BORG File: 'Iron Cavalry' Mounted/Mechanized Infantry (MLP: Iron Hearts/CCWC Crossover)

Ever since the Strider-class equine battlesuit was developed by our colleagues among the Dark Mechanicus Techpriests attached to the 38th Company, its commanders had been brainstorming uses for these unique assets. The obvious approach is to use them like the Sentinels they were modeled after: for scouting and light fire support. However, the 38th company already had an ample supply of Sentinels and pilots thereof. Moreover, its generals had not gotten a new field unit in quite some time, and as a result they allowed themselves to exercise more creativity than typical. And thus, the central conceit of the 'Iron Cavalry' concept was born; take a Strider, mount a soldier on the Strider's back, and have it act as a mechanical steed.

Unfortunately, testing quickly determined that the idea in its current form simply wasn't viable. Human riders found the mount too large and hard to control while their own additional firepower was paltry. Using Astartes solved these issues, but in doing so created more, less easily corrected ones: The Strider lost substantial mobility when mounted by something nearly half its weight, and the shifted center of gravity led to a decrease in stability and as a result an increase in falls and subsequent hardware breakdowns. In addition, the pony pilots driving the Striders found the entire experiment deeply degrading, and had great difficulty following the rider's command cues while also managing the weaponry and targeting interface. Despite a few Iron Warriors requesting that a Strider trainer and some pilots be set aside for further testing, the project was terminated, and largely forgotten about.

All that changed following the 38th's integration into the Cainite Protectorate. The Liberator, while browsing the 38th Company's databanks, stumbled across the file for the project, and saw its potential. He forwarded it to Tesilon-Kappa, who shared it with his colleagues in the BORG. Work on making the Liberator's vision a reality began immediately.

Inspiration for the redesigned 'Iron Cavalry' came from the 'Gunstar-Class Heavy Interceptor' that was currently undergoing development and testing in the PUN's R&D department. Borrowing from the design, the BORG worked with Acolyte Gear Works (the original designer of the Striders) to develop a variant specifically designed to carry two individuals; one human and one pony. The crude saddle and reins used in the earlier tests were eschewed in favor of a full-blown cockpit, leaving the pony pilot free to direct the resulting vehicle's movements as they wished. Control of the resulting vehicle's weapon systems was routed to the human 'gunner' instead, nullifying the earlier issue with the pony pilot being unable to focus on both the rider's commands and directing the vehicle at the same time.

The resulting prototypes were a resounding success. The delegation of different systems to separate individuals improved the effectiveness of both, as they were able to focus exclusively on navigation/weaponry respectively. This also proved to be an effective means of rendering Ponykind's general disinclination towards violence a non-issue, at least for those assigned to the newly-founded USA cavalry regiments, and also alleviated much of the shame and humiliation experienced during the first round of testing... though a certain subset of 'navigators' did find the lack of a bridle and leads more disappointing than anticipated, particularly amongst those who had recently sworn themselves to Slaanesh following the lifting of the 38th's ban against worship of the "whore god".

AN:
Cain: Finally, a perfect means of sabatoging the Protectorate! There's no way the BORG could make this work!

Gear Works: "GOOD NEWS! Testing of the latest iteration of the Iron Cavalry has been a resounding success!

Cain: "Wait, what? The pony volunteers didn't stop volunteering or anything?"

Gear Works: "Yeah, apparently not. I even heard some of them complaining about the lack of harnesses and saddles..." *shudders*

Cain (out loud): "...well, that's good, I suppose."

Cain (internally): FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!