Analyzing Earth Ponies

[ManaMinori 4,145]

Earth ponies are mud horses. They’re uninteresting. They have the weakest abilities out of the 3 races and tribes. For a long time through the history of Friendship is Magic, Earth ponies have had a sort of negative stigma placed upon them by the fanbase, who see this race as being the lowest class. On the other hand, the fans tend to lean to the perception that Pegasi rank in the middle of the class system, with unicorns being the superior of the three.

I’m here to say BUCK THAT!!! And turn everything you guys knew about Earth ponies upside down and inside out.

So what do we know about Earth ponies? While many people in the MLP:FiM fandom have looked at this race from a mere surface level, they can probably tell you that they’re the hardiest of the three races; strong and study like the earth that they’re connected to, and...good farmers? And that’s about it.

But what if it’s not? What if being strong enough to smash boulders into pebbles with their hooves and durable isn’t all there is to the good ol’ Earth pony? We’ve seen in numerous episodes, such as “Cutie Mark Chronicles” and “The Maud Couple” both literal and figurative analogies to Geodes- a plain and unordinary-looking rock on the surface, yet having abundant crystals and gems within their core once they were broken apart. I think that Earth ponies are like these geodes and just not enough people are willing to to truly crack them open and see them for what really lies within.

 

Read the full theory here:

https://happypastelponies.tumblr.com/post/174781922113/analyzing-earth-ponies

I believe that Earth ponies are not to be looked down upon, and possess more abilities than we are made aware of. Perhaps they may be the highest race of the three tribes; perhaps higher than the Alicorns, even! We may not know everything that they’re truly capable of, nor do we have to, but the show has dropped breadcrumbs for us to take and interpret however we choose. Don’t give up on the earth ponies and take them at mere surface value. After all, at the very least, they were able to keep two entire races from vanishing off the face of the earth during turbulent times and threat of an eternal ice age!

Edited June 11, 2018 by Nightmare Muffin

[Tenebrae 14]

The idea that one pony race is naturally better than others is a misconception that stems from the outliers of each race.
Generally speaking an average unicorn, earth pony and Pegasus have an equal amount of magic with the only difference being the way this magic manifests itself.

Unicorns are the only race with active magic which allows them to cast spells. However each unicorn is limited to spells that are related to their Cutie mark, that said there are some universal Unicorn spells that any unicorn can perform such as telekinesis.

Pegasi have passive magic that allows them to fly, walk on clouds and manipulate the weather to an extent.

Earth ponies have passive magic that gives them a unique connection to nature which allows them to work better with plants and animals, which seemingly allows them to produce more produce then the other two races combined. They also appear to be blessed with strong hearts. Earth ponies are not innately stronger than Pegasi or Unicorns, however most Earth ponies life lives with a greater level of physical labour than the other races which trains their bodies to be fitter, stronger and more durable.

Outliers on the other hand display capabilities that far exceed the capacities of the majority of their species.
-Some Unicorns such as Twilight Sparkle, Starswirl and Starlight Glimmer have Cutie Marks that relate to Magic itself which allows them to cast any spell as long as they have the aptitude and power required for it, which more often then not they do.
-Some Pegasi such as Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust are much faster than others of their race and are capable of creating weather conditions only possible with several pegasi. Rainbow Dash is so talented that she capable of breaking the sound barrier and generating a Sonic Rainboom.
-Earth pony outliers on the other hand are unique in that instead of being blessed with a greater connection to nature are gifted supernatural strength that far surpasses the physical capabilities of the other races. Such outliers include Apple Jack, Rock Hoof and Maud Pie.

As impressive as these races and their magic are, they are however inferior to power of an Alicorn.
An Alicorn is a combination of all three Pony Magics and as such contain the magic capacity of at least 3 ponies. Their magic also appears to be bestowed with unique properties as it seemingly gives one long life as well required for certain alchemical concoctions. While Alicorns are confirmed to be more powerful than a Unicorn, this does not mean that they are unreachable by members of the other races. Some of the most powerful and talented Unicorns are capable of contesting, matching and even overwhelming Alicorns, however as a general rule Alicorns are the strongest of all the pony races.