Unicorns

So before I had a fimfiction account, I would always write down my thoughts on certain things and I decided that perhaps it would be best to share them with someone other than my fifty-eight-year-old mom. She's a fan of MLP too, but she isn't quite as well versed in all things pony as you guys are; she just enjoys the episodes for the same reason we all do I suppose. With that being said, I'd like to share my thoughts with you and see if you guys feel the same way.

I don't know why, and it may be because my favorite pony is a unicorn but ever since I started watching the show, unicorn magic has fascinated me. You would think that because I fantasize about flying constantly and I love things with wings, Pegasi would be my main interest. However, unicorns just seem so...enigmatic...like, there's still so much to understand and learn about them. I've accumulated a lot of info, whether it's from canon events in the show, fictional literature, and head-cannon theories, but I'm not sure how much of it holds the popular belief. For example, I'm really curious as to what you guys think unicorn horns are made of. I've heard a few different things, the most realistic one I believe is that they are made of bone or another solid material, with no nerve endings at all except for the base. I can see this being legit, as I'm sure unicorn horns can break off, but I don't think it's ever been mentioned in the show.

I've also heard a theory similar to the first, in that the horn is solid, but has nerve endings in the center and it would be painful if it were to snap or was hit on something. I think this is the one I go by, because I remember one episode where Sweetie Belle flicked Rarity's horn and it looked painful. Granted, this was while her horn was active so perhaps it's only sensitive when magic is being pumped through it, but it makes sense that there are nerves in it because it's an extension of a unicorn's brain after all. At least, I think.

The third and least likely in my opinion, is that it's not hard at all, but soft and fleshy like it was when Twilight's horn was cursed with poison joke only a little more rigid. I think this is just because people want to pretend it's like, um...well....oh Rarity would never want me to say this...ahem...like a certain part of male anatomy . I don't really think that's possible...but to each his own.

I'm also interested in how spells are actually cast. The first theory I've heard, and I'm not sure how commonly accepted these are, is that magic doesn't come from the horn it all, but the horn only helps to manifest the magic that is already all around them, and concentrates it into one specific thing. Let's say for example you wanted to levitate a teacup. There is already magic surrounding that teacup, one that only unicorns can detect, and all your horn is doing making that magic surrounding the teacup active. I can get behind this, but it doesn't explain how the magic knows specifically what the caster wants it to do. There has to be some control from the unicorn somewhere, some kind of direction, or else nothing would happen. But I guess it makes sense if you look at the season four opener where the dark magic of the Everfree Forest invaded Ponyville and disrupted the magical flow, causing everyone's horn to go on the fritz, to use Rarity's word.

The second theory, and again the one I agree with most, is that horns are simply a vessel for all the power of a unicorn to be stored in. We all know that without a horn or with a dampener on, unicorns can't cast magic. That is because, while a unicorn can still think and form thoughts as usual, there isn't anywhere for these thoughts to go. Magic all depends on a unicorn's mind and how easily they are able to channel what they visualize into their surroundings.

The third theory is that spells are like computer code that have to be memorized and relayed to the horn in order to cast. This makes sense if you think of very simple spells as only a few numbers or letters, and the more difficult spells like whole pages. It makes the divide between gifted unicorns and regular unicorns more distinguishable as well. It also explains why Twilight reads books in order to learn spells. If it was like theory two and spells simply came from the mind, then why would she not know how to do something unless she read about how to do it beforehand? It also explains why some spells can only be activated if they are read out loud, like the one in Inspiration Manifestion, and I'm sure there are other examples that I can't think of at the moment. My mind seems to only be thinking of Rarity, I'm sure some of you can relate I like this theory because it's sort of a combination of them all. Magic does come from within the mind of unicorns, but it can only be possible if they've read the instructions of how to cast it in the first place, and once the magic is cast, the unicorn magic around everything is activated.

Anyway, that's just my take on it. What do you guys think?