Earth Pony strength is a myth

[Frith is Magick 1,471]

I think it is a myth that Earth Ponies are inherently strong. I thing Earth Ponies are strong, but it is earned. They do quite a bit of physical labour, which makes them stronger. A Pegasus would have strong wings because they use their wings so much. I don't mean to say other Ponies are weak compared to earth ponies, just that from a statistical basis it is more likely for an Earth Pony to be physically stronger than a Unicorn or Pegasus simply because they generally develop that ability more. 

[DiscordAnarchy 770]

 

Period.

 

I'm tired of so many in the fandom passing this fan speculation as fact.

 

Earth Pony super strength is a fanon myth. There's nothing to suggest otherwise; on the other hand, there's plenty that goes against the popular claim . . .

 

 

ep. 2 - Applejack was unable to pull up Twilight off the cliff. - Because it was at a steep angle and couldn't get traction

 

ep. 3 - Twilight is carrying more than A.J at the beginning of the episode. R.D matched the cowpony in a strength contest. RD is strong - that doesn't belittle the strength of earth ponies

 

ep. 7 - Pinkie, A.J, plus three others are unsuccessful in moving a rooted Fluttershy from one spot.  Flutter Rage

 

ep. 11 - All the earth ponies pulling the plows are males, A.J isn't pulling. Because she is the Captain. Her job is to organize things. My boss doesn't fix boxes like I do. His job is to organize the tasks

 

ep. 13 - A.J lost in an arm wrestling match to R.D. A.J and R.D match in a pushup competition. What events AJ wins were based on her farming tasks. AJ's strength is in her back legs and her back (from kicking and pulling)

 

ep. 18 - Scootaloo is shown to be the most athletic of the CMCs. That is because she is the most athletic. Because my friend is more athletic than me doesn't mean all white people are weak

 

ep. 19 - Everyone (minus Rarity and Spike) threw off the diamond dogs forcefully. - So?

 

ep. 25 - Rainbow dragged a resistant Pinkie Pie, against her will, across town. - Rainbow Dash is stronger than Pinkie Pie. Doesn't put down the entire Earth Pony Race

 

S.2 ep. 1 - Rarity carried a large bolder on her back. Twilight also carried a large bolder on her back. - See Below

 

S.2 ep. 2 - Rarity carries a large bolder plus Applejack. Twilight fights two earth ponies (Applejack and Pinkie), at once, to a standstill (not bad for a mage type character). Rarity kicks A.J down and makes her back off. Twilight pins Applejack by herself; Twilight and A.J both hold down Fluttershy with rope. Rainbow carries off both Pinkie and Rarity while flying. It takes 4 of the others to hold down Rainbow with ropes. R.D knocks A.J to the ground easily afterwards. - Rarity was cursed and was powered by stubbornness. Fluttershy has Flutter Rage. AJ was corrupted by Discord and not in the right state of mind (and her strength is mostly in her back legs)

 

S.2 ep. 4 - Twilight overpowers Pinkie, holding her to the ground. - Pinkie wasn't fighting back

 

S.2 ep. 5 - Sweetie Belle and Rarity both place second in an all around physical competition. -  Placed Second. Not first.

 

S.2 ep. 6 - Applebloom has the weakest bowling roll of the CMCs - So she is terrible at bowling. So?

 

S.2 ep. 9 - The unicorn bellhop carries everything without magic. - It's his job. He's used to it.

 

S.2 ep. 11 - Pegasi were the warrior types. It said by Princess Platinum that they are the "rough an tumbled" stereotype. - Has nothing to do with Earth Ponies

 

S.2 ep. 12 - Sweetie Belle makes a tree bend. -  Apple Bloom builds huge projects usually by herself.

 

S.2 ep. 13 - Poundcake, nuff say. - He likes hitting things. And?

 

S.2 ep. 14 - Fluttershy, and not Pinkie Pie, pulls the cart to chase A.J. - Flutter Rage works wonders

 

S.2 ep. 16 - The Indiana Jones type character is pegasi. - And?

 

S.2 ep. 19 - Fluttershy beats up one and tosses two earth ponies quite a distance away. Flutter Rage.

 

S.2 ep. 20 - Twilight moves more fluent as spy than Pinkie Pie. - Has nothing to do with Strength

 

S.2 ep. 21 - Two unicorns and a pegasi tackles a dragon. - And?

 

S.2 ep. 22 - A female pegasi is shown lifting a thousand pounds with just her wings - And?

 

S.2 ep. 26 - A.J is the one overpowered during the fight - Just because she is overpowered doesn't make her weak. Better, weaker fighters are able to beat stronger people due to experience.

 

S.3 ep. 6 - Sweetie Belle hauls more than Scootaloo? - I don't see the problem as neither are earth ponies.

 

S.3 ep. 7 - The overly buff character is a pegasi. - He is taking steroids. Look at his tiny wings.

 

S.3 ep. 13 - Pinkie can't buck trees, has a weak kick? - Pinkie has more "upper" body strength thanks to her job on the rock farm. She doesn't have experience bucking with her back legs. She has been able to push heavy objects around (like a cannon) easily.

 

 

*GASPS* That was a lot of typing. I hope I have been answer and explain everything that you brought up. The biggest issue is that just 1 character is stronger than an Earth Pony does not make all Earth Ponies weak by association

Also just to state some of the obvious:

 

Pinkie Pie has weak lower body strength and more upper body strength from all the work she had to do picking up and moving rocks with her upper body. She is also shown holding a lot on her shoulders and back when prepping for parties.

 

AJ has more lower body strength from all her farm work and bucking. She also has stronger shoulder and back due to pulling.

 

 

 

But the fact of the matter is that Discord is the strongest of them all. FACT

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Actually, Aj dominated the contests that required pure strength; There's is actually some technique to armwrestling

 

 

THANK. YOU.

 

Dash wins one test where strength is required, and half the fandom thinks she's stronger than Applejack even though arm wrestling calls for a lot of technique and posture too. Let us not forget that both ponies couldn't even budge each other's hooves in their first arm wrestling match in The Ticket Master. You can't disregard the fact that the vast majority of the contests that Applejack won were ones requiring strength. Dash won a lot of tests involving speed or dexterity.

 

Slightly off-topic, but here's how the contest went just for the sake of comparison:

 

- Rainbow Dash won the barrel races, but ONLY because Applejack nudged a barrel and picked up a five second penalty. In spite of that, Applejack was actually faster, finishing at 17 seconds to Dash's 18 seconds.

- Applejack did this with ONE hind leg when Dashie couldn't do this with two:

- Rainbow Dash won the bronco buck by using a completely different approach than that of Applejack. I do find it strange that RD won, simply because in a later episode (A Dog and Pony Show) it is Applejack who shows the others how to buck off the Diamond Dogs. Perhaps AJ was taking it too easy on Spike, something that Dash clearly didn't do. The point is, both ponies had different strategies, and Rainbow's proved superior.

- Applejack won the lasso contest. No surprise there.

- Rainbow Dash won the ball bouncing contest proving that she has the superior balance over Applejack.

- Applejack won the hay bale toss, which is another contest of strength.

- Dash won at hoof wrestling. It doesn't make sense to me, but again, it's is not all about strength.

- Applejack won the football kick and it wasn't even close.

- The push-ups contest was really a tie, but Rainbow used her wings to push herself up when Applejack was unable to. It would seem that both ponies have near equal upper body strength.

- Rainbow Dash used her wings to beat Applejack at the long jump. Otherwise, Applejack would have won.

- Dash won at chick wrangling by using her wings.

- Applejack would have had little trouble in defeating Dash at tug of war, but Rainbow used her wings to fly upwards where Applejack was unable to continue to pull. If Rainbow had her wings tied back, AJ would have won, proving once again that she is stronger overall.

 

Applejack proved her superior strength in at least four of the competitions. We could debate the average strength of Earth ponies in relation to Unicorns and Pegasi until the cows come home, but Applejack's strength is anything but a myth. Now with that in mind, the fact that Earth ponies do a lot of farming (as confirmed by Hearth's Warming Eve) you would think that Earth ponies tend to be very bodily strong. Is it not the hard labor and years of applebucking that has made Applejack the strong mare that she is? That's why the fandom sees Earth ponies as being physically strong. This obviously does not apply to every member of the species though.

Edited September 14, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[NavelColt 22,881]

The one and only special thing about Earth Ponies to ever be even hinted to, was in Hearth's Warming Eve, where it was shown that Earth Ponies have a special connection with the earth that pegasi and unicorns do not possess, making them naturally excellent farmers and crop growers, and making them generally entwined with the earth itself and that part of nature. Not sure where this super strength myth came from. Applejack and her brother built up their strength in bucking trees their whole lives, so they're naturally strong. They cannot be used as evidence for such a myth, thusly. Since I know no other Earth Ponies with noticeable physical strength, I've no reason to give such a myth any thought either.

[SkyStorm 334]

From what I know, it's not super strength, it's having many talents (not cutie mark talents)

 

another thing about earth ponies I noticed is how lots of them are named after foods (mr/mrs cake, pinky pie, berry punch, apple jack and all that lot

 

But otherwise, I don't know but it's defiantly not strength

[A Talking Dragon 257]

I'm going to lump quotes from the same person together to save space. My answers are in order of how I listed the quotes.

- Actually, Aj dominated the contests that required pure strength; There's is actually some technique to armwrestling.

- Ep. 7 They're afraid too much pressure will injure "weak, timid" Fluttershy.

- The SHS was mostly about coordination, the only task directly related to strenght was the haypushing

^ - And there's no technique in tug of war?

- Looks like they were trying pretty hard to me. :/

- And speed, agility, and stamina have nothing to do with it.
 

- ep. 2 - Because it was at a steep angle and couldn't get traction.

- RD is strong - that doesn't belittle the strength of earth ponies

- Flutter Rage

- Because she is the Captain. Her job is to organize things. My boss doesn't fix boxes like I do. His job is to organize the tasks

- That is because she is the most athletic.

- Rainbow Dash is stronger than Pinkie Pie. Doesn't put down the entire Earth Pony Race

- Rarity was cursed and was powered by stubbornness. Fluttershy has Flutter Rage. AJ was corrupted by Discord and not in the right state of mind.

- Pinkie wasn't fighting back

- Placed Second. Not first.

- So she is terrible at bowling. So?

- Has nothing to do with Earth Ponies

- Has nothing to do with Strength

- Just because she is overpowered doesn't make her weak. Better, weaker fighters are able to beat stronger people due to experience.

- He is taking steroids. Look at his tiny wings.

- I hope I have been answer and explain everything that you brought up. The biggest issue is that just 1 character is stronger than an Earth Pony does not make all Earth Ponies weak by association

^ - A good reason for Dash to have trouble stopping the carriage in the Mare Do Well episode, no?

- But wait, I thought only earth ponies are strong? If the other races can be strong too, then what happens to that balance that many in fandom need to have (for some reason) between the three races?

- Didn't look that angry to me, more like scared. AJ and Pinkie were trying to move her too. I wonder why they couldn't?

- That's a good point, though you should tell that to Rainbow Dash in Hurricane Fluttershy and Twilight in Dragonshy.

- By the stereotype, Applebloom should be the most athletic.

- It doesn't prove the myth either. Actually, the show has shown that a pegasi can be stronger and that an earth can be faster more than just once.

- Fluttershy's hidden strength seems a given at this point. I don't know where you pulled the other two points from. BTW, you still didn't explain how Twilight can carry a bolder around.

- Look again. Twilight is a unicorn and the closet thing to a classical nerd in the show, yet she somehow overpowers both Pinkie and Applejack, and fought both a once to a tie within the spam of three episodes.

- Yes, cause clearly when two of the more feminine and well groomed characters on the show beats nearly all the other more "physical" ponies in an athletic competition there's nothing to note. There's also Twilight placing fifth in a race, so this is not just a one time thing.

- An earth ponies being the weakest at something? How is this even possible?

- Sometimes you have to look at what isn't being said. Why didn't Princess Platinum say that of earth ponies? It would be an easy assumption given what they do. No, she said it about the winged ponies. Interestingly, why aren't there many earth ponies in the royal guard? I've only manage to find two? If there were guys out there like Big Mac, you'd be sure I would take them in to my army.

- Again, Twilight is not only a unicorn, but the "caster", and the "nerd-like" character of the main six, yet she's doing roll outs, climbs and dives better than Pinkie or Spike (a dude). That seems to break a lot of assumptions about her at once if you ask me.

- So the strength pony of the group is the only one overpowered during a fight and is one of two in need of rescue, and you see nothing strange about that? This wasn't a magical duel or flying maneuvers. This was an all around physical fight, and not only was AJ overpowered, but she didn't know any fighting techniques.

- This is a kid show, dude. Anyways, where's the earth pony version of him? I think he could be stronger than Big Mac.

- You've haven't answered anything. A lot of what you did is answered "so" and "and" to the examples of others characters (not just RD) disproving the myth. Why don't you come up with a list--that's near or bigger than mine--proving earth pony super strength.

My strong response aside, I do agree on your view regarding the strength displacement of AJ and Pinkie. I'm not sure how strong Pinkie is, but at this point she seems the weakest fighter of the group.
 

- Applejack did this with ONE hind leg. Applejack won the lasso contest, Applejack won the hay bale toss, Applejack won the football kick.

- Dash wins one test where strength is required, and half the fandom thinks she's stronger than Applejack even though arm wrestling calls for a lot of technique and posture too

^ - And why won't AJ be good at doing these things given what she does for a living? My point is that AJ can't speak for all earth ponies and ,even if she did, she's been beaten several times by non-earth ponies to hold true to the myth of earth super strength.

- Let's see:

- Rainbow Dash has a black belt and can street fight. AJ fights like a normal pony.
- Rainbow Dash dragged an earth pony, against her will, across town to the farm. AJ drags a non-resistant Pegasus part way up a mountain.
- Rainbow sends a stallion souring into the air and catches him, AJ has bucked away a changeling.
- Rainbow had to be held in place by four other ponies (including AJ). AJ was held in place by Twilight alone.
- Rainbow has carried four ponies at once--two later on, a male pony, and a giant statue. Aj has only ever carried one pony, a mare.
- Rainbow can literally knock the bases off of trees by soaring into them. AJ can make one tree shake with a good buck.
- Rainbow destroys a barn with her bare hooves and by using her body as a missile. AJ destroys a barn by sending a runaway carriage into it.

Remind me again why people think AJ's stronger then Rainbow? I think AJ's more well rounded (a mare of all trades), but RD's a tank.


Look, I'm not saying Applejack isn't strong, but her biggest strength comes from how she is as a pony. That she can deal with a lot both physically and mentally yet still endure is where her true strength lies. And, in a way, this is how I view the earth pony races. That they probable had to deal with a lot more since they lived on open land and grew mass amounts of food, yet still have the pull today (influence and money) and the most known Equestrian cities currently known is truly one of the most impressive things to be attested to their race.

--

Edited September 15, 2013 by A Talking Dragon

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

^ - And why won't AJ be good at doing these things given what she does for a living? My point is that AJ can't speak for all earth ponies and ,even if she did, she's been beaten several times by non-earth ponies to hold true to the myth of earth super strength.

 

 

My only correlation between Applejack and Earth ponies in general, is that Earth ponies are known to be capable farmers, thus the Earth ponies who do farm are likely to be very bodily strong, as evidenced by AJ's strength. I'm curious about how AJ has been "beaten several times" though.

 

And here are my responses to your points which I have bolded.

 

- Let's see:

- Rainbow Dash has a black belt and can street fight. AJ fights like a normal pony.

Except that, outside of the one time she fought changelings, we have seen very little actual fighting from Applejack. For all we know, she could know some sort of martial art involving her legs. We've seen far too little here to properly debate.

- Rainbow Dash dragged an earth pony, against her will, across town to the farm. AJ drags a non-resistant Pegasus part way up a mountain.

But Applejack went uphill from solid ground, all the way up a ginormous mountain.

- Rainbow sends a stallion souring into the air and catches him, AJ has bucked away a changeling.

.... And?

- Rainbow had to be held in place by four other ponies (including AJ). AJ was held in place by Twilight alone.

And why was Rainbow Dash held down by four ponies? Because by the off chance that she would escape, the other ponies would have to catch the fastest Pegasus in Equestria all over again, and time was not on their side to do that. Applejack was knocked down by Twilight when she was off guard, and Twilight was quick to work her magic. Besides, we're comparing two Discorded ponies who had very different behavior.

- Rainbow has carried four ponies at once--two later on, a male pony, and a giant statue. Aj has only ever carried one pony, a mare.

We haven't seen Applejack carry more than one pony. It sure doesn't mean that she can't. Also, Rainbow Dash struggled miserably with that statue, so I'm not sure how that's any kind of feat. If Applejack was the one who willingly carried Pinkie Pie on her back in A Friend in Deed, then it's probably because there's a good chance that she could handle it the best.

- Rainbow can literally knock the bases off of trees by soaring into them. AJ can make one tree shake with a good buck.

And Rainbow Dash does that with her wing power and ability to fly insanely fast, which IMO, is a totally separate kind of strength.

- Rainbow destroys a barn with her bare hooves and by using her body as a missile. AJ destroys a barn by sending a runaway carriage into it.

Again, super speedy wing power to the rescue.

 

Remind me again why people think AJ's stronger then Rainbow? I think AJ's more well rounded (a mare of all trades), but RD's a tank.

Sure, Rainbow Dash is a tank. A lot of that tankiness comes from being an exceptional flier though. If Applejack had wings, she would destroy her own barn by herself. I'm not taking away from Dash's strength, but it's her wings that give her these superhuman abilities. Applejack is somewhat limited to what she can do compared to RD because she doesn't have wings. But in pound for pound, hoof for hoof strength, Applejack wins handily.

 

AJ stopped the carriage bus in Mysterious Mare Do Well when Rainbow Dash couldn't even come close. Rainbow herself even ADMITS that Mare Do Well, who was Applejack at that time, is stronger than her. There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth.

 

Applejack has pulled and held back Rainbow Dash many times as well.

 

Applejack's human counterpart carried away a table with one arm better than two guys could with both of their arms. Applejack didn't get to be "faithful and strong" by playing second fiddle to Rainbow Dash. She is strong in mind, emotion, AND physical strength.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[A Talking Dragon 257]

My only correlation between Applejack and Earth ponies in general, is that Earth ponies are known to be capable farmers, thus the Earth ponies who do farm are likely to be very bodily strong, as evidenced by AJ's strength

 

^ That's a pretty loose conclusion. So are you saying that Carrot Top would be a copy of Applejack and Carmel would be a copy of Big Mac in all areas? Do you think they would have AJ's mind set or Big Mac's gene structure? You might as well tell me that all librarians are 90 pound weaklings because they're near books all day and can't see the light of day. Don't take away or make light of Applejack's and Mac's uniqueness as characters.

 

- Except that, outside of the one time she fought changelings, we have seen very little actual fighting from Applejack. For all we know, she could know some sort of martial art involving her legs.

 

^ - Yes, "for all we know," she could be a great fighter or a poor one. If she is a great one, she sure didn't shown it when she fought Twilight with Pinkie, or when she didn't beat RD, or when Rarity was tried to kick her face in.

 

This ties back into what I said about her being more well rounded. If I had to guess, Applejack can fight well, but she has to do it her way: using her talents. Note how she fought the Manticore, rodeo style (what's she the ten time champion of again?). Note her use of projectiles to attack from a distance in Dragonshy and Spike at Your Service (it's been shown she has good aim). AJ's ok close up; she can buck an opponent away, but she's no powerhouse in brawling. Why would she be? It's more likely that AJ had a more peaceful up bring than RD growing up at the farm: I mean, who's she gonna fight? Her peaceful brother, who seems as violent as a butterfly? Her old granny? Rainbow had a completive environment and bullies on her back. Her having a reason to defend herself has more fuel to it.

 

- But Applejack went uphill from solid ground, all the way up a ginormous mountain.

 

- .... And?

 

- And why was Rainbow Dash held down by four ponies? Because by the off chance that she would escape, the other ponies would have to catch the fastest Pegasus in Equestria all over again.

 

- Applejack was knocked down by Twilight when she was off guard, and Twilight was quick to work her magic. Besides, we're comparing two Discorded ponies who had very different behavior.

 

- We haven't seen Applejack carry more than one pony. It sure doesn't mean that she can't

 

- Also, Rainbow Dash struggled miserably with that statue, so I'm not sure how that's any kind of feat. If Applejack was the one who willingly carried Pinkie Pie on her back in A Friend in Deed, then it's probably because there's a good chance that she could handle it the best

 

- And Rainbow Dash does that with her wing power and ability to fly insanely fast, which IMO, is a totally separate kind of strength.

 

- Sure, Rainbow Dash is a tank. A lot of that tankiness comes from being an exceptional flier though. If Applejack had wings, she would destroy her own barn by herself.

 

- AJ stopped the carriage bus in Mysterious Mare Do Well when Rainbow Dash couldn't even come close.

 

- Applejack has pulled and held back Rainbow Dash many times as well.

 

- Applejack's human counterpart carried away a table with one arm better than two guys could with both of their arms.

 

^ - Yes, but Fluttershy wasn't resisting. Also, what's that other fanon myth about Pegasus being lighter so they can fly?

 

- The changling was smaller and had an insect bodies; if you believe the fanon that all those in mlp must be light to fly, then this would count as well. Also, if the changeling was female, more likely she was lighter.

 

- Like the others never had trouble trying to catch Applejack. Even Pinkie Pie couldn't catch AJ alone, and she's master at tagging Dash. Even then, it took just Dash to pin her.

 

- Well then, Applejack was caught off guard a lot: she was kicked down by Rarity, leaped on by Twilight beforehand, and knocked down by Rainbow, all in the span of the same episode. :/

 

- Doesn't mean she can either.

 

- The issue with the statue was balance, not the lifting. And if you think carrying a mare is impressive, consider Rarity: she carried a freaking bolder AND Applejack at the same time.

 

- There's no prove of this. And if speed did transition into power and indestructible, then Dash would definitely be stronger than AJ.

 

- Yeah, I'm sure any other winged pony can rainbow-nuke a barn, or smash into a tower of rocks, or do a sonic rainboom. :/

 

- Watch the scene again carefully. The ground levels out more. AJ stops the carriage smartly by angling her body and leveling more of the force into the ground.

 

- AJ is RD's friend. I'm sure she would beat the tar out of anyone else for doing that. Also, if it were that easy then RD won't have needed to be held in place by four others. 

 

- Rainbow Dash is the captain of every single sport's team there. If that doesn't require a great deal of physical feat, I don't know what does.

 

 

Sugercube, I think I know where your heart lays in this. Please don't tell me that you're one of those that believes AJ needs to be "given" something or pitied.

[Dusknight Haze 161]

If we're going to talk about canon then we have to acknowledge that ALL powers in the series are completely arbitrary and only exist and are subsequently weakened or strengthened by the needs of the plot and characterization.

 

The most egregious example is Alicorn Princess Twilight Sparkle letting Sunset Shimmer get away with the crown in EqG. She could have just used her uh, GODLIKE magic powers to hold her up in the air and walk up to her, taking the crown and calling the guards and Celestia.

 

The entire movie would have ended right there, lol. Plus there are probably almost a hundred other examples over the course of the show.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love MLP and the world that has been built in it, but you have to admit, the writers have never been consistent in their characterization of powers at all.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Dusknight Haze

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

I can see this is going to go nowhere... I've responded to your post in bold type. I'm not trying to be an annoying nuisance or a jerk or anything, I just love debating and honestly, you're probably the only guy on the forum who starts up interesting debates, A Talking Dragon.
Oh boy, get ready for a long doozy of a post. If I ever needed proof that I'm a loudmouth who talks too much, this would be it. xP

 

^ That's a pretty loose conclusion. So are you saying that Carrot Top would be a copy of Applejack and Carmel would be a copy of Big Mac in all areas? Do you think they would have AJ's mind set or Big Mac's gene structure? You might as well tell me that all librarians are 90 pound weaklings because they're near books all day and can't see the light of day. Don't take away or make light of Applejack's and Mac's uniqueness as characters.

No, I'm not. I'm just saying that farming requires a lot of physical strength, so a pony who farms might very well have built up a lot of said strength during their lifetime. I'm not taking anything away from Applejack and Big Mac because they nearly single-hoofedly run a farm, and so their strength is on another level entirely for this and probably other reasons. Both characters are incredibly strong - stronger than the average mare or stallion. I'm only implying that on average, Earth ponies are likely to be more muscle strong than the average Unicorn or Pegasus.

 

^ - Yes, "for all we know," she could be a great fighter or a poor one. If she is a great one, she sure didn't shown it when she fought Twilight with Pinkie, or when she didn't beat RD, or when Rarity was tried to kick her face in.

 

This ties back into what I said about her being more well rounded. If I had to guess, Applejack can fight well, but she has to do it her way: using her talents. Note how she fought the Manticore, rodeo style (what's she the ten time champion of again?). Note her use of projectiles to attack from a distance in Dragonshy and Spike at Your Service (it's been shown she has good aim). AJ's ok close up; she can buck an opponent away, but she's no powerhouse in brawling. Why would she be? It's more likely that AJ had a more peaceful up bring than RD growing up at the farm: I mean, who's she gonna fight? Her peaceful brother, who seems as violent as a butterfly? Her old granny? Rainbow had a completive environment and bullies on her back. Her having a reason to defend herself has more fuel to it.

The way I see it, whenever Applejack got pinned down by Twilight or beaten up by Rarity, it was done specifically to advance the plot (in the former), or for comedy (in the latter). And again, they were all discorded and had very different mentalities and behavior, so I don't even think it's worth using as any kind of evidence to support anything.

 

And if I may put things into a different perspective, Applejack is very likely to be the "fighter" in her family, because Granny Smith sure isn't going to protect the farm and the family at her age, and neither is little Apple Bloom. Big Mac is shy, gentle, lacks AJ's authority, and is more of a pacifist in nature. AJ is the most capable of protecting what is dear to her, so I don't think a peaceful upbringing means that she doesn't have a reason to defend herself. Applejack is seen using a punching (or kicking) bag in one episode, so it is very likely that she trains herself quite often. Also, Apple Bloom knows Kung Fu. If Apple Bloom learned it from somewhere, chances are Applejack did too. I wouldn't even be at all surprised if AJ was the one who taught Apple Bloom, because the two sisters are nearly inseparable and do practically everything together. And if we are going to use the discorded ponies as evidence, in Return of Harmony Part 2, discorded Applejack takes up a fighting stance of her own with her front hooves. I don't think she's any kind of slouch when it comes to getting down and dirty whether it's close-range, long-range, front hooves or back hooves.

 

And even if Rainbow Dash was picked on as a filly, it's not like she's Billie Bad Mare who's gonna kick every bully's flank for messing with her, so I doubt she's any more experienced with fighting outside of being a black belt. Rainbow and Applejack are both strong, they both train, and they're both competitive athletes. Let's just leave it at that.

 

^ - Yes, but Fluttershy wasn't resisting. Also, what's that other fanon myth about Pegasus being lighter so they can fly?

I don't pay any heed to fanon whatsoever, but even if Fluttershy wasn't resisting, you must realize that traveling upwards around a mountain with someone on your back is going to require an incredible amount of strength. Pinkie Pie resisted against Rainbow Dash, but A. ) Rainbow Dash PULLED her by the tail rather than carry her on her back, and B. ) Rainbow didn't have to trek up a mountain which is something that requires a lot of leg power at the very least. I dunno, but when I look at both situations, I think Applejack's was much more physically demanding. It didn't seem like Pinkie was resisting that much. She resisted enough to let Rainbow know she didn't want to be messed with, but she didn't really do much to fight back.

 

Also, Rainbow Dash once tried to push Fluttershy into visiting the Dragon Migration against her will, and what happened? Rainbow Dash failed to push her out the door, and ended up getting stomped on by Fluttershy so badly that she saw butterflies flying around. You need to just accept the fact that different circumstances call for different outcomes for the convenience of the plot.

 

- The changling was smaller and had an insect bodies; if you believe the fanon that all those in mlp must be light to fly, then this would count as well. Also, if the changeling was female, more likely she was lighter.

Again, I don't care about fanon.

 

- Like the others never had trouble trying to catch Applejack. Even Pinkie Pie couldn't catch AJ alone, and she's master at tagging Dash. Even then, it took just Dash to pin her.

Catching Applejack doesn't require wings either. Rainbow Dash can not only fly, but her flying makes her MUCH faster than Applejack. And Pinkie's random abilities to catch up with another pony are just that - random. They happen when it's convenient for the plot or for a joke, but they don't seem to show up otherwise.

 

- Well then, Applejack was caught off guard a lot: she was kicked down by Rarity, leaped on by Twilight beforehand, and knocked down by Rainbow, all in the span of the same episode. :/

I think it's an easy enough assumption. If it's plot convenient, then any excuse is fair game. Bear in mind that Rarity has proven herself a very capable fighter on more than one occasion, and her discorded form was VERY aggressive about that rock. Applejack was noticeably less aggressive in that form than the other ponies were, which also explains why Twilight could leap onto her with so little trouble. As for Dashie knocking her over, so what? Applejack's not a thick barrier or brick wall. Dashie was very excited, and Applejack had her guard down because she was relieved to have her friend back. It wasn't a situation where one was trying to overpower the other, it was just a friendly tackle.

 

- Doesn't mean she can either.

Fair enough.

 

- The issue with the statue was balance, not the lifting. And if you think carrying a mare is impressive, consider Rarity: she carried a freaking bolder AND Applejack at the same time.

 So yeah, Rarity carried a boulder. So did Twilight. If those two could do it, Applejack could have done that and then some. This doesn't say anything about Applejack's strength. AJ is stronger than Twilight, is she not?

 

- There's no prove of this. And if speed did transition into power and indestructible, then Dash would definitely be stronger than AJ.

Rainbow Dash is stronger at tasks and activities where her wings can come into play because her speed does transition into a certain kind of power. However, there are many activities and events where wings won't help Rainbow Dash. Applejack is stronger at those kinds of things. I'm talking strictly about muscles in a pony's body. Applejack is raw power.

 

- Yeah, I'm sure any other winged pony can rainbow-nuke a barn, or smash into a tower of rocks, or do a sonic rainboom. :/

Okay, I'll give you that, but again, it has to do with the fact that Rainbow Dash's super speed can cause this kind of destruction - destruction that any other pony would simply not be able to do without ample wing power.  The whole reason Rainbow brought down AJ's barn was because she could do it so fast due to her super speed flying, which in itself, holds a lot of power for these kinds of things. Take away Rainbow's wings and Applejack may as well have taken the extra time to tear down the barn herself.

 

- Watch the scene again carefully. The ground levels out more. AJ stops the carriage smartly by angling her body and leveling more of the force into the ground.

Okay, maybe so. But Rainbow Dash was obviously impressed with Applejack's feat, and still was quick to admit AJ was stronger. And had Dash actually taken Applejack's approach, I have high doubts that she would have succeeded. Applejack has the stronger hind legs by a wide margin, lest I remind you of what Applejack did with ONE of her legs in comparison to Dash's TWO in the strength contest.

 

- AJ is RD's friend. I'm sure she would beat the tar out of anyone else for doing that. Also, if it were that easy then RD won't have needed to be held in place by four others. 

Rainbow Dash wouldn't beat up her other friends for holding her back, would she? And so if Applejack only holds down Rainbow's tail because she knows Dash won't beat the tar out of her, then why is it only ever Applejack who does it? Would Rainbow beat the tar out of any of her other pony friends who held down her tail, like Twilight or Rarity? I doubt it. And yet it's always Applejack who pulls back Dash's tail. Why? Because she's the only one who can muster up the strength to hold Dash back.

 

Once again you're treading into that same discorded pony territory that I personally don't think holds enough merit to prove anything. The other ponies simply took extra precautions in holding down Rainbow Dash because they could not afford to let her get away when they were barely able to catch her the first time.

 

- Rainbow Dash is the captain of every single sport's team there. If that doesn't require a great deal of physical feat, I don't know what does.

It requires great athleticism, but does not necessarily call for heavy duty strength. Once again, I am not discrediting Rainbow Dash's physical power. She is easily the SECOND strongest of the Mane Six, and the overall most athletic, dexterous, and fast. Applejack is athletically gifted too, just less so. Applejack makes up for it by being the strongest in pure raw power. Applejack carrying a table is a testament to her strength. Rainbow Dash kicking a soccer ball around is a testament to her athleticism. Way different things.

 

Sugercube, I think I know where your heart lays in this. Please don't tell me that you're one of those that believes AJ needs to be "given" something or pitied.

Nope, not at all. I am still 100% convinced that Applejack is stronger than Rainbow Dash whenever wings are not a factor, and that Rainbow Dash is the all-around better athlete outside of some rodeo-style events. RD trains herself in sports and Applejack busts her flank doing hard labor. It is easy to see where one is athletic and one is strong.

 

I don't think Applejack needs to be given anything or pitied, I just like a good argument. That's where my heart lies.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[A Talking Dragon 257]

I can see this is going to go nowhere... I've responded to your post in bold type.

 

^ Yes, you've bolded what I typed, doesn't have the same effect.

 

 I'm not trying to be an annoying nuisance or a jerk or anything, I just love debating and honestly, you're probably the only guy on the forum who starts up interesting debates, A Talking Dragon

 

^ Why thank you. I find a lot of what you post on other topics well thought out.

 

I didn't mean to offend you, however--as you can tell--I'm quite passionate on this (the earth pony stereotype is one of my pet peeves). If you notices, in many of my other topics I usually open in the form of a question, present what I know, and let others talk among themselves. Here I'm making a declarative statement, and I need to go all out to back it up.

 

I like debating too, except when I have to do multiple long posts; each one take me quite a while to think up, type up, and double prove read. But I have to at least try to see this topic through. Regardless on how I seem or sound, I'm battling against the general view, not trying to attack you--unless you start hating on AJ. So let's get started again shall we . . .

 

No, I'm not. I'm just saying that farming requires a lot of physical strength

 

^ Let me stop you right there. That's another stereotype I don't care for. You don't need to be build like a gorilla to work on a farm. You need to have the experience to handle different tasks, the knowledge around animals, and the fortitude to get the job done when it needs to be done.  While I don't care to pull from personal experience for this, I feel that I have to. I've been to several farms and even volunteered at a farm park. The girls and women there were no different from any other you'd find at another workplace. Girls from a school's sport team look buffer than they do. I've seen little old ladies (in their 80s) work the fields with a steady hand. The point is that anyone can help at a farm provided they have the right values. It's like working at the grocery store. Is there going to be some lifting, yes, but there's also a bunch of smaller task that needs doing. You need to be a hard worker to stand at attention for 8 hours.

 

I'm only implying that on average, Earth ponies are likely to be more muscle strong than the average Unicorn or Pegasus.

 

^ Statements like this take away from Unicorns and Pegasus. We don't have enough on others cities to determine if their life style is any easier. Right now there are a ton of Pegasus and unicorns in the royal guard, and hardly any earth ponies. Does this mean earth ponies are weaker?

 

The way I see it, whenever Applejack got pinned down by Twilight or beaten up by Rarity, it was done specifically to advance the plot (in the former), or for comedy (in the latter). And again, they were all discorded and had very different mentalities and behavior, so I don't even think it's worth using as any kind of evidence to support anything.

 

^ Most of it doesn't seem like a gag: like Rainbow having to pin AJ to stop her from running away in The Last Roundup, or when Twilight was driven to the point of attack her two friends (AJ and Pinkie), or holding AJ down to remind her that this isn't who she is. These are more heartbreaking moments than funny ones.

 

Anyways, if you argue "advancing the plot" than that can apply to Applejack as well. Example: Applejack needed to be winning the tug of war in order to show that Rainbow stole the victory away from her by unintentionally cheating. Or, Applejack needed to match Rainbow in speed so there would be a competition in the Running of the Leafs. The fact that there are so many incidents of earth ponies being matched or overpowered compared to displaying super strength can be used to argue "plot convince" on earth ponies as well when they preform well.

 

As for the discorded argument, unless it affects them physically, by making them weaker or stronger, it doesn't matter. Even then, you still have an undiscorded Twilight who also lifted the bolder. Then there's how everyone of the mane 6 knocked off the Diamond Dogs equally and hauled the exact same amount of gems at the end of A Dog and Pony Show, regardless of race.

 

- And if I may put things into a different perspective, Applejack is very likely to be the "fighter" in her family, because Granny Smith sure isn't going to protect the farm and the family at her age, and neither is little Apple Bloom. Big Mac is shy, gentle, lacks AJ's authority, and is more of a pacifist in nature

 

- AJ is the most capable of protecting what is dear to her, so I don't think a peaceful upbringing means that she doesn't have a reason to defend herself.

 

- And even if Rainbow Dash was picked on as a filly, it's not like she's Billie Bad Mare who's gonna kick every bully's flank for messing with her, so I doubt she's any more experienced with fighting outside of being a black belt.

 

^ - You can use the same argument for Pinkie Pie: no one in her family looks like they would do anything rash. And Fluttershy, she developed the stare for some reason. Twilight had a brother in the military. Won't it have made sense if she picked up a few things from him. Actually, I made a topic on why Rarity was likely a hidden brawler. Anyways, Big Mac shows that he can get serious when he really needs too. Recall Applejack's threat to AB in Bridle Gossip about telling Big Mac on her.

 

- No, it would give her a reason to learn to be fast though. Look at it this way, Applejack lives on the edge of a peaceful town, in a farm of laid back people. The closest cluster of ponies are in Ponyvile, which her family help founded. Her farm's cider and zap apple jam makes her place quite liked by others. Any threats AJ faces don't come from other ponies: there's the history of having to fight off things from the Everfree forest (like timber wolves). Since her farm grows large amounts of food, other creatures have tried to steal her crop (see ep. 23, S2 ep. 13, S3. ep.8). Sometimes animals have just plain nearly destroy her home or land (paraspites, beavers in S3. ep10). Heck, Applejack knew how to deal with a massive stamped. See, there are canon reasons for AJ to be well rounded. For her to be adept to nature. She's not going to box a manticore, but she can master attacking at a distance, and driving it away with sound. She would need to be fast too in order to gather crops faster and chase away anything eating her crops.

 

- Having bullies would give her a reason to want and get a black belt. Rainbow also has a bit of a temper compared to the other mane 5. She was willing to let loose on two stallion unicorn, three teenage dragons, and a full grown one. Remember that Applejack wasn't always around to hold RD back, and Fluttershy, forget it. If she's lasted this long she must be reasonably strong. AJ let her tear up the barn for a reason (rainbow-nuke or not).

 

- I don't pay any heed to fanon whatsoever

 

- but even if Fluttershy wasn't resisting, you must realize that traveling upwards around a mountain with someone on your back is going to require an incredible amount of strength. Pinkie Pie resisted against Rainbow Dash, but A. ) Rainbow Dash PULLED her by the tail rather than carry her on her back, and B. ) Rainbow didn't have to trek up a mountain which is something that requires a lot of leg power at the very least.

 

 

- Also, Rainbow Dash once tried to push Fluttershy into visiting the Dragon Migration against her will, and what happened? Rainbow Dash failed to push her out the door, and ended up getting stomped on by Fluttershy so badly that she saw butterflies flying around.

 

 

^ - Yet you believe the fanon on earth ponies?

 

  - Look at the scene again. Applejack did drag Fluttershy (by pulling the tail), not carry her. And AJ never went up the whole mountain, but took Fluttershy along the easier path where it wasn't so steep. Fluttershy was just dead weight, Pinkie was actively acting against Rainbow to not go to the barn--Pinkie thought her friends were forcing her to go, so she had reason to fight. So if you believe that earth ponies are stronger than the other races than moving Pinkie would be harder than moving Fluttershy. 

 

- Fluttershy was actively resisting and Iron Will had happened. I would have loved to have seen what would have occurred to Twilight had Nightmare Night occurred just shortly afterward. 

 

- Catching Applejack doesn't require wings either.

 

- Rainbow Dash can not only fly, but her flying makes her MUCH faster than Applejack. And Pinkie's random abilities to catch up with another pony are just that - random. They happen when it's convenient for the plot or for a joke, but they don't seem to show up otherwise.

 

 

^ - Yes, it just also took the rest of the main 5 working together, a race across a dessert, and AJ, herself, making a mistake to catch her.

 

 - Pinkie's speed is real at this point. It's happened several times outside of gags. There's no doubt in my mind that Pinkie would have caught AJ then and there at Dodge Junction had it not been for quick thinking from the latter.

 

- I think it's an easy enough assumption. If it's plot convenient, then any excuse is fair game.

 

- Bear in mind that Rarity has proven herself a very capable fighter on more than one occasion, and her discorded form was VERY aggressive about that rock. Applejack was noticeably less aggressive in that form than the other ponies were, which also explains why Twilight could leap onto her with so little trouble. As for Dashie knocking her over, so what? Applejack's not a thick barrier or brick wall. Dashie was very excited, and Applejack had her guard down because she was relieved to have her friend back.

 

 

^ - See my earlier argument on the plot convenient point.

 

- Like I said before, unless the discorded state made everyone weaker, Applejack is still Applejack. I'll give you the friendly tackle though.

 

-So yeah, Rarity carried a boulder. So did Twilight. If those two could do it, Applejack could have done that and then some. This doesn't say anything about Applejack's strength.

 

-  And if we are going to use the discorded ponies as evidence, in Return of Harmony Part 2, discorded Applejack takes up a fighting stance of her own with her front hooves. I don't think she's any kind of slouch . . .

 

-AJ is stronger than Twilight, is she not?

 

^ - Maybe Fluttershy could carry the bolder as well. This sure as hey doesn't prove that the other two races are weaker.

 

- That was some interesting shadow boxing. If Applejack was really that powerful, than that would have translated in the changeling fight. Yet she showed no fighting style and she fought the best way she knew how, bucking. Arguable, this is how any pony or horse would fight. Rainbow and Rarity were the ones going crazy with their techniques.  

 

- To be honest, I really don't know. Like Applejack, I think Twilight is well rounded. She can place well in a race, do heavy lifting if really needed, fight well bare hooved. I don't think though that Twilight (like AJ and Pinkie) has a hidden brawler side to her, but she does have freaky magic (like AJ has her rodeo skills and Pinkie her unpredictability). If Twilight lets loose with her inner magic, she's the most powerful one of the group.

 

- Rainbow Dash is stronger at tasks and activities where her wings can come into play because her speed does transition into a certain kind of power.

 

- it has to do with the fact that Rainbow Dash's super speed can cause this kind of destruction - destruction that any other pony would simply not be able to do without ample wing power.

 

- The whole reason Rainbow brought down AJ's barn was because she could do it so fast due to her super speed flying, which in itself, holds a lot of power for these kinds of things. Take away Rainbow's wings and Applejack may as well have taken the extra time to tear down the barn herself.

 

^ - The same can be said about Applejack's leg power; she's better at certain tasks because of them. However, she certainly didn't place first at the Running of Leaves even as she could use her legs and Rainbow couldn't fly. And if Applejack can't use her legs, she's not as naturally strong: she couldn't pull up Twilight up in ep. 2., couldn't get the same pony off in Season 2 ep. 2, tackled by Dash in the Last Round Up, and was overpowered by a changeling and taken down.

 

On the other coin, Rainbow's speed does not make her powerful or indestructible. She needed medical attention twice in the show. RD has flown into objects at high speeds before (including a tree) and she came up on the sore end of the stick. It doesn't matter how fast she was going, she wouldn't have been able to knock out several bases off of forest trees, pause in mid-flight, then carry all of the lumber at once to the camp site if RD didn't have physical strength.

 

- Has any other winged pony been nearly as destructive as her? Even the Wonderbolts, who are held by Rainbow Dash as standard of excellence, haven't displayed the raw power she has.

 

- False. Rainbow was chopping away (black beat style) long before she nuked it, and was even tearing pieces out with her bare teeth, chucking them far enough so that these nearly hit Twilight. Like I said before, Rainbow's the tank of the group.

 

- Okay, maybe so. But Rainbow Dash was obviously impressed with Applejack's feat, and still was quick to admit AJ was stronger. And had Dash actually taken Applejack's approach, I have high doubts that she would have succeeded.                                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

^ She admitted a lot of things, about Mare Do Well. Without the knowledge of Pinkie sense, Dash also thought Pinkie was several times faster than her and was ESP. I think Dash could have stop the carriage had she done properly, but she doesn't have AJ's sense about these things and tends to rush it

 

Applejack has the stronger hind legs by a wide margin, lest I remind you of what Applejack did with ONE of her legs in comparison to Dash's TWO in the strength

 

^ Applejack, herself, admitted that this was due to years of labor, not because she was born an earth pony.

 

- And so if Applejack only holds down Rainbow's tail because she knows Dash won't beat the tar out of her, then why is it only ever Applejack who does it?

 

-  Would Rainbow beat the tar out of any of her other pony friends who held down her tail, like Twilight or Rarity?

 

 

^ - Because AJ is not as quick to make hasty decisions and, is so far, the least likely of the mane 6 to lose her head, hence she was given the title "the voice of reason" in the fandom. In addition to being the rational one, she's better on getting heard and even has Twilight listen to her. The latter also stands up to Rainbow, but in a different, less blunt way (not including the time she also yanked Rainbow's tail with magic).

 

 - I never said she would. I said AJ is her friend, so are the others. You tend to let your friends get away with more than a complete strangers.

 

- The other ponies simply took extra precautions in holding down Rainbow Dash because they could not afford to let her get away when they were barely able to catch her the first time.

 

^ And two earth ponies weren't enough to hold down one Pegasus because . . . ?

 

It requires great athleticism, but does not necessarily call for heavy duty strength.

 

Are you aware of how many sport teams there are and the degrees of skill each would require? There's basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, football, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, volley ball, track and field long and short distance running, javelin throw, shot put, long jump, softball, hockey, and martial arts, and that's not all. If you think speed is enough to get by in all of these, then you're sorely mistaken. Any of them would require (in addition to speed), stamina, agility, dexterity, fortitude, and, of course strength.   Rainbow would have had to master each of these, or at least place well enough to serve as the mentor, to achieve the ranking she did.

 

Applejack carrying a table is a testament to her strength.

 

^ I could argue that this was a gag and it shouldn't be taken seriously, or that AJ was in an alternate state. However, I think the biggest, darning thing to pay attention to is that AJ's was NOT an earth pony at the time.

 

 

 

GOOD CELESTIA, you have no idea how long it took for me to write all this! Since I certain don't want to make another post this long let me highlight the core issues that are the real heart of the matter for this topic:

 

- Earth pony super strength (for the average earth pony) is a fanon MYTH.

- Canon does not back up the statement above. Canon does help disprove it.

- Applejack or Big Mac does not = all ponies (just like Twilight doesn't represent the average unicorn)

- Rainbow Dash is the tank of the group. Ok, maybe not this one, but I do think that Rainbow Dash is the strongest fighter.

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Forget my last post. This is the real proof that I talk too much. This post took forever, and I am not gonna do another one. I just thought I'd gather one last collection of thoughts and that's it.

 

Don't click the spoiler unless you want an enormous text wall. You have been warned.

 

 

 

 

 

^ Let me stop you right there. That's another stereotype I don't care for. You don't need to be build like a gorilla to work on a farm. You need to have the experience to handle different tasks, the knowledge around animals, and the fortitude to get the job done when it needs to be done. While I don't care to pull from personal experience for this, I feel that I have to. I've been to several farms and even volunteered at a farm park. The girls and women there were no different from any other you'd find at another workplace. Girls from a school's sport team look buffer than they do. I've seen little old ladies (in their 80s) work the fields with a steady hand. The point is that anyone can help at a farm provided they have the right values. It's like working at the grocery store. Is there going to be some lifting, yes, but there's also a bunch of smaller task that needs doing. You need to be a hard worker to stand at attention for 8 hours.

Fair enough, I will give you that it's a stereotype to associate ALL farmers with being strong. I guess I was thinking more in terms of Applejack's farm life specifically. She does an awful lot of hard work considering that she and Big Mac do the majority of the heavy lifting. You have to give her credit when she aids in barn raising, applebucking, pulling carts full of apples, fixing water chutes, and basically running the place 24/7. Granny Smith and Apple Bloom have their place, but ultimately it is Big Mac and AJ who do most of the strength-related tasks. Applejack is basically doing the kind of labor a strong man would do. Not every woman farmer in our world works as hard as Applejack does.

 

But you're right. Not all Earth Ponies, whether they farm or not, work as hard or are as strong as Applejack either.

^ Statements like this take away from Unicorns and Pegasus. We don't have enough on others cities to determine if their life style is any easier. Right now there are a ton of Pegasus and unicorns in the royal guard, and hardly any earth ponies. Does this mean earth ponies are weaker?

No we don't have enough evidence, so we just have to take what evidence we do have and speculate the best we can until the show decides to address the fandom's many burning questions.

 

That said, the Unicorns use their magic power to take care of tasks. Maybe I'm way off track here, but the fact that they can do heavy lifting just by focusing on magic makes me think they're less likely to build up physical strength, as it just makes good sense. They don't need physical strength as much when magic is their source of power.

 

Pegasi make for the best royal guards because they can fly, so they can not only haul the Royal Sisters around, but they're much more equipped to use weapons. The fact that they can fly means it's much easier for them to carry things because they don't constantly have four hooves on the ground.They are more combat-oriented as you mentioned, but particularly weapon combat. They can be strong warriors who wield weapons, much like when Dash and Fluttershy jousted with one another. I still think that Earth ponies have to work a lot harder to get around and haul things, so they're more likely to build up pure physical strength in their bodies just due to the way they live their lives. They have an added incentive of wanting to be strong because they don't have wings or magic to compensate for any dangers they might face. Consider the Appleoosans, they proved that they're tough as nails when they took on the buffalo tribe. At one point a random mare was ready to go hoof to hoof with one of the buffalo. They may not be able to fly or carry a weapon, but they still have their own kind of strength.

^ Most of it doesn't seem like a gag: like Rainbow having to pin AJ to stop her from running away in The Last Roundup, or when Twilight was driven to the point of attack her two friends (AJ and Pinkie), or holding AJ down to remind her that this isn't who she is. These are more heartbreaking moments than funny ones.

 

Anyways, if you argue "advancing the plot" than that can apply to Applejack as well. Example: Applejack needed to be winning the tug of war in order to show that Rainbow stole the victory away from her by unintentionally cheating. Or, Applejack needed to match Rainbow in speed so there would be a competition in the Running of the Leafs. The fact that there are so many incidents of earth ponies being matched or overpowered compared to displaying super strength can be used to argue "plot convince" on earth ponies as well when they preform well.

 

As for the discorded argument, unless it affects them physically, by making them weaker or stronger, it doesn't matter. Even then, you still have an undiscorded Twilight who also lifted the bolder. Then there's how everyone of the mane 6 knocked off the Diamond Dogs equally and hauled the exact same amount of gems at the end of A Dog and Pony Show, regardless of race.

If Rainbow's flying full speed then of course she's going to knock Applejack down. I wonder why she didn't just do that in the first place, but again, that's a good example of plot convenience.

 

Applejack's race with Rainbow Dash was a huge focal point for an entire episode. The fact that they were equal in the Running of the Leaves can be backed up. Applejack was faster than Rainbow Dash in the barrel race, and we've seen Applejack run like crazy in many situations - against the Tmberwolves, when she saved Twilight from an avalanche, stopping the stampede of cows, and when she trained for the upcoming rodeo. So her being able to keep up with Rainbow Dash is NOT an example of plot convenience because Applejack has proved to actually be very fast throughout the whole series. As for the tug of war, AJ won many other contests involving strength, so I fail to see how that in any way equates to just plot convenience. These things you mentioned worked in the episode because they made sense. When something is plot convenient, there's always something about the event that doesn't make sense ie: Why didn't Rainbow Dash just fly right over to AJ and knock her down when she had a chance to do so in The Last Roundup? Or, why didn't Rainbow Dash just do another Rainbow-nuke to wipe out the changelings? In both situations, the climax would suffer if these things happened because it would be too easy. That, and the Rainbow-nuke was more of a gag than anything.

^ - You can use the same argument for Pinkie Pie: no one in her family looks like they would do anything rash. And Fluttershy, she developed the stare for some reason. Twilight had a brother in the military. Won't it have made sense if she picked up a few things from him. Actually, I made a topic on why Rarity was likely a hidden brawler. Anyways, Big Mac shows that he can get serious when he really needs too. Recall Applejack's threat to AB in Bridle Gossip about telling Big Mac on her.

Pinkie Pie grew up with parents to protect her. Applejack didn't, at least partly. Pinkie's also much more carefree and cheery in her outlook, so she doesn't even consider danger a possibility half the time. Fluttershy's stare gives her power over other animals, but that's not really the kind of strength I'm thinking about. Twilight started seeing Shining Armor less and less when he entered the military, and even still, unless Twilight had any interest at all in combat, she probably didn't learn much from him. It's true that Big Macintosh can be very serious when push comes to shove, but Applejack has a mentality where she believes she has to come through for everyone and be as dependable as mortally possible. She feels the weight of the world on her shoulders. It is for this reason that she would have a natural tendency to want to "play hero" so to speak, and be the one to protect her loved ones and all that's dear to her. She wouldn't want the burden on Big Mac, AB, or Granny, and this is illustrated in Applejack's micro comic when she takes it upon herself to get rid of the sass squatch that's invaded Sweet Apple Acres. She makes a point to keep her family out of the situation so that she can handle it by herself. She thrives off of helping others and fixing all problems. I know not everyone reads the comics or considers it canon, but they're pretty spot on at times.

- No, it would give her a reason to learn to be fast though. Look at it this way, Applejack lives on the edge of a peaceful town, in a farm of laid back people. The closest cluster of ponies are in Ponyvile, which her family help founded. Her farm's cider and zap apple jam makes her place quite liked by others. Any threats AJ faces don't come from other ponies: there's the history of having to fight off things from the Everfree forest (like timber wolves). Since her farm grows large amounts of food, other creatures have tried to steal her crop (see ep. 23, S2 ep. 13, S3. ep.8). Sometimes animals have just plain nearly destroy her home or land (paraspites, beavers in S3. ep10). Heck, Applejack knew how to deal with a massive stamped. See, there are canon reasons for AJ to be well rounded. For her to be adept to nature. She's not going to box a manticore, but she can master attacking at a distance, and driving it away with sound. She would need to be fast too in order to gather crops faster and chase away anything eating her crops.

And she is definitely fast, as I've already covered.

- Having bullies would give her a reason to want and get a black belt. Rainbow also has a bit of a temper compared to the other mane 5. She was willing to let loose on two stallion unicorn, three teenage dragons, and a full grown one. Remember that Applejack wasn't always around to hold RD back, and Fluttershy, forget it. If she's lasted this long she must be reasonably strong. AJ let her tear up the barn for a reason (rainbow-nuke or not).

Heck, Rarity could possibly be the best fighter of the whole group if we're going by what we've seen, yet she didn't exactly grow up being tortured by bullies either. The point is, there doesn't need to be a reason for all of the ponies to be able to fight. In a show that loves challenging gender norms, you would think that all of the ponies can fight to some degree, and Applejack is no exception. AJ might not be as rash and impulsive as Dashie, but when she feels challenged or tried in any way, all gloves are off because AJ is highly confrontational if her pride is attacked in any way. That's why she was the first to try to show up Trixie. It's why she challenged Rainbow Dash to a hoof wrassle. When she was so convinced she could harvest all of the apples in the orchard, she even asks Twilight "Is that a challenge?" Applejack is a lot more rational and even-keeled than Dash, so she is much less likely to jump into a fight, which is why we don't see her in action all that much. However, she has her limits to just how far she can be provoked before it's go-time. When that happens, look out.

^ - Yet you believe the fanon on earth ponies?

I don't agree with fanon ideas very often, but this one I happen to like, at least in theory because it just makes sense to me.

- Look at the scene again. Applejack did drag Fluttershy (by pulling the tail), not carry her. And AJ never went up the whole mountain, but took Fluttershy along the easier path where it wasn't so steep. Fluttershy was just dead weight, Pinkie was actively acting against Rainbow to not go to the barn--Pinkie thought her friends were forcing her to go, so she had reason to fight. So if you believe that earth ponies are stronger than the other races than moving Pinkie would be harder than moving Fluttershy.

Even if it wasn't as steep, AJ she still had to haul Fluttershy to a pretty high level of elevation. There's also the fact that when Fluttershy is scared, she either freezes up and doesn't budge, or she runs away like a screaming little girl. We don't have any idea as to whether or not Fluttershy and AJ faced any danger along the way, but if they did, you can bet Fluttershy made it very difficult for Applejack. This can be further backed up by the fact that AJ had Fluttershy's tail tied up to her head, so AJ was literally forced to drag a petrified Fluttershy up a fairly steep cliff. The scenario is very similar and comparable to when Dashie dragged Pinkie Pie, so I don't think much more needs to be said.

- Fluttershy was actively resisting and Iron Will had happened. I would have loved to have seen what would have occurred to Twilight had Nightmare Night occurred just shortly afterward.

In that case, Fluttershy probably resisted when Applejack dragged her up the cliff then. Fluttershy was scared in both situations, so why not? And I highly doubt that Iron Will had anything to do with Fluttershy's random rage burst, because she's done it before. Rainbow Dash got beat by Fluttershy. Simple as that. This was plot convenience in a very comical sense. Fluttershy wasn't needed for the episode, so they have her overpower Dash and get away. This show is full of examples like this one, and most of the arguments you make for AJ getting knocked down are a similar circumstance.

^ - Yes, it just also took the rest of the main 5 working together, a race across a dessert, and AJ, herself, making a mistake to catch her.

All it really required was for Rainbow Dash to fly over to her quickly and tackle her down. Instead, for the sake of the episode's climax, the ponies stuck together to try and catch her.

- Pinkie's speed is real at this point. It's happened several times outside of gags. There's no doubt in my mind that Pinkie would have caught AJ then and there at Dodge Junction had it not been for quick thinking from the latter.

She is fast, no doubt about it. We just don't see this speed unless it conveniently helps advance the plot. Pinkie Pie tends to use her abilities at random and for comedic purposes, like when she "ran" across Ponyville Pepe Le Pew style just to hang out with RD. She had no trouble keeping up.

- Like I said before, unless the discorded state made everyone weaker, Applejack is still Applejack. I'll give you the friendly tackle though.

She's Applejack in body, but that's about it. And much like Dash's friendly tackle, Twilight tackled Applejack off-guard, and from her backside no less.

- That was some interesting shadow boxing. If Applejack was really that powerful, than that would have translated in the changeling fight. Yet she showed no fighting style and she fought the best way she knew how, bucking. Arguable, this is how any pony or horse would fight. Rainbow and Rarity were the ones going crazy with their techniques.

That's implying that the creators are going to make the ponies fight the exact same way every single time regardless of who they're fighting against, or how many. It's just silly. Take the Manticore for example, we didn't see any of Rarity's amazing close combat abilities - we saw her BUCK the thing. Against the changelings, she punched them out instead. Applejack probably can box well. She did it in Return of Harmony, and she has her own punching bag, so who knows? Obviously, the majority of her strength lies in her hind legs, and Earth ponies are much more comfortable when they're on all-fours. When there's a swarm of changelings running around, you want to get rid of them the best way possible, and for Applejack that's through her bucking, because it's a very quick attack, and that's where the bulk of her amazing strength lies. If it were a one-on-one fight, obviously AJ might be more inclined to change things up. You're not gonna use shadow boxing against a horde of baddies. That, and let's just remember that this cartoon is full of inconsistencies and the like. Just because we only saw her do bucking in a very brief fight scene doesn't mean that's all she can do in a fight, especially because this is her only actual fight scene.

- To be honest, I really don't know. Like Applejack, I think Twilight is well rounded. She can place well in a race, do heavy lifting if really needed, fight well bare hooved. I don't think though that Twilight (like AJ and Pinkie) has a hidden brawler side to her, but she does have freaky magic (like AJ has her rodeo skills and Pinkie her unpredictability). If Twilight lets loose with her inner magic, she's the most powerful one of the group.

Applejack is the strongest (physically), and most well-rounded. Twilight is easily the strongest in the group purely because of her magic, but for physical abilities, she's lagging behind. She did well enough in the Running of the Leaves because of her knowledge on racing, so she paced herself. In any other race, AJ and RD would have beaten her easily. Twilight took a fighting stance in Dragon Quest, but we've never seen her display any great deal of physical strength or fighting skill outside of hauling Rarity's boulder.

^ - The same can be said about Applejack's leg power; she's better at certain tasks because of them. However, she certainly didn't place first at the Running of Leaves even as she could use her legs and Rainbow couldn't fly. And if Applejack can't use her legs, she's not as naturally strong: she couldn't pull up Twilight up in ep. 2., couldn't get the same pony off in Season 2 ep. 2, tackled by Dash in the Last Round Up, and was overpowered by a changeling and taken down.

1. Applejack had no traction. 2. Twilight tackled her from the backside, and almost immediately placed magic on her. 3. Friendly tackle. 4. It's a changeling.

On the other coin, Rainbow's speed does not make her powerful or indestructible. She needed medical attention twice in the show. RD has flown into objects at high speeds before (including a tree) and she came up on the sore end of the stick. It doesn't matter how fast she was going, she wouldn't have been able to knock out several bases off of forest trees, pause in mid-flight, then carry all of the lumber at once to the camp site if RD didn't have physical strength.

Again, I'm not saying that Rainbow's not physically strong, BUT, the wing power that she has, especially her unparalleled speed, aids her greatly in her feats of strength. You would still need to have some kind of crazy speed to knock off the bases of the trees, for one example. And when she tore down Applejack's barn, she was able to do it fast because she could get around MUCH quicker than AJ thanks to her insane flying speed aiding in the destruction. But once again, there's some inconsistencies. We've seen Dash laid up in the hospital, but I have to wonder just what exactly she did to get there, seeing as how she's blown up a barn without sustaining major damage.

- Has any other winged pony been nearly as destructive as her? Even the Wonderbolts, who are held by Rainbow Dash as standard of excellence, haven't displayed the raw power she has.

Seeing as how the show doesn't follow them as major characters, no we haven't seen it, but they have to possess something special if Dash worships them as much as she does.

- False. Rainbow was chopping away (black beat style) long before she nuked it, and was even tearing pieces out with her bare teeth, chucking them far enough so that these nearly hit Twilight. Like I said before, Rainbow's the tank of the group.

And she's the best fit for the job since she can tear the barn down quicker than any other pony because once again, she has those insanely-fast wings. Barns are huge, so being able to fly around at high speeds can help when you're tearing down something from top to bottom.

^ She admitted a lot of things, about Mare Do Well. Without the knowledge of Pinkie sense, Dash also thought Pinkie was several times faster than her and was ESP. I think Dash could have stop the carriage had she done properly, but she doesn't have AJ's sense about these things and tends to rush it

One of the most important things that Rainbow said was at the very end when she admitted that all of her friends outshined her. You said so yourself that Pinkie's speed is real. The Pinkie sense might as well be ESP for all Dash knows. Whether or not Dash could have stopped the carriage bus if she took AJ's approach seems like a very unlikely bet. AJ has the superior leg strength by a country mile, and even she was pushed very close to the edge before the carriage bus stopped. If old Bucky McGillicuddy and Kicks McGee could barely keep it from falling off of a cliff, then Dash has no chance.

^ Applejack, herself, admitted that this was due to years of labor, not because she was born an earth pony.

Yes, years of applebucking - something that farmers do. Who are the farmers again? Oh yeah, the Earth ponies.

^ - Because AJ is not as quick to make hasty decisions and, is so far, the least likely of the mane 6 to lose her head, hence she was given the title "the voice of reason" in the fandom. In addition to being the rational one, she's better on getting heard and even has Twilight listen to her. The latter also stands up to Rainbow, but in a different, less blunt way (not including the time she also yanked Rainbow's tail with magic).

But above all of that, Applejack is the one who can actually keep Rainbow Dash in line because of her strength and role as an authority figure. Rainbow respects Applejack even if she doesn't always agree with her, because the two of them are so alike in strength, athleticism, heroism, pride, and stubbornness that they can relate to each other well. The fact of the matter is, Applejack is usually very successful whenever she holds back Rainbow Dash by the tail, proving once again that she is strong.

^ And two earth ponies weren't enough to hold down one Pegasus because . . . ?

How do we know they weren't? If Applejack can hold Dash back by the tail, then she could hold her back by herself in most cases. It was Applejack who caught RD with her lasso in the first place, and she was no slouch about it either. Dashie was not herself, was highly aggressive, and ready to bail at any second. They could not take any chance of that, so they all held her down. Even if that was overdoing it, it's better to be safe than sorry. I'm not sure the creators place a lot of emphasis or give a lot of thought to these miniscule details.

Are you aware of how many sport teams there are and the degrees of skill each would require? There's basketball, wrestling, swimming, baseball, football, rugby, soccer, lacrosse, volley ball, track and field long and short distance running, javelin throw, shot put, long jump, softball, hockey, and martial arts, and that's not all. If you think speed is enough to get by in all of these, then you're sorely mistaken. Any of them would require (in addition to speed), stamina, agility, dexterity, fortitude, and, of course strength. Rainbow would have had to master each of these, or at least place well enough to serve as the mentor, to achieve the ranking she did.

First of all, I doubt Canterlot High features all of those sports you just mentioned. We don't even know how many sports and teams that there are, and whether or not Dash is the captain of just women teams, or all teams in the school. Strength is wonderful to have in sports like football and wrestling, but you don't have to be Hercules to be the best pure athlete either. Most runners are tiny, and most of the sports and athletics we see Dash partake in are running based, or something that requires more pure talent and athleticism than brawn, like soccer.

 

But again, I am not at all implying Dash isn't strong for doing the athletics that she does. She can be the best athlete without being the strongest too. AJ hauling a table with one arm is pure raw power. If the writers had it in mind that Dash's strength was to be on AJ's level of strength or higher, then why didn't we see Dash carry the table off?

^ I could argue that this was a gag and it shouldn't be taken seriously, or that AJ was in an alternate state. However, I think the biggest, darning thing to pay attention to is that AJ's was NOT an earth pony at the time.

 

Alternate state or not, Applejack carried a table with one arm better than two guys could. Even if this wasn't pony Applejack, the human counterparts are still the same in personality, ability and everything. They're just in a human body, that's all. An Earth pony doesn't walk on two feet like a human, so it's not a fair comparison as to what they can lift due to their very different body structures. This doesn't change the fact that it was AJ who walked off with a table, not Dash. And to top it all off, the lyrics of the song in that exact scene were: It's time to show that we're strong. <---- Sounds like the same cowpony who says faithful and strong in the show's opening.

GOOD CELESTIA, you have no idea how long it took for me to write all this! Since I certain don't want to make another post this long let me highlight the core issues that are the real heart of the matter for this topic:

 

- Earth pony super strength (for the average earth pony) is a fanon MYTH.

- Canon does not back up the statement above. Canon does help disprove it.

- Applejack or Big Mac does not = all ponies (just like Twilight doesn't represent the average unicorn)

- Rainbow Dash is the tank of the group. Ok, maybe not this one, but I do think that Rainbow Dash is the strongest fighter.

Alright, you've made your case, and I respect your opinion on Earth ponies completely. I've realized that I don't really care about whether or not the Earth ponies are the strongest race or not. I was more interested in the AJ-RD feud. (Which I admit, is a bit off-topic. I think there's an AJ vs RD strength thread somewhere....) I have had fun reading your views and writing my own, and I think you make some great cases all around. I'm done though, because these posts are just getting too long even for me, so truce.

 

Well, here's my final thoughts. Take them, leave them, I don't care either way. =)

- Applejack is the strongest Mane Six pony in PURE PHYSICAL POWER. No wings. No magic. Just raw muscle strength. There are numerous examples of her using this strength.

- Rainbow Dash is the best athlete. She's fast, dexterous, she can fly, and she is strong too. Above that, she can take a licking and keep on ticking, so in that sense, she is a tank.

-There's no proof that AJ or RD is a better fighter than the other. (For all we know, Rarity could whip them both)

- The show is INCREDIBLY inconsistent, so it's best to just look at the main picture and avoid over-analyzing.

- Earth Pony strength cannot be proven or disproved either way. There's no substantial evidence to back up either case, and what evidence there is is far too minor. Verdict: Fanon until proven otherwise. (There, I compromised.)

 

Edited September 20, 2013 by Sugar Cube

[A Talking Dragon 257]

Even as I tried to make it easier, you still responded to my long post in full, well done.

 

Sorry for the late reply, crazy week on my end, let me just say the following before wrapping it up.

 

- Yes, years of applebucking - something that farmers do. Who are the farmers again? Oh yeah, the Earth ponies.

 

- Fair enough, I will give you that it's a stereotype to associate ALL farmers with being strong. I guess I was thinking more in terms of Applejack's farm life specifically. She does an awful lot of hard work considering that she and Big Mac do the majority of the heavy lifting.

 

^ Most farms like AJ's tend to have more farmhands around, to not be so scrapped for cash, and has a better support system in place (nearby) or a complete family unit. As for AJ's line of work, she hasn't been seen doing any heavy lifting or pulling (like working the plow). Usually Big Mac or another stallion does that. Her work seems to deal more with farm animals and crop management.

 

 

Twilight took a fighting stance in Dragon Quest, but we've never seen her display any great deal of physical strength or fighting skill outside of hauling Rarity's boulder.

 

 

For an apparent shut in bookworm, Twilight's tougher than she looks:

 

- charged a manticore

- fake fenced Nightmare Moon

- climbed a mountain without being exhausted

- actually got physical with Zecora

- placed well in a race

- fake charged a hydra

- attacked a Diamond Dog

- chased Rarity around the library

- attacked both Pinkie and Applejack, fought both

- tackled AJ and pinned her without magic

- roughhoused Fluttershy from her home

- pinned Pinkie to the ground

- displayed surprising flips when trying to break into Canterlot

- knows a boxing stance?

- attacked an unknown enemy that was much bigger than her

- along with magic, fought changelings physically  

 

Earth Pony strength cannot be proven or disproved either way.

 

^ Yes, agreed.

 

Earth Pony super strength, however, can be disproven.

 

Alright, you've made your case, and I respect your opinion on Earth ponies completely. I've realized that I don't really care about whether or not the Earth ponies are the strongest race or not. I was more interested in the AJ-RD feud. (Which I admit, is a bit off-topic. I think there's an AJ vs RD strength thread somewhere....) I have had fun reading your views and writing my own, and I think you make some great cases all around. I'm done though, because these posts are just getting too long even for me, so truce.

 

^ Lol, yes truce. Yeah, it did kinda turn into an AJ vs RD topic for a bit. Like I said, I do think AJ's strong, I just tend to see her more as the gunslinger of the group and RD as more the berserker.  I had fun debating you too. While recent workloads have slowed the amount I've made, I hope to see you more in my--what I at least try to make--thought providing topics.

Edited September 27, 2013 by A Talking Dragon

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Even as I tried to make it easier, you still responded to my long post in full, well done.

 

^ Lol, yes truce. Yeah, it did kinda turn into an AJ vs RD topic for a bit. Like I said, I do think AJ's strong, I just tend to see her more as the gunslinger of the group and RD as more the berserker.  I had fun debating you too. While recent workloads have slowed the amount I've made, I hope to see you more in my--what I at least try to make--thought providing topics.

 

Thank you. Like I said, I talk way too much for my own good, especially when it involves defending Applejack over something I feel very strongly about.

 

Your topics are a lot of fun, so you can definitely expect to see more of me in the future, and I'll be sure to give you all I've got! This place needs more debate threads concerning MLP. I'm pretty sure I've posted some things in your older threads, but I may have forgotten about them. Perhaps I'll dig them up later. =)

 

Now, in an attempt to keep this thread from dying off, I am encouraging people to post their thoughts on Earth pony strength. Come on everypony, don't let the text walls scare you!

[Jomintine 0]

This video shows that Big Mac can lift around 146kg...

 

 

It would be neat if someone was able to find out exactly how much a unicorn character and a pegasus character could carry and then compare them.

[Lightning Bliss 1,674]

I strongly believe that when the fandom says that earth ponies are strong, I think its more in a sense that they are in strong mind on how the earth works more then a unicorn and a pegasi, that they don't rely on magic or the power of flight but from the earth's resources themselves. Earth ponies have that special connection with the earth more so then magical and pegasi ponies so much so that do you all see any unicorns or pegasi doing farming or cropping? Sure maybe to help out but not offically as a job, there go as far goes as a strength and knowledge, earth ponies do in fact possess that, doesn't neccissarly mean they are "strong" physically all the tiem.

[Malinter 3,064]

For all Big Mac's strength, Celestia is apparently stronger than he is in the comics.

 

 

Not all pegesi are stunt fliers, Not all unicorns are powerful mages so I don't think all earth ponies have great strength, its just more likely amongst that race.

[Gary S. 102]

Earth Ponies aren't visually stronger, at least.

Unicorns have their Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood. Pegasi have their Bulk Biceps and Hoops.

Hoops is even bigger than BigMac. O_O

 

 

            

 

Edited January 11, 2014 by Gary S.

[Anneal 2,197]

Extra fact: Earth ponies are also the most unappreciated species in the MLP fandom.  

[Sugar Cube 4,843]

Most of my glorious text walls on the second page are gone. A Talking Dragon's text walls are almost completely gone too. This saddens me.

 

I still stand by the fact that while there is no concrete proof of earth ponies being the most physically dominant race, it does make the most sense for the average earth pony to back more of a punch than the average pegasus or unicorn since they are much more reliant on their bodily strength than a pony with wings or a magical horn. Every pony is different though.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Sugar Cube

[Cwanky 17,588]

I was hoping to contribute to this topic awhile back but I never got to it and figured it died off. Seeing how there's been a revived interest of recent though, I will now add my own 2 cents to this debate.

 

Without going into needless comparisons of characters, there's a very clear, logical and good explanation as to why Earth ponies tend to be inherently stronger than the other 2 races: its common sense. 

 

Folks like Sugar Cube already cited the obvious answers: culturally Earth ponies tend to dominate certain professions that require significant manual labor: agriculture, construction, and transportation in the form of pulling heavy locomotives. This tie to manual labor is noted several times, in A Hearth's Warming Eve, there flag

 

 

is quite indicative of the Earth pony agriculture profession. Heck in Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell this is noted about what Twilight got from each race when she became an alicorn: strength of a good, true heart of an Earth Pony. While strength in that context alone infer physical strength, it does infer that Earth ponies have a hardwork ethic, which is inferred to be rooted in their tendency towards manual hard labor.

 

But of course there are are gaps that must be accounted for and that’s where comparisons come into play. A lot of Earth ponies obviously like Filthy Rich, the Oranges, and the Cakes aren’t involved in manual labor and aren’t as physically imposing. So surely this must a counterargument and validation that Earth pony strength is a myth right? Wrong.

 

Animals are going to tend to have traits that are adapted to their physiology and advantages them, In the case of pegasi, they are built, like other birds and the griffins, for flying. Consequently they have hollow bones and lighter bodies. Ignoring cartoon logic, a character like Bulk Biceps is justifiable in this context b/c of pegasi magic, explained through their cloudwalking ability like the griffons. Of course as Rainbow Falls, demonstrated, magic alone doesn’t compensate for potential deficiencies such trait’s as Bulk Bicep’s can have on flying. Plainly put, pegasi were built primarily to fly, not be physically strong and adept, at least outside the realm of flying.

 

 

A similar logic is found for unicorns. Through the characters Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, we see that the development of skills like flight and magic can occur at a very young age and in Cloudsdale, pegasi are taught to fly early on too. In nature this makes sense, animals, like birds for example will often at a very early age learn to rely and build their skills that are adapted to them. Unicorns in the show have been shown to use magic, albeit a low level telekinesis to the point that they hardly rely upon their limbs. A Hearth’s Warming Eve suggests this, and if we tie in the Earth pony connection to nature, its further validated as an argument. In fact as Trenderhoof implies, Earth ponies are far better adept at physical and hard labor than unicorns.

 

 

That leaves Earth ponies. What exactly do Earth ponies have that make them unique? Well notably the show cites that they are more strongly tied to nature than any of the other 2 races. Consistent with that, nearly every producer and farmer we see is an Earth pony. Though as shown with Twilight, in Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 9000, unicorns can to an extent be more efficient, we have to realize Twilight is NOT an average unicorn and the acquisition of such ability for many unicorns isn’t practical when it comes to mass labor. This also doesn’t factor in the variety of other issues that come with agriculture that magic cannot address easily or at all. Earth pony ties to nature combined with their adapted strength account for this.

 

 

But ultimately when it comes down to it, as I said before, Earth pony strength is common sense. Now you may ask, how can you say that so boldly with such arrogance? Simple. It comes down to basic biology as I have been emphasizing time and again here. Now bear in mind what I say now applies equally as much to unicorns and to varying degrees zebras, donkeys, mules, cows and bison. Basic biology and physics will tell you that the overall mass and strength of an animal often depends upon their body’s overall mass and configuration.

 

 

Take us humans for example. As bipeds, our primary means of locomotion is via our 2 legs. Furthermore because we are bipeds our center of mass is focused on our body’s overall mass being supported by the leg muscles which have to support all that mass AND over the centuries have been adapted to walking and running. By some estimates, because our legs support at least 2/3 of our body’s mass, they are estimated to be .75 times as strong as our arms. Think about that for a moment and you will begin to understand how this really adds up in the overall comparsions.

 

 

The same logic applies here for the ponies and like races – they are quadrupeds. Naturally therefore they, as in the Earth ponies and unicorns, rely extensively on their 4 limbs for locomotion. Moreover, their center of gravity is focused in a way such that all four of their legs equally support their body mass. Ponies are by no means light creatures, not even little ponies, which safe to say I don’t think are midget ponies.

 

 

 This is not the case for pegasi, who as flyers rely far more upon their wings for flight for locomotion and they worry far less about having to focus their center of mass on their other limbs, so there’s no need for inherent strength there. It’s that simple. This also does not factor in the fact that pegasi as flyers would an average be lighter in overall mass and bone density to the other races, meaning that bar strongest of pegasi like Bulk Biceps, in general they won’t be as strong as earth ponies and possibly even unicorns. Of course even if you somehow come to the conclusion that the average pegasi has about the same mass as an average unicorn or earth pony, they still would not on average be as strong for the simple reason that the latter two rely far more on their limbs and body to live and perform their tasks. Yes pegasi are stronger when we factor in their wings, but that’s moot since this is an overall comparison and even then would not factor in the other aforementioned factors regarding their mass and other limbs.

 

 

Finally we come to the final comparison of unicorns v. earth ponies strength wise. It’s actually quite a close comparison when you think about it but unicorns on average still trump out pegasi strength wise while being trumped in general. Ultimately its reasonable to assert that Earth ponies are stronger than unicorns on average and overall speaking definitively the strongest of the 3 pony races. It is certainly true that unicorns like earth ponies, are much more biologically similar to earth ponies than pegasi are – even Twilight who knows advanced teleportation spells, primarily relies on her 4 limbs to travel by foot, even as an alicorn.

 

 

That’s where the comparison ends however. Remember how I said earlier that animals tend to have certain biological traits that give them an edge in some way and are ultimately developed at a young age? Well lets revisit Pumpkin Cake, sans her brother for a moment. Then look at Sweetie Belle as recently as Twilight Time. Pumpkin Cake as a unicorn develops her natural genetic ability to use magic at a very young age, and this is consistent with many animals like chicks learning to fly and reptiles surviving on their own at birth. Fast forward to Sweetie Belle and you can see that further honing of an ability like magic or flight is often encouraged.

 

 

Now you may ask, what am I getting at? Well simple really, unicorns tend to develop and rely heavily upon their magic as an advantageous trait, much like pegasi do with flight. Of course there are more  

 

Progressive outliers like Fluttershy, who doesn’t focus or rely on her inherent ability as much as say Rainbow or Twilight does but this seems to be an exception. The magic that the average unicorn tends to focus on seems heavily focused in the field of telekinesis, the use of which seems to eschew the use of other limbs entirely. Of course not every mature unicorn frequently uses magic or is proficient at it, but it seems that a large population of the unicorns utilize it, the reliance upon which either compensates for their lack of physical strength, or has promoted the atrophy and disuse of their other limbs. In real life we can see this with the sedentary lifestyles of many humans now, who are at least culturally more adapted to do mental and menial tasks as opposed to physical labor and constant movement.

 

 

In this context earth ponies exclusively need to rely and use their limbs not just for locomotion, but also to perform daily tasks. This is true even for earth ponies that don’t do manual labor. But combine the facts that earth ponies tend culturally and societally engage in more manual labor and are affiliated with nature, and thus agriculture affiliated and stewards of the wildlife, and their biological structure like you’d expect from a pony you should understand why. Earth pony strength isn’t meant to be some way to “compensate” for a perceived lack of skills from earth ponies or bias. It’s a natural skill that earth ponies in general possess among other advantages.

 

 

People really need to stop bashing earth ponies like they’re the scum of the earth. They may have been portrayed as lowly peasants in A Hearth Warming’s Eve, but they play a very important role in Equestrian society, arguably greater than that of the other 2 races. They provide a consistent reliable source of food, and I would think that if the ponies were open enough to understanding the world around them, they perhaps might not even need to rely on the pegasi or griffons for weather manipulation, but grow from predictions of the weather itself. We also see that many earth ponies are just as capable of power and status as the other 2 races. Without earth ponies, Equestria and its unicorn and pegasi would die a very quick and painful death, despite so many folks having this unfortunate shallow fixation on wanting Pegasus, unicorn and *shudder* alicorn characters simply for their perceived abilities.

 

 

Applejack and Pinkie Pie ultimately, are the foundation and glue that help hold Ponyville together and much more. You cannot overstate that. 

[Forlong 1,726]

How many pegasi and unicorns have you seen pulling houses?  How many pegasi and unicorn foals have you seen applebucking?

[ggg-2 3,553]

there are many different kinds of strength in the world, such as strong for being kind to others, and strong for doing what's right. i think that's what they really mean.

[Malinter 3,064]

Until I see a pegesi or unicorn defeat Big Mac in a feat of strength. Earth Ponies by default are stronger.

 

Apparently Celestia has enough strength to hoofwrestle Mac if you can believe that XD

[Cwanky 17,588]

How many pegasi and unicorns have you seen pulling houses?  How many pegasi and unicorn foals have you seen applebucking?

 

 

Not only that but regarding unicorn magic from the MLP official wiki:

 

It was stated in Boast Busters that most unicorn magic revolves only around their natural talents (e.g. their jobs, hobbies, etc.) as seen in Rarity's case, thus making unicorns like Twilight Sparkle unusual for having a talent that is magic itself. 

 

Its rather stupid that so many people believe that most unicorns believe that unicorns as a whole, are capable of the type of magic that Twilight performs, when in fact her magic takes years and practice to hone and is a unique talent.

 

Granted, not every earth pony will be that physically strong, but overall on an average, its more than fair to say they are stronger than the average pegasus or unicorn physically.