So, for my one of my upcoming stories, I'm giving the Mane 6 their own individualized weapons. But I'm having trouble thinking what these weapons would be. What weapons would best suit each of the Mane 6? (Try to keep to simple weapons, such as swords and knives, if you can.)

5528299 Twilight - Mages staff
Applejack - single-handed war-hammer and heater shield and flintlock handgun (ranged)
Rainbow Dash - a hand-and-a-half sword (for its versatility) and sling
Rarity - thin longsword, buckler and crossbow
Fluttershy - Billhook, dagger and Longbow
Pinkie - Falchion and a large variety of bombs (smoke bombs, party bombs, normal bombs, petards ect)

5528593 Very specific. Did you get those from an RPG? It seems so. I don't even know what a few of those weapons even are.

Applejack gets extendable hoofblades, a heavy kite-shield with sharpened edges, and heavy barding. For the open field, she has her lance.

Rarity gets, per tradition, arrows and her virtual bow. And probably a really stylish set of silvered chainmail barding.

Pinkie is a sapper, so kettle hat, pickaxe, and a burning wick for her supply of gunpowder and primitive explosives.

Only a fool would put Fluttershy into combat. She gets a red cross armband and a travois rig for airlifting the wounded back to triage.

Rainbow breaks out her family heirlooms, that old standby, wingblades. And a set of lances and javelins. For siege work, she'll haul great heavy sharipened logs into the lower stratosphere, and ride them down at terminal velocity until they're on target, and let'em go. Sometimes she'll get Pinkie to whip her up an infernal device to mount on the her sabot spikes designed to detonate on impact, and scatter fire over the target. Pegasi make best dive-bombers.

Twilight keeps a great sword for personal protection, but her main role on the battlefield is breaking unicorn choruses. She's a one-mare formation-breaker. In big pushes, she can form her own choruses to shatter earth pony shield walls or sweep the airspace of Pegasi hussars.

5528621 Not from an RPG, from real life (except the staff). I'm a mediaeval reenactor with a keen interest in armour and weapons.

Which ones don't you know about?

The best way to design weapons for them is to define what each of the mane 6 are in terms of warrior specialization.

AJ is a tank, she would wear heavy armor and either a maul or a broadsword.

RD is a damage dealer, a combination of short swords, hoof or wing blades, and very light armor, you could almost say she would be an assasin, but she lacks the subtlety in combat to pull it off.

FS is a healer, emphasis on the healing part, she would most likely stand in the back of a fight and aid her companions. However she is also a berserker, when her rage gets high enough she would become a brutal force, but in general I would give her a staff or a bow

Rarity is a rogue, pure and simple, she wears light armor and has either daggers or a classy rapier

Pinkie is a bard. Give her a short sword and a musical instrument, but have her get a hammer out of nowhere, it just goes with her unpredictable personality.

TS is a mage, pure and simple, she has a mage staff and access to as many spells as you want to give her, plus the knowledge of how to use them effectively. If.you must give her a weapon, then give her a short sword

5528713 Well, I was able to looker up most of those on Wikipedia, but I still don't know what a 'bucker' is.

5528656 I couldn't understand most of that. Maybe I should mention that the characters are Human in the story, and that I'm not looking for anything complicated like:

she'll haul great heavy sharipened logs into the lower stratosphere, and ride them down at terminal velocity until they're on target, and let'em go. Sometimes she'll get Pinkie to whip her up an infernal device to mount on the her sabot spikes designed to detonate on impact, and scatter fire over the target.

Or:

...her main role on the battlefield is breaking unicorn choruses. She's a one-mare formation-breaker. In big pushes, she can form her own choruses to shatter earth pony shield walls or sweep the airspace of Pegasi hussars.

As I said, simple weapons. Not a full out battle plan.

5528731 Ah sorry, misspelled that, its Buckler. Its a small shield used in conjunction with a single handed weapon.

5528731 Ah, but weapons *are* a battle-plan. Weaponry and training precedes and informs tactics. For instance, if you give them pikes, then they're tied into a fairly rigid set of field-formations; phalanxes if this is pre-gunpowder, testudo if there are field artillery and hand-portable weapons like arquebuses. If they're human, then you're pretty free to give them whatever on the fine details. Applejack will still be a heavy, Rainbow Dash will be a hussar-type slash-and-dash type, Fluttershy will continue to not be a combatant. Rarity will be a details-oriented stand-off sort, Pinkie will be someone who does explosives, and Twilight will bigfoot with power and magic, assuming there's magic in this setting.

5528755 Yes, there's magic. And technology just as advanced as in real life. And no, weapons are not a battle plan. A battle plan is how you use weapons. Weapons themselves are not a battle plan.

Oh, and Fluttershy will need to fight eventually. Some form of self defense is necessary. Take the Medic from "Team Fortress Two". He's a healer-type character, but that doesn't mean he's completely defenseless without his teammates.

5528299
It is quite obvious that Rarity would only use weapons befitting a lady.
Rapier and Flintlock pistol it is.

AJ, something nice and simple for close encounters you never forget: Shotgun

Twilight... As an alicorn weaponized with magic
Rainbow Dash is capable to tear down a complete barn by hoof, does she need a weapon? If so, baseball bat
Fluttershy? Her Stare and weaponized cuteness. if you really need a weapon, I suggest a club.
Pinkie Pie? Slingshot

5528299 Applejack: Hoof mounted STEEL cross bow, longsword, heavy barding, and a large shield.
Twilight: Short sword, wizard's staff, chain mail.
Rarity: Throwing knives, daggers, shurikens, dress plated and mailed.
Rainbow Dash: Durable but light barding, enchanted hatchet, small hoof mounted magic enhanced wood crossbow, buckler with sharp edges.
Pinkie: Mace, heavy barding, musket, explosive belt, magic hammer.
Fluttershy: pistol, blowgun with healing darts, medical kit, super magnet traps, full metal buckler.

5528811 I don't know about that.
Twilight is an Alicorn, but she's not a one-mare-army.
Rainbow Dash isn't that strong. Remember she had to used a Sonic Rainboom to completely demolish the barn. And she was going at Mach 10, so it isn't surprising that she would have picked up enough speed create an explosion upon crashing.
Applejack makes sense, but I repeat that I want simple weapons.
Fluttershy isn't the type to bash someone's head in with a blunt object.
Pinkie Pie with a slingshot. That's just boring, and everyone knows that Pinkie is anything but boring. Maud however...
Rarity also makes sense, I guess.

5528831 Okay, now I know people aren't paying attention to when I said, "simple weapons". And never did I say that they would be using armor. (Shields don't count as armor.)

5528865 Sorry!

5528926 Don't feel bad. I should have clarified more. My mistake.

That being said, I should just think of the weapons myself. I mean, unless you want to think of a single simple weapons suited well for the Mane 6 (shields included as weapons, not armor).

5528958 When I say, "simple weapon", you hear, "guns"? Do you not know what simple weaponry is? It's swords, shields, and the like. Not automatics, grenade launchers, or tasers.

5528299

Going by Legend of Everfree, Pinkie's weapon of choice would be hand grenades.

But seriously, it depends a bit on the context - weapons are usually specific to the type of opposition you are facing and the tactics you favor. Historically speaking, people rarely just picked a weapon they happened to fancy and specialize at it regardless of the situation.

That said, if you are aiming to make them a classical RPG-style adventurer party, I would go with something like this:

Twilight: Doesn't need weapons due to her incredibly versatile magic. May carry some sort of important artifact for plot related or symbolic reasons, however. Say, a magic sword denoting her role as leader, even if she rarely uses it. (She may not even know how to use it.)
Applejack: Battle axe. Typically signifies straightforward, no-nonsense type of fighters.
Rainbow Dash: Spear. Matches her mobility and direct approach to things.
Fluttershy: Bow and arrows, maybe some type of short sword or large knife for backup. Would probably be the ranger/scout of the team.
Rarity: Rapier and a large number of throwing knives. Essentially a swashbuckler/rogue type.
Pinkie Pie: A large hammer. Because hammers are an inherently funny type of weapon.

Now, if they are supposed to be more of an army unit, they would realistically carry more uniform equipment matching the typical fighting tactics of the setting.

5528982 That's more like it. Simple weapon choices that mach up easily with the wielder's personality. Though I might decide to switch the weapons around.

5528842

Twilight is an Alicorn, but she's not a one-mare-army.

A certain centaur might state otherwise.

Rainbow Dash isn't that strong. Remember she had to used a Sonic Rainboom to completely demolish the barn. And she was going at Mach 10, so it isn't surprising that she would have picked up enough speed create an explosion upon crashing.

This statement is contradiction, I think...

Applejack makes sense, but I repeat that I want simple weapons.

Well I said shotgun, not AA12 combat shotgun. I You didn't determine HOW simple you want it. If you want it really simple, remember that a rock, thrown at your head, still hurts. I'm sure you can think of a 2 shot Remington model? I specifically chose firearms limited in their ammunition, without a clip and no automatic fire. Simple enough, if you ask me.

Fluttershy isn't the type to bash someone's head in with a blunt object.

Well you ask the impossible. Fluttershy and a weapon is like the unstoppable force against the irremovable object. But, in fairness, seeing Flutters squeaking in front of you trying to muster all the courage to whack you with a club might be enough weaponized cuteness to kill you via heart attack.

Pinkie Pie with a slingshot. That's just boring, and everyone knows that Pinkie is anything but boring. Maud however...

You have a point, Pinkie was always the artillery girl, but I thought you wanted it simple, so I disregarded the party cannon. And knowing that Pinkie is a rock farm girl... well, rocks are her expertise and I think they can all be very efficient with this.

5529779 First, Twilight could only match Tirek because she had the power of all four Alicorns, two of which being multiple centuries old and far more powerful than Twilight. You may disagree because Celestia was beaten by Chrysalis, but I want to point out that Chrysalis had absorbed the love Shining Armor had for Cadance. And as they say, "Love conquers all." They repeatedly say how powerful the magic of Friendship is, but never do they verbally address the magic of Love (and they don't need to because we clearly saw that two ponies who shared true love could defeat an entire army).

Secondly, it's not contradictory because math. Let's remember that Rainbow Dash can fly at speeds of Mach 10 and not die upon crashing. (Which says a lot about her endurance, but not strength.) Let's also note that Mach 10 is multiple times faster than what her terminal velocity likely is. My point, she could possibly cause another Atomic Rainboom and wipe out her enemies, but if she's unable to fly, is restrained, or could endanger ally lives, she can't do much without an actual weapon.

Thirdly, when I said simple weapons the first time, I clearly included an example:

Try to keep to simple weapons, such as swords and knives

If you'd been paying attention, you would have realized I didn't mean firearms (unless you count arrows as firearms).

Fourthly, I am not asking the impossible. You're just not looking at the problem in the right way. I see Fluttershy as a pacifist, hiding behind a shield as much as possible, administering medical attention, and only killing if absolutely necessary.

Finally, have you forgotten the one melee weapon truly suited for bombastic characters like Pinkie. The same weapon used by other characters like Amy Rose from "Sonic the Hedgehog", Nora Valkyrie from "RWBY", or even Buttercup from "Powerpuff Girls Z". (Yes, I like the anime version better than the original series, and that's saying a lot coming from someone who doesn't typically like anime. But what can I say, a lot of voice actors from the show also voice act for MLP, such as Kathy Weseluck (MLP: Spike, PPGZ: Ken), Nicole Oliver (MLP: Celestia, PPGZ: Miss Bellum), Tabitha St. Germaine (MLP: Rarity, PPGZ: Miss Keane), Robecca Shoichet (MLP: Sunset Shimmer, PPGZ: Sedusa), Kelly Sheridan (MLP: Starlight Glimmer, PPGZ: Princess), and more. Plus, the Powerpuffs remind me of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.)

5529847
Well having the muscle mass to accelerate to Mach 10 IS strength. Rainbow is using raw physical power from her wings to speed up. Thus strength and kind of contradiction.

As for firearms, If YOU paid attention, you would notice that I am trying to go for absolute lowtech firearms. Rarity would have to reload after each shot of her flintlock pistols and AJ would have reload after every shot to every second shot with such a shotgun. Nothing of convenience and taking time. But Rarity has her rapier for close encounters and a swift Applejack(TM) kick would send anyone flying from where they came. I am not talking about a pump-action shotgun here. More like this.

Very simple, very limited, fitting a farmer protecting the farm and family.

Because after all, the Apples are not known to have the latest technological marvel in their barn.

5529949 Okay, but that strength is only in her wings.

And I didn't want fire arms at all. It doesn't matter what kind they are, guns a more complicated that a bow and arrows. If you were paying attention, you'd know that.

5530228
I did.

(Try to keep to simple weapons, such as swords and knives, if you can.)

if you can

But I can't. Something about this farmgirl screams boomstick into my face.
But tell you what, you literally lacked any protest against the flintlock pistols of Rarity...

Rarity also makes sense, I guess.

...so I'll take AJ down even another techlevel and make the shotgun a blunderbuss, which is basically a longer flintlock pistol.

And, to round things up and give AJ something in the melee department, I'll add a trench knife, since those are for powerful thrusts and stabs and AJ, being an earth pony has plenty of strength. But don't expect a picture of that. I doubt I'll ever find a trenchknife that fits into a hoof.

5651938 Why simple weapon? Because the Elements of Harmony are bestowing the weapons upon the Main 6, and the weapons were created when Equestria was just being founded.

5651981 Well I doubt modern weaponry could channel magic anywhere as accurately as a sword or spear.

5652012 Obviously. You don't even need magic for that. It's called a shield. Magic can do so much more.