Choosing Sides

[ForgottenExistance]

After a particularly heated discussion with one of my friends over which side would triumph in a civil war between the New Lunar Republic and the Solar Empire, I found that it raised a really interesting question. That being; which side would your characters be the most likely to join, and what side do you think would win? Cast your vote, and discuss! ^^

XD I ain't trying to start an argument here, just state what side your OC's would join, which side you think would win, and why on all accounts.



Nightfall: In this case, Nightfall would obviously be on the side of the NLR. Her loyalty to Luna wouldn't fail, and would cause herself to fight teeth and hoof for the glory of the night. She would also utilize her skills of military jargon to boost the morale of her soldiers, and inspire them to fight to the death rather then retreat. While she commands the elite guard of Luna herself, she also would be one to fight on the front lines, if only to boost morale. What better way is there to make your troops fight hard then to have your Captain fighting side-by-side with you?

Amethyst Glow: While she's certainly no soldier, and has no combat experience whatsoever, Amethyst would join the war effort for the side of the Solar Empire. She saw nothing wrong with the thousand years that Celestia ruled, and sees nothing wrong with her continuing to rule. Amethyst would likely provide musical entertainment for troops, or help to man medical stations.

Scarlet Arrow: Though Scarlet is entirely neutral, and she would be likely to reboot her mercenary company to the highest bidder, she would always be indebted to the Solar Empire, and would be more open to working for the side of Light. Scarlet only ever fights among the best warriors, and expects every pony in her company to pull their weight. She expects every member of her mercenary group to be the same as her; strong, smart, fast, and determined. This would be a strike-force of about 15 - 20 elite warriors.



Now, all things considered, and still realizing the fact that there would likely never be a civil war... I'd still have to cast my vote in for the Lunar Republic. Having a thousand years of ruling as a dictator will always hang over Celestia's head, even if she had to do it for a good reason. Lunar forces would also fight primarily to the death, considering that they're the revolutionaries.

[That guy is back again....]

This is an interesting topic. I think I'll leave out my various NPC's as individuals for the sake of brevity.

Firebolt would be Solar all the way, along with the entirety of the Windrider Clan. I haven't revealed too much of their history yet, but they actually have an oath of allegiance to Celestia that they will honor, tenaciously so. They'd probably be highly effective guerilla raiders, able to fight the revolutionaries on even footing and with equal tenacity. Seeing as the Clan, according to their own legends, came to this land to be free of a ruler similar in persona to Nightmare Moon, they'd be having none of this. Sum total, Firebolt would be fighting alongside about thirty fully-grown, hard-as-nails warrior pegasi, who kept the martial skill of their forebears out of necessity due to their nomadic lifestyle.

Shadowmane would be with them as well, but he would more likely be causing all sorts of problems for the NLR's communications and recruitment, seeing as he's pretty much a younger, less experienced Batman. He'd also probably be one of the only ponies able to be especially dangerous to the enemy at night.

Rainsong, being the Chieftain's wife, would do some fighting in more dire circumstances, but would mostly comfort and tend to the wounded.

Sir Equestria Burns, being Knighted and all, would probably be in the fiercest fighting alongside ponies like Shining Armor. He's a heck of a swordspony, and that's putting it lightly. Imagine those eight simultaneously wielded blades operated by someone behind Armor's magical shields. Talk about scarily complimentary magic.

My money's on the Solar Empire, mainly because they'll have the overpowering numbers and immense brute force, combined with a nicely balanced elite strike team, having won twice already, and since we're using our characters, my guys to fill in any "elite warriors used to do-or-die stuff" gaps.

[Augen Horns]

Speaking for myself and my main OC: Nightlifer here. What can I say, no annoying blinding light, no annoying shadows, not as many insects, hotter princess... Yeah, gonna have to pick NLR here.

[ShadowBright]

Well, most of my OCs wouldn't fight very well, but here is what I can pull together.


SwiftShade:This was the only obvious one. Swift loves the night and shadows, and thus would align herself with the NLR all the way. That is, at the moment. With possible developments in her character, she might end up switching sides. However, another option is that she'll offer her services to the highest bidder, seeing as how she figures she could live with either princess as her ruler. Whichever side she was a part of would get a huge boost in espionage, as Swift is a master of stealth.


SapphireDust:This one is a bit harder. I guess she would end up being a blacksmith, and would learn how to enchant gems really quickly, but as to which side she would join? I really don't know. I think she would join the Solar Empire, because she was doing fine business wise during the rein of Celestia, and when Luna came along her business dropped. It might not be causation, but Sapphire would still see that, and align with Celestia.


BrightWing:Another hard one. I'm sure she would take to fighting, if only to have a piece of Dark Wind with her. She is a very inconspicuous pony, so again, she might be good with espionage. She can also create many things, and I'm sure she could branch out past rainbows pretty quickly. She may eventually be able to lighten the night, so as to take the advantage away from the NLR. I think she would eventually join the Solar Empire, because she still can't stand the night, as anything black or dark makes her cry. But she would only join the fight when she had to, when her not fighting was more dangerous than, well, fighting.


All in all, I truly think the NLR would win. As guy said, ShadowMane would be one of the few to be able to fight them during the night. Also, as ForEn said, the NLR would be more brutal, and more efficient, caring less about their social appearance, and more about winning the war.

[Ashti Sandburst]

Well.

Bastion Crown as a former royal guard, will mostly follow Celestia. Especially that the Elysion household is apart of Celestia's court. But he will always follow Ashti.

Ashti Sandburst, as an member of Elysion could be Celestia side... or Prance's side. Ashti have met Luna and Celestia in the past... but the context and above-all the welfare of his nation will be determining. I think Deerham, which try to bound with Equestria will mostly remain with Celestia... except if Celestia's behavior and politic is too risky for them. The Reis will probably break the bond (if there is bond) and remain neutral... or doing a coalition with its ally nation : Kamelu and Cervidas. In short, Ashti will follow the Reis' order or chose what would be better for Deerham.

[That guy is back again....]

YO AUGEN I'M HAPPY FOR YOU AND IMMA LET YOU FINISH, BUT PRINCESS CADANCE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS OF ALL TIME! ALL TIME!

Jokes aside, I think everyone forgot that if Equestria goes to war, so does the Crystal Empire. As tough as Luna and company are, can they really handle the might of two Empires at once, both of which have extensive experience dealing with dark creatures like Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, and Chrysalis?

[ForgottenExistance]

This is actually a very good point, Guy. But the Lunar forces also have Luna's experiences of dealing with Discord and Chrysalis, and how she was managed to be defeated as Nightmare Moon. They have personal insight for both receiving defeat and dealing defeat, which would allow their tacticians to work out creative ways to avoid how the previous enemies were defeated. Also, consider the fact that the Luna Guard had a thousand years to guard Canterlot. They know it just as well as the Solar Guard, and would know where the weaknesses are. This would mean that they could guide the rest of their supporters in taking the castle, or even just cutting the castle off from the rest of the world by destroying the supply lines.

Of course, the Solar forces could change their tactics, and even build new supply lines. But imagine the morale for both sides? It would be friend fighting friend, sister fighting sister, comrades fighting comrades. There would be so many defectors on both sides, the tide of the war would change practically daily! XD

[That guy is back again....]

True that, although the friend against friend thing would most likely be confined to the elite, actual troops. The Crystal and Solar Empires at large already fear and despise Nightmare Moon, so militia and new recruits would largely be Solar. And if we're talking reality shaking clashes, we must also remember that Discord is now one of the Good Guys. Or at the very least, with whoever Fluttershy supports. And with Luna's inability to use the Elements...well, he's kind of unstoppable.

"Look at me. Now look at your army. Now back to me. YOUR ARMY IS NOW MUFFINS."

[ForgottenExistance]

Though I agree with you that whomever Discord supports would have the edge, this would be a very difficult thing to guess. Discord is, by nature, random to say the least. If civil war broke out, there would be just as high of a chance of him joining Luna as there would of him joining Celestia. But at the same time, it would be logical to assume that he would just back away and watch the chaos unfurl on its own, while sipping iced beverages and laughing his back off.

Also, consider that Celestia ruled over Equestria as a dictator for a thousand years. Everything she said was law, and no one else got the chance to oppose her. It wasn't stated anywhere that Celestia ever stepped down to let somepony else rule. Imagine if you were a citizen living under that; would you eventually think that it wasn't fair to have one leader rule for multiple lifetimes? I choose to believe so, and think that there would be a lot of ponies who would join the Lunar Republic, if only for a change in leadership. Even then, there would still be those who don't have the chance to run off and join the Lunar Republic, so instead they choose to fight revolutionary style; boycotting, rioting, manipulation, and just general anarchistic rebellion. It only takes one pony to cause a riot, and if one Luna supporter a day decided to make a riot, then there could essentially be non-stop rioting in the Solar-allied cities. Of course, the same could be said for Celestia supporters in Lunar-allied cities. So rioting and anarchistic actions would be unavoidable for both sides, making recruitment numbers take a hefty dive.

[That guy is back again....]

Honestly, I've never been a big supporter of the "Dark Side of Equestria" idea. Life generally seems to be pretty excellent for the most part, and people seem to really like their ruler, regardless of how long she's reigned. I've always thought that people who went in for that sort of thing inserted to much real-world politics and power-abuse into the scene. I mean, it's a Noble Bright universe, with about Zero grim-dark. Celestia and the Mane Six saved them from Nightmare Moon, Discord, and Chrysalis recently. And in the Crystal Empire, they were just broken loose out of an actual tyrant's curse.

The point being, aside from Luna's troops and a disgruntled pony here or there, I really doubt you'd find any ponies who have anything against Celestia, period, let alone the two other Princesses arrayed against Luna, both of which are well-known heroes of the people.

As for Discord, while he is chaosy, he'll stick by Fluttershy, and she'll stick by Twilight, who will never be more than one step away from being right in line with Cadance and Celestia.

[ForgottenExistance]

This is true, considering that poor Discord only has one friend. XD But would he go so far as to actually help in the war efforts, or would he just help Fluttershy?

Also, civil war brings out the worst in ponies. Laws would be lax, meaning that criminals would come out to play, as it were. Then there are the unavoidable naturally rebellious or anarchistic ponies (*Cough* Guy Fawkes *Cough*). With this in mind, and the fact that it only takes one silver-tongued pony to spark something up, then it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that there would be riots regardless. And on the same topic of silver-tongued ponies; there would be a lot of lies bouncing around to create unrest in the cities of both sides. Manipulation, deceit, twisting of the truth, and all that fun stuff. Since emotions and tensions would run high during a time of war, it would also be logical to assume that many ponies would fall for the propaganda and anti-propaganda for both sides.

[That guy is back again....]

True that. If there are ponies dense enough to listen to Flim and Flam, or Trixie, then there are ponies dense enough to listen to anything.

Discord would definitely help, because Twilight's too smart not to recognize the superweapon her friend has access to.

[yokie13]

Honestly, Willow would probably just try to lay low until the war stopped. But she would be partial to Celestia. I think that the two would be evenly matched, thus leading in on a never ending war. Until, of course, one backs down. I think that the NLR would back down first because princess Celestial has so many to keep her going, and in my head the crystal empire would join Celestial because in my mind crystals and light go together. But then again, mabye queen chrysalis comes to take the oppertunity and takes over. Just throwing out some possible things that could happen. But I vote the solar empire would win because I think that celestial has more willpower. After all, she managed to continue to rule as a gteat quee even after she banished her little sister to the moon. The little sister, may I remind you, whom she loved so much. Anyway, just my opinion.

[CableZ]

Gotta say as the guy who plays Discord, I'd probably help Celestia, or maybe just play pranks on both armies, that sounds more fun...yeah I'm just gonna prank everyone.

No but for reals, he would do whatever Fluttershy asked him to in the effort of keeping her as a friend, but the question is would fluttershy want to ask him to do that

[Xelliea]

Of course, the fun comes when I throw my disgraceful array of NPCs into the mix. Oh yes, Alicorn hell. I can see a lot of either coups or apathy.

However, PCs?

Ember: Luna (Seeing as her father is a Night Guard)
Astral: Luna (Night Guard)
Codii: Luna (Probably not too worried, to be honest. I say Luna because her friends would go for Luna)
Lux: Luna (Most of his friends are either Night Guards or friends of Night Guards)
Evy: Luna (Night Guard)
Hasta: Luna (Night Guard)
Hypie: Luna (Simply because Hasta would pick Luna)
Aurora: Celestia (Probably because Celestia looks prettier, not too worried)
Zephyr: Luna (Same as Codii)

Almost a clean sweep for Luna.


Then again, I voted for Celestia to win. Mainly because I think she'd have more soldiers, better trained soldiers, the power of the EoH (through Twilight), better knowledge of the terrain, better support if she played things right (Why not play the Nightmare Moon card? We know most ponies still fear her). Over all, I think Luna's uprising just wouldn't have the power or support it would need.