PROOF Unicorns are NOT Overpowered

[@dacotamorris4423]

I would say that really only overpowered thing with unicorns is the manipulation of tools and better dexterity in general. Pegasi can hold stuff with their wings but that stops them from flying. And Earth Ponies just struggle in general

[@cameronmyers8005]

They do have super strength, surprisingly. Notice how often it’s earth ponies doing things like pulling carts and raising barns. Heck, when the mane six(besides twilight and rarity) were pulling up the tree, we were shown that while applejack and pinkie pie were doing it easily, rainbow dash and fluttershy were struggling. With fluttershy it makes sense, since she’s weak. But rainbow dash has outright beaten applejack in a hoof wrestle before

[@Glorymoon97]

I wouldn't say Earth Ponies struggle. After all, Maud is shown to be able to cut straight through solid rock with her hooves. Applejack is able to manipulate the soil, and I'm gonna take a gander and say the option of super strength is controllable kinda like muscle.

[@angel-nv7jk]

I think the commentary was referring to how ponies hold things. I feel the earth ponies would struggle most with that

[@Glorymoon97]

@angel 101 I agree they'd have some problems with fine motor 6 also remember ponies mouths are dexterous than humans.

[@rovanajean9550]

​​@@Glorymoon97 i mean imagine walking and working all day on a farm, what are u gonna cook and eat dinner with? Right, ur feet, i mean hoof

[@desertbatstudios]

One thing I always remember is when Rarity used her magic to throw a boulder at Tierk; it actually caught me by surprise. You can see that it put noticeable strain on her, and we never really see her use her magic to the same degree like Twilight or Starlight.

[@antonioalbul00]

The thing is rarity magic is related to minerals her whole thing is finding gems in rocks so i think is in her character to do that

[@mirkohoble]

I was surprised as well. She looked so tired after throwing the boulder, I always wondered why twilight never taught her one or two defensive spells just in case.

[@h.o.u.d.a.m.i.s.s.9513]

But when she did it , tirek took her powers already

[@randomizer4660]

What season and episoid is that on

[@Pinkieiscool1]

​@@h.o.u.d.a.m.i.s.s.9513 wrong ep

[@KalijahAnderson]

Might I point out the magic feats that the Cake twins pulled off? The unicorn of the two was casting all kinds of spells. And she didn't even have her Mark yet.

[@-ZH]

New theory, baby unicorns are the strongest race.

[@KaylaTechHeart]

It was confirmed that babies have unpredictable magic. so their magic just spurts out or comes out randomly. I believe it’s due because their magic is developing and growing. It’s also the same with Pegasus babies as well. They fly randomly due to having their magic being developed. It’s like magic puberty but babies. It eventually goes back to equilibrium and fades away.

[@fishbollz]

^^ yup, in the beginning of the same episode, it was already established that baby ponies have "crazy baby magic", so we don't really count those

[@hana_anah9036]

Pumpkin was super powerful, yeah!

[@regularly_priced]

Baby unicorns just have ultra powerful magic. They grow out of it when they’re older

[@sharaheartsixx]

One thing I love about Starlights magic is its directly influenced by her emotions or emotional state. Like that massive laser beam that banished Discord. If I remember correctly she was so furious with him, she was able to cast such an enormous spell. She's done this on multiple occasions.

[@lunasquib]

Samee! I love emotion magic

[@TheRezro]

@@lunasquib In universe that is actually Shadow Magic aka Alicorn Magic. Alicorns aren't actual specie, Shadow Sorcerers capable of taking properties of other species. Human Trixie Lulamoon also did teleport at one point, so Trixie has similar powers as Starlight.

[@genshinbarb111]

Twilight used to have her emotion tied in the earlier season for instance in the episode of the castle of the two sisters everyone was freaking out which led to twilight being annoyed freezing everyone of her friends

[@TheRezro]

@@genshinbarb111 Yes. What is interesting in G4 writing is that protagonists actually were quite bad ponies, but friendship allowed them overcome they flaws. Like Apple Jack have tendency of pleasing others, what lead to constant lies (she was living with rich uncles for a time). Flutershy is in fact aggressive diva under pressure (she poorly react to pressure). Rarity is greedy materialist (who circulate goods), pinkie has tendency for melancholia and depression. Rainbow Dash is megalomaniac. And yes, Twilight... in fact Chrysalis was surprised by behavior of copies she creates, because they were exact copies, but without they friendship. PS: It is rather obvious that Midnight Sparkle was meant to be final boss, but Hasbro disband part of the team before production ended.

[@genshinbarb111]

@@TheRezro I definitely agree with this if twilight never had a “friendship” tied life she would have been starlight number 2 but more powerful. If a twilight that doesn’t use her emotion with magic can hold off an angry starlight imagine an angry twilight….

[@EffMinus]

this sounds like Pegasus propaganda

[@Star_Strike]

WHAAA!? Pft- noooo! I would never!

[@Radish.com.0]

​@@Star_Strike Hmmm Minor dramatic ambience with face close-ups* Okay.

[@Grainofsand_gs]

Nah, it's probably pegasi AND earth ponies

[@strwberry_kittenz]

real

[@strwberry_kittenz]

@@Star_Strike HMM SURE Unicorns ARENT overpowered because: 1. Earth pony magic is unique, and stated by tree hugger, unicorn or pegasi magic wont always work. It cant be copied, twilight doesnt have a spell for earth pony powers. 2. Most of their spells are temporary, and floating or flying like pegasi drains them because its not natural. 3. They are not on par with alicorns, this was likely done to make starlight more imposing or make twilight less of a mary sue. 4. Yes, they can do anything, but if your special talent isnt magic as a unicorn, it'll be harder to do complex spells like teleportation. 5. Unicorns like rarity, twilight, and starlight glimmer, all powerful, have done crazy feats of magic a lot of ponies cant do, but of course it tires them. Unicorns ARENT weak because: 1. Saying they can only do things related to their talent is like saying apple jack can only buck apples and nothing else, or rarity can only design and nothing else. Both of them can do other things. Rarity can garden with fluttershy, and applejack can re-build her orchard. That doesnt mean rarity is a gardener or applejack is a builder. Unicorns can do most magic spells, but like you said, only unicorns with a talent for magic can do complex things. 2. Unicorns are just as powerful as the others, since their special feature is magic, stripping it away like you did just now feels wrong. As @EffMinus said, SOUNDS LIKE PEGASI PROPERGANDA. 3. Unicorns can do incredible things on par with the other races. I mean, for years we all thought they were the most powerful, because of how active and powerful their magic is, but the others just have passive forms, stated by lauren faust. 4. Like point 1, making them only related to their talent makes them the weakest race because all they can do is maybe change the colour of something, and float things. That narrows them down to "Telekinesis horse".

[@magicalmercy]

I thought to myself “but what about Rarity moving the clouds that one time in Magical Mystery Cure?” and the answered my own question. She had Rainbow’s cutie mark, so her special talent allowed it.

[@nicolerodriguezalvarez9915]

asi no funcionan las cutie marks, literalmente todo el punto del capitulo es que tu "haces" la cutie mark no ella a ti, por eso mismo flutershy no podia hacer reir a la gente porque no era su "magia"/especialidad

[@cupidpop]

then what about fluttershy? she had pinkie's cutie mark but couldn't make anyone laugh. or even applejack? she had the cutie mark of someone who specializes in making dresses yet all the dresses she made were awful

[@cupidpop]

the whole point of a cutie mark is that it shows what the pony is good at they dont get their "magic" or skills from it

[@DrMoonRose]

​@@cupidpophowever unicorns do its explained in this very video that a unicorns magic is based off of their cutie mark

[@0rchlid]

​@@cupidpoprarity's cutie mark is not specialised in making dresses. Her talent is finding beauty and gems. She has an eye on gems. Thats why her cutie mark is 3 blue gems, lol

[@WindStriker]

Not exactly. Pegasi still have to learn to fly and control the weather. Like when ranbow dash and fluttershy were in flight school as fillies. Plus, their wing power determines how strong they are with flying. And flying determines how good they are with weather control. So pegasi have to train their wings like unicorns have to train their magic. EARTH PONIES DONT HAVE TO DO EITHER! THEY'RE OP!

[@Star_Strike]

Good point. It still seems though that learning to fly is easier than studying magic. Pound Cake and Flurry Heart seem to figure it out just fine. Flying skillfully though, that takes time and study.

[@icecrystal7965]

Earth Pony power cap is *so* low though. I don't think you understand. Rockhoof is the single most powerful Earth Pony to ever exist, either him or Applejack. And yet, 3 unicorns with basic telekinesis wouldn't have a hard time completely incapacitating them. Rockhoof might need 6 just because he's so much bigger and heavier. And those are the most powerful Earth Ponies there are. Most Earth Ponies don't get past being able to jog faster than average

[@randomunicorn1133]

@@icecrystal7965 Maaan yall be forgetting how powerful Pinkie Pie is she breaks the 4th wall and can pull almost anything from anywhere

[@icecrystal7965]

@@randomunicorn1133 she got Discord magic though, that doesn't count lol

[@randomunicorn1133]

@@icecrystal7965 Uhm no she didn’t? She got it ONCE and that was within the LAST season Pinkie Pie has always been breaking the 4th wall and pulling stuff out of no where aka her party cannon waaay before she got Discord magic

[@icecrystal7965]

Sure, let's just overlook the fact that in part two of both beginning of the end and ending of the end, regular Unicorns were able to produce fairly rudimentary laser blasts, and working together they were able to produce a quite powerful shield. So they can combine their magic to heighten spells, which could mean that a small army of regular ol unicorns could combine their magic to just nuke a larger army of either or both other races. Additionally, the Unicorn species *can* produce paragons of their race, like Star Swirl, Starlight, Sunset, Tempest, Sunburst, Moondancer, Twilight, Mistmane, and possibly Chancellor Neighsay. The other races have their extra powerful individuals as well, like Rockhoof, or Rainbow Dash. But they can barely compete with the weaker of the Unicorn paragons. The strongest Unicorns can take on entire armies of the other races using just regular nuking, clever tactics, and/or attrition The simple fact that Unicorns have those powerful exceptions make the entire race op, just because those exceptions are many of orders of magnitude more powerful than anything any other race can produce *Also I'd argue that the ability to walk on clouds is not much of a sign that Pegasi are incredibly powerful. Unicorns can replicate the effect quite easily with a simple spell that lasts awhile and doesn't create conscious upkeep, so Pegasi having that ability built in is not much of a show of power. Being able to create tornados is pretty powerful though. The problem being that they are hard to control/aim, and dissipate fairly quickly once Pegasi are no longer actively sustaining it

[@awa290]

Remember that most of those unicorns were from Celestia's school of magic They were already skillful at it

[@dc7981]

I’m fairly certain the average unicorn is more like rarity and less of a prodigy like starlight and twi

[@mohdghazali3473]

Starswirl is Celestia and Luna teacher, he's kind of a master. Sunset and Twilight is Celestia personal students mean they're prodigy. Tempest is the general of Storm Empire. She had experience. In case of Mistmane, she is acknowledged as one of the most talented Unicorn of her time, the fact is she left her home to pursue her interest and the fact that she's recruited to join the Pillar against the enemy of Equestria mean she's talented and skillful. Chancellor Neighsay is the leader of Equestria Education Board and in the season o finale act as the leader of Unicorn, someone like that should be powerful. Moondancer is Twilight friends and one of the top students of Celestia School which reminds you, is a school where they trained a talented Unicorn. Starlight Glimmer is the only exception as she's the only one who have high magic without any grand background but even Twilight admit Starlight to be a rare talent.

[@mohdghazali3473]

Pegasi meanwhile can control the weather. You give examples if many Unicorns came together but if many Pegasi do the same, they can create many crazy weather patterns. Besides, with the exception of Twilight, Starlight and Unicorn with grand background or from Celestia School, most Unicorns were limited in their magical ability. They also need to master a specific spell to used their magic properly and they do show that a normal Unicorn will be drain in their stamina and magic for each of the spell they used.

[@icecrystal7965]

@@mohdghazali3473 Yeah, kinda my point. That's an awful lot of extremely powerful unicorns. The unicorn race can produce members that powerful, and does so fairly regularly. Other races simply cannot. Sure, pick a random Pegasi and a random Unicorn, and the pegasus probably will be more powerful, but the average power of all unicorns is higher than the average of either other race simply because those power houses exist. And on the fields of war, the most powerful of each race is what's going to be on the front lines, and in those situations, unicorns default win

[@EmberAura18]

And even with TWILIGHT, when she’s shown studying as a filly, she could BARELY TURN A PAGE using her horn. Her magical ability as an adult is only as powerful as it is because of all the studying and practice she did as a filly. 😊

[@dylanhentch9719]

It is fun when watching the show to remind yourself that Trixie and Sunburst are actually a cut above when it comes to magic. Starlight and Twilight are just that crazy good.

[@Skystarry75]

Most unicorns are only ever seen levitating stuff and occasionally performing a few talent related spells. All pegasi have cloudwalking, flight and some degree of weather manipulation. They all help out with winter wrap up and the rainwater funnel. Earth pony magic is arguably the most varied and unpredictable- From "Pinkie Sense" to some subtle plant growing magic and increased strength. You'd have to wonder what would happen if an Earth Pony or Pegasus had a talent related to magic, though it might not be possible.

[@leyrua]

**Ahem** there is an alchemist zebra living in the woods. Basically a classical witch.

[@AstralArbourSys]

@@Wishtelle I think what they were going for is that earth ponies with a talent for magic would be like Zecora, making potions and stuff

[@DromusTH]

pinkie sense is pinkie thing

[@NapaCat]

Pinkie sense seems to be rooted in Pinkie's unique magic; when the unicorns get their magic back, Pinkie does too. In one of the comics, she literally takes over Discord's home dimension, and in Ending of the End she can somewhat control Discord's chaos magic.

[@hazelquart]

@@leyrua Now that I actually think about it, it’s quite strange how the average hospital in Equestria is not capable of providing medicines against curses/spells/niche plants and every time that the ponies need a medicine or a potion to solve their problems, they go to Zecora’s place. I’d assume that a world that is filled with magic would’ve developed a medical system that is proficient in dealing with the relevant problems, but the only “pony” who is able to help with that stuff is not even a pony and is not very well known to the general public.

[@cublikesplanes]

Starlight straight up can pull a beam like the death star

[@thatonewaspatyourpicnic7978]

Hasbro pls nerf

[@Cantersoft]

"Let me explain" xD I wonder if earth ponies start out with an inherent level of super-strength in the same way that pegasus foals can already walk on clouds from the beginning of their lives. Applejack is the epitome of an earth pony's strength magic for being able to stop a boulder weighing several hundred tons, but she actively improves her strength as time progresses. On the other hand, there is a school filly earth pony (I forgot her name) who can lift an entire house. She hasn't had a lifetime to train yet. Anyway, I think that that of the three races which is the most powerful depends on how one analyzes the problem, but this is an insightful approach to pegasus magic that reveals a unique perspective!

[@cameronmyers8005]

Yeah, the earth pony strength thing seems be true. Though the writers seem to forget it every now and then.

[@sadikicaine4881]

Maud Also punches through boulders...

[@cameronmyers8005]

@@sadikicaine4881 and pinkie, I think all the pie family can actually

[@jadecoolness101]

@@cameronmyers8005 I'm not sure, because Rainbow Dash keeps up with Applejack's strength easily.

[@cameronmyers8005]

@@jadecoolness101 except for the episode where they’re pulling up the remains of the treehouse inside the castle, it’s shown that the pegasi(rainbow and fluttershy) are struggling with it while the earth ponies(pinkie and applejack) are barely even trying

[@uberkirbeeh7954]

Unicorn magic is like a skill similar to hard sciences and metaphysics. Everyone can learn them and use it to do bs feats, but not everyone is able to and has the time, resources and capabilities to have the brains of Einstien to get to that skill level and use it to it’s fullest potential. Ponies like Twilight are the realistic exception, but the average unicorn only ever uses a levitation spell. Just like the average Joe only needs to know basic caculus, untill it’s no longer used and needed because caculators.

[@nicknackpaddywacks]

Kind of unrelated but this video proves how incredible Rarity in particular is, because like, remember in the series finale she just managed to conjure up magic strong enough to lift a huge chunk of rock? For Twilight, that would have been super easy, but for Rarity it took ALL of her magical power and she still did it!!! Another small moment is during the season 7 finale when Chrysalis is defeated and threatens them all, every single powerful magic user lines up and flexes their magic, AND RARITY IS DEADASS JUST RIGHT BESIDE THEM!!!! Flurryheart and Cadence and Shining Armor are on either side of her, very powerful ponies, but Rarity is also prepared to throw hands right next to them and I think that's just such a powerful moment, because she's only as strong as the average unicorn. Sorry for the long comment this video just made me think of that lmao

[@thangfahsavung9120]

And Rarity didn't even went to magic school

[@framwinkle]

I was so proud of Rarity for that moment in the finale. She's not nearly as powerful as somepony like Twilight, but in that moment, she'd simply had enough, and her emotions helped her do something impressive. I literally cheered when that happened.

[@genshinbarb111]

REMEMBER THAT TIME when Chrissalys was attacking spike and rarity and she made that crystal shield spell that was able to withstand a bell 🔔 magic beam from chrysalis?

[@meleqento9565]

Rarity is a baddy 💎💎💎

[@julsdraws6769]

*season 6 finale. But yea

[@SmokeTheHorsehog]

Maybe we should have seen this coming. After all, our residential RD may be an overachiever by breaking the sound barrier, but unlike with those exceptions in unicorn magic, not nearly as much training is required to pull off something THAT OP. Twilight, Starlight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence have all done their studies of Starswirl's magic, as Starswirl was the famed wizard that started all of the unicorn legends after Equestria's founding. So in comparison, hypothetically, it would not take nearly as much for other pegasi to possess as much power as Dash.

[@TheRezro]

Also Alicorns (Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon are inactive ones) are on next level and should not be taken into account. Most of unicorns can cast only basic spells.

[@nameynamd9212]

She did need a strong motivation and didn't do it again between when she got her cutie mark and "Sonic Rainboom"(it doesn't take as much effort/time when used afterwards, but it was a culmination of saving Rarity and the Wonderbolts with the training to enter the Wonderbolts)

[@princessstar512]

I’m glad I’m not the only person who realized this from that line from Boast Busters. Also I never thought of pegasi being the most powerful species.

[@czerkitka141]

Because they rly aren’t lol

[@nameynamd9212]

​​@@czerkitka141In a general sense, it's strongest in weather manipulation being innate and therefore lightning being an easy option(with maybe just needing to know where/how to kick)as supposed to needing to learn technique or a fighting style for earth ponies and studying and increasing magical output in unicorns(also having the high ground and freedom of movement over the others)

[@-Supernova.]

@@czerkitka141u sure

[@Planet_ten]

“ Unicorns aren’t powerful “ * shows a picture of an alicorn on the thumbnail *

[@video_404-com8]

We are not counting a combo power

[@KageTenshiiRyuu]

I already figured all this but I am SO GRATEFUL someone has pointed this out. Also 1:49 makes it clear why Starlight never became an Alicorn; that and she was able to _match_ Alicorn Twilight in battle. An Alicorn Starlight would be _way too powerful_ all things considered.

[@aloha516]

I thought it was because she was evil before and also wouldn't being anything to alicorns, there's already sun, moon, love and magic. She would probably just be more magic princess but you have a great point

[@AstralArbourSys]

@@aloha516 And ofc whatever the hell Flurry is...

[@aloha516]

@@AstralArbourSys I don't even count her as canon, you cannot convince me she wasn't the product of the producer's little kids making an OC and begging for it to be on the show

[@nameynamd9212]

Starlight focused more on dodging while Twilight effortlessly blocked any front assualt(Starlight has spellweaving to her advantage, but Twilight never showed signs of straining whenever blocking attacks with her shield)

[@kukuandkookie]

Most unicorns throughout the show are definitely shown to be nowhere near the main characters’ levels, what with Trixie, Sunburst, and Rarity all proving that it’s pretty common for unicorns to just know a few (skill-specific) magic spells, and to struggle with larger magic. Plus most unicorns are just shown levitating things, which-while nice-definitely doesn’t scream OP. 😆 I will also say that the claim that pegasi are the most advanced in terms of magic kind of makes it interesting that they became the most technologically advanced and financially capable in the new MLP series. I know some people felt like it didn’t make much sense, especially when paired with the idea that unicorns got relegated to “superstitious forest freaks,” but I guess this assertion about pegasi being so advanced already kind of helps serve as a justification for that. Of course, they _lose_ their magic in the far future (according to the new MLP, which I guess some fans of FiM might not want to view as canon ahaha), but hey, maybe as the three pony types began fracturing before they lost their magic, pegasi rose in power with their weather control before just…skedaddling off into the mountains and becoming technologically advanced with their resources. As for unicorns becoming superstitious and not coming across nearly as royal or elegant or high society as they once were… Well, I suppose any society can fall far enough when given enough time, but also the fact unicorns were the ones who had the most _visible_ manifestation of magic could maybe mean losing that affected them pretty bad. Especially when it’s not like they had other things they could rely on for continued thriving (like the farming of earth ponies). In fact, since unicorn society was so upper crust high society-esque, maybe that made them less willing to let go of traditions and move into a new age, and with magic slowly becoming a legend (or an “old mare’s tale,” to use MLP’s words lol), they could’ve become superstitious that way. As for earth ponies… They just seem to have developed pretty normally, but the whole thing G5 added of them being able to grow plants out of thin air-as opposed to G4 where they had an _affinity_ for farming but were mostly shown as being stronger than average-I wonder about that. It kind of feels like the writers took pity on them and gave them more visible magical powers, but I guess maybe in the show’s canon that affinity for farming just eventually translated into magic plant-growing skills asjakfl. Anyway, I went off on a huge tangent there, but just some musing for fun ahaha.

[@Star_Strike]

Tangents are fun 😁

[@curepinkie1637]

since all magic was kinda sealed away, i like to think that earth pony magic evolved wherever it was (the crystal?). if it still physically existed just somewhere else, it wouldn't be impossible assuming it had been thousands of years

[@jojo-se1ne]

rarity is a great example of unicorns’ powers really only being geared towards their special talents. i remember in the last episode, rarity levitated the rock at tirek so he’d drop twilight and she’d be able to escape. rarity looked like it took ALL of her strength to move that boulder. eventually when rarity and spike are running from the baddies again, she makes a diamond shield out of magic that quickly breaks because shields are just not her special talent

[@YourFaulty]

unicorns are only OP when their talent is related to magic as a whole, such as twilight or sunset or starlight. The thing is, that isn't possible with any other type of pony, so unicorns have the chance to be unreasonable powerful, and the others just don't. The average unicorn matches up well with the average Pegasus or earth pony but Unicorns just have a higher capacity for ability, and the most powerful unicorns are leagues above the most powerful pegasi? pegasuses? (idk lmao) and earth ponys.

[@lucassoares8485]

Starlight and Twilight are prodigies and have a lot of raw power unlike the others who have medium to low raw power, the most powerful main unicorns are Trixie and Sunburst and most unicorns don't even come close to these two, the only unicorn that maybe a lot of raw power and didn't make the most of it, maybe it was Rarity who levitated a rock even though she was exhausted after that and competed with Crisallys who at that moment was strong enough to clean the floor with starlight and easily break Twilight's force field, maybe it was it was simply inconsistency since earth ponies are said to be the strongest but you are constantly using medium and even small weights or having a lot of difficulty carrying them or maybe those carts and ropes have some spell to reduce weight as the fans theorize, or maybe it's simply "friendship magic" literally. Most of the spells don't even seem to be useful in combat since all the magic users in the series in a fight only use some lightning and shields, even Starswill, who is the magic sage of the series, only does this, In MLP all races have magic and can combat enemy magic in their own ways only if they are not caught by surprise.

[@Ruby-96]

I think unicorns just feel overpowered cus almost all of the unicorns we know as main characters have magic as their talent. Also I think it feels that way because a lot of the big bads in the show have unicorn magic/horn magic and it’s usually twilight who ends up defeating them via some sort of spell/unicorn magic…and with just the theoretical notion that all unicorns could be as strong as twilight if they tried hard enough also adds to that

[@izzymoonbow36]

you forgot shining armour since he protects canterlot with his sheild spell.

[@Star_Strike]

I think because he is captain of the royal guard, this spell is considered one to match his special talent.

[@generaljimmies3429]

His cutie mark parallels that of Twilight sparkle, he is also adept in magic but with an empathis on defense.

[@jayonnaise6105]

It doesn't really help that perception when FiM seemed to mainly focus on the insane power of a select few uber-talented unicorns. Not really complaining though because Twilight & Starlight are awesome! hehe

[@DromusTH]

Cap on starlight

[@ThatsCrazy482]

​@@DromusTH Why?

[@SnowLily06]

​@@DromusTHhuh, why? She's one of the best written characters I've ever seen and in terms of power she's pretty equal to twilight

[@DromusTH]

@@SnowLily06 Man, you really need to watch more shows if you think starlight glimmer is one of the best written characters.

[@SnowLily06]

@@DromusTH eh, to each their own. I've watched a lot of shows and movies (probably too many) but starlight's redemption arc from season 5 to 9 has always stuck with me as masterful character development. Too many shows are quick to redeem characters immediately but starlight struggles with her redemption all the way until the end when she takes over as principal of the school of friendship, even challenging twilight on multiple occasions showing how much she has grown like when she called twilight and the others out for blindly agreeing with the pillars on killing the enemy instead of saving them. She's also a huge part of uniting equestria by befriending the "outcast" characters like discord and trixie plus redeeming the changelings. Overall I just really love her character and her writing they really took their time with her redemption arc and showed that people can change and be redeemed, her story actually inspires me a lot in my life.

[@beccacroce7380]

I think walking on clouds is a regular thing a Pegasus can do. Meanwhile they do still need to learn to fly.

[@Motivation-Is-Gone]

Talking about unicorns, earth ponies and Pegasi. Twilight casually becomes a Alicorn

[@shrimpchild]

Friendly reminder that Starlight Glimmer's talent is also magic, much like Twilight Sparkle's is, and so is Star Swirl's. Now let me talk about others with similar cutie marks and names, even though I haven't watched the show since, like the fifth season, I think, and have only discovered new characters through hearing people rage or gush about them. If you look at their cutie marks, they all have stars on them, and all have names relating to stars and light. Sunburst also has a cutie mark with stars on it, and a name relating to the stars (the sun) and light, and his cutie mark also relates to his talent with magic. Sunset Shimmer also has a cutie mark with the sun on it, a name relating to the stars and light and her talent relates to magic. Celestia's name means 'heavenly', or 'sky', and heaven is definitely associated with the 'light side', or the 'light', and her cutie mark is the sun, with her talent relating to magic but more commonly being interpreted with the sun since she is the one to raise and lower the sun. Moondancer, one of Twilight's friends before she set off to Ponyville, doesn't have a name exactly relating to the stars, but has a cutie mark with a star on it. Three stars, to be exact. She also looks similar to Twilight, with purple streaks in her tail and mane and similar eye colours, and she has glasses extremely similar to Human Twilight. Her talent was also hinted at to be magic, although it's not noticeable all that much since she was, quite literally, skipped over almost immediately in favour of the rest of the Mane Six. Trixie Lulamoon has a cutie mark with a star on it, and although her name isn't directly relating to actual light, 'Trixie' means 'bringer of joy', and joy is often a 'light' in dark times. You could also take 'Trixie' from 'Bellatrix', which is a star in the constellation Orion. She also has a name relating to the moon, much like Moondancer has. Her talent is related to show magic, too. Essentially, if you name a child something to do with the sun, moon and pair it with a word relating to any form of light, or give them a name like Sunlight, you've essentially wrote your child's destiny for them and they're now a prodigy at some form, if not all, magic. (Before you ask about Luna, her name literally just means 'Moon' and she has no stars on her cutie mark. It's just a moon on a black blanket.)

[@bowser3017]

Pegasi are also very durable. Rainbow blew up the barn without hurting herself. Pegasi also cleared snow from large mountains and clouds. when earth ponies have to work quite hard in large groups to clear a similar amount of snow. however i think the strongest unicorn will be stronger than the strongest pegasus

[@DefineObsessed]

I've seen this theory floating around where Starlights talent is to "humble the mighty" and bring them down when necessary. We see this when she versus Twilight, When she switches the royal sisters cutie mark, and even when she battles Discord. She stops them from going against her even if she's in the wrong. Her talent isn't just magic but magic to control those higher then her in Status,Wealth,Power or anything else.

[@Pandazillaaa]

Were?

[@nameynamd9212]

Starlight's talent feels closer to creative use of magic or spellweaving, using her fairly large magic reserves to catch someone offguard like with the umarking and crystalization spells, but not really competing in terms of raw power(Discord just using a projection to get around the banishing spell and Twilight effortlessly blocking any frontal assaults)

[@moisesmacedofiuza1174]

That is no sense

[@eeveefennecfox]

I've always thought there's different levels of magic for unicorns,so I think the unicorns that study magic are the only ones able to get to alicorn level of magic,I don't know,it's just something I thought of when all the other unicorns don't use the same levels of magic of others,it's got to be levels and ranks for them to achieve certain magic

[@KarticatArchive]

while i haven’t seen the entire video yet, i’m glad to see a video on this topic. i think that it’s important to recognize that magic is a skill to improve at like everything else and in a lot of cases it seems to be very limited depending on the unicorn’s talents as well. unicorns like twilight, starlight etc. were just more powerful because they dedicated parts of their lives to just studying magic and spells so of course they’d be magically OP but generally it seems that most unicorns just have the base spells of teleportation and levitation + talent/destiny based spells. edit: also, i would like to mention that i have a changeling OC who i consider weaker than a real unicorn due to her being another species. she can only levitate things and cast a few minor spells with a lot (and i mean a lot) of training. i can also see changelings disguised as pegasi or earth ponies having the same problem. maybe they need to consciously think about it to stand on clouds as pegasi and are just kinda weak and dont have any nature connection as earth ponies.

[@sleipnirthe8th339]

This actually annoys me when people say earth ponies aren’t special enough and need magic, but I Highly disagree. I think earth ponies are already special enough, their specialty is of course their specific skill. And even if they don’t have as unique of a power Than the other two, it still makes them interesting enough working off these challenges, Wich is why I feel g5 just rips out the challenge by giving them a over powered ability, and yes I think it’s very much overpowered compared to unicorns in that universe.

[@zakihasan704]

Did you know the creators say it’s the same universe which really just makes me wanna cry at night.

[@beeftips1628]

Yeah, I’d say rn earth ponies are better but down the line maybe not. May I remind you that in winter wishday Izzy just made up a spell on the fly and it worked as well as seemingly using magic subconsciously with just uttering a specific phrase casting a spell. This kinda annoys me as In g4 it was shown that you need to not only know the phrase but consciously use magic and even then it’s not that easy. With yknow like whole schools needed to teach magic.

[@sleipnirthe8th339]

@@beeftips1628 i did point that out in one of my vids (winterwish day review) on my channel case you don’t know

[@beeftips1628]

@@sleipnirthe8th339 no I did not know that.

[@sleipnirthe8th339]

@@beeftips1628 I mean I could recommend It, not that I want to sound weird or anything in this platform. Feels odd sometimes recommending your own stuff, ya know

[@WONDERBUBBLESTUDIOS]

SNIFF SNIFF 7 I smell bias 4:16

[@KaramelstarYT]

>:)))

[@c1borgen]

Unicorns are still overpowered in terms of the number of their possibilities, while pegasi and earth-ponies restricted to their craft. Illusion, transformation and modification, giving life to inanimate objects, mind control, speed boost, levitation, teleportation (anything), cloud walking spell (applies to anyone), laser beams (able to destroy rocks), telekinesis (it's sterile that makes them perfect doctors and in general allows doing very delicate work), immobilization, duplication and cloning objects (Starlight copied mane six's diary), opening portals (also to the limbo), magic shields, crystals and platforms, extracting and swapping cutie marks, invisibility, time traveling and even creating new spells. And there are even more less major spells.

[@crash10125]

That's not even including hidden, forgotten, or undiscovered spells.

[@callmett]

exactly. unicorns are simply above all the other races because their magic isn't limited to one specialty. any unicorn could literally do ANY of these spells if they tried hard enough and put in the work.

[@lazyrat6687]

They are limited though... It takes an incredibly skilled unicorn like Twilight to learn these specific spells. Not to mention the energy drainage it does to Twilight herself, imagine an average unicorn

[@c1borgen]

@Lazy Rat personally, i see that it depends on how passionate the unicorn is about magic. We know a group of old mage unicorns that raised sun before royal sisters, including Starswirl, we know Starlight, Sunset, and Celestia's school for mages. Also in the episode when Glimglam was hiding her anger from Trixie, she taught Trixie a new spell just in seconds.

[@DefineObsessed]

​@@callmett No they need to have the magical talent as shown in the video.

[@analothor]

What did we learn today ? That twilight has dedicated her life to her magical talents and starlight is a freak of nature

[@ThatsCrazy482]

Starlight did her fair share of study too 😅

[@capansonyaiii]

Flurry Heart is the real freak of nature. /lh

[@imaspecofdust3913]

i like to put it into categories of passive vs active magic. Like an example would be cloud walking would be passive, and active magic would be controlling the weather or levitating stuff.

[@orionskittles]

2:40 the audacity of using Scootaloo as an example of a pegasus child here when Scootaloo can't fly

[@FirestormDDash]

Lets not forget, as per journal of two sisters and mentioned in one episode, over straining your unicorn magic can permanently cut you off your access to magic.

[@moalzaben5554]

0:42 I kinda felt bad for twi when she first met Star swirl, the guy was a douchebag at first, but then became good. I’ve learnt that it’s sometimes best not meet our idols, they can sometimes be real jerks and egotistical.

[@loserme414]

I mean, Unicorns can control the weather too if there are a lot of them and or have a talent related to it. That's literally how Canterlot handles their Winter Wrap-Up. And when Rarity temporarily had Rainbow Dash's Cutie Mark, she was able to control the weather fairly easily, albeit she was terrible at the job because she wanted it to have patterns. And it's not like Cutie Marks are the reason they could do so, like how Fluttershy can't make people laugh despite having Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark at the time. And if you count G5, the Unicorns can basically function as the dreaded Windigos by just saying a greeting, and reverse it by also saying a greeting. No studies needed, and the reversal spell wasn't even studied properly but just thought of on the spot. Wasn't even a "new" magic like the Earth Ponies' plant magic but implied to be something they always had if not for everypony not having access to magic in general.

[@albatross1688]

Good points. I personally think of an academic Unicorn studying magic as being akin to a Pegasus who specializes in flight. While one may be a more academic discipline, and the other is more physical, both represent a very small percentage of their race as a whole. Headcanon time, but I personally think Rarity is quite powerful in her own right, and only lacks the abilities that Twilight has because she doesn't need those skills to be a fashion designer. We all know Fluttershy is powerful in her own right too.

[@maravreloaded]

Starlight Glimmer: _I'm gonna end this pony's whole career._

[@Schleich.Wilds_123.]

Trixie: Weak. Also Trixie: Easily able to find an artifact and become the most powerful unicorn ever.

[@tarabaumgarten3827]

They’re not necessarily overpowered from a concurring the world perspective, but having natural telekinetic abilities? In a world with no hands nonetheless?? That’s way op.

[@Stella737E]

I already know that. Powerful unicorns like Starlight Glimmer are powerful because they are talented and trained! Not all alicorns are like Starlight.

[@GachaKittie]

You can tell when rarity does a levitation spell on something bigger than a tea pot she gets winded

[@Gresekjr122]

4:21 In the Rainbow Factory. Awesome job Star Strike. Keep up the good work. Have a wonderful day.

[@user_Alex-isst]

Given how Twilight can actually float on clouds when stopping "her", and how Unicorns can use their magic to move, manipulate and if they wanted to they could just use their magic to fly and do their wanted desires

[@nameynamd9212]

Unless they also use Accelero, it's slower than pegasi or biological flight

[@vukmijatovic]

Pegasai magic : easy and power full Unicorns: more training makes them more powerful than some alicorns but averge unicorn is is just little more power than earthpony Earthpony:idk

[@ruqianhow7618]

But earth ponies seem to have some magic other than strength with the special senses and pinky sense or something. Not to mention, earth pony families are huge, they might be able to outnumber and overwhelm if a fight was to happen

[@Zeldafand]

Then you remember ALL unicorns have Telekinesis and every point just made is invalid because Telekinesis is inherently OP.

[@DOLLOFFICAL]

are you watching me, i just finished watching this episode and this on my fyp

[@Dreamscape195]

Sweetie Belle teleports in the episode where they accidentally grow up for a while. I remember being extremely surprised by that

[@1conicpersonality]

The reason Twilight Sparkle is actually strong, is because in a certain episode that I can’t remember, twilight sparkle gets her cutie mark by using magic to crack spike’s egg, giving herself her cutie mark when successfully cracking the egg and causing lightning, she had a magic cutie mark from the start until she got called the princess of friendship.

[@jotaro8054]

I am 15 and just start watching mlp and it make me feel old and it make me feel like revisiting my childhood

[@hariman7727]

If earth ponies lose their magic, food crisis/construction crisis. If pegasi lose their power, weather crisis. If unicorns lose their power, mass inconvenience.

[@alittleofsomething]

Pegasi need training as well. They might not need to learn to walk on clouds bit they sure do as hell need to learn to fly.

[@KyuuDesperation]

I guess that's why Cadence became an alicorn, and that's probably also why Pegasi have royalty in Zephyr Heights.

[@SolarDaisy]

I like the logic in the fic "I'll always be here for you" (and the sequel) by the abyss, where a unicorn even twilight and celestial have limits, and if they go past those limits they could potentially lose their magic all together

[@Spartathekitten]

I think pegusi are so powerful only because they put so much focus as a collective on training everyone. They had a highly millataristic society prior to uniting, so I wouldn't be surprised if like in similar societies, they put heavy focus on skills that can be used by everyone for everyone to keep things running. Like how USA school system is based in creating workers with the option to branch out later but not before. Meanwhile, earth n unicorn societies seem to take the approach of teaching general stuff until a cutie mark appears and then focusing on what will serve the individual rather than training the collective society. Which is how you end up with ponies like trixie, who, despite proving she can learn more advanced spells like transfiguration when she makes teacups with starlight never really learned until meeting her cuz it wasnt considered her specialization. So all Pegasus are prob trained in weather and flight classes as a mandate, and the most talented at it just happen to do those jobs now because unity allows them to specialize in it. Theres a strong chance in an alternate world despite her talent fluttershy would be forced into the job of weather pony in the factory some where just cuz tending to animals wouldn’t be a viable career path without an united equestria.

[@TheEvilFlowerReaps]

Just something else Rainbow is NOT an exception when it comes to sleeping on clouds, in fact from what we saw it's the standard as Cloudsdale is the main Pegasus city we see and it's LITERALLY MADE OF CLOUDS they subconsciously walk on clouds and it seems very easy. Fluttershy isn't that great at flying yet she can easily walk on clouds HECK SCOOTS WHO CAN'T FLY ALMOST AT ALL DOES IT EASILY

[@roseypcg325]

>Unicorns need to work hard to be good at magic >Pegasi need to work hard to be good fliers >Pegasi need a group of hundreds just to make a tornado and thousands working a facility just to do a bit of weather >A single trained unicorn: "Look at what they have to do to mimic a fraction of our power"

[@pepray]

Bro is glazing pegasi so hard

[@neonrose89yearsago23]

Thisss

[@ACE-ns1yl]

ur videos give the same energy as Austin from the science department from film/game theory. i love it

[@DoggoDoesStuff1]

To simplify, Pegasi take the median, but Unicorns take the mean since Unicorns have such powerful outliers.

[@summermelody7942]

Are you sure you aren’t just trying to say that you are better than unicorns? 😏

[@Star_Strike]

Hehehe. Noooooooo.....

[@xoxopenquin]

aint no way im carrying stuff with my mouth, idc ill study and my cutie mark will be mary sue

[@TheRandom_Boy22]

When I was a child I always thought that unicorns when they faught with the other ponies before equestria they got the far end of the stick They depend on the strength of both terrestrial and pegasus. All they do is raise the sun and moon all of them together and then they get no magic afterwards. They work themselves to exhaustion and all that to not even have the smallest bits of strength.

[@lucilucid]

Love to see MLP vids still coming out.

[@jakedragon5063]

00:14 Nah, Twilight still didn't had enough magic, her hair wasn't moving like Celestia and Luna

[@Philomenapipp4petals]

great video. but explain why pumpkin cake was able to levitate herself as a baby.

[@Star_Strike]

According to Rarity and Twilight, baby unicorns get strange magic surges that come and go. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJS0f3urot2In7M

[@Philomenapipp4petals]

@@Star_Strike also sweetie belle teleport in episode (s9e22)

[@sharaheartsixx]

@@Philomenapipp4petalsIt was established she'd been taking lessons from Twilight.

[@grappling.enthusiast]

@@sharaheartsixx that sounds op asf

[@1Maklak]

It reminds me: In a 3D MMO game with Ponyville simulation, everyone wanted to be a Pegasus, because they could fly and the increased mobility was great.

[@EditVerse-x7r]

In my opinion, unicorns wield far greater power than commonly acknowledged. Consider this: they possess the ability to manipulate clouds, a skill not every average pony possesses. Imagine a scenario where Cloudsdale suddenly turns hostile; while princesses could intervene, let's focus on others. Starlight, with her extensive practice, is an exception. What about unicorns with innate talent, like the Cake twins or even a royal baby princess who hasn't yet studied magic? Even in infancy, such examples prove my point. Regarding pegasi, while they may not require extensive study, they still possess limited capabilities. Quality over quantity applies here; unicorns, despite needing to study, demonstrate broader magical prowess. For instance, Twilight and Starlight have both time-traveled, a feat far beyond pegasi abilities. While pegasi excel naturally with weather manipulation and flight, unicorns' magic aligns closely with their cutie marks, often emerging instinctively. Skill matters greatly; Twilight's princess status resulted from her dedication, contrasting with Fluttershy's gradual mastery of flight. Earth ponies, while strong, lack magical finesse in Generation 4. Although young earth ponies gain strength with age, some struggle with flight compared to adept pegasi. Ultimately, unicorn potential shines brightest: in a hypothetical peak scenario with rigorous training, unicorns would likely prevail over pegasi and earth ponies. In conclusion, while skill and talent vary among ponies, unicorns possess the highest potential. Their versatility in magic, combined with dedicated training, sets them apart in the realm of Equestria.

[@mensoree]

I like to think that if unicorns didnt have their magic and pegasis lost the ability to fly, the earth ponies would stomp them in a matter of minutes. Pinkie pie would just turn them into cupcakes.

[@Aidselin]

4:28 I just got a flashback to a certain piece of media in the MLP Iceberg.

[@chada4806]

I would argue that the balance to Pegasi is that they have to train to control their flight.

[@frank_calvert]

2:00 Problem with this point is twilight and starlight also did the studying and muscle work. they too had to go from a normal unicorn level. which goes into 2:51, this issue isnt solved by "well some unicorns are just exceptions" because the issue is - judging by the study twilight and glimglam had to do - that any unicorn can theoretically do anything they did if they put the work in. another issue is how all this study is off screen, so it inevitably feels OP to the viewers even if it may not actually be.

[@aloha516]

Weren't twilight and starlight above average in magic already? Their cutie marks represent some type of magic therefore meaning they would've been somewhat stronger than most even if they didn't study

[@frank_calvert]

@@aloha516 Yes you're correct. The issue is that anyone basic unicorn like Starlight can get to the level she can. Even though she has a natural propensity to learning magic, it still means any unicorn could get to that level with enough dedication and that's the issue.

[@oklol7799]

@@frank_calvertactually that’s not true. Every unicorn can get very good at magic, but not necessarily on the level of Twilight and Starlight and especially Starswirl. That’s their special talent. Look at Sunburst. He studied magic his whole life but never got crazy good at it because he doesn’t have the natural ability. I think it’s like any talent, especially athletics. You can practice and train very hard and get good results, but there’s always going to be the cream of the crop. It’s just like the wonder bolts, lots of ponies train to be one, but many aren’t good enough because they aren’t as talented at flying as rainbow dash and others

[@angelaneeley207]

In my opinion unicorns are like the wizards of mlp they start out weak but there power cap is insane.

[@caddincaddin8552]

I CANT HELP IT all I think about when I hear your voice is Chris from Total Drama

[@someone2447]

Wasn't there something about pegasi being good soldiers because of thier strength?

[@Kull1339]

Don't need to imagine much, in Fallout Equestria, the grand crossover fic, Pegasi closed up the whole sky all over equestria.

[@YEthanT-N]

The factory is proof of weakness needing so many people and celestis school will be able to decimate every person

[@MillyThe_Rat]

We have an episode in wich Starlight teaches Trixie spells, things like transfiguration and teleportation, that we as viewers are used to because our mc, Twilight, does all that with ease, but for Trixie it was hard and impressive

[@brandoncole5533]

When you can find a group of pegasi that can raise the sun we can talk But given that all it takes is a few strong unicorns to raise the sun I don't see how pegasi can compete with this Literally having the ability to end the world is insane Not to mention all a unicorn has to do to immobilize the other races is to just cast a levitation spell that constricts their movements and book they're done

[@fluttershyisnotadoormat4678]

yeah, that seems like a good thesis :3

[@projectamixime]

The most powerful magic in Equestria is the one Zecora used to fill that cup of hers

[@viaryth4301]

Honestly I have a theory about MLP magic. We all know that all pony races have magic within. What if earthponies were able to focus on the magic inside their bodies and kinda grow a horn? I know this sounds just stupid and impossible but since it's magic it could technically work. There surely are endless possibilities

[@nameynamd9212]

Rather than shifting their physical appearance, maybe they could channel magic through a different medium, by pooling magic and channeling it through the planet/terrain for example

[@lostpony4885]

Most of them huddle in cities and just work doorknobs and combs.

[@MrNobody47710]

Cloudsdale as a weapon? Reminds me of the Enclave in "Fallout: Equestria." Basically, the natural abilities of pegasi made it easier for them to effectively isolate themselves from the apocalypse, while maintaining their war technology. Their main flaws are that they cannot create new war technology without unicorns and earth ponies, and that they have very little practical combat experience. They also picked a bad time to take action against the rest of Equestria, because the ponies on the surface were finally organized enough to put forth a solid resistance.

[@virtualcolt]

Wow I never realized how trully insane pegasi really are

[@robertnoxon9246]

Well, in Griffon the Brushoff it mentions Junior Flght Camp. This implies the need for training as does the episode where Dash goes to the Wonderbolt Academy. For further proof, I'd point to Fluttershy. She is nearly killed falling off a cloud & even as an adult "Fluttershy can hardly fly".

[@RainbowGale]

Wonder what Josh Scorcher would say if he saw this video? He’s always going on about unicorns being the “master race“.

[@Espeeeon]

"Clicke here if you want to check it out" Me: "Click where?!?!"

[@Sleipmon]

Well it does make sense if you think about it. In the hearth warming play the Pegasus were warriors so it makes sense that they would be good at it. Weather magic is likely one of the reasons dragons never tried invading Equestria or were shown the way home if they did.

[@PiCollector]

What about earth ponies though? Even though they didn’t have magic in g4, they have pretty strong magic in g5

[@capansonyaiii]

Maybe at a base level they're not the most powerful, but I do think they have the most potential out of the three core pony races, though it takes training like you said. And it kind of seems like unicorns dominate the upper class anyway, with the capitol of Equestria, Canterlot being mostly inhabited by unicorns, and having been founded by unicorns. And Celestia's supposedly illustrious school of magic only being attended by unicorns. I kinda wish MLP had done a deeper dive into how that all works.

[@Nutellla]

The fact its potentially possible is already good enough of a reason. Or even just having weak telekinesis to help when you dont have human hands...

[@katuwu5706]

the pony tri-race power balancing is: make food quickly, fly, or have invisible hands that can reach anywhere and do most things

[@SandyGarnelle]

Just some Cloudsdale pro-pega-nda

[@catkook543]

so basically, unicorns have a high power cealing, but also a very high skill floor

[@murphyrise4786]

In the past, i've touched on this as well. A war against pegasi would be a frozen hell. When hail, lightning, and clouds are within ones grasp. Controlling the battlefield is an easy task.

[@johnnycontroletti2000]

Unicorns are weak until they *inhales* steal your hooves!