ThePonyTheorist 
[@Incursor](/images/2846594#comment_10116068)
No worries!
1. Since the constant draining of magic appears to drain minerals from the soil (see Chrysalis's throne and the dead-zone around the Hive), the gas is probably synthesized by plants - particularly those which do not exist on our world. The magical energy itself is some property of the gas's molecular structure which makes it react to emotions in this way, I would wager (why it reacts, I have no idea - if that question was answerable, we could literally synthesize it IRL, so maybe that's something that is impossible to answer / has no realistic answer - it's naturally occurring in Equestria, which is all we know) - As for why a square means 3-dimensional movement - it could just be a naturally occurring result of the magic trying to make 'sense' of what it contacts and trying to increase order by making reality mimic the command?
2. That would make sense, and would provide a direct conversion of emotional/magical energy to kinetic force - which would be necessary for half of what we see. I like it.
3. Admittedly, no non-unicorns have actively teleported - it's possible is IS complex enough that other species have difficulty mimicking it. However, changelings do seem to match the physical characteristics of anything they transform into (Chrysalis casually swimming through a frozen lake as a cragadile, for instance) - I wouldn't say that it's too much of a stretch to say that they can mimic unicorn capabilities too. Hell, depending on how finely they can control their transformations, they could have a separate organ for transformation magic, allowing the newly transformed horn to be fully functional.
As for transformation powers: Twilight Sparkle has [also shown herself to be capable of shapeshifting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPxETDmDH30) - so while it is rare, that still isn't species specific. It's all about runes, and runes can be copied - but obviously if you have an instinctual ability to use one kind of spell, you're always gonna be better at it than a unicorn trying the same. On the topic of pegasi, as early as S1 Twilight was shown to be capable of mimicking cloudwalking.
But yes, it's far from easy. Magic is extremely complex - even if you think you understand it, it would be insanely difficult to make a set of runes which mimic everything in the show. Maybe you could do levitation, and if you stretch it portals, but there are still a lot of unknowns in the text-based components. If the writers actually put in an alphabet, it would open up a new realm of theorycrafting - but from my own analyses, if such a thing does exist, it doesn't translate directly to english. The text is almost certainly gibberish, albeit fun to try and translate...
BTW, about the black hole made by Starlight/Sunburst, I have my own theory for that: they tried to open a portal to a location where an object in the past was... And since the planet is in constant motion, it opened a portal to empty space. The pressure differential sucked them in.
No worries!
1. Since the constant draining of magic appears to drain minerals from the soil (see Chrysalis's throne and the dead-zone around the Hive), the gas is probably synthesized by plants - particularly those which do not exist on our world. The magical energy itself is some property of the gas's molecular structure which makes it react to emotions in this way, I would wager (why it reacts, I have no idea - if that question was answerable, we could literally synthesize it IRL, so maybe that's something that is impossible to answer / has no realistic answer - it's naturally occurring in Equestria, which is all we know) - As for why a square means 3-dimensional movement - it could just be a naturally occurring result of the magic trying to make 'sense' of what it contacts and trying to increase order by making reality mimic the command?
2. That would make sense, and would provide a direct conversion of emotional/magical energy to kinetic force - which would be necessary for half of what we see. I like it.
3. Admittedly, no non-unicorns have actively teleported - it's possible is IS complex enough that other species have difficulty mimicking it. However, changelings do seem to match the physical characteristics of anything they transform into (Chrysalis casually swimming through a frozen lake as a cragadile, for instance) - I wouldn't say that it's too much of a stretch to say that they can mimic unicorn capabilities too. Hell, depending on how finely they can control their transformations, they could have a separate organ for transformation magic, allowing the newly transformed horn to be fully functional.
As for transformation powers: Twilight Sparkle has [also shown herself to be capable of shapeshifting](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPxETDmDH30) - so while it is rare, that still isn't species specific. It's all about runes, and runes can be copied - but obviously if you have an instinctual ability to use one kind of spell, you're always gonna be better at it than a unicorn trying the same. On the topic of pegasi, as early as S1 Twilight was shown to be capable of mimicking cloudwalking.
But yes, it's far from easy. Magic is extremely complex - even if you think you understand it, it would be insanely difficult to make a set of runes which mimic everything in the show. Maybe you could do levitation, and if you stretch it portals, but there are still a lot of unknowns in the text-based components. If the writers actually put in an alphabet, it would open up a new realm of theorycrafting - but from my own analyses, if such a thing does exist, it doesn't translate directly to english. The text is almost certainly gibberish, albeit fun to try and translate...
BTW, about the black hole made by Starlight/Sunburst, I have my own theory for that: they tried to open a portal to a location where an object in the past was... And since the planet is in constant motion, it opened a portal to empty space. The pressure differential sucked them in.