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Being a blank-flank filly is tough enough, something all the Cutie Mark Crusaders can attest to. When somepony points out that Apple Bloom has neither fancy magic nor awesome wings, the world can seem downright cruel. Fortunately, she's not alone, and Applejack knows a little story or two.
It's... it's been around? Huh. Well, YOU KNOW WHAT!?
And that's where I stand on that issue. As for the actual story...
All of my yes, sugarcube. That was probably one of the cutest, smartest, most episodic stories I've ever read. God, it made me feel like a filly again.
(Oh, wait. Nope, I have male anatomy. Nevermind.)
Point is--I felt for Apple Bloom, and I felt with Apple Bloom, and I know this story worked for me because at certain points, I started to feel the world in it and see it. That's always how I can tell a story is being told right--it transports me. I become synthesized with the story, and this tale did that for me. Apple Bloom really feels like an adorable, beloved kid sister in this, and I loved that. Hey, I even loved that someone picked up on the extra level of inferiority Apple Bloom (and a lot of other Earth ponies, at times) may feel; she's not just 'late' for her cutie mark, she doesn't have wings or a horn.
You still got the point across that Apple Bloom does have her own certain magic, as we all do, even if we're blind to it. And, of course, Apple Bloom's position in regards to the tomato plant at the end just seems perfect for her character and understanding of how things work. It may took her awhile, but she'll understand the magic eventually; if not in her back hooves on the dirt, then in her forehooves, as she holds a tomato she, herself, has grown.
You've won an Inky Award. Go get some champagne, buddy.
The moral of the story is that earth ponies are good with nature and earth in general.
Earth is one of those things we take for granted, but no earth is not the same everywhere it has different qualities and those qualities determine for example where to build houses, dig channels, tunnels, lay railroads, dig mines, basically plan the infastructure, grow food etc
And "growing food" isnt a minor skill, its the whole base of the society. Without it, no amount of studying or kicking clouds is gonna stop them from starving to extinction.
This reminded me of another story where Applebloom learns a similar lesson of appreciating her earth pony heritage. Though in that story the "magic" for earth was their ability to create things for everybody such as Pinkie creating her flying machine that any pony could use so that any pony could fly. It was a togetherness angle.
I thought the ending was so in character and was hilarious.
>>1393828 >>1393889 It's been on EqD for a long while, but I rewrote it for FimF because some people read it in a way I hadn't intended.
>>1393870 If you choose to see it thus, I can't tell you you're wrong, but I choose to read it as earth ponies being the glue that binds pony society together, and as practical applicants; as stronger for their lack of special ability, not weaker. I understand some fics love giving earth ponies super abilities (Dangerous Business for example), but that's not really my headcanon,
>>1393874 Thank-you very much!
>>1393976 >>1394334 It's hardly a 100% original story topic, but it's a year-old story that I just never had up on FimF before.
>>1393981 Thank you very much! I really tried writing this as a simpler fic for a purpose. I heard back from somepony who read this to their child, way back when, and that was super extra special to me, too, hah. Thanks for your comment!
>>1394254 Thanks!
>>1394433 Thank you for helping me with it! I would've made an A/N but it's very short, so I figured I'd make a blog post instead.
>>1394514 I'm glad; thank you for your comment!
>>1394534 And this, pretty much. Us humans (i.e. most who read this!) see farming and skill with the earth as something boring and mundane because farming is considered a "low tier" skill, but to unicorns and pegasi, being able to grow things is magic. Farmers are earth ponies. End of.
>>1394561 Also true of course. If you're sitting around dreaming, you want the most fantastic powers you can get, right? I personally don't believe they get the "short end of the stick", but they're more mundane and relatable. That makes them extra precious to me, but I can sympathize with those who'd rather have wings or magic.
Magic can't grow food. Sure you can use magic to manage and manipulate ingredients, use magic to build the items needed for farming, but only Earth Ponies have the ability to grow food. And call the Unicorns the master race all you want, but they'll starve just as easily as the Pegasi if the Earth Ponies left.
It's also a major part of the conflict in the Hearth's Warming Eve play, as the Earth Ponies are once again the only ones who can grow food at all.
So how 'bout them apples?
>>1394761 Why are earth ponies the only ones who can grow food? With info about agriculture from the internet, and seeds, tools and fertiliser from a hardware store, I could go out right now and plant a vege garden. The canon that is it fundamentally, physically impossible for unicorns and pegasi to grow crops makes no sense. In the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 episode, Fluttershy helps pick, Rarity helps sort, Rainbow help run the press and Twilight casks. So that's canon proof that other races are capable of doing hard work. I don't see why they can't grow their own crops if they had to.
>>1394799 *grumble grumble* You don't need green hooves (thumbs in our case), you need science! Science can be learnt by anyone. Pest control, nutrient management, water management, GMO crops, etc etc.
Ninja edit: Maybe it is a fundamental property of Equestria's universe that a plant will die if planted by a unicorn or pegasus, but that makes so sense!
First time reading this and I found it to be an endearing tale with Apple Bloom.
I also loved how you made Applejack stress that where the story took place, who the sisters/brothers were, and when it took place didn't matter in slightest. All that mattered was that while the Pegasus took to the clouds, and the Unicorn took to the vast opens of space, the Earth Pony merely observed what happened around her and learned just as much as her sisters.
>>1394779 The way I see it is that while Unicorns and Pegasi have the ability, and often times the skill, to farm neither(usually) have the sheer endurance or brute strength to properly care for the land. Winter Wrap Up shows that Twilight can't push a snow plow to clear fields for WWU. I know that Twilight isn't the most active of ponies, but she did place 5th in the Running of the Leaves so she does have some physical prowess.
Farmers are earth ponies. End of.
Problem.
How many earth ponies are actually farmers? Just because all farmers are earth ponies, doesn't mean all earth ponies are farmers.
And, actually, when you get down to brass tacks, they're not even particularly good at farming either. Only at growing plants. Harvesting, sorting, transporting, fixing fences, feeding livestock, sheering sheep, milking cows, and everything else is better done by a unicorn or an pegasus.
To get proper employment, they'd have to either segregate themselves into towns and villages to avoid unicorns and pegasi, or the law would need to force employers to hire them. Hiring an earth pony is hiring a flightless pegasus, or a magicless unicorn. A cripple that you either pay less money for their lower work output, or a liability to the company. One or two would be fine, but a third of your workforce having the human equivalent of having their hands cut off is not conductive to good business. It wouldn't even be racism to fire them or simply not hire, as any look into their productivity would be enough grounds to lay them off.
And they'd suffer even more attempting to self employ. A unicorn would be capable of doing a cheaper, quicker, and much more polished job for pretty much anything, so who would be the client for an earth pony, unless they had no other options? And how quickly would they end up out of business if a unicorn started offering the same service?
Now pegasi, while suffering from the lack of unicorn magic that earth ponies do, at least have job security because they have cities/town in the sky. While getting up there is possible for unicorns, it would be dangerous to do so. Very dangerous. So conclusion is -
Pegasi rule the sky
Unicorns rule the ground
Earth ponies get whatever scraps are left over
Not only that, but I can't help but feel that Applejack is very selfish here. "Growing plants works for me, so every other earth pony should be fine being an earth pony!" while Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee, Aunt and Uncle Orange, Applebloom, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, Mayor Mare, Filthy Rich, the Cakes, most of the earth ponies in Ponyville, most earth ponies in any town, village, and every single one in a city have lives that could be improved several times over by not having been born an earth pony? Tsk tsk.
Never liked the 'express canon' EP's. There's quite a few problems in how they fit into a capitalistic society. They just don't.
Loved this story, especially how AJ and Big Mac had the little argument about how it was brothers or sisters. That should have tipped off Applebloom that it was a lesson story and to not ask questions (though then maybe she would have just zoned out). Either way, its a good moral about how never to underestimate the importance of your talents.
Also, am I the only one who wants to know just what the unicorns were synthesizing? TELL ME NAO!
>>1394968 Thank you! It started out as something more closely following the traits of a fable, but it kind of changed along the road, so it's not quite as lesson-y as I'd have liked. If it were a classical fable, it'd probably be harsher on the pegasi and unicorns.
>>1394978 Thank you very much! Am a huge earth pony fan m'self.
>>1395082 Aw, thanks!
>>1395268 Will check it out, but thanks for reading at any rate!
>>1395384 Thank-you! I actually wasn't a huge fan of the CMC initially, but damn have they ever grown on me, hah.
>>1395426 But Applejack SAID to keep the earth under her hooves, and and and- (Thanks for reading!)
>>1395443 Apples? Apples. Apples-apples apples apples. No, seriously, we know they have a varied farm with corn and other things besides, it'd just feel like a crime to have AB name something other than an apple-related dish as her favorite,
>>1395467 You'll forgive me if I don't go into detail because I've had quite a few people overinterpret the first version of this story too, but suffice it to say it was never meant to be a social commentary. It's about elevating and emphasizing the things that earth ponies are best at, from AJ's point of view; that the earth is theirs, and theirs to share. It was written in a simplistic manner to be appealing to younger audiences too, and the focus of the fic is narrow because of it, but it also points at harmony. Again, that sharing. I have never ever managed to understand fics that try to twist Equestria into something dark because earth ponies are allegedly the "lower class"; that's just rampant fabrication mixed with conjecture induced by night-colored glasses.
Thank you for reading and for your comment though! I'm normally happy to discuss these things, but I'm not sure this is the place because it's not in the scope of the fic.
>>1395500 I imagine Granny Smith either varied the story when she related it to Big Mac. That, or he heard it from somepony else; in my head, it's a rather common earth pony fable, not specific to the Apples. That's just me though. Thanks for reading!
>>1395528 Oh, hi again! Hope you enjoy; I modified it quite extensively because the more I thought about it, the more I agreed with some of the comments on EqD. Gonna ask Seth to change the link to point here now - not that I expect many people trawl EqD's archives.
but I'm not sure this is the place because it's not in the scope of the fic
Oh, no problem. It's just something I've had WAY too long to think on. I read a fic ages ago that had a line like,
"There must be something that I can use to prove earth ponies equal to unicorns and pegasi."
It made me stop and actually think deeper into the whole shebang. And afterwards, it's kinda made me bitter about the whole thing.
And I don't really feel that it's a dark look at Equestria, but rather an honest one. Equestria isn't shown as some magical utopia. It's a capitalistic country with government, taxes, rich and not so rich. Just because the county is more 'Harmonized', doesn't mean that individuals don't want the best bang for their buck.
I think I remember the first version of this story? The one where people interpreted the earth pony's answer in the story to be 'My ignorance is better than knowing the truth'? This version is definitely better at getting your point across.
And I'm going to bed, cause it's 4:30 AM, and I'm getting very ranty and preachy and probably rude.
>>1395602 I'm very glad you thought the fic improved thus, because that exact sentiment (ignorance) is one I was very, very eager to get rid of. I can live with being misunderstood or whatever, but fact is, ignorance is damn dangerous, and coming off as glorifying willful ignorance is something I could not stand for, ugh.
I guess we just disagree on Equestria though. Your "honest" view doesn't mesh with mine, where ponies break into song at the drop of a hat and there seems to be a sense of all-encompassing community. Where you can no doubt highlight examples to prove your point, so can I, and in the end fact of the matter is that scriptwriters of FiM never tried to present a unified world view; they're all interpretations based on varied episodes that use tools and moods that they need for the occasion.
Story JUST for Applebloom?
All of my yes.
"How's that supposed to help me? Am I supposed to go watch sunflowers?" Apple Bloom whined. "What in the hay is that all supposed to mean?""You watch your mouth young lady!" Applejack snapped, jabbing her flank. "Now you apologize. I won't have the h-word outta you like that."
They Can't say the word Hay 
They EAT!! Hay
so if they go to a restaurant and ask for hay every pony will think their swearing 
>>1395688 I've never known anyone to be a fan of AB specifically, but I'm glad!
>>1395721 It's kind of meant as a joke on exactly that; I agree it's utterly ridiculous, but they do use it as a mild swear!
>>1395784 Ugh, for what it's worth, I detest the system as well. Not saying Knighty and the admins've made a bad system, but the way the feature box works creates only grief, at least for me. :|
Thanks for reading though!
Its not the feature box i care for, its just views. I am lucky to have the story stuck on the front page for so long. I consider my story a small gem, so as to make it shine above the others, i rather it be posted around a bunch of crap stories.
Right now, it sits right under a pile of platinum bars. 
Think a lot of people are focusing a bit much on the earth aspect and growing stuff aspects. The moral of the story doesn't even have to relate to the different species. It could just as easily have been all unicorns, with two having flashy talents and another having something not nearly so flashy. It is about realizing the value of what you can do, rather than believing yourself worthless because of what you cannot.
Consider Rarity and Twi, for example. Twi can levitate more and/or bigger things. Rarity can find gems, so can Twi. But Twi can do a large quantity of other things as well, like teleport, time travel, and grow mustaches. Stuff Rarity could never do, as canon says unicorns can only do a "little magic that matches their special talents", unless, of course, their special talent is magic. But Rarity can design fabulous stuff. Does she feel bad because Twilight out-magics her or does she instead design an awesome dress for Twi?
That's the lesson AB needs to learn.
Also, in the description, Apple Bloom is misspelled ;)
>>1395869 Lots of people pick stories from the sidebar too though, and I hope they will!
>>1395952 I like to think people can read it as simply or as deep as they want; thank you for reading!
>>1396079 Now I've seen that, too. Next up, somepony steps up'n tells me that their favorite pony is something crazy like, I don't know, Applejack!
>>1396107 You're correct. The comments have focused a lot on that very specific "ability", but what you say is absolutely true. Also the fact that in the end, what the ponies can achieve together (through friendship. Re:magic) is what truly matters, too. I don't mean to (nor can I) control how people read any given story, but it's nice to see someone interpreting it thus rather than to put the earth ponies in a worse situation.
Also, fixed the typo. Remnant from the old version, guh. We actually didn't have a convention for Applebloom vs. Apple Bloom back in S1 iirc.
>>1396190 Thanks! I'm glad!
Yeah, I don't really see them in a worse situation, which is rather ironic given my handle being a derogatory term for earth ponies in the Mentally Advanced series ;)
I agree on the together bit as well. For team activities, in games and such, I've always preferred more of a support role. Doesn't get the glory typically, but the impact of good support, how it can force multiply is not something to be underestimated or undervalued. And while sports fans may talk about how awesome their QB is, that QB is probably extremely aware of how his offensive line helps make it possible.
And here's a song I think goes pretty well with your story:
FWIW, I view Equestria's economy as capitalistic, but their society is very socialist. Yes, there are the have-nots, but ponies are much better at living together than humans are. Politically, I guess Equestria is a benevolent dictatorship, e.g. the utopian system to live under. My main point is, that the economy isn't as important as the society. And the society, in Ponyville at least, is definitely geared towards a "herd-mentality"/ all in this together thing. If everyone is willing to help everyone else, then it doesn't matter much what kind of economic system the world uses.
Stepping back, the only time money every really enters into things as an _issue_ in Ticket Master. But then they fix their barn after Swarm of the Century w/o comment. So it really depends on the writer.
>>1396452 Hah, whaddaya' know, I'm actually an avid support player in most games as well.
It really just comes down to suggesting ponies are very much unlike humans in their general mindset anyway. Every single story I write, I poke at this from a different angle; at how a society so focused on harmony lacks a lot of key flaws of humanity, but is instead presented with different challenges.
>>1396489 I never really thought about that, but you're right in that the image itself suggests something very different. I guess I relied on the description to provide a more accurate picture; thanks for reading!
>>1396515 Oh my. It is on! (Naw, I love AJ and AB both, honestly. Never subscribed to "best pony" in any way)
>>1396521 "Take pride in who you are" is definitively a huge part of it!
>>1396535 Aw, thanks! Thanks for reading!
>>1396613 Some casualties are inevitable. /mourn
>>1396667 My main point in that comment, I guess, is that canon conflicts itself. Last Roundup: Ponyville's economy struggles and they can't afford town hall repairs. Super Speedy Cider Squeezy: Apple farming is suddenly not very profitable and the farm struggles. Putting your Hoof Down: The Ponyville market is a cutthroat scene. Yet, in many other episodes, huge financial issues are utterly trivialized (such as what you mention regarding rebuilding after disaster X and Y)
You can't try to make a commentary on "canon" market strategies or anything like that. When I say that it's a matter of opinion and interpretation, I don't say it to try to forestall argument or to make room for other theories; I mean that it is impossible. They are all speculation with the possible exception of "benevolent dictatorship". It's a natural result of the show being a cartoon series that never sat down to plan these things, and I'm completely fine with that until people try to convince me that ponies are capitalist or not, socialist or not. Or rather, until people say that and that their opinion is "canon".
"I don't think magic is going to be my cutie mark," Sweetie Belle sighed. "I thought I was going to get to try some magic of my own, but I don't know how, and they were just doing some boring 'synthesizing'—"
"Yeah, me too," Scootaloo broke in, dejected. "Rainbow Dash is still awesome, but I don't think there's a cutie mark for being thrown off clouds. If there was, I’d have it now."
Great, now THEY need to be reminded to be proud of their racial traits.
I still reject the notion that Unicorns and Pegasi are "special" while Earth Ponies are just "normal" and ungifted. It's just disgustingly conceited.
The joys of being an Earth Pony... you're unstoppable, in several meanings of the word. You get hit, but you don't go down. When those around you tire, you easily carry on. Where others screw up, heh, you don't. Your simple ways of doing things work every time, even if they aren't as fast as others. You're reliable. You're a base building block. In the castle of pony society, the others make it pretty, but you're the one holding it up. If you leave, the whole thing collapses spectacularly. And you can laugh at the torn-up junkyard of gold and diamond that thinks it doesn't need you, thinks it's better than you. It's not so pretty when there's nothing to hold it up for all to see.
Fun fact: in general, unicorn magic is not stronger or more efficient than an earth pony's muscle. Twilight's is, but she is a special case. 
>>1396804 That, or it's just what they say when they wanna go hang out with Spike. Either way, I'm sure their plans involve the little guy.
>>1396993 Yay, more stories! I'll admit, I'd love to read Rarity relating a story to Sweetie, simply because I imagine her approach to storytelling would be very very different.
>>1397452 I'm not sure whose words you are rejecting, because I certainly didn't mean to say that earth ponies are normal or ungifted with this story, but thank you for reading and for your comment!
>>1397527 uh? No no, this story was amazing, it just spurred the thought of how some people seem to view Earth Ponies that way, and I think those people are stupid. :D There are some comments on this page that emphasize as such, but I won't point fing-... hooves. sorry for the misunderstanding.
>>1397519 Thank you very much!
>>1397538 My bad then! I'm just a bit frazzled because people certainly seem to read this a lot o' different ways. It's one of the dangers of writing a fic that touches upon these things; people care a lot about these things, and I certainly won't fault anypony for that.
>>1395721 I see it more as a situational thing, like we don't consider dam a swear when we are referring to a dam to hold back the water, only when we use it in a specific context (I.E. Damn you) is it considered a swear. Maybe this is the same thing, when referring to hay they eat its fine, but when using it as an exclamation (I.E. What the hay?!) It would be considered a swear.
A 'lower tier skill' for folks who've never done it. Farming's hard, unrelenting work whose payoff is entirely dependent on factors out of your control. It takes a strong person to be able to do it well, and accept their losses and keep at it. 
Yeah, here's where I've always had a quandry. Why -would- ponies bother with the kind of capitalistic society we have? Think about it a bit harder. They're horses. Food, shelter, and clothing -aren't- necessary expenses when you can graze, have a coat that holds up to weather, and everypony runs around naked in the first place. I've always read it as ponies having stuff for the utility of it, or because they enjoyed it, rather than being an industrial society like humanity would have to be in order to supply a large population with food, clothing, and shelter that we will die without.
TLDR version : Pony economy exists only in luxury goods, as all goods are theoretically luxury goods.
You know, that's kind of why I'd rather be an earth pony than the other types.
There's a discipline and strength that comes from having an ability cap.
It allows you to focus and excel in one area where other folks would stretch themselves too thin among their added abilities.
I've long since come to the conclusion that this story reinforces: we, the audience, expect balance, and it seems unfair or unjust that some are just plain less able than others. It's the same reason fiction tends to elevate and spiritualize people with mental disorders and illnesses: they are missing something, so it's only fair that they get something unique in exchange. Think of Rain Man, how Dustin Hoffman's character was a savant. Then think of Tropic Thunder, where the actor played by Ben Stiller was infamous for having portrayed a developmentally disabled individual in a realistic manner. (To use the movie's terminology, he "went full retard.") I'm working this same cluster of cultural concepts from the other direction in my Flightless Scootaloo story, "Less."
So when we see one tribe of ponies able to fly, and one able to do almost anything imaginable by just thinking hard enough at it, the third tribe is literally disabled. (Technically, unable.) Our inner judge wants justice, an equal footing for the third tribe, and we see it as a fundamental wrong. Yet we never ask if the donkeys envy the unicorns, or the bison envy the pegasi.
But they do have an industrial society, just not to the extent we do. Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Los Pegasus, and the other cities probably need food trucked in. (The Oranges probably make their marks in the commodities markets.) Rarity has a washing machine, a toaster, and an oven. Gilda the griffon mentioned gas as if it was some sort of fuel source. They have a hydroelectric (or hydromagic) dam, cranes, and printing presses.
Well, I must say, I enjoyed reading this. Though as for the "show me a unicorn farmer" bit, I'm sure that can easily be arranged, considering the species mixing. I'm sure there was an Earth pony farming family that had a unicorn for a kid, and said unicorn probably ended up using his magic to help him and his family with the farm work.
@ most of the people disagreeing with the moral of the story: I'm pretty sure that despite being physically inferior to the other races the earth ponies aren't a lower class. I kind of see some of the Unicorns make up the upper class (since most of the upper class are unicorns in the Canterlot episodes) however on the broadscale all the races are generally even. In Manehatten there were a lot more earthponies in the upper crust there so i expect that being businessponies is something many earthponies can do. Also there's always government service jobs which we see mainly earth ponies and Pegisi in, so all in all i think things are fairly balanced out. Plus it seems some of the 'non-magical' races segregate themselves to level the playing field; there are 2 cloud towns (according to the map) and we have seen 2 earthpony settlements in the show (Dodge Junction and AAAAAAPPLELOOSA). I think that all 3 races don't have trouble dealing with inequality since we have already seen In the show. Ever notice tons of unemployed earthponies starving to death in the streets in the show? No? I thought not.
Um, Rainman was a true story. The guy it was based on just died last year I believe. And also yes, everyone is not equal. Look at Rarity and Twilight. Rarity has basic telekinetic powers and the ability to find gems. Twilight has so many spells she numbers them (literally) in the double digits. Most unicorns have very focused magic related to their special talent. Unless one of them happens to have a talent in farming though, they aren't going to be able to do much with magic to help run a farm. Instead they'd need to use raw hoof/levitation power to do everything. And since it wouldn't be their special talent, they'd be miserable.
Now extend that to EVERYTHING that is not that unicorns special talent and consider. A unicorn working their special talent knows exactly what to do AND has spells that specifically aid in doing the job fast and well. Remove them from that environment and they're in trouble if they need to compete with anypony else at all. Unicorns are a tribe of specialists. Earth ponies on the other paw have been shown doing great at things that don't match their talents. Pinkie's talent is parties, but she is a masterful baker. AJ grows apples, but also grows corn, herds sheep and cattle, helps pigs truffle hunt, competes in rodeo, performs rope tricks, and knows how to do construction work. Earth ponies are used to having to do things the hard way, and so have figured out how to do them well. Since every single Earth pony is the same in terms of capability it means that tricks one Earth pony figures out are good for all Earth ponies. Unicorns that develop a new spell can really only teach it to other unicorns with the same special talent, and to magic specialist unicorns obviously.
Pegasi can fly and manipulate weather. That's kinda really it for what makes them special and that's fine. It's their only real claim to fame and I don't begrudge them that.
This is one of these overly morally stories where the message is: It is your destiny to be a peasant. There is nothing good about being a peasant. they occupied the lowest level of the social hierarchy in premodern societies, the social class that modernisation and industrialisation ultimately made obsolete.
In Equestrian terms it means that they are defined by their race as belonging to the lowest social class until such a time when industrialist unicorns like Flim and Flam manage to build effective machinery that can do most of the work they do now at which point they would lose even that, making them worthless.
That is of course, unless Princess Celestia intervenes by forbidding such technologies in order to keep the social status que intact. And why wouldn't she, especially if the earthponies themselves are so deluded that they think that being a peasant is a good thing.
This story reminds me most of all of "beta minus" pride from Brave New World.
Think about it, what was the three roles again?
Pegasi have to manage the weather an play in the clouds (that's always fun)
Unicorns have to control the sun and study the universe (rule and study, that's oldtime nobility in a nutshell)
Earthponies have to mange the croups and do all the work.
So it is like this:
Alicorns at the top.
Unicorns at second and third tier
Pegasi at third and fourth tier
And Earthponies at the bottom.
And it is racially defined so there is no possibility for social mobility.
What truly disgust me is that you make all this seem like a good thing, and social exploitation never is.
Most unicorns have very focused magic related to their special talent. Unless one of them happens to have a talent in farming though, they aren't going to be able to do much with magic to help run a farm.
I personally don't have this in my headcanon, since correlation != causation. I see it correlating because the unicorns only learn magic related to their talent. Wereas the actual cause of unicorns' power is studying and/or practicing spells... or even inventing their own on the spot.
Twilight is so bullshit OP in her magic not from natural talents, but from the fact that, barring Star Swirl and the Princesses, she's the only known unicorn to study magic in general, thus, a wider variety of spells.
I'd bet if Rarity suddenly had a thirst for knowledge (like after a amnesia-causing blow to the head in the library) she could study her way through Twi's notes and end up on a similar power level... hell, SWEETIE BELLE could do so in my headcanon once she figures out how to magic at all.
>>1397614 Thank you for reading! And; I could give you the answer, but I'd have to make it up first!
>>1397735 The mustache always works! Except it never works.
>>1398668 Again, I don't at all try to comment on these things, because each episode presents a different canonicity for this when it has to to drive the episode forwards, but I will agree with the sentiment of "Why would they?"
>>1398961 I never wanted to try to suggest they're "capped" or that they have less potential though; in my eyes, that they can't fly isn't a handicap, that's kind of my point. Thanks for reading though, and thanks for your comment!
>>1399064 These are all "probablies" and conjecture. To use your very concrete example: It's too easy to lose sight of the fact that when Gilda uses the word "gas", it's because the scriptwriters don't seek to ponify every bit of language. It's an oversight or a desire to keep language relatable. Saying this means Equestria has a petroleum industry is, well... that's not how I interpret things.
Thanks for your comment though! My intended and preferred interpretation anyway is that they aren't "limited". They just have a different field of expertise.
>>1399621 Clearly! I think it's silly of me to read through and try to enforce my personal views here, I just get a little sad when people seem dead set on interpreting this like I've tried to willfully wrong earth ponies when the opposite is true.
>>1399832 That sounds to me like an idea for another story! But Equestria is at least thousands of years old, and pony types aren't the direct result of simple breeding, and despite this, we see zero non-earth pony farmers.
>>1399895 I make no apologies! Thank you for reading, hah.
>>1400154 Exactly. Inequalities are never emphasized. Differences are, but they're never shown to be a bad thing.
>>1400175 While I'm trying very hard not to get too involved in these discussions, I like that you highlight how varied AJ's talents are. I don't want to take anything away from the others though; Rarity and Twilight are both wonderfully varied, too. That's kind of a counter to the whole cutie mark = destiny = everything you can do. It's just not that simple. It never is.
>>1400619 First, please edit out the image as it's larger than the max allowed for comments and such - you'll probably get a ban or at least a warning for that.
Second this isn't meant to be a social commentary. If you read this into the story I wrote, that speaks more of your glum view of things than anything. AJ emphasizes to look ahead, to be proud of what she can do, she brings up concrete examples of what earth ponies can do that others cannot, and above all, highlights how unity is what matters.
Earth ponies can do plenty of things beyond farming, but that's one thing they can do that the others cannot. If you decide to imbue this with some sort of dark moral based on superimposing human thinking upon a world that has never ever in the show shown any signs of negative class thinking, then that's your problem, I'm sorry to say. Now again, please remove that image and replace it with a link if you must.
>>1400658 In the episode Boast Busters Twilight Spike said "..unicorns [are] supposed to have a little magic that matches their special talents." but twilight's special ability is magic and that's why she is so good at magic. Someone like Sweetie Bell could never just go to the library and become another twilight (twilight even mentions "that's true for ponies who special talents are something like cooking singing, or math" and Sweetie Bell's talent is singing). Look at Trixie her special talent is performing magic and she's not even close to being Twilight's equal. Lastly Twilight, Starswirl, and Celestia are the only ones who study magic is completely wrong, we know that there is a whole school for gifted unicorns and there have to be other important unicorns that have wings in the Canterlot royal library otherwise starswirl would just have the whole library named after him instead of just a wing.
>>1400619 I think that social ladder far too broad and has too many tiers. We know there are important and rich earth ponies so they wouldn't all be on the bottom. If anything it would be -Celestia-Unicorn Royalty- The Rich (mainly Unicorns and Earth Ponies)- Government workers- common folk. Gov workers would include, guard ponies (unicorn & Pegisi), weather stuff (Pegisi), and misc jobs (all races), in the end that ladder leaves much room for social climbing the ponies aren't limited by their race as much as their special talent. someone who's talent is business sense and making money will be much more important than someone like snails.
First, easy I have removed it, and if you really hated it you could have deleted my comment al together.
Second, I am sorry if I offended you, your story was actually quite good and it gave me inspiration to a new story, which I call "Earthponies Unite". A good story is a story that provoke, and you have done that, even if you didn't intend to.
I like your story, I just got the meaning out of Granny Smith's story that AJ herself didn't get when she told it.
First, I am talking about the talent of the races, of elevation of why Unicorns are the superior master race, and why Earthponies the suppressed proletariat that do all the work.
Second this is meant as demagogy (couldn't you tell?)
>>1401346 I'm equally sorry if I gave the impression I was offended. I don't mean to start fires here, either. I'm very glad if you read it and if you enjoyed it, too.
Readers decide what they take home from stories, almost independent of authorial intent. I can control which words I put down, but I cannot decide what meaning people attribute to those words. The first version of this story over on Equestria Daily got some (well deserved) critique because it seemed to almost glorify ignorance. If I come off as annoyed, it's because this is my second attempt to give earth ponies their dues without giving them some stupid "special ability". It's my failing, not that of the readers.
Now, as far as the actual message of the story goes? If you read it thus, and if it inspired you, I'm of course glad it made you think! Never doubt that. What I will say is this: the story never, ever meant to try to portray earth ponies as a "lower class" in any way. More than this, my personal opinion (whether you call this headcanon or an interpretation is up to you) is that Equestria has never been portrayed as having a caste system or even a ruling body. Trying to decipher how Equestria is run is impossible using only canon.
For this reason, I probably come off as angry when defending my own views here, and I'm sorry for that. I believe Equestria is well portrayed as very different from human society. Pony types are different, but the show never ever tries to make that a social caste attribute. Look at Winter Wrap Up and how all the ponies work together. Look at how Filthy Rich, cast to be a snooty rich pony, still gives Granny Smith respect. There is no hard canon suggesting that earth ponies are a lower class.
Farmers are earth ponies, but earth ponies aren't farmer. Trying to typecast pegasi as a higher class because they have a duty you perceive as more "fun" is odd; consider Pinkie Pie. Does that seem like an earth pony who toils in the field to you? Heck, the Apple family is central to Ponyville in so many ways.
Okay, I'm sorry, I'm just throwing random facts and opinions at the wall now, really. All I mean to say is this: I firmly believe that Equestria has no discernible social inequality based on pony type, and this fic is meant to reflect that. It was an attempt to give earth ponies their own domain; the earth. That some humans automatically feel this is "low tier" is unfortunate, but it's also human. Humans are not ponies.
>>1401322 It's a bit superfluous now, but the other part of this comment pretty much pokes at my personal belief. I don't believe there's a significant pyramid at all. I also prefer the interpretation where Celestia is as much a symbol as anything, worshipped and adored because ponies like to have a focal point. Ponies have a herd mentality in FiM:MLP, and I love trying to make that both a funny and different thing from humans. Ticket Master springs to mind. This is an overinterpretation, but one I'm very fond of.
At any rate, I truly do appreciate the comments, but let's not carry this on any longer. Please keep comments related to the fic itself. If you believe the fic says X or Y, that's fine, but brancing out into a discussion on pony society isn't really in the scope of the fic.
I do think that working with the earth, in factory floors and generally getting your hand øh "hoof" dirty, is a general sign of a lower class compared to these that gives the orders.
Also I don't nervelessly think that Earthponies are suppressed or is an exploited lower class, but that IS what Secret Lore thinks. If you don't know him, I can tell you he is an earthpony scholar. Of course almost everypony says that earthponies can't be scholars, and certainly cannot know anything about magic. The poor guy have had so much opposition, and Celestia have really also done much to stifle his research. Poor guy, you can read about him here: link
Now he has started to course trouble again, as he has used pathos and demagogy to rile ponies up. I don't know if you have head of The Great Beer hall in Geldchen. Can you see where I am going with this?
Thank you. That's my point, people love to ascribe all these different wide varieties of spells to various unicorns because 'magic'. That's not how it works. Unicorns are specialists. Some just have magic as their speciality, but they are probably few and far between.
In all honesty, I feel that Earth ponies aren't the worst race, unicorns are.
>>1401499 I can only apologize; if I had a spot in my reading list, it still doesn't sound like my cup of tea as far as fics go. I tend to write about happy ponies, and I almost only read shipfics as it is. If you believe that it's a lower class duty to have complete mastery of the earth, then you're free to do so; I only mean to say there is no canon precedent for this division. And I really really do focus on canonicity.
Thank you again for your comments though!
First. As I tolled you before, it's just the manual working class is as a rule considered to be lower then the academic and military class. But that is not even all that important.
I don't know if this is going to be good either, I started writing it, but it sort of got interrupted when I had to go to dinner. Also your write, everything revolving around the character Secret Lore lies between sad an tragic.
Also my main work right now is actually to be done with Princess Rainbow, which is an adventure. (I am not linking because until the second part is uploaded and the first have been rewritten I am not recommending it).
I think I will try to concentrate on writing stories that I myself would want to read. Hopefully when I am finished with PR it will become at least a moderate success, I really hate writing stories at nobody likes or bothers to read.
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Yup. I'm just sad that this is the first one of your fics that I haven't absolutely loved.
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