What can unicorns do?

[daffodil101]

As I was cleaning a bunch of ponies it occurred to me... what special things can all the unicorns do?  (I'm thinking of G1 but I reckon all gens would be interesting!) 

Some of them have specific individual powers, like Fizzy (making bubbles) or Gusty (blowing things).  And they can wink in and wink out, as we know from the cartoons.  This seems to be something shared by all unicorns rather than a special individual power.

Backcards are another source of info, though they seem to attribute special powers to earth and pegasus ponies rather than just to unicorns.  I guess the comics, books etc would have other info as well. 

So this would have two parts-- tell us what you know about unicorn lore, maybe how it differs from gen to gen, and if you know a pony's individual powers!

[Bekuno]

That is a good point about G1 unicorns have specific magic powers matching their symbols. I always really liked that idea.

G3 wise I can't recall the unicorns much off the top of my head because they never had too big of a role in the media outside of The Runaway Rainbow and Welcome to Unicornia. I believe their horns glowed, but that's all I remember 

G4 is pretty different. Unicorns can study magic and spells to increase their knowledge, and every unicorn is different in what their magic can do. Some can't do much more than levitate objects and light up the dark. Others can use it to change objects, repair things, freeze time, attack, defend, and all kinds of other things. It would all depend on the unicorn and what they knew and practiced. Some were just more magically-inclined than others were. Some of them also have magic that relates to their symbols. Like Rarity has magic that can locate gems. Twilight's symbol literally represents magic so she can learn a lot more than other ponies. Celestia and Luna have the magic to control the sun and moon. Trixie uses hers to but on magic shows. Cadence has a very strong love magic.

So I think G4 takes G1's idea and expands upon it so that unicorns aren't limited to their magical abilities.

[Khayman81]

That's a good question.
I have only G1 unicorns, and finding what power each one has is pretty hard in the end. I know each one has the hability to blink in and out in an open space, they can make their horns glow, and have a specific power. Since only the ones from the cartoon have one power, for the other I had to find something that would somehow match their symbol, or sometimes not really (how is buttons anyhow related to telekinesis?). As it has been said, the cards give magical power to every pony, so it's not what I would think of.
So in my case I had to find some other powers. I know that the other generations expand more the magic they have, which is great since I find G1 too short on that question.
The thing would be, where or how do you find about their magic?

[Shaz]

According to the UK fact file:

Majesty can make wishes come true when she twirls her magic horn.
Glory seems to be able to move long distances: "her magic takes her from kingdom to kingdom"
Gusty can turn leaves autumn colours, even in summer.
Moondancer can light the way in the dark.
Twilight can create a deep mist.
Powder can make things out of snow/make it snow.
Buttons makes bonnets and party dresses and uses her unicorn magic to "add a little sparkle and glitter to all her creations".
Ribbon uses her magic "to make pretty bows appear in the ponies' makes and tails when they're not looking".
Moonstone can move quickly from one place to another.
Windy's horn gives her "magical energy" so she can run fast.
Galaxy seems to be able to fly(?).

Phew, there's a lot of ponies in that factfile! One of the things I love about G1 is how all the ponies have magic, not just the unicorns. PonyLand must be in a sort of perpetual magic chaos.

[Khayman81]

And if you try to be accurate and look to the cards, cartoons and comics, you just turn mad. Since sometimes they contradict each other.

BTW Gipsy has the power to see the future according to the comic books.

[Taffeta]

The factfile only goes up to 1987, too Let me see what I can remember. For some reason I'm remembering a bunch of pegasus powers, though...hrm. In the comics and the factfile it isn't just unicorns who have powers and the most magical pony of all is an earth pony, so..

Ah, Bouquet had a hat that she could make giant and fly on, I think.
Beachball could definitely make beachballs appear.
I'm wondering if Sail Away had some kind of sailboat magic...I really cant remember about Rainbow Rider, since my brain is only focused on Rainbow Magic's wishes...
Blackberry Pie also had something to do with food and cooking.
Galaxy has another thing in the comic but I can't remember what it is.
Fizzy doesn't make bubbles in the UK, but fireworks. She had her own festival, Fizziwhizz night, and she'd reappear every November to celebrate it. Although now I think about it, maybe she does make bubbles...I remember she's clumsy but I can't totally recall if there's a story with bubbles in it.
Twirler could make flying records! And I think D.J could do something about music.
Tuneful...she did something with her music...ah yes. She wriggled her nose and made it possible for others to hear the singing of the butterflies! So i guess she was a pony amplifier?

I know there are more but this is from my memory and the comics are all at home. Just there are tons of pony powers from all species in the UK comics, and there's no specific privilege unicorns get over the rest...


There is no winking in and out in the comics by any pony except Lightning the Mountain Boy as far as I can recall...

[Khayman81]

Wow! That's a big amount of knowledge !!!!
I did my research just regarding the Tv show. And it was really hard to find any info on the net.

[telelle_wings]

I think Majesty could literally do anything. Didn't she bring into existence the first ever boy pony?

[Al-1701]

Yes she did.  Majesty could literally do whatever the plot needed.

And Moondancer put Cotton Candy to sleep in her backcard story.

[Artemesia's Garden]

@Taffeta so exciting to hear about those ponies, Boquet and Tuneful have such great stories!

[Ponyfan]

Baby Moondancer and Moondancer could glow in the dark in the G1 storybooks. In the original special/Escape from Midnight Castle  only Twilight could wink in and out. I think she's the only unicorn that can transfer objects while winking in and out also.



Ponyfan

[Artemesia's Garden]

It would be great to expand My Little Wiki to include character traits for G1 girls plus a bibliography of all known G1 media so those traits could be referenced.

[Cadence]

Don't forget, Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Cadance etc are technically alicorns, and aside from granting them the ability to fly, this title also seems to grant them some level of royalty/prestige.

[telelle_wings]

It would be great to expand My Little Wiki to include character traits for G1 girls plus a bibliography of all known G1 media so those traits could be referenced.

This is an excellent idea and one I'm willing to work on or at least setup the bones for it on the little wiki when it's editable again.

[Artemesia's Garden]

It would be great to expand My Little Wiki to include character traits for G1 girls plus a bibliography of all known G1 media so those traits could be referenced.

This is an excellent idea and one I'm willing to work on or at least setup the bones for it on the little wiki when
 it's editable again.

Cheers, I would absolutely love that. I can help, I have UK comics 1 to 40 ( I am missing 1, 3 and a couple more though) and some story books. And I can go through whatever UK back cards and fact file pages are available online.