Are Tanks Canon?

[Skygunner 352]

There literally is no battery better way to ask that. (It's late the puns just fall out, sorry). But are tanks as in, these things.

 

 

Canon, as in established via the show, Not the things they can be armed with.

 

 

 

Why do I ask? Well, simply because in the song "art of the dress"

 

 

Rarity sings

"Even though it rides high on the flank

Rainbow won't look like a tank"

 

 

 

For the longest time I've considered it. What other sort of "tank" could she be comparing Dash to?

 

Water Tank, I suppose? Sweet apple acres does have a water tower, topped off with a large water tank. However, you usually call that a "water tank" or a "water tower". Just saying "tank" usually implies the mechanized armour.

 

From the show itself that steam engines are cannon. Apart from Appleoosa, they are driven by coal feed boilers and what we can consider a conventional steam engine. This is confirmed in MMMystery on the Friendship express when Pinky visits the engine and a shrouded fluttershy is stoking the boiler.

 

Steam driven tanks have existed in human history, only for a brief period before diesel and petrol engines improved, along with armoured traction engines which some people (not me) consider to be early tanks.

 

Working more in pony terms, Flim and Flam's Super Speed Cider Squeezy 6000, has no form of propulsion. All mechanical bits, which prove to be very complicated, are dedicated to the conversion of apples into top notch, grade A, blow your horses off 1 of a kind cider. There is no visible transmission. Mind you it does have a stack for venting and can be seen ejecting vapors (steam? cider fumes?) in its first appearance.

 

Flim and Flam claim that the machine works solely on their magic, so why there's even a funnel who knows, maybe they are lying to which raises the question of what is its fuel...but that's another post. orphan hearts. Regardless machines typically work under the idea that something spinning, causes a lot of other stuff. So their magical ability may very well be causing things to spin. (I actually have an OC like that...huh....) So if they can turn their machine, what if they also turn the wheels in order to propel it. Again, there is no visible transmission or even a way to steer.

 

A few other bits of cannon brought to my attetnon by others. Rainbow Dashes pet tortise is named tank. A line used to describe him being

"You just can't stop that little guy. He's like a... like a... tank!"

 

This once again brings up the argument that for them to use such phrases, then they have to have an idea of what it is. The context of such statement implying the armour, rather than a large storage container.

 

So whether its a Magic powered tank, or a steam driven tank, can tanks not exist in the land of Equestria?

Edited January 21, 2013 by Skygunner

[Skygunner 352]

Hmmm....you want my opinion? You're WAY over thinking this. It's a kid's show, not every small phrase or saying has to fit into the universe exactly. 

Of course I am,

 

Just mentioning of it gives us validation to explore and over analyze, make wild theories, weird fan fiction, and well...wherever it is all that bronies do. (Isn't that sorta how this community developed anyway?)

 

 

My Little Pony and tanking are quite the couple already. (World of tanks if you don't know the game)

[Thewookie Wooker 64]

Of course I am,

 

Just mentioning of it gives us validation to explore and over analyze, make wild theories, weird fan fiction, and well...wherever it is all that bronies do. (Isn't that sorta how this community developed anyway?)

 

 

My Little Pony and tanking are quite the couple already. (World of tanks if you don't know the game)

 

 

Hetzer Tank Destroyer, Twilight Class

 

This deadly tank destroyer was built by a Brony in the Wehrmacht in 1940 after watching the show.

[kain17 88]

awesome tank btw. on the subject tho i don't think she meant that kind of tank but who know maybe   also dashes tortoise is also named tank. so maybe there is some truth to this

[Sepraxian 36]

Of course military tanks are canon, just listen to the last minutes of S2E07 "May the best pet win!":

 

You just can't stop that little guy. He's like a... like a... tank!

 

Also I would like to point out that according to this episode, bullets are also canon.

 

Even if it is overanalyzing, it's fun. "X is canon", as ridiculous as it can be, is entertaining. Just imagine if somepony comes up with a huge, complete list of things that are canon.

Hm...

Edited January 21, 2013 by Sepraxian

[Skygunner 352]

Of course military tanks are canon, just listen to the last minutes of S2E07 "May the best pet win!":

 

 

Also I would like to point out that according to this episode, bullets are also canon.

 

Even if it is overanalyzing, it's fun. "X is canon", as ridiculous as it can be, is entertaining. Just imagine if somepony comes up with a huge, complete list of things that are canon.

Hm...

Lists are definitely cannon

 

Dunno how I forgot about tank the turtle tortoise, oh wait, maybe because he's unlikeable. Thanks everypony for pointing that out.

 

 

When did bullets get mentioned?

[Gdrlowmgqwmhopqw 107]

No, no! That is not what Rarity meant! All wrong!

This, right here, is what she meant:

 

Left 4 Dead is totally canon now, right guys?

 

...

 

guys?

 

 

[Skygunner 352]

No, no! That is not what Rarity meant! All wrong!

This, right here, is what she meant:

 

Left 4 Dead is totally canon now, right guys?

 

...

 

guys?

 

 

well...we do know that zombies are cannon......

 

There are multiple occasions where spike literally freaks out about them. So left 4 pony can surely happen.....

 

Maybe that's why they have tanks anyway. Armour not so much to keep enemy shells subdued but more to keep the ponies inside safe from zombie ponies. So really more like APCs at that point, but whatever.

 

 

BTW if you're looking to enjoing tanks and ponies then might I suggest

 

http://mlpforums.com/topic/33623-world-of-tanks/

 

checking out that thread, which is dedicated to the best tanking game on the market. And by market, I mean free. Where do ponies come in? With MODS.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Skygunner

[Firelord Derpy 310]

I imagine Equestria has a military, probably a small one that is unneeded but is still kept just in case of emergency. I would guess would probably have magic powered guns and tanks.

Of course given the peaceful nature of Equestria it would be used mainly in disaster relief and probably has not seen combat or war in a couple hundred years.

I would also imagine that the reason the royal Canterlot guards use spears is because they are for ceremony and police action. Same with the Wonderbolts.

[Concord 1,980]

Hello!

 

I really really doubt that they're canon... I mean, i haven't seen nor heard of one being in equestria... It's just no the right age there for a tank...

[Scootalove 10,684]

Can't be canon. Sure, it is was mentioned by Rarity. But, Equestria doesn't have any tanks.

Pretty much, there are only guards, and well the Mane 6.

[Bucky McGillyCuddy 956]

You're WAY over thinking this.

 

 

Heh... Welcome to MLPForums    

 

 

Rarity sings "Even though it rides high on the flank Rainbow won't look like a tank"

 

 

Rainbow Dash says also says this about pet tortoise "you just can't stop that guy...he's like a, tank!" 

I don't think she meant water tank   So you never know.

 

Maybe the Flim and Flam brothers have a prototype in the works...Who knows.

Edited January 21, 2013 by Bucky_McGillycuddy

[I used to be a stranger 7,989]

Bullets and cannons have also been mentioned at other times.

However I do not think that mechanized weapon platforms will ever be brought up or considered. The closest we might ever get would be chariots--probably armed with ponies riding them holding spears. (It wouldn't be unusual considering the horse-drawn horse carriages being drawn by horses in Over a Barrel.)

 

Tanks, I would file alongside firearms, realistically considered aircraft/land craft/submarines/sea navigation/mountain climbing/space travel, serious intimate relationships, zeppelins, swords, medicine and electrical engineering-- all things which both are outside the relevant subject matter for a children's show, and would be very distracting from any story within the episode.

 

Heck, let's take an application of one of those things I just said. Let's say a season finale was about "The recovery of Princess Star, who was frozen and left stranded in space" and the episode was about Rainbow Dash and Twilight being selected to fly a special mission into outer space to get her back. Sure, there could be lots of drama and Equestrian interest in an episode like that, but they'd never actually talk about it how it would be considered in real life. (I.e: Intermedial contact and rendezvous recovery from above high orbit. They'd call it "save her from being trapped in outer space.")

 

Tanks by any stretch of the imagination would presuppose a pretty heavy armed conflict to contextualize, and the show has never demonstrated itself to ever suggest that sort of story situation.

 

But for the sake of fan-art or fictions or whatever, nothing really stops anyone in this sort of regard.

[Skygunner 352]

I see this evolving into a bigger question, namely

 

"what does it take to establish cannon"

 

 

In this case, it's a lack of visually seeing it. We have mutliple references to it, mentioning it, but have yet to see it.

 

 

To which I'd argue with a question via analogy.

 

Is the city of Fillydelphia cannon? It's mentioned many times by many different ponies, yet we've never actually seen it. Tanks are the same way, multile references to them, just never seen them.

 

 

It doesn't' have to be a heavily armed and armoured modern main battle tank, and we're starting to get into what defines a "tank". Well, tracks, armed, and armoured are usually the minimum requirements...but then it gets squiffy.

 

 

Lets assume that in a future episode Pinky Pie were to come across a very large town that just needed a party, but the route to it is swampy. They took a carriage and placed treads around its wheels, twilight being more than smart enough to know that doing so would decrease the ground pressure allowing the cart to not sink in as badly. Pinky mounts her party cannon onto it, and they enclose it to protect them from rain. Twilight then uses her magic or AJ runs on a treadmill attached to simple gears to turn the wheels.

 

The ponies then proceed to go around the swampy city, shooting parties at everything. Would that not be a tank, at least in terms of Ponies?

 

 

A tank in our world is a warmachine. Military is something already established visually in the show.

 

 

 

 

As for the whole swampy city in dire need of a party. well, pinky probably has long range party artillery for such emergencies

 

 

 

 

Part of me really likes the idea of shooting parties at people.

[Key Gear 6,662]

Building on the post immediately preceding mine, I would like to note that what determines and does not determine the "official" canon of the show seems to be based on what the writers need at a given point in time. When the show first began, I was expecting something sort of archaic as far as technology goes. Since that time, we have *seen* the following things that surprised me when I saw them:

• Flashlights (Read it and Weep)
• "Computers" (Feeling Pinkie Keen)
• Arcade games (Hearts and Hooves Day)
• A humidifier (A Bird in the Hoof)
• Lasers (MMMMystery on the Friendship Express)

I've reached the general conclusion that anything and everything is possible within the world of the show based on what the writer's need to have for the sake of humor or whatever else. 

 

I seem to recall that Lauren Faust, herself, was asked about the technology level in Equestria. Let me see if I can find her commentary... Ah! Here it is.

 

 

I always wanted the default technology of the show to be a bit medieval in nature; but since this is a whimsical, non-serious show, I felt there was plenty of wiggle room.  I think ultimately it was just my personal comfort level in each individual story.  If it screwed up the story to get too technical about how primitive the technology was, it wasn’t worth it. So, if we needed cameras, I just wanted those cameras to be relatively workable to a creature with no fingers.  And if we absolutely positively HAD to have an electrical appliance (which we often did), I just told myself that it was enchanted by some magical unicorn mechanic at some point.  However, I insisted that such an attitude was to be considered only as a last creative resort - don’t use a light switch when you could use a candle, just because you’re feeling lazy.  Don’t draw a hoof unnaturally and awkwardly wrapped around an umbrella because you don’t feel like thinking about it a little more. Overall, though, it was definitely not a strict approach - and it’s hardly consistent.  Humor and ease of storytelling took precedence over technicality.

 

 

So, there you have it. I would argue that the point that I've highlighted in bold fits with what I was saying earlier, but I would like to segue from this point to another one. Personally, I think that if the show's writers can bend technology for the purposes of storytelling, then the fanon should inherit this ability without dilution. In other words, what do you need for the story? Spaceships, tanks, lightsabers, Greek philosophers? Go for it.

 

Before you tar and feather me, hear me out. Isn't that one of the reasons that she show is so amazingly loved? I think that the fact that the show doesn't attempt to rigidly dictate a canon technology level is freeing for the authors, artists, and musicians that create content for the show. (Yes, musicians too. It has to help to imagine ponies chilling to dubstep.) Unintentionally or not, the show's policies have created a candyland for our imaginations. You can literally start with a premise and run wild with it. 

 

Of course, Blue is right. Most, if not the great majority, of the elements in fanon that stray too far away from child-friendliness will never appear in the show proper, but... I do not think that this should constrain the imagination when it comes to the fandom. That would be boring.

 

 

Just as a side note, I am a turkey. I used to be a chicken. Tarring and feathering me would be an accomplishment of negligible merit. Though, certainly, the tar would burn if it was warm. Drop ice cubes in it, and then the situation might be workable. Wearing so many features would be quite uncomfortable, though, but I will manage if that is the punishment dictated by my heresy.

 

[Kaidan 16]

Of course I am,

 

Just mentioning of it gives us validation to explore and over analyze, make wild theories, weird fan fiction, and well...wherever it is all that bronies do. (Isn't that sorta how this community developed anyway?)

 

 

My Little Pony and tanking are quite the couple already. (World of tanks if you don't know the game)

 

If world of tanks let me paint my tank like that, I'd log back in this very instant. in game purchase be damned, Twilight would be out for blood!

[Skygunner 352]

If world of tanks let me paint my tank like that, I'd log back in this very instant. in game purchase be damned, Twilight would be out for blood!

Well get downloaing

 

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/95177-083mlpfim-my-little-pony-mod-compilation-w-complete-overhaul-package/

 

 

My little pony total conversion pack, Tank Skins, pony crews, pony voices, pony music, everything pony. I personally just use the voice pack, but you choose your level of immersion.

[hawkflame 3,308]

well...we do know that zombies are cannon......

 

We know that they exist as a (possibly fictional) concept, we don't know if they exist in the show.

 

Hello!

 

I really really doubt that they're canon... I mean, i haven't seen nor heard of one being in equestria... It's just no the right age there for a tank...

 

This is a world where European fantasy-style kingdoms, modern dance club style DJs (complete with turntables), and the wild west exist at the same time.  I don't think that "the right age" really matters.

 

(I just had a thought of how odd it would be if Princess Celestia and her royal guard showed up in Appleoosa alongside Vinyl Scratch...)

[Unique Pinkie Pie 173]

you do know tank can mean really tough so THINK before you TALK lets look at L4D they did a good example for it a special infected called the TANK which is a really tough and strong but is also rare

[Sks_Burns 730]

i tend to subscribe to the theory that Rarity is refering to a strong warrior pony, or tank as theyre called in mmoprgs and similar games. Due to Equestrias peaceful nature, i dont believe that metal tracked vehicles exist anymore, or if they do, theyre a well kept secret. Rarity simply doesnt want RBD to looks brutish, but instead she wants to exemplify her natural poise and grace.

[Kaidan 16]

Well get downloaing

 

http://forum.worldoftanks.com/index.php?/topic/95177-083mlpfim-my-little-pony-mod-compilation-w-complete-overhaul-package/

 

 

My little pony total conversion pack, Tank Skins, pony crews, pony voices, pony music, everything pony. I personally just use the voice pack, but you choose your level of immersion.

you just made my day week month year. This sounds like it will be a ridiculous amount of fun, and after all the hours I put into WoT it'll be nice to roll around in a Twilight Sparkle T-29. Thanks

[Harmonic Revelations 8,833]

Tank could also mean a hulking character, someone who is too masculine or buff. I think you misunderstood the word tank, like I said, it has multiple meanings.

[SørenWolf 227]

I am not going to repeat everything that has already been said (and this might have already been said but i didn't read every post carefully) Anyway I would like to add Exhibit T(ank) to the gallery:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtAVuyBlwsk

 

Obviously his name has go come from somewhere

Edited January 23, 2013 by SorenWolf

[Veylon 255]

Tank could also mean a hulking character, someone who is too masculine or buff. I think you misunderstood the word tank, like I said, it has multiple meanings.

It only has those meanings because there are armored vehicles called tanks (which are themselves called tanks because that was the code word for them back in the day). It's like how "backpedal" comes from bicycling and playing "red light green light" references traffic signals. Absent those things, the words have no basis.

 

Although Rarity could be referring to the various boxy water storage containers about. And Rainbow's pet moves about as fast as one.

[Gdrlowmgqwmhopqw 107]

If i were to be serious for a moment and forget the silly thing i posted before; just become something is mentioned in the show, doesn't mean it exists in its universe. Just like magic doesn't exist in "our world", but we know about it because it is fantasy/fiction. Maybe their world has its own made up fantasies and fiction?