Culture, Biology, and Dietary Headcanons

@Frustration in Excelsis  
That’s actually a pretty clever explanation of how they’re able to eat gems.

@mjangelvortex  
Together nitric and muriatic acid can dissolve gold, but it won’t do anything to most gems.

@Ninji  
It’s not? Oh well.
 
I did like the headcanon people made that some rocks and gems in the MLP world are actually made of organic materials. That way the Pie family can grow and eat them and it could explain why dragons can eat them too.

@mjangelvortex  
well, not sure what the real-life equivalent is but I know most living beings on earth are made of carbon and some gems are also carbon.
 
 
@Ninji  
what would dissolve gems though?

@Vortaxonus  
Gems are often ionic lattices of very stable materials in tight, chemical resistant bonds. A lot of smashing and heat would have to be used for a chance of dissolving a meaningful amount with even the strongest chemicals.
 
MLP gems could be made of organic polymers, maybe as a byproduct of plant or fungi. Like Jello, but harder (since crunching them leaves pronounced dental imprints)
 
Tree of harmony might even be evidence of a powerful fungal network that can be producing organic crystals that species can live on.

@Ninji  
so should it be the fungus of harmony? there’s a pun in that somewhere, but I can’t think of one.  
Though if it does take smashing and heat to dissolve gems, it would give the fire breath have some evolutionary advantage, as I imagine the organ responsible to make it would make have of the gem dissolving process if it was near the stomach. I also know some animals eat rocks to help their digestive processes.

@Vortaxonus  
Well the Tree of Harmony itself might be an actual tree. Trees tend to have complex fungal systems growing off of them, trees share nutrients and communicate in ways that are just now being discovered.
 
Gem digestion could be done with enzymes, tiny molecular machines that can produce enough force and or heat, but the stomach would have to be able to take any heat.
 
Thermoregulation and digestion of dragons is a fun subject.

This is vaguely related, but NSFW.  
I don’t really get it when people give Griffons canine-style pensies and/or knots. They should have wholly or mostly feline cocks (same applies to giving them like, equine female genitalia as well) and while I know that a lot of people don’t like feline cocks, I tend to prefer things being more accurate than appealing. Of course, griffons are not real so they can have whatever genitals you prefer.

@LightningBolt  
I’m with you on that one. But I also don’t mind when some artists mesh traits of both or make a unique design.

@mjangelvortex  
Yeah, I like it more when people merge more than just the body type in hybrid species, even canon hybrids.

Random equestrian magic ramblings and headcanons, may or may not always line up with canon but I try to. Unspoilered potential NSFW content ahead, so be warned if your little brother is watching. This is like a brain dump.
 
 
So, magic, magic magic magic. Magic is what makes Unicorns cause the world to revolve around them in universe, intentional or not. Due to this fact, I play with a variety of magical powers, from the mundane to the fantastical, with shitty unicorns to OP unicorns (that are not actually ponies). I don’t see an inherit issue with ‘OP magic’ as a concept, but people rarely utilize it well I’d say. I’m not saying I’m instantly superior, but I went for a concept of OP magic on a Siren who lives as a pony, but isn’t actually a pony, and has lived for over two thousand years, so he knows a lot of magic on account of having a shitton time of time to learn it and practice. But because he’s not a pony, he has no cutie mark that signifies any sort of magical specifics or prowess, so he has no magical speciality like actual unicorns do.
 
Magic has rules and guidelines, sure, if you know something you can just do it, but magic is dictated by emotions and focus, and some things are a lot harder than others. Using any sorts of spells on other living things is by default much riskier than on inanimate objects. You can twist and bend another pony’s (or other species) body and alter their physical biology, but if you fail to also edit the brain, it could lead to horrific side effects. I’ve sort of mused the concept that transgender transformation is incredibly risky as a concept, because, for one, if you just change the genitals of a pony, even temporarily for them to have some ‘fun’ or permanently as some form of magical surgery, it’s very easy for it go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing or are unfocused. You can easily ruin a pony’s life by destroying their genitals or brain or just causing them distress from things not lining up. It’s not something to be used by any unicorn that can learn it, it’s forbidden magic and it’s illegal.
 
Magic can travel between worlds, it can be contained in special artefacts that can be worn and allow channelling of said magic in those other worlds. However, without the artefact, you can’t do it, that is, if you’re not inherently able to channel magic anyway. Other worlds are not always so receptive or understanding of magic tho, you be cautious and don’t do anything risky or crazy in public. Other species are known to be incredibly paranoid and afraid of outsiders due to unfortunate past history.
 
Unicorns are, of course, not the only ponies, or species, with access to magic, but they can channel and direct it the easiest. This comes at a cost as that they have to use magic directly to be able to utilize it. Earth Ponies and Pegasi/Bat Ponies have passive magic that help them with their natural abilities. A unicorn who cannot use magic is worse off than an average Earth Pony.
 
Magic is heavily tied to mood and emotions and focus. A scatterbrained unicorn may rarely be able to pull off spells successfully, whereas a highly focused unicorn can pull off spells flawlessly every time. Feelings of great distress, anger, or arousal are the biggest factors to ruining magic focus. If you need a quick trick to stop a unicorn in their tracks, just rub their horn a little bit, only the most focused unicorns won’t get distracted by that. Just be careful as horns also work well as blunt stabbing tools.
 
All kinds of magic beyond the standard simple levitation requires practice and learning, and while self-taught can be sufficient for most unicorns, it will never yield any powerful beings unless they have several dozen lifetimes worth of years to hone their skills. Theoretically, a unicorn does not actually need to specialize in magic to be able to be good at it, but they would need at least several hundred years to be able to achieve that level of high success and power, which is impossible for the average lifespan of a unicorn. Longer-lived species can make use of this, but they rarely have any need for pony magic so it’s incredibly rare to see.
 

 
I probably have more in my head, but I kinda zoned out and stopped here. :v  
Basically all of this is aspects I have explored in writing and/or vectoring, or just backstory headcanon shit.

@LightningBolt  
Regarding spells for changing physical sex, one thing worth mentioning is that they are alluded to in canon – in “Magic Duel”, specifically. None of the characters actually pull one off, but the way the concept is presented implies that such things are theoretically possible, or at least enough so that it would seem believable that a ridiculously powerful unicorn could cast them, and that they’re simply beyond the power level of any actual unicorn to cast as such.
 
But! One idea I don’t see canon touch very often is the idea of magic-users pooling their resources. Fixing the Crystal Heart in “The Crystalling” is the only example I can think of off the top of my head. Even if a sex-changing spell might be beyond, say, Twilight’s or Starlight’s or Starswirl’s power to perform by themselves, Twilight and Starlight and Starswirl working together might be a different matter.
 
Alternatively, I wonder what might be the effects of casting a sex-changing spell on an egg cell or sperm cells. It seems like a fairly reasonable assumption that trying to change a very simple thing into another very simple thing would be much easier than changing a much larger, very complex and delicate system into another very complex and delicate system. Modifying individual cells would also avoid putting anyone in actual danger from a botched spell. Of course, this option would do jack-all for those seeking an equivalent of sex reassignment surgery.

@Frustration in Excelsis  
Yeah, that’s why I poke fun at the concept. It IS possible, but it’s very advanced and not to be played with lightly.
 
That’s a good point, and I don’t think I ever saw that either.
 
That’s an interesting concept. Not one I would ever explore personally, but the idea of spells to be able to modify cell structure at such a molecular level is neat.

@LightningBolt  

If I had to offer an opinion on that, I feel like the motivation behind that tendency might be either an influence or holdover from the furry fandom in general, as canine anatomy (on griffons and other things that shouldn’t have them) seems to be both a lot more common and a lot more popular with that group then does the feline variant. And maybe it’s an art thing, to some extent. I’m certainly not an expert, but one does strike me as potentially more complex from a drawing perspective. And there could be other factors as well. Size, for instance, and while I’m not one to suggest that the prevalence of giant throbbing horse and canine members is due entirely to wish fulfillment stemming from real life insecurities and/or disappointments, let’s just say I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if it had some small influence.
 
No pun intended on that last one.

@Background Pony #7CB3  
Yes and no. There was quite a bit of NSFW Griffon art with Griffons being more cat-like. But then Bad Dragon made knotted Griffon dildos and then that started a trend with the NSFW that stuck. But you’re right, I’ve seen people in the furry community slap knots on nearly anything including birds and reptiles.
 
@LightningBolt  
This is a pretty solid headcanon and I agree to most of it. The show has established that unicorns aren’t the only ones with magic. Pegasi have weather magic and the ability to walk on clouds, Earth Ponies have physical strength and connections to the earth by having “green thumbs hooves”, and there’s lots of non-ponies who can use magic too. I always did love the idea of Sirens having good connections with magic, so I approve of this.
 
The show also implied the same for emotion magic many times. I think magic being connected to emotions just really makes a lot of sense. And I also like the rules and limitations you brought up regarding that.
 
That being said, I do disagree a smidge on the gender swap spell for similar reasons Frustration in Excelsis brought up. I do like the idea of it being a complicated and rare spell. But it being risky and forbidden seems a bit much to me, especially when the show has already shown spells where characters change species (like becoming Breezies or Seaponies) that doesn’t seem to be that much of a problem.

@mjangelvortex  
I also imagine that due to how unicorn magic works, unicorns of more prone to evil/insanity. Just ask Sombra and Starlight in the corner for that.

@Vortaxonus  
Oh yeah, I believe that some unicorns can become mad with power because of magic. I think we might have discussed here at the idea of Celestia having her school to perhaps curb these sort of things from happening.

@Background Pony #7CB3
 
But then again, a feline penis would probably be very uncomfortable to be penetrated by…

@Mildgyth  
So are knots.

@Background Pony #7CB3  
Oh In know, I’m a furry. I just like seeing variety, which is probably why I like designing hybrid and monster penises. Plus I’m just a fan of semi-realism and non-three foot cock sizes. Knots are okay but I’m more fond of other types of animalistic cock features, like prehensile ones, or bumps, or even barbs.
 
@mjangelvortex  
Oh yes, I am aware what the show did. But since I’m such a sucker for dark and angsty things, I like to go for a more depressing approach on that topic.
 
@Mildgyth  
Sounds like a fun time. ;P
 
@Vortaxonus  
Yeeeesss. Absolutely. And I absolutely love it. I don’t know why, but I am totally okay with showing unicorns as more mentally unstable and prone to going off the rails over small things and causing big problems. Not exactly evil, I suppose, but not exactly good either.

@LightningBolt  

@mjangelvortex  

 
Of the two options presented, I think I agree more with LightningBolt in terms of transformation magic being restricted. Which is not to say that it can’t be learned by someone powerful enough and smart enough to use it properly (like Twilight, who has demonstrated the ability a time or two), but I think there are enough sinister implications surrounding the concept that even in a place like Equestria it would be a tightly controlled field of study. I mean, we saw what happened to Rarity with a spell that merely allowed her to manifest imagined items into physical reality.  
 
I can’t help but think the ability to warp flesh and bone at will would be as bad if not worse overall. And even if it didn’t lead to that level of giggling insanity, there’s still plenty of reason to suspect it would be the kind of power that absolutely corrupts. I mean, just consider for a moment the potential for cruelty such an ability could have, if left unrestricted. A pony skilled enough in that area of magical manipulation could likely inflict repeated and untold depravity upon helpless victims and never be caught, as they would be able to hide their transgressions with an immediate restoration to physical well being. And what’s to stop them from going further and learning the kind of magic to meddle with thoughts that Sombra had, or locating a magic artifact capable of tearing the knowledge of who you are from your mind?  
 
So to make a long story short, while I have no trouble believing that there are potions and spells in Equestria that allow for altering oneself in helpful ways (like Zecora’s potion that was able to mend Apple Bloom’s teeth)…  
 
… something to the extent of altering the entirety of ones body I think would be rightly regarded as a potentially dangerous bit of knowledge, and known only to a few responsible enough to use it properly.
 
 
@LightninggBolt  

Exactly how emotion and focus affect magic ability is definitely an interesting question. One of the things that makes me curious, however, is how they sometimes seem to be less at odds with each other and more like competing paths to a similar thing. I mean, just look at Twilight and Starlight. Twilight has always been the one for whom emotion seems to hinder her abilities. When she’s nervous or anxious or stressed, her magic abilities tend to either get erratic or harder to do. Starlight, on the other hand, uses emotion to fuel her magic, giving her some strong abilities, but also leaving one to wonder whether she has control over them or the other way around.
 
It almost has a Dungeons & Dragons quality to it, each with their own benefits and drawbacks. Innate ability that can only be unlocked through study, versus barely controlled power that might not always do what the user wants.
 
And for good measure, the one who has to make a deal with external forces to have abilities.  

 
 
@Vortaxonus  

Honestly, I don’t think that requires imagination. At this point, I’d say it’s almost canon to the series.
 
Which is pretty great in my opinion. Gotta love unstable magic users.
 
 
@mjangelvortex  

I believe this is what you are referring to.  

@Background Pony #8912  
Oh yeah, I can definitely see body or mind-altering magic as being either taboo or restricted by law. Perhaps it could be something similar to how doctors can prescribe medication for a person but if a random person did it they would be breaking the law because they don’t have enough experience in the field and could harm people by giving them medication that can hurt them.
 
Speaking of, Queen Novo treated the pearl she had as if it could also be used as a weapon or used in a way that could harm others even though the movie (and show) only showed it being used in a beneficial way to protect her people and expand her kingdom.

@mjangelvortex  
I think that the idea with using the pearl as a weapon was to use it to transform people into powerful forms for combat – rather than the pearl being a weapon in the direct sense, it would be used to turn people into weapons.

@mjangelvortex  

Exactly. I mean, heck, even over the counter drugs can be harmful if the person dispensing them isn’t aware of proper dosage or how they interact with other stuff someone might be taking. Full on body alteration is obviously going to be a bit more demanding on the knowledge requirements, and definitely seems like something that should require at least some basic safety requirements to prevent abuse.
 
 
@mjangelvortex  

An excellent point. Considering that they apparently only broke it out as a way to entirely abandon the surface world and escape a hostile invading force, it’s not too far of a stretch to think she’s right in not wanting to hand it over to someone who just appeared at her doorstep for who knows what purpose.
 
It also kind of offers another explanation as to why Twilight feels justified in trying to get it anyway. She’s apparently trusted enough in Equestria to have had access to that kind of restricted knowledge and has demonstrated a time or two before the ability to use it properly. But sans any sort of credentials proving that, all Queen Novo sees is a potentially unstable magic user going after something with unlimited potential for gross, The Thing-esque body horror.

@Frustration in Excelsis  
That’s kinda what I was thinking too. I don’t think the pearl itself could be used as a weapon but it could potentially be used to make weapons or make others into dangerous fighters.
 
@Background Pony #8912  
Exactly.