Why is there a severe lack of stairs in Generation 5? · 7:25pm Dec 26th, 2022
Unlike G4, stairs are almost unheard of in G5. This is one of the very few examples I found:
(Silverstream would not be happy living in G5 Equestria)
Meanwhile, ramps are abundant.
Why is this?
Not-possible explanations: G4 established that My Little Pony ponies can climb stairs (and even ladders) with ease, so it's not a question of anatomy. G5 Equestria is also highly technologically advanced, with mobile phones and elevators, so it's highly improbable the invention of stairs was forgotten.
Non-canon explanation: Animating stair-climbing in 3D is a GPU-scorcher only surpassed by Misty's mane.
The look on my face when the neighbors hear me belting Shania Twain. I wish this were a joke
(Head)Canon explanation: Sunny Starscout, upon becoming an alicorn and reluctant quasi-demi-goddess of unified Equestria, mandated that all spaces be accessible by her favorite rollerblades, hence the ramps, though good luck pushing rollerblades up a 30 degree ramp. Then again, if Sunny can hold a telephone using her skate wheels, what can't she do with them?
Hay Hitch, what's up? Yeah, nothin' much, just defying the laws of physics with my roller skates again, y'know, the usual.
* On a related topic, equestrian ramps are actually a thing IRL. These are ramps (or very gentle staircases) built in older homes before the car, to allow a horse to climb with ease when parking. An equestrian ramp can even be found in this historic carriage house in Manhattan, which has been converted into a mansion with a highly coveted car garage.
What are your thoughts on ramps in G5? Leave your (head)canon explanations below in the comments!
If this post interests you, check out my older blog post on ceiling heights in G4.
It's easier for hoofed quadrupeds to move up and down the different levels of a building on a ramp than on steps?
It is just easier for four-legged beings to go up and down ramps, especially if they are pushing, pulling, or carrying some load. Stairs and ladders are possible, but they are impractical. I always headcanoned the G4 ponies only used them so much in architecture because they inherited the practice of primarily ising stairs from some previous civilization and just kept doing it.
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Perhaps stairs made sense when you had unicorn magic to help you.
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Or just magic in general?
the hippogriff wars were a strange and terrible time in equestria
no stairway survived, and it was agreed upon by all the tribes, fractured though they were, that no more would be built, lest they attract the horde anew
They probably needed magic to use stairs. And all the buildings already had ramps so there wasn't much point in reconstructing now that magic is back.