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| Psychopomf #1353797 2 months ago |
Kinda had this as headcanoned
Except that I think Earth ponies would have a strong militia but not have as formal military training as pegasi |
| Anonymous #1353802 2 months ago |
Seems about right. |
| Cgeta #1353816 2 months ago |
This is what the show implies. Even when it doesn't seem right.
Canonically, I say, they are equally distributed everywhere. |
| OzarkBrony #1353827 2 months ago |
A lot of people accept this pyramid as true, and so do I to a large extent. However, there is no evidence in canon that Earth Ponies are more numerous than Pegasi or Unicorns.
I do believe that, if it wasn't for the existence of the Alicorns (who embody properties of all 3 races according to Faust), then Equestria would quickly stratify into a system like this pyramid envisions, with Earth Ponies as a permanent underclass. As it is now, there are a few Earth Ponies among the nobility: see "Sweet & Elite" (just not very many since the nobility is Unicorn-dominated). |
| Michos #1353861 2 months ago |
I believe growing food in equestria i just as 'magical' thing as weather, seasons and time of the day. Only earth ponies can be good farmers, so they are equally important in the society. |
| Anonymous #1353875 2 months ago |
It has Pinkie Pie in it. The explenation provided is irrelevant. |
| Anonymous #1353883 2 months ago |
Earth pony's,Pegasi,and Unicorns are of around the same population i think. |
| Cgeta #1353897 2 months ago |
Or to be exact it looks like this:
Many ponies among the nobility live in Canterlot. Many unicorns live in Canterlot. Royalty also lives in Canterlot. Many peagasi live in Cloudsdale. Clouds are easy to manipulate and to build houses with. But they don't live there because they don't like living among non pegasi. Rainbow Dash also lives in a cloudhouse near ponyville. Actually, apart from Earth Pony Manehattan, Unicorn Canterlot and Pegasus Cloudsdale, I think that everypony lives equally everywhere else. Also Manehattan has a lot of earth pony nobility. It is kinda like in the typical Galactic Community in Sci Fi, where you find a large amounts of a race on their home planets. |
| togashimenai #1354037 2 months ago |
Michos: You said that "only" earth ponies can be good farmers? Howso? The only thing special I've seen them do is with Granny Smith and the Zap apples. Beyond that, crops seem to be normal crops that anypony could feasibly tend.
Seriously. Anypony can grow food, if so inclinded. Pegasai and powerful unicorns can fly. Only unicorns can use magic. Anything that anypony else can do, Twilight Sparkle can also do ... and she can do it better, too. (Just watch her harvest apples!) Cgeta: I'm not sure that Manehatten has nobility. They looked more like common rich folk, but not necessarily nobility. |
| bboifatz #1354088 2 months ago |
How do you think Filthy Rich got his name? If you're rich and you're not a Unicorn, you're obviously filthy! |
| HereComesGummy #1354135 2 months ago |
^ Common rich folk can have more power than royalty, though. Money goes a long way.
I like to think that since they control the food supply, Earth Ponies actually have a lot of power. Their authority just comes from money instead of from noble birth. |
| Anonymous #1354151 2 months ago |
^ The Orange family's servants are all unicorns. I don't think the unicorn domination thing is true outside of Canterlot. |
| Lurks-no-More #1354169 2 months ago |
IIRC, it's Word of Faust that while any ponies could farm, Earth ponies get much, much better crop yields thanks to their magical connection with nature. |
| Anonymous #1354192 2 months ago |
togashimenai, the Hearth's Warming Eve episode did imply that only Earth Ponies were capable of growing food, similarly to how only Pegasi control the weather and only Unicorns could control celestial bodies. We've never seen a Unicorn or Pegasus with a food growing talent; preparation such as cooking, yes, but not actually growing it. We've seen Twilight Sparkle, Flim/Flam, and Pony Joe harvesting, making cider, or baking, respectively, but they all needed to get the ingredients from somewhere else. This leads me to believe there's either something about Earth Ponies or Equestria in general that allows them to grow edible plants where others can't, possibly in addition to being able to figure out how magical plants like Zap Apples work, but Poison Joke throws a bit of a wrench in that one. Maybe because it isn't edible, who knows.
I'm sure we could assume that normal crops could be tended by anypony, but the evidence is stacked against it. |
| Anonymous #1354193 2 months ago |
Well it is sorta kinda true, i guess. When this is the chart of the pony society before the foundation of equestria...
I think the modern pony society is more tolerant. |
| Michos #1354374 2 months ago |
Thank you, Anon #1354192
Togashi, I meant pretty much exactly what Anon said. In OUR world stars, moon and sun move on their own, but in equestria, alicorns/unicorns need to move them. In OUR world weather changes on its own, but in equestria, pegasi need to control it. Just like that, in our world plants grow and bloom with just water and sun, but in equestria, only Earth Ponies can make them grow and produce food. |
| hombad26 #1354429 2 months ago |
Incidentally, one of the weird things about the Everfree Forest is that the plants grow on their own. |
| Anonymous #1354879 2 months ago |
it was this way, until the day foretold aeons ago, one would be born to change it all.
this pony of earthean blood would be given powers beyond any of her peers. The birth of this legendary figure is called the "Pink Dawn", referring to the colors of the Equestrian of Destiny. |
| bboifatz #1354921 2 months ago |
@#1354192: As we saw, the old country that the ponies came from was very harsh. Only earth ponies could probably farm because unicorns and pegasi were not strong enough to plow such hard land and get a good yield from so little fertile soil. In Equestria anyone can farm, but the Earth ponies are the best at it.
Also, Faust's words were that Earth Ponies have a special connection to the earth. She was a bit ambiguous about it, but I always assumed that meant they were better suited for agriculture, and that it might be a possible explanation for Pinkie Sense. |
| Ferrotter #1356208 2 months ago |
Faust said that if a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony all tended identical plots of land (OF LAND, folks, get your minds out of my gutter...), and put equal effort into it, the earth pony's plot would ...PLOT OF LAND!... ...the earth pony's plot would produce the most crops by a wide margin, because of their magical connection to the earth, plants, and animals. They're also magically stronger despite all three races being the same size and build.
All three types of ponies are equally magical. It just manifests in different ways. And there are individual variations. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are extra-magical examples of their races. Possibly Applejack too. Fluttershy is a very atypical pegasus, with a strong connection to animals, and limited flight magic. And Pinkie Pie... that's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. |
| Trickquestion #1359908 2 months ago |
Ultimately, I feel many of the problems with Equestrian society are not, in fact, the fault of Celestia being too powerful, but I rather believe she dosen't use her power ENOUGH.
Celestia, as a God like being who is literally responsible for bringing sunlight and warmth to the world, proportionally dosen't do shit. The entire country literally revolves around her, and most of it's problems arise from the fact she thinks a hooves-off approach can work in that kind of system. Let's look at Winter Wrap Up and Nightmare Night. Ponyville dosen't use magic to wrap up winter, and as a result, is always behind schedule. Changing the seasons is kinda important, more so due to the fact a major supply of food is affected. An effective leader would go down to Ponyville, or any other behind schedule town, tell them to get their shit together, traditions be damned, and keep the country running. Or Nightmare Night. Why would the pony who is literally worshiped by everypony allow what was probably begun as a memorial to their only sister degrade into such a parody? In fact, why did she let everypony forget just who Nightmare Moon was? If she had forced ponies to treat Nightmare Night like the memorial to Luna it should be, Luna probably wouldn't have so much trouble fitting in. The ponies love their traditions though, and would be upset if they were ordered to stop, but too bad! A ruler has to be willing to make unpopular decisions that benefit everypony, and really, who's going to say no to the all powerful sun goddess? But no, Celestia stays in Canterlot, surrounded by her intolerable "high society" (Which dosen't even have a purpose in modern Equestria, seeing how the moon and sun are now controlled by the Alicorn sisters) frivously pissing away resources that could help everyone. Also notice that everypony, even her own student, is terrified of her. If she actually used her powers in their defense, this would lessen. But she is absent for Nightmare Moon, dosen't even try to fight Discord, and gets her butt kicked by the Changeling Queen. Has also left two dragons to her pitifully underpowered subjects (the six ponies necessary to Equestria's defense and a freaking AIRSHOW CREW specifically). In short, when it comes to threats, she's useless, but to the average pony? She's an insanely powerful sun God who could descend from her tower and any moment and completely tear down your world. This isn't the truth, but Celestia never does anything to rebuttle this viewpoint. In short, the very opposite of Tyrant Celestia is true. She isn't an oppressive authoritarian, she's the exact opposite: Completly ineffectual. I suppose Princess is a more apt title then you'd think. |
| Anonymous #1359964 2 months ago |
"The only races in My Little Pony are Earth Pony, Pegasus and Unicorn, and they are all treated equally, ruled by a leader who embodies the traits of all three"
- Lauren Faust |
| bboifatz #1360067 2 months ago |
^ That was before they decided to make Cadance an alicorn, though. |
| Sjogre #1361035 2 months ago |
@Anonymous4192 Hearth's Warming Eve showed that the land that would become Equestria had weather and plants without pegasi or earth ponies. That's pretty conclusive proof that the plants can be grown without earth ponies, and that pegasi aren't a required part of the water cycle.
@bboifatz I don't think that the land in the old country was so bad that only earth ponies could get a decent yield, but rather that neither of the other two tribes had an interest in farming. Of course, we didn't see the place outside of a blizzard, so we probably haven't seen an accurate picture of it. @Trickquestion I'm wondering just how hands off Celestia really is, and how taking a more hands on approach would help. She is first and foremost a bureaucrat, and she spends most of her time managing that. She could fly out and deal with things personally, but that's mostly a waste of her time. Given that she's spending most her time actually ruling the country instead of haring off on whatever adventure takes her fancy, she's being pretty damn hands on. Ponyville didn't wrap up winter late because they rejected magic, but because they were poorly organized. After a competent organizer took over, they were able to finish on time despite spending at least half a day with their heads up their rears. Magic would likely have just exacerbated the problem, especially with no one experienced in how to integrate it into the process. Also, Ponyville is a podunk town in the backwaters of nowhere and Celestia has no reason to give a shit if the town is a couple of days late wrapping up winter, which was only an inconvenience to the townsponies themselves. Okay, since she suggested the land be settled, she probably chose the location for it's proximity to the Everfree and the old castle, but at long as the town survived, tearing down a tradition set up by the settlers she pointing there in the first place was just pissing them off for no reason. Nightmare Night vilifies Nightmare Moon, whom neither Celestia nor Luna consider to be Luna. Nightmare Moon wanted to plunge the world into a night that never ended, and possibly other bad stuff, which isn't the kind of thing most would praise. Luna herself didn't take offense at the celebrations, but rather at every pony running or cowering whenever she raised her voice or summoned dramatic thunder, which was every second sentence. To be honest, I can sympathize with the reactions of the regular ponies there. If the vice president of the United States showed up unannounced at a Halloween party by fast roping out of a helicopter, then started speaking through a loudspeaker and had rockets fired off whenever he wanted emphasis, I'd... Okay, I'd think that was awesome if I was watching it on television, but I'd be terrified if was there in person, and I'd think that the president was an irresponsible maniac if he made a habit of it. Which is probably why Celestia doesn't do that kind of thing anymore. Expecting Celestia to show up for every emergency is kind of unreasonable, since she does have a day job and an army to deal with that stuff. The populace of Equestria is also pretty good at dealing with the problems that do show up, so she doesn't have a lot of opportunities to save the day. We also see how the ponies reacted to Luna showing off her powers, so that would probably make them even more intimidated. Using her power to try to have more of an influence would most likely result in resentment from all parts of the populace as she interferes in their daily lives, lords her superior power over them, and neglects actually ruling the place in favor of seeking opportunities to grandstand. But hey, after a bit of that we'd get to see how Luna rules. Or if the unicorns still know how to turn the day into night. |
| Ichijoe #1363574 2 months ago |
It was better when it was simple like this!!
 |
| Anonymous #1418765 1 month ago |
Nowhere is it said or implied that unicorns control the Earth's rotation. Also, social hierarchy depends on what city you're in. But even in Canterlot, being a unicorn doesn't automatically make you above other pony races. Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, and Sapphire Shores are all earth ponies that are also celebrities. It's better to think of it not as a pyramid, but a ring or circle with the pony races sharing three equal parts and Celestia and Luna at the center. You should also note that being a winged unicorn alone doesn't give you godlike abilities; Cadence has a special ability, but is no more magically powerful than Shining Armor, and is not immortal, as she is seen aging at the same rate as everyone else. |