Notable spells performed by Twilight

As talented as Twilight is, her spells occasionally misfire or fail. When she casts a spell on the parasprites in Swarm of the Century so they won't eat food, they begin to consume items which aren't food, and subsequently destroy Ponyville. When she tries to assist with Winter Wrap Up by animating a plow with a "come-to-life" spell, she loses control of it and makes a mess. In The Return of Harmony Part 1, she tries to reverse Discord's strange effects with a "fail-safe spell", but it fails. In Magic Duel she has difficulty performing an age spell, which she says is only for "the highest level unicorns".

Twilight's horn glowing bright magenta.

In the first season, Twilight's horn usually glows white or a faint shade of purple, and the objects she is manipulating glow white, purple, or magenta. When she manipulates multiple objects at once, several other colors are used as well, for example in the gem-finding scene in A Dog and Pony Show. Starting with the second season's third episode, Twilight's magic is uniformly depicted using a bright magenta glow.

Hot air balloon

Main article: Twinkling Balloon

Twilight and Spike in their hot air balloon.

Twilight rides a purple hot air balloon in the title sequence, and uses the same balloon to fly with her friends to Cloudsdale for Rainbow Dash's competition in Sonic Rainboom. In The Return of Harmony Part 2, the ponies use it to fly with Fluttershy in order to capture the brainwashed Rainbow Dash. The balloon is also used on other occasions.

Family

Parents

Twilight's parents.

Twilight's parents first appear in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. In a flashback, they excitedly nod their approval when Princess Celestia offers to make Twilight her apprentice. In A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2, they attend Shining Armor's wedding and are moved to tears. They attend Twilight's princess coronation in Magical Mystery Cure. Twilight Sparkle's mother resembles the notable G1 pony Twilight, also known as Galaxy in the original My Little Pony television series. Twilight Sparkle's father resembles the G1 pony named Nightlight, but gender-swapped.

Shining Armor

Main article: Shining Armor

Young Twilight and her brother, Shining Armor.

Twilight reveals that she has an older brother, Shining Armor, in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1. She sings B.B.B.F.F. (Big Brother Best Friend Forever), a song about their close bond and how much she misses him after she moves to Ponyville.