According to the book 'Crystal Heart Spell' Cadance was a Pegasus who ascended after reforming a witch or something by utilizing the Magic of 'Love', but only Unicorns can channel magic by using their horns-so what the hay?

(Then again, Trixie also inexplicably becomes a villain again in it-so I'm skeptical of the book's validity.)

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Well, actually, her magic revolves around using the feelings that are already there. Now, let's remember that all ponies have inherent magic (weather control-pegasi, various-unicorn, and strength and durability-Earth ponies) I think she was able to diffuse conflicts really well or was even able to use a variation of her own pegasus magic to help others.

Now, when Prisma had begun to sap love from all of the ponies in the town and turn them into hate filled monsters (wich, in my headcannon, lead to the deaths of her adoptive mom and dad. They, after all, need to be dead for Celestia to take her in) Cadence most likely had a fight with Prisma and used her inner pegasus magic to beat the odds and overpower the gem and turn it against Prisma. By becoming one with her talent (to break conflicts and to use love) she became an alicorn.

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While I don't make much effort to treat the books, or comics, as canon to the show it has been established that all the tribes of pony have innate magic in themselves; so I suppose it stands to reason that a pegasus could be, essentially, emphatic and able to spread their own magic in a way that suited that talent. it would probably be rather exceptional though.

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I retooled the alicornication moment into Cady's cutie mark story in "Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess" but I imagine it happened something like that. You can demonstrate the magic of love without a unicorn horn, methinks.

I should really consider adding "alternate" to my story tags

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yeah....I ignore that book