Alicorn gods? · 7:27am Feb 20th, 2015
I notice with frustration that most of the fandom keeps the idea of there only being a few alicorns, and all of them being ridiculously overpowered, dozens or even hundreds of times more powerful than an average unicorn. I think somewhere about 3rd season Hasbro decided to copy this and that’s one of the reasons I stopped watching it; because the idea is not consistent with the early seasons.
The total fighting record we have of alicorns (as of season 2) is Celestia losing a fight to Chrysilis, and Nightmare Moon decking three pegasi. Not an ultimately impressive track record.
It’s implied that if Shining Armor hadn’t been drained by Chrysilis; he’d have been able to activate the shield himself; throwing out Chrysilis and her entire army by himself. Celestia fully charged, by herself couldn't even fight Chrysilis. Is Shining Armor stronger than Celestia?
In the pilot episodes it’s implied that Twilight might almost have a chance against Nightmare Moon; showing unicorns and alicorns can be close in power; and Celestia always refers to Twilight as her “Most faithful student” implying she has other students who are at least close to Twilight’s level . (Although 'faithful' may not necessarily mean magical.)
And if you look closely:
At one stage there’s a background Alicorn filly Wandering around Ponyville.
In the Canterlot Wedding; there are three Alicorn Royal Guards
(Both examples were later explained as animation errors)
In The Mysterious Mare Do Well; Rainbow Dash thinks that the mare is an alicorn after seeing Twilight fix the dam and Fluttersly do the fly-by; yet she doesn't conclude that Mare Do Well is one of the princesses, and neither does that convince her that competing with Do Well is useless since alicorns are in a completely different league from normal ponies.
Celestia travels around with bodyguards everywhere she goes; for someone who always seems embarrassed by having people fuss over her, I doubt she’d have them they weren’t necessary.
(Of course… having the potential for hundreds of years of combat experience could make you as deadly as a hundred unicorns, even if you only had the raw strength of five.)
As for Princess Twilight!?!?!?
OK, honestly I stopped watching the show after the first Equestria Girls movie; with Princess Twilight making no sense to me, largely because they never explained why it happened. Yes there was a vague indication that it was because she’d learned enough about friendship but:
1. Are you seriously trying to tell me that only four mares, (and no stallions) in all of history have ever learned how to be a good friend?
2. If the idea of the show was learning together about friendship, shouldn't all the mane six have become alicorns?
3. If the rest of her friends can’t become alicorns; wasn't the very first lesson Twilight learned about friendship after moving to Ponyville, in episode 3, that if her friends can’t have something, she doesn't want it either?
No.
Just no.
Fifty shades of no.
So much this!
And thank you so much. You just put into words how I've long felt about the whole alicorn thing, and most especially the whole "Alicorn Twilight and Cadance" thing.
That said, I haven't stopped watching the show, and don't plan to. (I still like it too much, and I watch it more for Applejack and Rainbow than I do Twilight or the other Princesses.) But I remain supremely disappointed in some of the things that have happened in it.
And as to Twilight and Cadance being alicorns; well, that was just so Hasbro could sell more toys. Nothing more, nothing less.