The Pony Universe

Introduction:
All ponies in the world are infused with magic of some kind, Earth Ponies, Pegasi Unicorns, and Alicorns alike; in essence all ponies are magical. That is why they are one of the two races (Zebras have them too) to posses Cutie Marks. While Unicorns are more in touch with magic than the other three races (Alicorn magic is stronger, but only towards whatever their CM is) all ponies posses some form of it. Earth Ponies are capable of manipulating the land better than the others, while Pegasi can manipulate the sky. It is in fact Pegasi magic that can hold them up in the clouds. (Griffins also possess this form of magic, though that is about all they have unlocked with their touch of magic.) This is all based on the fact that the solar system they live in is magic itself. It was created with magic, by who? who knows. All that is known is that the entire solar system works on magic and not the laws of physics familiar to you and I. That is why the Ponies have to control it all. Celestia turns the planet while Luna makes the moon satellite around the world. The Everfree Forest, maybe an abomination to these laws, works on its own rules, the laws of physics known to us. The constant rotation of the planet and moon done by the Ponies however keeps this small abomination functioning. That is an unintentional reaction to the sun and moon's rise and fall.

Theory on the Cutie Mark:
The Cutie Mark is a mark of magic, indicating to not only the possessor of the mark but all other Ponies where their magic is the strongest in that area. It is theorized that if the CM should be removed, their connection to their most powerful forms of magic are removed. The Cutie Mark is almost like a link to the possessor’s magical connection with the world. That being said, the Cutie Mark is just as magical as the Pony bearing it. Whenever a Pony unlocks their magical talent, they have bridged the gap with the world’s magical essence and now have access to their most powerful magic. Now the Cutie Mark itself is a strange thing all together. If one were to try and move the fur on the hindquarter of the possessor they would find that the fur would in fact be two different colors. The Cutie Mark is not colored by the fur on their legs, shown clearly by its perfect design without any fraying from fur. Any fur moved away from the cutie mark will regain the color of the pony’s natural coat color, while if moved back into the Cutie Mark the fur would once again have the color(s) of the Cutie Mark. It has been said through experimentation that the Cutie Mark is a magically projected image on the pony, hence why it would take a magical spell to remove it. Should one simply cut the skin below the fur, the image would come back with the healed skin and fur.

Theory on Unicorns:
Unicorn Ponies are the same as Earth Ponies in every way except they have single horn on their skull that is infused with magical energies. The horn acts almost as if it were a focal point of all of the Unicorn’s bodily lay lines. Like “chakra” Unicorns have magical lines that span their entire bodily network. The horn crested on their head acts like a powerful tower capable of transmitting this inner magic outward. Other species also posses a horn, like the Changlings. They are infused with magic the same way as Unicorns, but their magic is chaotic and uncontrolled, hence the lack of a Cutie Mark. A Unicorn’s power could be determined by how in sync with the world around them they are or how well they can focus their inner magical prowess. Twilight Sparkle is infused with so much magical potential that her inner lay lines are buzzing with magic. Snails however has such little magical power that his inner lay lines are almost nonexistent.

Theory on Pegasi:
Pegasus Ponies do not have magical lay lines that run through their bodies, instead they are surrounded by a magical field. This field is what allows them to manipulate the weather conditions of the planet. Their magical barrier connects with the magical forces that generate weather elements. The fact that weather is created in a factory run by Pegasi help too. The magic infused in the clouds, or rain even, can become connected with the Pegasi’s own magical barrier. This barrier is what also protects Rainbow Dash from being torn apart when casting the Sonic Rain-boom. The Sonic Rain-boom is a great example of Pegasi magic. Using her magical barrier to prevent friction with the air molecules instead gathers them up. To gather enough molecules to cast the Rain-boom one must be moving at very high speeds. Rainbow’s wings are very stout, as it’s a part of her magic. Because she is talented in speed, her connection with the world gives her the strength and stamina required to fly at her higher speeds. Since Fluttershy’s magic is not based on flight, but rather the nurturing of animals, her magic for flight is very weak. Her magical connection is not focused on her wings and therefore her flying is never really capable of stepping over 5 WP. Pegasi wings, as I’ve implied, are in a since magical. They are the equivalent to a Unicorn’s horn. The wings are infused with magical properties that not only cast the magical barrier around the Pegasus, but also connect with the magical properties of the sky and air. This is what allowed Discord to remove their wings without causing to much harm.

Theory on Earth Ponies:
Earth Ponies are more or less infused with magic that deal primarily with the planet surface and all it’s properties. They are capable of understanding food growth and harvesting cycles better than any other Pony race. While not all Earth Ponies are farmers, they make the best choices for that line of work. With strength predominantly in their legs and hooves they are capable of greater physical feats than that of the others. Apple Jack is in touch with the planet in a way that allows her to buck trees better than most ponies around. The magical focal point on any Earth Pony is their hooves. They connect with the elements in the planets surface much like a Pegasus does to control the weather. This is why Pinkie Pie is still useful to buck trees even though it is not her magical prowess. Earth Ponies are capable of moving earth faster than any other. Even Unicorns have trouble moving earth in the way of an Earth Pony.

Theory on Alicorns:
Alicorns posses magic that lay outside of these three sub-branches. Alicorns are only strong in the magical field of their Cutie Mark. While they do posses the same strength of an Earth Pony, the weather manipulating skills of a Pegasus, and the magical connections of a Unicorn; their magic is weaker in those fields. Alicorn’s magic is very narrow in capabilities. Should an Alicorn attempt to be as strong in any of the three fields they would surly fail. However, where their magic is strong is where it would exceed the strength of the others. Luna controls a celestial body by herself, as does Celestia. Before them it took teams of Unicorns to control the sun and moon rotations. Also because of the strong magic that flows along the Alicorn’s lay lines, they are capable of living a couple thousand years. Like a Unicorn however, should an Alicorn damage their horn, their magical focus will be disturbed and they will be weaker. It is theorized that if an Alicorn were to have a damaged horn, their life span would also be shortened.

Theorys on Exceptions:
There are of course exceptions to these rules. Ponies like Pinkie Pie or Octavia who do not focus on moving the earth are instead stronger in the field of their Cutie Mark. Also Unicorns that prefer to focus their magic on certain fields like Rarity or Vinyl Scratch will lose some of their potential in other areas. Even Pegasi like Fluttershy or Derpy Hooves can lose some capabilities of flight should their magical talent not be in such. Furthermore the Alicorn Princess Cadence is more skilled in her love spells than that of moving great heavenly bodies.

Non-Pony Theories:
Some of the other races on this world are infused with magic to a limited degree. Griffins can walk on clouds because their wings produce the same magical barrier around them, but that’s all it is capable of doing. Dragons can cast fire related spells, hence why Spike has to burn Twilight’s notes. Zebras are more infused with manipulative magic, that is why Zecora is very talented in potions. Draconequus are the embodiment of chaotic magic, hence why Discord‘s spells were so random.

Theory on the Planet:
The planet itself is governed by magical properties. This is why Discord could change the planet’s surface and physical appearance. The world functions on magic except for the Everfree Forest which is devoid of any form of magic. The Ponies have to control the planet because their magical forces have to push the planet’s own magic into motion. The planetary lay-lines are presumed to run along the surface of the planet in a winding grid that has it's focal points wherever the lay-lines cross. At these crossing points the magic follows an ever changing line to the core, where the magic is created.

Theory of Non-Unicorns becoming Alicorns:
As we have observed by watching their world, it would seem that Unicorns can become Alicorns through the creation of new magic. However, is becoming an alicorn only limited to unicorns? Maybe not. Pegasi posses magic, as do earth ponies. Their magics are just not as focused. However, what if they did focus their magic? Rainbow Dash is the only pegasus capable of doing this, as her magic is very well focused. Apple Jack might be the earth pony liable for becoming an alicorn, but she doesn’t seem to focus on her special talent quite as much as Rainbow Dash, as Apple Jack is where she wants to be at all times. Unless she’s asleep, her only draw back and main thing possibly to keep her from becoming an alicorn, Rainbow Dash is ALWAYS focused on flying as fast as she can. Even “casting” the sonic rainboom more than once. She’s also the ONLY pegasus thus far capable of casting the spell.

If she focused her time and energy on her special talent it can be assumed that Rainbow Dash would in-fact develop the magical lay-lines needed to grow a horn. If she practiced her magic, as unicorns do, her well practiced magic would grown the needed magical lay-lines out from her wings and throughout her body till all she needed to do was develop a new form of pegasi magic to make the last part complete.