Are we sure Twilight and Cadance are really alicorns?

[Slashy 101]

We never saw them do earth pony magic.

[Fhaolan 4,484]

True, but let's be honest, have we seen Celestia or Luna do Earth Pony stuff either? For that matter, what Earth Pony have we seen do active Earth Pony magic? ... Well, okay, probably Maud with that whole grind rocks to dust in seconds, but that's portrayed as something *she* can do, not necessarily all Earth Ponies.

[Castle Bleck 19,387]

Remember when Discord got them to pull that chariot for him in Three's A Crowd?

 

It's been speculated that Earth Pony magic enabled them to do that.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

The narrative of the series unequivocally states that they are Alicorns. That's how I'm sure that they are.

[Melted Dog 161]

As far as I know, earth ponies and pegasi don't have any visible 'magic', but a more strengthened connection to nature/weather.

 

Think of it like skills in an RPG. Unicorn magic is more active, but earth pony and pegasus magic is more passive.

 

tl;dr You can't see earth pony magic.

Edited May 3, 2016 by Picard Corgi

[Concerned Bystander 2,904]

Not only do they have both a horn and wings, but it has also been categorically stated in the cartoon that they are Alicorns, ergo, they are Alicorns.

 

Of course it has been speculated in the fandom that there is more than one type of Alicorn though, you have the immortal 'natural' Alicorns, and then the (allegedly) mortal 'ascended' Alicorns.  The general consensus seems to be that Celestia and Luna are of the former type, with Twilight and Cadance being the latter.  However, even that reasonably solid principle has been cast into doubt because of recent events, ie. Flurry Heart, who is an abomination.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

There is this really clever fanfic called Earth Ponies Are Overpowered that goes into some very interesting explanations and head canon on Earth Pony Magic as it relates to Alicorns. 

[Phanact 333]

We never saw them do earth pony magic.

Uhhh, what counts as earth poni magic anyway?

 

They're stronk? 

[Castle Bleck 19,387]

Uhhh, what counts as earth poni magic anyway?

 

They're stronk? 

 

At least in comparison to the other 2 races, yes.

 

That, and something to do with being able to manipulate soil like how Pegasi can do clouds.

Edited May 3, 2016 by A.V.

[Midnight Seashell 206]

Cadence and Twilight are artificial alicorns

[Memory Lane 131]

As far as they care to define Alicorn, Cadance and Twilight qualify. It's true though... Earth Pony magic isn't well represented, even among natural born Earth Ponies. That's something that's always bothered me.

 

Why is it they never mention Earth Pony magic when talking about Alicorns? It's always about "earning your wings", as though that were everything. When Flurry Heart was born, I recall Pinkie Pie regarding her as a Unicorn and a Pegasus, but nothing else.

 

They should really dedicate an episode to exploring more deeply every tribes magic.

[Officer Strike 152]

Yeah....kinda like their wearing paper horns or something.

[cmarston1 5,960]

If the show says that they are alicorns, then it is good enough for me.

[Scootalove 10,689]

I'd say they are actually alicorns, sure they know when to showcase their earth pony strength.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

If the show says that they are alicorns, then it is good enough for me.

That's exactly what I think.

[Skyling 14]

One has to remember that "earth pony magic" is mostly a fandom creation to begin with - it's very ill defined in the show, and when it's touched upon it's always in relation to farming and plant growing, or "connection to land" if you want to be generous.

 

Strength? Endurance? Toughness? Those are things that have no actual support in the show that the fandom has assigned them (got to give them poor underdogs something against all the obvious advantages of Unicorns and Pegasi ) 

 

Maud aside (which is such a fringe case to be about as representative of your average earth pony as Twilight was of your average unicorn), the greatest displays of durability actually come from Rainbow Dash and Twilight (a pegasus and a unicorn), and greatest displays of strength from Twilight and Rarity (carrying Tom around ... Mac did pull a house along, but then again he was hyped on Twilight's freaky love potion at that time), and Twilight/Cadence (pulling along Dicord's golden monstrosity of a "charriot" in the sky)

 

So ... yeah - I'd say Twilight and Cadence have displayed all the traits of your typical alicorn.

[Untitled Goose Q 5,138]

It's worth remembering that Earth Pony and Pegasi magic is passive- for Pegasi it allows them to fly, and walk on clouds. We don't know excatly what Earth Pony magic does, so the Alicorns may have used it without us knowing.

[Merion 783]

That, and something to do with being able to manipulate soil like how Pegasi can do clouds.

 

Some wicked earthbending skills came to my mind after reading this.

 

But seriously, we've never actually seen earth ponies do anything like that. Maud's stone grinding and Mac's ploughing prove that they are physically strong and that's pretty much it.

[Sunny Fox 5,952]

The most earth magicky thing we've seen any alicorn actually do is when Luna cracked the ground with a stomp. Are we sure Celestia is actually an alicorn?

[Slashy 101]

The most earth magicky thing we've seen any alicorn actually do is when Luna cracked the ground with a stomp. Are we sure Celestia is actually an alicorn?

We don't actually. I guess I thought it would be a fun way to retcon them being the same as Celestia and Luna if that was ever desired.

[Lil Pip 775]

Buck Testa, on 03 May 2016 - 12:21 PM, said:

There is this really clever fanfic called Earth Ponies Are Overpowered that goes into some very interesting explanations and head canon on Earth Pony Magic as it relates to Alicorns. 

Hmm lemme guess, its because it increases all their stats so when they do magic its stronger which is how alicorns tend to have more magic in the first place?

[Buck Testa 5,505]

Hmm lemme guess, its because it increases all their stats so when they do magic its stronger which is how alicorns tend to have more magic in the first place?

I said it was clever

 

It goes into an in depth explanation on how earth pony magic functions and how it relates to Alicorns. Spoilers beyond this point

 

 

In the fic, one of the prime abilities that earth ponies have at their disposal is life drain and life pulses. They use their magic through their hooves to either instill magic into the land and plants to make them grow...

 

Or drawing life force from the earth and plants to increase their own lifespans. That is why Pinkie was planning for her parents 500th birthday party, because of their earth pony magic preserving their life. 

The reason why Granny Smith looks the way she does is she expelled too much magic out of her and caused herself to age rapidly and wasn't able to reverse it. She can still make herself youthful every now and then though

 

When Pinkie Pie had her cutie mark switched with Applejacks mark, she ended up sucking the life out of Sweet Apple Acres, and they had to take several days to rejuvenate it. On the plus side Pinkie will probably live forever. 

 

This relates to Alicorns because this is where they draw their eternal youth from. They are just as capable of this life drain/life pulse as Earth Ponies. 

 

Another ability Earth Ponies have is their prehensile manes. Both Pinkie and Applejack have displayed themselves to be able to use their hairs like limbs, especially in the case of Pinkie whom even holds flashlights and other things in there. She also has used her mane to dig through the ground as fast as a diamond dog. 

 

This Earth Pony Magic is exhibited in Alicorn's in their Iconic Mane styles

 

That's just a couple things he goes into. Its really rather fascinating observations. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by Buck Testa

[cider float 2,539]

From what I've seen alicorns can only do unicorn stuff and they can fly like a pegasus.

 

They haven't shown to be able to change the weather though. Maybe with unicorn magic the way Rarity did but eh.

[powerpuff-tsubasa 448]

i would be sure. i mean a horse with a horn and wings does make it an alicorn. isnt it?

[Stardust* 3,302]

Although this was a rather silly video, the thoughts behind it all were interesting and it stated everything that I was thinking lol. 

 

 

Edit: and to answer the original question. Yes. they are really alicorns. They poses the power of the earth ponies. They can grow, they have the strength and they can deal with the seasons and such. 

 

 

Also... the hair. obviously. Cadence and Twilight will get it eventually lol

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by Stardust*