What if the Mane 6's species were different?

[Gaines 1,109]

If anyone remembers those "G5 leaks" of alter designs of the Mane 6, Twilight was an Earth pony, Fluttershy was a unicorn, and Pinkie was a pegasus.
After I remembered that, I wonder something: What if those were the characters' species from the start of G4? How much would change about the gen, and what would remain the same? 

[North Star 4,540]

what if they also fought each other for fun?

then you would have this game!

which is adorable and sassy but I was never any good at beat em ups so I'm no good at it.

 

but I think you're more going for the different breeds of ponies, so I think Pinkie should obvs be a pegasus (she even flies multiple times and drops on ponies from above), flutters should obvs be an earth pony (they even had to explain her preference for land animals and make her live on the ground). If we're getting wilder, AJ should be a cow like in fighting herds (but a badflank one - not all white and milky). Otherwise, Rarity is a great fashion unicorn. Twilight is a great magical unicorn and Dashie is a great punk military pegasus.

5 hours ago, Gaines said:

Twilight was an Earth pony, Fluttershy was a unicorn, and Pinkie was a pegasus.

in relation to these three. Twi being an earth pony would be a bit like Magic Star from G1.

She would have a cute wand and be adorable :3 Basically same story - even down to the obsession with magic. Also, you give earth ponies magic in a sensible way rather than make them all have Poison Ivy powers from Batman.

Fluttershy being a unicorn makes her Posy from G1. Flutters clearly shouldn't be a pegasus, so putting her on the ground as a unicorn works well for me. Her story actually works better - she lives in Ponyville all her life quietly in her cottage being a meek yellow unicorn with a garden. Her magic lets her speak to animals.

Pinkie being a pegasus I've already covered in terms of its greatness. It changes her story not at all except for the joke of her growing up on a rock farm. I love Maud and everything but that was a JOKE it didn't have to actually be real. Maud could just be Pinkie's more level headed unicorn sister (or earth pony sister - I like the idea of Maud being a different species). Or, better still, have the sweet eps where Maud and Pinkie struggle to understand each other Pinkie-Dash or Pinkie-Jack eps instead. Pinkie as Surprise is the most fandom accepted cross-over.

 

[Splashee 28,537]

Switching Pinkie Pie with Fluttershy would work well (moving wings). Twilight as an Earth Pony wouldn’t work as we see with Sunny in G5 losing attention to Zipp, and the goal of becoming something other than an Earth Pony was obtained after approximately an hour after introduction.

I think Lauren Faust would have found good combinations for her creations, and is fans would have been okay with it from the start without questions her decision.