Should Rarity learn some new spells?

[cider float 2,538]

I always felt it's a waste that Rarity is a unicorn and don't know many spells compared to Twilight. She should get some new spells maybe some useful for a dangerous situation.

[Concerned Bystander 2,903]

I always felt it's a waste that Rarity is a unicorn and don't know many spells compared to Twilight. She should get some new spells maybe some useful for a dangerous situation.

 

It's been said in the cartoon (see 'Boast Busters') that Unicorns usually only have a select few spells that relate directly to their talent, hence Rarity's magic is restricted to spells that are useful to her work as a fashion designer.

 

Ponies like Twilight are slightly different because magic itself is her talent, giving her a far wider arsenal of magic to choose from.

Edited November 5, 2016 by Concerned Bystander

[HereComesTom 2,268]

I think Rarity did have some kind of direct-damage beam spell in the 100th episode.  It didn't do much damage to the bugbear, but she did it.

 

That being said, I think you're right, and Rarity could stand to demonstrably learn a few spells.  Though it wouldn't surprise me if she did learn some new spells off-camera as part of her fashion business, and those spells just haven't been relevant to the plot of any episode.

[Knightgem 158]

From what I've seen, yes Rarity has spells that are used for her work, but we have seen her make use of that magic in an offensive manner. The pillow fight from 'Look before you sleep' is but one example. And she has been seen to teleport (one of the Equestria games episodes). And if you recall 'winter wrap up', she was making nests for the birds, there's nothing that says she couldn't camoflage traps. Being a unicorn she is able to otherwise lift things without the use of hooves so weilding a rapier (a big needle more or less) could certainly be possible.

[cmarston1 5,959]

I think it would be nice to see her with a new spell or two.

[Sunny Fox 5,952]

From what I've seen, yes Rarity has spells that are used for her work, but we have seen her make use of that magic in an offensive manner. The pillow fight from 'Look before you sleep' is but one example. And she has been seen to teleport (one of the Equestria games episodes). And if you recall 'winter wrap up', she was making nests for the birds, there's nothing that says she couldn't camoflage traps. Being a unicorn she is able to otherwise lift things without the use of hooves so weilding a rapier (a big needle more or less) could certainly be possible.

Wait... whaaat? When did she teleport? I was sure only magically powerful unicorns were capable of that. Screenshot, please!

[GrimGrimoire 4,973]

I have never seen her teleport nor use any kind of beam attack.... I also would like to see that. To my understanding all unicorns have some form of telekinesis and that is about it as far as their magic goes... everything else is in some way related to their cutie mark and special talents. Unicorns like Twilight and Starlight have magic as their primary talent and are able to progress much further.

 

Honestly there is nothing that I know of canon wise that says that with a LOT of hard work they possibly could learn new spells and become more powerful.... I think a lot of it just relates as much to the character as to the talent... in other words, Rarity possibly can learn new spells and become more powerful, but she lacks the interest and desire to do so. She is happy with what she does and where she is at.

[BastementSparkle 20,328]

As far as we've seen, all Unicorns seem to learn basic telekinesis, beyond that most unicorns only seem to learn what they need or want for their particular jobs and talents. It's only ponies like Twilight, Starlight and Sunset that devote their lives to learning magic that gain the kind of skills they have.

 

 But, I do think it would be interesting if after all these dangerous adventures, Rarity decides it would be a good idea to learn some new magic to help on adventures. Maybe she wouldn't have the raw power or huge skill that ponies like Twilight and Starlight have, but she might be able to bring something else to the table?

 

 She's used to using her magic for sewing, threading needles through fabric, right? Her magic has to be very precise, maybe that kind of weaker, but more precise and specific magic could come in handy at times.

[Ganondorf8 11,336]

Magic isn't really Rarity's thing even though she is a unicorn. Whenever she does use magic, it's to help her with her business as a fashion designer as opposed to using it for other things. Most unicorns in the show have displayed basic magic skills that relate to their lives in a personal way, yet those who are dedicated to magic are capable of going much further with it.

[Knightgem 158]

Episode 12, season 3 after the intro has rolled and our beloved ponies are gonna do their cheer on the train cart for a split second( as teleportation does) it appears as though she did. Though now having slowed down the footage frame by frame. Twilight transported them both with a magical bubble. Though having been questioned this. I am going to go through all the episodes and see what more I can find. I'm sure the movies might help out here too. For those that have seen them.

I stand corrected

[碇 シンジン 27,432]

I'm actually pretty sure that Raritys magical abilities could surpass even twilights though she really isn't interested in magic and strives focusing her magical abilities in her work which she is passionate about

[ShadowPhoenix 153]

Sorry to revive a dead post but after browsing these pages related to Rarity's magic. With recent information:

 

It turns out that in Issue #49 of the comics, when they are on the run from the Accord-infected ponies, she teleports herself and Starlight a short distance. Rarity restores the gardens of Mistmane's home, a place overrun by weeds for god knows how long in about 10 seconds. Apparently, she has fired magical laser beams against Tantabus-induced creations, Changelings and even the foundations of a giant water tower with Twilight to put out a fire. So apart from being able to repair stuff, magically levitate a store full of dressmaking supplies with perfect precision, summon a fainting couch from home to the middle of a field in Lesson Zero in seconds, yes I think magically underrepresented. I'd wish they do more with her in combat because magically-wise, she's proven capable and yet never seems to use it and the last time she went full physical was A Canterlot Wedding. Oh yeah, stop citing that bit about unicorns only able "to use a bit of magic related to their special talent" from Boast Busters, that is clearly outdated and it was in the formative episodes of the show, a polarizing one at that.

 

She definitely has the potential and ability to learn and execute more complex magic so she should. Along with Rainbow Dash, she's my favourite so it would be nice development and have nothing to do with fashion for a change. Fashion is one of her core tenets but it should not overshadow what she could potentially bring to the table. I mean the only action-related thing she contributed during the movie was tying up some Storm Creatures with a ribbon and she shared that with Capper. I guess Fluttershy suffers from the same problem in that regard. An episode about her embracing the fact that she's a reasonably powerful unicorn and picking up new skills would be interesting part of a future episode.

[Foxy Socks 2,599]

Rarity only needs skills for her talent, otherwise any Unicorn ciuld be as powerful as a princess.

[Jeric 46,854]

Rarity tends to learn and use magic that assists her in her occupation, and since her cutie mark and talent are more nebulous in nature ... she seems to have a wider ranger of spells than most non magic-centric unicorns. The application of some of her magic isn't limited to fashion, and her talent seems to go beyond her particular race as we have seen artistic representations created outside of a glowing horn. 

She also seems more skilled with levitation spells than other unicorns with the obvious exceptions of Twilight and Starlight. How many times have we  seen her effortlessly levitating an absurd amount of individual items and organizing them. 

I think it's save you say she is above average, and perhaps exceptional with the magic cares learns and knows, but to say she had the potential of Twi and Glim is a huge leap. 

[Goat-kun 2,527]

She just needs to obtain a tragic past and she'll be able to defeat Celestia or your money back.

 

Anyhow, she should become an artificer. Making sparkly junk is what Rarity does best. Might as well start making sparkly junk that's useful. This can tie to both Fluttershy (ingredients) and Twilight (knowledge).

[Jeric 46,854]

1 hour ago, Goat-kun said:

She just needs to obtain a tragic past and she'll be able to defeat Celestia or your money back.

That was actually pretty funny! 

That is all. Carry on with your goat activities. 

[King of Canterlot 9,603]

Any spells Rarity knows or is gonna learn will be fashion related because........ pretty much any Rarity related is gonna be fashion related  

[ShadOBabe 19,006]

Other people already covered it: most unicorns only use spells that have very, very basic uses or are directly connected to their talents. This is why I role my eyes when people claim they’re OP or “best race” because aside from the very rare few that have a talent for magic itself, most unicorns are just average ponies.

And even a few that DO specialize in magic still aren’t going to be Twilight/Starlight tier. Like Trixie or Sunburst. Trixie is better at stage magic and Sunburst is better with magic theory.

And final thought, Rarity knows freakin’ martial arts. She doesn’t need spells to kick butt.

[Unlikeable Pony 2,698]

Rarity would be nice with more spells, but its too late for that. Rarity has no real ambition to learn spells, because her goal in life is to be a fashion designer, not a sorceress. The EOH aren't a role that the six take to heart as a super important "DEFENDERS OF THE REALM" kind of thing, its just a "Oh, time to do that again?" thing that they do, so its not like the six are going to train for being the element bearers, nor is it something that they seem to WANT to train for.

 

Like, she's really fun when she has green lantern style powers like she did as Radiance or in equestria girls, but in universe its highly unlikely that she would ever try and work to do that currently.

34 minutes ago, King of Canterlot said:

Any spells Rarity knows or is gonna learn will be fashion related because........ pretty much any Rarity related is gonna be fashion related  

To be fair, rarity's weaponized Fashion spells before as radiance, utilizing a load of things like umbrellas, threads, ect.

fashion related magic can be used in a crazy awesome manner like how she fought in fighting is magic, its just she kind of lacks either the raw magic to explain her having such abilities nor the ambition for her to suddenly start training up to have that level of power now.

[The MegaBrony 219]

This "Execute Order 66" spell:

 

[EpicEnergy 23,223]

I think that learning new spells would be beneficial for Rarity, but it's similar to a hobby and Rarity already has her own hobby. Still, she might want to learn a spell or two, but it doesn't seem like she would be interested in learning spells much.

[Rosy Moonlight 369]

I think that Rarity is in "the zone" so much that no one, not even herself, expects her to vastly grow her array of spells.

Also, Rarity having a more vast array of spell would look like competition for Twilight or make Twilight look less special, which is something Starlight can really do.

 

[Tom Gallagher 33,593]

I don't think she'd really want to. I think she's happy the way she is. 

[HedonismBot 241]

On 2017-11-09 at 11:00 PM, ShadOBabe said:

Other people already covered it: most unicorns only use spells that have very, very basic uses or are directly connected to their talents. This is why I role my eyes when people claim they’re OP or “best race” because aside from the very rare few that have a talent for magic itself, most unicorns are just average ponies.

The idea there is that pretty much any unicorn has the potential to learn a variety of advanced magic if they so choose, even if most of them find it to be not worth the effort. Other ponies don't have that option. (Though the 2021 Annual comic did have one of the diamond dogs doing unicorn-style levitation with a magic staff, with the implication that she had been practicing other magic, which had me wondering if something like that might work for non-unicorn ponies. Or zebras, given Zecora's backstory from the Season 10 comics.)

Though even if Rarity's career doesn't need magic beyond levitation and gem detection, one would think that it would be worthwhile for her to learn a few key spells for when she's off on some adventure or fighting one of the major villains. For instance, teleportation is great for getting one's self out of trouble.

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

Rarity is not interested in magic. It is not within her character. And it is not the strength of her character either. I bet she can use her ingenuity and those fake eyelashes to bat her way out of any situation.