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I think you're really trying too hard here, ZeroBlue. If you want to believe it, then go ahead, but I find it silly to think that a pegasus could do a hadoken. I don't find the conversation interesting anymore, but I'll finish my thoughts on it from what you see as vindication (when I'd have trouble even calling it "evidence.")
 
Zecora's been doing magic for a while now. That is nothing new. But all of which involve mixtures. She's never glowing or anything, and she doesn't appear to be concentrating or focusing while performing that act. It's not her own ability to perform magic so much as it is her knowledge of magic.

(Or to take a phrase and use it here, science is indistinguishable from magic without understanding.)

It's never explained why she could refill her cup from nothing, but that doesn't make it magic (and it most certainly doesn't mean it's a manipulation of energy.)

1. Water is not energy. There is a large difference in conjuring water and concentrating energy into a blast. So even if Dash could learn the properties of what mixture Zecora used, it still would be far removed from any ki blast.
2. Energy used to refill water without moving it from another source indicates magic of a different nature. It's probably not raw ki so much as it is a spell or incantation.
   1. Or it could be a magicked cup. Think of a cup with a spell that can somehow duplicate the remnants of the cup by running your hoof around the edge. Always check to see if there are alternative hypotheses. That's part of the scientific method.
       
       
      Besides, Rainbow Dash is probably the second least likely of the six to train with the discipline of a monk (far ahead of Pinkie Pie). Dash might sprint and fly about to train, but she's not going to sit and concentrate for hours learning how to temper any "ki" a pegasus has (assuming ponies have "ki." Remember, this is a universe of talking ponies where the sun is regularly raised by an alicorn, and a shadow sombrero nearly took over the land by grunts and torturous nightmare doors.) One can't assume the same sort of mechanics in regards to energy and magic as our human theories in fantasy do.
       
       
      I mean, if you want it for a fanfiction, then go for it. But it's far from canon.

EDIT: I love you Pyro.

@Jolly
It just aired.
Give it an hour or two and it will be up.

Yeah, I was afraid of that. I wanted to see if I could catch it before I have to go out today (grrrr having a life). Oh well, I guess I'll see it tonight.

Zecora uses voodoo magic, which is a mixture of magical concoctions and slight of hand. It can be taught to anyone, but it's not like she can throw fireballs or something ridicules like that.

@Verbose and Windigo

The problem with assuming she isn't using some kind of legitimate magic is that it wouldn't make sense for her to know a ton about magic without being able to use it herself.

Also, stuff specific from Verbose:

-Turning energy into Mass is a more difficult (in theory) trick than just blasting the energy out.
-Spells kinda DO have to work with energy. Otherwise it's just nature's Cheat code, and considering we've little evidence of magic being just a program (other than the fourth wall)… you figure it out.

Also, I'm working on the assumption that "Ki" is just a word for magical/spiritual energy. As it's usually referred to as a supernatural effect. As such, any being with any magic would have Ki. Which includes the whole "moving cloud magic" the pegasi have.

Edit: You're right that Dash wouldn't be the First candidate though. Unless of course we're talking Ninjas using Ki, which is less discipline and more force of personality/will with a bit of ingenuity.

Edit 2: Also, I'm not exactly trying to argue the "Rainbow Douken" theory is canon, just trying to make it sound convincing enough for a fanfic to be able to get away with not using an AU tag. That's the point. It's a fan theory for fan-fiction. It's me filling in the gaps where the show's creators are silent on how everything works. And I do it mainly for the fan fics. So yeah Verbose, it being something that "if you want it for a fanfiction, then go for it. But it’s far from canon" is kinda the entire point I was trying to make in the first place… Did you not hear that part back at the start? Or did I not mention that?

Dang it, Verbose (and now Giga) beat me to the punch. Oh well. Here's what I was starting to write, before it became redundant:

And like Verbose said, her ability is not necessarily any different from her potion-making, which is simply derived from her unique knowledge of things.

Pyro = Win

Verbose.
Verbose.

I will eat your babies. With steak sauce.

Just thought you should know.

Seriously though, Fluttershy did plenty. I will just have to disregard your opinion on the matter henceforth.

So about the episode's ending.

@Ingway: Maybe it was after effects. Don't ruin it for me.

Was it just me, or is this episode the first time Alicorn has been said in the show?

No, it wasn't you. I think it was indeed the first time the word Alicorn has been used in the show.

@This: "And like Verbose said, her ability is not necessarily any different from her potion-making, which is simply derived from her unique knowledge of things."

Well, sure, knowledge. It's kinda hard to use magic without knowledge of it. Wizards use magic through Knowledge and study…

…Sorcerers on the other hand…

Sorcerers use magic through instinct carried through their magical bloodline. Which is kinda how I think most Unicorn Magic works. They learn their abilities by trusting their instincts.

Twilight is both Sorcerer and Wizard obviously, as she both studies and trusts her instincts.

I know I'm Quoting D&D Logic here, but I still think it works.

To anyone who didn't saw yet:

Ahem:

And:

Sort of unrelated, but twitter just gave me this:
http://themarysue.tumblr.com/post/36824021661/itswalky-goddessofcheese-shadesoffantasy
I feel like such a n00b…

Synchtube
playing too many pinkies then The Great and Powerful Trixie

So I thought we said no spoiler tags after an episode airs. Therefore, this shall not be spoilered.

>Saddle Arabia
>Saddle Arabia
>SADDLE ARABIA

Really? I paused my computer and yelled at it for awhile because of how stupid it was.

Nice to see Alicorn become a canon term.

Did anyone else notice this? Twilight's magic has become significantly more powerful, but several levitation spells at once still tire her out.

While I still see Zecora relying mostly on illusions and potions, her refilling of the glass makes me wonder if Zebras specifically (not Earth Ponies and Pegasi in general, sorry Zero) have some mild form of magic.

The alicorn amulet (probably) has nothing to do with Sombra… so much headcanon, destroyed.

Arabian Horses are a canon race.

That comic totally nailed it though. Redeemed/Humble Trixie actually speaks in the first person. It was weird to hear.

Finally, it appears Twilight's magic studies has given her awareness of the 4th wall…

I see Zecora using a very different type of magic. Forgive me if I use a D&D analogy, but it's Wizard vs. Druid here.

While I still see Zecora relying mostly on illusions and potions, her refilling of the glass makes me wonder if Zebras specifically (not Earth Ponies and Pegasi in general, sorry Zero) have some mild form of magic.

Magic mirror.
Magic amulet.
Magic cup.

Like I said, I didn't want a redemption story just like the Nightmare Moon battle.

…all of which involve mixtures. She’s never glowing or anything, and she doesn’t appear to be concentrating or focusing while performing that act. It’s not her own ability to perform magic so much as it is her knowledge of magic.
-Verbose

Her refilling spell was more in the line of unicorn-style magic than her standard illusion magic or potions. Yes, she has things the ponies call "magic", but they are probably pre-charged, and the amulet was a fake anyways, how many others could just be fake? More of her usual "spells" are potions, which any pony who knew how to make them right could make. They don't require magic, they're made with inherently magical ingredients that just need special handling (See: Poison Joke, its antidote, Heart's Desire, all of which were used by ponies who were not Zecora). On the other hand, her physical "spells" are more in the line of a magician's illusions.

However, that refilling cup made me think more along the line of actual, unicorn-style magic. It's not like she needed to have an illusion of that sort up her sleeves; it was more of an inconvenience that needed to be resolved than "Twilight Sparkle will spill the cup/I will have a trick ready to fill it up". She just used it practically in the way that Twilight uses levitation to pull books off of the shelves.

@New episode

I've been trying to avoid spoilers for every episode so far, but I'm not doing a very good job since I keep coming back here. Going into this, I knew that Trixie was going to return. I thought to myself, "How are they going to handle this one? I hope they do a good job." Is this a good episode? I say yes, yes it is. Not only did I like the return of Trixie, but I also liked Zecora and all the call backs to previous episodes. I feel that this is one of the best of season 3.

@Twilitlord

I was simply saying that there are magic items in the show. Zecora's amulet was a doorstop.

For example, the Alicorn Amulet was a magic amulet and not fake. It's not farfetched that Zecora had come across a magically-refilling cup. She just happened to have the cup and activated its magical properties by running her hoof along the edge.

No character would need magic to activate a magical item like that.

Yep. Trixie throughout this episode in a nutshell

Really liked this one for the gags and such but the whole thing was done very well. Anyone's fanon get a slam'n?

Except, often using a magic item is depicted as requiring some level of magical skill; not necessarily in this show, but it makes sense.

A magic item is theoretically easier to create if the trigger, or catalyst, is also magic. It's more energy efficient in one sense.

Also, non-magic users who ant to use a magic item in most shows, kinda need to "bluff" their skill at magic, using some kind of force of personality to force it to work, which is coincidentally how D&D describes how Sorcerers get their magic to work.

Ah the legendary "cup of refilling", one of Equestria's most valuable artifacts no doubt. Right up with the "deck of choosing the right card" and "the scarves of pulling out of thin air".

(yes I realize that the above trick is not identical to Zecora's, but you get my point.)

Just at a wrestling meet, beating the shit out my fellow man. Frankly, more concerned with trying to find some privacy to watch some Trixie. Can it be pony time yet?

Picture would be Trixie, but all spoiler risks must be avoided.

Sure the cup itself could be a magical item, but personally I think Zecora has mild Zebra-based magic (I like Serious Business's comparison to a D&D Druid, personally, more on that later). I know how the mirror glass works, windigo, and spilling the glass would kind of ruin the trick. Unless she's pouring water in the glass somehow, I personally believe it's a sort of summoning spell – not very powerful, since it only refilled the cup, but magical in the MLP sense nonetheless.

Anyways, if I was going to qualify her magic, I would say it was more druid-like than sorcerer. Sure, her magic is learned, and she herself has said so now, but it seems much more connected to nature than traditional Unicorn Magic. Lots of her magic is potion-based, and real druids relied more on potions and natural ingredients than spells, and what magic she has used is more in the style of control of nature or natural items.

This kind of fits in with how I see the powers of each race of ponies: Earth Ponies have special connections to nature, especially the earth, Unicorns control magic, and Pegasi are masters of the sky (the extent of their special abilities is fight and cloud control, which I think factors more into their physiology being able to interact with clouds like solid objects instead of being actually magical; Twi's spell in Sonic Rainboom probably modified the ponies' physiology to be similar to Pegasi's). While we haven't seen any more, I think Zebras fit somewhere in between Earth Ponies and Unicorns: They have a special connection to nature, but control it in a supernatural way.

@Verbose & Zero

Just a small note for everyone talking about the alicorn name drop…technically it still doesn't refer to ponies with wings and horns. It was a word used in connection to the necklace, not once was it used in reference to winged unicorns. If we go by nothing but canon, it's just some random word used to refer to an object of great power.

The point is that Zecora probably isn't magic.

Whether or not the cup is magic or it's an illusion, she doesn't need magic to make it work.

ZeroBlue, Trixie didn't have to use any of her magic power to use the necklace.

BEST EPISODE EVER!!!!!

EDIT: NEEDS MOAR TRIXIE

You know how I said the spoilers of "Magic Duel" reminded me of one episode of "Teen Titans"?
I was thinking about it and I realized that the two episodes are damn near identical.

>the episode's main focus is the battle between a blue, evil, stage magician with white hair who found an ancient magic artifact that drained his/her sanity vs a magic hero voiced by Tara Strong.
>blue magician starts to wreak havoc, humiliating our group of heroes.
>Tara is seperated from her friends
>heroes end up in a city built in the image of the blue magician
>magician removes the goof-ball of the group's ability to talk
>magician forces heroes to do humiliating tasks, including using magic to force one of them dance
>magician is eventually beaten by a plan devised by Tara involving the use of stage magic trickery.

(ps. It probably is a coincidence)

Here's the episode for reference:

Um guys, that Applejack feather tickle scene.

Why do I get the feeling certain people are gonna abuse it?

From what we can tell though, Trixie's amulet only works for unicorns right? And most of the time she's using it, it seems to either be actively changing the properties of her magic or her magic is activating the amulet.

And in an interesting theory, I imagine that in some settings, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to perform magic on a being with Zero magic. In that magic most likely interacts best with other magic.

Theoretically, I think Zecora is using some kind of basic control of a kind of magic not meant to be controlled like this. And considering that Zecora is the best candidate for comparisons to a meditative Monk… And comparisons with the "Weaker natural force, better control" character in star-wars; Yoda, are completely valid.

You saw that coming.

Anyways, Lauren Faust said all ponies (and probably every race period) possess Magic; but the question is how the magic is meant to be used… And in this case, and possibly future uses, some ponies may be able to use their magic in ways they were never intended.

Thus… Zecora using magic.

Also, Note that Pinkie Pie breaking the fourth wall seems to be able to be accomplished by Twilight's magic… meaning that it's possible that Pinkie is Essentially using a kind of magic as she breaks through the fourth wall. And a similar case could be made for the Pinkie sense.

Edit: Now that I think about it, it feels like you're spending a lot of energy trying to explain away what the episode showed as something else. It's like you're trying to ignore the new evidence that this episode brought to light just to hold onto the old ideas. Shouldn't we take what the episode is implying at face value? That Ponies other that Unicorns can use magic voluntarily (or at least Zecora the Zebra Can).

Guys… WHAT IS MAGIC?

I side with Verbose here, and I'll provide citations.

In classic fairy tales, there are tons of times when a "muggle" used something magical (paragraph four). Happens all the time.

"Trixie's amulet only works for unicorns" – Only unicorns have used it, but who says no one else can?

Here's the list of stories where magic DOES effect non-magical characters and they CAN use magical items, if not create them.

MY CONCLUSION: it's a magic cup. Zecora knows more of magic and lore than anyone, and has QUITE A COLLECTION of interesting items around her house. Zecora can teach Twilight about magic the same way a chemistry teacher can teach chemistry without any chemicals. She just knows a lot about it.

I'm glad to see that someone else had the same thought about the guy in the opening that I did:

@Trixie's mistrust of wheels
There's a story there somewhere…

And RandomMan got to have some fun, too!

So, the first thing I said after watching today's episode was "Wow, this actually rivals Luna Eclipsed!" as I watched it again, I kept an eye open to see who wrote it and…yup, M.A. Larson. So this guy has written my favorite episode, what's gearing up to be my second favorite episode, and a whole bunch of other notable mentions like sonic rainboom, super speedy cider squeezy 6000, Return of harmony, and the Cutie mark chronicles…Ya, I'm officially a fan of this guy. I mean fuck, he can actually write Fluttershy in a way that I find hilarious instead of annoying.

Time to begin work on the shrine!

The problem there is that we have reason to doubt that she'd know anything relevant to unicorns if she came from another country where Unicorns may not even exist.

Think about it, the only thing that unicorns really Have to do is raise the sun and moon. And that is currently done by two individuals.

A country where Unicorns haven't been seen for thousands of years is not only plausible… But the fact that Zecora, a Zebra, is a completely unknown topic to all the regular ponies is at least a minor leaning towards it being a legitimate conclusion.

…Unless of course, it turns out Zebras can be Unicorns too. But I suspect someone here is going to argue against that.

Now if you think she knows Unicorn specific knowledge from studying, then when did she get this opportunity to study unicorns? She does seem to have spend most of her time on this continent holed up in a forest away from other ponies.

If it's general knowledge, why would she be so adamant about concentration?

And most importantly… Why would she even bother with learning knowledge about non-medicial-plant-based-magic if she couldn't use it herself? Such as Unicorn Spells? Which is exactly what she's teaching Twilight.

It's too fishy to say she can't use magic. It doesn't add up to say she can't. And unless the writers have a definite answer on the issue, we have to assume she indeed can do something.

Also, I feel like making a comparison to D&D. Most of the time, there is a whole bunch of Wizard Spells that require Material components. Like dust and all being scattered. But Sorcerers (Which Unicorns are comparable to) get a free pass on materials and can use spells without them.

Just a thought.

Click image to see bigger

I'm still stuck on the fact that Twilight summoned parasprites.

Verbs: You know what read my next post.

Sorry, Verbose, but my headcanon says that Zecora at least has some sort of inherent magic. Maybe not pure magic like the Unicorns, but some sort of natural magic nonetheless. Sure, she could have some magical devices, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have any magic personally. The thing is, we've only seen one Zebra, but she is physiologically different enough from the average pony in more than just color that I'm tempted to call Zebras a different race of ponies. Just because they don't have horns doesn't mean they're not magical. They just have a different grasp of magic.

On the other hand, Arabian Horses' special power is looking stupid.

Okay, I Think I've got some more on the Zecora Front…

Twilight had a bit of trouble using dark magic at first back in the crystal Empire. And it's possible that it's a sign that dark magic is not native to unicorns either; and that it had to be learned from other creatures.

And considering her Aura slowly changes from her natural colors; it looks to be infer-able that she's changing her unicorn magic into a very different kind of magic; and obviously it's important to note that this rarely happens when she uses any other spell.

What's to say a similar process can't happen with Zecora, or some other pony?

For me, the fact that Dark Magic is still essentially magic.

Like I said, I don't believe that other kinds of pony (other than Zebras, but they can only master specific forms of magic, ie nature magic) can learn magic. It's just not possible. Other than Alicorns, who are the unification of the three aspects of traditional ponydom (Earth, Unicorn, Pegasi), I believe that only Unicorns can use true magic. Remember in Hearth's Warming Eve that only Unicorns could raise the sun. They didn't say that some earth ponies could, or pegasi. It was only Unicorns. Like I said above, though, I don't consider Zebras to be part of traditional ponydom. They have limited powers, but also cannot raise above that limit like a Unicorn could. Instead, they rely on brews with inherently magical components that any pony could make if they did it right to complement what magic they have.

On the other hand, Dark magic is still a form of what I call "Pure Magic" or "Unicorn Magic". It's said that Sombra was corrupted by it, and we've only seen Unicorns or Alicorns use it. I think it's just magic, but corrupted by being pulled from a different source or something of the sort. Note that other than Dark Magic, which seems to have the same style of aura no matter who it's used by, hers stays that magenta-ish color the whole series, even as her power increases and she uses dark spells.

In other words, Pure Magic is like the Force: it has a light side and a dark side, and one can theoretically use both, but you can't use either if you aren't Force-sensitive.

liek dis.

Sooner or later, someone's gonna try to make an article out of these

And I can guarantee that it will get confirmed.

I liked this episode. Even though Trixie didn't get a proper punishment in the end I still liked the method Twilight used. It was perfect. I could see it coming a mile away but it was still pretty clever. Also it left me thinking about R63…

…they know.

Plus we got to see Zecora again which I was very thankful for.

Speaking of which I see that we are entering a huge over-analysis over Zecora's magical ability. despite the lack of a horn.

I am of the thinking that Zecora is an enchantress rather than a wizard. The difference is that she uses charmed items and enchantments that bear magical ability rather than Zecora expelling the magic herself.

I liked the analogy that Serious Business used: Druidism vs Wizardry (in the typical RPG sense) simply different kinds of magic which are used in different ways and can be used by different creatures.

It's not really a stretch of the imagination to think that Magic can be used in more way than one and is totally not limited to unicorn horns. Horns simply provide access to naturally produced magical force but magic can be artificially produced from charms items as well.

A couple tumblr artists have capitalized on this idea before. One that comes to mind is the alternate universe tumblr where Pinkie Pie is the element of magic. Even though she was still an Earth Pony, she could use magic through enchanted glasses. I'm borrowing that bit of headcannon to explain Zecora. For instance she refilled that cup magically through an enchantment on the cup. Makes enough sense to me.

But if you think differently, I'm not going to argue. Pretty much anything goes here, really.

I just realised… In this episode, Friendship was actually magic!
AWESOME!

To summarize up this episode:

It was a very large shout-out towards the fandom.
The fact they broke the 4th wall with the "Flash Animation" spell, paired Lyra and Bonbon up again with Lyra holding a drink while giving absolutely no fucks, brought back a beloved antagonist, made the word "Alicorn" canon shows that Studio B is the best studio ever.

@Twilightlord
The thing is, the force kinda "Binds everything in the universe" meaning every being possesses a degree of it. But some of their races are more likely to have force sensitivity than others, and some even use it differently.

So unicorns would be one similar to one of the races with near universal force sensitivity; while pegasi and earth ponies have a much lower number of those sensitive to magic; but much like the race of "Humans" in star wars, who have a catostrophicly small number of natural users, they still manage to have a notable number of users (a handful of the main characters in star-wars being of note, and in MLP, a number of the Mane 6 are suspect).

Almost forgot about this one.

I rest my case.

So using external objects to work as focuses (Foci?) for spells that use the magic user's own magical power?

Yeah, that could work. It could even fit within the D&D analogy, seeing as many a D&D style spell requires a focus.

And thus, it would be that Unicorns just happen to have an inbuilt Focus.

Edit: Also, can you link to the Tumblr with Pinkie Pie, Element of Magic?

So Twilight uses the spell #25 (the one she learns in boast busters) to show up Trixie. COME ON TWI is that the best you got?