That’s what I always wonder

@Background Pony #34B6  
Nonsense. The show has no more “proven” your perspective than it has any other forced interpretation of things. Magic can do just about anything they want, and that definitely includes strong methods of attack.

Wing slap.

@Millennial Dan  
But the Changelings are weaklings.  
Even Fluttershy’s “cowering” knocked them out, apparently. The laser beams are a thing, sure…but given the cirumstances we can assume that’s as powerful as they get (Celestia aside), and I really doubt they’d do much to larger creatures. They might stun the teen dragons, but considering dragon scales, that’d be about it.
 
And the spell she used wit hthe pinkies wasn’t meant to “destroy”, but “exile” (that’s what it seemed to me at least). I dunno, I just think their magic simply isn’t supposed to be offensive in nature, which reflects in the way its used 99% of the time even though they’re often pitted against dangerous creatures (the Manticore, the Hydra, etc).
 
Again, that’s just my interpretation, but I think that’s what the show has proven until now, and Im actually quite glad with the way it portrays unicorn magic.

@Background Pony  
Well, what about the second part of “A Canterlot Wedding”, and “Too Many Pinkie Pies”? Twilight used some kind of magic cannon in both of those, and she’s used force fields at times as well.

@Millennial Dan  
This is actually an issue I’ve always had.  
If they really had in them, then we would’ve seen something despite the show obviously trying to avoid violence. Unicorn magic simply doesn’t seem to be that combat-oriented.  
The elements of harmony are one thing, but we know Twilight’s basically as tough as a unicorn can get, and even she decided to run from Timberwolves rather than face them.
 
And things like these actually make the show mor enjoyable for me. If Unicorn magic allowed them to wrestle with wild monsters on even terms, the show would lose a bit of its unique feeling, at least for me. I like it that their magic is more “objective-oriented” rather than battle magic, forcing them to find creative solutions to defend themselves from other creatures, such as Twilight’s strategy against the Ursa Minor. At least for me.

@Spiked Punch  
Twilight has magic, doesn’t she? Unicorns like her could be pretty dangerous if they had it in them to be.

@Spiked Punch  
Or fight.
 
They’ve done that before, haven’t they?

@Millennial Dan  
Three soft-furred farm animals and one baby fleeing from three bigger, carnivorous creatures with diamond-crushing fangs, probably equally-sharp claws, extremely tough scales, and incinerating firebreath?
 
Pshhh…yeah, what a bunch of fillies. Because any hoofed herbivore that respects herself would stay to be massacred with honor, right?

@Background Pony Number 17  
And they kind of failed at it too, since all four of them just ended up fleeing like a bunch of fillies.

@Millennial Dan  
And against traditional gender roles. Seriously, they couldn’t make Spike more of the girl here if they tried.

Not to wander off topic, but this scene was a horrible crime against pony anatomy.

Backhoof? Like backhand, but not.

Tail slaps should suffice.