I do think Earth ponies do have some kind of magic to help plants grow but I also think that the pegasai and unicorn had to depend on the Earth ponies to grow food because the places where the pegasai and unicorns live were unfit for growing food. Think about it. The pegasai most likely live in the clouds and have no dirt to plant crops. As for the unicorns they are mostly seen standing on a large rock or mountain, which leaves me to believe they lived in, around or ontop of mountains. Of course it's hard to grow crops on solid rock. The Earth ponies had the only land that could grow crops and to prevent war, the ponies had to work together to get what they needed with out messing everything up.
it's convenient for the Pegasi to live in the Clouds, since they can use this space, without any competition. Then again, the Pegasi seems to have personalities, requiring the freedom, only the clouds can sustain?
Also I noticed in 'Winter Wrap Up', Twilight mentions that Earth Ponies founded Ponyville, and Magic is forbidden (or at least discouraged) from being used during Winter Wrap Up. This could be a holdover from the days when the races were at odds with eachother, and the Earth Pony founders of Ponyville shunned magic due to it being a Unicorn trait, and Pegasi largely being in charge of cloud duty due to their affinity for it, like the Earth Pony founders put the Unicorns and Pegasi in their place
I like the Fallout: Equestria take on the races of ponies, while Pegasi have wings and weather controlling, and unicorns have... well magic. Earth ponies were able to create things better. Like coming up with inventions or in this case farming. Like how pinkie has her copter thing, you don't see any other race with things like that.
I have a theory dubbed the "Adam and Eve" theory regarding earth ponies. The theory follows that in the beginning of time, there were only Earth ponies. As time moved on, ponies migrated to different lands and environments that slowly affected generations of ponies born into those environments. In other words, they adapted and evolved! Pegasi were more likely to be born on environments with treacherous terrain such as hills, mountains, and valleys, which would explain why most Pegasi tend to be more agile than the other races. Unicorns were more likely to be born on lands that were naturally rich with various gems that could be used for trade. This is why most unicorns are associated with gems and "high class". The show has emphasized that most magical and mystical items share properties similar to that of gems (ex: the red "gem" on the alicorn amulet, the elements of harmony, etc.) and their magical influences could have impacted the generations of ponies born there to utilize magic via their horns through, you guessed it, evolution. The generations of Earth ponies that stayed in those environments mentioned above were all soon replaced due to the "Unicorn gene" and the "Pegasus gene" being more "adaptable" those environments. The civilization of Earth ponies who didn't migrate to those unique lands lived in more favorable conditions where animals such as cows and chickens thrive so evolution played little roles as far as visible physical attributes goes, however they evolved agriculturally due to the relatively simple lands provided to those ponies and the added aid of farm animals. Now we fast forward to the founding of Equestria, where the ponies attempts at working together seems to be shaky at best and the rest writes itself from there. TLDR Version: Unicorns and Pegasi are just hyper evolved earth ponies and all pony races share Earth pony ancestors! (Don't ask me how Alicorns fit into this equation.) XD If anyone would like to add to this theory or point out some things I over-looked, please feel free to do so. Thanks! X3
I think it would be better if they were all descendent to an Ancient Ponies and Earth Ponies have the closest gene to the Ancient Ponies but living in a fertile environment full of plant with many hardwork around the farm giving them a bit magic to produce food much better and maybe a much better strength or stamina while Unicorn living above the rocky mountain and Pegasi living above the cloud. Alicorn is a mysterious race resulted from them embodied the magic of three ponies race.
If you think back to Twilights Kingdom, Princess Celestia mentions how if Tirek took the Earth's pony magic, then they wouldn't be able to grow crops or have their strength. I think this theory that DrWolf has is canon :)
@@lookoutherecomestom1874 I mean look at the Pear-Apple tree. Even, Pinkie Pie i think the reason why she was able to make cake and cupcake was probbaly due to her understanding of food and fruit used in her bakery.
i didnt actually hear that myself, but that makes alot of sense, because Tirek steals magic from them; despite them seeming to have no magic, pretty odd
Well, it could be that all ponies have 'magic' so to speak; unicorns in their horns, pegasi in their wings and earth ponies in their hooves. As for me since in "Hearth's Warming Eve" it said that the pagasi and unicorns demanded food that could "Only be grown by the earth ponies." My guess is while pegasi and unicorns (as we've seen in the show) are capable of 'harvesting' food I've yet to see them 'grow' it. It's possible that if they tried planting seeds that they wouldn't grow without the 'magic touch' of an earth pony. Also, given that the feuding tribes stayed to their own lands, which for pegasi were the clouds, and for unicorns (though it could just be a Rarity thing) apparently gem studded rocks/caverns they weren't exactly ideal locations for growing and keeping up crops. In fact, it could be that the earth ponies had already claimed all of the fertile land before the unicorns and pegasi could, so there wasn't a chance that the unicorns or pegasi could even begin farming, therefor the earth ponies unintentionally (or maybe perhaps intentionally) secured a reason for their own existence.
I came up with a somewhat similar theory due to Pinkie Pie, well her family that is. The Pie family work thier own rock farm, independently confirmed by Trixie. It's not a quarry where they dig up rocks, it's a farm where they GROW rocks! Somehow, through shear hard work and their relationship to the land, the Pie family can actually grow rocks. If that isn't a special earth magic I don't know what is.
I don't know if I'm taking away the fun of looking through the show for answers, but in Lauren Faust's twitter, she did mention that all 3 pony races have special advantages over each other with Earth Ponies being more inclined to be physically stronger and having a magical connection to the earth and the animals. It's in this way that Fluttershy's special ability to communicate with animals is actually a very unusual exception. As for Rainbow and Twilight showing up Applejack's farm work,
I have a related theory on earth ponies, but not so limited to farming. Stepping back for a moment, we have unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Unicorns can consciously and overtly use magic, and therefore are seen as the magic users. On the other hand, I do think that pegasi and earth ponies are just as magical, albeit in different ways. Pegasi have powers of flight and atmospheric effects (weather). I expect that the flight and cloudwalking themselves are partially through subconsciously controlling the surrounding air/cloud to achieve the desired effect. Whilst I cannot remember anything making it clear whether or not these powers are conscious or subconscious, I expect that at most they are less conscious or the fact they are using magic when they do so. Earth ponies on the other hand are seen as non-magical. My theory is that it would be more accurate to say that they are not consciously magical, and instead subconsciously effect the world around them. In a lot of example this could be something as simple as aiding a plant's growth, allowing it to do better than it otherwise could, whilst not necessarily being aware of how. I do not think that earth ponies would be limited to this however - I do not believe that Pinkie or Octavia would be any better at farming than a pegasus or unicorn for example - instead their powers would affect reality relating to their own special talents. Talking of Pinkie, I think she is a perfect example of just how weird this can get. She seems to be able to be in multiple places at once for example, or at least seemingly teleport. She seems to have the power to have items come immediately to hand, or to build working flying machines. I think Pinkie's probably one of the powerful earth magicians around, with the ability to drastically affect reality, all with her remaining oblivious to the fact that it's her own will that's changing her suroundings. (If you've ever come across the Haruhi Suzumiya anime/manga, I see Pinkie as someone who can unconsciously affect her surroundings in much the same way as Haruhi does.)
Actually, while the other ponies do farming tasks, none of the rest of the mane six actually grew anything. They just harvested what the Apple Family grew.
Well the Season 4 finale did prove that Earth ponies had magic, and I am inclined to believe that it was more than just the magic that gives ponies their cutie marks. Whether it be above-average strength or a natural ability to grow things, Earth ponies certainly do seem to have their own hidden arsenal of magic that sets them apart from the other two races.
Personally, I always assumed it had more to do with Earth ponies having more patience than the other races. Think about it. Pegasi primarily are in charge of the weather and clouds, and if the militant personality of Commander Hurricane and the Wonderbolts training camp mimicking a strict army regiment are any indicator, this is because they value complete control over every aspect of their lives. They even have schedules for what the weather will be and said weather is developed in a factory. Having to wait for a plant to fully grow on its own at its own pace seems like a very frustrating situation for one who would want their schedule to be kept, wouldn't it? The unicorns, while not as impatient, would share a similar flaw caused my their resource of magic: accessibility. As demonstrated in Twilight Time, magic and modern science can be used to accelerate the growth rate of plants with relative easy. However, as many magic-related stories can teach us, misusing magic as a solution to such everyday tasks can lead to dire consequences. In that very same episode I brought up, the flower came to life and started a coughing fit, showing that such an easy answer is not necessarily the right one. Earth ponies have the patience to grow crops and care for the land BECAUSE they lack the excess abilities of the two other races, wings and magical horns, and as such from birth had to learn how to accomplish these tasks the hard and right way. In summation, magic and flight are not substitutes for hard work anymore than carelessness or impatience are superior to determination and spirit.
I have to disagree with what you said about the Pegasus. Because they have a militaristic government, they do not value control. Above all else, a military needs discipline to function. They were obviously based off of the Spartans, meaning none of them would be farmers, none of them would be writers, they were all full time soldiers, so they were entirely reliant upon the other races for food. But that's just a theory. (Not) A Game Theory.
But yeah, basically, militaries like to know what's up, and when flying is involved, you need a generally clear sky. Think of it this way, in the event of a however unlikely riot, having control over what weather happens when and where would be a valuable (not to mention peaceful) deterrent. Even in the possibilities of warring parties, having a downpour would bog supply wagons. A lightning storm would prevent attacks from the sky. If a military today we're to have control over the weather, imagine what would happen if it were China or the US... I get shivers just thinking about it.
Danny M Thanks for the insight, but I'm still convinced the Pegasi value control above all else. Discipline, at the heart of it, is a form of self-control, and one could interpret that as the ultimate or prerequisite of a control-oriented society. I still think that's why they're not the farmers, but thanks for the contribution on the parallels to Sparta and military use of the weather.
I understand your theory and agree that it makes sense, but I believe Earth ponies having an innate connection and magic with the earth is far more appealing, personally
Splashy Bacon , he would be an alicorn pony because he does not seam like anything else. He seems to be more able to rule or co-rule I say if Luna didn’t come back from the moon and bat man was there he would take over after celestia
oida10000 , listen , I am not an idiot. I know how dc works. I’m more of a dc geek than mlp, so for you to say that it just insults me, and if you think for one second I’m going to let this slide. I am saying from personal opinion so it’s not your judgement on weather I’m right!
Well I think I know which two members of the justice league would be alicorns: Superman and Wonder woman, the Flash would be a Pegasus, Green Latern would be a Unicorn as well as the Martian.
I actually started writing a little story about something close to this. The protagonist is a unicorn that has a special kinship with plants, his magic helps plants grow instead of the usual applications of unicorn magic (Aside from lifting things and so on) and he enjoys working in the fields. So he's a plant doctor that helps the earth ponies whenever a particularly uncommon or dangerous problem comes up.
Using season 4 examples, I think the Earth Pony magic also manifests in the form of higher average physical strength, and superior exceptional strength in some cases. Big MacIntosh could pull a whole house with ease, while Maud Pie could chew on rocks and smash a huge boulder with her bare hooves. Also, I think the basic reason why Pegasi aren't inclined to farming much is that they traditionally build their homes in clouds. So unless they've mastered hydroponics, they can't really farm a lot in clouds.
You forget that Earth Ponies are naturally much stronger than the other races, a lot faster, can use their tails with such skill it's almost like a fifth limb, they have more endurance, more stamina, they're patient, and they have a tendency to be a bit smarter because they think outside of the box. (Best examples of that trait are.Applejack, Doctor Whooves, and Miss Cherilee.)
Earth ponies is an interesting race from the others. They are often look down upon even to the fandom. Hardly anyone wants an earth pony oc due to not really understanding. When I am making my own little world in the MLP world I had to look at Earth ponies and what role they are given. This actually took me back to G1 to get a better understanding also seeing how they are really connected to the land through the senses. Some isn't like Pinkie Pie but perhaps could sense certain danger or when the crops are ready or how the apples know of the Zap Apples. They could read the signs unlike any other races and also, they have a bit of their own magic. Like Potions and such. You don't see a lot of Unicorns making potions or Pegasus but see alot of earth ponies making potions. I find this interesting. They have a natural knowledge of the land around them and know what plant to use for what potion. Look at Apple Bloom and Zerca for the example. So I think that is something that the unicorns and pegasus lacks in. Not able to read the land right or tell rather the plant is good or not.
I came to the same conclusions as you did and I thought it followed relatively straight-forwardly from the statement in Hearth's Warming Eve that only the Earth ponies could grow food.
This is now my new headcanon. I love the idea that an Earth pony has a natural talent for making something grow that other races would not. I mean, Earth Ponies need some kind of advantage over the other races in comparison and this fits so well.
IIRC one big reason they switched was for group spacing. Pinkie can come fill any empty space from the side or even the ceiling without wings and it's acceptable because she's the weird one, plus her bouncing makes more sense without wings. Fluttershy is timid and flies below RD but above the ground. So all the different visual levels are filled.
Here are some alternate interpretations for what you noticed: At the time of the events in the Hearth's Warming Eve, the three separate tribes had already been using the divided labor system for some time. Over time, all three tribes realized that the earth ponies were being exploited. The earth ponies resented it, and the unicorns and pegasi feared an uprising, causing mutual suspicion. Speedy growth of plants is not unique to earth ponies; both Twilight and Zecora have been able to duplicate that effect. In fact, some Equestrian plants grow rapidly with no assistance at all (seeds of truth, for example). The Apple family are probably all earth ponies just because they're all related. Although the Cakes apparently have interbred ancestors, that sort of situation seems very rare if you look at all the couples depicted in the show. In our culture, even though different "races" are fully biologically compatible, "inter-racial" marriages are uncommon even among people who think it's perfectly acceptable. In Ponyville the tribes are equal and well mixed, but the episodes set in Canterlot and Cloudsdale suggest that is the exception rather than the norm. They almost say as much in "Flight to the Finish" since Ponyville's distinguishing characteristic is the mixing of the tribes (at least according to the CMC). The prevalence of earth ponies in physical labor jobs may be due to the fact that there are fewer professions they can successfully pursue. Pegasi have a monopoly on any job that requires flight and unicorns are similarly taking jobs that utilize their gifts. A job that any pony can do will have mostly earth ponies applying for it and, over time, these jobs will start to prefer earth ponies due to tradition and connections. If unicorns ever tried to start a farm, I expect the earth ponies they were competing with would play the "all natural" card. Earth ponies at least, and maybe pegasi, would tend to be suspicious of anything that was magical when it didn't have to be.
I personally think it's an interspecies discrimination (speciesism) thing. I mean, the Royal Guard's membership roster has no Earth Ponies AT ALL, despite containing both Pegasuses & Unicorns.
My Headcanon is that in the disant past, before the founding of Equestria, Earth Ponies were enslaved by the Unicorns and Pegasi, and used to cultivate land and grow food. However the Earth Ponies won their freedom and formed their own tribe, but still depended on the Unicorns and Pegasi for ideal conditions. It would help to explain the tension between the races, and why Earth Ponies are looked down on in spite of this apparent knack for growing plants, and perhaps why they have this ability.
Since tirek's attack on equestrian, we know all have magic, Pegasus manipulate the weather, Unicorns the cosmos, and Earth ponies... earth. earth ponies are supposedly the shire horses of the three tribes, not fast or supernatural but strong.As such are most adapt at it, whilst having the ability to grow and toil on lands, but they also maintain the lands, what if they are the only ones that can re-use land and care for land properly.A Pegasus could work the land, but not properly care for it, and would probably have a lower yield and quality than an earth pony would.A Unicorn could use magic to speed up and produce a harvest, but the land would need to heal as the nutrient and life would need to recover equivalent exchange if you will.As for trade, why grow sufficient when you can buy quality, what if earth ponies always have an excessive harvest, (helped by weather and sun light), and so could always trade.About Flim and Flam, they are unicorns with fruit for marks, however they appear to either have a slice missing or be just a slice, so it can be assumed it isn't making produce but getting a cut of any profit that something could make.A thought, if you would spare some though as a subject. ponies seem to fear the Everfree forest because 'It isn't natural' and 'things grow on their own'. which makes me think, ponies have tamed nearly every aspect of their world which leads me to ask, one; is how, and two; what if someone or something made them lose this control, and let all the land be as free as Everfree?Hope this will at least get notice and comments.
Yeah, I just don't know when I will. I don't want to cover those topics until I'm really interested; and at the moment, there are a couple other things I'd like to cover before then. I guarantee I will though. Anywho, I agree with you; I like it when others also view earth ponies in this way.
This is well worn ground and pretty much word of god. Faust's deviant account May 3 2011. "While not magical like the other pony types, Earth Ponies do have a connection to the land that other types do not. In Equestria, growing food and tending animals (Fluttershy's talent with animals is unusual for a pegasus, I always imagined she feels more at home on the ground than in the sky) is just as necessary, as managing weather and magic." FS was originally an earth pony and PP was a pegasus.
It's my opinion that Earth Ponies (and Pegasi) have a form of magic all their own. It's magic that's difficult to try and explain, however, because it's a type of magic that doesn't work like we normally think of magic to work. In a nutshell, Unicorns cast magic that resonates within them, using their own inner energies to manipulate and outright change the world around them. Pegasi also have their own magic that resonates within, but it manifests differently. Firstly, even if pegasi follow the rules for flying creature, that being a more lithe frame and hallow bones, they're still horses and still far too heavy to fly. Part of their magic is what gives them the antigravitation they need to get off the ground, hover, and even contributes to their rocket starts. Pegasi magic primarily manifests as performance enhancement for their ability to fly at all, but also allows them to walk on clouds to begin with as well as manipulate the clouds, winds, and weather in general. It can also manifest in more unique ways, such as Fluttershy's stare, which is pretty much a domination effect, and Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom, which is a sonic boom that also shatters the visual spectrum. Earth Pony magic, I think, is heavily external. As shown by Apple Bloom in Cutipox and Twilight Time, as well as her being the primary handler of the love potion (rather, love poison) in Hearts and Hooves Day, and also shown on several occasions by Zecora, Earth Ponies seem to be the ones who are capable of creating magical potions. While it could be argued that Pegasi and Unicorns could learn to brew potions as well, it's similar to the witch trials of years past, where it seems to be believed it took a special kind of person to be able to invoke the dark arts, as Earth Pony potion making could be considered (it's probable Twilight thinks it's fake (Feeling Pinkie Keen) because, as a Unicorn, she can't do it). I don't think Earth Ponies dominating the plant/fruit/vegetable/etc. growing cutie marks is because they have natural magic that makes it grow better (I think that part in Hearth's Warming Eve was more a prop to give the audience a visual representation of fertility), but I think over centuries of honing their craft and passing knowledge from generation to generation, on top of potion making (if only in the form of potent fertilizers), they've simply dominated in all fields of things that grow. Then again, given how Pinkie Pie is near-immune to the standard laws of physics, I can't fully rule out some magical aura that enables plants to grow stronger, healthier and faster. :)
As for harvesting, remember Twi is an unusual unicorn. I don't think most can telekinectically lift hundreds of apples like it's nothing. Rarity can lift many objects, but they're usually small light items like sewing implements or textiles. Besides, unicorns should use their magic to do things earths can't. Like making giant marble cities on the sides of mountains, or whatever. Now if there was a unicorn with a farming cutie mark...
(7:26) I can as a matter of fact see two unicorns in that picture. (Two younger fillies at the front) Something a bit peculiar is that after the picture has been "taken" the horns are gone. I'm not sure if they were intended to be unicorns or not.
There's a big difference between pulling an apple off a tree, and getting a tree to grow, and to bear fruit. To harvest fruit, you just reach out and pull it off the tree. To grow fruit, you have to make sure that it's planted in fertile soil, that it gets the right amount of sunlight and water, remove weeds and harmful bugs, fertalize the flowers, keep animals from eating it, etc. etc. It's likely that they have some natural connection to the earth that makes them better suited to these tasks.
It has nearly always been my contention that Earth Ponies had a connection with the earth and the plants, allowing them to grow food faster and reduce the fruiting time required for fruiting plants like Apples and berries. I'm very glad to find someone who shares this view also. It's also been my view as of recently that all three tribes used to be one, far in the distant, forgotten past (before the sisters, discord, or Hearth's Warming Eve... kind of stone age ponyland), explaining why they can still interbreed, but some magical calamity or event caused the splitting of the race into three separate but related branches. I call this theory "Shattered Reality" and also brings into the picture the human alternate world and its extremely close ties to the world of Equestria.
I've always figured that earth ponies have more stamina. I also figure that earth ponies are more in touch with the land than other ponies, usually this will come in the form of intuition, like how Granny Smith was able to figure out the best way to make zap apple jam, although some of them do have a more direct connection, like Pinkie Pie's body spasms, but overall they just know these things and usually will follow up on these feelings, like wrapping up winter or shaking leaves off of trees.
this was a very cool video and it brought up the biggest thought I've had ever since entering the fandom,allow me to explain (yes this is possibly the stupidest thing you might ever read and for that i am sorry, and it's headcanon again i'm sorry). Even though I like unicorns, mainly because out of all the classes given in video games the mage is always my favorite, I've always found earth ponies to be like that one cryptic riddle that you try desperately to solve but can't (yea its crazy i know just work with me). Sure unicorns have magic and if one is dedicated enough like Twilight, they could train themselves in greater more powerful magic, maybe even to the point to which they surpass an alicorn, even shining armor knows a spell that the princesses don't, as seen in a canterlot wedding. As for the Pegasus race as seen in the show, we can clearly see that they are the main form of the equestrian military/airforce, since they are literally all over any important building(s) in canterlot. they are also used as they delivery service, since every time we see mail being delivered it's by a pegasus, another job of theirs being obviously weather duty, making it rain and whatnot. Now time for the topic of this comment the Earth Ponies, now in friendship is magic it's shown that the main job for earth Ponies is farming/gardening, other jobs being baking, construction, party planers,school teacher, and just whatever else is open, so basically hard grunt work ... hell in that one rarity ep there was an earth pony cleaning the windows. From this it looks like earth ponies are the lowest in society, not having the ability to do magic or fly, so it might make sense that they're at the bottom of the totem pole. But this also means that earth ponies have no extreme power to rely on, unicorns relying on magic and pegasi on flying. I think this just means that an earth pony must work harder than the other races if they want something to work just right and not just 'poof' it fixed like a unicorn might be able to, but instead have to go through much trial and error, and its with this that i have come to the conclusion that maybe there is much more to them then the show tells, sure they cant study the same magic as unicorns or fly like pegasi (YET) but that's all they have going for them magic and flight were as earth ponies can do everything, no not naturally but maybe mechanically, what if the entire race of earth ponies were always aware of their low standing in society and just chose to leave at that not knowing how to change it. one day somepony just had enough of basically being a *slave*, and wanted to change things so they went around gathering their fellow earth ponies telling them how they can change the social standing of the earth pony that ends with most of them leaving either doubting the idea or to think about if it will even work, whilst the rest of those who came to the gathering believe to work. what is this idea you ask, develop an invention that can help make earth pony lives easier. so anyway much trial and error ensues those who left the gathering come back at some point, and the final prototype is finished and the invention is ready to shown in public, and it's not taken well everyone else sees it as unnatural for an earth pony to have these new abilities. later on down the line a earth pony revolution starts and with them being more technologically advanced than everyone else. that's about it for now i was thinking of turning it into a fanfic but i suck at writing and im not so sure if anyone would want to see where this idea might go. what do you guys think.
It makes sense also in a way because a lot of Earth Ponies also have food marks like Bon Bon and her candy, Twist and her peppermint sticks, and of course Pinkie Pie loves to bake treats with the Cakes. This could very well mean that not only are Earth Ponies naturally gifted with growing and producing food and plants but also with making food and creating new recipes! Just something to think about.
I thought this too, especially after the scene with applejack in the Christmas episode (although that was probably more of a visual proof sort of effect rather than realistic equestrian life) There is one other thing that stood out to me- in "Over a barrel" there is an ENTIRE apple tree orchard, but apparently the bison didn't notice for the MONTHS or even YEARS it took to grow fully-grown apple trees... and they only said anything after the trees could not be moved easily (continued)
Speaking of Earth Ponies, ever notice that all the Earth Ponies in Canterlot are either there for events (Bon Bon, Applejack, & Pinkie Pie at the Royal Wedding), business affairs (Pinkie Pie & Applejack every other time they went there) or vacation (every other Earth Pony who ever shows up in Canterlot)? We have yet to see any Earth Ponies who actually live there (be they natives who moved out, natives who moved out than back to Canterlot or moved there from somewhere else).
There are a lot of earth ponies that do have a cutie mark that relates to farming and growing food. Another common kind of mark would be other kinds of food, more so of candy and baked goods. So earth ponies might not just be good at growing food but also better at cooking, preparing and possibly creating new recipes and products as well. Applejack is shown to have exceptional culinary skills be it all about apples, Granny Smith discovers the perfect way to prepare and create Zap Apple jam. The Cakes, Pinkie Pie, and Donut Joe are all considered great bakers. Twist makes delicious candy canes and they end up being her cutiemark. I think the Apple family may just be very conservative, Applejack kind of yells at Twilight in Winter Wrap Up for using magic on her farm when Twilight herself explains Earth ponies had been wrapping up winter for years without magic and that it's tradition. I live in Texas so it doesn't surprise me that the Apple family would be a very conservative country family only seeking out other earth pony mates. I don't really like the idea that growing and making food is what makes earth ponies special, only that this is what I've noticed just watching the show. I liked LethalAuroraMage video about how an Earth Ponies are able to use a prehensile mane and tail. Applejack, and Applebloom display a talent for using their tails to rope and hoopty loop respectively. Pinkiepie uses her mane to hold objects as well. With this understanding the Mane-iac's powers would've left a greater impression on me comically, and it would make more sense why the villian's crazy hair was her power. I like the idea that Earth Ponies are physically stronger and have greater endurance than the other two races, also that Earth Ponies could be more in tune with the earth and nature altogether, which would be supported by Pinkiepie's 'pinkiesense' and wouldn't be an ability that only Pinkie has, but all Earth ponies have the potential for. Just after thinking about potential, I think that might be exactly what makes Earth Ponies special, they have the potential to use magic as demonstrated by Zekora in Magic Duel, they have potential to become crazy strong like Maud when she throws that huge rock and causes it to go nuclear. Of course magic hair, spideysense and hulk-like strength is good too.
Regardless, it could provide an interesting new story arc. Instead of a magical threat there could be a distrust between Earth Ponies and the other races. In about a year the unicorns/allicorns have allowed a threat to grow: the return of Nightmare Moon, the Changeling Infiltration, putting the Crystal Empire at risk just to see if Twilight could save it on her own, the Plunderseeds, and Lord Tirek. Twilight has also caused chaos, regardless of it being unintentional: she allowed her magic to ruin Winter Wrap-Up, switched her friends cutie marks without thinking it, caused Fluttershy to turn into a vampire bat and causing Applejack to sacrifice her families' giant apple. Lastly let's not forget Starswirl the Bearded. He specializes in time travel. He knew of the chaos that would come and did nothing; allowing Celestia to lose her sister. He even banished the Sirens to the Human world but in doing so just moved the problem somewhere else. The ponies have become reliant on magic and once it's gone/defeated they panic. This makes Applejack and interesting character because when other ponies gave up or complained about their missing wings/magic she persisted both to her stubborn nature and an earth ponies experience in working with limits. It would be interesting to see Earth Ponies challenging the Princess's for being responsible or not being decisive. It would be interesting to see Applejack agree with them but not want to be on their side due to being Twilights' friend and for Celestia giving the Apple Family their land. Applejack could be called a traitor of her own kind. Twilight would have to solve the issue without magic out of fear of being called a hypocrite. Who knows, maybe there are evil Unicorns who view Earth Ponies as lower class citizens and want to do something to them, giving Earth Ponies something to vent about.
I think that Earth Ponies have a special kind of natural magic, but also the other tribes didn't know anything about farming back then so it was more of a necessity, but once they unified, they shared their secrets tor farming so the other races could at least help if they chose to
earth ponies are canonically gifted with nature, having a natural connection to plants and animals (fluttershy was originally conceived as an earth pony by lauren faust), and are also posess physical prowess that exceeds that of pegasi and unicorns. we see them pulling houses and trains. we also saw that rainbow dash, a military level athlete couldnt outfly ms peachbottom, a regular earth pony when she was running.
In a way, the pegasi do have a role in helping things grow as they help the clouds produce rain. Therefore, the earth ponies only plant the seeds and of course they would water them regularly but they don't have to when it rains. Also the pegasi make the sun raise and that also helps the plants grow. The earth ponies' main role is dealing with the soil and surroundings of a plant and the pegasi help by doing their weather jobs. I don't know about the unicorns, though.
now we know the magic of three races: Unicorns: "normal" magic Pegasi: weather magic Earth Ponies: plant growing magic next races: Zebras, Dragons, Alicorns, griffons and crystal ponies
there is a thing i noticed about hearts warming eve wnd i would love to see that become part of the backstory: the three races are all based upon different cultures in the past the unicors resemble medival europeans the pegasi resemble ancient greeks and the earth ponies come closest to ancient or medival middle eastern cultures
It would be interesting to see a more integrated farm, like say somewhere on the road trip in the "Apples to the Core" episode, where you've got pegasi doing surveying and rapid transport, unicorns doing the harvesting and earth ponies managing and using their earth related magic to maximize yield.
Maybe applejack baby talking to that tree in over a barrel shows how connected she is with nature. It makes sense that earth ponies would have their own special ability, perhaps that's how granny smith was able to understand and utilize the signs of zap apples. I mean who just decides to paint pink polka dots in a kitchen just to see if the jam tastes better, she probably felt some sort of connection to the apple and what it's potential was when made into jan
If i remenber well Rarity and trixie demonstrate that unicorns also can control the weather that means that unicorns could be independent if they want?
Earth ponies are all born with green hooves/thumbs(lol whatever) which makes them PERFECT for growing plants! The earth ponies seem so much more awesome now ^_^
In G5, earth ponies are gonna have magic. That's what I heard from this one TH-camr, who got information, but I believe all different types of ponies would have different types of magic. Unicorns will have there typical horn magic, pegasi will have there flying and weather magic, and earth ponies are going to have magical crops. Sounds pretty accurate!
That was fascinating, really. Might also help explain why Applejack is always bucking apples-the trees sprout fruit much faster than normal. Also, I don't think it's just growing, I think they've cornered food period; Pinkie and the Cakes are bakers while Twist and Bon Bon are/seem to be candymakers. Really, apart from Donut Joe (unicorn city resident) and Flim & Flam (just built the machine) do we even see any non-EP's in the food industry?
I think that’s not right because Granny smith yet in the zap apple episode that an orchard dosen’t grow overnight.So I think that maybe all tribes can plant.
I can see why the Unicorns and Pegasai would not farm their own food, even if it meant having to deal with what they may see as an inferior race: they each have their own special purposes, and probably see getting food for it as their just due. As an aside, it is the depth of this show that keeps me watching it; there are very few shows for adults that have this many layers, and garner so much intelligent discussion.
Indeed. I have always considered Earth Ponies to be the best when it comes to plants. They have a natural talent for growing things and figuring out how to make them grow better (Think about Granny Smith and the Zap Apples).
About the ingenuity part. When you have access to a 'fix-all' easy spell or can fly, life is easy. When all you have is growing plants and need to use your mouth for various tasks than... yeah, you have to get your brain gears moving to improve on your situation. If life's hard, make the best of it. As to the magic it was made official in ending of season IV that yes, earth ponies are magical in their own way.
I feel that earth ponies have a natural increase of stamina and strength, which makes them more inclined to work harder and longer than the other races. Perhaps they have a magic over plants as well.
Think about this way. Earth ponies seems to be in tune with the planet more so then say pegasi or unicorns. Pinky Pie and Cheese Sandwich both have a "sense" one warns of danger the other tells them that there is a party to be thrown. If you look at Luna and Celestia they each get premonitions. I think that this is the earth pony part of the Alicorn race. Patience, seems to be another main trait shared by earth ponies. Yes Twilight and rainbow dash can buck apples as good as or better than Apple Jack, But can you Twilight sticking w/ planting and raising an orchard year in and year out? What about Rainbow Dash she barely stand still. Flutteryshy while nurturing needs Angel Bunny to remind her to do things. Raity is well...Raity. Pinkie Pie while may not seem like it she could still farm with her own cutie mark, because she could make it fun and/or a game. Granny Smith w/ the Zap Apples and her Zap Apple Jam. How many different signs did she notice? Don't forget the constant trail and error in making her jam.
Well this does make sence. All the tasks the other ponies matched or beat them in were all harvesting or moving things. Also maybe the earth ponies just had superior knowledge on agriculture. It doesent take much to know how to move stuff around.
I would like to point out an observation that was pointed out to me on Animal Planet. That in the predator and prey relationship the predator will almost all ways find the weakest prey to attack and eat. In the case of My Little Pony (Friendship is Magic) Tirek attacked the unicorns tribe first, followed by the Pegasi, and then the earth ponies. Only after preying all three tribe did Tirek even a attempt attack the alicorns. So with the Predator-Prey relationship in mind, does this mean that unicorns are the weak in ponykind, and earth ponies are the strongest, both in body and magic? Just a thought.
(continued2) I think I heard two explanations in the episode- that they apple loosa's had only JUST moved in, and the other being that they'd only moved in a few months ago. Either way, that's an incredibly fast time to grow such a vast amount of fruit-bearing apples. And how could the bison only recently acknowledge an entire apple orchard? the only solution I've come up with for all of this is that the earth ponies grew the apples VERY fast, faster than real life apple trees.
There are some earth pony families made up of primarily of earth ponies like the Apple family and then there's earth pony families like the Cake family that has at least one pegasus and/or unicorn family member. Lauren Faust put the story in that direction to stimulate the real world races and how some families are primarily one race and other families are mixed.
Lauren Faust put in perspective of the diversity in today's society into My Little Pony as well. For example: the Mane 6 were originally composed of 2 earth ponies,2 unicorns, and 2 pegasi with the change of Twilight becoming an alicorn. Lauren Faust also put in prospective of how the diversity of today's society has become an everyday ideal for the children as well. For example the CMC composed of one of each pony tribe.
I think that if a unicorn or pegasus were running a farm, they probably wouldn't have any trouble harvesting, but they would have problems planting. Harvesting is simple, and as shown in Applebuck Season, unicorns and pegasi can excel Earth Ponies at it. But we've never seen a unicorn or pegasus planting anything. I don't think the plant would grow as well as it would if an Earth Pony were planting it. However, I do think an Alicorn would be able to pull it off.
Let me clarify. It seems we are in agreement that all earth ponies do not have druidic magic. However I think they do have their own brand of, like you said, passive magic. be it a green thumb or...whatever it is that Pinkie does (i'm sure there are more examples of earth pony "magic", I just can't think of any right now). However this magic is not gypsy/druidic magic, and cannot be directly controlled.
Purple Fire on FimFiction has a theory about this that comes from his/her story, "Starlight". I didn't come up with this, I'm just telling you about it. And this also has some bits thrown in from other analyzers too. I basically go around TH-cam watching analysis videos and construct my own headcanon from bits and pieces of different people's theory, but I give credit to this theory to Purple Fire, since his/her theory takes up the bulk of my headcanon. So, his/her theory is that each of the races have their own unique magic. Pegasi are able to manipulate the air around them to hold them up, since wings so small couldn't hold a pony of that size in the air. They can also stand on clouds and help control clouds to produce weather. The unicorns' magic is easier to see in effect, it isn't subconscious like the others. They can cast spells and stuff. Earth ponies can change the earth around them, thus causing plants to grow faster. They also are generally, as a race, stronger than unicorns and a little stronger than pegasi, since they have to carry everything with only their hooves.
Lauren Faust sais that all the ponies have magic inside, but only the unicorns can control this magic (and not all the unicorns can do it well, usualy they only use telekinesis and one or two spells more). In the earth ponis case, this magic give them a special conexion with nature. Whith this information, is logic think that earth ponis invented farming. They was the only thype of ponies who can do it in past ages. In the present, his tecnics and knowledge can be use by every poni, but nature-stuff is mostly earth ponies territory. (Sorry if my English is not good)
It would be an interesting thing to add to the canon, but I think the most obvious reason is their Stamina. Earth ponies are typically drawn thicker bodied than the others. If you look closely AppleJack and Pinkie Pie have thicker frames than the dainty Fluttershy or the smaller Twilight Sparkle. While I think the other races can farm as well for a period of time, I think the Earth Ponies can carry on their work far longer. Still, the idea of Earth magic is interesting.
Twilight turned a frog into an orange (sorta) and time spells are possible, so I think powerful unicorn could grow plants much faster, and weaker unicorn can learn such spells or weaker versions to farm easily. Pegasi can manipulate weather and could cause perfect weather conditions for growing, though it may take some time to grow. Earth ponies are naturally gifted so growing takes the least effort, earth ponies can probably maintain plant health longer, even during the worst conditions.
But they unicorns in general are not all that able to do things. Of course, Twilight has MAGIC for a cutie mark so she gets to do what she wants... Rarity does not. Also... some things simply can't be done by earthponies. Only pegasi can do something about clouds and stuff... and when matters require meticulous and neat handling, you better have a unicorn.
So while it does appear that pegasi and unicorns could do awesome efficient farm work, it comes at the expense of farming prerequisite jobs that earth ponies can't do. A surplus of ponies could shift things, or technology as well (manehatten existing suggests there mass food production somehow), but in general we see that MLP stresses that Equestria has a balance in such things. So sure, friends helping against Flim/Flam for one ep is fine but as a whole society couldn't change.
I have a theory that earth ponies are able to live longer than the other races. A lot of the elder ponies we see are earth ponies, and they're ability to grow food easily ties in with it.
Drew attention to Smartcookies's face when the plant on his hoof grow bigger. She looked so focused. Like, she was trying to do something really hard... Earthponies magig? Meaby it takes lot of strength?
This theory makes plenty of sense to me. To further back up the idea that the Earth Ponies have some special affinity for nature: Fluttershy while in development was originally an Earth Pony, while Pinkie Pie was originally a pegasus. (You can find more information on their respective wiki pages) So Fluttershy's affinity with animals was originally an extension to her being an Earth Pony, while party-crazy Pinkie Pie was a wild pegasus. It makes sense to me now why they were originally what they were, assuming this hypothesis holds true. Also Pinkie's family runs a rock farm. At the very least, I'd imagine that Earth Ponies were originally intended to be those with an affinity for nature.
Hey, haven't you thought in analizing that the population of Manehattan is only earth ponies? including the fashion designers, Rarity is the only unicorn.
I do hope that we see another Apple family member who is a unicorn or pegasus that is adopted in. I can see a lot of stories that could be told. A unicorn who is as powerful as starlight but their cutie mark is an apple. It could be a cmc episode too
How come some earth ponies have different cutiemarks? Like different from farming if farming is what their race is supposed to do? Pinkie's cutiemark isn't farming yet she is an earth pony! So I'm confused 😕
This ability to make plants grow faster would explain how Sweet Apple Acres always seems to put out a crop anytime it's not covered in snow.
I do think Earth ponies do have some kind of magic to help plants grow but I also think that the pegasai and unicorn had to depend on the Earth ponies to grow food because the places where the pegasai and unicorns live were unfit for growing food. Think about it. The pegasai most likely live in the clouds and have no dirt to plant crops. As for the unicorns they are mostly seen standing on a large rock or mountain, which leaves me to believe they lived in, around or ontop of mountains. Of course it's hard to grow crops on solid rock. The Earth ponies had the only land that could grow crops and to prevent war, the ponies had to work together to get what they needed with out messing everything up.
well, you took the words right out of my mouth
it's convenient for the Pegasi to live in the Clouds, since they can use this space, without any competition.
Then again, the Pegasi seems to have personalities, requiring the freedom, only the clouds can sustain?
Eeyup!
Bat pony
Also I noticed in 'Winter Wrap Up', Twilight mentions that Earth Ponies founded Ponyville, and Magic is forbidden (or at least discouraged) from being used during Winter Wrap Up. This could be a holdover from the days when the races were at odds with eachother, and the Earth Pony founders of Ponyville shunned magic due to it being a Unicorn trait, and Pegasi largely being in charge of cloud duty due to their affinity for it, like the Earth Pony founders put the Unicorns and Pegasi in their place
I like the Fallout: Equestria take on the races of ponies, while Pegasi have wings and weather controlling, and unicorns have... well magic. Earth ponies were able to create things better. Like coming up with inventions or in this case farming. Like how pinkie has her copter thing, you don't see any other race with things like that.
I have a theory dubbed the "Adam and Eve" theory regarding earth ponies.
The theory follows that in the beginning of time, there were only Earth ponies. As time moved on, ponies migrated to different lands and environments that slowly affected generations of ponies born into those environments. In other words, they adapted and evolved! Pegasi were more likely to be born on environments with treacherous terrain such as hills, mountains, and valleys, which would explain why most Pegasi tend to be more agile than the other races. Unicorns were more likely to be born on lands that were naturally rich with various gems that could be used for trade. This is why most unicorns are associated with gems and "high class". The show has emphasized that most magical and mystical items share properties similar to that of gems (ex: the red "gem" on the alicorn amulet, the elements of harmony, etc.) and their magical influences could have impacted the generations of ponies born there to utilize magic via their horns through, you guessed it, evolution. The generations of Earth ponies that stayed in those environments mentioned above were all soon replaced due to the "Unicorn gene" and the "Pegasus gene" being more "adaptable" those environments. The civilization of Earth ponies who didn't migrate to those unique lands lived in more favorable conditions where animals such as cows and chickens thrive so evolution played little roles as far as visible physical attributes goes, however they evolved agriculturally due to the relatively simple lands provided to those ponies and the added aid of farm animals. Now we fast forward to the founding of Equestria, where the ponies attempts at working together seems to be shaky at best and the rest writes itself from there.
TLDR Version: Unicorns and Pegasi are just hyper evolved earth ponies and all pony races share Earth pony ancestors! (Don't ask me how Alicorns fit into this equation.) XD
If anyone would like to add to this theory or point out some things I over-looked, please feel free to do so. Thanks! X3
I think it would be better if they were all descendent to an Ancient Ponies and Earth Ponies have the closest gene to the Ancient Ponies but living in a fertile environment full of plant with many hardwork around the farm giving them a bit magic to produce food much better and maybe a much better strength or stamina while Unicorn living above the rocky mountain and Pegasi living above the cloud. Alicorn is a mysterious race resulted from them embodied the magic of three ponies race.
If you think back to Twilights Kingdom, Princess Celestia mentions how if Tirek took the Earth's pony magic, then they wouldn't be able to grow crops or have their strength. I think this theory that DrWolf has is canon :)
I think Lauren Faust confirmed it long before this.
@@lookoutherecomestom1874 I mean look at the Pear-Apple tree. Even, Pinkie Pie i think the reason why she was able to make cake and cupcake was probbaly due to her understanding of food and fruit used in her bakery.
i didnt actually hear that myself, but that makes alot of sense, because Tirek steals magic from them; despite them seeming to have no magic, pretty odd
Well, it could be that all ponies have 'magic' so to speak; unicorns in their horns, pegasi in their wings and earth ponies in their hooves. As for me since in "Hearth's Warming Eve" it said that the pagasi and unicorns demanded food that could "Only be grown by the earth ponies." My guess is while pegasi and unicorns (as we've seen in the show) are capable of 'harvesting' food I've yet to see them 'grow' it. It's possible that if they tried planting seeds that they wouldn't grow without the 'magic touch' of an earth pony. Also, given that the feuding tribes stayed to their own lands, which for pegasi were the clouds, and for unicorns (though it could just be a Rarity thing) apparently gem studded rocks/caverns they weren't exactly ideal locations for growing and keeping up crops. In fact, it could be that the earth ponies had already claimed all of the fertile land before the unicorns and pegasi could, so there wasn't a chance that the unicorns or pegasi could even begin farming, therefor the earth ponies unintentionally (or maybe perhaps intentionally) secured a reason for their own existence.
I came up with a somewhat similar theory due to Pinkie Pie, well her family that is. The Pie family work thier own rock farm, independently confirmed by Trixie. It's not a quarry where they dig up rocks, it's a farm where they GROW rocks! Somehow, through shear hard work and their relationship to the land, the Pie family can actually grow rocks. If that isn't a special earth magic I don't know what is.
+Bryan Moe (Pouncer Lion) The gems are also said to grow, in Secret of my excess.
I don't know if I'm taking away the fun of looking through the show for answers, but in Lauren Faust's twitter, she did mention that all 3 pony races have special advantages over each other with Earth Ponies being more inclined to be physically stronger and having a magical connection to the earth and the animals. It's in this way that Fluttershy's special ability to communicate with animals is actually a very unusual exception. As for Rainbow and Twilight showing up Applejack's farm work,
I have a related theory on earth ponies, but not so limited to farming.
Stepping back for a moment, we have unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies. Unicorns can consciously and overtly use magic, and therefore are seen as the magic users. On the other hand, I do think that pegasi and earth ponies are just as magical, albeit in different ways.
Pegasi have powers of flight and atmospheric effects (weather). I expect that the flight and cloudwalking themselves are partially through subconsciously controlling the surrounding air/cloud to achieve the desired effect. Whilst I cannot remember anything making it clear whether or not these powers are conscious or subconscious, I expect that at most they are less conscious or the fact they are using magic when they do so.
Earth ponies on the other hand are seen as non-magical. My theory is that it would be more accurate to say that they are not consciously magical, and instead subconsciously effect the world around them. In a lot of example this could be something as simple as aiding a plant's growth, allowing it to do better than it otherwise could, whilst not necessarily being aware of how. I do not think that earth ponies would be limited to this however - I do not believe that Pinkie or Octavia would be any better at farming than a pegasus or unicorn for example - instead their powers would affect reality relating to their own special talents.
Talking of Pinkie, I think she is a perfect example of just how weird this can get. She seems to be able to be in multiple places at once for example, or at least seemingly teleport. She seems to have the power to have items come immediately to hand, or to build working flying machines. I think Pinkie's probably one of the powerful earth magicians around, with the ability to drastically affect reality, all with her remaining oblivious to the fact that it's her own will that's changing her suroundings. (If you've ever come across the Haruhi Suzumiya anime/manga, I see Pinkie as someone who can unconsciously affect her surroundings in much the same way as Haruhi does.)
Actually, while the other ponies do farming tasks, none of the rest of the mane six actually grew anything. They just harvested what the Apple Family grew.
Well the Season 4 finale did prove that Earth ponies had magic, and I am inclined to believe that it was more than just the magic that gives ponies their cutie marks. Whether it be above-average strength or a natural ability to grow things, Earth ponies certainly do seem to have their own hidden arsenal of magic that sets them apart from the other two races.
Personally, I always assumed it had more to do with Earth ponies having more patience than the other races. Think about it. Pegasi primarily are in charge of the weather and clouds, and if the militant personality of Commander Hurricane and the Wonderbolts training camp mimicking a strict army regiment are any indicator, this is because they value complete control over every aspect of their lives. They even have schedules for what the weather will be and said weather is developed in a factory. Having to wait for a plant to fully grow on its own at its own pace seems like a very frustrating situation for one who would want their schedule to be kept, wouldn't it? The unicorns, while not as impatient, would share a similar flaw caused my their resource of magic: accessibility. As demonstrated in Twilight Time, magic and modern science can be used to accelerate the growth rate of plants with relative easy. However, as many magic-related stories can teach us, misusing magic as a solution to such everyday tasks can lead to dire consequences. In that very same episode I brought up, the flower came to life and started a coughing fit, showing that such an easy answer is not necessarily the right one. Earth ponies have the patience to grow crops and care for the land BECAUSE they lack the excess abilities of the two other races, wings and magical horns, and as such from birth had to learn how to accomplish these tasks the hard and right way. In summation, magic and flight are not substitutes for hard work anymore than carelessness or impatience are superior to determination and spirit.
I have to disagree with what you said about the Pegasus. Because they have a militaristic government, they do not value control. Above all else, a military needs discipline to function. They were obviously based off of the Spartans, meaning none of them would be farmers, none of them would be writers, they were all full time soldiers, so they were entirely reliant upon the other races for food. But that's just a theory. (Not) A Game Theory.
But yeah, basically, militaries like to know what's up, and when flying is involved, you need a generally clear sky. Think of it this way, in the event of a however unlikely riot, having control over what weather happens when and where would be a valuable (not to mention peaceful) deterrent. Even in the possibilities of warring parties, having a downpour would bog supply wagons. A lightning storm would prevent attacks from the sky. If a military today we're to have control over the weather, imagine what would happen if it were China or the US... I get shivers just thinking about it.
Danny M Thanks for the insight, but I'm still convinced the Pegasi value control above all else. Discipline, at the heart of it, is a form of self-control, and one could interpret that as the ultimate or prerequisite of a control-oriented society. I still think that's why they're not the farmers, but thanks for the contribution on the parallels to Sparta and military use of the weather.
I understand your theory and agree that it makes sense, but I believe Earth ponies having an innate connection and magic with the earth is far more appealing, personally
If Batman was a pony, it wouldn't be a unicorn, pegasus, or alicorn. That is all.
Splashy Bacon , he would be an alicorn pony because he does not seam like anything else. He seems to be more able to rule or co-rule I say if Luna didn’t come back from the moon and bat man was there he would take over after celestia
Ginger Ninja Batman would be an earth pony, because he lacks active powers (in fact he is just super rich and very trained and super smart).
oida10000 , listen , I am not an idiot. I know how dc works. I’m more of a dc geek than mlp, so for you to say that it just insults me, and if you think for one second I’m going to let this slide. I am saying from personal opinion so it’s not your judgement on weather I’m right!
Well I think I know which two members of the justice league would be alicorns: Superman and Wonder woman, the Flash would be a Pegasus, Green Latern would be a Unicorn as well as the Martian.
I actually started writing a little story about something close to this. The protagonist is a unicorn that has a special kinship with plants, his magic helps plants grow instead of the usual applications of unicorn magic (Aside from lifting things and so on) and he enjoys working in the fields. So he's a plant doctor that helps the earth ponies whenever a particularly uncommon or dangerous problem comes up.
From reading articles, fanfics and watching videos, it seems that this is the most common explanation for Earth Ponies that I have seen fandom use.
Using season 4 examples, I think the Earth Pony magic also manifests in the form of higher average physical strength, and superior exceptional strength in some cases. Big MacIntosh could pull a whole house with ease, while Maud Pie could chew on rocks and smash a huge boulder with her bare hooves.
Also, I think the basic reason why Pegasi aren't inclined to farming much is that they traditionally build their homes in clouds. So unless they've mastered hydroponics, they can't really farm a lot in clouds.
You forget that Earth Ponies are naturally much stronger than the other races, a lot faster, can use their tails with such skill it's almost like a fifth limb, they have more endurance, more stamina, they're patient, and they have a tendency to be a bit smarter because they think outside of the box. (Best examples of that trait are.Applejack, Doctor Whooves, and Miss Cherilee.)
Earth ponies is an interesting race from the others. They are often look down upon even to the fandom. Hardly anyone wants an earth pony oc due to not really understanding. When I am making my own little world in the MLP world I had to look at Earth ponies and what role they are given. This actually took me back to G1 to get a better understanding also seeing how they are really connected to the land through the senses. Some isn't like Pinkie Pie but perhaps could sense certain danger or when the crops are ready or how the apples know of the Zap Apples. They could read the signs unlike any other races and also, they have a bit of their own magic. Like Potions and such. You don't see a lot of Unicorns making potions or Pegasus but see alot of earth ponies making potions. I find this interesting. They have a natural knowledge of the land around them and know what plant to use for what potion. Look at Apple Bloom and Zerca for the example. So I think that is something that the unicorns and pegasus lacks in. Not able to read the land right or tell rather the plant is good or not.
I came to the same conclusions as you did and I thought it followed relatively straight-forwardly from the statement in Hearth's Warming Eve that only the Earth ponies could grow food.
I think earth ponies might also tend to have more in the way of physical strength.
The word of God said that all ponies have magic.
This is now my new headcanon. I love the idea that an Earth pony has a natural talent for making something grow that other races would not. I mean, Earth Ponies need some kind of advantage over the other races in comparison and this fits so well.
IIRC one big reason they switched was for group spacing. Pinkie can come fill any empty space from the side or even the ceiling without wings and it's acceptable because she's the weird one, plus her bouncing makes more sense without wings. Fluttershy is timid and flies below RD but above the ground. So all the different visual levels are filled.
Here are some alternate interpretations for what you noticed:
At the time of the events in the Hearth's Warming Eve, the three separate tribes had already been using the divided labor system for some time. Over time, all three tribes realized that the earth ponies were being exploited. The earth ponies resented it, and the unicorns and pegasi feared an uprising, causing mutual suspicion.
Speedy growth of plants is not unique to earth ponies; both Twilight and Zecora have been able to duplicate that effect. In fact, some Equestrian plants grow rapidly with no assistance at all (seeds of truth, for example).
The Apple family are probably all earth ponies just because they're all related. Although the Cakes apparently have interbred ancestors, that sort of situation seems very rare if you look at all the couples depicted in the show. In our culture, even though different "races" are fully biologically compatible, "inter-racial" marriages are uncommon even among people who think it's perfectly acceptable.
In Ponyville the tribes are equal and well mixed, but the episodes set in Canterlot and Cloudsdale suggest that is the exception rather than the norm. They almost say as much in "Flight to the Finish" since Ponyville's distinguishing characteristic is the mixing of the tribes (at least according to the CMC).
The prevalence of earth ponies in physical labor jobs may be due to the fact that there are fewer professions they can successfully pursue. Pegasi have a monopoly on any job that requires flight and unicorns are similarly taking jobs that utilize their gifts. A job that any pony can do will have mostly earth ponies applying for it and, over time, these jobs will start to prefer earth ponies due to tradition and connections.
If unicorns ever tried to start a farm, I expect the earth ponies they were competing with would play the "all natural" card. Earth ponies at least, and maybe pegasi, would tend to be suspicious of anything that was magical when it didn't have to be.
I personally think it's an interspecies discrimination (speciesism) thing. I mean, the Royal Guard's membership roster has no Earth Ponies AT ALL, despite containing both Pegasuses & Unicorns.
It's amazing how you can pump out such quality videos in such a short amount of time.
rarity is so beautiful 2:02
No doubt about it.
Earth ponies have magic too.
Tirec wouldn't have taken magic from the earth ponies unless they have had it in the first place.
My Headcanon is that in the disant past, before the founding of Equestria, Earth Ponies were enslaved by the Unicorns and Pegasi, and used to cultivate land and grow food. However the Earth Ponies won their freedom and formed their own tribe, but still depended on the Unicorns and Pegasi for ideal conditions. It would help to explain the tension between the races, and why Earth Ponies are looked down on in spite of this apparent knack for growing plants, and perhaps why they have this ability.
the scene when Applejack took the seeds from Zecora
i had the same theory
Since tirek's attack on equestrian, we know all have magic, Pegasus manipulate the weather, Unicorns the cosmos, and Earth ponies... earth. earth ponies are supposedly the shire horses of the three tribes, not fast or supernatural but strong.As such are most adapt at it, whilst having the ability to grow and toil on lands, but they also maintain the lands, what if they are the only ones that can re-use land and care for land properly.A Pegasus could work the land, but not properly care for it, and would probably have a lower yield and quality than an earth pony would.A Unicorn could use magic to speed up and produce a harvest, but the land would need to heal as the nutrient and life would need to recover equivalent exchange if you will.As for trade, why grow sufficient when you can buy quality, what if earth ponies always have an excessive harvest, (helped by weather and sun light), and so could always trade.About Flim and Flam, they are unicorns with fruit for marks, however they appear to either have a slice missing or be just a slice, so it can be assumed it isn't making produce but getting a cut of any profit that something could make.A thought, if you would spare some though as a subject. ponies seem to fear the Everfree forest because 'It isn't natural' and 'things grow on their own'. which makes me think, ponies have tamed nearly every aspect of their world which leads me to ask, one; is how, and two; what if someone or something made them lose this control, and let all the land be as free as Everfree?Hope this will at least get notice and comments.
I like how your channel is stuff I want to see, and it's easy to find an analysis , not all, news flashes, merchandise, "I'm going to bronycon", etc.
Thank you for blowing my mind every times!
Yeah, I just don't know when I will. I don't want to cover those topics until I'm really interested; and at the moment, there are a couple other things I'd like to cover before then. I guarantee I will though. Anywho, I agree with you; I like it when others also view earth ponies in this way.
there is one unicorn in apple family. She is one of the fillies in the front row. just wanted to point that out at 7:28
Really interesting theory! Earth ponies are cool :)
This is well worn ground and pretty much word of god. Faust's deviant account May 3 2011.
"While not magical like the other pony types, Earth Ponies do have a connection to the land that other types do not. In Equestria, growing food and tending animals (Fluttershy's talent with animals is unusual for a pegasus, I always imagined she feels more at home on the ground than in the sky) is just as necessary, as managing weather and magic."
FS was originally an earth pony and PP was a pegasus.
It's my opinion that Earth Ponies (and Pegasi) have a form of magic all their own. It's magic that's difficult to try and explain, however, because it's a type of magic that doesn't work like we normally think of magic to work. In a nutshell, Unicorns cast magic that resonates within them, using their own inner energies to manipulate and outright change the world around them.
Pegasi also have their own magic that resonates within, but it manifests differently. Firstly, even if pegasi follow the rules for flying creature, that being a more lithe frame and hallow bones, they're still horses and still far too heavy to fly. Part of their magic is what gives them the antigravitation they need to get off the ground, hover, and even contributes to their rocket starts. Pegasi magic primarily manifests as performance enhancement for their ability to fly at all, but also allows them to walk on clouds to begin with as well as manipulate the clouds, winds, and weather in general. It can also manifest in more unique ways, such as Fluttershy's stare, which is pretty much a domination effect, and Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom, which is a sonic boom that also shatters the visual spectrum.
Earth Pony magic, I think, is heavily external. As shown by Apple Bloom in Cutipox and Twilight Time, as well as her being the primary handler of the love potion (rather, love poison) in Hearts and Hooves Day, and also shown on several occasions by Zecora, Earth Ponies seem to be the ones who are capable of creating magical potions. While it could be argued that Pegasi and Unicorns could learn to brew potions as well, it's similar to the witch trials of years past, where it seems to be believed it took a special kind of person to be able to invoke the dark arts, as Earth Pony potion making could be considered (it's probable Twilight thinks it's fake (Feeling Pinkie Keen) because, as a Unicorn, she can't do it).
I don't think Earth Ponies dominating the plant/fruit/vegetable/etc. growing cutie marks is because they have natural magic that makes it grow better (I think that part in Hearth's Warming Eve was more a prop to give the audience a visual representation of fertility), but I think over centuries of honing their craft and passing knowledge from generation to generation, on top of potion making (if only in the form of potent fertilizers), they've simply dominated in all fields of things that grow.
Then again, given how Pinkie Pie is near-immune to the standard laws of physics, I can't fully rule out some magical aura that enables plants to grow stronger, healthier and faster. :)
As for harvesting, remember Twi is an unusual unicorn. I don't think most can telekinectically lift hundreds of apples like it's nothing. Rarity can lift many objects, but they're usually small light items like sewing implements or textiles. Besides, unicorns should use their magic to do things earths can't. Like making giant marble cities on the sides of mountains, or whatever.
Now if there was a unicorn with a farming cutie mark...
(7:26) I can as a matter of fact see two unicorns in that picture. (Two younger fillies at the front) Something a bit peculiar is that after the picture has been "taken" the horns are gone. I'm not sure if they were intended to be unicorns or not.
There's a big difference between pulling an apple off a tree, and getting a tree to grow, and to bear fruit. To harvest fruit, you just reach out and pull it off the tree. To grow fruit, you have to make sure that it's planted in fertile soil, that it gets the right amount of sunlight and water, remove weeds and harmful bugs, fertalize the flowers, keep animals from eating it, etc. etc. It's likely that they have some natural connection to the earth that makes them better suited to these tasks.
It has nearly always been my contention that Earth Ponies had a connection with the earth and the plants, allowing them to grow food faster and reduce the fruiting time required for fruiting plants like Apples and berries. I'm very glad to find someone who shares this view also. It's also been my view as of recently that all three tribes used to be one, far in the distant, forgotten past (before the sisters, discord, or Hearth's Warming Eve... kind of stone age ponyland), explaining why they can still interbreed, but some magical calamity or event caused the splitting of the race into three separate but related branches. I call this theory "Shattered Reality" and also brings into the picture the human alternate world and its extremely close ties to the world of Equestria.
I love all your videos. You definitely deserve more subs.
I've always figured that earth ponies have more stamina. I also figure that earth ponies are more in touch with the land than other ponies, usually this will come in the form of intuition, like how Granny Smith was able to figure out the best way to make zap apple jam, although some of them do have a more direct connection, like Pinkie Pie's body spasms, but overall they just know these things and usually will follow up on these feelings, like wrapping up winter or shaking leaves off of trees.
I think that indeed they have the ability to make plants to grow faster similar to pegasus that have the ability to cloud walk or cloud lightening
this was a very cool video and it brought up the biggest thought I've had ever since entering the fandom,allow me to explain (yes this is possibly the stupidest thing you might ever read and for that i am sorry, and it's headcanon again i'm sorry).
Even though I like unicorns, mainly because out of all the classes given in video games the mage is always my favorite, I've always found earth ponies to be like that one cryptic riddle that you try desperately to solve but can't (yea its crazy i know just work with me). Sure unicorns have magic and if one is dedicated enough like Twilight, they could train themselves in greater more powerful magic, maybe even to the point to which they surpass an alicorn, even shining armor knows a spell that the princesses don't, as seen in a canterlot wedding. As for the Pegasus race as seen in the show, we can clearly see that they are the main form of the equestrian military/airforce, since they are literally all over any important building(s) in canterlot. they are also used as they delivery service, since every time we see mail being delivered it's by a pegasus, another job of theirs being obviously weather duty, making it rain and whatnot. Now time for the topic of this comment the Earth Ponies, now in friendship is magic it's shown that the main job for earth Ponies is farming/gardening, other jobs being baking, construction, party planers,school teacher, and just whatever else is open, so basically hard grunt work ... hell in that one rarity ep there was an earth pony cleaning the windows.
From this it looks like earth ponies are the lowest in society, not having the ability to do magic or fly, so it might make sense that they're at the bottom of the totem pole. But this also means that earth ponies have no extreme power to rely on, unicorns relying on magic and pegasi on flying. I think this just means that an earth pony must work harder than the other races if they want something to work just right and not just 'poof' it fixed like a unicorn might be able to, but instead have to go through much trial and error, and its with this that i have come to the conclusion that maybe there is much more to them then the show tells, sure they cant study the same magic as unicorns or fly like pegasi (YET) but that's all they have going for them magic and flight were as earth ponies can do everything, no not naturally but maybe mechanically, what if the entire race of earth ponies were always aware of their low standing in society and just chose to leave at that not knowing how to change it. one day somepony just had enough of basically being a *slave*, and wanted to change things so they went around gathering their fellow earth ponies telling them how they can change the social standing of the earth pony that ends with most of them leaving either doubting the idea or to think about if it will even work, whilst the rest of those who came to the gathering believe to work. what is this idea you ask, develop an invention that can help make earth pony lives easier.
so anyway much trial and error ensues those who left the gathering come back at some point, and the final prototype is finished and the invention is ready to shown in public, and it's not taken well everyone else sees it as unnatural for an earth pony to have these new abilities. later on down the line a earth pony revolution starts and with them being more technologically advanced than everyone else.
that's about it for now i was thinking of turning it into a fanfic but i suck at writing and im not so sure if anyone would want to see where this idea might go. what do you guys think.
Thank you for adding so much to the conversation here.
DRWolf001 you're very much welcome, this thought has been on my mind for a while and i wanted to know what other people thought.
It makes sense also in a way because a lot of Earth Ponies also have food marks like Bon Bon and her candy, Twist and her peppermint sticks, and of course Pinkie Pie loves to bake treats with the Cakes. This could very well mean that not only are Earth Ponies naturally gifted with growing and producing food and plants but also with making food and creating new recipes! Just something to think about.
I thought this too, especially after the scene with applejack in the Christmas episode (although that was probably more of a visual proof sort of effect rather than realistic equestrian life) There is one other thing that stood out to me- in "Over a barrel" there is an ENTIRE apple tree orchard, but apparently the bison didn't notice for the MONTHS or even YEARS it took to grow fully-grown apple trees... and they only said anything after the trees could not be moved easily (continued)
Speaking of Earth Ponies, ever notice that all the Earth Ponies in Canterlot are either there for events (Bon Bon, Applejack, & Pinkie Pie at the Royal Wedding), business affairs (Pinkie Pie & Applejack every other time they went there) or vacation (every other Earth Pony who ever shows up in Canterlot)? We have yet to see any Earth Ponies who actually live there (be they natives who moved out, natives who moved out than back to Canterlot or moved there from somewhere else).
There are a lot of earth ponies that do have a cutie mark that relates to farming and growing food. Another common kind of mark would be other kinds of food, more so of candy and baked goods. So earth ponies might not just be good at growing food but also better at cooking, preparing and possibly creating new recipes and products as well. Applejack is shown to have exceptional culinary skills be it all about apples, Granny Smith discovers the perfect way to prepare and create Zap Apple jam. The Cakes, Pinkie Pie, and Donut Joe are all considered great bakers. Twist makes delicious candy canes and they end up being her cutiemark.
I think the Apple family may just be very conservative, Applejack kind of yells at Twilight in Winter Wrap Up for using magic on her farm when Twilight herself explains Earth ponies had been wrapping up winter for years without magic and that it's tradition. I live in Texas so it doesn't surprise me that the Apple family would be a very conservative country family only seeking out other earth pony mates.
I don't really like the idea that growing and making food is what makes earth ponies special, only that this is what I've noticed just watching the show. I liked LethalAuroraMage video about how an Earth Ponies are able to use a prehensile mane and tail. Applejack, and Applebloom display a talent for using their tails to rope and hoopty loop respectively. Pinkiepie uses her mane to hold objects as well. With this understanding the Mane-iac's powers would've left a greater impression on me comically, and it would make more sense why the villian's crazy hair was her power. I like the idea that Earth Ponies are physically stronger and have greater endurance than the other two races, also that Earth Ponies could be more in tune with the earth and nature altogether, which would be supported by Pinkiepie's 'pinkiesense' and wouldn't be an ability that only Pinkie has, but all Earth ponies have the potential for.
Just after thinking about potential, I think that might be exactly what makes Earth Ponies special, they have the potential to use magic as demonstrated by Zekora in Magic Duel, they have potential to become crazy strong like Maud when she throws that huge rock and causes it to go nuclear. Of course magic hair, spideysense and hulk-like strength is good too.
The unicorn and pegisis weren't helping the earth ponies to actually grow the food, but to harvest it
Regardless, it could provide an interesting new story arc. Instead of a magical threat there could be a distrust between Earth Ponies and the other races. In about a year the unicorns/allicorns have allowed a threat to grow: the return of Nightmare Moon, the Changeling Infiltration, putting the Crystal Empire at risk just to see if Twilight could save it on her own, the Plunderseeds, and Lord Tirek. Twilight has also caused chaos, regardless of it being unintentional: she allowed her magic to ruin Winter Wrap-Up, switched her friends cutie marks without thinking it, caused Fluttershy to turn into a vampire bat and causing Applejack to sacrifice her families' giant apple. Lastly let's not forget Starswirl the Bearded. He specializes in time travel. He knew of the chaos that would come and did nothing; allowing Celestia to lose her sister. He even banished the Sirens to the Human world but in doing so just moved the problem somewhere else. The ponies have become reliant on magic and once it's gone/defeated they panic. This makes Applejack and interesting character because when other ponies gave up or complained about their missing wings/magic she persisted both to her stubborn nature and an earth ponies experience in working with limits. It would be interesting to see Earth Ponies challenging the Princess's for being responsible or not being decisive. It would be interesting to see Applejack agree with them but not want to be on their side due to being Twilights' friend and for Celestia giving the Apple Family their land. Applejack could be called a traitor of her own kind. Twilight would have to solve the issue without magic out of fear of being called a hypocrite. Who knows, maybe there are evil Unicorns who view Earth Ponies as lower class citizens and want to do something to them, giving Earth Ponies something to vent about.
I think that Earth Ponies have a special kind of natural magic, but also the other tribes didn't know anything about farming back then so it was more of a necessity, but once they unified, they shared their secrets tor farming so the other races could at least help if they chose to
I think they do have a type of passive magic that deals with plants just like the pegasi have passive magic that allows them to walk on clouds
earth ponies are canonically gifted with nature, having a natural connection to plants and animals (fluttershy was originally conceived as an earth pony by lauren faust), and are also posess physical prowess that exceeds that of pegasi and unicorns. we see them pulling houses and trains. we also saw that rainbow dash, a military level athlete couldnt outfly ms peachbottom, a regular earth pony when she was running.
In a way, the pegasi do have a role in helping things grow as they help the clouds produce rain. Therefore, the earth ponies only plant the seeds and of course they would water them regularly but they don't have to when it rains. Also the pegasi make the sun raise and that also helps the plants grow. The earth ponies' main role is dealing with the soil and surroundings of a plant and the pegasi help by doing their weather jobs. I don't know about the unicorns, though.
now we know the magic of three races:
Unicorns: "normal" magic
Pegasi: weather magic
Earth Ponies: plant growing magic
next races: Zebras, Dragons, Alicorns, griffons and crystal ponies
I can only agree with that, in "Winter Wrap Up" were in the plantteam also only Earth Ponies.
there is a thing i noticed about hearts warming eve wnd i would love to see that become part of the backstory: the three races are all based upon different cultures in the past
the unicors resemble medival europeans
the pegasi resemble ancient greeks
and the earth ponies come closest to ancient or medival middle eastern cultures
It would be interesting to see a more integrated farm, like say somewhere on the road trip in the "Apples to the Core" episode, where you've got pegasi doing surveying and rapid transport, unicorns doing the harvesting and earth ponies managing and using their earth related magic to maximize yield.
Maybe applejack baby talking to that tree in over a barrel shows how connected she is with nature. It makes sense that earth ponies would have their own special ability, perhaps that's how granny smith was able to understand and utilize the signs of zap apples. I mean who just decides to paint pink polka dots in a kitchen just to see if the jam tastes better, she probably felt some sort of connection to the apple and what it's potential was when made into jan
If i remenber well Rarity and trixie demonstrate that unicorns also can control the weather that means that unicorns could be independent if they want?
probably growing food and just....strength for strength stuff
I always figured that all types of ponies had different sorts of magic. but it is nice to see that others have come to the same conclusion.
Earth ponies are all born with green hooves/thumbs(lol whatever) which makes them PERFECT for growing plants! The earth ponies seem so much more awesome now ^_^
In G5, earth ponies are gonna have magic. That's what I heard from this one TH-camr, who got information, but I believe all different types of ponies would have different types of magic. Unicorns will have there typical horn magic, pegasi will have there flying and weather magic, and earth ponies are going to have magical crops. Sounds pretty accurate!
That was fascinating, really. Might also help explain why Applejack is always bucking apples-the trees sprout fruit much faster than normal.
Also, I don't think it's just growing, I think they've cornered food period; Pinkie and the Cakes are bakers while Twist and Bon Bon are/seem to be candymakers. Really, apart from Donut Joe (unicorn city resident) and Flim & Flam (just built the machine) do we even see any non-EP's in the food industry?
And the reason the plant grew so fast wasn't any magic at all. It grew that so that it could prove what Applejack was saying much faster.
I think that’s not right because Granny smith yet in the zap apple episode that an orchard dosen’t grow overnight.So I think that maybe all tribes can plant.
I can see why the Unicorns and Pegasai would not farm their own food, even if it meant having to deal with what they may see as an inferior race: they each have their own special purposes, and probably see getting food for it as their just due. As an aside, it is the depth of this show that keeps me watching it; there are very few shows for adults that have this many layers, and garner so much intelligent discussion.
Indeed. I have always considered Earth Ponies to be the best when it comes to plants. They have a natural talent for growing things and figuring out how to make them grow better (Think about Granny Smith and the Zap Apples).
About the ingenuity part. When you have access to a 'fix-all' easy spell or can fly, life is easy. When all you have is growing plants and need to use your mouth for various tasks than... yeah, you have to get your brain gears moving to improve on your situation. If life's hard, make the best of it.
As to the magic it was made official in ending of season IV that yes, earth ponies are magical in their own way.
I feel that earth ponies have a natural increase of stamina and strength, which makes them more inclined to work harder and longer than the other races. Perhaps they have a magic over plants as well.
Think about this way. Earth ponies seems to be in tune with the planet more so then say pegasi or unicorns. Pinky Pie and Cheese Sandwich both have a "sense" one warns of danger the other tells them that there is a party to be thrown. If you look at Luna and Celestia they each get premonitions. I think that this is the earth pony part of the Alicorn race. Patience, seems to be another main trait shared by earth ponies. Yes Twilight and rainbow dash can buck apples as good as or better than Apple Jack, But can you Twilight sticking w/ planting and raising an orchard year in and year out? What about Rainbow Dash she barely stand still. Flutteryshy while nurturing needs Angel Bunny to remind her to do things. Raity is well...Raity. Pinkie Pie while may not seem like it she could still farm with her own cutie mark, because she could make it fun and/or a game. Granny Smith w/ the Zap Apples and her Zap Apple Jam. How many different signs did she notice? Don't forget the constant trail and error in making her jam.
Well this does make sence. All the tasks the other ponies matched or beat them in were all harvesting or moving things. Also maybe the earth ponies just had superior knowledge on agriculture. It doesent take much to know how to move stuff around.
I would like to point out an observation that was pointed out to me on Animal Planet. That in the predator and prey relationship the predator will almost all ways find the weakest prey to attack and eat.
In the case of My Little Pony (Friendship is Magic) Tirek attacked the unicorns tribe first, followed by the Pegasi, and then the earth ponies. Only after preying all three tribe did Tirek even a attempt attack the alicorns.
So with the Predator-Prey relationship in mind, does this mean that unicorns are the weak in ponykind, and earth ponies are the strongest, both in body and magic?
Just a thought.
(continued2) I think I heard two explanations in the episode- that they apple loosa's had only JUST moved in, and the other being that they'd only moved in a few months ago. Either way, that's an incredibly fast time to grow such a vast amount of fruit-bearing apples. And how could the bison only recently acknowledge an entire apple orchard? the only solution I've come up with for all of this is that the earth ponies grew the apples VERY fast, faster than real life apple trees.
There are some earth pony families made up of primarily of earth ponies like the Apple family and then there's earth pony families like the Cake family that has at least one pegasus and/or unicorn family member.
Lauren Faust put the story in that direction to stimulate the real world races and how some families are primarily one race and other families are mixed.
Lauren Faust put in perspective of the diversity in today's society into My Little Pony as well.
For example: the Mane 6 were originally composed of 2 earth ponies,2 unicorns, and 2 pegasi with the change of Twilight becoming an alicorn. Lauren Faust also put in prospective of how the diversity of today's society has become an everyday ideal for the children as well. For example the CMC composed of one of each pony tribe.
True, but what actually prevented them from taking some of the fertile land from the earth ponies?
I think that if a unicorn or pegasus were running a farm, they probably wouldn't have any trouble harvesting, but they would have problems planting. Harvesting is simple, and as shown in Applebuck Season, unicorns and pegasi can excel Earth Ponies at it. But we've never seen a unicorn or pegasus planting anything. I don't think the plant would grow as well as it would if an Earth Pony were planting it. However, I do think an Alicorn would be able to pull it off.
Let me clarify. It seems we are in agreement that all earth ponies do not have druidic magic. However I think they do have their own brand of, like you said, passive magic. be it a green thumb or...whatever it is that Pinkie does (i'm sure there are more examples of earth pony "magic", I just can't think of any right now). However this magic is not gypsy/druidic magic, and cannot be directly controlled.
Purple Fire on FimFiction has a theory about this that comes from his/her story, "Starlight". I didn't come up with this, I'm just telling you about it. And this also has some bits thrown in from other analyzers too. I basically go around TH-cam watching analysis videos and construct my own headcanon from bits and pieces of different people's theory, but I give credit to this theory to Purple Fire, since his/her theory takes up the bulk of my headcanon.
So, his/her theory is that each of the races have their own unique magic. Pegasi are able to manipulate the air around them to hold them up, since wings so small couldn't hold a pony of that size in the air. They can also stand on clouds and help control clouds to produce weather. The unicorns' magic is easier to see in effect, it isn't subconscious like the others. They can cast spells and stuff. Earth ponies can change the earth around them, thus causing plants to grow faster. They also are generally, as a race, stronger than unicorns and a little stronger than pegasi, since they have to carry everything with only their hooves.
Lauren Faust sais that all the ponies have magic inside, but only the unicorns can control this magic (and not all the unicorns can do it well, usualy they only use telekinesis and one or two spells more). In the earth ponis case, this magic give them a special conexion with nature.
Whith this information, is logic think that earth ponis invented farming. They was the only thype of ponies who can do it in past ages. In the present, his tecnics and knowledge can be use by every poni, but nature-stuff is mostly earth ponies territory.
(Sorry if my English is not good)
It would be an interesting thing to add to the canon, but I think the most obvious reason is their Stamina. Earth ponies are typically drawn thicker bodied than the others. If you look closely AppleJack and Pinkie Pie have thicker frames than the dainty Fluttershy or the smaller Twilight Sparkle. While I think the other races can farm as well for a period of time, I think the Earth Ponies can carry on their work far longer.
Still, the idea of Earth magic is interesting.
Earth ponies are the main ones who take care of ALL the food not just things that grow. Example the cakes
In Season 5, see Applejack growing flowers in a few seconds during the Castle song, too.
Actually that scout from The Crystal Empire was an Earth Pony.
Twilight turned a frog into an orange (sorta) and time spells are possible, so I think powerful unicorn could grow plants much faster, and weaker unicorn can learn such spells or weaker versions to farm easily. Pegasi can manipulate weather and could cause perfect weather conditions for growing, though it may take some time to grow. Earth ponies are naturally gifted so growing takes the least effort, earth ponies can probably maintain plant health longer, even during the worst conditions.
But they unicorns in general are not all that able to do things. Of course, Twilight has MAGIC for a cutie mark so she gets to do what she wants... Rarity does not.
Also... some things simply can't be done by earthponies. Only pegasi can do something about clouds and stuff... and when matters require meticulous and neat handling, you better have a unicorn.
So while it does appear that pegasi and unicorns could do awesome efficient farm work, it comes at the expense of farming prerequisite jobs that earth ponies can't do. A surplus of ponies could shift things, or technology as well (manehatten existing suggests there mass food production somehow), but in general we see that MLP stresses that Equestria has a balance in such things. So sure, friends helping against Flim/Flam for one ep is fine but as a whole society couldn't change.
This has always been my theory. I've always assumed that Earth ponies were supernaturally better at growing things as one of their racial traits.
I have a theory that earth ponies are able to live longer than the other races. A lot of the elder ponies we see are earth ponies, and they're ability to grow food easily ties in with it.
Drew attention to Smartcookies's face when the plant on his hoof grow bigger. She looked so focused. Like, she was trying to do something really hard... Earthponies magig? Meaby it takes lot of strength?
This theory makes plenty of sense to me.
To further back up the idea that the Earth Ponies have some special affinity for nature: Fluttershy while in development was originally an Earth Pony, while Pinkie Pie was originally a pegasus. (You can find more information on their respective wiki pages)
So Fluttershy's affinity with animals was originally an extension to her being an Earth Pony, while party-crazy Pinkie Pie was a wild pegasus. It makes sense to me now why they were originally what they were, assuming this hypothesis holds true.
Also Pinkie's family runs a rock farm.
At the very least, I'd imagine that Earth Ponies were originally intended to be those with an affinity for nature.
Hey, haven't you thought in analizing that the population of Manehattan is only earth ponies? including the fashion designers, Rarity is the only unicorn.
I do hope that we see another Apple family member who is a unicorn or pegasus that is adopted in. I can see a lot of stories that could be told. A unicorn who is as powerful as starlight but their cutie mark is an apple. It could be a cmc episode too
She wasn't one earlier in the episode. it was an error.
How come some earth ponies have different cutiemarks? Like different from farming if farming is what their race is supposed to do? Pinkie's cutiemark isn't farming yet she is an earth pony! So I'm confused 😕
This would explain why they're called earth ponies.