War

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

 

 

But the changelings openly invaded Canterlot.

With a death toll of zero on both sides.

 

 

 

While inner pony conflicts may not occur, other races have shown the ability and want to wage battle with Equestria.

-Diamond dogs or buffalo are clearly nowhere near posing a menace to Equestria

-Griffons have shown no hostility whatsoever

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

With a death toll of zero on both sides.

 

 

-Diamond dogs or buffalo are clearly nowhere near posing a menace to Equestria

-Griffons have shown no hostility whatsoever

Doesn't mean dragons could not invade, as they pass through. And the show never addressed weather or not there were deaths, and if you look at the websters dictionary definition of War, death is not needed to make it a act of war, or a one day war.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I'm sure they've had wars in the past. Back in the day when there were pony tribes, I'm sure there was conflict. There is also probably war torn areas of the Equestrian world. Possibly the Zebra, or Griffon homelands? Who knows.

 

I wonder if there has ever been a Pony World War? 

[Silverwisp the Bard 2,353]

 

 

And the show never addressed weather or not there were deaths

Yeah,pretty sure there weren't.

 

 

if you look at the websters dictionary definition of War, death is not needed to make it a act of war, or a one day war.

I never said there wasn't conflict, just that it wouldn't include all the murder, pillaging and rape that goes along with human wars.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Yeah,pretty sure there weren't.

 

I never said there wasn't conflict, just that it wouldn't include all the murder, pillaging and rape that goes along with human wars.

Until someone official says that there were or were not, you can be sure all you want, but it will never be a confirmed fact. And not all human wars include pillaging and rape, as there were examples of conflicts called wars that had 0 deaths posted in this thread earlier. The OP asked if there had been wars in equestria's past, and the vernacular used in several episodes (and having use of the english word tank) go to show that there is a strong chance there has been. And with the changelings invading the city of canterlot in the season 2 finale, there has already been a canon showing of what one could define as a small war.

 

And it is a show marketed for girls aged 2-11, of course there will never be any warfare on a large or violent scale.

[Anneal 2,194]

Until someone official says that there were or were not, you can be sure all you want, but it will never be a confirmed fact. And not all human wars include pillaging and rape, as there were examples of conflicts called wars that had 0 deaths posted in this thread earlier. The OP asked if there had been wars in equestria's past, and the vernacular used in several episodes (and having use of the english word tank) go to show that there is a strong chance there has been. And with the changelings invading the city of canterlot in the season 2 finale, there has already been a canon showing of what one could define as a small war.

 

And it is a show marketed for girls aged 2-11, of course there will never be any warfare on a large or violent scale.

 

Well, some people don't consider "bloodless wars" to be actual warfare in their definition. Some only consider war to be war if it involves killing, while others define it more broadly as "armed conflict". There were actually declarations of war in some of these "wars", but then again, a good number of wars didn't start off with the classical "declaration".

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Well, some people don't consider "bloodless wars" to be actual warfare in their definition. Some only consider war to be war if it involves killing, while others define it more broadly as "armed conflict". There were actually declarations of war in some of these "wars", but then again, a good number of wars didn't start off with the classical "declaration".

But I am tentative to only call wars were people die "wars" in the FiM, as it is clearly meant for little kids, so there never will be war in the human sense were you have large scale bloodshed and violence, as outside bloodless DBZ fights, they cannot show violence. So I think we need a more refined definition of war for the FiM universe, as since it is largely marketed towards children, it cannot have mass scale warfare.

[Washougal_Otaku 1,020]

I could see several types of wars between different sentient races in this world, even within their own kinds.  I seriously doubt that the unicorns had always lived peacefully with each other.

[Jeric 46,836]

More likely there were smaller conflicts that were not particularly bloody, at least amoung the Pony tribes/ nations. I expect maybe more of a Cold War / economic war concept.

 

Maybe more open hostilities between Ponies and Griffons or another of the sentient species in the world. I don't know.

[Forlong 1,725]

They will have a war that is so devastating, that it brings about near-apocalyptic doom to Equestria.  Fallout: Equestria will become canon one way or another!

[King Sejong 858]

   That would depend on the battle plan, a siege for example was a common strategy for ancient and medieval military leaders, the objective was to capture a strategically important town or fort, to control the enemy supply line and subdue with fewer casualties, that was the intention anyway. A siege can be bloodier than a field battle, and occurred more often a large pitch battles, from the Siege of Alesia to the Siege and sacking of Antwerp, a siege and smaller skirmishes were the typical mainstay of military tactics of antiquity, it would seem that the ponies could have resorted to such a military campaign in the past, I do not know for sure what wars the ponies could have fought, but it would be sort of battle plan they are capable of waging, based on their equipment and accoutrements, but I do wonder if Equestria is a maritime power, having a navy would be quite a power asset.  

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

Well, they know what tanks are...

 

Seriously, though? If we ignore that it's ponies we're talking about here, I imagine the war could get pretty intense in this world. Hand-to-hand combat would be, at best, a horse kicking you in the face. And that's not even including the unicorns, who, besides being able to use weapons the other races can't, have access to magic, which just opens up so many possibilities for horrific violence by itself. We've got pyrokinesis, force lightning, the three unforgivable curses, element-bending, mindwarping, transformations, the scary Degradations, the Horse of Travesties, the Nightmare Filly, the Could-Have-Been-Princess with her army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres. The war would be hell!

[Anneal 2,194]

Well, they know what tanks are...

 

Seriously, though? If we ignore that it's ponies we're talking about here, I imagine the war could get pretty intense in this world. Hand-to-hand combat would be, at best, a horse kicking you in the face. And that's not even including the unicorns, who, besides being able to use weapons the other races can't, have access to magic, which just opens up so many possibilities for horrific violence by itself. We've got pyrokinesis, force lightning, the three unforgivable curses, element-bending, mindwarping, transformations, the scary Degradations, the Horse of Travesties, the Nightmare Filly, the Could-Have-Been-Princess with her army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres. The war would be hell!

 

That's assuming the unicorns can use these magic abilities. Many of these take a considerable amount of time to train, and can easily cause damage to oneself if not accidental damage to others. As of far, one of the few ponies who have significant skill in magic is Twilight Sparkle and possibly Starswirl in the olden times. 

 

Also, magic may have it's limits. You can't turn yourself all powerful even as a unicorn. There's got to be a stopping point where you just can't do anymore than that without possible killing yourself.

Edited May 28, 2014 by Late Suri Polomare

[XxConfusedUnicornxX 832]

Pony wars would be horrible. Unicorns can cast horrible spells, earth ponies can buck their enemies and pegasi can drop bombs and shoots their enemies from below. I'd say that pony wars would be horrible.

[Orablanco Account 3,706]

 

 

That's assuming the unicorns can use these magic abilities. Many of these take a considerable amount of time to train, and can easily cause damage to oneself if not accidental damage to others. As of far, one of the few ponies who have significant skill in magic is Twilight Sparkle and possibly Starswirl in the olden times.

 

I'm assuming all the unicorns in the EUP forces have proficient skill in magical combat. In general, I'd assume one would have to have the capacity to fight when joining the army. Otherwise it'd be like enlisting people who can't swim in the Marines.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

I'm assuming all the unicorns in the EUP forces have proficient skill in magical combat. In general, I'd assume one would have to have the capacity to fight when joining the army. Otherwise it'd be like enlisting people who can't swim in the Marines.

Oddly enough, even Twilight seems to default to 'energy beams' that just knocks ponies around when stressed. Powerful she may be, but definitely not EUP trained.

 

I'd be more concerned about a unicorn like Rarity in combat, to tell the truth. She's demonstrated the ability to finely manipulate a hundred different objects simultaneously with her telekinesis, with a range capable of manipulating a sky worth of clouds. Pair her up with Big Mac carrying ammo boxes full of thousands of iron throwing spikes, and you've got the Equestrian equivalent of a heavy machine gun crew.