This is a very subjective thread about something that canon glosses over all the time. Still, it's something I've enjoyed the few times I've seen it brought up.

Assuming you're not one of the lazy 'Unicorns OP, Earth Ponies suck' writers, what is your personal headcanon regarding other pony races (or, hell, even other species) and the magic they have?

Um there doesn't need to be head cannons here, we know canonically what other pony magics due. It's been shown and stated in the show quite plainly.

Pegasus magic gives flight and weather manipulation.
Earth pony magic gives Super Strength&Endurance as well as a connection to the land/earth/plants.

And each individual ponies cutie mark magic does whatever it damn well pleases.

No to mention Zecora has taught Twilight a thing or two.

I never liked the idea that any 'type' of pony had inherent strengths and weaknesses. It reminded me all to much of a RPG class balancing system.

I prefer to think that the magic the pony has is related not to their species but rather to their cutie marks, which could give a unicorn a talent at flying (maybe in a plane or gyrocopter), an earth pony would know alchemy or whatever passes for science, and a pegasus could be good at farming.

Aside from the obvious limitations like flight and ability to do magic, I prefer to avoid giving them specific magic, whatever the show canon might be. This is only really important for earth ponies and unicorns. A unicorn can cast magic, but may not have a large range of spells that don't relate to their cutie mark. An earth pony, however, can do anything a unicorn could do who has the same cutie mark.

3949246
3949240
3949237
3949226
3949215
3949214
3949198
Would any of you be interested in joining the group, Species of Equestria? It is a group for discussing and organizing stories by species!
~Estrella Scrolls

3949258
Can I shamelessly shill my fics in it?

3949240

You're forgetting important stuff, like how earth pony strength and durability is magical.
And how rarities fashion sense is magical.

Unicorns don't have more magic, they have less subtle magic.

3949198

Relegating earth ponies to "personal strength and growing things" and pegasi to "weather stuff" just feels like a willful lack of imagination. I like variety so I'm all about ponies having access to magical abilities that most don't write about.

Like a pegasus glassblower that can walk right up to the furnace because of innate weather resistance and skillful air current manipulation keeps an area of cool air flowing up to and around them. This airflow control also means that they can blow glass into highly unusual shapes with minimal effort.

An earth pony sculptor that can very precisely buck chips and pieces off marble blocks to form the desired shape.

An earth pony soldier with trained in magical resistance. With little preparation they can put their shoulder into an offensive spell (like fireballs and lightning bolts) and the spell just washes over and around them harmlessly.

A pegasus surgeon who, after a lot of practice, can temporarily alter and stiffen their feathers to function as sharp edges. It's less effective in combat because feathers just aren't that durable, but with a sedated patient it allows for very finely-controlled cutting surfaces that the doctor can use their innate dexterity with.

Etc.

3949258 Sure. I have a Minotaur story in my head, I might get to one day.

3949267 You should be able too, although I am not in charge of the stories, Toratch888i, one of the admins, is.
~ Estrella

3949295 Thanks!

3949273

Now THIS is the stuff I like to see.

3949198

My belief is that all species of pony are capable of using magic like unicorns do, they just can't do it the same way because they don't have a natural focus (i.e. a unicorn's horn), which is why it manifests in different ways for pegasi (flight and weather manipulation) and earth ponies (kinship with animals and connection to the earth).

My head-canon is that Zecora is the zebra equivalent of a mambo, a Voodoo priestess, and is capable of using magic the way unicorns can by using rituals and incantations to "borrow" power from the L'wa (Voodoo spirit-gods). Any type of pony is capable of learning this type of magic (which in the real world is called "Hoodoo"), but it is completely unknown in Equestria due to them not having any real contact with the zebra homeland (which in my head-canon is called "Zebrabwe").

3949198
Well, as the show has told us, all the ponies are magical. Unicorns simply use magic in a literal sense while the magic of Pegasi and Earth Ponies lies within their bodies. That's why it's incredibly difficult to conjure a spell that grants a non-Pegasus permanent flight capabilities, and I assume the same is true for strength spells.

3949198 I've written about this from the point of view of magic theorists as physicists. Conventional wisdom is that magic is a fifth force (along with electro-magnetism, gravity, the strong force, and the weak force). But new theorists are beginning to think that instead of one force, magic is four mirror forces. We only understand unicorn magic, but it's slowly becoming understood that there is more to magic.

On a side note, do you think it would have been better if Fluttershy was an earth pony and Pinkie Pie a pegasus?

3949198
In a nutshell, unicorns are good at manipulating magical energies (duh), which they do mostly through their horns.

Pegasi are good with elemental magic of all types, which they do mostly through their wings, and somewhat through their hooves.

Earth ponies are good at growing and healing magic, as well as building/creating. They're the best cooks, the best craftsponies, etc.

Zebras are probably good at potions, but we've only got one example, so Zecora could be a fluke.

Nice and neat.

Until you remember that they've been interbreeding probably since unity. So we wind up with a unicorn with good physical strength and crafting (Rarity [and it made more sense when it was believed her father was an Earth pony]), an Earth pony who can also use magic-like effects (Pinkie [if she's related to the Apples, her family tree is no more pure than theirs]), and a pegasus who's good with animals (Fluttershy). We've seen this in some background characters, too. Daisy can do TK. Snowflake's very bulky for a pegasus.

It gives us three ponies who are defined by their archetype (Twilight, AJ, and Rainbow), with all the others having a somewhat more diverse skillset.

3949198
Various innate/inborn magics exist. Earth ponies, without innate magic, are no stronger than any other pony; with it, they're the ones that know how to work the land and have some of the highest endurance of any pony, not to mention are often bigger and stronger. Pegasus ponies have innate magic that allows them to treat clouds, rainbows, and other weather phenomena as tangible objects, thus moving around and shaping clouds and rainbows, for example.

So it's not like unicorn magic. But each unicorn seems to be highly specialized (barring Twilight/mirror!Trixie) so it kind of evens out.

3949198
Witchcraft!! Best magic in the history of Equestria!

3949405

Earth ponies are good at growing and healing magic, as well as building/creating. They're the best cooks, the best craftsponies, etc.

Actually unicorns seem to be the majority of the Artisan class in equestria. So Twilight is more the unicorn outlier being good at spellcasting rather than a specific skill set that her magic helps with, with rarity being an example of a typical unicorn as her spells help her specialty(Fashion).

3949562

Actually unicorns seem to be the majority of the Artisan class in equestria.

I just don't see it that way. We've got the Apples and their kin, raising barns and fixing things, we've got Pinkie Pie with her contraptions, we've got Cherry Berry and her flying machines, Sugarcube Corner run by Earth Ponies, most of the railroad ponies are Earth ponies, the construction ponies are Earth ponies.

Now, I'll admit that Ponyville is just a small part of the whole, but I really do think that it's the Earth ponies who are responsible for most of the machines and gadgets that everypony uses.

3949198
Photo Finish isn't a unicorn and yet she has Da Magiks.

In my fic a few races have magic (ponies all breeds in some degree,dragons, changelings humans, few others i cant think of right now

3949584

I just don't see it that way.

Most unicorns explicitly don't have talents for spellcasting. that's very explicit, twilight having spellcasting is a very rare thing that's never once duplicated in the show. Outside starswirl the bearded and i dunno maybe clover the clever?
Even the other big magic power house unicorn magic users aren't based around spellcasting, spellcasting supplements what they already do and who they are. Celestia&Luna, Cadence can seemingly only do normal telekinesis + lighting and her love magic, Sunset shimmer we aren't sure exactly what her talent is but it's clearly not all magic and she's also textually more powerful than twilight at unicorn magic, Trixie's special talent is stage magic with again unicorn magic as a supplement.

What is an average unicorn then?

3949198
In my headcanon, the three races have their own magic:
- Unicorns can levitate things naturally, and if they train their powers they can cast spells. They use their horns to channel the magic, which makes it the most obvious form of all.
- Pegasi manipulate weather: walking on clouds does that and flying - which is nothing but manipulating wind with their wings (that's how it's even possible for them to fly, since according to the physics we know they shouldn't). Some pegasi can affect the weather by power of their will, but that's a rare power and hard to control.
- Earth ponies have neither wings nor horns; their magic comes from inside them. Plants react to it (only earth ponies can grow food, remember). In some earth ponies the magic manifests itself as psychic powers (e.g. the Pinkie Sense) but it's so rare and unreliable that it's commonly believed to be a myth.
- Alicorns bear all three kinds of magic, which amplify each other. They can also use their horn to channel earthpony or pegasus magic, like when Luna summons the thunderstorm in "Lunar Eclipse".

3949198 In the vein of other species, apparently any animal with wings has the magic to stand and walk on clouds.

In the video, the owl, wasp, and toucan land on the clouds and Fluttershy pulls the bat out of a nearby cloud. And when the camera pulls out, most of the flying animals are perched on clouds.

3949198

Unicorn magic is almost entirely conscious. In return for how powerful they may become, they have to learn specific spells and practice them. As such most unicorns only bother to learn simple spells that are practical in their everyday life, the exception being personal talent-related spells, which they do gain an intuitive understanding of.

Pegasus magic is only partly conscious. Most pegasi are aware that they're using magic to fly or manipulate weather, but couldn't explain exactly how they do it if asked. Their magic also makes them stronger, faster and tougher than other ponies on average, and they heal extremely quickly. Since their magic is very specialized, they are very unlikely to ever develop something resembling spells. However, like unicorns they gain more magical skill with conscious practice and experience.

Earth pony magic is almost entirely subconscious. Most earth ponies use magic intuitively without being aware of it, usually in the form of shifting natural energy from their hooves into their environment. Exactly what the magic does depends on the personal talents and habits of the individual pony. For example, Applejack can send magic into her apple trees by bucking them, cause them to drop their apples without harming the tree itself. In a similar way, Maud Pie can interact with rocks, smashing them to pieces or hurling them long distances with no apparent effort. Neither could probably explain how they do it and might even deny it's magic - it's just and instinctual thing they learned without being aware of it. Pinkie Pie is an extreme example - she has unusually strong magic and also unusually strong intuition, resulting in very unique abilities.

Rare earth ponies who do learn to use their magic consciously are capable of many unusual feats, though it's more accurate to call them mystics than spellcasters. Such ponies can boost their bodies, and also consciously send magic through their hooves to achieve specific results. For example, they may be able to walk on water, or even send their magic into the body of another pony by touching them. However, since earth pony culture completely lacks magical traditions, this is exceedingly unusual.

3949198
The way I've always described it is as such:

All three tribes are filled with magic. Equestria itself is steeped in magical energy and resonates with ponykind very well (as opposed to species such as griffons and minotaurs, which do not seem to possess magic and thus I assume are, at the least, effectively non-magical). However, the way it is expressed is very different for each.

Unicorns have active magic. They can consciously utilize the magic energy within them to cast spells. All unicorns possess a few common, relatively simplistic spells; more specialized and complicated spells are available to any unicorn who practices (thus the point of magical research and magical education), but spells related to a unicorn's cutie mark will always require less energy and come more naturally to them than those that aren't. As well, some unicorns are very naturalistic casters--magic comes to them relatively instinctively, by feel and willpower. Others are very logical, requiring research and mathematical calculations for their spells. Any unicorn can expand the amount of magical energy they can manipulate, the complexity of the spells they manipulate said energy into, and the amount of time they manipulate it. Think of it as magical weight lifting. However, on the other side of the coin, a unicorn can temporarily (or permanently, via death) burn out their magic use by either expending more energy than they can handle or pushing themselves too hard for too long. I also feel like unicorns would be able to access thaumaturgy, that is, utilizing the magic within the world around them via ritual and symbology.

Zebras possess just as strong a tie to the magical energies as unicorns, but where unicorns harness internal energy, zebras harness external. They make heavy use of alchemy and thaumaturgy, bringing out the power of the magic surrounding them and contained within others. This grants them a lot of versatility, and they are not quite as limited in how much and how long they harness their magic.

Changelings are moderately magical. Really, they possess a lot of innate magic, but most of that goes into their ability to perfectly copy any four legged animal. Beyond that, they possess only rudimentary magical talents (for their telekinesis, light generation, and a basic magical blast).

Pegasi magic lies somewhere between active and passive. In a way, some of their magic is always 'turned on' but can be 'turned off'. They can manipulate cloud stuff, even using it as structural material and platforms--but they can also just pass through, so it's not like it becomes truly solid. They have an innate sense of the weather and the best way to manipulate it. Their magic allows for their absurd speed (which is evidenced by the creation of a rainbow at truly immense speeds), especially their maneuverability. Personally, I've also got pegasi being somewhat immune to natural electricity. Their weather creation abilities also got me in a huge discussion with someone once on their lighting. It's my opinion that pegasi do not generate magical lightning--they simply can utilize the conditions already present to make natural lightning strike. However, that being said, there must also be something of magical influence in their ability to aim lightning relatively wherever they want it.

Since bat ponies are unfortunately a thing, it's my feeling that they were once pegasi who were simply affected by the strong magical energies underneath Canterlot, in the caves which they call home. Their magic is more passive than pegasi, almost fully so. They are generally larger and stronger than most pegasi and can't reach the speeds that pegasi can. However, with their bat-like wings they are far, far more agile and maneuverable. Their magic has also granted them much better night vision.

And earth pony magic is fully passive. It showcases itself in larger, stronger builds, high endurance and physical capabilities, quick healing and strong will powers. They also have ties to the natural world, knowing instinctively how to raise flora and fauna to the highest effectiveness.

3949198
I don't know if I call it a headcannon, but the system I've kinda built up in the various mental notes I have are as follows:
The different breeds of ponies each correspond to the domains of the world, the Earth, the Sky, the Sea and the Stars, and this influences their magic.

Earth ponies are the ponies of the earth (and tautologies are tautological). An like the earth their magic is slow and subtle. I typically have them as great detectors of various effects (i.e. Pinkie Pie, but she still has a fuzzy relationship with causality, and to an extent Granny Smith), without training or recognition this detection ability it often times becomes a form a synesthesia. They work their magic through contact and preparation, take for example a farmer tending their crops, or a craftspony, their magic influences their creation to take the form the pony wills, particularly when it falls under their CM.
That last bit is key for the more active and conscious aspects of earth pony magic. They can prepare unicorn-like spells in scrolls runes, but that tends to be forced and not really the interesting part, that being plane shaping and golemry. With enough investment the earth can cause very, very large changes (earthquakes), and with suitable preparation, a sufficiently powerful Earth Pony(ies) can craft reality to their will, for example terraformation. Golemry is another aspect where I give Earth Ponies an advantage. While unicorns can get golems to perform simple command by rote, an Earth Pony could make a golem in the likeness of a living mind These are two examples, but at the root, just as the earth can bend the rest of the world around it, so can earth ponies. (In my head canon EP magic is the least understood)

Pegasi are the ponies of the sky, The sky (atmosphere) only has influence around the earth. Likewise, Pegasi magic has influence within a certain range of the Pegasi itself (its aura for simplicity). Pegasi magic is a lot more active than Earth Ponies, but less so than unicorns. The most common example, of course, is weather crafting. Another example would be Fluttershy's 'the Stare', which in this system would be Fluttershy projecting her aura and overwhelming the target to submit to her will. Other examples would be the various tricks that Wonderbolts perform (like the buccaneer blaze which has a whole light show), or the sonic rainboom which was as much a magical feat as an athletic one. They can also be very keyed into something causes a change in their aura, making them decent detectors themselves, though in limited range. Pegasi magic is (like the Pegasi themselves, and the ever changing winds) the fastest acting, and the least structured of the magics. It is mostly performed via intuition, and extremely difficult to formalize. The area and strength of the aura varies from Pegasus to Pegasus.

Seaponies are the ponies of the sea (Redundancy HO!). I've not really developed them that much. But in this system their are/were seaponies. I mostly have it here to fill out the 4 domains paradigm. It likely be between EP's and Pegasi.

Unicorns are the ponies of the stars. An just as the star's influence have reached out far, their magic has the greatest range out of all others. Their magic is also the easiest to codify into basic shapes (spells, constellations). Their magic is also the most active/ conscious, Pegasi and Earth Ponies can perform their magic with out even thinking about it; Unicorns after their infant magical surges, can only perform magic if they consciously fit it into a spell. But talented Unicorns can create/learn so many spells it makes Unicorn magic the most flexible, and the ease which it can be codified makes it the easiest to teach. Unicorns are actually the worst detectors, their detection magic works by essentially pinging, this works well for magically resonant crystals, but for say 'detect life' it will overlook some life, and be the easiest to counter.

Just for completeness, Alicorns have the aspects of all 4 domains.

Yeah, actually, I think the first written example of my jumbled ideas on how pony magic works. Still needs a lot of development but *shrugs*.

3949198
Time for a late answer, as per my name.

First off, I'll cover the magic common to all ponies, regardless of tribe. Their whole bodies are permeated with it, making them one of the most magical races on the planet that are technically capable of living without it. This passive magic has a range of useful effects:

• Buffering their internal organs against impacts (bones are more vulnerable though)
• Substantially boosting their healing rate
• Eroding unicorn magic cast on them over time (this can be a good or bad thing)
• Giving their hair such vivid colours
• Allowing for manipulation of their manes and tails in various useful ways (called "capillurgy")
• Allowing their hooves to not only stick to flat surfaces, but also (with training) manipulate objects quite finely at touch range
• And of course, the big one - manifesting their cutie mark (a constant magical projection - hairs cut from it are the pony's natural coat colour) when they find their talent.

General principles
Pony magic is a sub-flavour of magic in general, with each tribe and even each individual having subtly different shades. A pony's magical capablilty rests on three "pillars" - their raw power, which is mostly fixed at an early age, their talent, which is totally beyond their control, and their experience/education. (Now, who do we know who gets top marks in all three?) Powerful ponies also tend to have longer natural lifespans, although overusing magic past their limits can invert that.

Now as for more specifics:

Unicorns
Actively utilize magic through their horns (although instinctive manifestations are possible, especially in children). Telekinesis comes to them as naturally as handwriting would to humans if we were born with written language, as do spells closely related to their talent - anything else requires deciphering complex patterns on par with a mix of sheet music and mathematical formulas, and without a close enough talent (or a magic talent like Twilight's) may be impossible anyway. So most unicorns know a few tricks well and maybe some petty utility spells. (Even TK alone can be surprisingly handy, though - and sometimes they forget the thousand ways other ponies lack it.)

Pegasi
Channel magic through their whole bodies, especially their wings. Flight in particular is instinctive, although more than getting off the ground requires athletic training/talent. At high speeds, pegasus magic accumulates around them forming a visible shield against the acceleration as well as an obvious contrail. Weather manipulation is probably their most active and intellectual power, but doing it on any scale still requires the use of one's body as much as one's head - gifted cripples are relegated to detail work in weather factories.

Earth ponies
The vaguest described in canon, it's not clear if they even have a universal power - it might vary depending on the land they're raised in or something. Still, the most common gift of theirs's alluded to is botanomancy - both passively enhancing the growth of plants by their very presence and more actively shaping them to form wonders like the old Ponyville library. (My headcanon makes this a double-edged sword though - land used to their magic will not be fertile again without it, at least for many years, and pushing plants too hard too fast will kill them.) Some earth ponies seem to eschew this gift in favour of manipulating the less organic fruits of the land - rocks, minerals and even jewels. And they are also highly represented in technically cross-tribal fields like cappilurgy and beastspeaking - although that might partly be down to me giving them a larger population.

Alicorns
Take all of the above and triple it - as your starting point. (That said, a new alicorn does take time to grow into their powers - and even they have their limits.)

Oddities
Not all ponies manifest their magic in the "proper" manner if their tribe. Some are sadly unable to do so, by injury or inborn defect - others demonstrate unusual powers, often linked to their talent. Some of these are common enough to be acknowledged as a "skill" - like beastspeaking - while others are more individual things, like the Stare. All draw on the same basic magic, though, and so follow measurable rules. And then there are the ponies which can do things that don't...

Earth Pony magic is extremely variable to me. My OC, Pale Vestige uses his connection to living things in order to track down other ponies and living things. It's why he's such a good detective.