Letters from a Fascinated but Frustrated Scientist

by Andoriol

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Original Character
Length: 22215

Various reports of an outsiders view of equestrian reality

"These papers are my reports upon my studies of equestrian cutlure, physics, genetics, magical theory, geology, politics, and war. Viewed in as scientific form as I can manage.

These are my theories and observations as best as I can describe them, and their contrast with those in my home reality. Hopefully, these observations will shed further light upon the world of Equestria for those within, and should these ever manage to go further, those without."

By Emeris Fillson

(Inspired by both Xenophillia and The Xenophillias Guide to Equestria, two very awesome stories.)

This is directly connected to my other story, Consequences of Unoriginallity, and are in-character observations of the main character. These observations do not occur at any specified point in the story, and as such, may have slight spoilers. Reading of one does not require reading of the other.

Published 2012-11-03 09:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-10-20 06:59:34 UTC

Initial Reports

To: Celestia, Luna, and any other whom it may concern

Notes On Equestrian Physics, Genetics, Magic, and other sundry things that make no bucking sense

Initial Papers, Observations, and Theories

By Emeris Fillson

Foreword
Okay, I’m going to try and maintain some level of professionalism here to keep this useful, but excessively dry academic papers help no one, so I’ll try to keep the tone light. Also, as a note: I have no access to my previous reality at this time, and thus I am working entirely from memory, personal calculations, reverse-engineered experiments and equations, and an abacus.
There will be errors on my part, as I am the only source of contrasting information, and despite my attempts to be objective, there will be exceptions.

Social Mores and Expectations
Gender Roles
The differences between my species general gender roles (and my culture in specific) with those of ponies, specifically those of central Equestria are particularly striking.
In human cultures, the role of protector, warrior, and leader tend to be ascribed entirely to males, whereas those of caregiver and homemaker tend to be ascribed to females. There are cultures where females are the acknowledged social movers and shakers, but in all of these cases that I am aware, males are still the leaders of hunting and full on leaders in war. Societies such as these, however, have been rare, and most societies have been very patriarchal over the centuries.
As a direct contrast, due at least in part to the extremely favorable female-to-male ratio and partly the very real, physical pressence of divine entities exclusively of female nature, ponies are distinctly matriarchal. However, the flip is not a mirror image.
A distinct one that must be noted for any reader is that the role of warrior and protector are two distinct roles.
A warrior is a guard, a solider, one to fight external threats to the society.
A protector is the one who stands up to the bullies, shields their friends, fights the monsters, and is the one expected to get into a fight when individuals of the same species are involved.

Amongst humans, both of the above roles are ascribed to males. Warrior and Protector. Males are expected to take up arms in defense of their home, their friends, and their country. But it is a social taboo (of varying degrees of intensity depending up on the culture, time period, and region) to harm females, almost on par with harming children in a significant number of cultures.

Amongst ponies however, males are the warriors, while females are the protectors. Males are the ones expected to take up arms in defense of country (especially in organized war between countries or active hunts of dangerous monsters), whereas females are expected to defend the family and more threats at home. There is a distinct mix of whom is expected to defend against threats such as hydras or manticores as well as deal with criminals. While I do not have enough data to say so with confidence, these specific tasks do not have a female:male ratio differing significantly from the norm of the area.

The working theory is that, due to males of both cultures being larger on average (and thus, stronger), they are the ones normally delegated to combat roles. However, while human males (hereafter referred to as men plural, or man singular) have an approximate 1:1 ratio with females, pony males (hereafter reffered to as stallions) have an approximate 5:1 ratio to females. This difference means that any one stallion is more valuable to the group than any single man. Because of this, it is more acceptable to allow a man to ‘sacrifice’ himself to protect the family from threats at home.
(Of note is that the sexual dimorphism between male and female humans in regards to muscle-mass and body-fat index is more pronounced than that of ponies.)

Amongst ponies, while stallions are expected to be the warriors, they are also expected to be the more fickle, emotionally fragile and to portray a stoic exterior. This is, to me, as a former human, a strange juxtaposition.
Amongst humans, males are expected to be more logical, stoic, stubborn, and aggressive, whereas females are expected to be emotional, fickle, and friendly.
I currently have no theories as to the cause of such a distinction between the two species.

As examples, here are roles and situations as well as the common perceptions of expected gender roles:
The Leader of the Guard: Male in Both Species
The Police: Male in most human cultures, Male or Female in Pony cultures
The Bully (physical torment, taunting, stealing of lunch money): Male in human cultures, Female in pony cultures
The automatic assumed victim: Female in human cultures (“Hey! Don’t pick on a girl!”), Male in pony cultures (“Hey! Don’t pick on a colt!”)
The Child Caretaker: Female in human cultures, Male in pony cultures
Monster Hunting: Male in both cultures
Defending home against a monster: Male amongst humans, slight female preference amongst ponies

Dominance
In most human cultures, men are distinctly dominant over females, though the degree of dominance has varied wildly over the centuries. However, in pony cultures, mares have always been dominant.
This dominance has been expressed in many ways over the centuries in both cultures. From simple social expectations of subservience, to the subservient gender having fewer legal rights, all the way to certain cultures treating the subservient gender being treated as little more than slaves.

In my culture, while males were the normally the explicit dominant of the family unit, the females were normally the actual dominant either through internally acknowledged authority or manipulation.
In central equestrian culture, the mares are the expected and true dominant in most situations, however the stallion is the explicit dominant in all relationship and parenting issues such as the termination of the relationship, the pacing of the relationship, the rules for any children, and any house rules. While some stallions have demonstrated effective dominance through manipulation, this is not as socially expected as it is in my culture.

Breeding Habits
While the title of this section is... unfortunate. There is no other appropriate title that does nto have inappropriate connotations.
In human cultures, it can be very difficult to determine the father of a child, and thus, social strcutures have appeared to make it easier. Polygamy and Monogamy have been practiced by humans, with official monogamy being the norm. Remember that males are normally the more dominant gender amongst humans, and that the male to female ratio is approximately 1:1.
How mates are chosen has varied wildly over the centuries. In some cultures, the females chose the mating pairs of their offspring. In others, the males. In even others, it was entirely at the volition of those that were to be mated. However, one key point amongst humans that differs from ponies is that casual mating has always been discouraged.
This is due to the fact that humans do not have a clear estrus cycle, nor clear ways of causing ovulation, and as such, casual mating can very easily lead to unwanted, unexpected, or unneccessary offspring. This is also why female-centric polygamy has been discouraged and never ‘socially acceptable’ amongst humans, as while the mother is obvious identifiable no matter what, it can be difficult to determine the father. Thus, marriage, a legal binding between two (or more) mates to not mate outside of said marriage, has been the mating norm amongst human cultures.

Amongst ponies however, monogamous relations are discouraged. This is primarily due to the ratio of females to males (approximately 5:1 in most time periods). However, while marriage exists, it has been almost exclusively a system of the nobility to bind two noble herds together It has only been recently that marriage has been something that ‘common’ ponies have begun to do.
Casual mating is less of an issue amongst ponies, though it is still discouraged.

The following is only specific to my original culture and modern central equestrian culture:
In my culture, males are expected to be the active ones in courtship. A male is expected to approach the female and woo the female with sweet words, gifts, affection, and dominance displays. The female is normally the one in control of the relationship status. Males are the ones who must normally meet expectations to maintain the relationship, any expectations of the female are less explicit.

Amongst ponies, this is explicitly reversed. Females are expected to be the active member in courtship. The female woo’s the male, normally through a delicate dance between being dominant and “playfully submissive”.
A stallions first mare is normally the one to bring in other mares for the ‘herd’ (the standard term for a family unit), however this is not always the case. Mares may ‘petition’ the first mare for rights to be part of the herd, but the stallion has a sort of veto power. Herds tend to have a vague structure that has been slowly falling out of official practice, this structure tends to be very simple and only be the first or alpha mare and the stallion. While all social units have a more dominant or leadership-capable individual, up until the past century, this position of first or alpha mare has been acknowledged and semi-offical. Unusually, while stallions are expected to be the dominant character in relationship issues and policies, this position of first or alpha mare is expected to be decided upon entirely by the mares of the herd themselves without input from the stallion.

Genetics
Equestiran genetics are, for lack of better terms, a complicated, strange mess that at times, seems almost like it shouldn’t work, and yet does. Based upon the genealogy trees, genetic testing, and extensive magical scans, I have come up with a number of conclusions that are far further along than the ponies own genetic studies.

To note: most of this section refers to pony genetics in particular, as ponies have the most complicated genetic structure and breeding patterns of any known species aside from possibly the dragons.

To start off: Ponies have a triploid genetic structure. Chromosomes do not pair up, rather, the group into threes. This alone sets them apart from all species on earth which I was aware of prior to my departure.

One of the most notable things about equestrian genetics that explains much of the differences between both of our cultures is the genetic inheritance of gender.

While species in my world have chromosomal pairs, these pairs often being of identical structure, those for gender are not. In mammals at the least, the gender of a species is determined by the pair of sex chromosomes. An XX means a female, while an XY means a male. As one chromosome is inhereited from each parent, females will always give an X, while males have a 50/50 chance of giving an X or Y.
This leads to an approximately equal ratio of males to females.
While there are a number of different forms of choosing of gender in my world, this is the only system used by the warm blooded species as well as the only sentient species.

Ponies however, have a tricrhomosomal system, the mother donates two chromosomes, while the male donates one. While the labels of X and Y are not appropriate for the pony sex chromosomes, there currently exists no official label for these genetics, and they operate similarly enough to use these labels.
If the pony has either XXY or XXX chromosomes, they are female, whereas the only way a stallion occurs is if the pony has XYY.

As the mare donates a pair of randomly selected chromosomes of her own, the possibilities are: XX: 2/3 ; XY: ⅓. While a male donates one, creating a disposition of X: 1/3 Y: 2/3
This generates the following results:

XX (2/3) XY (1/3)
X (1/3) Female (2/9) Female (1/9)
Y (2/3) Female (4/9) Male (2/9)

Because of this, mares are selected over stallions approximately 7/9ths of the time. Or, for every stallion, there are three to four mares. This disagrees with the current 4 to 5 mares for every stallion, however, stallions have a slightly higher death rate than mares due to their socially expected position as warrior and monster hunter.

Further examinations of pony genetics will take time and extensive study of equestrian genealogy charts and is pending access and availability of time.

Physics
My studies of these effects have been extremely limited due to time constraints as well as technological barriers. Equestria simply lacks the infrastructure to support the more advanced forms of technology that I require to do proper testing of the more nuanced and subtle aspects of newtonian physics and quantum effects. However, there have been several conclusions that I have been able to draw based on the experiments that I have remembered or reverse engineered.

The biggest difference is Magic itself. While there are a number of equestrian theories based on the rules and effects of magic, as well as a number of them postulating the source of magic, none of these account for quantum effects as said effects have not yet been discovered by ponies. Some rudimentary testing has proven that quantum effects are still in effect and are, if not precisely like that of my home, they are similar enough that the same formulas and calculations hold sway.

I currently have no working theories on the origins of magic. It appears to draw from the same sub-space field which all subatomic particles come from. But I have been unable to determine its carrier particle in such a case. If this is the case, then greater magical potential would mean a greater ability to produce, store, and manipulate these particles, causing greater imbalances in this field, and thus, more powerful magic. However, until I am able to develop magics capable of analyzing the quantum world for these carrier particles in real-time, the experiments must be put on hold, and the theory remains untestable.

As magic itself is a very in-depth and extensive field (similar to an entire extra field of quantum mechanics to research) I shall leave the rest of my musing and testing results in another section dedicated to them.

The next biggest deviation from the laws of physics as I understood them is the speed of light. It’s different. Assuming that a hoof-length is comparable to a foot at a 4:5 ratio, then the speed of light in a vacuum in Equestria is approximately 784,532,015.4 feet per second. This works out to be a rounded 257,223,611.607 meters per second, significantly slower than my world’s ~299,000,000 m/s. The repurcussions of this are huge, to say the least, changing c changes so much. E^2 = (mc^2)^2 + (pc)^2, the derminate of the amount of energy in an object as well as the energy required to accelerate it, changes drastically. Just... consider the ramifications. I myself, with little more than a rudimentary understanding of physics, am still trying to figure out all of the effects this one change has.

Gravity appears to be, as best I can tell, to be the same as that which I am used to, though, due to the aforementioned alteration of c, inertia is less of an issue. I am also having issues calculating the actual effects of gravity, as Celestia’s sun appears to be smaller, but also cooler and closer than its appearance would suggest. The implications this has for the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and gravity are... dubious at best, as Celestia rather explicitly maneouvers the sun about the sky in a geocentric solar system. Any exceptions to the projected physics can be very easily attributed to magic. So, until I am able to get a more accurate data on the four fundamental forces, I am unable to do proper calculations on the size and mass of the sun.

Mind you, some basic experiments were able to determine that those forces were still the fundamental forces, though I suspect that magic is either a super-force, a more basic form of the other four forces. Or a fifth fundamental force, one whose field distortions are able to affect all other fields. However, I have no experimental data to support or refute this hypothesis at this time. It’s merely a gut feeling. Further experimentation is required.

Magic
Magic is... well, friendship, duh. But it’s also something else.

Skipping the poetry of how wonderful and beautiful it is, it’s a strange, esoteric, and difficult to understand field that seems at the same time, counter-intuitive, and yet makes perfect sense. At macro-scale events, where Newtonian physics hold sway. Magic is extremely intuitive. But at quantum scale events, or at its extremes, it diverges from most forms of logic that I am aware of. I am still determining how it even exists on a quantum scale, and as such, I have been unable to theorize much otherwise.

However, as previously mentioned, on the macro-scale, it makes a considerable amount of sense.

One of the core concepts of magic is the Circles of magic. The power input to effect output of spells varies, and while on average it is a very shallow exponential line, along that line it peaks and troughs like a sine wave. These peaks of power-input to effect-output ratios are the ideal target areas for spells, and each peak is another circle of magic. There are only ten circles, as the sine curve goes away after the tenth circle, becoming slightly more exponential in the process. However, only gods such as the Princesses, Elder Dragons, and the occasional alicorn have been known to access the tenth circle of magic at all. Twilight was basically a prodigy, as young as she was, she could access the ninth circle with some of her upper tier spells.

I’d discovered this entirely on accident while testing the limits of my magic as an alicorn, but it was later confirmed by research into higher level magic.

There are a surprising number of ‘fields’ of magic, and it has been changing slowly for centuries. I am aware of the following in the current paradigm:

Medicinal
Alteration
Telekinesis
Reality Calcification
Boons
Charms
Evocation
Clairvoyance
Countermagic
Reality Warping

Additionally, there are ‘unofficial’ and ‘forbidden’ schools of magic

Blood
Runic
Name
Soul
Necromancy

Currently, I am a Tenth Degree Master of Reality Calcification, Boons, and Countermagic, and a Ninth Degree Master of the unofficial school of Battlemagic. I will be going over the founding principles, origins, and uses of those magics in future papers.

Until I gain permission from royalty to include forbidden magics in these papers, I will not include notes on those schools, though I have extensive knowledge of them. Additionally, until I am able to acquire Twilight’s time to assist me, further notes on other magical fields will be postponed.

On Alicorns and their Rarity

To: Celestia, Luna, those assholes that don’t get what the word alicorn means, and to whomever else it may concern
The Nature of Alicorns from a Genetic Perspective

By Emeris Fillson

This paper was drafted in response to the numerous times ponies seem to not understand the meaning of and misuse the word alicorn.

As a preamble to the rest of this paper, I need to cover something rather important. Equestrian genetics appear to have six distinct layers of dominance which are as per follows:

• Primary Dominance (PD): One copy of the gene will override all others and will be expressed
• Secondary Dominance (SD): One copy of the gene will express itself over a pair of Partial Recessive or Full Recessive genes, but not over two Neutral genes.
• Neutral Dominance (ND): Two copies of the gene will override a single Secondary Dominant gene and it will be expressed over secondary recessive genes unless there is a pair of SR genes. When there is a single SD and two ND genes, or one ND and two SR genes, their dominance balances out, and the two groups of genetics are expressed equally.
• Secondary Recessive (SR): Two copies of the gene are required for it to be expressed at all, and these genes are normally only expressed in tangential ways, these genetics are rare and normally add traits such as a curve to a unicorns horn, or specific feather patterns in Pegasi. However, when there are no higher dominance genes, these genes may express themselves, leading to either considerable power, or considerable failure. The inbreeding of some Noble Herds has produced some of the most powerful ponies alive, but also some of the most deformed. The two are not always mutually exclusive.
• Primary Recessive (PR): These genes will only express themselves when in a trio. Even a pair of matched PR genes will not override a single SR gene. The only way for PR traits to express themselves properly is if the pony has a full set. Two identical PR genes will normally express themselves over a single other PR gene, but this is not always the case, and I believe epigenetics may be the cause. These genetics are particularly rare however, and much of the information on them is theoretical.
• Merger Genes (M): This is not a separate category in of itself, but an attached category. Genes that fall in this category will explicitly blend the expressed traits when paired with other genetics of equal dominance. 1 PD gene and 2 SD genes. 1 SD gene and 2 ND genes. 1 ND gene and 2 SR genes.

Additionally, the ‘tribe’ of a pony seems to be determined by three sets of genes. Which is a total of 9 chromosomes. One set for enabling the expression of traits of each of the three tribes.

As best as I can determine, the gene pool appears to have genes with the following dominance distributions: 3 PD genes, 2 SD genes, 2 ND genes, 2 SR genes, and 1 PR gene for each of these three triploid groups. The determining genetics for the expression of Earth pony traits may have one fewer PD gene and one more SR gene, the margin of error for this conclusion however is currently unacceptably high.

With this information in mind, as well as the triploid nature of pony genetics, the following may be addressed:

Alicorns.

Specifcally, the definition of an Alicorn.

According to my observations, there appear to be several kinds of entities which receive the designation, which I will attempt to classify and separate.

• Hybrids: These are the main group which come close to alicorns, and is the most populous. Hybrids are ponies which express traits of more than one tribe. More than a few ponies in Equestria do so ever since the more profound mixing of the tribes in recent times. Hybrids can be classified into the following groups:

o Imperfect Hybrids: These hybrids are a particular tribe, but express multiple traits from another tribe. Shining armor is an example of one of these kinds of pony, for despite being a unicorn (and a powerful one at that), he shows some of the disproportionate strength and stamina of an Earth Pony. These are the most widespread and easily found of the hybrids, and these are normally a unicorn or pegasus that expresses earth pony traits, but occasionally there is a unicorn that shows talent for what is normally pegasus exclusive magic, or a pegasus that shows a particular ‘artistry’ in their manipulation of clouds and lightning. These ponies only need a specific set of ND or SR genes in at least two of the three tribe genes. While uncommon, they are not exactly rare either, as these genetics are wide spread, and spreading more as the tribes intermingle.

o Perfect DiHybrids: These are considerably rarer, and are a full expression of the traits of two tribes. Prince Blueblood is an example of this kind of hybrid, having the disproportionate strength, greater size of an Earth pony, but also the horn and full magical power of a unicorn. These hybrids can only be achieved by certain combinations of SR or PR genes in two of the three tribe genetics, and as such, are noticeably rarer, normally only found in noble lineages due to careful breeding. While a Winged Unicorn or ‘Pegacorn’ may be called an alicorn, I contest such a title. They are a hybrid, but as they do not express earth pony genetics, I do not believe it is appropriate to call them by the alicorn title, a title of magic and power.

o Imperfect TriHybrids: These are ponies that fully express the traits of two tribes, but also some of the traits of a third tribe. These are the first ponies that can reasonably be called Alicorns. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is the most famous of these currently alive. She fully expresses both Unicorn and Pegasus traits (though her wings are weak by pegasus standards) and she expresses some earth pony traits as well. These can only exist if a combination of SR and PR traits in all three tribe genetics are achieved. SR genetics only yield a partially expressed trait, whereas PR traits yield full expression. As they express the traits of all three tribes in some fashion or another, their power is actually inherently a degree of magnitude greater than those of other ponies, most likely due to a sympathetic resonance of some kind.

o Alicorns (Perfect TriHybrids): These ponies have full expression of the traits of all three tribes. To my knowledge, these are rare, but not unheard of. Such an expression requires a full suite of PR traits in all three of the tribe genes. Additionally, a full alicorn would be larger than the average pony, appearing more like the Princesses than the mean body type of Equestrians. A full alicorn would not be a being equivalent to the Princesses however, though they may be immortal unless killed, and their power two degrees of magnitude over that of an average pony.

• Divine Alicorns: There are currently only the two Princesses in this category. Beings of immense magical power, masters of celestial bodies, immortal and ancient, weilders of unique magical power. How such alicorns come into being is unknown to me, and I make no attempts at discovering such. It is not purely genetic, as they share the same tribe genetic markers as a Perfect Trihybrid would.
Divine Alicorns are separated from their non-divine counterparts by several factors, the exact nature of their mane, their cutie mark, and their size. While an Alicorn may have a flowing mane due to their raw power, it would lack the ethereal or mystical quality that those of the Princesses have. Additionally, the cutie mark of a divine alicorn directly correlates to their purview (I theorize that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza may, in fact, in time become a Divine Alicorn of Love, but this is unfounded theory on my part). And finally, Divine Alicorns are a full head taller than their non-divine counterparts.

While the dominance of the tribe genes seems to be counter-intuitive to their expression, a full suite of PR genes appears to block the expression of the other tribes genetics if the enabling genes are not PD genes.

Assuming an even distribution of genetics (this is false, there are a surprisingly small number of PR genes in the gene pool), the following is true:

There are 10 possible genes for each of the three triploid groups. Only one of those ten yields an Alicorn, and even then, only when all 9 of the genes are one of these particularly recessive genes. 1/10 ^ 9, or one out of every billion. Considering that by the rough estimates of several historians, Equestrian society has only seen 89 billion ponies in its entire existence, this would put Perfect TriHybrid numbers at a mere 89. This is again assuming equal distribution of genetics, which is not the case. It is likely that only a select few lineages actually carried the gene for millenia, and only with the considerable intermingling of the tribes has it become more widespread. According to the Princesses, there have only been 17 true Alicorns in the entirety of their multi-millennial reigns.

Aside:

During my initial two years in Equestria I was what would be classified as a Divine Alicorn due to my mane, cutie mark, size, and raw power. However, this was not a natural state, and these effects were burned from me along with the curse that caused the warpings of reality about me.

I retain the genetics of a Perfect Trihybrid, but due to the metaphysical excising of my pegasus nature, the genes have been suppressed almost to entirely. This is likely done through a combination of epigenetics and magic-particle interactions that I currently do not understand. However, the end result is the same. While I retain the genes of a Perfect Trihybrid, I am a Perfect DiHybrid, expressing the full natures of both Earth Ponies and Unicorns.

No. I am not going to stud for the sake of ‘spreading the alicorn genes about’. It wouldn’t even work due to my epigenetics essentially rendering the genes useless so stop sending me bucking letters and invites.

Best Wishes,

Emeris Fillson

Departure From the Norm

Dear Princess Celestia,

This is a departure from Emeris’ normal letters to you, as I (Twilight Sparkle) am writing this one. This isn’t actually a formal essay as most of his letters are, but rather, his personal notes on the courtship and social rituals that are currently accepted in Equestria. The insight and attention drawn to things that we ponies normally ignore due to our immersion in the culture were both enlightening and thought provoking to me, and as such, I believed it would be best to share them at least with you, as Emeris has shared his other observations.

While these are not his original notes, I have preserved his exact wording as best I can, my own notes have been added as commentary.

Initial Courtship
If the first mare of the ‘herd’ or unsure of the stallion’s herd status:

1). Mare gives subtle cues/pick up lines/expresses availability/performs what is normally considered a “male display” amongst humans such as flexing, dominance plays, or similar efforts to attract attention. Blatant, overly forward or aggressive mares ask about herd status at this stage, this is a social faux pas.

2). Stallion makes first moves of expressing physical attraction. Bumping hips (Particularly due to the cultural significance of the Cutie Mark), nuzzling, grooming, pressing close, positively commenting on cutie marks or hygiene, holding a long look (Smoldering looks are right out at this stage and considered too forward, males are supposed to be stoic, not horribly overt, and openly smoldering/sultry/ coy looks are not that)

3). This is the socially appropriate point to ask about herd-status

4). Whether consciously or unconsciously noticing the cues, the Mare asks Stallion out. The mare ‘suggests’ places, while the stallion has veto power. The stallion is not expected to present ideas at this stage, but it is not a social faux pas to do so

First Date:
Dates are expected to involve all members of the herd as well as the prospective new member of the herd. Initial dates are expected to be going to restaurants or picnics.

1). The mare dresses up fancily. Less is expected of the stallion. Ideal appearance depends on social status, but emulating the Princesses is almost always a plus. Low to High-Middle class mares tend to dress up considerably with clothing, whereas Nobility tend to add their most expensive and appropriate jewelry. Low to middle class stallions tend to dress up little, whereas high middle class to low-Nobility tend to dress up in extravagant tuxes or equivalents. Mid to high Nobility stallions prefer simple tuxes and moderate jewelry. Despite the relative simplicity of male outfits in comparison to female ones, stallions are expected to take longer to prepare for a date. I have been unable to determine why this is the cultural expectation.
That’s actually a good question, but it’s most likely a remnant of old-style expectations of stallions, where a stallion was expected to get dirtier and thus, take longer to clean up for their mare(s). - TS

2). Upon meeting, the mare is expected to give the stallion a flower the same color as their coat, rising middle class tend to give a piece of jewelery with a gem the same color as their coat. Doing so is considered out of style for ‘true’ upper class, the ‘rustic’ flower being currently in vogue. He totally asked Rarity about this one, no doubt about it - TS

A). Flower goes on the right

B). If the stallion has other mares, their flowers are to be presented on the left. More than two flowers (a rarity) are normally braided into a necklace of sorts with the appropriate colors/flowers

C). A single presented flower when the stallion has a herd indicates the lead mare of the herd and has the implication of wanting to kick a mare out of the herd to replace with the prospective mare

3). Mare is expected to pay on the first date, and to start the conversation as well as do much of the talking. The mare is expected to encourage the stallion into talking and never to talk over him. As a more recent trend, mares are expected to entice the male by being coy and playing a more submissive role. There is also a form of ‘Chivalry’ amongst mares, holding the door open for stallions, pulling their chairs out, etc., derived from the fact that the stallion was expected to go out and beat the crap out of monsters and work in the fields, but the mares were in charge at home and stallions were to be treated as ‘delicate flowers’ because of such. This is an after-the-fact romanticization of the actual social structure of the Equestrian ‘medieval’ times.

A). Pegasi consider it extremely considerate for a non-pegasi date to take them somewhere that provides fish.

B). While a tactile society, a date that would involve considerable amounts of physical contact is considered a faux pas.

C). Excessive emotion from the stallion is considered a turn off. Muted expression of emotions are acceptable.

4). The mare is expected to be dominant overall, but in reality, everyone expects the mare to attend to the stallions every whim during the date. Stallions do not usually put out on the first date. Whether the stallion drops off the mare or vice versa has no social context

The stallion is expected to initiate the kiss. The mare is expected to do the effort of scheduling the next date. Whether the stallion even desires a next date is determinable by the context of the parting kiss

A). A peck on the cheek is generally considered bad

B). A soft kiss on the lips is considered a maybe

C). A low-intensity make-out is a definite yes

D). Extensive contact during the kiss is considered a dominant action and a gesture of ‘you are mine’, this is offputting to some mares who are accustomed to being dominant but most mares enjoy it, this is normally a second date kind of kiss

E). A mid-to-high-intensity makeout with no contact except for the lips is considered a submissive gesture from the stallion, saying ‘I’m not worthy of you but I’m honored’ to the mare

F). If the stallion grabs the mare in some fashion and pulls her over for the kiss, it is considered an excessive display of dominance from the stallion. Most mare’s do not appreciate this, and a mare desiring this (especially on the first date) is the social equivalent of a human man wanting a full-on-dominatrix.

Second Date and Mating
The second date is much like the first, though more conversation from the stallion is expected. The mare is expected to approach the stallion to schedule this date as well. Further dates may be (socially acceptably) scheduled by the stallion. A wider variety of locations and kinds of dates are expected. While herd members may hang out in romantic settings as individual pairs, it's generally not considered a "date" unless all of the members of the herd are there.

1). The stallion is expected to mount the mare on this date if she is the first mare. In a herd, the stallion does not get involved at all, but instead, the lead mare is expected to ‘mount’ the prospective mare and determine how worthy she is. This is a trend that is falling into disuse as stallions’ rights have become more prevalent and accepted, the Stallion is the one to determine if she’s worthy and the dominant mare is not.

2). The first time is expected to be, to put it crudely, all “Unf unf unf!” the first time as the stallion (for lack of better words) uses the mare. The first time is not expected to be good for the mare, but that she should bear with this to keep the stallion. Suggesting going a second time is a faux pas for the mare, but considered to be a very good sign for the relationship if the Stallion asks to. Stallions are only expected to ask for a second time if they are pleased with the mare’s performance.
Crude but... he’s right. - TS

3). Oral sex is considered a no-no, a stallion requesting it from a mare is extremely dominant, and only the most desperate or submissive mare’s will do so. Stallions do not normally give oral to others, it is considered something mare’s do for one another.

4). Lavishing attention on a mare’s teats is acceptable for a stallion, and is the equivalent of oral

5). A stallion pulling at a mare’s mane is considered dominant and is socially disapproved of, however almost every couple/herd does it.

6). In romanticized or past times, the stallion was expected to care exclusively for the mare’s pleasure and only to cum inside when requested. It is a relatively recent trend that males are the dominant actors in sex. It has swung back and forth over the centuries and between cultures

7). In older times, a stallion requesting anal was being submissive, saying that they’re not worthy to sire the mare’s foals. In more recent times, it’s gained the possible insult of the mare not being worthy of the stallions seed. These trends only hold true for the first ~5 - 10 times a pair couples. The distinction between insult and unworthiness is the various other cues the Stallion gives off about their dominance as well as their hesitance in making the request. A more hesitant request is seen as more ‘romantic’ than a more confident one.

Corralary: If the stallion does not ask for anal within the first ~5 - 10 couplings, then it is considered a mild social faux pas to ever ask, as it is a dominant request.

8). Attention to a tribe’s “unique erogenous zones” within the first 5 - 10 couplings is considered a social faux pas. These are considered especially private and reserved for long-term couplings only. These are the horn and surrounding forehead for unicorns, the wings and flight muscles for pegasi.

If the stallion has a herd:
1). It is considered impolite for a mare to try to become part of a herd by confronting the stallion first. Approaching one of the mares (in ye-olden terms, the Lead Mare) and asking for a date is considered the polite way to do so.

2). Stallions at a club or tavern that have a herd are expected to have a member of their herd nearby at all times. However, this does not hold true for a herd of only one mare, in which case the mare is expected to go out amongst the other patrons of the establishment to make herself ‘available’ to be approached away from the stallion to determine eligibility to become a part of the stallions herd.

3). Mare’s generally refer to the herd in terms of the stallion using possessive terms. “Oh, I’m a part of X’s herd”, where X is the stallion of the herd. A mare referring to a stallion in the possessive is archaic and mildly offensive.

4). In herds with more than one stallion, one of the stallions is normally far more dominant than the other(s). Stallions other than the primary or ‘alpha’ stallion are expected to be occasionally mounted by the ‘alpha’ stallion. This is rarely discussed amongst ponies, even otherwise intimate ones.

5). Unofficial pecking order in multi-stallion herds is established by who mounts whom the most, being mounted less indicating higher dominance in the herd dynamic.

Herd Dynamics
1). Stallions are expected to resolve issues between the mares of the herd, primarily by interposing themselves in the conflicts

2). Dominance is a subtle but distinct actor in the relationship. The most ‘dominant’ equates to the one that guides the choices of the herd. This is normally a mare in most cases.

3). Mares are expected to be the breadwinners of the herd, stallions may be the homemaker or workers in heavy labor as socially expected roles.
I don’t know the meaning of the term ‘breadwinner’ and I’m not sure how to ask him, do you know what it means Princess? - TS

4). Stallions are expected to give equal amounts of affection to their mares. As time goes on in a herd, stallions are expected to gradually be more active in their shows of affection, in contrast to the relatively small amount of affection expected by stallions towards the beginning of the formation of the herd.

5). Mare’s are expected to ‘take care’ of their stallion in both the emotional and physical context. However, by contrast, stallions are expected to be the emotional rock of the herd and keep the mares emotionally stable. Stallions are supposed to be the one to calm down and emotionally assist the mares, but not to need such themselves despite the expectation that mare’s are to take care of their stallions. This is likely due to the expectation that mare’s are to pamper their stallions, and that due to this pampering, stallions aren’t expected to have issues or freak-outs.
I honestly never thought of this consciously, but once it’s brought to light it does seem weird that we’d expect mares to take care of stallions, but that a stallion shouldn’t need emotional support... - TS

6). There are two schools of thought on who should move whom’s house to the others in a herd. Old school mares believe that the stallion should either simply move in with the mare or move their house to the lead mare’s. However, more progressive mares or stallions-rights-activists believe that it makes more sense for the mares to all move their houses to the stallions. Most ponies however, do not consider it a major concern.

Further Notes
1). The stallion cooking for the mare is considered an intimate date

2). Reciprocal Nuzzling is considered a sign of returning affection. If the stallion nuzzles underneath the mare’s head, it is a submissive gesture, nuzzling the mare’s neck or cheek is considered affectionate, while nuzzling the top of the mares head/tucking their head to the stallions chest/neck is considered a dominant one (again, some mares like it, but a slight majority don’t)

3). Commenting about horns/wings is considered to be even more socially faux passe than commenting about someone’s flanks. Amongst Earth Ponies (and only amongst earth ponies), is commenting on a ponies stamina considered to be even more intimate. The word stamina being emphasized.

4). A curved horn is normally associated with a mare that only likes other mares, doesn’t like other mares at all, or a stallion that likes stallions, thus the phrase “Bent”. Thicker, longer horns are considered sexy amongst unicorns, especially one’s with appropriate fluting and point.

Twilight’s horn, while thick and reasonably long (a sign of her considerable power) is actually somewhat unkempt (slightly irregular fluting) and not very sexy to other unicorns.

Rarity’s on the other hand is long and somewhat thinner, but immaculately kept, deliberately increasing her attractiveness to those that look for it

5). Wings that are narrower at the base are considered sexy (emulating the Princesses), bigger, better kept wings are generally considered sexier, while tight and defined flight muscles are considered sexy amongst pegasi.

Dash’s wings and wing muscles are considered very sexy amongst pegasi, but she seems very muscular and lacks the appropriate amount of ‘bounce’ for the other two tribes tastes. However, amongst pegasi, Stallions are noticeably more dominant, and Dash’s very dominant attitude and body language has turned off pegasi stallions who expect to be dominant in the bedroom. While her attitude is passable for the other two tribes, her body-type is almost exclusively attractive to pegasi stallions who are turned off by it.

Fluttershy has the appropriate wings, but while she is decently thin to appeal to pegasi, she lacks the hard muscle that Dash has and appears smoother, also having a certain amount of ‘bounce’ to her flank that Dash does not, allowing her to appeal massively to both pegasi and earth ponies and considerably to unicorns as well.

6). Children are fully expected to comment on cutie marks, but adults commenting on them to/around each other is considered somewhat intimate, not necessarily romantic, just intimate

7). Touching horns is an intimate act amongst unicorns. While not necessarily a sexual or romantic one, it is treated as socially taboo as a heavy makeout session in public is. Again, touching horns is not necessarily romantic or sexual at all, merely intimate.
It’s your horn! Of course it’s an intimate gesture to touch it to someone elses horn! What else would it be? I mean, I get it that he’s from a different culture, but that one seems really obvious to me. - TS

8). Preening is an intimate act for pegasi, but this is relatively unknown to the tribes outside of pegasi, much the same way that the sensitivity of the base of a unicorn’s horn is

9). The base of a unicorn’s horn is sensitive when at rest, as it is when magic is going through it. Unicorns, when aroused, begin to channel magic through their horns reflexively, but are unable to cast magic in such a state (to prevent them from frying/zapping any sexual partners)

10). Wing-boners as they’re called, only only sort of exist. When aroused, pegasi automatically fluff and display their wings, and there is a tendency for wings to get stiffer the greater the arousal. The evolutionary reason is hypothesized to be to have the wings of the female stick out at her sides to ensure that the male doesn’t crush them or disrupt them during mating. Resistance while their wings are stiff is pleasurable to pegasi, again hypothesized to be to encourage ‘proper’ mating, as a male atop a pegasus mare would normally hook their forelimbs over the mare’s extended wings as ‘handles’ of sorts. However, the wings can be moved normally in states of arousal, it is more of a plumage display than anything else.

11). The mane at the base of the skull is an erogenous zone for mare’s when aroused, tugging on it is similar to spanking a human while aroused, and something similar applies to a ponies flanks.

12). Cutie marks, in of themselves, are not erogenous zones, however their position on the flank and the cultural significance of them turns them into ones.

13). The tip of the ear is a mild erogenous zone for some ponies, but this varies. In the cases that it is, it’s only the tip and only nibbles, tugging on the ear is outright unpleasant for the majority of ponies. The area behind the base of each ear is a sensitive area, and is culturally reserved for making out

14). In general, mares looking more like the Princesses is considered more attractive, but specifics vary between tribes and are, of course, generalities

A). Bulkier Earth pony mares are considered more attractive, and “pleasantly plump” is a form of ideal body type for Earth pony mares. More “solid” appearing mares are also attractive. Earth ponies tend to favor mid-length hair for mares.Earth pony mares are subtly expected to have slightly larger and more solid hooves. This is as culturally “not discussed” as wing-boners and horn-play are for the other two tribes

B). Small, but tightly muscled pegasi mares are more attractive, shorter manes are preferred for their aerodynamics, mares are expected to be subservient in the bedroom and relationships in general

C). Amongst unicorn mares, a certain amount of ‘bounce’ to the flank is desirable, as are longer manes. Unicorn mares are expected to be more dominant and as such, the aggressive and active member of the relationship. More magical power is considered more attractive amongst unicorns for both genders. More exaggerated fluting is more attractive for mares

15). In general stallions are expected to be more muscular than mares, as well as have more ‘hard lines’ in their form such as square muzzles and defined muscles. Well trimmed fetlocks and visible hooves are also considered attractive for stallions

A). Earth pony stallions are expected to be noticeably larger and bulkier than their female counterparts, and those that are are considered more attractive

B). Pegasi stallions are expected to be nearly equal to, or equal to mare’s in terms of dominance. This is not necessarily an attractive trait, but merely an expected one

C). Unicorn stallions with greater magical reserves are more attractive, actual magical power is not a consideration, merely the reserves of mana, my theory is that this is due to a cultural expectation among unicorns that hasn’t died out, one that the stallions are just breeding studs and that only magical reserves are passed through blood. A more ‘warlike’ horn, a sharper and sturdier horn, are more attractive for unicorn stallions.
This is just horrible! Unicorns aren’t like that! Mares actually care about how magically adept the stallion is, not just how big his magical reserves are! I just... where’d he get this idea?! - TS

16). A herd that's been together for less than a year is still culturally considered 'temporary' in most cases without certain signs of a more permanent herd. But herd members that have been together for more than 8 - 14 months are considered a 'permanent' herd.

A). Horn-rings are a common way to show long-term herd commitment between unicorns

B). Earth ponies consider necklaces with gems the color of the coats of the other herd members to be a sign of a permanent herd

C). Pegasi have begun to take on the Earth pony necklaces as a cultural sign of a permanent herd as the tribes have co-mingled more and such gems have been more available to the normally airborne ponies. But an older way to show the signs of a permanent herd involve the display of herd members semi-imperishable primary feathers.

17). I’ve finally determined why Fluttershy ‘pushes all the right buttons’ for ponies. She has the appropriate wing structure for pegasi and is lithe, has the long flowing mane and tail that unicorn stallions look for, the larger and sturdier hooves earth ponies look for, and she has the near perfect amount of fat distribution to get the ‘bounce’ that unicorns and earth ponies desire. Additionally, while unicorn stallions expect and generally find more dominant mares attractive, pegasi and earth pony stallions find her demure shyness and iron core to be the perfect attractor. She doesn’t ‘play’ demurely submissive, she is that way at all times and frankly, it seems to reduce stallions to puddles of goo around her despite her not noticing this.
Seriously, why doesn't she notice this?
I'll have to second this one, I don't really see how Fluttershy doesn't realize what she does to stallions. I love her, but they fall all over her whenever she actually can muster up the courage to talk to one, why doesn't she realize that? - TS

Transcription and Notes by Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

A.N.)- Just to be clear here, this is not in continuity with Consequences of Unoriginality currently, and is from "the future" from the perspective of Chapter 6 (7 if you include the prologue).

Magic isn't Just Friendship

Dear Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and whomever else it may concern,

Magic.

A force that permeates all of Equestria, magic is strange, powerful, and only vaguely understood. But it has many powers and applications in daily life throughout Equestria. While I’ve been trying to understand the basic functions of magic, what makes it tick, how it works, things which Equestrians have been puzzling over for centuries… I’ve also studied its applications, something that ponies have been studying with considerably greater success for millennia.

The following is based on the common understandings of magic with my own understandings and commentary based on my understanding of some of the more basic functions of reality.

Foreword
This is intended less for Equestrians, but far more for those who may not understand magic on anything more than an instinctual level or who have never been exposed to magic in any shape, way, or form. I will try to introduce it as best I can in its entirety, but the sheer amount of material there is to cover on the subject means that I am limited to the basics.

The Basics
Magic is defined as the use of mana to affect the world in some way.

Mana is the energy of magic and has been defined many ways by many different beings. Some theorize that it is the energy of life or the energy of a soul, but having been the Alicorn of the Earth, I am able to say that while the world is powerful and in some ways, alive, it is not alive in the way that those theorists state nor does it have a soul. As such, these theories fail to accommodate the presence of lay-lines and non-living artifacts such as the Elements of Harmony.

Living things generate mana, but the amount of mana generated seems to be linked to the soul and the degree of sapience an entity has. Insects do not appear to generate mana in any measurable quantity for example. Most things however, respire (absorb through a natural process) mana from the environment. Equestria’s sun and moon both generate mana, as does the planet itself and many of the things that live upon it, but many natural processes require mana in some form or another. There have been recorded cases of living things entering areas deprived of all ambient mana in some form or another and slowly dying due to ‘mana deprivation’. The signs and symptoms of mana deprivation appear to be a terrible cross between highly accelerated malnutrition and oxygen deprivation.

Given these facts, I have no feasible explanation to the source or nature of mana in any meaningful way. I can merely be certain that it exists. Spells are capable of detecting the presence of mana, but not any individual particles of it or even indicate that such particles exist.

While all of Equestria is suffused with mana, there are some natural locations in which mana appears to pool such as the legendary Crystal Caverns or the Mirror Pool. These locations are referred to as demenses in modern Equestrian terms. Most attempts to actively harness the mana within these demenses is futile, as it exists in a structured pattern and does a certain effect. Altering the area can easily ruin the magic, reduce the demense to nothing, or even cause the mana to destructively build up, but there exists a theoretical structure that would harness the power of a demense and use it constructively. Such a building, called a manse, would have to be tailor-built to the demense it would harness, and such knowledge is currently beyond ponies. I personally believe that the Princess has a certain degree of knowledge on how to build a manse, but restricts such knowledge due to the dangers in its implementation and the power it could cause. The only known manse to have ever been successfully built was the capital city of the Crystal Empire.

Magical things or beings are entities that use mana in a rigorous manner. Griffons are magical beings, as their bodies harness the power of mana to increase the strength of their flight muscles. Zap Apple trees are magical entities as their apples have a large concentration of mana packed into them (theorized to protect them against small predators and parasites as well as entice larger creatures capable of spreading their seeds at a distance to eat them).

All magical beings have mana flows in them, conduits and tubes which the mana flows through their body in. More actively magical using beings such as ponies or dragons also have a magical reservoir, an area in their body in which mana is concentrated and pools, normally a thick band of concentrated mana that follows the entities spine. These are not physical structures, at least as far as I and the past two centuries of pony physiological study have been able to determine, merely magical ones. Mana flows seem to correlate to the physical structure of the being or entity rather than the other way around, though they can influence said structure once they are in place. This is supported by the lack of set mana-flows in younger ponies and young dragons like Spike, such entities instead have much broader, slower ‘currents’ of mana flowing through their bodies.

Mana flows appear to be more efficient ways to transport mana quickly through a being’s body, much like a cardio-vascular system is for blood and oxygen. It is my current working theory that the soul acts as both an additional reservoir for a being’s mana, as well as the ‘pump’ which moves mana about the being.

Spells:
While Spells are defined as a rigorous construct and usage of mana used by sapient beings that can be taught to other sapient beings, the term is (incorrectly) used to refer to the structured effects of demenses like the Mirror Pool and select magical abilities of certain magical entities.

Magic is something difficult to quantify, for while Unicorns are built to perceive magic, there exists no analogous thing in all of existence, and as such, the understanding of magic and spells must be filtered in some way or form depending on the perceivers understanding of magic. There have been three basic understandings of magic classified over the centuries of Equestrian society and are as follows:

Construct Based Spell Understanding: This is the most common and basic form of understanding of magic in Equestria. It is the perception of spells as physical constructs and mechanisms. This form of understanding of magic is easier to achieve when one is born with the ability to perceive magic as the “construct” referred to in the name is based off of the actual mana-flows required to implement the spell. Spells are visualized and perceived as constructs and artistry. It is the baseline of magical understandings in Equestria, and thus the one the other two understandings are compared to.

Emotional Based Spell Understanding: A more unusual and actually actively suppressed understanding of magic, it is based on understanding the emotions the user feels to implement the spell. Magic is perceived as a mix of emotions, colors, and smells. This Understanding tends to allow for greater power than the Construct Based Understanding, but make the implementation of more complicated spells more difficult due to the finesse of emotional control required. It is far easier to accidentally cast spells from this Understanding, and this is the reason ponies are discouraged from learning magic this way.

Language Based Spell Understanding: The rarest form of magical understanding in Equestria, it is the understanding of magic in the way of formula’s and runes, as a ‘coding language’ of the universe. This is the understanding of magic that I have. It is not the rarest entirely by suppression, though Celestia’s discouragement of the knowledge of Runic magic does make it more difficult. It is rare because unicorns have the ability to use and sense magic from birth, and are more likely to gain a Construct Based Understanding before they have the requisite understanding of the universe, logic, magical theory, language, and level of literacy to view magic as a language. Despite what the ‘requirements’ of this form of Understanding may imply, this Understanding is not better than Construct Based Understanding. Rather, due to building spells as a code or poem, one with this Understanding of magic can normally create or tweak spells within minutes to days rather than the hours to months of effort the other two Understandings require. However, viewing magic as magical language and code does not necessarily mean you know the whole language, and larger spells are seen as compressed magical code and thus difficult to parse. It makes it difficult to learn new spells compared to Construct Based Understanding, and some spells are in strange syntax and ‘grammar’, and must be unpacked to be properly understood, much in the way a poem might.

It should be noted that one has little control over which form of Magical Understanding they gain, only those teaching the prospective student of magic have any influence over it, and even then, it takes a master spellcaster to be able to guide a prospective student towards a Magical Understanding they themselves do not have. Once one understands magic in one way or another, it’s almost impossible to change, to the point that the Princesses have only known it to have happened three times over the course of four millennia.

Spell Circles
The study of spells has gone on for millennia under the gaze of Celestia and Luna, advanced by brilliant ponies such as Starswirl the Bearded and likely Twilight Sparkle. Magical spells are divided into 10 “circles” based on the required power. The input of mana to the output of power naturally creates these “circles” or “levels” of spells.

The curve continues beyond the 10th circle, but the differences between peak and trough of the “power bands” of ideal mana-input to effect output slowly even out as the power increases. The difference between the peak of the 11th circle and the troughs on either side are a mere .1%, which while noticeable considering the immense amount of mana involved, is non-meaningful. Current magical theory designates all spells that use more mana than the power band of the 9th circle to be 10th circle spells.

The scale is exponential for mana input to power output. First Circle spells are the first spells a foal learns, soon followed by Second Circle spells. Most unicorns operate within the Third Circle of spells for most of their life, with the average specialist operating within the Fourth Circle. The Fifth and Sixth Circles of magic are occasionally seen with more powerful unicorns, but they are a minority.

While a Fifth Circle spell may affect an entire room, a Sixth Circle spell would affect an entire household. A Seventh Circle spell an entire town. An Eighth Circle spell an entire city. Spells of Ninth Circle and above rarely are further reaching, but are oftentimes even more powerful in their effect, choosing strength over breadth.

Note that currently, there are only a few handfuls of ponies capable of reaching the ninth circle of magic in their specialties, and a mere handful capable of reaching the 10th circle at all. Most of which are alicorns or imperfect tri-hybrids. Twilight Sparkle is one of only 3 ponies capable of casting 9th circle spells from more than one school.

Schools of Magic
Current doctrine divides spells based primarily on their effect rather than their basic construction and function, and fall into the following categories, known as “schools of magic”:

Clairvoyance – Currently a relatively unexplored school of magic, Clairvoyance covers spells which attempt to perceive the future or past, see things at a distance, analyze things too large or too small to otherwise perceive, or otherwise attempt to gather information using magic. Surprisingly, this school of magic is extremely inter-related and have a large number of similarities on a functional and implementational level despite their considerably varied effects. Ponies tend to have considerable difficulty with spells of this school that deal with places they have not been to before.

Tracking – A specific subset of spells, these deal with the locating of objects or entities. Very few ponies appear to be capable of these spells to any degree of accuracy, making this sub-school little more than a curiosity at best.

Farseeing – It bears mentioning that ponies are surprisingly capable when it comes to extending their visual range or their arc of vision, but have considerable difficulty when it comes to seeing locations at extreme distances, especially ones they have never been to. The greater the distance, the more difficult the spell.

Prediction – A specific sub-set of spells which attempt to determine the future. The exact mechanism of such is unknown to me and beyond my ability to perform.

Illusion – This school of magic covers all forms of creating real and true projections for the senses to perceive such as visual projections, sound, smell, tastes, and physical sensations. Normally involved in overlaying an existing object with the illusion of the sensations desired.

The hallmark of Illusion magics is that they do not actually alter the world, merely the perception of it and are incapable of truly harming

There are two sub-categories of function within this school. The True and the Percieved. “True” Illusions are those that create audible, visible, or olfactory sensations as they truly create the sources of these sensations in the world. The gustationary and tactile sensations however fall under “Percieved” Illusions, as they do not physically alter objects, rather creating a field that interacts with the sympathetic nervous system to create the desired sensation.

Sendings – Sendings refer to a specific sub-school of Illusion Spells, specifically to those that involve a Tracking component to relay an illusion to another. While these spells exist, due to ponies difficulty with Tracking spells, they are a currently unexplored niche and more of a fancy than worth dedicated study.

Evocation – This school covers all forms of direct energy conversion and emission. Generating and controlling energy such as electricity, heat, light or entropic energy. The latter aggressively and quickly accelerating the entropy of something touched. “Cold” energy falls under this category as well, the mana rapidly ripping the thermal energy from anything it touches. While normally perceived as a school of “battle magic”, many weak evocation spells have been worked into every-day items such as refrigerators and ovens.

Telekinesis – While, in theory, a sub-set of Evocation, the natural propensity of Unicorns towards this school of magic has caused them to separate it into its own dedicated school. The studies into its effects, its usage, and the best ways to achieve both. The difficulty of a task depends on the delicacy required, the precision required, and the amount of raw force required. Any considerable amount of one or another amount of these increases the effort required for a task and in many cases, the amount of mana used up, though not necessarily the amount used in the task as the amount of ‘wasted’ mana may change depend on the difficulty of the task.

Medical – This school of magic is actually built from multiple smaller spells from different schools of magic such as Blood Magic, Telekinesis, Clairvoyance, Alteration, and even Reality Warping. These replace tools such as defibulators, scalpels, medical analysis tools, warmers, and more. Given the amazing power of Growth-Encouragement spells (which fall under the purview of Blood magic) ponies have an ability to heal things which were unthinkable to humans “modern medicine”.

Counter-Magic – This school of magic is built around the un-doing magic and its effets. The most common form of this involves using concentrated mana pulses to safely unravel spells or magical effects in existence.

Reality Calcification – I’ve got to admit to a mistake here, Reality Calcification is not a true school of magic, rather, a sub-school of Counter-Magic. Reality Calcification involves using mana reinforcement to cause the laws of reality to solidify and become more difficult to alter with external magic. Few spells outside of Reality Warping actually do this, and as such, has little effect on spells outside of that school. I was taught it as its own separate school due to its particular use to me personally.

Alteration – This school of magic refers to spells which physically alter objects or materials without altering the laws of physics. The magics involved normally do things that are perfectly possible with dedicated work such as staining glass, altering the composition of materials, and non-telekinetic changes in an objects shape or size.

Some spells in this school have elements of Blood Magic to them, the spells that alter the shape, size, or composition of living beings all have some element of Blood Magic to them, tapping in the living energy and self-healing nature of the body to ensure that the extremely delicate work on another living beings body can be done with relatively little actual knowledge of the task. Emphasis on the relatively. Seriously you need a Bachelors in Anatomy to do anything but the most basic of body-Altering spells.

Charms – This school of magic refers to all forms of magic which affect the mind of a living being. Ponies that put effort into this school can achieve surprisingly subtle and powerful works in anothers mind. But thankfully, the magical resistance of ponies as well as the most common ways of countering these magics are widely spread. It takes considerable amount of raw power to actually overcome these basic defenses to the point that others won’t realize that some have been affected.

Reality Warping – This is one of the most powerful and difficult schools of magic. It is in truth, extremely broad and encompasses a massive swath of magical functions. It involves many things simply not covered by other schools of magic, but at its core, it is defined by usage of magic to alter physical laws of reality such as Gravity, temperature coefficient, density, mass, inertia, the creation of matter from nothing, the laws of thermodynamics, and so on.

Teleportation – Teleportation involves altering the nature of the quantum foam of reality within a bounded area to allow for a specific kind of wormhole to encompass the area and connect one location to another. The material between the two locations is swapped, passing one another in the wormhole in a brief instant before the wormhole is closed. The magic-resistance of most entities is such that it is impossible to teleport only a portion of a living thing. Time travel works similarly, and instead of simply designating another point in the X, Y, Z coordinates to transport, it designates a fourth dimension to travel along. The greater the travel distance, the more energy required not to create the spell, but to designate the target position with the spellcasters own mana.

Conjuration – A specific subset of Reality Warping, Conjuration refers to ether teleporting a distant object to the spellcaster, or to creating objects whole-cloth from nothing. The energy required is considerable, but the latter is actually simple from the Construct Understanding of magic, it merely takes a considerable amount of mana, being a minimum 4th circle Spell.

In addition to the ‘accepted’ schools of magic, the following are forbidden in normal teachings to varying degrees.

Boons – Spells which alter probability negatively or positively, commonly called “curses” or “blessings” are a difficult and powerful form of magic, but the potential disaster involved and the lack of ability to counter these spells has caused Celestia to suppress the knowledge of these spells. The difficulty in properly implementing the spells has assisted in this suppression. While a part of this school falls under Reality Warping, the breadth and vague nature of these spells separates them from Reality Warping in both function and in form.

Blood Magic – Blood magic refers to all forms of magic that directly affect and interact with the life force and biology of living beings. There are several major sub-sections of these magics.

Power from Blood – This subsection deals with converting the power of life-force and the structured bonds that create a living being directly into mana. While symbolically using blood in this process, it is truly converting down the biological molecules down into their component parts throughout a being.

Life Link – This subsection of magic deals with the linking of functions of a spell to the biological and magical predispositions of a living being. This is one of the few acceptable forms of Blood Magic, as it is commonly used to create safe-guards in spells that alter the composition or nature of a living being.

Power to Blood – This is the reverse of Power from Blood, and involves converting mana into generative and reconstructive power for living beings. The difficulty is in bounding these effects. These form the entirety of “healing” magics, those that regenerate wounds. But a some of the principles of this subsection are also applied to Alteration spells that deal with living beings.

Runic Magic – A mostly forgotten rather than forbidden school of magic, runic magic isn’t truly a separate kind of magic so much as an application of magic. It is the use of runes, symbols, and “magical coding” to transcribe a spell into an object in some fashion. This school of magic has almost entirely fallen into disuse, as there is almost no reason for its usage in modern Equestrian society. The things which runic magic is good at, enhancing objects, imparting spells into them, or creating wards are things which the other tribes can do (Earth Pony construction) or special materials can make far easier (crystals and certain metals for infusing heat or cold spells into).

Soul Magic – This magic refers to the spells which directly affect the mana flows of an entity, as well as their soul. I don’t have any definition of a soul that can be translated well, but to put it simply, this is the power of binding souls to tasks, to objects, and is in many ways, a horrible school of magic that is rightfully forbidden.

Greenfire Magic – The name is not indicative of what this school of magic covers. But it encompasses all forms of spells that must be powered by hatred, greed, the ‘darker’ emotions. These spells are oftentimes dangerously powerful but also self-destructive. There are exceptions, but these spells are truly corruptive, actively changing the mana flows of the user and adjusting the chemical balance of their bodies with every usage. They’re like a drug, and an extremely dangerous one at that. Spells in this category tend to have effects a full Spell Circle above what their input would indicate.

Battle Magic – A “special” school of magic that is really a selection of spells from other schools as well as several merged spells. Spells to conjure items from nothing and imbune them with evocation magic in the process is battle magic. The ability to convert mana and willpower into temporary physical constructs is battle-magic. The usage of special telekinetic structures to create armor of force is battle-magic.

The only real link between the spells of the “Battle Magic” school are their use in war and combat. It is something that I am horrifyingly good at.

Name Magic – A horrifying school of magic that involves using the proper designation of an object or living being to gain a certain degree of control over it, generally reducing its magical resistance to nearly nothing. It is a simple, but terrifyingly powerful school of magic whose very existence has been removed from history. Also, fun fact. This text was written with special runic ink that specifically scrubs the capability of performing Name Magic from the souls of those who read it. If you’ve read this, you will never be capable of performing Name Magic. Yes, I got permission from Celestia to do this and actually got help from both of the Princesses in the implementation of this runic spell. Deal with it.

Mastery
While there are a number of different levels of skill in spellcasting, there are few formal titles considering the considerable breadth of possibilities. However, there exist some currently used as well as archaic forms of measuring competene.

Currently, ponies are measured by their understanding of theory much in the way they are with any other advanced subject such as physics or general mediine and are given Associates, Bachelors, Journymares, and Masters depending on the approximate number of years they spend studying a subject in a university, being 2, 4, 6, and 8 respectively. Twilight Sparkle is on her fifth Masters at the time of this writing.

Archaicly and “formally”, there exist degrees of Mastery, based on a combination of skill, speed of application, and raw power that equate to a degree of Mastery ascending from First Degree to Tenth Degree. Legally, First to Fourth Degree Mastery is the equivalent to either a Journeymares or a barely-passing Masters degree in the school and are not allowed to be added to titles. However, the Fifth and higher Degrees of Mastery refer to greater and greater power. As these are determined by a formula (which I am still unable to really understand), it is in theory possible to have an Eleventh Degree Mastery, but only the Princesses possess such mastery and power in magic. Twilight is a Tenth Degree Master in four schools of magic, and at absolute least an Eighth Degree Master in all other “accepted” schools of magic. I myself am a Seventh Degree Master or higher in all forms of forbidden magic, a Tenth Degree Master of Countermagic and Runic Magic, an Eighth Degree Master of “Battle Magic”, and a Sixth Degree master of Reality Warping.

Conclusion
Magic is a powerful, dangerous force in the world of Equestria, but one that has, through the careful efforts of the immortal Princesses, become a source of almost exclusively beauty when used by ponies. There are exceptions, but the knowledge of dangerous schools of magic can be likened to the knowledge of how to build instruments of murder and torture, and the world is a better place without them.

To note: The Elements of Harmony, the Princesses' ability to manipulate celestial objects, and other unique aspects of magic will be covered in a separate report as they and their interaction with the world around them are surprisingly complex and in some cases, still not understood in any appreciable amount.

And seriously, don’t try to figure out Name Magic, I will find your ass and buck you in the face so hard that your descendants will feel it. Then I’ll drag you before the Princesses so that they can punish you. So seriously, don’t do it.

Best Wishes,

Emeris Fillson

Dissertation on Name Magic

To: Celestia, Luna, Potential Psychopaths, Far Too Curious Scholars, and whomever else it may concern
Dissertation on Name Magic and its’ Nature

By Emeris Fillson

Since there’s been a ton of interest in a specific part of my dissertation on magic (and I’m still surprised you let that get out Celestia), I’ll elaborate on it.

Disclaimer: If you read any further about this, please understand that you are consenting to me using some pretty serious Black Magic on you to prevent any attempt at using Name Magic from existing. If you’re truly a deranged sort and don’t want to have the possibility of using name magic scoured from your soul and mana reserves, stop reading now.

…

Any further and you are allowing magic to be used on your psyche.

…

Alright, you were warned:

*{/<.(&$~#,.,)({}|/

…

Okay, here we go.

In order to explain Name Magic, a certain amount of how magic resistance works needs to be explained.

Magic resistance works as the soul and mana impression of a being asserts how it should be and the ambient magic of Equestria supports it. When magic tries to alter a being’s existence, their soul asserts that that is not how things work and much like a conductor correcting a member of the orchestra who isn’t working right, Harmony magic corrects the error.

The more extreme the deviation, the more extreme the correction.

Spells on a person fade over time because Harmony magic recognizes it as not the normal state for a being by communicating with the person’s soul. In time, the spell fades as it’s slowly eroded.

Spells that are inherently dangerous to the subject such as transformations (especially like those that turn a pony into a fish outside of water) are corrected quickly, much like the conductor coming over to smack the offending musician.

This all works because the Harmony magic talks with the magic of an individual’s soul to figure out how things are ‘supposed’ to be.

Now, here’s where things get dicey.

Some forms of black magic work by using the casters soul as fuel to directly affect the soul of the victim. This inherently damages the users soul, leading to the corruptive effects of “true” black magics.

But then there’s Name Magic. Name magic, even in its most basic form, allows its user to use a freely given name to bypass the magic resistance of its victim. The Name acts as a key to the lock on the soul, simply bypassing its nigh immutable nature. Rather than smashing the chest to mess with the puzzle inside, one uses a key.

If this doesn’t seem too bad, allow me to point out that this allows magics placed on a pony to last forever, for a simple charm spell to become a permanent aspect of the pony. It allows a spellcaster to have complete and absolute control over the victim. A freely given name is basically giving the spellcaster your life and soul, allowing them to make you do anything, transform you into a fish on dry land, make you jump off a bridge, tear off your own limbs, to kill and rape those closest to you. Anything.

There are other uses for Name Magic, allowing a spellcaster to bypass the inherent resistances of materials like iron or adamantium or healing otherwise impossible to cure effects. But these are more advanced uses of the magic, and inherently allow one to use the previously mentioned more dangerous uses.

Not to mention that knowing how to use Name Magic on inanimate objects inherently involves the fundamentals of how to use a ponies name… even one not freely given.

Please stop to consider the horror of someone being able to look up your name and then make you do whatever they wanted.

Yeah, there’s a reason I’m paranoid about this stuff getting out and the Princesses have given me free reign to stamp it out wherever I find it.

Thankfully, while the initial levels involving freely given names can be discerned from first principles relatively easy, the more advanced versions are extremely difficult to figure out and effectively require instruction or decades of research.

Interestingly, the habit of assigning extensive titles to generals and nobility as well as heralds comes from an attempt to stifle the power of Name Magic in ancient Equestria. The amount of power one has over a pony is directly correlated to how much of their name one possesses on an exponential scale. Missing even one piece of their true name means the effect is dramatically lessened, and titles can be a part of one’s name provided they are earned and treated as such.

Heralds are obvious, so long as you don’t give them your name, it’s much harder for them to use it against you.

That said, once Name Magic had been stamped out in a significant sense, Nobles started giving more of their name and titles in a way to feel important, and in reaction to suddenly not having to hide it. Also, they’re pretentious ponces almost as a rule.

Now, hopefully, you can understand why it’s so terrifying and why I’m fully in support of the suppression of Name Magic. It’s existentially horrifying, its few uses that aren’t terrible inherently involve learning those terrifying magics, and generally just a tool of dictators and monsters.

There’s nothing funny about Name Magic or its implications.

Best Wishes,
Emeris Fillson

P.S. – There are no citations on this because they’ve all been burned or are locked up in special vaults to prevent access, only kept around as references to fight Name Magic for the Princesses should such a need arise.

Threat Primer

To Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Cadence
Revised Threat Primer Submission

By Emeris Fillson

Okay ladies, I have come to the conclusion that our knowledge of the various threats to Equestira are well known, but that this knowledge is spread thin and in various esoteric forms and is completely useless.

Herein is a consolidation of as much information as I’ve gathered. I know there’s more out there, but this is what I’ve been able to gather and confirm myself.

I recommend having this copied and given to all of our special ops and higher-ups that actually deal with this. Attached is my suggested coding system so that field operatives can call in their situation quickly an easily.

Fae
Code: Nightmare
Sub-Coding: Winter (Winter Court) , Summer (Summer Court) , Waking (Unknown Court, in Equestria) , Forgotten (Unknown Court, in Aether)
Creatures of dreams and nightmares, the native residents of the Aether. They are the ones that threaten dreams and nightmares. They are not all malevolent, but are almost all dangerous simply due to being outside of what could be expected of sane beings.

They normally subsist by consuming dreams and memories. This is normally alright as they nibble at the edges of dreams, they’re what make dreams fade as you wake. The problem is when they cconsume more of a sentients memories, emotions, and eventually soul.

The Do-Nots
Make Deals

Insult

Use Emotional Magic on them (it empowers them almost as much, if not more than it harms them)

Praise Celestia or otherwise use her name (Praise Luna instead)

Game-Plan
Find out why it’s there and, if benign, try to get it to leave. Even if it’s benign or even helpful, Fae aren’t supposed to be in our world. If malicious, kill with extreme prejudice.

If ponies are being drawn into the Fae Lands, we are not allowed to go there and interfere. You’ll almost certainly be on your own and you’ll probably die. Just try to seal off the way they’ve been luring ponies in. If you can catch them in our world, exterminate with extreme prejudice.

If you can’t catch them in our world or they’re clever and start taking out your team, call for backup, specifically request Princess Luna directly. Code Lunar Nightmare Green.

Strengths
Great at finding loopholes

Able to enter and manipulate dreams

Varies depending on the Fae.

Weaknesses
Cold Iron

Concentrated Moonlight

Varies depending on specific fae.

Cannot tell falsehoods (Do not allow this to mislead you, they can tell fiction and mislead you very well, they just cannot tell outright falsehoods)

As a general rule, if it’s brightly colored, freeze it. If it’s dark or in shadow, light it up or light it on fire.

Structure
There are two courts of the Fae, the Winter and the Summer Courts. While any particular fae may not be heavily aligned with one side or another, during war all Fae will choose a side. There are no truly neutral fae.

The Summer Court deals with warmth, growth, passion, mania, light, earth, and fertility. Their Queen is Titania, lady of Fire and Light and Green.

The Winter Court deals with cold, death, logic, dementia, paranoia, darkness, wind, and wasting. Their Queen is Deiusa, lady of Wind and Darkness and Blood.

Luna used to head her own Court, the Night Court which represented mortals. But with her time on the moon, her Court has dissolved. While it’s reforming, this is causing considerable strife in the Aether and we’ll be dealing with a lot of Fae acting up while loyalties change around.

Notes
Hobs hate light

Trolls don’t like soap

Goblins are fucking stupid, but usually very numerous, don’t assume you’ve got them all

Kobolds like their traps

Dopplegangers are a thing. If one of your buddies acts weird, touch them with your standard iron nail in your kit subtly. If they don’t like it, capture and interrogate with extreme prejudice.

Wendigos, while rare, are powerful fae of cold. Their "demon" title is a mislabeling. They are damaged by harmony and friendship and love, but they are powerful masters of ice and hatred.

Iron nails are your friend here

If you ask a Fae what it is, it will usually try to dodge the question. Summer Court will usually try to use extremely flowery and pompous language, Winter Court will normally try to turn it back around on you.

Fae only need to abide by deals when asked it and they acquiesce three times! Asking less does not bind them to it any more than you or I would be, but asking more is a grievous insult! Don’t do it! Even if you’re getting a permanent pass for them not to harm you, don’t ask a fourth time! They will go out of their way to cause you as much pain as possible through every loophole they can find! And if not you, then your herd, your family, your friends, anything you care about that isn’t covered.

Demons
Code: Hell
Sub-Coding: N/A
Natives of Tartarus, these are some of the most potentially horrifying and dangerous beings you’ll encounter with any regularity. Great evils and monsters are sealed there, and the term demon can refer to either the slave races they have spawned in their imprisonment or the great evils themselves.

The term is also applied to powerful beings that have no relation to the above beings but are imprisoned in Tartarus.

The Do-Nots
Make Deals

Extended Interaction

Panic

Game-Plan
Exterminate with extreme prejudice. Demons can normally be determined by their smell and the nauseating feeling they normally have. If it smells like sulfur, it’s probably a demon.

Generally, exterminate with extreme prejudice. If you have reason to believe it’s been summoned, restrain it and try to trace its origin. Otherwise, blast the bastard.

If it’s possessing things then it’s a summoned spirit and can be harmed by Iron, same as a Fae. Otherwise default to Harmony magic if you have access to it. Holy, Light, and Order magic are also safe bets.

Strengths
Some are Reality Warpers

Unusual physiology (Don’t assume you know where their vital organs are, even the things like their brain)

First and Second Circle Demons are truly immortal, as fundamental concepts you can only banish them and render them unable to be summoned for a length of time. Causing permanent harm to one of them is effectively impossible.

Third and Fourth Circle Demons tend to be able to regenerate from even the smallest scraps of flesh and blood if they are not harmed with a material, magic, or item that bypasses their healing.

Weaknesses
Silver

Harmony Magic

Binding Agreements

Holly Wood (Common weakness, not a guarantee)

Cold Iron (Common weakness, not a guarantee)

Necromantic Magic

Properly formed Circles

Structure
Back when the world was formed, there were the Titans, beings of such primal power that it boggles the mind. Their primary form is the soul of a fundamental concept of reality and is so massive and powerful that it has multiple souls. Each of these souls is also a physical being and so powerful and metaphysically heavy that it has multiple souls of its own.

The mightiest being is the Titan, or the Zeroth Circle Demon. These are the World Forms that form the metaphysical core of Equestria. Some of them chose this fate, others were bound to it by force, but the Titans form the core of Equestria and their bodies are Tartarus. You will never encounter one of these beings, their minds are so vast and different from our own that it’s like comparing us to a gnat. It’s just not a fair comparison.

The souls of the Titans are known as First Circle Demons. The First among their peers. These are beings of immense power, and tend to be comparable to Discord. They are the personification and embodiment of some force or aspect of existence, for example: Zeus is the primal force of storms, and Lucifer is the personification of vice.

The souls of the First Circle Demons are the Second Circle Demons. These are actually relatable and tend to have understandable personalities, but are still extremely powerful. For scale, the Princesses operate at about the power of these Second Circle Demons. These include beings like Aeres, who cannot be defeated in war, and Asmodeus, the bringer of lust.

Then there are the “natives” of Tartarus, the Third Circle Demons, the Created Races. These are species or individuals of power on general, higher than that of the average ponies’, but not significantly so. These are what one classically thinks of when they think of Demons. Wendigos are theorized to have been these kinds of beings.

Finally, there are the Fourth Circle Demons, these are the animals and beasts of Tartarus, they are metaphysically similar to Third Circle Demons, but are stupider, weaker, and vary greatly in size and function, being little better than beasts.

Notes
Demons can lie! They will lie! They can't go against a bargain though, nor can they lie about the terms of a bargain. And their true name will give you power over them even without name magic.

Demons love music, but hate Heartsong. Engaging in Heartsong near a demon is an almost surefire way to send it into a murderous rage. But by contrast, few demons from the lowest to the highest will turn down a chance to dance or join in when given musical accompaniment.

There are two forms of demons in our world:

Manifested: The form of the demon comprised of ectoplasm, it is functionally similar, but is fundamentally different from Escaped demons. They can be banished with sufficient damage (reducing them to giblets works well here) and are definitely vulnerable to Cold Iron. This is the most common form of demon as they slip through the cracks of Tartarus in spirit form or are summoned as such.

Escaped: The actual physical form of the demon in our world. Much harder to kill, not necessarily vulnerable to Iron. No time limit and generally free reign. These are unable to assume spirit form but are not bound to follow their word.

Common Demons
Erymanthoi, the blood apes. Think gorilla only twice normal size, blood red, and harder to kill. They’re obsessed with killing things. They can slip into our world at places of great bloodshed where blood magic has been used.

Agatae, the beautiful wasps. Standing about eight decahooves tall at the base of the wing joint, these wasps appear to be made of multicolored and constantly shifting gemstones, their wings flowing rainbows. Their name is extremely appropriate as they are astoundingly beautiful. Their stinger is the size of a sword though. They are very intelligent, but very strange and are prone to fits of mania. When the sight of beauty fundamentally changes someone, an Agatae can find its way into Equestria.

Decanthropes, the body snatchers. In truth, it is a warty green strip of disgusting flesh only about a hoof wide and a decahoof long, resembling nothing more than a detached, gangernous tongue. Its true form is rarely seen though as it worms its way into the flesh of a living being, coils around their organs and takes control of them. It can possess others that have contact with the primary host by either injecting them with its toxin through its hosts fluids (Kissing or intercourse are common methods) or by transferring between them and allowing residual poison in the vacated hosts body to control it. So long as its poison is in a body, it can control them even at a distance of five magnahooves. A single Decanthrope can produce enough poison to control approximately ten hosts continuously. The hosts can be spotted by how their eyes do not reflect light. They like to perform with their host bodies, but these performances are unsettling and inspire dark emotions. A Decanthrope can enter Equestria when a being survives being hung for three days.

Luminata, the deer that hunt. While it appears to be a large albino buck at a distance, up close it is revealed to be a writhing mass of tendrils. They like to hunt any game by luring it away from civilization, getting it lost, and then engulfing it whole. They are strong and tough and immune to blunt trauma. Oak, ash, and rowan trees are their bane and even a leaf from one of them will burn upon contact. Your standard kit should contain an ash switch for this reason, just as griffons who hunt alone carry. They come through far more often than anyone is comfortable with as they actively seek ways into Equestria. They prefer hunting griffons though.

Makarios, the street of wonders. Less an individual, but rather an entire bazaar that is in truth one Second Circle demon. There will be several identical looking merchants offering a wide variety of impossible goods. The demon itself is pleasant and nice and helpful, but it is a businessdaemon. It bargains in dreams and souls and memories and fragments of self in return for impossible and amazing goods. Powerful love potions, poisons made from hate, dragons tears, and woven sunlight are but a few examples. Any bargain made in the bazaar, no matter how bizarre, is binding. The goods themselves are the threat, as Makarios has no morals or concern about the consequences of the goods it parlays. It only wants to give ponies what they want and get paid in bits of self. All deals are final. Makarios can be banished simply by asking it to leave by name, but tracking down all of the goods it has brought about is imperative; it is suggested to try and bargain for a list of the deals it has made in this journey to Equestria.

Loki. A powerful demon of lies and bargains. He is one of the rare First Circle Demons able to enter Equestria with any regularity. He likes making bargains and deals. Any time a wolf eats a snake after being bit by it, he can stride forth into Equestria. He is brilliant, devious, and manipulative. But he is not a major threat. Do not engage. Alert the Princesses to his presence and avoid conversing with him. His most common form is that of a dull green pony in resplendent emerald robes with golden armor, his helm having two swept back horns, but he is a master shapeshifter and can assume almost any form.

“Monsters”
Code: Encounter
Sub-Coding: N/A
These are the natural creatures of Equis that happen to be big, mean, and dangerous. These are the cockatrices, the hydras, the giants.

The Twilight Guard will generally not be called on to deal with these creatures, that’s the Solar Guard’s job.

The Do-Nots
Kill Indiscriminately. They’re a part of the ecosystem, if not a pleasant one for herbivores.

Game-Plan
Restrain it, determine that it’s not possessed or another form of being masquerading or otherwise in the shape of a natural being, then get a hold of either the Solar Guard or a local animal control representative in order to determine further courses of action.

Strengths
Varies

Weaknesses
Sharp things

Heavy things

Stabby things

Hot things

Cold things

Enchanting things

Structure
N/A (Hopefully)

Notes
Read your damn “Possible Dangerous Creatures” primer if you want to know more.

Elementals
Code: Maelstrom
Sub-Coding: Blazing (Fire) , Flowing (Water) , Growing (Wood) , Crystal (Earth) , Thunderous (Lightning) , Zephyr (Wind) , Eldritch (Unknown)
Manifestations of the souls of the various aspects of the world. They vary from unimaginably intelligent to barely sentient at all and their shapes vary wildly, but they can be identified by the elemental or natural theme to their forms. They will always have some form of theme going on for their element or the area they represent. If it doesn’t show any other signs and has an elemental theme, it’s a safe bet it’s an Elemental.

The Do-Nots
Kill Indiscriminately

Offend

Game-Plan
Stop it from rampaging with restraint if possible, then try to determine what’s making it be a threat before resolving the problem. An Earth Pony (or Zebra) and a Unicorn get the best reaction when negotiating with most Elementals, with the exception of Air Elementals, for which a Pegasus and Unicorn are best. If you have a Kelpie squadmate, have one of them talk with any Water Elementals.

Generally it is ponies or other living beings damaging the ley-lines of the area or disrupting the natural order. This isn’t always the case though, and a number of Elementals are incapable of speech (or the complex thought required for speech) so aren’t able to communicate what the problem is.

Strengths
Direct Elemental Control

Difficult to truly put down as they’ll oftentimes reform unless the structure giving them form is destroyed

Weaknesses
Their opposing element

Damaging the source of their existence (poisoning a lake that has spawned an elemental for example)

Structure
There are some local courts of Elementals where the sentient Elementals congregate and agree upon policy, but there is no general, consistent structure to Elementals.

Notes
Common Problem Elementals:
Dogs of Unbroken Earth:
Forests that have never had their trees cleared or other places of life where beings have never lived. They like meat and milk but hate any encroachments of civilization. They have long brown fur that has moss, twigs and mud entwined with it, their eyes glow red or green depending on their mood, they stand one to two decahooves at the shoulder, their howl causes glass to shatter, and copper and tin to tarnish. They are associated with Earth. They are dangerous and bad, they’re basically impossible to avoid a confrontation with if settlers are in the area. They have no specific bane, fire and wind are more effective than other attacks though. Plants are their weapon, and any roots will attempt to trip you and any thorns will attempt to stab in vital places like the eye, neck, or major joints. Not to mention that they’re big and dangerous on their own.

Huraka:
Bears that stand 4 to 5 decahooves at the shoulder, their eyes are shining gold, their fur as soft as a cloud, and their breath continuously steams from their mouths. They are the Elementals of the major winds that course through Equestria. Their breath destroys deception and illusions.

Undead
Code: Corpus
Sub-Coding: Bloody (Vampires) , Scripture (Lich’s) , Wrapped (Mummies) , Spectral (Ghost or Wraith)
This refers to any self-mobile corpse or disembodied soul. They are thankfully rare, and the former is almost impossible to find ‘natural’ manifestations of outside of Vampires.

There exist several broad categories of undead.

Zombies. The most basic corporeal undead. It’s a body animated by a necromantically created impulse (essentially a simple created soul that’s not built around living processes). They are powered by flesh and blood, ideally of the living, but they can burn their own flesh to keep going, this is the reason for their accelerated decay.

Ghouls. A more advanced Zombie, and a potential natural creature unfortunately. Their motive power comes from a semi-sentient to fully sentient spirit, possibly a full on ghost or demon that has bonded itself to a corpse the same way a soul is bonded to a living body. Their brain and heart are the anchors of this soul to this body. They are similar to zombies, but rather than patchy self-consumption that a zombie does, they instead appear malnourished and wasting away. They oftentimes have poisonous touches, a foul oder, and are vicious, malicious, and intelligent.

Vampires. Arguably the pinnacle of corporeal undead. They feed directly on the life force of their victims rather than purely the flesh. They oftentimes appear perfectly normal and even ageless. They possess a number of powers. They are a full (if corrupted) soul bound to unliving flesh, efficiently converting its own blood into motive energy. They are very strong, fast, and tough, possessing an almost absurd healing factor provided they are fed. A fully realized vampire also possesses special abilities of some form or another, such as a mist form, shapechanging, an enthralling gaze, or other such abilities.They can be created in a number of ways and it is a popular way for beings to seek immortality. They are particularly vulnerable to the sun due to their over-active healing factor. Fire negates their healing factor, as does silver, gold, and salt. Their heart is the soul’s anchor to the body.

They are primarily created when a living being is drained of all of its blood and, while its heart is still beating, feeds on blood (whether willingly or not). Normally requiring either a vampire’s intervention or blood magic to achieve this. After this, the newborn vampire quickly regresses into a near childlike state as their soul starts to tear away from their body and reform, attempting to consume their own body to fuel the transition. Unless immediately fed, newborn vampires often appear as Zombies.

After feeding on a significant amount of fresh flesh and blood, the newborn vampire’s soul begins to properly re-anchor to the body, causing any obvious wounds or decay to begin to seal up and restoring a portion of its sentience. In this state the now Fledgling vampire resembles a Ghoul and operates much like one.

Upon feeding sufficiently that their soul is “properly” re-anchored to their form, their body achieves a semi-ageless appearance and they begin to gain powers. These powers are gained by staying well fed for extended periods of time, allowing the soul to develop additional tricks with which to use the power it has. As such, older vampires tend to be stronger than younger ones.

When created by another vampire, the created vampires are bound by blood magic to obey their creator. However, there is no such compulsion when created by magic. If the Matriarch vampire is killed, any Fledgling or weaker vampires die. But any fully realized vampires that were in her coven are freed to do as they please.

Mummies. A way to extend life after death. It involves the binding of the soul to the internal organs and then placing them in sacred jars. The body is then preserved, normally wrapped with special linen. There is nothing to prevent the rot of the mummies body other than the preservation techniques used on the body upon creation. They are more common in Saddle Arabia. The danger of a mummy is in their place of burial, as they are often created as a way to protect mass graves or the graves of royalty. The entire grave/structure is built to empower the mummy and restore it. This works best for mummies as their forms can handle intense self-enhancement magic without damage, and they cannot truly be killed until their internal organs are destroyed. The grave they inhabit will normally rebuild the mummies body if it is damaged or destroyed.

Lich’s. Spellcasters that have extended their life using magic by in some way separating their soul from their body. They always have an item of some form (this is commonly a book, but can be any single item, even a building) that contains their soul. They must gain life force in some fashion. Either by direct feeding as per other undead, or by converting mana into life force. Those that convert mana to life force can usually subsist entirely on their respired mana, but their body slowly decays and they often take to absorbing mana from other sources. They commonly resemble zombies, but their spellcasting is oftentimes well beyond what normal ponies can ever achieve. You’ll rarely find a Lich that’s less than an Eighth Degree Master of Necromancy and an overall Sixth Circle spellcaster.

Unless their Phylactery (the item which contains their soul) is destroyed, most Lich’s will reform given time. Additionally, if there is more magic within or on or infused into their Phylactery, the Lich’s body also possesses these abilities. For example: A lich with a kettle as its Phylactery infuses limited self-repair magics as well as greater toughness and strength into the kettle. The lich’s normal body will heal quickly and be far tougher than it should be at all times.

Lich’s normally protect and zealously guard their Phylactery for obvious reasons. They have no true weaknesses other than sunlight and salt.

Ghosts. The remnants of the souls of a being lasting after its body is destroyed. Any living thing can leave a ghost provided its soul is strong enough. They are incorporeal, physical attacks not utilizing silver or salt will pass right through them. Magic has a better chance to work, but is not a guarantee. They are not inherently hostile! Attempt negotiations first if feasible. They are able to, in order of ascending required power: Possess objects, create frost, move objects, possess corpses, create icicles, drain life, possess living beings, empower possessed objects/beings.

Wraiths. An incorporeal soul focused around a specific emotion, similar to a ghost but almost always hostile. Wraiths tend to be stronger than Ghosts due to their focus and are accompanied by a distinctive chill. They can inspire their core emotion in those around them as well. Virtue magic is your friend here.

Shades. A being that deliberately and methodically turned themselves into a Wraith. They are in many ways similar to Wraiths, but tend to be a more powerful manifestation, retaining some aspects of their original abilities. Additionally, Shades feed off of the emotion that is at their core, gaining strength from it and are often able to assume a corporeal form provided enough power. Virtue magic is extremely effective against them.

The Do-Nots
Give it blood

Get bit

Get touched

Assume it’s down for the count.

Game-Plan
For corporeal undead, capture and trace if feasible. Otherwise exterminate with extreme prejudice then trace to its source. Salt its body after destruction/redeath.

For incorporeal undead, figure out why they’re here and address the issue if possible. If malicious, exterminate with extreme prejudice. Virtue and Light magic are your friends here, salt it.

For a Lich, determine the location of its Phylactery (the object in which it has bound its life force, normally a book, though there are exceptions) and destroy it. Salt is useful against the body of the Lich, but sunlight is normally useless. Assume an extremely powerful spellcaster and plan appropriately.

For vampires, find the progenitor and kill them, use the ashes to trace any of its spawn that are still alive and do the same. Sunlight, pure water, and salt are your friends here. Blood magic is a good weapon against weaker vampires, but fully realized vampires will shrug it off. If they’re displaying powers other than strength and speed, don’t bother.

Strengths
Hard to kill

No meaningful physical weak points

Tend to be disease ridden

Can have a death-touch that causes a necromantic poison to spread through a ponies mana-flows. This disconnects the soul and motive life force from the body. Use concentrated sunlight to cauterize the wound/area if possible.

Can sap strength

Feed on flesh and blood to power themselves

Weaknesses
Silver

Gold

Salt

Concentrated sunlight

Structure
Corporeal undead tend to serve a necromancer. Vampires and Lich’s being exceptions.

Lich’s tend to be powerful necromancers in of themselves and are very dangerous spellcasters. Approach with caution.

Vampires tend to congregate in covens or flocks around the oldest, their progenitor, which has power over those it has spawned. Killing the progenitor will destroy the weaker vampires (those without higher thought functions yet), but not the sentient ones.

Notes
Sunlight accelerates the decay of undead considerably. They will either hide during the day or go on killing sprees.

Abominations
Code: Disaster
Sub-Coding: As per Elemental
While technically, an Abomination is an Elemental, they are on such different scales as to not matter. They are the manifested souls of concepts or things so massive and powerful that they are almost protodeities and are oftentimes malevolent.

Imagine the deific spark of the sun or the moon without a pony holding it, now imagine if it was angry. That’s an Abomination. They are thankfully rare, and most of them are sealed up absurdly tight since every living being out there doesn’t like them. But they are all unique and terrifyingly powerful.

The Do-Nots
Wake them up

Let them loose

Attempt direct confrontation without multiple Ninth Circle Masters.

Game-Plan
You’ll know when you encounter an Abomination. If you have not been called in to fight one (in which case you will be briefed), your first course of action is to call for backup.

Code Twilight Disaster Green if the Abomination is threatening to break free (even if you think you can have it sealed back up)

Code Twilight Disaster Violet if it is free.

Code Twilight Disaster Ultraviolet if it is free and approaching or near a settlement.

Attempt to determine what it is the manifestation of and then react with power accordingly, focus on slowing it down or crippling it. This is not a permanent solution, but will give back-up time to arrive.

Strengths
Raw power.

Immortality. It’s basically impossible to truly kill these things. They’re the manifestations of the Frozen North, of the Badlands, of the Magma Fields, of Shattered Time. You would have to destroy their source to truly kill them.

Weaknesses
Their opposing element.

Structure
N/A

Notes
These are all unique, you’ll have to make it up on the fly as you go.

Outsiders
Code: Emeris
Sub-Coding: N/A
This is a catch all term to cover the beings which come from outside reality and do not follow the same laws of physics. At my core, I am one of these beings, wrapped in a shell of powerful Harmony magic from Equestria itself to allow me to operate on normal physics.

For example: According to Celestia, in my natural state I am constantly dark yet radiating light, I cast no shadow, and I am more magic resistant than pure iron among other things, with light and shadow magics simply passing straight through me as if I don't exist.

The Do-Nots
Assume anything

Game-Plan
Call for backup. Specialists are best to handle these kinds of beings.

Figure out what rules the thing operates with on a basic level and exploit them if you must. Some cannot be killed because they have no concept of death (Like killing a rock, you might destroy it, but it's not really "dead"), thus the specialists. Avoid confrontation and proceed with caution as much as possible.

Strengths
Unknown / Varies

Weaknesses
Unknown / Varies

Reality Calcification

Structure
Unknown / Varies

Notes
Unknown / Varies

ProtoDeities
Code: Ascendant
Sub-Coding: Corpus (Necromantic Ascension) , Hell (Demonic Ascension) , Nightmare (Fae Ascension) , Maelstrom (Elemental Ascension) , Horror (Unknown Ascension Method, appears imminent) , Fear (Unknown Ascension method, appears non-immediate) , Eldritch (Known Ascension Method, not otherwise categorized)
These are beings which are on the cusp of ascending to either godhood or something similar. A pony about to become a crystal lich. A griffon about to become a demon. A seapony about to become an Elemental of a Tsunami.

They are powerful, they are unique, and they are dangerous to the point that they must be put down.

The Do-Nots
Allow them to force a confrontation in their specialty. You will lose.

Game-Plan
Call for backup. Code Eclipse Ascendant Blue (or higher).

Figure out what ritual they are using to ascend and shatter it, ideally in a way that harms them. Once this is accomplished (and only then) do you go after them. This is because sometimes the ritual is contingent upon their death or can operate even without them being alive. Stop their ascension, then kill them.

Strengths
Raw power

Near invulnerability (source varies)

Weaknesses
Focus. Most are monomaniacally focused on one form or another of power and if you can confront them in a situation where this is useless you take away much of their power.

Structure
N/A Though they may have minions or supporters to watch out for.

Notes
N/A

Deities
Code: Deus
Sub-Coding: N/A
This category refers to beings like Discord. I’ll sum it up now: Know when you encounter one and if you do, run.

They tend to be beings directly connected to powerful Leylines of some form or another and as such have so much raw power that it’s not even funny. Do not engage.

The Do-Nots
Engage

Attempt to seal

Attempt to stop

Taunt

Manipulate

Control

Do the Cha-Cha-Slide With

Game-Plan
Call for backup (discretely if you must). Code Eclipse Deus Ultraviolet.

Strengths
Are you fucking serious? I related them to Discord for a reason. They are out of your league.

Weaknesses
The Elements of Harmony. That’s about it.

Structure
N/A

Notes
Seriously, do not engage. Call for backup. Run. Talk with them if you can to slow them down.

First term indicates the branch of forces addressed or called for ease of routing. Any second portion will indicate further specifics e.g. - Lunar Shadowbolt, Solar Dawnguard.

Second term indicates the nature of the situation or threat. If more specific information is available, it will be preceded by a sub code e.g. - Blazing Maelstrom (Fire Elementals), Bloody Corpus (Vampires).

Third term indicates the threat level.

The fourth, optional term indicates any further details or requested actions. There may be multiple terms added after the core three terms. Additional terms should likely be added, these are merely the ones I've come up with.

First Term

Term - Meaning
Lunar - Nightguard
Solar - Royal Guard
Zephyr - Skyship Navy
Whirlpool - Waterborn Navy
Equis - Police Forces
Eclipse - All Forces

Second Term

Term - Meaning
Waylaid - Bandits / Criminals
Encounter - Natural monsters
Corpus - Undead
Dream - Fae
Maelstrom - Elemental
Hell - Demonic
Purrfeather - Griffon
Labyrinth - Minotaur
Doppleganger - Changeling
Wyrm - Draconic
Disaster - Abomination
Emeris - Outsider
Ascendant - Protodeity
Deus - Deity

Third Term

Term - Meaning
Infrared - Update on Situation Only
Red - Mild Concern
Orange - Serious concern
Yellow - Mobilize backup /put on call
Green - Send backup, mobilize forces
Blue - Send Immediate backup
Lavender - Send immediate backup, mobilize additional forces
Violet - Send Immediate Elite military backup, mobilize extensive forces
Ultraviolet - Extreme Threat, send Elements of Harmony and/or Princesses

Fourth Term

Term - Meaning
Aftermath - Send cleanup crews
Codex - Extensive info to come
Fim - Negotiations started
Circle - Casualties taken
Spearpoint - Aggressive actions in process
Keep - Fortifying position
Wandering - Requesting Orders
Robin - In retreat
Birdseye - Scouting
Snafu - Situation as expected
Fubar - Situation beyond expectations
G.D.M. - Situation lost, raze current location, friendly fire expected

I apologize if this isn't as entertaining as most of my letters have been Princesses, but these things are scary and we need to deal with them as efficiently as possible. None of them are really going away either.

While the average cop or soldier doesn't need to be informed about these, the special forces do, and it'd be a good idea to give most soldiers and cops a basic understanding of what a demon, fae, undead, and elemental are in case they need to call in for backup.

And seriously, if I have to go on one more mission where I have to explain all of everything about the threat to every individual I'm working with, I'm going to do something drastic.

...

Probably enchant all of your favorite public chairs to make very loud, nasty, wet fart sounds whenever you and only you sit on them or something similar.

Best wishes,
Emeris Fillson

P.S. - Seriously, get this spread out to the special forces at very least. It can't just be the Broken Horns that has this information.

The Magic of the Tribes

To: Celestia, Luna, Fucking Racists, and whomever else it may concern
The Magic of the Equestrian Tribes

By Emeris Fillson

Racists, this one is for you. Specifically, you unicorn supremecists. Yes, you fuckers that like to tout me as a wonderful example of unicorn power and dominance, yeah, this one is for you.

And not in a good way.

Contrary to popular belief, all three pony tribes have magic. Unicorns are not inherently superior with magic and are actually noticeably limited.

In my studies of my personal magic, genetics, and ponies in general, I have discovered several very clear delineations of magic amongst the pony tribes and their hybridizations.

General:
All of the tribes, unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, have magic in them. No tribe has a predisposition towards greater amounts of magic than any other, as the only genes I have been able to identify that are linked to total magical power, reserves, and mana respiration are independent of those that determine a ponies tribe. [1]

Cutie Marks:
A cutie mark is a cultural thing, but appears to act as a form of magical focus, allowing for magic following its intention to flow more easily and more powerfully. This appears to be different from the magical focus normally associated with a unicorns horn or pegasi’s wings or the wand and staff of my own peoples (theorized) magic users. The cutie mark appears to tap into some form of connection between consciousness and sentience and the application of magic, streamlining the flow of the appropriate form of magical energies.

In theory, if an earth pony were to gain a cutie mark equivalent to Twilight Sparkle’s, they would be able to perform unicorn magic, despite what some unicorns might say, this is not impossible. It is unlikely to the point of being impossible, but it is not truly impossible

Unicorns:
The ‘magic users’ of the tribes, unicorns have the most obvious magic as well as the most versatile. Many spells and magics fall under the purview of unicorns, however, the following appear to be exclusive to Unicorns or those with unicorn genetics are levitation, kinetic, thermodynamics, conjuration, and analysis magic.

The following however, appear to be outside of the purview of unicorn magic:
• Electricity and the manipulation of electrons
• Fluid Manipulation
• Mineral and Terran Manipulation
• Growth Stimulation
• Mass Manipulation
• Direct Physical Enhancement

These bullet points cover a large spectrum of potential spells. Astute readers may not that some unicorns do show the ability to cast spells that touch upon those purviews. However, all of these ponies also demonstrate the traits of one of the other two tribes and are oftentimes Imperfect DiHybrids. Rarity, for example, is an imperfect Earth Unicorn Dihybrid, with the Unicorn very obviously dominant. Twilight Sparkle, the student of Celestia, is in actuality an Imperfect TriHybrid, with Unicorn being dominant, but having expressed genes of both Earth Ponies and Pegasi.

A unicorn’s magic is channeled through they’re horn, using the unusual material (alicorn, just because the term wasn’t confusing enough) as a magical focus. The direct connection to a unicorn’s cerebellum-equivalent makes the application of higher complexity spells easier. It does not enable the usage of high-complexity spells despite what various unicorns have said over the course of Equestrian history.

Additionally, unicorns appear to sense magic through their horn, again, the direct neural link making this information easier for the brain to parse, not merely enabling this sense.

It should be noted for potential Non-Equine readers that this reliance on their horn means that should it be removed, a unicorn is deprived both of their magical senses as well as their magic. Simply cutting a horn off does not do this, as the horns grow slowly over time and require filing without other wear and tear. However, removing the horn at the base of the unicorns skull, an inherently somewhat invasive procedure, makes it impossible for a unicorn to regrow their horn, though in the few recorded cases, the skull sealed over the hole. This does not truly deprive a unicorn of their magical abilities and senses, but due to their culture and learning exclusively through their horn, most unicorns are unable to even conceive of having magic once again without their horn, let alone go through the time and effort to regain the ability.

Pegasi:
Of the two remaining tribes, pegasi have the more obvious of the innate magics. Pegasi are obviously able to manipulate clouds, and their magic allows them to generate lightning and winds far in excess of what their wings would normally be able to generate given their muscle mass.

Pegasi do not fly exclusively through the power of their wings against the air, as their wings are too small to provide proper lift using purely non-magical physics. Instead, their wings interact with the mana field of the planet[2] to provide even greater thrust. Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty, in truth has almost as high a magical output as most Perfect DiHybrids and has magical reserves several times greater than normal.

The wings of a pegasi are collectively the focus for their magics. There have been recorded cases of pegasi capable of using their wings alone to generate lightning bolts, or developing spells to generate small vortexes of intense winds. This, despite some naysayers (again, Racists, looking at you) is alone proof enough that unicorns do not have exclusive rights to externalized magic [3]. These cases have almost all been verified by the Princesses, and one such case was actually one of the Princesses personal students, further cementing the fact that such abilities are within the purview of pegasi.

Something to note is a pegasus’ ability to manipulate clouds is actually a multi-part magic involving mass alteration, gas manipulation, reality warping, and a number of other magics that remain unidentified. The fact that the majority of unicorns are capable of the cloud-walking spell, when the magic itself seems to involve at least three forms of magic that unicorns are normally incapable of without Pegasi or Earth Pony genetics is strange and currently not something that I can explain as it appears to be the only exception. This means that there is some portion of the equation that I do not understand, but I lack the data to make any reasonable guesses as to why this one data point is off kilter.

Earth Ponies:
Common knowledge says that earth ponies lack any true magic. That earth ponies are stronger and tougher and have greater stamina than other tribes to compensate for their lack of magic. That earth ponies can only do manual labor and craftsmans work.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG.

Earth ponies have, without a doubt, the widest reaching and most subtle magics of the three tribes.

It is not the magic of the Princesses that chooses the seasons, but rather the power of Earth Ponies tending the earth. Snow and ice may be caused by Celestia’s efforts with her sun, but it is to ease the transition to the dormancy period that the plants and earth need, one that Earth Ponies naturally guide it to. This magic is not conscious, but is caused with every step an Earth Pony takes, ever push of hoof to dirt pushes the seasons to turn, each ones effect imperceptibly small but reaching across hundreds of miles.

Sure, individual Earth Ponies can possess strength and lifting power far in excess of what they should due to their natural mana flows enhancing their musculature, skeletal structure, and force application[4], but the true power of an Earth Pony is in their ability to push the seasons along, to increase the durability and strength of items they have crafted, to manipulate and find minerals and terran materials, and to increase the growth and health of plants they care for.

These are four very disparate schools of magic, and while subtle, they are powerful and consistent.

And before some racist ass (or just ignorant) pony tries to say otherwise, yes, Earth Ponies make the seasons happen. I was particularly well suited to know this as an Alicorn of the Earth and being tutored in alicorn magic by Princess Celestia. I know exactly what the effects of Earth Pony magics are.

Particularly magically powerful Earth Ponies such as Applejack have effects on all plants within several miles of them and are disproportionately strong for their size. Applejack is nearly as strong as her older and significantly larger brother, and any plant to be blessed by her personal touch is guaranteed to grow larger, faster, and stronger than any of its brethren. These effects are quantifiable and measurable, and it merely takes patience and careful attention to detail to notice (not being a biased, racist bitch tends to help).

Anything she were to make would be of better craftsmanship than something an equally skilled unicorn or pegasus could make, and she is guaranteed to be a good miner and blacksmith should such professions mysteriously call to her.

Unusually, Earth Ponies normally do not demonstrate the ability to control mass and inertia, and yet such magics seem to be directly linked to Earth Pony genetics. I am not sure why, but I have never seen a Unicorn perform magics linked to such things without carrying active Earth Pony genetics. But neither have I seen an Earth Pony demonstrate such effects themselves, even unconsciously. It is a mystery I endeavor to solve.

In Conclusion:
Despite what some racist fuckwads may say, all three of the tribes of ponies not only possess magic, they posses it in considerable amounts and each has a beautiful effect on the world around them.

So seriously, stop touting me as a great example of how amazing unicorns are for a cause that’s utterly and provably bullshit. Seriously, it’s pissing me off.

You ponies do realize that I’m an Earth Unicorn right? As in a full third of my genetics are active Earth Pony genetics and that I’m equal parts Earth Pony and Unicorn? I don’t even qualify for your racist, unicorn supremist concepts. Hell, I was a completely different genus of creature prior to being a pony! So stop trying to say that “Hey, an alicorn became a unicorn, nyah nyah” and using it as a justification of your hatred. Seriously, stop it. It’s insulting and frustrating and I’m nearing the point of asking Princess Celestia for permission to find you and smack you upside the head for your arrogance and stupidity.

I wrestle manticores for fun. I smack pretty hard.

Best Wishes,

Emeris Fillson

[1] – The genes to determine magical reserve appear to be linked to those that produce growth hormones which are concentrated in horns for unicorns and wings for pegasi, those jokes and assumptions are not entirely wrong.

[2] – This is the most commonly held theory as to how pegasi (and other powerfully magical flyers such as dragons) are capable of generating the absolutely insane amounts of thrust with their comparatively small wings. I currently have no data to suggest otherwise, but also none to confirm the theory, and as such, defer to those with greater experience and time spent in the study of the subject.

[3] – This is the term commonly used by racists to respond to ponies with half a brain pointing out that pegasi’s ability to move and interact with clouds is proof that other ponies have magic. These racist (bastards) often append their original statement in a condescending way and qualify “Only unicorns have magic” to “Only unicorns have useful, externalized magics”.

[4] – Again, this is the most common theory, but in this case it may be verified by my own studies. In my attempts to find the “mana particle” which would act as a carrier particle for the mana field I have used the standard mana detection spells on myself and other ponies. I have found that while the total reserves of ponies are on average, very similar, the strength and ‘flow rate’ for lack of better term in Earth Ponies is noticeably greater. While the resolution of the spell is not enough to determine if Earth Ponies have ‘mana capillaries’, as I would call them, in greater concentrations in their muscles and bones than other ponies. Such evidence would be near proof of the commonly held theory.