and writing.

Ghostdad7 asks:

"Have you two ever considered to be in a Death Battle against each other?"

As stated above, this would be difficult to do unless we get more screentime.

TundraStanza asks:

"How do you calculate speed of an OC when it's only vaguely mentioned in his/her respective fic?"

Well, if their speed is too vague - as in, not talked about at all - we just assume it's the average speed for their species. If it's given maybe one or two comparisons - for example, if they said the OC was half as fast as Rainbow Dash's top non-Sonic Rainboom flight speed - we'd use that comparison strictly when doing our research.

Or, if we're given a situation where the character's speed is never compared to anything, but we have scenarios where their speed is obviously different from average, we study those particular scenarios. If they can run fast enough to crash through a wall, we study how much force would be needed to break that wall based on its material, mass, thickness, and more. We then factor in the OC's approximate size and mass to figure out about how fast they were running at the time. We do this for any period in the story where their speed is shown to be different, and once we're done, we use the highest speed gotten.

metallusionismagic asks:

"Is going back in time and erasing your opponent from history a valid method of winning Death Battles?"

Uh...hm. That's a good question.

No, it is not a valid method.

Wait, why not?

It's true that we're supposed to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills, time travel being included in said skills. However, think about it. If two characters are fighting and one travels back in time to erase the other from existence, the fight never happened in the first place because one fighter did not exist. All they would do is cause the battle to never happen, in which case there would be nothing for them to win.

Ohhh! That actually makes sense!

KenSES64 asks:

"Are there any suggestions for battles that you deem "too stupid" or make you go "oh my Celestia what is this person thinking"? If so any examples?"

Oh, yes. We get our fair share of these.

A lot of them are just having a random OC going against one of the mane six, or two OCs that are both owned by the person commenting and come from horribly written stories. Not gonna call out names, but I think these people know who they are.

And just about any suggestion involving Nyx from Past Sins. There is no character we know of, canon or OC, that is well-known and powerful enough to beat her. I'm sorry. And then there's the ever-popular Celestia VS Luna...

Let's move on before Yah-Shee goes on another rant.

Cobra 1 asks:

"Who would win you two or Wiz and Boomstick?"

As stated earlier, we don't really have any specific abilities that have been revealed, and the same can be said for Wiz and Boomstick. Since ponies are naturally better fighters than humans, it can be assumed that we'd win since Arrell can fly and I can use magic. It'd be a bland fight, though.

The Brony Writer asks:

"Did your creator RLYoshi get the idea for Death Battle: Equestria from the actual Death Battle show? In particular, the Starscream vs. Rainbow Dash Death Battle?"

Well, yeah, he did! It was more from the series as a whole, though. Actually, I think it was in Leonardo VS Zitz where he started wanting to make this...

Correct. He still goes back and watches episodes of Death Battle to get inspiration for the fight scenes of Equestrian Death Battles.

Surprisingly, Starscreem VS Rainbow Dash didn't actually influence the making of this story that much! It was what led him to Death Battle, but after that he hasn't really rewatched it that much.

The Fiery Joker asks:

"What are your plans for after the tourney?"

After the tournament, we'll return to doing regular battles like before. However, we might have another tournament - likely of a smaller scale - in the future, given the response this one is getting.

ClopperPokephile asks:

"Is it easier to calculate the stats of fanfic characters or canon characters, and why?"

That one really depends on the character! Canon characters in general tend to be easier, since...well...they're on the show. We can actually see them doing stuff and get better examples of how strong they are or smart they are that might be tougher to get from just text, but the downside is we can only use what we see in the episodes.

Fanfic characters can sometimes be easier to calculate stats for. They might be given descriptions that are vague and hard to judge, but on the other hand, they might be given in-depth descriptions of their powers that actually leave room to factor in formulas. Plus, except in some cases of short or cancelled fanfics, there's usually more information overall to be gathered from a fanfic than from the show. It just depends on the character and either the screentime they get in the show, or the length and descriptiveness of their fanfic.

DashieShy3597 asks:

"When you have normal battles with canon characters like you use to?"

I assume this person's asking when we're gonna have normal battles with canon ponies again.

After this tournament, we'll be getting back to our regular battles. Even before then, we'll be having one or two battles between tournament rounds to tide you over.

Hyperbole asks:

"Would it be possible to get Littlepip and Blackjack into the fray? Shit would hit the fan."

...oh crap. Yah-Shee! They're onto us! THEY KNOW OUR PLANS!

fanon44 asks:

"what did you think of the goku vs superman fight "

Pure AWESOME!

...what he said. I'd rather not humiliate myself by making the face he's making, though.

Loyal2Luna asks:

"Question: Changelings can take on the appearance and voice of anypony, this we know: but can they take on the abilities and memories as well (like the Skrull). If so, then can we consider changelings capable of imitating many of our pony-based combatants here?"

There has yet to be any evidence stating that Changelings can copy the abilities and memories of who they look like; if anything, there's evidence against it, with how Chrysalis's green magic wasn't disguised when she was disguised as Cadence. So unless a future episode says otherwise, for now, we run on the assumption that Changelings can't copy a pony's abilities and memories.

Though now I'm curious as to just how many ponies around here are actually Changelings in disguise...

*CLANG*

OW! Arrell, what the buck was that for?!

I thought you were a Changeling!

...just...move on to the next question...

codejunkie asks:

"I know this is being VERY anxious, but when can we expect The Second DEATH BATTLE!: Equestria Tournament?

Tod and/or Silver Sea from this collab story I'm in, Rainbooms Over Miami, would do a decent job in the games."

Likely not for a while after this one ends. It will also probably be a much smaller scale, with an actual limit to the number of fighters that will be involved.

Probably sixteen. That makes for eight battles in round one, four in round two, two in round three, and then the finale - making for a total of fifteen battles. A lot less than what we're sifting through in this tournament!

JJ Malcolm asks:

"Kngihtmare Here!

Who'd win if you pit me and my band[Octavia, vinyl, chrysalis, Nyx, Cadance, shining armor, lyra, bonbon, and the CMC] Against the entire cast of Twilight?

I really wanna know.

And, whoever wins, how severe would it be? [I really wanna know how big their graveyard will have to be,]"

Hey, it's Knightmare! Heya buddy!

Anyway...neither of us have seen Twilight for obvious reasons, so we can't really say. Sorry.

everyday we shufflin asks:

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

...I feel like that's a reference to something...

I don't get it.

Gizmo Hibiki asks:

"have you ever thought of doing battles with other characters against MLP/OC Characters besides Pokemon? Like maybe comics or manga or even more mature video games, like maybe Brolly vs Princess Celestia or even John Constantine vs Nightmare Moon?"

Yes, we do that sometimes...why did you think we didn't?

Scripture asks:

"1. Who are you both predicting to win in this tournament? Any bets?

2. If you were stranded on an island and could only bring one item and one other pony, what and who would it and they be?

3. Will there be a mega totally awesome outrageously dangerous chocolate coated ultra spectacular stellar gigantic super extreme Death Battle with all the combatants either in a free for all, against the actual FiM cast, or one really crazy amped up boss?"

We try to avoid bets or predictions so as to avoid favouritism, so we can't really answer that first question. For the second question, I would bring a carriage and Rainbow Dash, because she could fly the carriage with me in it back home. Easy loophole.

Huh...I was just gonna bring a rocket launcher and Pinkie Pie. Favourite pony, and some cool explosions!

And as for that last question...no, there won't be something like that.

GimmyJibbsJr asks:

"If I find a charcter with power equal to one of my characters, can I make a request? Obviously you don't have to do it, I was just wondering."

You are allowed to suggest any battles you want as long as they make sense. If they include OCs and are not part of the Equestrian Death Battle Tournament, the OC must be from a story that is at least somewhat well-known. These are the only real rules; you can even submit OCs from your own stories if you think the matchup makes sense.

But please make sure your story's actually well-written! If it gets to the point where the title of the story isn't even capitalized properly, you've got a major problem.

Yes, we've seen stories like that.

Solar Eclipse asks:

"Are you guys planning on adding real aliens in?

IE an Elite from the halo universe vs some sort of other alien? Maybe a human or a large enemy? Something actually extraterrestrial like that?

Do you plan on 2v2 battles?"

We try to make sure at least 50% of the combatants in each battle are from the pony universe, so it's highly unlikely we'd have an alien versus another alien. We also try to avoid having OCs go against non-pony-universe characters.

Aw...but I wanted to see aliens!

As for 2v2 battles, we've actually already done one: The Flim-Flam Brothers VS ATLAS and P-Body. We plan on making more in the future as well.

creepers dawn asks:

"Do you have a plan to end and or take over the world, if so can I join you."

What? No! That's outrageous!

Psst...yes, we do! But no, you can't join.

Arrell, what are you whispering?

NEXT QUESTION!

Pinkamena777 asks:

"Am i better than all of you in this show?"

HAHAHAno.

Satyr403 asks:

"do you plan 2v2 battles?"

As stated above, yes, we plan on doing more 2v2 battles in the future.

Blaze Spectrum asks:

"I have a few questions. And I'm sure they're quite selfish.

1. What limitations must be put on ponies with firearms? IE: Only one clip.

2. Can there be team battles? (4v4 8v8 maybe even 16v16)

3. Can you do anything from Halo against something in Equestria?"

When it comes to firearms, we only give as many limitations as are stated in the story! If no limitations are stated and the gun is pretty much just an ordinary gun, we limit its ammo depending on how much of an advantage it gives. In Brand Fire VS Plymouth Valiant, since the Desert Eagle was Valiant's only weapon, we basically just decided to only give it one magazine.

As for team battles, things like a 2v2 or 3v3 are doable, but anything above would be rather difficult. There's a reason we haven't done Mane Six VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

As for Halo versus Equestria...we'll work on it!

Dark Lightning asks:

"What about team matches with more than 2 on 2?

What'll be the first Death Battle AFTER the tournament?"

As stated above, team matches with more than two or three combatants per side would be rather difficult, and likely wouldn't happen.

And the first battle after the tournament has been decided, but it isn't gonna be revealed just yet!

2dextreem asks:

"How do you determine the setting of each battle? (Forest, canyon, desert, etc)

I ask because, given Marr Bell's ability to "swim" through stone, the outcome of her matches could hinge on her ability to use the environment to hide from attacks and launch surprises on her opponent."

When doing the judging and comparisons, we completely disregard the setting at first. We ignore any strengths or weaknesses involving the surroundings.

Basically, we assume the combatants are fighting in a black empty void. But when we get to writing the actual battle, that's when settings come into play!

Let's look at some recent battles. In Arrell Ragnarok VS Dark Lightning, the two fought in a canyon. However, due to Arrell being a Windigo, a different setting could have had changed the way the battle went drastically. If they were in a cold, Arctic-type arena, he could've constantly healed any damage he took by absorbing the ice. But if they were in a desert, he would've lost in seconds due to the heat weakening him.

But in Vinetion Lutin VS Lucario, we chose a forest, which gave Vine a lot more power! Notice a weird switch there?

If a character would be given a major advantage or disadvantage depending on the area, we choose a more neutral setting. However, if pretty much all of a character's abilities hinge on a specific environment - or we feel the only way to even things out is to use that environment - then we use it. However, this never affects the result.

This is about which character's the strongest, not which one has the biggest advantage in specific arenas! We only take time to choose a setting for the battle, which is for entertainment purposes only!

And before you complain, let me point something out. If a character relies on being in a specific setting to survive...well, they're probably not that good of a fighter, are they? Combatants have to be able to adapt to their surroundings. Having a type of setting where you thrive or one where you grow weaker is fine, but if you can only truly battle in one or two specific environments, you shouldn't be in this story in the first place.

The Rubber Fury981 asks:

"What has been your favorite battle to work on so far?"

...huh. Good question. I'd have to say the Cutie Mark Crusaders Free-For-All, for me. Really got to get interesting with the fight scene in that one!

I personally liked The Flim-Flam Brothers VS ATLAS and P-Body, or the tournament battle Brand Fire VS Plymouth Valiant. Both of them were rather interesting to research. Our creator, RLYoshi, considers it a tie between those three, but apparently he thinks future battles may take the number-one spot as his favourite.

Oh yeah! Can't wait for those ones!

m3Atl0afman asks:

"What battle(s) would you personally like to do on here?
If ever possible, would you like to see any of your battles made into video form??
What has been your favorite battle(s) from here (and from ScrewAttack's Death Battle) so far?
Has there been an episode of DB: Equestria where your preferred characters lost?
With Twilight's ascension into royalty, would you think the Mane Six Battle Royale's outcome would change whenever Season 4 eventually ends, assuming she's still a Princess by then?
Any thoughts on Mane6's new fighting game?
Objective thoughts on Equestria Girls?
Have you and will you ever be needing any help from outside sources for future matches?
And lastly, Yah-Shee, Arrell, what are your thoughts on Wiz and Boomstick?

And that's all I have for now. Keep up the good work, and here's to more battles! *raises cider class*"

Damn, that's a lot of questions.

Let's go down them one by one. First off, there aren't really any battles we'd like to do that we've thought of and haven't done or planned for. While it's true that we normally go by suggestions, we occasionally think of our own battle ideas, and we always do them. So answering that question would either be spoiling future battles, or just telling you about ones that already exist.

Our battles made into video form?! That'd be about a million dreams come true!

We already answered our favourite battles from our own story, but as for the actual Death Battle series, that one's easy. My favourite of that series would be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Battle Royale, because it showed greatly that strength isn't always what gives you the win - if it was, Raphael would have won. But it showed that smarts are also important, which is why Leonardo took the victory.

Superman VS Goku is obviously my favourite, but since that one's easy to tell, I'll tell you second place as well. Link VS Cloud Strife, since it was so close the entire time and the ending honestly took me by surprise!

We don't really have preferred characters for these battles, but I can safely say that RLYoshi was disappointed when Apple Bloom lost the Cutie Mark Crusaders Free-For-All.

Twilight being an alicorn hasn't shown to change anything aside from her being able to fly, really! For all we know, her magic's still just as strong as before, and her only advantage is flight. So while she may get a better spot in the ranking, she'd still probably lose to Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy. Of course, season four might completely change that, but who knows?

While we were both disappointed that Fighting Is Magic was cancelled, we're still looking forward to whatever Mane6 produces in its place. I can safely say that both of us, along with RLYoshi, will definitely be checking it out as soon as it's available.

Equestria Girls...eh.

Yeah...neither of us hate the idea, but we aren't paying much attention to it at the moment. It's just another movie that we're sort of looking forward to. We'll check it out when it comes out, but...we're not exactly keeping constant tabs on it.

And outside sources? Depending on the type of sources, we use those all the time! Google and Wikipedia, in particular. Usually for looking up properties of certain things, though, or earthquake math.

If you mean outside sources as in other places to get information on the characters from, we only use the show if they're a canon character, and if they're an OC we only use fanfics they appear in that their creator deems canon. For characters not pony-related, we only use information from whatever franchise they come from.

We did bend this rule for Ditzy Doo VS Vinyl Scratch, since we needed something to make them actually interesting. So we just went by common fan interpretations, and in the case of Vinyl Scratch, also the "Epic Wub Time" animation. We're only doing that for background ponies, though!

As for that final question...well, naturally, we admire them for their work! They're what inspired this story, after all!

Thank you for all those questions, Meatloaf-guy! Cheers!

...where'd you get that cider from?

I dunno.

SwimmingDalek98 asks:

"Will there be a second season of Death Battle: Equestria? One in which, say, new combatants can be entered? Or old combatants can be given a new chance to claim the title of 'Strongest Equestrian Warrior'? Hey, that should be the trophy: Strongest Equestrian Warrior. Well, feel free to call it what you like, I just want my first question answered. By the way, technically ponies are herbivores, right? Then WHY THE-
-do people think they can cannibalize? I mean, SERIOUSLY! Equines cannot gain any nutrition from eating meat! While they could evolve into it over hundreds of years, they're still UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING with meat right now. WHY are people so misinformed? WHY do they always make me feel lik I'm the only competent person around? WHY, WHY, WHY!?!?!?!?!?"

...someone's freaking out a bit.

Uh...to answer the question of yours that we actually understand...at the moment, we aren't planning on having DEATH BATTLE: Equestria be split into seasons. It'll be one story that gets more chapters and battles added to it over time. We'd rather not mark this story as "Complete" and then make a whole new story that's exactly the same. Sure, some other stories do that, but only because they've finished the main first arc and want to start a new arc. And if it wasn't obvious, DEATH BATTLE: Equestria doesn't really have arcs. Tournament notwithstanding.

Though if you were asking if we'd be having a second tournament, yep! We're planning on it...on a smaller scale, of course! And "Strongest Equestrian Warrior" actually sounds like a pretty badass title! Get a trademark on that, Steven!

...who?

Never mind.

Vinetion asks:

"Runners up (losers bracket) tournament possible at all? See who's best of the worst?

if AJ and big mac applebucked each other at the same time and had their hooves collided what would happen?

In relation to (above) what would be the resulting action of a colliding Falcon Punch, Warlock Punch, and Mega Buck?"

We're planning...not really a loser bracket, but something similar to give the "best of the worst" characters a second chance. We're calling it the Wild Card, and we'll be going more into that later.

Just keep an eye on your inbox if your character lost a battle! You never know what may happen!

If Applejack and Big Macintosh applebucked each other in the way described, Applejack's legs would break, if not every other bone in her body. Big Macintosh is easily much stronger than her.

And for that last question...no idea!

Seraphic Borealis asks:

"Which have been your favorites battles so far?"

We answered this question above.

And that's how we're capping things off. A repeat question!

Thank you all for your questions. If you have any others, post them in the comments. We'll either answer in the comments like normal, or have another Q&A sometime in the future.

Hunger Pains VS Marr Bell comes out whenever we can get someone to research Marr Bell!

I'm Yah-Shee and he's Arrell, and it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win an Equestrian Death Battle.

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