Earlier today on Twitter I was talking with some bronies on the topic of our favorite ponies. I explained how I started out liking Rainbow Dash but settled on Twilight because apparently I can suspend enough disbelief to say a world with talking ponies exists but giving myself wings is *too much*. A discussion as to whether wings or horns was cooler ensued, and I sided with the uncool Earth ponies.

This has roots in darker days when I played Dragonball Z MUDs but that’s a story for another day. Suffice to say I hate universes with an obviously advantageous character because everyone picks that one. When it comes to ponies, we’re at least limited by canon to 2 alicorns but that doesn’t stop an abundance of pegasus/unicorn ponies.

None of the pony races seems to have a focused talent. Yes all winged ponies can fly, but Rainbow Dash is an exceptional flier while Fluttershy is more at home with ground creatures. Twilight Sparkle has powers that rival Celestia’s, but Rarity is more dangerous with fabric than magic. It’s the Earth ponies that are hard to define: Apple Jack seems on par with Rainbow Dash for athleticism and Pinkie Pie’s displayed abilities that defy rational explanation: she’s faster than Rainbow Dash, aware of the fourth wall, and even Celestia seems hesitant to question her actions.

I’m a huge nerd and tried to come up with a way to explain this. I’ve got a little bit of knowledge of how D&D works, and started thinking about how characters are created. What I wanted was a solution where Earth ponies play a role like humans in D&D: no latent abilities but able to amass power and abilities more quickly. The more I thought about it the more it seems to fit. So here’s what I came up with.

A pony can pick one of three classes. Ponies can obtain abilities as they gain levels (through undefined means) with a notable milestone being acquisition of a cutie mark, which bestows additional power in a specialization. I remember there being specific perks you could take at character creation in D&D, here’s how I think it works:

• A pegasus pony must take flight as their creation perk.
• A unicorn pony must take magic as their creation perk.
• Earth ponies may select any creation perk except flight or magic.
• All ponies gain an additional perk associated with their cutie mark.
• Further talents can be gained through gaining levels via an undetermined mechanism.

This seems to fit well. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were born with flight. Dash gained athleticism and Fluttershy gained animal friendship. Twilight and Rarity were born with magical talents. Twilight gained more magical ability and Rarity gained fashion sense. Apple Jack was born with no talents but selected physical strength, and further augmented this strength when she got her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie was born with no talents, her birth talent is unclear, but she specialized in parties when she got her cutie mark. Pinkie Pie’s mysterious birth talent is the secret to her power, but I also have a suspicion her time on the rock farm was equivalent to power-leveling or she’s found an artifact. Perhaps she’s a lich; I dunno. The mane cast is significantly more talented than most background ponies, indicating their life experiences have brought them to a higher level.

I don’t care to enumerate all of the possible perks/talents ponies can choose; I think leaving it unbounded is more fun. It seems to fit well: there aren’t any multitalented pegasus or unicorn ponies but proof Apple Jack can at least match Rainbow Dash’s athleticism and Pinkie Pie threatens to overpower them all. Thus I assert the humble Earth Pony is possibly the most powerful of all, and more people should appreciate them.