Are ponies too OP?

They're pretty OP from what we have witnessed up to this point. But this season's theme is exploration, so maybe we'll some other powerful races.

 

Well, let's look at the other races.

We've only seen one zebra, and she's able to use magic without a horn, brew potions, and survive living the Everfree.
Deer have never been shown in the series, but in the comics, they have nature magic.
Yaks are tremendously strong, and likely very tough... just like Earth Ponies.
Griffons can fly, and are physically larger and likely stronger than Pegasi and Unicorns.
Dragons are... well, they're friggin' dragons, man.

All in all, I'd say the other races are a pretty even match, power-wise.

 

What Ridley said, ponies might be OP compared to humans, but they aren't compared to the other races in equestria.

 

Ponies in general aren't OP: just the ones with the horns. They eclipse the other types and technically -- not quite effectively -- make them obsolete. When you have a horn whose magic is only restricted by talent and/or aptitude, they can do anything that the others can do and so much more. As a whole, though, and factoring in other races, they have such things as the Elements of Harmony on their side, as well as magic based on friendship and love. And, of course, they have control over the sun and the moon, which I'm sure can have its uses.

 

I don't think that unicorns as a whole are that overpowered. Or at least, they are probably not supposed to be. I mean, most unicorns use their horn as a source of light and for some light telekinesis. Maybe an additional spell or two depending on their special talent. And that's basically it. Think more Rarity and less Starlight Glimmer.
Speaking of Starlight, sure, we have seen some ridiculously powerful unicorns during the course of the show, but I like to think that despite this, they are the exception rather than the rule.
I could be wrong, of course, but let's remember this little quote by Spike in the first season episode Boast Busters:

Ah, that's been so long ago...

 

That is why I said "technically." Not just because -- as I also said -- their talent and aptitude (think Sunburst, for instance, whose lack of aptitude got in the way of his talent, which -- if I remember correctly -- was magic) set boundaries, but when you get right down to it unicorns have demonstrated rather impressive (I suppose?) abilities as babies, such as what was demonstrated by Pumpkin Cake and Flurry Heart. That potentially suggests one of two things: one, so long as they have the magical capacity for it, unicorns can do whatever they put their mind to until they get their cutie mark, unless their talent is something rather general (like magic); two, their fate is set in stone at birth, so what abilities they display as children are compatible with the talent that they "discover."

Of course, seeing as all unicorns seem to have access to at least one ability (telekinesis), even though the other ponies can get by with just hooves, mouths and/or wings, it makes me wonder if they're truly restricted by talent. After all, surely not all talents would require telekinesis. There's also the matter of a certain school (which may not be the only school of such a nature, as far as we know) that is: one, willing to give cutie markless unicorns a chance to enter, which suggests that it's possible for a unicorn to benefit from such schooling regardless of what their talent may be; two, exists, which suggests -- at the very least -- that unicorns with broader-reaching abilities are not so uncommon that a master/pupil system would suffice.

In the end, though, we don't have much concrete information about how things work. Which -- for various reasons -- I find rather irksome.

 

I'm not sure I follow. How are infant bursts of magic that fade as the unicorn gets older proof of them being overpowered in general? Similarly, there being a school for gifted unicorns seems to suggest that there are also unicorns without this gift, and they are probably in the majority. And lacking a cutie mark doesn't mean that a pony hasn't shown any talents or potential yet, so I don't really see what this has got to do with anything. Likewise, all unicorns sharing one basic ability is hardly indicative of them having access to more (let alone all) available magical abilities.
If I understand correctly, you say that unicorns could do whatever they wanted to do if their magic had no limits. Well duh, that much should be obvious. The fact is though that those limits exist, be it talent, aptitude or raw power. And those few that are not hindered by such limits are so far outnumbered by other ponies of every type, all of which with their own talents and abilities, some of which more powerful or unique than others, but all of them important in their own ways. That hardly makes them obsolete, "technically" or not.

 

Well, I can confirm it for you: you didn't follow very much. On top of misinterpreting some of what I said, you also put words in my mouth.

I was just about to turn in, so I'll only address or add what I feel are important enough. The first is that deliberate and controlled magic (as demonstrated by Pumpkin Cake; Flurry Heart, on the other hand, didn't always seem in control) by babies are unlikely to be called "bursts," which suggests an uncontrolled element. "Bursts" might have been mentioned earlier in the Baby Cakes episode as being a possibility, but it was never explicitly applied to what Pumpkin Cake did, which were such things that one might think only a much more experienced magic user could do, or one with a cutie mark that would denote such abilities.

Another thing worth mentioning is that cutie marks -- or, perhaps, magic in general -- can bestow the relevant skills (this is referring to The Cutie Pox episode) to its bearer, so unicorns seem to have the innate potential to do whatever they desire (magic power allowing), despite the various aforementioned factors that focus what they do with it. Basically, if it's possible to bestow or change cutie marks, which canon has illustrated as being possible in episodes like The Cutie Pox and Magical Mystery Cure, then it's also possible that they could all be given a talent for magic, which reaffirms the technical terms of making the non-horned ponies obsolete on the power scale. Like I said before, which was one of my few assertions: if a pony has a horn, they can do anything an earth and pegasus pony can do (effectively, if not exactly) and so much more.

Of course, it's arbitrary and redundant to base it on numbers or theorizing the possibility of producing an even greater number, when all it really requires is one good example being put on the scale. Nightmare Moon, for instance. Sure, she's an alicorn, but that's no reason to dismiss her, since we've never heard of a hornless pony being able to do something like moving celestial bodies and whatnot -- the horn really makes the difference (I'd count the ways, but I'm conking out, here, and I figure it goes without saying). Anyway, in a different continuity (but still canon) she was powerful enough to take over Equestria. And if that doesn't qualify as being overpowered, there's always Starlight Glimmer, your "standard" unicorn, who had managed a degree of time travel that would literally put the fate of everything in the world at her mercy. If that's not overpowered, then I don't know what is.

EDIT:

Oh, right. My drowsiness made me forget this: the point I was trying to make with telekinesis wasn't that it was a gateway to every other talent. I was pointing out the possibility (it made me wonder, not conclude) that talents weren't too restrictive on what a unicorn could do with their magic, since I'm fairly sure that there's bound to be a talent that wouldn't rely on/require telekinesis, and yet every unicorn seems to have this ability when other ponies make do with their body in some way. I just find it peculiar because something that seems so basic to a unicorn doesn't have an explanation within the context of what we know about their magic.

 

As pointed out in the show, Starlight Glimmer isn't a "standard" unicorn but one of the most powerful ones in Equestria.

 

Which is why I put the word in question in quotations marks. It doesn't change the fact that she's a unicorn, though. Also, a unicorn doesn't have to be that powerful to eclipse earth and pegasus ponies, which was one of my arguments. In terms of everything else? The potential is there, and it only requires a minimum of one. There's no telling how many average unicorns would be required to accomplish the same kind of feat, so I won't speculate on that front.

 

Do you really thing that using words like "technically" and putting quotation marks around obvious factual errors make your arguments any more valid, or do you just add those things so you can claim people just misunderstood you when they don't agree with you?
Anyway, I've never denied the existence of exceptionally powerful unicorn individuals, I just don't think that characters like Starlight Glimmer are the benchmark for unicorn superiority in general. And how Nightmare Moon, a distinctly non-unicorn character, even fits into your explanation is beyond me.

 

Do you really think that simply saying "you're wrong" without showing the work that illustrates what the factual errors are makes your claim valid? Come on; are you being serious, here? Here I am, at least having the decency of pointing toward relevant, canon data to back up what I'm saying (alongside most of which I use language to denote that it's still in the theory stage, not conclusive), and you're neither doing that nor illustrating the supposed errors in my reasoning to prove I'm either wrong or barking up the wrong tree. And the worst part? Using ad hominem, by asserting I'm wrong and -- based on that -- making the outrageous claim that "those things" you're referring to was all just a plot against people who don't agree with me. It's laughable. As if it's entirely my fault when people don't understand what I'm trying to say, and I say "as if it's entirely" because I'm sure that there are probably ways in which I could make what I'm saying easier to understand, but I'm only human, and so is everyone else -- we can only do so much on our respective ends.

Now, just to address one of the things you've said in your latest response, because I have other priorities to devote my time to: I never said that Starlight Glimmer was the benchmark. That's why I had said "'standard' unicorn," because she illustrates the upper end of a unicorn's potential, but that doesn't make her any less of a unicorn. I put it that way because unicorns probably don't need to be that exceptional to overpower earth and pegasus ponies. As far as I can tell, it's wholly possible that all it would take is their telekinesis, a basic ability that all unicorns seem to have, to subdue the earth and pegasus ponies -- earth ponies, certainly; pegasus, perhaps not so easily. But, like I said, all it would require is one exceptional unicorn, within the ponies-only sphere. Compared to other races, though, the potential for being overpowered is certainly there.

Regarding Nightmare Moon: you don't know how she fits into my explanation because your perception on the matter is different, which -- from my perspective -- appears to be less correct. Can you truly assert that most of what an alicorn is capable of isn't because they have a horn, which unicorns have, and which displays the same functionality? Do you really believe that they're non-unicorn instead of part-unicorn? Or -- to cover all of the bases, not because I think you said anything requiring me to address it -- that Nightmare Moon wouldn't qualify as an alicorn, even though I doubt anyone would say that Rarity wasn't a unicorn when she came under the influence of that book in the Inspiration Manifestation episode? (And, as far as I can tell, Nightmare Moon was a self-contained matter, not an outside influence, which would give more credence to her still being an alicorn if that's the case.)

If you still disagree with me, then we'll just have to agree to disagree, because -- and I hope you agree with this -- I'd rather not waste time arguing when we're too far separated by our perceptions of reality to reach a common ground.

 

A question is not necessarily a claim and mine stemmed more from confusion than hostility. I do agree that arguing over something like this is indeed a waste of time though, so yeah, let's just stop here.

 

I'm just gonna point out that Flurry Heart is not a Unicorn.

 

Oh, I see that I made a little error. But, just for clarification's sake: she's still a pony.

And, just in case something more was being intimated, alicorns aren't automatically more powerful than unicorns. It required two alicorns just to banish Sombra, for instance. The Elements of Harmony were required for Nightmare Moon on both occasions (who's not a unicorn, but -- I personally believe, where alicorns are concerned -- is part unicorn rather than non-unicorn). Twilight Sparkle, the supposed element of magic, whom a long-lived pony like Celestia couldn't recall if there was an equal or better to as far as unicorns were concerned (which might include Star Swirl), in terms of raw ability, couldn't overcome Starlight Glimmer.

A question is not necessarily not a claim either, but when both choices -- via suggestion -- being offered in the question are both bad for the one it's being directed to, you're indirectly making a statement. Either way, it was ad hominem, which was the actual issue.

That aside, I think you're the first person I've ever encountered that knew when to stop when there was an impasse. For that, much respect.