I want an episode about Earth Pony Inferiority.

[SolyWack 482]

So Season 5 is obviously taking a more serious route, so this is an idea I really want to see explored. Earth Ponies are obviously inferior to Pegasi and Unicorns in many aspects.

 

I want an episode where perhaps a bunch of Earth Ponies start questioning the pegasi and unicorns, or maybe a more local problem where Applejack starts realizing those wings or magic would be really helpful.

 

Then Twilight goes through her early episode crisis until she finds something that makes Earth Ponies special, and what great things Earth Ponies have accomplished. The moral would be no matter what race you were born, if you work hard enough there is always something you can excel at.

 

This would be a great lesson for the real world as people who are born black, or poor, or both sometimes are led to believe they can never accomplish what a rich white guy could. That is not the case. If they put in the effort, they can get the same life no matter what color they were born.

[Phosphorous 135]

That was the thing that bugged me with the show. They strongly portrayed earth ponies as being disadvantaged, withought horn magic nor fthe ability to fly. On the other side, the portrayed the alicorns as ponies that have both wings and magic, and thus are the best of the best.

[A Black Circle 1,585]

Alicorns are meant to be the best. As for earth ponies, Fallout Equestria did a good job of making a legit case as to why they were MASTER race.

[Odyssey 5,712]

Not me. Earth Ponies have been shown countless times that they're just as important as the pegasi and the unicorns. If the race is physically stronger, has more of a connection with nature and that the majority of ponies seem to be Earth Ponies, then I suppose that they're not as weak as what some fans make them out to be. Plus, many of the Earth Ponies within the show are actually successful at what they do. Namely, Applejack and her farm, Pinkie Pie and her talent at befriending others, and many celebrities that Rarity has got the chance to interact with. The unicorns and pegasi aren't shown discriminating or assaulting them in any episode, so maybe there is no such thing as Earth Pony inferiority.

[Malinter 3,064]

 

 

Earth Ponies are obviously inferior to Pegasi and Unicorns in many aspects.

 

 

Is Big Macintosh a unicorn or pegesus? No? Then how can they possibly be superior? XD

 

Earth ponies don't need flight or magic to live their lives, hard work makes them strong and innovative. They grow their own food, seem to be the most social of the 3 tribes, and in some places have used technology to let them fly or travel great distances. The episode wouldn't be about them being inferior but showing how lazy the other two races are XD

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

Very interesting idea.  I agree with Odyssey that Earth ponies are shown to be physically stronger and have the nature connection, but I'm not sure that's enough to refute a claim that they are at a disadvantage.  I know that without the Earth ponies and their nature skills, the others began to starve in the great conflicts before the founding of Equestria, but still, having wings and/or magic is undeniably a huge advantage.  It seems to me that pegasi and unicorns have the potential to greatly eclipse Earth ponies despite their supposed farming and nature skills.  One concrete example of this is when Twilight used her telekinesis to remove and transport the apples of half the friggin orchard at the end of Apple Buck Season.  She accomplished in a few seconds what would take the Apple Family hours or even days, regardless of their skill at apple bucking.  In one fell swoop, she singlehoofedly demonstrated that Applejack's strength and skill are insignificant, and also set the tone for the rest of the show--that most any problem could be instantly solved if she used either telekinesis or teleportation in a constuctive fashion, not just when comical.  Kind of depressing.  Now, the fact is that Applejack isn't out of a job because Twilight has better things to do than run the farm.  But it does make me think about the topic of discussion, here.  If an episode was made that addressed Earth pony inferiority, it seems to me that it may be difficult to properly wrap us such an issue in one episode, and that it might leave dark, but albeit realistic implications on the show.  I would probably enjoy that, but I don't think they need to broach this subject, as the magic of Equestria is that ponies are much happier and more content with their identities than in the real world, and are much more supportive, and less envious, of each others differences.

[Prince Firemane 309]

Earth Ponies don't seem to be disadvantaged to me, and they certainly don't express any inferiority complex ((that I recall)). Earth Ponies are ((don't hit me)) down to earth than Pegasi or Unicorns, the don't seem to care about recognition or impossible goals like Pegasi and Unicorns do. They do what they do best and they're happy with it. Not to mention, it's strongly implied that just as only Pegasi can truly control the weather, only Earth Ponies can truly farm and grow produce. They not only fit the land/sky/space dynamic, but they also serve a great socioeconomic purpose that equally rivals that of Pegasi and Unicorns. Even Alicorns represent Earth Pony magic in their larger statures.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Prince Firemane

[Silver Letter 1,830]

 

 

One concrete example of this is when Twilight used her telekinesis to remove and transport the apples of half the friggin orchard at the end of Apple Buck Season. She accomplished in a few seconds what would take the Apple Family hours or even days, regardless of their skill at apple bucking. In one fell swoop, she singlehoofedly demonstrated that Applejack's strength and skill are insignificant, and also set the tone for the rest of the show

I am not sure. That's comparing Applejack to Twilight Sparkle, the most powerful unicorn in the world. It's definitely not a way of saying that all unicorns could put the Apples out of business. In fact, perhaps few could. The Flim Flam brothers were unicorns but they had to use a machine, powered by their magic, to rival the Apples. Could they have removed the apples, discard the bad and processed them with their magic power alone? At least machines don't tire. Unicorns can and Earth Ponies less so perhaps? I don't think unicorns in general have the power to replace Earth Ponies.

[Kiri 7,277]

I think there needs to be an episode in general about the abilities of each pony race. Sure, we can obviously see that Unicorns and Pegasi have magic and flight, but I want to know more about what makes Earth Ponies unique. Hearths Warming Eve suggests that their agricultural skills are beyond compare, and that they seem to have the magic to make things grow from the ground. But not every Earth Pony's talent is related to nature. They seem to have a wider range of talents than Unicorns and Pegasi. The episode that focuses on what makes each race special could also give us more information on the nature of Alicorns, aside from the obvious longer horn, bigger wings, and taller stature. 

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Don't Earth Ponies have the greatest strength out of all pony species and a natural ability at farming? It's also worth noting that they have tactile tails, which means they can grab and use items with their tails while no other species can (except maybe Alicorns but that has yet to be demonstrated). It can be argued that they're also faster than Pegasi, but there are also good arguments for the Pegasi being faster. Either way though, Earth Ponies have attributes that make them unique. G1 actually has an episode about the inferiority of Earth Ponies, but in that series Earth Ponies really do suck. You know it's sad when Sea Ponies use you as a goal post...

[GuyNamedEarl 1,332]

Earth ponies have super strength and nature skills, and I don't think they are overshadowed in the show.

[Swifty 249]

I never had the feeling that Earth Ponies are stronger. As far as i can remember, Rainbow Dash's frontlegs are stronger than Applejacks'.

Also things like this:

They must be still the best runners, i'm sure.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Swifty

[Buck Testa 5,503]

 

 

Earth Ponies are obviously inferior to Pegasi and Unicorns in many aspects.

 

The Pie family says Hello

 

 

In all seriousness though there is a case to be made that earth ponies are capable of more than people tend to think, however most don't have enough magic to explore that potential. The Pie family in particular are pretty loaded on magical ability as evidenced by their impressive feats of strength and reality bending. Pinkie in particular has such a potent level of magic that even her human counterpart has displayed some fairly strange abilities even without the aid of the elements or music. Earth Pony abilities, at least for the ones with potent levels of magic, are largely intuitive and instinctual and seem to permeate their entire body while Pegasi and Unicorns funnel their magic threw their wings and horns respectively. 

[Phosphorous 135]

In the last episode, didn't Big Mac dream of being a unicorn. That means he wished he had a horn. If he were happy with being an earth pony he wouldn't dream of such a thing. It's just like boy that want to be girls and vice versa many times dream of being the other gender. 

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

In Big Mac's dreams he's a unicorn, and that's without even trying to realize a fantasy self. So we've already had this episode.

[SilverComet 169]

The Pie family says Hello:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all seriousness though there is a case to be made that earth ponies are capable of more than people tend to think, however most don't have enough magic to explore that potential. The Pie family in particular are pretty loaded on magical ability as evidenced by their impressive feats of strength and reality bending. Pinkie in particular has such a potent level of magic that even her human counterpart has displayed some fairly strange abilities even without the aid of the elements or music. Earth Pony abilities, at least for the ones with potent levels of magic, are largely intuitive and instinctual and seem to permeate their entire body while Pegasi and Unicorns funnel their magic threw their wings and horns respectively. 

 

Flight:

Earth Ponies can perform "parabolic flight" by jumping while extending one foreleg (superman style).

Helmet!Applejack [s2E03] (Rainnuke scene) ; Helmet!MaudPie [s4E18] (rock_slide scene)

(Except Pinkie Pie) They would not be able to decelerate while in midflight; but their higher density makes them "juggernauts" in the air, with no decrease in speed by air friction (lithobraking by its nature is always dangerous, needing extra protection to perform it safely).

 

With some simple torsion_resistant elements coupled to their "helicopter contraptions" (to store some extra anciliary kinetic energy for ocasional resting), they can fly just fine with the force of their back legs:

Pinkie Pie [s1E05] (Gilda´s "buzz off" scene) ;  Cherry Berry [s4E21] (rewind#1 scene)

 

- - - - 

 

Magic:

Earth Ponies can cast spells (with the aid of other instruments/devices); it requires a vocal component (implied to happen at a mental level in unicorns), and minor non-verbal movements:

Pinkie Pie & the Mirror Pool (riming spell and correct positioning) [s3E03] (multiple self-cloning scenes)

AppleBloom & Alchemy Set (precise commands [wording] and carefull previous preparation) [s4E15] (plant mutation)

 

Also, Pinkie Pie seems to be able to read "advanced unicorn spells" (in whatever language they used centuries ago), and interpret its workings by herself [s2E20] (Starswirl´s Library, "Tuesday Doomsday" morning scene); something strange for a "rock farmer" to have learned, unless it is common knowledge for all three races.

[SolyWack 482]

Trying to counter my suggestion is only furthering the need for such an episode. Earth Ponies ARE stronger, and more in tune with nature. But those abilities simply are not as cool as flying or casting spells, and you know it. Do not to tell me you would rather be 'in tune with nature' than fly or cause explosions just by thinking about them.

 

People create Pegasus or Unicorn OCs at least 3 times more than create Earth Pony OCs. The episode would show that just because they don't have immediately as useful powers, they can still be awesome in their own way.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Flight:

Earth Ponies can perform "parabolic flight" by jumping while extending one foreleg (superman style).

Helmet!Applejack [s2E03] (Rainnuke scene) ; Helmet!MaudPie [s4E18] (rock_slide scene)

(Except Pinkie Pie) They would not be able to decelerate while in midflight; but their higher density makes them "juggernauts" in the air, with no decrease in speed by air friction (lithobraking by its nature is always dangerous, needing extra protection to perform it safely).

 

With some simple torsion_resistant elements coupled to their "helicopter contraptions" (to store some extra anciliary kinetic energy for ocasional resting), they can fly just fine with the force of their back legs:

Pinkie Pie [s1E05] (Gilda´s "buzz off" scene) ;  Cherry Berry [s4E21] (rewind#1 scene)

 

- - - - 

 

Magic:

Earth Ponies can cast spells (with the aid of other instruments/devices); it requires a vocal component (implied to happen at a mental level in unicorns), and minor non-verbal movements:

Pinkie Pie & the Mirror Pool (riming spell and correct positioning) [s3E03] (multiple self-cloning scenes)

AppleBloom & Alchemy Set (precise commands [wording] and carefull previous preparation) [s4E15] (plant mutation)

 

Also, Pinkie Pie seems to be able to read "advanced unicorn spells" (in whatever language they used centuries ago), and interpret its workings by herself [s2E20] (Starswirl´s Library, "Tuesday Doomsday" morning scene); something strange for a "rock farmer" to have learned, unless it is common knowledge for all three races.

 

I would add into the mix a magical derivative of Tactile Telekinesis. If an Earth Pony can touch it they can manipulate it. That is why when Applejack hits a tree the apples fall neatly into buckets as supposed to falling hap hazardly, and why constant interaction with a tree can produce such huge fruit like with the Bats episode. touching the object allows for some modicum of control, stronger the kinetic output the more potent that control is. Maud displays this especially when she "threw" the rock. The sound that rock made and the amount of force it released upon impact indicated that it held a lot of built up energy, more than a rock normally would of on its own. Rocks don't make mushroom clouds, but kinetically charged ones (a la Gambit from x-men, or several anime characters I could list off the top of my head) could release a lot of energy upon impact. 

 

Pinkie has a lot of tricks up her proverbial sleeve that she doesn't let on. In that scene where she slows her decent mid-air Dash asks how she does that, and Pinkie responds that she was just trying to be polite or something to that effect, dodging the question entirely. She is one to keep tons of secrets, something that made her quickly loose her cool when the cutie pox required somepony to tell the truth.

Its been revealed in recent episodes that she is very meticulous and goal oriented as well as extremely intelligent. She is constantly taking notes on ponies around her and filing them so carefully that it makes rainbow dash question if she's better at it than Twilight herself. Her sister is also going for a Doctorate in geology (also known as a roctorate lol). 

What I'm getting at is Pinkie is an extremely smart cookie with a lot more knowledge than anyone could fathom. She has been able to hold her own in conversations about interdemensional AND time travel and can create contraptions in mere seconds that would boggle Twilight's mind.  She ACTS random, but we've seen on a number of occasions that that is a stage persona like The Great and Powerful Trixie. 

Her list of skills that she has chosen to reveal are

Shapeshifting and stretching(on innumerable occasions)

A strange form of Teleportation where she can come out of nearly any object, even Applejacks hat. Its probably similar to Twilight's spell that lets her go into books

Extreme speeds rivaling rainbow dash

Reflection Manipulation: She has used mirrored surfaces with a number of her spells, including a season one episode where her reflection was there and talking while Pinkie wasn't in the room, and another in a Rainbow rocks short where Human pinkie was making a different pose than her Mirrored counterpart, and others involving things like the mirror pool and the portal to the human world 

 

I have a feeling if Pinkie had devoted her time to science instead of Parties, she would be a force to be reckoned with.

[Prince Firemane 309]

Trying to counter my suggestion is only furthering the need for such an episode. Earth Ponies ARE stronger, and more in tune with nature. But those abilities simply are not as cool as flying or casting spells, and you know it. Do not to tell me you would rather be 'in tune with nature' than fly or cause explosions just by thinking about them.

 

People create Pegasus or Unicorn OCs at least 3 times more than create Earth Pony OCs. The episode would show that just because they don't have immediately as useful powers, they can still be awesome in their own way.

Just because people may feel that way in our world doesn't mean that ponies feel that way in theirs. Not every Earth Pony, Pegasus or Unicorn has a talent in their aligned fields. There's a higher instance of talent alignment of course, but it's by no means a requirement. Lyra has a talent for music, not one that's centered around magic. Derpy's talent involves bubbles somehow, not the first choice for a Pegasus. Octavia also has a talent for music despite being an Earth Pony. Fluttershy herself would much rather be "in tune with nature" than fly our cause explosions just by thinking about them. It's a lot deeper than "you're this, so you do that", the fact that many ponies have talents that aren't regulated to their subspecies shows a good lesson that you don't have to be boxed into a certain area based upon traits that at the end of the day don't mean shit.

[chirox the pony 1,334]

Whilst I'm not sure if the earth ponies are inferior I won't deny the need for an episode clarifying their role and powers. 

[Buck Testa 5,503]

Trying to counter my suggestion is only furthering the need for such an episode. Earth Ponies ARE stronger, and more in tune with nature. But those abilities simply are not as cool as flying or casting spells, and you know it. Do not to tell me you would rather be 'in tune with nature' than fly or cause explosions just by thinking about them.

 

People create Pegasus or Unicorn OCs at least 3 times more than create Earth Pony OCs. The episode would show that just because they don't have immediately as useful powers, they can still be awesome in their own way.

 

It would really depend on HOW they explore that dynamic though. If they go your route and say "yeah they are kinda lame, but they can be awesome in their own way" that wouldn't be all that great of an episode, because the idea that the Earth Ponies are inferior would still come into play. I'm saying they are not inferior at all, they are different, and THAT would be an interesting dynamic to work on.

 

And as others have said, the cutie marks play into this as well, there are ponies who have special talent that aren't all that in tune with their particular race, like Bulk Biceps and Fluttershy for example, who both have more of an Earth Pony bent to their nature.  

[Manman20x6 359]

Earth pony magic is pretty cool, actually.

 

We can see here that they can make seeds grow into flowers in just a few seconds. While it may not be as flashy as flight or lasers, it's still a powerful and important ability. They ensure that food is plentiful. If growing food is this easy, there must be very little or no hunger in Equestria, which would not be possible without them.

 

That's without going into how they are also physically stronger, which means that they have two special racial abilities compared to pegasi and unicorns who have only one.

[The Nth Doctor 652]

Without Earth Ponies, pegasi and unicorns would've starved to death thousands of years ago

 

I for one welcome our Earth Pony Overlords

[Cleverclover 1,525]

I really hate anti-earth pony sentiment.  They're not "inferior", God damn it! 

[Gearbox10mm 794]

I don't think cutie marks and talents have very much to do with what race a pony is. There has been too much inconsistency among the 3 race's cutie marks to say for certain that the talent must match the race. 

 

It was interesting that Big Mac was literally shown to dream of being a unicorn. That alone shows there must be some feelings of envy and inferiority among some of the earth ponies towards the other two races. Also, Trender Hoof (a unicorn) was giving off some subtle racist vibes towards earth ponies back in Simple Ways. It's quite possible that some unicorns and pegasi look down on earth ponies as being beneath them.  

 

I think an episode that addresses this and highlights the earth pony's specific strengths would be a great idea.