Unicorns are actually OP

[St3venp 37]

I'm pretty sure im not the only one. I've rewatched some episodes, and i just keep thinking more and more about how OP unicorns are. And im not talking about twilight, ik shes an alicorn and basically god with magic, but i meant unicorns in general. To me, if there was a civil war, im pretty sure unicorns will be the dominant race out there since they can do many things with their magic, some can be better than others depends on their cutie mark and talents, but still OP compared to other races. Also, almost all the villains so far are like unicorns, ex: sombra, chrysalis, starlight and so on, because earth ponies and pegasi just simply dont have that kinda power to be major villains. I also read this MLP comic, it's called missing two awesome wings. It's about Rainbow Dash's wings stolen by 3 unicorns, and this is actually a really dark story. Imagine, without Twilight's help to get her wings back, she will be crippled for the rest of her life, because of 3 normal unicorns, not even powerful ones, just ones that are jealous of twilight becoming an alicorn. And Rainbow Dash could not have done anything by herself to get her wings back because she simply cant beat 3 unicorns. Therefore, in my opinion, unicorns are the most dominant race in Equestria.

[Castle Bleck 19,172]

On 11/7/2017 at 4:27 PM, St3venp said:

To me, if there was a civil war, im pretty sure unicorns will be the dominant race out there since they can do many things with their magic,

According to the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, none of them would've come out on top.

Likewise, most Unicorns aren't OP demigods; your examples are exceptions, not the rule.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Antagonist

[cuteycindyhoney 13,283]

I don't wish to sound dumb, but in this discussion, what does OP stand for???

[Castle Bleck 19,172]

On 11/7/2017 at 4:27 PM, St3venp said:

sombra, chrysalis,

They're not even true Ponies; Sombra is an Umbrum, and Chrysalis is a Changeling.

Edited September 27, 2019 by Anti-Villain

[St3venp 37]

8 minutes ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

 

According to the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, none of them would've come out on top.

 

Likewise, most Unicorns aren't OP demigods; your examples are the exceptions, not the rule.

 

3 minutes ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

 

BTW, those guys aren't even true Ponies; Sombra's an Umbrum, and Chrysalis is a Changeling.

What about this comic? They villains were 3 normal unicorns abusing their powers. None other race could do anything like that. Poor Dash could have had her life ruined.

[Black Sabbath 2,484]

14 minutes ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

According to the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, none of them would've come out on top.

I'd take anything stated in that particular episode with a grain of salt, since it's debatable how much of it is actually true rather than just a part of the play. 

[Snow Frostflame 3,567]

Magic isn't something you're born with, its something you study days, months, or even years to perfect. Unicorns are powerful because of their magic, but it isn't exactly easy to learn. Take Sweetiebelle for example, she didn't start using magic until fairly recent, and before that she struggled with it or didn't even bother. Plus if they aren't use to casting spells, or a specific spell it would take a lot of energy out of them unless they mastered it. Saying Unicorns are stronger than Earth ponies, and Pegasi is like saying the Mage is stronger than the Warrior, or Thief, when in reality its only a matter of preference... each have their own pros and cons.

[Castle Bleck 19,172]

On 11/7/2017 at 4:49 PM, St3venp said:

What about this comic? They villains were 3 normal unicorns abusing their powers. None other race could do anything like that. Poor Dash could have had her life ruined.

Twilight still ended up needing Dash's flight-based expertise to stop said Unicorns.

On 11/7/2017 at 4:39 PM, cuteycindyhoney said:

I don't wish to sound dumb, but in this discussion, what does OP stand for???

"Overpowered."

It's basically a way to call someone a Mary Sue.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Antagonist

[Midnight Seashell 206]

I like to think that unicorns are similar to jedi in the fact that some of them are born with strong magic like Flurry Heart and are quite powerful even when they are young but even with all that power they still need to take the time required to master that power and study its aspects otherwise they won't improve. Also, some unicorns might not be interested in magic but may prefer to study an entirely different course.

For example, Anakin was really strong in the force but he was more concerned with being the greatest duelist and didn't concentrate on improving his force powers which made him stagnant and Obi-wan was not gifted in the force but he practised alot and eventually reached Anakin's level.

However, l do feel that they are a bit over powered but they can still be taken down by magical items/creatures, innovation, their own hubris and limitations.

[Castle Bleck 19,172]

On 11/7/2017 at 6:13 PM, Midnight Seashell said:

Anakin was really strong in the force but he was more concerned with being the greatest duelist and didn't concentrate on improving his force powers which made him stagnant

Guess he eventually learned his lesson - because as Vader, he was noticeably more Force-reliant (granted, he had no choice; his suit made him about as limber as The Great Khali).

Edited September 27, 2019 by Anti-Villain

[Spilight98 166]

A "strong" earth pony like Applejack can do almost nothing what a other race cant do except for just raw strength.

A "strong" pegasus like Rainbow Dash can do sonic rainbooms and have amazing speed and flight

A "strong" unicorn like Twilight or Starlight can travel through time, teleport,destroy their enemies with magic,transform themselves and others, make people obey them and have the potential to become alicorns.

So looking at what each of the "strong" examples of a race can do. Its pretty clear to me unicorns are the most powerful.

[Jeric 46,835]

2 hours ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

It's basically a way of calling someone a Mary Sue

Only if they don't know what a Mary Sue is. Same thing goes for anyone that calls something predicable a DeM. The biggest problem with the internet is it grants individuals with a new vocabulary, but not the neural connections to use the words correctly. 

Some unicorns are as powerful as the story needs them to be. What some people see as a flaw, others see as a dandelion. (Bonus points if you unlock that metaphor). 

[Castle Bleck 19,172]

On 11/7/2017 at 7:34 PM, Spilight98 said:

A "strong" unicorn like Twilight or Starlight [...] have the potential to become alicorns.

Except that Cadance used to be a Pegasus, not a Unicorn.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Antagonist

[Spilight98 166]

12 minutes ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

 

Except Cadance used to be a Pegasus, not a Unicorn.

Didn't know that welp the more you know 

Anyways doesn't really disprove that unicorns are still the strongest of the 3 races.

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

Eh, certain unicorns are extremely powerful. We’ve known since Boast Busters that unicorns can only use magic that correlates to their special talents. It’s why Trixie can turn things into teacups then teleport them away, but she can’t quite teleport herself. It’s why Rarity can create clothes from anything or perfectly restore a garden, but she’s never used a magic shield or blast lasers everywhere (outside of her dreams that is).

I still have to read this comic that people are referencing, but if it’s saying that three Normal unicorns were able to steal Dash’s wings, then it contradicts established show canon, and therefore isn’t canon itself.

[Lektra Bolt 2,337]

Heard all this before. Everyone mentioned, some of those not even being Uni, are exceptions.

You need to study magic to be good at it, even if you're just doing one spell well. If you took years to perfect your magic, why shouldn't you be strong at it? Magic, like flying well, is a skill based ability as well, lots of people forget this. Unicorns aren't born being able to destroy the world, they study that. It's like hate. People who hate aren't born this way, they're taught or learn it on their own, but I digress. The point is everyone forgets that all these seemingly Op spell casters, except for Flurry who is an Alicorn and baby magic like the unicorn Cake twin, took the time to get good like the way you get good at a video game. Op villains aren't just born that way, even if it sounds like the writers create them and they seemingly come into existence on demand, but they really bring their lore and time spent becoming Op with them.

They're also subject to being interrupted while casting the big spells, which no matter how big it is if you don't get it off it's moot. Granted the story calls for the Op spell caster to get their spell off, but realistically they can be interrupted.

Lastly I would like to point out one major thing people forget as well. Most unicorns are physically frail, like a traditional mage in just about any fantasy literature. If you get through all the magic they're spouting at you, either offensively or defensively, a mage tends to crumple. Just once I wanna see a buff Unicorn like the way Bulk breaks the cliché that Pegasus need to be aerodynamic or light.

To give an example, my character tends to not even move when fighting. She knows she will crumple if someone gets through her magic, and doesn't make a point of moving. She's not athletic in the slightest, either. Yes I play into that cliché, and I'm fine with it as a weakness

Edited November 8, 2017 by Lektra Bolt

[HereComesTom 2,232]

I'm not sure unicorns as a whole are OP in general, but they've got a lot more potential to become OP than earth ponies or pegasi.

I mean, I'm actually a little disappointed at how powerful Starlight Glimmer and Tempest Shadow were; they managed to go toe-to-toe with Twilight and either come out on top or fight her to a draw.  I'd think that Twilight, given her innate power (even as a unicorn), her long study of magic, and the sheer fact that she's an alicorn now (for Celestia's sake!) should put her miles ahead of unicorns.  But apparently knowing the spells and knowing how to counter them is enough to put a unicorn ahead, even ahead of Twilight.

Then again, maybe that's what made Starlight and Tempest that good:  Starlight with all her spell knowledge, and Tempest with magic-countering armor and reinforcements.  Those two were definitely prepared for their fights with Twilight!

[Adderbane 120]

2 hours ago, HereComesTom said:

I'm not sure unicorns as a whole are OP in general, but they've got a lot more potential to become OP than earth ponies or pegasi.

I mean, I'm actually a little disappointed at how powerful Starlight Glimmer and Tempest Shadow were; they managed to go toe-to-toe with Twilight and either come out on top or fight her to a draw.  I'd think that Twilight, given her innate power (even as a unicorn), her long study of magic, and the sheer fact that she's an alicorn now (for Celestia's sake!) should put her miles ahead of unicorns.  But apparently knowing the spells and knowing how to counter them is enough to put a unicorn ahead, even ahead of Twilight.

Then again, maybe that's what made Starlight and Tempest that good:  Starlight with all her spell knowledge, and Tempest with magic-countering armor and reinforcements.  Those two were definitely prepared for their fights with Twilight!

Combat isn't exactly a major field of study for Twilight.  Having magical muscle and being able to apply it are two different things.  However, she does seem to be using more efficient shields in her fight with Starlight (directional instead of the full sphere); perhaps her brother taught her that.

[Buck Testa 5,503]

7 hours ago, St3venp said:

I'm pretty sure im not the only one. I've rewatched some episodes, and i just keep thinking more and more about how OP unicorns are. And im not talking about twilight, ik shes an alicorn and basically god with magic, but i meant unicorns in general. To me, if there was a civil war, im pretty sure unicorns will be the dominant race out there since they can do many things with their magic, some can be better than others depends on their cutie mark and talents, but still OP compared to other races. Also, almost all the villains so far are like unicorns, ex: sombra, chrysalis, starlight and so on, because earth ponies and pegasi just simply dont have that kinda power to be major villains. I also read this MLP comic, it's called missing two awesome wings. It's about Rainbow Dash's wings stolen by 3 unicorns, and this is actually a really dark story. Imagine, without Twilight's help to get her wings back, she will be crippled for the rest of her life, because of 3 normal unicorns, not even powerful ones, just ones that are jealous of twilight becoming an alicorn. And Rainbow Dash could not have done anything by herself to get her wings back because she simply cant beat 3 unicorns. Therefore, in my opinion, unicorns are the most dominant race in Equestria.

Chrysalis and Sombra aren't ponies. She's a changeling and he's an Umbrum. 

Most Unicorns have maybe telekinesis under their belt and perhaps a cutie mark related spell. Unless their cutie mark/talent is expressly magic like Starlight and Twilight they aren't going to be breaking the planet any time soon. Granted the fact that even an inept magic user like Trixie can teleport shit is a bit nuts, but I chalk it up to good teachers. 

Earth ponies have some pretty damn impressive feats under their belt, I don't give a hoot what you neigh sayers say. Lets talk about 4 of them having the combined horsepower of a speeding train 

That's 1,165 horsepower per pony son. They put the average car to SHAME. 

And then there's Maud, who is in desperate need of a goddamn fight scene. 

 

Maud who, by the way, knows so much about rocks that she probably could take over equestria if she felt so inclined. 

And there's that one filly who seems to be around Maud's strength as well, so it could very well be the case that she's not exactly an outlier. 

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

5 hours ago, Spilight98 said:

have the potential to become alicorns

All races have the potential to become alicorns.

Cadence was a pegasus.

[Jeric 46,835]

4 hours ago, HereComesTom said:

I mean, I'm actually a little disappointed at how powerful Starlight Glimmer and Tempest Shadow were; they managed to go toe-to-toe with Twilight and either come out on top or fight her to a draw. 

Twilight v Starlight - Several Approaches

One can look at Twilight like one sees Harry Potter. He was pretty gifted and the central character with a more prominent position in the overarching plot, but nowhere as gifted as one of his best friends was in magic. Anakin Skywalker would be a similar analog. He was considered more powerful with the Force, and definitely a better dueler most times. Yet, Obi-Wan bested him in Revenge of the Sith by manipulating his environment and playing a more defensive strategy. So there are two different approaches to look at it, one assuming Twilight was evenly matched, and one assuming she was the naturally more gifted magic user. Being the best doesn't always mean you win. 

In fact having Twilight be more powerful or talented in magic may actually be one of the biggest and laziest ways to approach her. A nuanced way of approaching it is that through her studious nature and definitely above average talent, she was able to become as gifted as she was. Starlight could have more raw talent, but have less of a keen mind for magic in general. More power with less knowledge. That makes Sunburst a complimentary character to Starlight. He he better at the knowledge, but perhaps not as gifted. Looking at it that way makes the themes a bit more satisfying. 

 

Tempest Shadow vs Twilight 

She never really went toe to toe in a magic duel. If they had one ... a fair one ... Twilight wins. Tempest is a tactician. It's like how Thrawn was able to defeat Luke by using a weakness against him. Again, there is some cool thematic element going on here. Tempest was after the restoration of her horn, but it escaped her that she was able to use agility, tenacity, and resourcefulness to defeat four Alicorn Princesses. 

 

Both Starlight and Tempest may have their narrative problems at times, at least an argument could be made for that, but beating Twilight isn't one of the flaws I have an issue with. 

[ShadOBabe 18,984]

13 minutes ago, Jeric said:

beating Twilight isn't one of the flaws I have an issue with

And you know what? Sometimes you just have an off day.

You can’t be at 100% every waking moment of your life. Emotions like stress or fear and physical factors like fatigue will have an effect, and in a fight, EVERYTHING is all happening at once and you have seconds to make decisions.

[Jeric 46,835]

1 minute ago, ShadOBabe said:

And you know what? Sometimes you just have an off day.

You can’t be at 100% every waking moment of your life. Emotions like stress or fear and physical factors like fatigue will have an effect, and in a fight, EVERYTHING is all happening at once and you have seconds to make decisions.

Yeah. A few minutes before the invasion all Twilight was focused on was hoping she didn't annoy a pop star with cake tomfoolery. Then the Blitz Ball match happens. 

That's a pretty big change in focus! That's like me being concerned with trying not to burn dinner and all of a sudden ... zombies attack. 

[Hierok 11,829]

9 hours ago, The Artist Formerly Known As A.V. said:

 

According to the episode Hearth's Warming Eve, none of them would've come out on top.

 

Likewise, most Unicorns aren't OP demigods; your examples are the exceptions, not the rule.

Could also be due to the number. If there are like twice as many Earth ponies as Unicorns I understand none of them came on top.

[Landi 597]

If we are judging this of of the power given to the Unicorns in the beginning of the show then I would say that they are not quite overpowered. It was established that Unicorns could only do telekinesis and another spell or two which is tied into their ability (unless that ability is magic itself. Yes they still had the potential power to be overpowered but because of this limitation, they were not.

But as the show has progressed, I feel like they have become a bit OP. It really became noticeable with Starlight when she had the ability to fly with magic. It seemed really unfair to the Pegasi because that is supposed to be what sets them apart. And then going on, more Unicorns who are not even near the power level of Starlight were able to do the same. Now days it just seems like all limitations which Unicorns once had have been taken away.

Spoiler

Then in one of the episodes of season nine, a buckball team is able to be composed of only Unicorns. Not only does this go against the point of the game, it outright shows how the Unicorns have really just become overpowered.

So yeah, I'm going to have to say that they are currently a bit overpowered.