These pastel ponies started off as humans?

[ManaMinori 4,145]

A lot of equine terminology that is in the pony world leaves me to wonder if these ponies really started off as ponies. Bridleway contains the word “bridle” which is used to be put in the mouth of a horse to allow riders to guide them- along with a bit, said by Apple Jack, in “Sonic Rainboom”. Saddles- which allow a horse or pony to be ridden- are fairly commonly incorporated into fashion, pony names (Sassy Saddles) and locations (Saddle Row and Saddle Arabia), and both Apple Jack and Spike have wrangled their friends and ridden then- Spike to Twilight in “A Dog and Pony Show”, and AppleTeeny to R.D, in “Bridle Gossip”. And while Celestia has said that she didn’t know much about the world of humans, in the first EG movie, these objects and terms seem out of place in a world of sentient, magical ponies that aren’t beasts of burden like normal horses….unless they have their own lost history of having evolved or transformed from humans….. which seems very likely since they cover their invisible unmentionables at their chests rather than further south, where a real horse’s hoohas are supposed to be, as was the case in “Hurricane Fluttershy”.

[Pr0m4NV14 839]

How are they so technologically advanced with hooves? You can’t do much when you only have one huge toenail on each limb.

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,007]

3 hours ago, Pr0m4NV14 said:

How are they so technologically advanced with hooves? You can’t do much when you only have one huge toenail on each limb.

This is a question that keeps me up day and night.

[SharpWit 2,689]

My best guess for bridals would be that they are/were a tool of slavery that was later incorporated into fashion. Makes for a powerful statement. The only time I can recall ever seeing them is in Bridle Gossip when Applejack in her miniscule form had to ride applejack, but she was only riding her because she was tiny and couldn't get around quickly any other way, and she'd know how to put one together and use it for leading animals along on the farm. Otherwise we've seen them on the Saddle Arabian delegates which was fashion only and this is a bit of a stretch, but eastern cultures sometimes require or ask for certain clothing styles to be worn. Perhaps it's a sign of respect by saying you're subservient to something. Spike is actually capable of riding on a pony because he's bipedal and small enough so he can easily take a seated position while not putting too much of a strain on a pony's back. The only other time ponies have been ridden was applejack carrying a sad pinkie pie in Magical Mystery Cure. But that's Pinkie Pie we're talking about so the unexpected is to be expected, and it was probably done only for the visual it provided. Saddles aren't just for carrying people, they're a cushion for heavy loads and are used on pack mules so they can more comfortably carry things on their backs in addition to saddle bags. Among all of the weird items seen in mlp, the most out of place is probably the portal. It's common for sudden exposure of a lot of skin to be embarrassing even if there aren't any specific body parts to be seen. It could be that it was the sudden exposure of her whole front body which is a vulnerable area, and the position she was in is considered a little risqué. And for females, the reaction is to use upper arms to cover chest, hunch down and cross legs for the southern region. she follows through on this with exception to crossing her legs because she was unable to do so in that position, however they go below the blanket and out of sight. Most likely it was just the staff used to human interactions and thought how funny would this be in our position and saw an opportunity to make a joke.

[SharpWit 2,689]

4 hours ago, Pr0m4NV14 said:

How are they so technologically advanced with hooves? You can’t do much when you only have one huge toenail on each limb.

Three answers for this. They're not that technologically advanced. The most technologically things we've seen thus far would probably be Flim and Flam's Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and Vinyl Scratch's DJ set up, though we know that in alternate timelines Equestria is capable of producing artificial wings and Flim and Flam could build a mobile tree remover, but those haven't been made yet, and what has been made already isn't widely available.

Given enough time and innovation, production of more complicated goods can be achieved. We were pretty slow in technological advancements. Slaves in the southern states had to not just pick cotton, but they had to remove the seeds and debris by hand which would take hours. Then the cotton gin was invented and they could process way more in a shorter amount of time, and with more and more innovation we finally came about to having the industrial revolution and from there advancement was exponential. Imagine trying to create a shirt from scratch. The longest part in that process today is probably getting just shipping materials to where they need to go and even that's been made very efficient. It's taken a few hundred years to get where we are today. Equestria has been around for over a thousand years. They might not have anything close to the production levels that we do, but given the amount of time they've had, it's no surprise they're at where they are.

And finally, the use of magic and employment of creatures with digits, primarily griffins, for more fine tuned assembly could produce just about anything.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

No. I fundamentally reject any idea that they started off as humans, especially not through evolutionary means. 

Out of universe explanation is any terminology that seems similar to our own is there as shorthand. You understand what these places and things are because they exist in our world. There's no need to reinvent the wheel when you can use iconography and similar sounding names to get the same point across. 

In Universe explanation could be from any number of things. They could have learned it from any of the OTHER civilizations that are on their planet. Civilizations that have hands for example. 

We know from the Pony Movie that there is quite an active slave trade outside the boarders of Equestria. That COULD be where Saddles and bridles came from, and they were just made into fashion symbols over time. 

Point is, there are a slew of explanations available to you that do not resort to "humans turned into ponies cause reasons." 

Especially when humans already exist in another reality. 

 

[RDDash 19,191]

They have everything, this is a helicopter.

This is a gun on wheels, Equestrian tank

Big Bertha.

They are modernized and have guns people, they just don't use them for war

Edited May 2, 2018 by R.D.Dash

[Wonderbolt Slipstream 263]

23 hours ago, Pr0m4NV14 said:

How are they so technologically advanced with hooves? You can’t do much when you only have one huge toenail on each limb.

Magic

[Guest]

I have a theory. Earth ponies have electromagnets in their utensils and everyday items as well as their hooves and they can somehow adjust the pull on each end to simulate dexterity. That's how Applebloom can write and Applejack can put her hat on her head.

Also unicorn magic is outrageous.

[Rhythm Red 6,484]

I hate to bring up the “its a kids’ show” argument, but it’s pretty much true. The locations are called what they’re called  because the people who named them (and by people I mean the folks who make the show) wanted to give them funny horse-related puns for names, and saddles are mentioned because we humans in real life know that saddles exist. Not everything has to make perfect sense in a kids’ cartoon.  

[kaiser5578 340]

while i do believe humans once existed in Equestria, i don't buy that. i mean think of evolution as a tree with primates as one branch and equine as another. those two once shared a common place but grew apart, and like branches won't ever fuse again without some sort of intervention.

my personal headcanon is that ponies/dragons/griffins/changelings were made to inhabit the earth by the earth after man wiped himself out, this time she made her dominant inhabitants far more in tune with herself: I:e giving them weather control, magic, sentient animals. this was done to keep them from following our path, however they eventually found relics of man and began to rebuild his creations, giving them leaps and bounds. this explaining why helicopters exist but no cars or planes