Star Armor sat behind the front desk, trying his damndest to not fall asleep while listening to the pony in front of him. Between him and the pony was a solid inch of glass, and Star Armor had to resist the urge to bang his head against it.
Honey Cupcake had been going on for half an hour at this point about her missing shipments from New Horseleans. Despite receiving an invoice for the shipment of her organic blueberries, Honey Cupcake never received anything.
Star suppressed a sigh as she finished, and lifted his head off his hooves to speak the same phrase he had told her half an hour ago after he finished taking a police report when she first came to the Cincinneighti Royal Guard garrison.
“I’m sorry we can’t help you, ma’am. As I have said before, you must take this issue up with both the Duchy of Appleloosa’s and the County of South Hoofington chambers of commerce. Once again, I am sorry the Royal Guard cannot help you recover your missing berries.”
“But I already went to the D.A.C.C.! And they said to file a police report for the missing shipment!”
“And we now have a report on this. Any further–”
“So you’re going to go get it for me? I’m a busy mare, I can’t make the trip all the way south and run my business at the same time!”
Star Armor suppressed another sigh.
“As I said, the Royal Guard have too much on our hooves to help you. I’m sorry, ma’am. Have you tried contacting the Royal Guard garrison in New Horseleans?”
“I tried! They said to talk to you ponies!”
‘Typical. Somepony in New Horseleans is trying to get out of doing some paperwork and legwork, leaving this mare out to dry.’
“Look, I can send an inquiry about this to them, but ultimately it’s out of our hooves.”
“I want to speak with your officer!”
Star groaned and his head fell into his hooves again.
“Again, Sergeant Emerald Aura is out at the moment. You’re more than welcome to come back tomorrow, ma’am.”
“Hmph! And just where is this missing Sergeant?”
“Responding to a domestic.”
“Where?”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you that information, ma’am.”
“I am a sovereign citizen of the Principality of Equestria, I know my rights! You are required to find my missing property!”
“Have you asked your supplier where it is?”
“I’ve sent a letter, but they haven’t responded!”
“How long ago was this letter sent?”
“Yesterday!”
Star Armor felt very thirsty all of a sudden as he was filled with a desperate need to drink his sorrows away. Thankfully, he was saved from his misery when the front doors were pulled open, and Sergeant Emerald Aura came in, two privates in tow.
“Sergeant Emerald! Am I glad to see you!”
Emerald stopped and gave Star a smile.
“Corporal Star Armor. I hope front-end duty isn’t wearing you down too much.”
“You’re this guards superior?” Honey Cupcake interjected herself into the conversation.
“That’s right, ma’am.”
“My name is Honey Cupcake, and I need you Royal Guards to help me find my missing shipment of blueberries!”
“Alright. Have you asked whomever you were purchasing from where the shipment is?”
“Yes! They are ignoring me!”
“Have you filed a report with Corporal Star?”
“Yes! He’s been most unhelpful!”
“.... Uh huh. Hmmm, let me guess, the shipment is from New Horseleans?”
“As it so happens. I order only the most healthy and organic blueberries from top quality producers!”
“Then I’m afraid I can explain your missing shipment. Word has come in that some unplanned storm from the Everfree has caused increased rainfall, which made the rivers flood way past their normal heights. I’ve got traders and travelers telling me that there’s no current way across the Father of Waters River.”
“But I need my supplies now! Tomorrow night is the Summer Sun Celebration, this is the busiest season past Pancake Tuesday! And you no doubt know how I can’t open my doors if I don’t have blueberry pancakes in stock!”
Emerald gave Honey a sad smile, “I’m sorry ma’am, but many are awaiting delayed friends, shipments, or special someponies coming from the New Horseleans area. There’s simply nothing we can do.”
“Unbelievable. I’m writing to Princess Celestia about this!” Honey Cupcake huffed as she stormed out of the building, pushing past the two privates still lingering near the door.
Star knew he would unfortunately see her again. Despite having to introduce himself, he had met her already. Several times, in fact, for she was a regular here. Honey Cupcake always had something to make a fuss about, and always found a Guard to harass.
“To answer your question, no, I am not enjoying the front desk.”
Sergeant Emerald snorted.
“Don’t be such a sourpuss, Star. You can’t let one pony bring down your mood. After all, we’ve got donuts in the breakroom!”
Emerald unlocked the thick security door next to the desk, entering it and trotting out past Star and through the swinging doors behind him, the Privates right behind her. Star watched as one of the Privates stopped to talk with him.
“You look like you could use a break, Corporal Star,” Private Baton said.
“I could use eight of those, Private Baton. How’d the call go?”
“Oh you know the drill. Noise complaint, we go over, ask some questions, nopony knows anything, we go back empty hoofed.”
“You managed to ask around the entire block in…” Star leaned back and looked at the clock on the wall next to him behind the desk, “An hour?”
“We split up to cover more ground.”
“Hmm. Well then Baton, I think I’ll take one of those eight breaks I’m due. Take over the front desk, I’m grabbing a donut.”
“Alright, Corporal Star.”
As he entered through the swinging doors, Star Armor saw Private Breeze taking a drink from the water fountain just to the side. He gave him a nod, which was returned after Private Breeze finished drinking.
He was about to strike up a conversation with breeze when Star’s rumbling stomach reminded him of his goals, namely a chocolate covered donut which had his name on it.
‘Hopefully there are chocolate donuts. If they’re all glazed again…’
The doors swung shut behind him. As Corporal Star Armor made his way down the hall to the break room, he didn’t see the thirty ponies that had entered the building just after he left the front room, nor did he see Private Baton unlocking the security door, letting them in.
The break room was a small rectangle room, filled with tables, chairs, bulletin boards, and a small kitchen at the end. Two ponies, Corporal Hooves and Private Nimble were playing cards at one of the tables. One one side of the room were metal lockers. On the other, the bulletin boards hung above a table. The table beneath the boards had a colorful cardboard box that made Star’s stomach rumble just looking at it.
There were indeed chocolate donuts, much to Star’s delight. He grabbed a donut out of the box, and sat down in a chair in the corner of the break room, happily munching away for the next few minutes.
Afterwards, Star brushed the crumbs off his coat as he got out of his cheap, uncomfortable wooden chair. He made a mental note to petition Colonel Comet Wing to raise the budget for furnishings.
Specifically, to get something to sit on in the break room that didn’t make his flanks sore for the next two hours.
He stopped in the hall when he heard a rumbling echo through the building.
‘There’s no storm planned for today. That rogue storm must have messed up all the schedules, I hope this doesn’t ruin my weekend plans.’
The pause also made him reconsider the idea of going back to the front desk and doing nothing but read old newspapers, books the previous attendants left, and listening to ponies drone on and on about non-issues.
‘I’ve been working hard today, and what better way to complement a donut than with a nap?’
So, Corporal Armor Star made his way to his favorite sleeping spot, an out-of-the-way janitor’s closet, and collapsed on a sack of cleaning powder. The door closed behind him, plunging him into darkness, the only light coming from beneath the door. He yawned, and shut his eyes.
Outside, he heard what sounded like Emerald having an argument with somepony.
‘Oh no, somepony’s forgotten to make a new pot of coffee when they emptied the last one. Celestia help them, they’re going to need it for somehow managing to get on her bad side!’
When he woke, he saw the light beneath the door had dimmed considerably.
‘Oh ponyfeathers, I wasn’t supposed to nap that long! The Sergeant's going to have my hide!’
He jumped to his hooves and pulled the door open. He made his way over to the front of the building, where Private Baton, or his replacement, was no doubt fuming. A scorch mark on the wall stopped him in his tracks.
“Is this what the argument was about?” He mumbled to himself before slinking back to the front.
When he got there, he couldn’t find anypony behind the front desk. Then he checked the break room. Tables were overturned, chairs too. I could see the cards spilled out over the floor where the ponies were playing earlier. But he didn’t find anypony here.
‘Nopony at the desk. Nopony in the break room, and it’s a mess...’
He trotted out and up the stairs, to where the offices were. As he reached the last flight and pushed the doors open, he was met with an empty office. Nopony was at their desks, filling out the tedious, unnecessary paperwork. Nopony was cracking jokes at the water cooler, wasting time. Nopony was asking suspects or victims questions, taking reports, or anything Royal Guard related.
Nopony was here at all.
Corporal Star Armor looked out the nearest window. The sun’s rays were reflecting brightly off the glass windows of the brick seven story apartment building next door. His eyes snapped to a clock hanging on a wall.
‘Nearly six o’clock. That’s not closing time, where is everypony?’
“Hello? I swear, if this is another surprise party, I’m eating everypony’s lunches out of the fridge for the next week!”
Nopony answered.
“Aaaa HA!” Star yelled as he jumped and turned around.
But again, he saw nopony.
Needing answers, he headed back down the stairs, down the hallway, and into the lobby area. When he reached for the front door, Star saw that it was unlocked. The security door, which policy stated must be locked at all times if not in use, was unlocked. This has never happened before.
Tentatively, he pulled the door open, and slowly walked through the lobby to the front doors. Taking a moment to calm his breathing, and dismissing a thought of this not being some kind of elaborate prank pulled on him when somepony found him sleeping in the closet and told everypony, Star Armor then pulled the front doors open.
The Streets of Cincinneighti were thankfully not empty. Star let out a sigh of relief as he saw that he didn’t wake up alone in the world, and there were indeed strange bug ponies here with–
“What the buck?!” He screamed, stumbling and falling back and onto the ground. His scream made every single pitch black insectoid pony monster stop what they were doing and stare at him.
They had blue eyes, black bodies, and massive fangs.
Star started to shake.
“This is a horrible nightmare. This isn’t real. I’m still asleep.” Star repeated to himself as he began to hyperventilate, pressing his hooves to his head rocking back and forth.
Then he got hit by thirteen glowing darts and one fireball.
Everything went silent and very painful.
As he slumped over against the front door of the Guard garrison, two of the monsters flew over and spat goo onto him, and also put out the fire. He couldn’t move his head to see just what exactly they were doing, but he felt something hit his hooves and then his muzzle. Crossing his eyes, he could make out something green on his face.
Star Armor tried crying out in disgust, dismay, and distress but his body didn’t respond to him. He was still under the effects of the stunning spells that hit him. However, the ringing in his ears that started when he got hit began to fade, and he heard the monsters that looked like ponies talking with each other. They spoke with almost a buzzing undertone to their voice.
“...with the fireballs! Seriously, I know one of you loves them, but you need to stop! Panar…! How many ponies do we miss with each target, Chamberlain?”
Star’s eyes darted around, trying to get a look at the speaker, but with his angled towards the ground, he couldn’t see much other than the strange hooves of the monsters. Hooves was a generous term, as they seemed to have more in common with cheese than a pony’s leg.
“Just a few, sleeping ponies produce no emotion detectable, but the commotion usually wakes them all. This one must have been quite the heavy sleeper, and considering there are no beds in the Royal Guard barracks, who knows where he was sleeping? Back to the matter at hoof, My Prince…” A second speaker, coming from wherever the first was, trailed off.
‘Prince? What was going on? Was Prince Blueblood here or something? Why won’t this horrible nightmare end?!’
“Our estimates did not account for the time it would take for infiltrating. Despite the extra days you’ve allotted, we will not make the rendezvous tomorrow.”
There was a long pause.
“.... Reduce the number of targets we will hit. Prioritize reaching the rendezvous in time over hitting Canterlot’s outlying communities. I’d like to hit as many targets as possible, but a community seeing what’s going on in Canterlot and warning the rest of the Principality is far less of an issue than missing the rendezvous.”
Star’s head was lifted by a hoof, and he saw a monster right in front of him, looking him in the eyes.
“This one’s good, mark him for pickup.”
“We won’t have time for any targets, outside of the few small hamlets along the way, My Prince.”
“Then so be it.”
Though the monster in front of him dropped his head again, Star felt strong enough to at least roll his head to the side, giving him a view of most of the street. The two speakers he had been hearing were more of the monsters, and they were walking down the road in a group of three.
A far one was mostly obscured, but it resembled every other insect pony monster he had seen so far. A close one was wearing strange orange armor. And the one in the middle of the group…
It was tall. Tall like an alicorn. It had one large, curved horn jutting from the top of its head, a red fin on the back of its head with a similar red tail, and an orange torso. It wore a green peytral, and wherever it walked, the monsters bowed.
‘Prince, they called that thing.’
He saw levitating next to it, in an orange aura, was a massive hammer, the metal end of it as big as Star’s head and neck.
‘Oh Celestia, what is this nightmare?! I have to wake up!’
But Star Armor could do little more than twitch and roll his head around.
“Nothing else matters but reaching Canterlot in time. We have one good shot at defeating the Princesses, missing it jeopardizes everything.”
'Defeating the Princesses?! No no no no, this is not real! Not real! Not real!'
Eventually, the Prince monster and the other two walked away. Two more bug pony things flew up to him after a short while.
‘C’mon! Wake up! This isn’t real!’
No matter how hard he tried, Star Armor never woke up from the nightmare.
“This is the one. Let’s get him over to the storage,” one of them said in their buzzing voice.
They moved to grab him. He tried to scream and back away, but all he could manage was a grunt and falling onto his side. Hooves grabbed him and carried him away. Eventually, after being taken away from the Royal Guard garrison building by the apparently flying monsters, he was taken into an old warehouse.
Inside were a lot more of the bug monsters, flying around green glowing pods hanging from the old wooden rafters. He saw the shadows of ponies inside of them, before being placed himself in a pod filled with warm liquid. He slowly slipped back asleep, and had dreams of nice, comfy chairs in the break room, with boxes of donuts piled to the ceiling.
Do you ever just sleep through the apocalypse? Happens to me all the time.
I've got a question for you all. In this chapter, Star Armor is an earth pony. My question is this; how do earth ponies grab things? Should it be with their mouths? Or, what I'm leaning towards, should it be using a small magical gripping field at the end of their hooves?
I like the second option because then each pony / other species has something special for gripping. Magic, feathers, talons, or magic field.
"Corporal Hooves". I see what you did there.
10632177
I've always assumed it was magic that allows them to grab stuff with their hooves but in certain circumstances they'll use their mouth if they are unable to use their hooves. I also think this coincides with the idea that earth pony magic is connected to the ground and nature so most of their magic would be in their hooves and legs.
10632177
I vote 2nd one.
10632177
Sleep through the pony apocalypse? I do believe Luna likely did that during the canon wedding invasion. We never saw her, after all.
How should they grip things? Either magical fields with their hooves, or perhaps the frog of their hooves have a softer tissue lined with muscles that lets them grab and hold things tightly. Ironically I saw a robotic arm that had something vaguely similar. Instead of a standard grabber, the robotic arm ended in a balloon filled with a loose grainy substance, like coffee grinds. The balloon was pushed against an object and the air was pumped out of the balloon, collaping the interior material and balloon skin around the object, allowing it to be picked up. Perhaps pony hooves have something similar? Like a fluid filled area around some floating harder bits in the frog, that when they grab something, closes around it and lets them pick stuff up?
Edit: Not the original video I saw, but it gives you an idea. Again. perhaps the frogs of pony hooves have a fluid in them that can be pumped out by muscle contraction, allowing the frog to grip around something.
10632177
When Faust worked on the show, she made it a point to have ponies instead of pony-shaped people. That included not pretending that hooves could ever work as hands.
10632177
Sleeping through the war? Sounds like 28 Days or something. As for things sticking to hooves... it's all magnets.
10632177
Luna: Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?
Canterlot: GREEN FIRE EVERYWHERE
10632242
Problem is, leaving earth ponies with nothing creates this sorta imbalance. Like, wouldn't most earth ponies have a fierce jeleousy of unicorns and pegasi?
10632177
Magical fields supplemented by dexterity could be an idea. The greater the area of the frog in contact and the better the angle/grip, maybe the more stasis magic could be applied? Otherwise it would just be a 'stick to me' spell.
In other news the Promised Day draws close, and I'm sure Celestia is wondering why she hears boss music
10632182
Pffft I missed that at first.
I like the pony POV in this chapter.
10632177
i like the idea of the gripping field
10632302
10632182
Is this Idol Hooves reference or another one?
10632249
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/6/23/17063.jpg
derpicdn.net/img/view/2012/6/23/17444.png
10632376
Yes it's about Corporal Idol Hooves.
10632257
Most people think that because Earth Pony magic similar to humans and their hands; it can be concentrated into hooves allowing them to grip things, cause plants to grow faster by touch or do stuff like buck a tree and have all the apples somehow land in placed baskets every time. Heck, I bet an Earth Pony Twilight could still cast spells by making glowy runes/pentagrams in the air like Dr.Strange-- I recall, in the movie, that one fellow who was missing a hand still able to show off in front of a neophyte student Dr.Strange because he was all emo over his destroyed hands.
That would be super cool to see too.
Mare(n) wants to speak to his manager.
10632177
Magical grip seems like the most canonical answer. Appears to be a tiring action as Pinkie (in the episode where she takes care of the twins) briefly loses ability. It is more for a gag but other ponies with more hooves-on jobs are shown using mouths more. Cheerilee, the spa ponies to name a few...
Amazing to see the mind of a pony... Pretty stupid to cry out like a foal. . . Celestia effectivly ruined any military effectiv training in the 1000 years Luna was away and pony kind is now suffering dearly.
Hm... So will they make it to stop the mane six from rainbow laser Nightmaremoon to the face or not? On one hoove yay for getting Luna back but Chrysalis needs to be exterminated harrrd...
Maybe a delayed friendship laser to the head ones Chrysalis is reduced to ash?
Nice chapter
10632376
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/174129/the-changeling-of-the-guard
10632177
Definitivly second.
10632182
Heh... Neat
10632204
Yep. Kinda surprised they can't wallwalk with there strong earth connections
10632213
Interessting idea.
I read storys were Luna was actualy bussy. In comedic story Batman like. In seriouse story actualy striking from hidden doors in walls etc.
10632177
Granular jamming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKOI_lVDPpw
https://derpibooru.org/images/287228
10632446
To be fair to Celestia:
Equestria hasn't been in a serious conflict for a thousand years. Prince Phasma's past world has been in about a thousand wars over the past thousand years and they built off of earlier war knowledge. Equestria does not study Griffish war tactics, probably. On the other hand, the Battle of Cannae, fought over 2000 years ago, is still analyzed and military officers try to pull off the "next big Cannae". To live in a society who does not scorn war and instead avoids it all costs will lead to unpreparedness. That's Celestia's fault. That's also the ponies' fault too. Imagine trying to teach war without even being able to pull up a video to explain the unexplainable. You'd laugh it off. You cannot truly comprehend war without experiencing it yourself. Ponies are either not going to understand what Celestia is trying to explain, or get traumatized. Imagine traumatizing ponies trying to explain warfare, battles, and the sheer amount of death. I think Celestia banishing away Luna pushed her to her limit in being traumatized, and refused to share the burden of truly knowing battle with anypony else in a extremely unhealthy reaction to keep her ponies in the dark from anything bad at all. So it's also Luna's fault too. A lot of things are Luna's fault. They are also the Ponies' fault, because Luna.
Then Phasma comes in with casual knowledge of Sun Tzu, Rainbow Six Siege, and probably Total War. I think Celestia could outmaneuver him as a general easily with equal troops, but you know. Ponies vs Changelings is not equal at all. The Police Force vs a Prepared Professional Army, each changeling is a weaker alicorn in versatility and can all use real damaging spells. They all got magic lasers, and the ability to supply themselves just by having ponies. Little need for real food.
Sadly, if Celestia really was on the alert and the ponies actually considered a large amount of shipment delays with the proper suspicion, and had a force, she could probably do something about it, but she is not. The Guard didn't even consider banditry, for Luna's sake man. Large amount of shipment delays: Hmmmm unknown.
If this was Real Life, the Griffons would have invaded Equestria about ten times by now, whether Celestia could raise the sun or not, assuming she doesn't just diplo-mancy them away.
To be honest, Celestia should be basically Legendary at the art of diplomacy, but the show doesn't express that so I'm delving into double and triple headcanon headcanons at this point.
10632257
You mean like the jealousy that was present before the three tribes United?
I mean, if we go that route, then that is just one of the many difference between earth ponies, pegasi, and bone heads they've already learned to put behind them.
10632257
I mean, some people headcanon it so that the earth ponies magic is simply not researched on and developed properly. Of course, there is no reason for this to exist without pulling in a systemic unicorn racism plot or immense incompetence so enough said. Immense incompetence by either Celestia (to be honest, for a mixture of all 3 species, I don't recall an alicorn ever using earth pony magic at all. Not even the strength part: Celestia loses the battle with Chrysalis by having her horn injured. She doesn't even consider brawling against Chrysalis, unless horn damage = debilitating pain.) or by the earth ponies wanting to keep to themselves and all being traditionalists and not considering progress. Which doesn't make any sense as the boundaries between the three races are mostly destroyed by the start of canon but yes.
10632553
Oh yeah, it's also worth mentioning that Applejack is meant as a paragon of earth ponies, and she's not going to be jealous of something she doesn't need. (Twilight and Rainbow are a similar deal for their own tribes)
Oh my god I love the decision to change perspectives for this chapter <3
Oooh, looks like we're gonna have to accelerate towards Canterlot.
10632182
OMFG I totally missed this! Lovely reference.
Is Star a he or she? I'm seeing a conflicting sentence here, and no I won't quote the paragraph just because I think it'll be fun to have other readers go look for it. Good hunting!
Edit: Oh wait, hmm now that I look at it again, it's just confusing as to whether it was referencing Honey. Probably is, but is still confusing because the last name stated in the sentence was Star. And for some reason, that sounds like a mare's name.
10632519
Dude... I could kiss you.
10632526
Damn fine points. That what ponykind is going to deal with more or less i guess:
10632562
Yeah... That a really big overlooked thing in general:
that was rather a close one, that one guard could have warned canterlot.
good thing all guards are useless idiots xD
10632177
i liked the therory from a anoter story: where toddlers had to learn how to push there magic in there hooves to grab things.
that ether happens with help ore by instinkt. bevore that ore by disability they just cant hold onto enything.
localised telekinesis on the hooves i guess.
10632177
Either one is fine. I'm pretty sure earth ponies have been doing both in the show.
And if you do go with using hooves to grip stuff, the mechanism isn't worth drawing attention to unless it's an important plot point for getting your characters into or out of trouble.
Should be complement.
A compliment is an expression of praise. Complement is to combine with or to make something complete.
10632716
Huh, didn't now that, the error has been corrected.
10632526
While I do agree that culturally ponies are completely unprepared for actual conflict and Phasma's human background gives him a slight advantage in that regard, I feel as if you're highly overrating Phasma's innate military prowess.
Most people only know Sun Tzu for the name and the book, and not much of the actual content thereof. And while he may know basic room-clearing tactics from things like R6:S or SWAT-esque media, or that 'hammer-and-anvil = good', his actual knowledge is immensely tertiary and surface-level. Where Phasma really is shining in regards to his human life is his basic knowledge of logistics and administration, which is arguably ten-times more effective than any actual combat strategy or tactic he might've picked up beforehand.
10632742
Rather, Logistics is more important than Tactics. Yes.
But at the same time he doesn't seem to have implemented distinctly human logistics. It could easily be sourced from his changeling knowledge. In addition, I think knowledge of logistics outside of what we call "common sense" is more rare. In fact, the levels of administration, discipline, and logistics it'd take to manage a large scale, long term infiltration is probably far beyond any and all basic human knowledge. I see no reason how this immense experience couldn't be applied to warfare. In addition, as Sun Tzu has said, "All warfare is based on deception". Case in point: Changelings. Changelings may not have too much real experience with war, but they have the right mindset and experience in more important things than tactics, like discipline to stay calm and beat out the enemies in morale, to an army-like trust in officers, and finally generals with lots of experience in large scale logistics, if in a different type of logistics.
10632742
10632760
~Actual Sun Tzu quote.
Phasma understands a few basic concepts, like using a direct attack to engage the enemy and an indirect attack to win, as well as appearing strong when you are weak and vice versa, but ultimately you're both right. Knowledge of administration/logistics as well as basic understanding of warfare/tactics, specifically modern urban fighting, gives Phasma an edge when fighting the ponies, which he then passed off to the Legions.
Ultimately, this would all be for nothing if Equestria was prepared and could muster an army to fight, as it can field over a fifty times the fighting force of the Hive. But they didn't, as this is a surprise Blitzkrieg, a tactic Phasma definitely understands, headed straight for the entirety of the civilian and military high command.
10632770
Equestria would no doubt completely outnumber the Hive. Especially if they have embraced
Napoleonic NationalismTotal War Dedicating all the nation's resources and people to war due to an inherent pride in one's nation or are in a position to embrace it without realizing it yet. Which is probably. The one thing Celestia has done very well militarily is probably that.10632257
This issue is addressed in one of the heartwarming special in season 2. They each rely on each other to survive. Apparently earth ponies have an affinity for growing food. its a fair trade all around. As for the hoof holding they just sorta do. some of the times though its done with both hooves and they stand on their hind legs or they just somehow hold it. how they do it isnt really know and its not really much of an issue since you know. the shows target audience was kids who didnt care whether or not it was real.
10632788
Which is directly the problem. There is an inherent problem with how earth ponies are relegated the "honor" of being farmers, and that's not addressed since it's a kids show. I want a more balanced universe.
10632770
I think he knows a little bit more about fighting than you do pal, because he invented it! And then he perfected it so no living man could best him in the ring of honor!
But yeah, Phasma is certainly sound in his strategy of blitzing Canterlot whilst defeating them in detail along the way. Barring some Harmony or Discord shenanigans that totally have a zero possibility of happening, it all should certainly pan out
10632177
My favorite fan theory is that each tribe does things differently. Pegasi use their affinity for weather and cloudwalking to generate a magnetic field around their hoof. Earth ponies are more in control of their bodies, and can actually flex their hoof (imagine a hoof shaped sock puppet). And unicorns have no way to use their hooves, they are entirely dependent on their magic.
10632832
Yeah basically.
If Canterlot was built and/or modified with defense in mind, Shining Armor's shield during the wedding would be one of many layers of defenses against aerial, ground based, and magical invasion. But it isn't. And even if it was, they'd be sabotaged because the guards wouldn't be properly alert for an invasion anyways. The wrong mentality in the wrong place can make all the difference.
You underestimate how successful Guerilla Warfare can be against odds however. If it was just the Changelings, they'd be getting first hoof experience on how Guerilla Warfare works. On the other hand, Guerilla Warfare requires both Nationalism and a whole lotta courage, so it would be a slow ride. On the other hand, Nightmare Moon easily crushed it in canon, so it definitely doesn't stand a chance, unless you count6 certain poniesas apart of Guerilla Warfare. Ironically enough, while ponies suck at war, they'd be really good at countering guerilla warfare from what I've read. The political war is a major aspect in all attempts, and a hostile populace spells doom to most attempts at it.Edit: When you realize you can just disguise as the population and blend right in and infiltrate every attempt a Guerilla Warfare, instantly spelling doom due to simply knowing every operation they try before its done. Also the fear aspect.
10632850
I mean, in the alternate universe where the Changelings won, they were literally in the process of crushing the last of the rebellion when Twilight and Spike escaped.
But moreso to the point, everything is predicated on Celestia being in Canterlot, when Celestia was officially scheduled to be in Ponyville before she got AWOL'd by Nightmare Moon. And as well, the Elements are basically a non-lethal WMD, so again it could be something overlooked that would certainly throw a massive wrench in Phasma's plans
10632912
This story and the world it plays in. All looks nice and sounds like fun but the context is bleak:
Princesses? As in plural? Does he plan to betray Luna or something?
Only Celestia is ruling right now, and Chrysalis is a queen. A more accurate description of a queen and princess would be royals, but the changeling he was talking to might not be in the circle, so it would make the most sense for him to say princess. (Unless this actually is foreshadowing.)
10633250
Cadence
10632822
I’d say stick with the canon unless it’s important to the story. If you really want to you could make them the strongest since they do a lot of hard work. Which could work since Pegasi have weaker bones and unicorns usually are seen using magic instead of actual body strength thus never gaining actual body strength.
10633250
You forgot about princess Cadence. It was mentioned multiple times that they would need to fight her and Celestia. Nightmare is not a target.