Thrift Twinkle: Makes clothing and various other stuff. Thrift keeps a small notebook for all his ideas and notes on inventory and current trends, what's selling and what isn't, etc. Rainbow, his pet phoenix, helps deliver items for him using a fire-teleport spell similar to the one Spike has in the show. Rainbow is friendly, fairly flamboyant, and a little on the small side. Deliveries made by phoenix-mail are limited to one item at a time, and there are constraints on the size and weight of packages. So Thrift doesn't use this method for transporting inventory so much as delivering letters and items that might come in handy. Unlike Spike's firebreath mail, Rainbow usually teleports herself to retrieve and return with items, though she is capable of receiving items; if the pony on the other end has one of her feathers, it can be used to burn up the package, which will then be sent back to her.
Radiant Ember: As you would expect, very proficient with various forms of unicorn magic, particularly telekinesis, teleportation, and spells used for organization, teaching, and similar things. One unique spell she knows ignites fire, which can be used for light sources and conjuring messages. Said flame messages can be placed wherever is needed, including hovering along after something or someone. She mostly uses this for emphasizing things while teaching, pointing something out, or leaving messages/alerts for others. However, sometimes it can be used for less... professional endeavors. Also, her telekinesis strength and precision is probably the highest out of the unicorns in the cast. She's capable of moving the most items without losing accuracy or dropping anything. Also, it's not really an ability, but as a crystal pony, she does have full on sparkle mode, though it's usually not on display.
Saber Frost: Saber is one of the strongest in the cast, and is certainly the best fighter. Most of his spells relate to combat, restraining, or defense. These include: Containing bubble spells used to contain items or ponies as well as create complete barriers around areas; a specialized shield spell similar to a riot shield which can be used to push or pull ponies as well as block attacks; ice crystal generation which can be used to freeze or slow opponents; a multipurpose chain spell for restraining ponies and sealing off areas among other things. Saber is also highly proficient in combat telekinesis, and weapon summoning, including his moon halberd. Though he's got plenty of force in his buck already, the steel horseshoes he often wears add a lot more damage to any target of a kick. It's usually doors and stuff... usually. Another reason he wears those is tor prevent ay accidental fires, as if he fails to control his emotions nirik fire may start to spark. This can make it a little more easy to spot when he's upset than he'd like, even if he rarely 'lapses' into that form, and as a hybrid, it's a little different for him. He also sort of has a bit of a mix between the appearance of unicorn and kirin magic.
Clover Shores: He doesn't have too many skills outwardly to make him stand out so far, so I didn't include him with the other members of the core four haha. He's got telekinesis but it's fairly average, and he can't teleport or do many spells. However, he does have a knack for getting out of tricky situations without much logical explanation, and sometimes it seems like he appears unexpectedly.
cutie mark stories below the cut:
Thrift: Ya mean when I got mine? Sure! It was all thanks ta Rainbow and Gizmo, really. You know back when da's business was really struggling? I kept thinkin' and tryin' to help him out... Gizmo was havin' the same problems, so we were like that most days, tryin' to find a way to make things okay again. One day, I started thinking about how much Rainbow seems ta make ponies smile, and that gave me an idea. I nabbed my notebook and started ta sketch, and before I knew it, I had a logo, and a name.
The ideas just kept flowin' and flowin' and I started making, and rearrangin' the shop... Later, all that stuff would sell like hotcakes. It was the first time anythin' I'd had a hoof in did so well. But tha' first day, when I was sketchin' and totally wrapped up it all, I didn't even notice what had happened until I went home to show Pops. We had a big party after that. I was kinda a late bloomer, so it was a big relief when Gizmo and I finally got ours, honestly.
Ember: So we're talking about cutie marks, hm? Well, mine isn't all that exciting. It was back before I became a professor, actually. I was hoping to become a tutor for the school I was attending, and presenting an essay was required as part of the interviews... I was so certain I wouldn't get the job, because one of the staff interviewing was this fool of a professor who I'd already pissed off the prior semester. He was arrogant, and even though he made the most idiotic mistakes teaching history I'd ever seen, he never seemed to care. Anytime somepony would point it out, this ass would just double down. I was sure he'd shoot down my interview no matter what I did, so when the questions about "why you want the job" and "what do you bring to the table" came up, I gave up on telling those old coots what they wanted to hear. Instead I just wrote the the truth.
You should have seen the look on their stuck-up faces. It still gives me a laugh to this day. But instead of being shown the door, like I expected, the very professor I thought would be my biggest detractor told the others to wait. Apparently, I'd managed to 'open his eyes' and he thought anypony who managed to teach 'a stubborn old mule' like him something new was worthy of teaching there.
Well, the mark came to me on the spot. Which really sealed the deal, as you can probably imagine. But that pretty much sums up why I even bother teaching at all. I've met some of the stubbornest fools imaginable over the years. But anypony, even the most hopeless, can be taught if they have the right teacher. Of course, that's only if they actually choose to. I have no interest in useless ponies who refuse to learn and grow.
Saber: I'm actually not entirely sure I remember what it was that caused mine. Perhaps the memories are just blending together, but it must have been the choices I've made while part of the guard. It took a long time to develop the skills and mindset I have today. I don't know if there was a particular incident so much as a collective amount from various cases and events... One day, I woke up, and there it was. A symbol of my resolve.
Clover: Oh... Cutie marks. Right. Mine? Well... It.. It's one of those familial types, you know? Where they all look a bit similar? I always thought it symbolized connections... Oh, well, the clovers and the ladybug are more specific to me, I guess? I like to think of it as representing chance connections, and the friends I've made... and for change and growth, I hope. Someday, I'll be braver than I am now.
So I’ve wondered how magic could be combated/defended against in the world of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. There are guards, police and other forms of law enforcement, so they’re definitely needed to help keep the peace. So how do they apprehend unicorns or other magic wielding species that were criminals or threats of some sort?
So I tried to recall and look up if there were any examples in the series. And I succeeded in finding a few examples.
The first example I recalled was from season 6, To Where and Back Again. Chrysalis’ throne that disabled all magic except changeling magic. Although this would hinder any soldiers or law enforcement that were non changeling magic wielders. It seems to be unlikely and rarely be used by non changeling.
The next example of magic suppression I could think of was the gate used in the Equestria Games to disable magic to prevent cheating. If there was or is a more portable or otherwise smaller scale version, I imagine it could be more easily used to disable magic wielders.
The next example I could think of were from season 3, where the Crystal Empire returns. Sombra uses his crystal magic to disable Shining Armor’s ability to use magic, and he uses his magic crystals to trap Twilight Sparkle when she was trying to get the Crystal Heart. The crystal cage she was trapped in prevented her from teleporting out.
The next example I could think of was from the My Little Pony Movie. The Storm King’s soldiers used shields, and possibly armor, that could resist and even to an extent, deflect magic. And when Twilight Sparkle was captured, she was put in a cage that prevented her magic from allowing her to escape. I forgot to draw the cage unfortunately. And we also see in the movie, captured ponies with muzzles. And at least one of the captured ponies, in addition to being muzzled, had a device on their horn that likely prevented them from using magic. However this device would probably only work on a strait horn that would fit in it, so it likely wouldn’t work on larger or smaller horns. And especially not curved or branched horns.
So I thought up and drew a cuffing device like a ring or bracelet that could be adjusted to account for horn size and would be unlikely to be hindered by the horn or antler shape. I imagine that the cuffs would be made out of a material the same or similar to what the Storm King’s army’s equipment and likely incorporated something similar to the magic disabling gates used in the Equestria Games. I drew up examples of how the cuffs would be used on different magic wielding species, straight horned unicorns, curved horned unicorns, goats/sheep, kirin, deer, and abada.
When magic can no longer inhabit an item or creature, it has to expand and grow, evolve whatever it's in. It is all about size. See, this completes my theory about Scootaloo. Her wings don't have magic, wherever it is doesn't matter, neither does how she lost her magic right now, she does not have magic in her wings. Which is why her wings never grow.
Bulk Biceps, has a hard time flying, but he can fly. He has very little Pegasus (flying) magic, because his magic never expanded. His wings are still small. So, Pegasus magic, needs to be there for Pegasus wings to grow. And if Scootaloo does not have Pegasus magic, her wings do not grow. Other Pegasi, have Pegasus magic, and as their magic gets stronger, and as they get older, their wings grow. Because normal horses do not have wings, they are purely magical and powered by magic.
Here is a question though: Why doesn't Bulk Biceps' wings grow, and his magic expand?
And why, and how did Scootaloo lose her Pegasus magic? Would she considered a Pegasus with just Pegasus wings and not magic? Did her magic go somewhere else?
One more Pony post and then I’m done for a while. Big ol’ long post under the cut
One of the things I wish the show did more, was explore the different magics outside of pony magic. Now I know this was a show for kiddos who aren’t here for deep fantasy lore, but the early seasons did a pretty good job building up the different ways tribes use their magic. It wasn’t any one major thing, but seeing how the pegasi industrialized the weather, how the Apple family seemed to use rituals to make Zap Apple Jam, and that not every unicorn knew magic like Twilight, but they at least were able to use their magic for what suited their lives.
But, as the show went on, that sort of charm began to fall to the side in favor of filling the already large cast, and making way for plots that would reveal more toys. I can’t be too mad, since again, baby show for babies, but there was a lot of fun in realizing how the different tribes maintained equal footing with each other, all while each controlling different magic (before it became “UNICORNS AND ONLY UNICORNS GOT DA GOOD MAGIC”). Adding new creatures like Griffons, Minotaurs, Kirin, the Cats, and so on, really made me wish the show at least had some kind of guide that made it clear how these other creatures got along with or without their own magic, and didn’t have the ponies look like these singular blessed beings who would bless the lesser nations with their magical friendship wisdom (no I don’t like the Map).
Anyway, here’s some examples of magic I wish we got:
Two of these are characters that have to do with m’girl @thebiscuiteternal, one being her OC and another being a past Pony character we’re using for our story. The unicorn, Silver Swirl, may seem like the kind of standard unicorn you’d see on the show, but she’s a bit of a special case. Silver never really had naturally strong magic, and would use her prodigious mind more than natural power to do her job. She would often wear a robe, because whole she does have a Cutie Mark, it’s usually pretty much invisible unless she’s pushing her magic. Then it manifests as purple magic swirls, usually indicative of a talent for magic in some way (and her eyes glow like they do when a pony really pushes their magic).
The other Biscuit character is the cat on the left. That’s Divya, who she made for a story different than the one Silver is in, but still a part of the Pony lore. She’s an Abyssinian or the Cat People from the Movie, but she’s lived in a different country her whole life. Biscuit has this whole cool set up where Divya excels as a blanket maker, as is her family’s tradition, and summons magic through her claws to weave intricate patterns that always seem to match the personality of the customer. Also I think she has House Magic but I could be wrong, but if she does, then that’s so Biscuit.
To the right is our Boy, Rockhoof. One of the Pillars and while seemingly the meathead of the group, is actually as skilled in Earth Pony magic as Star Swirl was in unicorn magic. I wish we could have explored more of what Earth Ponies were capable of beyond “yeah they’re strong and grow things I guess” because that makes them sound like natural laborers and that’s eeeehhhhhhh, not great. I did do a post a while back going into my own version of what Earth Ponies can do, and one of their talents is Enchanting, or making something (usually tools) work the way they want to. Earth Ponies usually are the tribe most likely to use tools, and their magic can make it so that said tool tends to work in some special way that’s different from the other tribes. This can go from simple farm tools, to even more subtle things like pens and ink, jewelry, glass, food, and so on. Earth Ponies are masters in more subtle magic out of the 3 tribes, so theirs usually has the least counters, simply because not everyone knows what they can do (and Earth Ponies prefer it that way). Rockhoof’s shovel never needed sharpening, and was at its strongest when being used by him. Rockhoof himself was one of the most prodigious users of Earth Magic, being able to blast through mountain sides, dig trenches in minuets, and seemed to be able to have a deep understanding of nature. Plus all that shoveling does wonders for the body, ladies.
And at the bottom right is a kirin, because I like them. The introduction of kirins was something I enjoyed, but I again wish they went in to them a little more outside of “they’re here in the jungle and don’t talk so that’s not helpful.” What makes them so pony-like but also not (and on that note, don’t get me started on the Saddle Arabians because ARE THEY -JUST- HORSES?)? How long have they been there? Why don’t they have their own nation and are just in this one town? Does the Equestrian government recognize the kirin leader as leader of her own people, or do they ultimately have to serve the Crown? All these things and more I think about, and I’ll probably go into that later on, but for now I do enjoy that they’re these weird, seemingly androgynous creatures that seem to have magic that is more emotion based than that of the pony. When their emotions are in harmony and at peace, a kirin can do things like jump great lengths, run over water, and control their weight so as to float like feathers or drop like stones. When in their pissed-off nirik form, their magic is more violent and dangerous, usually burning things around them until they tire themselves out. Kirin can usually control these magics in tandem if they need to, but usually favor their more positive magic.
