The secret of alicorn strength- or lack thereof.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

We’ve been flooded with alicorns, there’s no denying that. In the show, there’s Sunbutt, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and the most recent addition- Flurry heart. Even outside of the show, alicorns exist- in the toyline there’s Skyla, Gold Lily, and Sterling. In the comics, there’s Queen Parabola and Prince Leon (French comics), for a total of 10 g4 alicorns, in some canon or another. But we’re going to stick solely to show canon, for now.

 

Apparently, a pony can either be born an alicorn like Sunbutt, Luna, and Flurry Heart, or earn it, like Cadance and Twilight. And they are hailed as supremely powerful beings, but we’ve seen that not to be the case on several occasions. They have to use the EoH, the Crystal Heart, or the power of their friends to save the day, rather than their own power. When they fight using their own power, they lose, but why is that?

 

The answer lies two areas- in the dialogue from the “You’ll play your part” song. Alicorns are meant to serve a purpose- whether it be raising the sun, moon, filling pony’s hearts with love, or being an ambassador of friendship. The second being revealed in the pilot of season 1. Though the royal sisters were alicorns, they used different magic from different tribes to complete tasks- using their unicorn magic to raise the sun and moon. Meaning that as an alicorn, their power is divided equally between the three races that they embody and have to represent, which could be reason as to why unicorn magic and raw ability gets nerfed, as some gets changed and relocated to earth pony magic and pegasus magic. The purpose alicorns apparently serve is not to be op powerhouses, but to be examples of hope; friendship, nurtures that guide and don’t show partiality to one particular race. They’re not meant to rule through force, like Shining Armor, who is a soldier.  

thoughts or theories, anyone? 

[SFyr 1,982]

If memory serves, there's hints cast at the Alicorns—back when the tribes were still divided—being their separate group of sorts. From the Journal of the Two Sisters, there's mentions of the three tribes approaching Celestia and Luna to crown them because "they wanted rulers to help uphold that peace [...] They knew that Alicorns stood for everything Equestria was founded upon: love, harmony, and friendship. And because Alicorns are a combination of Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies, they believed that we could represent the citizens of Equestria in an unbiased manner." -- Celestia
Could still just be the two of them, right? Well...
"The Alicorns thought it was an important part of our education, but we both thought speaking like that every day sounded silly." -- Luna on the Royal Canterlot Voice
So... The Alicorns were their own entity, with their own traditions and education system (of some kind).

But yeah, if you're sticking to show canon only, it gets a lot harder to justify or explain a lot of details surrounding alicorns. If you pull from sources like this, it sounds like there's actually is (or was) quite a few of them, and their power comes from simply being a people formed upon the combination of all three races, who embodied harmony, friendship, and love (which in the show, are pretty much the sources of magical power, as in the tree of harmony, the power of friendship, and love energy). Personally, I find it would help explain the show's canon quite a lot without conflicting with it much.

 

> I will also say that, except in rare instances, Alicorns still seem to be better magicians/fliers/powerhouses than common ponies, except a standout few. The Tirek episodes I think are a good example to show just how much magical potential exists in alicorns when compared to normal unicorns, which might shoot down the idea that it's an equal division. They could easily be both symbolic, and physiologically superior, honestly; so long as you account for cases of Twilight, Cadence, and Flurryheart still being young, and the Flurryheart being extremely gifted from birth (and note, of the three she's supposedly the only born alicorn).

[cmarston1 5,959]

Than it is a good thing that alicorns aren't meant to rule through sheer force, given Celestia's track record during times of crisis against powerful threats.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

Than it is a good thing that alicorns aren't meant to rule through sheer force, given Celestia's track record during times of crisis against powerful threats.

which perfectly explains why the competent royal guards, like Shining fight for the alicorns. The mane 6 do, to some extent, but again, it's not through force, and it's not just an alicorn doing the muscle work, it's a group. 

[Number62 1,258]

I think you've given more thought about how alicorns might work when writing your first post than the writers did for the past 7+ years.

[Daring_Do 552]

If memory serves, there's hints cast at the Alicorns—back when the tribes were still divided—being their separate group of sorts. From the Journal of the Two Sisters, there's mentions of the three tribes approaching Celestia and Luna to crown them because "they wanted rulers to help uphold that peace [...] They knew that Alicorns stood for everything Equestria was founded upon: love, harmony, and friendship. And because Alicorns are a combination of Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies, they believed that we could represent the citizens of Equestria in an unbiased manner." -- Celestia

Could still just be the two of them, right? Well...

"The Alicorns thought it was an important part of our education, but we both thought speaking like that every day sounded silly." -- Luna on the Royal Canterlot Voice

So... The Alicorns were their own entity, with their own traditions and education system (of some kind).

 

But yeah, if you're sticking to show canon only, it gets a lot harder to justify or explain a lot of details surrounding alicorns. If you pull from sources like this, it sounds like there's actually is (or was) quite a few of them, and their power comes from simply being a people formed upon the combination of all three races, who embodied harmony, friendship, and love (which in the show, are pretty much the sources of magical power, as in the tree of harmony, the power of friendship, and love energy). Personally, I find it would help explain the show's canon quite a lot without conflicting with it much.

 

> I will also say that, except in rare instances, Alicorns still seem to be better magicians/fliers/powerhouses than common ponies, except a standout few. The Tirek episodes I think are a good example to show just how much magical potential exists in alicorns when compared to normal unicorns, which might shoot down the idea that it's an equal division. They could easily be both symbolic, and physiologically superior, honestly; so long as you account for cases of Twilight, Cadence, and Flurryheart still being young, and the Flurryheart being extremely gifted from birth (and note, of the three she's supposedly the only born alicorn).

"The Alicorns" could really just mean 2 alicorns, though, couldn't it? That line in itself doesn't at all imply there's "quite a few" of them.

[Cheval 61]

I still think Celestia is a stoner. 

https://mlpforums.com/topic/159365-princess-celestia-is-a-stoner/

 

(not sure if this link will work just trying to exceed character limit why is it 20 there we go)

[SFyr 1,982]

"The Alicorns" could really just mean 2 alicorns, though, couldn't it? That line in itself doesn't at all imply there's "quite a few" of them.

But in that sentence, "The Alicorns thought it was an important part of our education" draws a distinct line between the race and Luna/Celestia. A third beyond Luna/Celestia wouldn't qualify as "the alicorns" on its own, and if there were two or three beyond Luna/Celestia, they'd be more likely remarked by their relationships to Luna/Celestia or named in a personal journal (they've remarked themselves as neither of the three races, and were more likely than not born Alicorns, TO Alicorns; I wouldn't call my parents "The Lastnames," unless I was talking about an extended family, nor would I call my parents "the humans" if we were alone). I'm not claiming there's a TON of them, but, by its phrasing it sounded like there would be quite a few, as I said. They qualified for their own people with a level of a separation that a much younger Celestia/Luna picked up on, or that decision on their education came from a group; a group that comes off as though they are a people, not immediately connected through family ties to Luna/Celestia.