Was there really an explaination as to why ponies didn't always wink/teleport...

[MJNSEIFER]

...or did I imagine it?

There are various times in G1 (and G4 as well) where a unicorn could just saved a lot of time, and "winked" (or teleported) to where she/he is supposed to be (which is mostly not done to avoid giving the story an easy ending, I understand).  However, I am sure that at somepoint in G1 it is explained why they don't always "just wink over there" somehow, but I can't quite remember what it was, if it happened.

Anyone know? 

[TwistedRiver]

I think I remember Fizzy doing that back in the G1 cartoons but having trouble doing it a lot. I could be wrong though, it's been years since I got out of bed to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

[Skeen]

I seem to remember it being that G1's could only wink through open space.  So if, say, they were caught in a net, they couldn't just wink out of it.

Unless it was a plot point, of course, then they could do anything.   

[hathorcat]

I don't think there was ever a specific reason or at least one which was made true through all media - as Skeen says the story plot could easily change a truth. Sometimes they do it when in danger and sometimes its just for fun. I guess its like Harry Potter Why doesnt everyone just apparate everywhere? Its a talent used only in certain circumstances or when the story needs it

[reanna-mator]

I'd been thinking of it as a restriction in terms of being imprisoned or restrained, but I like the "open space" explanation a lot better. It does leave a lot open for speculation, but works to explain when a unicorn can and can't wink...

... plot devices not withstanding. Lately unicorn winking makes me think of FiM when Twilight is trying to convince Applejack to let her friends help her with the apple harvest, and while talking to her she teleport spams all over the place for no clear reason.

[Tirac]

They can only wink through empty space.
They can't wink out of cages, restraints or nets.
I also don't think they can wink through buildings either.

[ValeofSpring]

Yes, Skeen and Tirac are right--it was said (at least in the "Return of Tambelon" ep I think?) that the unicorns couldn't wink from behind bars, through walls, etc. 

One thing to remember though is that it was only in the 1986-87 cartoon that all unicorns could "wink."  In the original 1984 special, it really seems like only Twilight has that ability.  Moondancer and Glory both had plenty of reason to wink (given the circumstances) and didn't.  In the 1985 special there is no winking at all.

[STLGusty]

Yes, Skeen and Tirac are right--it was said (at least in the "Return of Tambelon" ep I think?) that the unicorns couldn't wink from behind bars, through walls, etc. 

It was like that in "Baby, It's Cold Outside," too!  Galaxy tells Megan she can't wink through the walls (they were behind bars, in jail). 

[Ninox]

One thing to remember though is that it was only in the 1986-87 cartoon that all unicorns could "wink."  In the original 1984 special, it really seems like only Twilight has that ability.  Moondancer and Glory both had plenty of reason to wink (given the circumstances) and didn't.  In the 1985 special there is no winking at all.

My personal G1 headcanon is that winking is a skill that was only discovered by unicorns in the recent past, and it took a few years for it to be perfected to the level it reached in the movie and the TV series. (This would also be a convenient explanation for why Mimic's ancestor [mentioned in The Golden Horseshoes] didn't wink out of Dream Valley after ending up there and losing her magic horseshoes. )

[Al-1701]

I don't think there was ever a specific reason or at least one which was made true through all media - as Skeen says the story plot could easily change a truth. Sometimes they do it when in danger and sometimes its just for fun. I guess its like Harry Potter Why doesnt everyone just apparate everywhere? Its a talent used only in certain circumstances or when the story needs it

Actually, they were perfectly consistent with can't wink through anything but open air in the G1 cartoon.  (I know.  I've gone over the series with a fine tooth comb for a project lately.)  They also had a range limit.  At least it's better than the limitation on unicorns in Dungeons and Dragons where unicorns could only teleport once per day.

As for Friendship is Magic, it seems like only the more skilled unicorns are able to teleport and the rules don't seem to be as well defined.

[hathorcat]

I don't think there was ever a specific reason or at least one which was made true through all media - as Skeen says the story plot could easily change a truth. Sometimes they do it when in danger and sometimes its just for fun. I guess its like Harry Potter Why doesnt everyone just apparate everywhere? Its a talent used only in certain circumstances or when the story needs it

Actually, they were perfectly consistent with can't wink through anything but open air in the G1 cartoon.  (I know.  I've gone over the series with a fine tooth comb for a project lately.)  They also had a range limit.  At least it's better than the limitation on unicorns in Dungeons and Dragons where unicorns could only teleport once per day.

As for Friendship is Magic, it seems like only the more skilled unicorns are able to teleport and the rules don't seem to be as well defined.

Unfortunately there isn't across all media. Some of the comics and books use the ability to help with the plot. The same general rules apply of course but a little looser and in a few cases there certainly is not a restriction on distance or even on open space. But then again, like a lot of things created which had a young audience, there is some poetic license permitted on certain stories in order to flow a story better. So while perhaps, as mentioned, there is a general rule of why sometimes its bent a little.

[Skeen]

Yes, Skeen and Tirac are right--it was said (at least in the "Return of Tambelon" ep I think?) that the unicorns couldn't wink from behind bars, through walls, etc. 

It was like that in "Baby, It's Cold Outside," too!  Galaxy tells Megan she can't wink through the walls (they were behind bars, in jail). 

That is EXACTLY the scene I was vaguely remembering, thank you! 

[Ponyfan]

I remember the "can only wink through open space" thing also. As Valeof Spring said at first Twilight was the only unicorn that could do it and she had to wish for it before she could.   Was it Baby Ribbon that always had trouble winking and Ribbon had to help her out? 

Ponyfan

[MJNSEIFER]

Thanks for the answers, it's interesting to hear how things were done.

I'll have to decide how to go about it in my project as well, I'll probably go with the eventual G1 thing of "only through open space" even though my project is in the G4 world (it's not limited to G4 stuff though).

Was it Baby Ribbon that always had trouble winking and Ribbon had to help her out? 

Ponyfan

Yes, it was.  In "The Return of Tambelon" she has difficulty, and only a part of her is visable when she winks back in.

[Shenanigans]

I always wondered that as well and I figured it was so they wouldn't make things too easy

And I always wondered that about Twilight Sparkle in FIM too. She seems to be able to do it easily, but there are some things (I think in the episode where Pinkie twitches and wears the umbrella hat) that I'm like, "just wink out!" through the end of the episode