Earth and Pegasus villain before the series ends?

[ManaMinori 4,145]

pretty much every Equestrian based villain, thus far, has been a unicorn (with the exception of NMM). Outsiders have been creatures of all sorts, from centuars, whatever the hay the Storm King is, to chaotic chimeras. What about Earth Pony and Pegasi villains? Will we ever get to see these come into play before the series wraps up? Ideally, since we've never got a duo villain tag team to make it harder on the protagonists (outside of the movie, that is), that coult be something that gets done.

 

Even more ideally, I'd like to see these two races joining fores, not to villainize and terrorize, but actually having succeeded in working toward their ideal vision of a peaceful, paradisaical corner of the world that ponies are satisfied with, and expanding it outward- perhaps by couping the Equestrian Princesses, after deeming them unfit to rule, since they haven't brought about a truly peaceful society (what with the monster attacks every week). But of course, the Mane 6 must stop it, even though morally grey ambitions.

Edited May 2, 2018 by Nightmare Muffin

[TBD 17,254]

Partly because magic lead to corruption, so it's easier to make unicorns a villain. But I would like to see earth ponies or pegasi take the role as a big baddies for once. 

[SharpWit 2,647]

I think that's largely due to the fact that magic allows for far more potential, which is the second thing you need to begin your trek on a path of evil. The first being a purpose or goal, and the third having the ability to make others do what you want them to.

Starlight Glimmer, wanted to take away cutie marks and put forth her vision of a better society. She learned the magic necessary to do so, and spread a generally positive message while being charming.

Iron Will, wanted to make a profit by selling confidence. He had the ability to apply peer pressure and the staff to set up a performance that made even the shyest of ponies seem capable of passing his program. By showing the program worked, he convinced the crowd to buy in on it.

Trixie, wanted to outdo Twilight, she worked hard and saved up until she could purchase the Alicorn Amulet, then used her sudden power to make others do her bidding by force.

Sombra, wanted to control the crystal empire, he practiced dark magic and stole the crystal heart, used that to enslave the populace.

Flim and Flam, want to make a profit, they see the opportunity to take over a business that doesn't have enough supply for their demand primarily because of a staffing issue, and ride into Sweet Apple Acres with the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000. They're able to essentially make the same cider and meet the demand thus obtaining the whole customer base of Ponyville.

I think you get the point. But notice how Iron Will is the only one who isn't a Unicorn. If he were just a regular pony, he wouldn't be taken so seriously, and I think that's because he would then lack the ability to hurl you over the crowd. Magic allows you to grow, where as being an earth pony or pegasus, you have to work with what you have. The closest we can hope to get is if one of them were find an artifact that could give them magic, or if somepony manages to spread an ideology. The easiest one by this point would be racism against other creatures, but that would likely be spread by Chancellor Neighsay and well, he's a unicorn with a position of authority.

[Oleks 1,993]

I've always wanter to see a proper pegasus villain or a group of evil pegasi, maybe forming a real Shadowbolts team (Lightning Dust, Wind Rider and someone else) and doing some cool weather-related magic stuff. As for earth ponies, they can be beastmasters, weirdos like Mane-iac or some manipulative tactical geniuses. But I think it's very unlikely that we'll ever see something like this in the show - unicorn and non-pony villains are almost traditional at this point.

[RDDash 19,173]

We already have too many unicorn viliains in the show, I almost wish they just throw their current villian generation formula in the trash and created something new and fresh. Any other pony race or creature would be welcomed by me as an evil doer.

Edited May 2, 2018 by R.D.Dash

[Pr0m4NV14 839]

I was hoping that this would be about the possibilities of Earth Ponies getting tired of doing all the manual labor without magic and rising up against the Unicorns.

[ShadOBabe 18,997]

Your topic title is wrong. XD

But yeah, I’d totally be down for a corrupt Earth or Pegasus pony villain.

[SharpWit 2,647]

30 minutes ago, Oleks said:

I've always wanter to see a proper pegasus villain or a group of evil pegasi, maybe forming a real Shadowbolts team (Lightning Dust, Wind Rider and someone else) and doing some cool weather-related magic stuff.

That's a fun idea, but Wind Rider is retired and Lightning Dust must have had her attitude adjusted because she's still in the reserve. Not sure what they'd turn evil over since everything they did was ego driven. Then again, so was Trixie.

I'm getting this idea from another topic I commented in, but what if one of the Wonder Bolts or a Royal Guard started having fake crimes or accidents committed so they could play a more active role, not be seen as useless or just for show. Only for them to go too far, resulting in some ponies getting hurt and them being caught. With the Wonder Bolts, this could be done by having one of the members have staged instances during air shows to make them alert and practice even more. Or better yet, somepony questions Spitfire's ability to lead the best flyers in all of Equestria, so they split off and form their own group that way and become competitors that play dirty.

[Ganondorf8 11,306]

Since magic can corrupt those who use it, it makes sense that a unicorn would be villainous in nature. Technically, we've had a Pegasus as a villain in the form of Lightning Dust--I say technically as she was more of a minor antagonist than a full blown villain--and to the same extent Wind Rider--for the same reasons--which leaves us with only an Earth Pony but then making one a villain wouldn't be easy without the magic card being in effect. You could say that the writers have given themselves an unintentional blockade when it comes to this sort of thing seeing as going with a unicorn is an easy-out.

[Nye 1,652]

I am pretty sure Tirek and the Storm King were relatives. 

It'd be pretty cool to see the entire mane 6 and/or pillar 6 turn evil for a two parter. Or even a never-done-before three part episode! Have the CMCs lead the fight alongside student 6 or something.

[Castle Bleck 19,357]

3 hours ago, Ganondorf8 said:

which leaves us with only an Earth Pony but then making one a villain wouldn't be easy without the magic card being in effect. You could say that the writers have given themselves an unintentional blockade when it comes to this sort of thing seeing as going with a unicorn is an easy-out.

 

They could always give the EP villain an anti-magic MacGuffin.

 

They've done that before (e.g., Sombra's "Silence" crystals and Chrysalis's throne), after all.

Edited May 3, 2018 by A.V.

[DonMaguz 1,023]

An army of Earth ponies using magic absorbant armors which would gather magic from any creature and use it as physical enhancers to their users.

It wouldn't be of any use to unicorns or changelings because their magic would be drained and pegasi would become grounded from the armour's weight.

[Cwanky 17,579]

Actually we already DO have Earth pony and pegasus villains, just not in the Season premieres or finales:

Suri Polomare or Lightning Dust ring a bell, among the others?

I do think that magic is a tad imbalanced in FiM though, including with the reckless logic defiance of Pinkie and others. I have heard that unicorns, or at least magic, will be significantly "balanced" in the next generation, which could be a good thing.

[Marimo 555]

10 hours ago, Nightmare Muffin said:

perhaps by couping the Equestrian Princesses, after deeming them unfit to rule, since they haven't brought about a truly peaceful society (what with the monster attacks every week). But of course, the Mane 6 must stop it, even though morally grey ambitions.

Except it's not morally grey. It's people unsatisfied that there are still monsters in a world where there are monsters, and their solution is that they need to just revolt against the government and remove the strongest magic users who can defend against monsters. It's like saying your plan to stop crime is to remove the police. What exactly is their alternate solution and why does it actually require to remove the government's top leaders completely, who also do other tasks and not just stop monster attacks, instead of their solution being something that could be implemented with Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and Cadance still in power?

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

We've have some earth ponies and pagasi as antagonists, but it'd be fresh to have either of these as an outright villain. It's obvious the unicorn master race here, it's easier to make them villainous, but an earth pony or a pegasus could use brains for their plans. However, unless this Cozy Glow fits the criteria, I think there won't be such villain in what remains of FiM  

[Megas 27,625]

The writers love Unicorns too much and made them too OP

[ManaMinori 4,145]

3 hours ago, Cwanky said:

Actually we already DO have Earth pony and pegasus villains, just not in the Season premieres or finales:

Suri Polomare or Lightning Dust ring a bell, among the others?

I do think that magic is a tad imbalanced in FiM though, including with the reckless logic defiance of Pinkie and others. I have heard that unicorns, or at least magic, will be significantly "balanced" in the next generation, which could be a good thing.

they're antagonists, not villains.

2 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

We've have some earth ponies and pagasi as antagonists, but it'd be fresh to have either of these as an outright villain. It's obvious the unicorn master race here, it's easier to make them villainous, but an earth pony or a pegasus could use brains for their plans. However, unless this Cozy Glow fits the criteria, I think there won't be such villain in what remains of FiM  

MLP has never stuck to what is 'easy', though. As seen by how many times they've changed the status quo.

[Ganondorf8 11,306]

20 hours ago, A.V. said:

They could always give the EP villain an anti-magic MacGuffin.

They've done that before (e.g., Sombra's "Silence" crystals and Chrysalis's throne), after all.

That would probably be the way they have to go in order to make it work.

[Thrond 3,263]

I would consider Suri Polomare, Lightning Dust, and Wind Rider to be equal in stature to the likes of Trixie. 

I think there are two main reasons why so many villains are unicorns. For one, there's the fact that both Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer served as foils for Twilight, with obvious parallels. The other is that unicorn magic is the only thing with the same fantastical dimension as the various monsters we've seen. Nothing pegasi or earth ponies have been shown to do really comes close, and I don't think limiting unicorn power closes that issue. 

I can't really think of a reason that Neighsay would need to be a unicorn, though, so there's clearly also a preference among the staff. 

The solution is either that an earth pony/pegasus villain would need to somehow gain control of magic, or that the show will need to significantly alter its two-parter formula. Imagine that: a villain who doesn't threaten Equestria with brute force, and who doesn't need to be defeated by collecting magical artifacts. It'd be a very welcome change of pace, and indeed that's basically what the season 8 premiere did. 

[Black Sabbath 2,486]

Meh, I hope they don't. Espically this late in the series. I mean, each protagonist should pose more of a threat than the previous one in my opinion, and I can't really see a earth pony or pegasus be capable of doing so.

On 2018-05-02 at 10:07 PM, Califorum said:

Earth ponies don't need magic to be a villain. They could have magical tools and weapons at their disposal which could make them very dangerous.

If you're gonna give them magical equipment, you're just writing unicorns without horns.  

 

  

[The MegaBrony 219]

An Earth Pony villain would most likely rely on more advanced technology than usual.

[J.J 923]

46 minutes ago, The MegaBrony said:

An Earth Pony villain would most likely rely on more advanced technology than usual.

There should be a subtle nod, make something called like the "brotherhooves" and have extremely Earth Pony based elitists, (could do this with any of the three) but with the Earth Ponies make them all jacked about the fact that they dont have flight or magic, and they are still extremely powerful, having like some advanced network, and have combat training, I could make a whole fic for each one, like Unicorns that use curses instead of magic lol...(had something about the pegasi having a secret society in the sky, but it seems to close to Rainbow Factory in a way) (The Unicorns have like a place hidden with an invisibility spell, and the Earth Ponies can have like an underground network, and also how they seem to control a lot of the businesses and money and politics, well at least in Ponyville...) I think there is a way to do something three different types of villains, have concept for all of them lol

Edited May 5, 2018 by Aquaflame

[ggg-2 3,553]

Spoiler

......Well, Cozy Glow was recently revealed in a UK magazine as a Pegasus filly.

 

[Soren Peregrine 4,606]

The problem here is that unicorns have way more potential to be powerful with their magic, and more power leads to a greater chance of corruption. Earth Ponies and Pegasi just don't have the same potential for power without having horns. If there ever were such villains, they would have to work a lot harder than unicorns.

One of the only possible ways I see for there to be an Earth Pony or Pegasi villain would be for them to have powerful minions which do their business for them, while they use their minds to construct devious plans. They would have to be extremely crafty and quick-thinking. If you think about it, a lot of great villains in entertainment/fiction are like this. They aren't very powerful physically, but they are very cunning and always a step ahead in the brain game. Think of Scar from TLK. He couldn't beat Mufasa flat out, so he came up with a plan. There are so many villains that use brain to beat brawn. I just think this is a type of villain that MLP:FiM has not really done at all.

An Earth Pony/Pegasi that is physically not very strong, but is a mastermind with crazy good plans and plots that has minions that do their work for them while they avoid being caught. Does that sound plausible?

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

4 hours ago, Soren Peregrine said:

 

An Earth Pony/Pegasi that is physically not very strong, but is a mastermind with crazy good plans and plots that has minions that do their work for them while they avoid being caught. Does that sound plausible?

with all fancy magic, an antagonist that relies on brains would be a nice change of pace...

Spoiler

it may still involve magic in some way however, despite Cozy Glow being revealed to be a pegasus