@Apple: Well, there's Big M Ac, but I think he would probably be more explicity stated to be god-teir if that were the case.

So instead, let's take a look at the 'basic' elements of each races magic. As in, the very core of what they do.

Unicorn's magic is, at least superficially, the hardest to pin down due to being the widest ranging, however I think if you want to really boil it down, their could be said to be 'moving'. That is, via very precise telekineses they are able to literally smash particles together to make something, alter something, etc. IT's stretchign it a bit, but it's basically what it comes down to. It's no surprise that the most commonly used magic is basically just moving shit. Their god-tier appears to be affecting time itself, which again could be said to just be grabbing hold of potential particles and altering them.

Next, we have Pegasi. They don't apparantly appear to have any magic, but rather function biologically on a different level. We know this sin't true, of course, which makes their magic subtle. So what's their core? I would say 'air'. Flight, tactile telekineses, weather control, all has to do with air control. The paramount of their appears to be the sonic rainboom, which is basically creating a wind tunnel and turbine for themself, plus altering the refractive index of the air. Alternately, you could say that like the unicrons', theirs is moving, simply more specialized.

Which leaves us with the earth ponies. Now, what have we seen of them, and heard of them in show? The two major powers we've seen of them so far have been 'growing' and 'strength'. If we can consider Pinkie not outside the norm, we can also add movemnt/flexibility and awareness to this list. Finally, we note that they have a connection to the earth, which doesn't actually demonstrate itself in any quintifiable way, so for the time being I'm going to effectively disregard it.

So, what do all these powers have in common? They're something every other race can do, but better. A lot better. They use all the same muscles, more effectively. Perform all the same actions, more efficiently. Observe all the same things, on a deeper level. I would say that EP's 'core' magic is 'buffing'. From what we've seen so far, it's hard to say whether or not there are any rule to what they could buff. For all we know the EP's could make impossibly sharp spears, impossibly tough armour, impossibly delicious food.

So, if we know that their core is buffing and they don;t have any rules we know of, what's their 'ultimate' ability? Immortality. Similarly to the unicorns, who at their pinnacle can affect the theoretical substance of time, and Pegasi who at their peak can alter more esoteric elements of air like refractive index and friction, EP's at their peak can affect their own most minute function, including cell reproduction and personal healing factors. Thus, through heavily amplified biological functions they become fntionally immortal.

In fact, that goes a long way to explaining a lot of things, like how Granny Smith can have been there for the founding of ponyville, and how Celestia and Luna can still be alive after thousands of years - all of them use their innate EP magic to artificially extend their lifespans.

@Applelight: Dude, almost everyone is saying that they do have special abilities that make them vastly better at other things than the other races. They're stronger, have more endurance, and are the only group capable of producing enough food to allow society to function. The only thing I disagree with you on is the specific point that other ponies are utterly incapable of growing food. I don't think they're entirely incapable, just that they're not good at it.

Okay, I don't know if I'd go as far as immortality, but yeah, the whole "Each race's power is something the other races can do, only way better" is a good way of putting it. Saying other ponies couldn't grow anything at all is like saying that non-pegasi couldn't emulate flight in any fashion, which clearly isn't the case; Twilight can create wings, and Pinkie has her whirligig.

To put it another way, each race has their own special ability that the other races can imitate to a degree, but never duplicate fully.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:00:53 PM by JapaneseTeeth

My ideal is that they have a more balanced set of power potentials. They have better basic technology, better knowledge of the earths (minerals, gems, metals), and superior basic agriculture, coupled with above-average strength and stamina (peak condition Earth Ponies are serious behemoths! No really they tower over the most buff unicorns and pegasi).

They're more than mere super-farmers.

Also they were the first to discover and use gunpowder. Pegasi have no need for it as early black powder was useless in damp conditions, and unicorns never bothered because their magic could do the same things, more or less.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:01:04 PM by AceOfScarabs

There are so many implications about this, several of which aren't terribly healthy for the mind...

Thank you keggy, that really makes me feel a whole lot better about my favorite tribe.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:04:43 PM by ApplelightLimited

@Ace: That's a lot how I think of it.

I also think there's a bit of overlap between the races' abilities, it's just that the individual races are specialized. Take Pegasus flight for example; E Ps and Unicorns can emulate the effects whether mechanically (the balloon, Pinkie's...machine) or magically (the wing and cloud walking spells), but can never completely duplicate the full effects (complete control over the weather) with a comparable level of ease.

@JT: Yeah, admittedly even I find it a bit far-fetched. I would consider full immortality to be pretty much reserved for literal god-tier, as in only those on the Cosmic Council have enough EP magic to become immortal A regular pony can extend their lifespan, but not indefinitely by a long shot.

Still, I do like the idea of them being basically amps for anything they choose. We've already seen in the show that when it comes down to mundane tasks their pretty well better suited than the other two races, and assuming that the Pinkie sense is a specialized amp then it would be neat to see EP's with other specialized amp.

Heh. An EP swordsman who specialises in amping sharpness... he comes to a duel with an oar.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:16:58 PM by kegisak

Hey, you know what? I'm being too negative, and that's not good. I'll start over.

So gun powder eh? Isn't there a trope for a character who's super power is guns?

Holy crap I have to use that !

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:07:31 PM by ApplelightLimited

Either Improbable Aiming Skills, strength to carry a ton of them, or both.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:08:18 PM by Lopiny

Bullet Seed might work!

@Apple: there's a nice bit of fanon out there the Earth Ponies can make baked goods into Party Cannon-style ammo.

Hell i have the headcannon a unicorns TK is simply a projection of a natural low level tactile TK all ponies have and use unconsciously to grip with their hooves, and EP's could even use it to help anchor themselves to the ground possibly. it's why all unicorns no matter what use TK and it's one of the first things they learn, becasue it's something that's innate to all ponies, just non uni don't have the ability to project the field past what they are physically touching.

Oh and on the (HWE was SFX becuase it took them a year to grow their trees not instantly) read that again, they grew TREES full blown fruit baring full sixed apple trees in a YEAR, while on stage, all AJ did was make a seed sprout a bit. Clearly Ep's CAN accelerat plant growth, but there' simply a limit to how fast.

Also possible they could bake Dwarf Bread.

I haven't read the Discworld novels (shame on me!). What's Dwarf Bread?

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:22:51 PM by ApplelightLimited

Bread so hard you can cut weapons out of it, and meant as an emergency ration by making everything else appealing in comparison to itself.

@ Seraph: So we have the same viewpoint of Earth Ponies being able grow plants faster than the other races but that there's a limit to such things.

Seriously?!!

Bread...that you can make weapons and armor out of? Oh yes...yes...yes yes yes.

@Applelight: Let's just say that Dwarf bread is more like a rock than actual rocks. And yes, you should definitely use the oar thing.

@Kegi I actually wouldn't call time magic the pinnacle of unicorn magic. What the show seems to be implying lately is that transformation magic is the highest tier. Time magic seems to be limited both in reach and in that it immediately creates a Stable Time Loop. Essentially, You Already Changed The Past is in full effect at all times.

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:31:08 PM by PerpetualLurker

I am laughing...folks, I'm seeing a 'baker' EP acting more like a black smith, and it is brilliant.

This is why I love you guys...you are my muses!

@Apple: As far as Earth Ponies go, the baker and the blacksmith might well be one and the same.

@Perpetual: I mean Time as in the age spell. Assuming it's actually time-based and not simply a transformation then it means latering one section of the timeline independantly from others, which I would call a fairly big feat. That said, you may yet be right. Transformation spells have been consistently shown to be pretty dang hard, even for Twilight. Harder even than just straight up fabrication spells, which is interesting.

...And the gardeners, and the masseuses, and the veterinarians (save Flutershy) and the Doctors (save The Doctor who may be disguised as an earth stallion).

edited 3rd Dec '12 3:41:41 PM by MorningStar1337

However it has been shown that changing a pony's gender is even harder than an age spell. So, so far that's the peak. Alternatively the whole sun and moon thing since that took the whole race to do.

Perhaps the sun/moon thing mostly requires raw power, while high-level transmutation and the like requires more power and precision than an average unicorn could muster.