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A winged unicorn (cerapter, flying unicorn, unisus, pegacorn, unipeg[1]) is a fictional
ungulate, typically portrayed as a
horse, with wings like
Pegasus and the horn of a
unicorn.[2] In some literature and media, it has been referred to as an alicorn, a word derived from the Italian word alicorno,[3](wing āla and horn cornū)[4] or as a pegacorn, a
portmanteau of pegasus and unicorn.
Description
Winged unicorns have been depicted in art. Ancient
Achaemenid Assyrian seals depict winged unicorns and winged bulls as representing evil, but winged unicorns can also represent light.[5][6]
Irish poet
W. B. Yeats wrote of imagining a winged beast that he associated with ecstatic destruction. The beast took the form of a winged unicorn in his 1907 play The Unicorn from the Stars and later that of the rough beast slouching towards
Bethlehem in his poem "
The Second Coming".[7]
In Sailor Moon SuperS, a man named
Helios, the Guardian Priest (the
high priest and guardian) of Elysion who guard the Golden Crystal, took the form of a pegasus, which is depicted as in such form, having both a golden horn and wings, as he hid from the
Dead Moon Circus after having been imprisoned by
Queen Nehelenia.
The PBS Kids series Arthur features one of DW's toys, a blue fluffy unicorn from the fictional company "My Fluffy Unicorn" with white feathered wings and stars on her hips.
In 2021 film My Little Pony: A New Generation, Sunny Starscout was originally an earth pony until the end where she gained translucent wings and a horn. The 2021 soft reboot of the My Little Pony franchise, in which A New Generation is a part of, further explores the idea, as the evil pony Opaline has tangible wings and a horn. Additionally, Friendship Is Magic winged unicorns return in Make Your Mark.
In Sofia the First, the Mystic Isles episodes, one of isles have called the Isle of Unicorns where the winged unicorns were, and in episode 29 of the 4th season "Forever Royal, Part 2", Sofia use the amulet of Avalor to change her into a winged unicorn.
The first
Luigi's Mansion game has two pegacorn statues on the big balcony.
Webkinz has two pets called the Celestial Unicorn, a winged unicorn that is colored purple and cyan, and a dark purple and mint green one the Quirky Carnival Unicorn.
The Skandar book series by A.F. Steadman feature winged unicorns that reside on an island between Britain and Ireland known simply as The Island. These unicorns hatch from eggs that appear in The Island's hatchery on the same day their designated riders are born and hatch when the riders turn thirteen. In order to find which of the Hatchery's eggs contains their designated unicorn, riders must place their right hand onto an egg. If the rider finds the correct egg, the unicorn inside will start to Hatchery from it and their horn will pierce their rider's palm, leaving a wound on it called a Hatchery wound. This procedure causes the unicorn to transfer some of its magic to their rider, allowing them to use elemental magic. Afterwards, the unicorn and their rider train at a school on The Island called The Eyrie for five years before later participating in The Chaos Cup, an event where twenty five unicorns and their riders race whilst using elemental magic against their opponents. The winning rider earns the title of Commodore of Chaos, which involves them taking charge of The Island. The rider holds onto the title for a year unless they continue to win future Chaos Cups. It is known that the life of a bonded unicorn is connected to their rider, meaning that if the rider were to die, the unicorn would die too, though if the unicorn died first, their rider would survive. It is also known that unicorns that hatch and do not have a rider to bound with, will become wild and ferocious. The series' protagonist Skandar Smith owns a unicorn called Scoundrel's Luck.
^Von Der Osten, Hans Henning (June 1931). "The Ancient Seals from the Near East in the Metropolitan Museum: Old and Middle Persian Seals". The Art Bulletin. 13 (2): 221–41.
doi:
10.2307/3050798.
JSTOR3050798.
^Ward, David (Spring 1982). "Yeats's Conflicts with His Audience, 1897–1917". ELH. 49 (1): 155–6.
doi:
10.2307/2872885.
JSTOR2872885.