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DoomSp0rk In reply to Le-escritor-VBA [2013-08-16 13:53:48 +0000 UTC]

Sure, go for it!

Just give me some credit at some point plz ok thx bai

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DoomSp0rk In reply to Meowmeowmeow21 [2013-08-07 13:52:24 +0000 UTC]

Haha, I know.  Half the problem is that none of the others lend themselves quite so easily to that epic fantasy-magic style that I enjoy so much.

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Meowmeowmeow21 In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-08-07 13:53:58 +0000 UTC]

well... Rainbow Dash did a Sonic Rainboom... just sayin'... *cough cough* rd is best pony *cough couch*

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DoomSp0rk In reply to Meowmeowmeow21 [2013-08-07 15:09:44 +0000 UTC]

True.  However, this art cycle was meant to portray certain gifts granted to each of the Mane Six.  This art cycle will be used in the custom Magic: The Gathering block that I am designing, and I already have a Sonic Rainboom card.  "Loyalty's Charisma" was supposed to be something different, and I thought incorporating a sonic rainboom into the artwork would be distracting/confusing and wouldn't effectively achieve the design goal I was working towards.

Short version: Yes, I know, blah blah reasons blah.

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Meowmeowmeow21 In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-08-07 15:11:09 +0000 UTC]

hm... cool

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DoomSp0rk In reply to ScarredLatios [2013-07-09 04:56:03 +0000 UTC]

AHA! Another lorehound! I think we will get along just fine.

[1] "Solar" and "Lunar" magic are simply terms created to describe two very different schools of magic. Please understand that the celestial bodies themselves do not have any direct connection with the general structure of magic. The schools of "Solar" and "Lunar" magic were created by the two princesses as opposing yet complementary means of teaching magic. "Solar" magic is all about control, numbers, math, structure, technique. It deals mostly with the manipulation of the energy that is present in all matter to accomplish things. The term "Solar" fit the bill perfectly because the Sun is in fact a magical construct, created many thousands of years ago to provide light and heat to Equestria. The "Solar" school is institutionalized, providing direct instruction to each of its students, teaching each one proper technique and theory. A talented Solar mage can design a spell to answer almost any challenge.

"Lunar" magic, on the other hand, is all about talent, skill, style, raw ability. It deals with the direct manipulation of matter, disregarding energy transfer almost completely. The term "Lunar" was coined to provide a description of the power of "Lunar" magic – it is this type of magic that aligns the moon and the stars and keeps them moving on their courses. The "Lunar" school of magic is much more free-form, driven mostly by the students' desire to learn. Those who work hard and study smart will rise to the top, surpassing all of their peers in power and dexterity.

[2] You are correct, "Honesty" falls in between the Lunar and Solar "sides" of Magic's Might. Honesty is built on the rock-solid instinct of the Lunar school, but deals with complex energy manipulation at a scale that surpasses the Solar school's ability. Therefore Honesty blends the best of both worlds, producing a unique, almost instinctive type of magic that is rarely seen in Equestria today.

[3] The symbols on the "element wheel" are actually the current shapes of the Elements of Harmony (the inset gems on the six necklaces). They are not direct representations of the Mane Six's cutie marks.

[4] Mental or telepathic magic that can affect the mind the senses falls under the Lunar school of magic, on the grounds that (A) Mental magic is a very "artistic" or "instinctive" type of magic – two minds in direct communication will almost never be able to follow a set structure. The brain is orderly, while the mind is chaotic. There is no room for theories or rules when you touch another's soul. (B) Sensory magic deals directly with manipulation of matter to produce false sensations. (C) Telepathic magic relies not on the transfer of energy as some would believe, but on the manipulation of the quantum subspace construct-field that governs the behavior of all matter in the universe. (D) Lunar mages excel in concealment, diversion, distraction, and denial magic. You can always tell when some Solar magic is going down by all the flashy lights and spell constructs floating around, but Lunar magic seems to just happen without any fuss.

Also I literally just thought that up off the top of my head as I wrote it. Hope it holds together properly!

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ScarredLatios In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-07-09 21:19:14 +0000 UTC]

Wow, that's impressive, man. It certainly holds together properly for me; you do such a good job of explaining it, and in detail, too. I know I would buy into it. And you really thought up all that on the spot? That's even MORE impressive. o.o

But yeah, mind altering magic has always been one of my favorite magic types in fiction, be it the Imperius curse in the Harry Potter series, the school of ginjutsu in Naruto, or the Want It, Need It spell in MLP. It just has a certain dark, yet intelligent charm to it, in that while one could argue it's wrong, dishonorable and/or immoral to mess with another person's (or pony's, in this case) mind or memories, it's usefulness in some situations, battle-related or otherwise, cannot be denied, especially for mages that prefer a more pragmatic approach to combat, and even more especially for pacifistic mages who would rather prefer to avoid a fight, if at all possible, like Fluttershy and her Stare. And you have to give the mages who specialize in this type of magic credit: mind-affecting magic is probably one of the most complex and difficult forms of magic to learn, at least from what I've seen of it in fiction so far.

Another form of magic I find especially interesting is the art of bladecasting, a concept introduced to me in AestheticB's epic fanfic, The Immortal Game, a fic I'm sure you're intricately familiar with. It's a concept that I wish more MLP fic writers would adopt, as it's a concept ripe with potential to be expanded upon, like how bladecasting recruits are trained, how they rise through the ranks once they've completed training, their structure as a group i.e. the relationships and camaraderie shared between members, and what their tactics are on a battlefield, their rules of engagement, how they're deployed, and such. I assume that in relation to the two schools of magic, bladecasting would fall squarely in the Lunar school. After all, Rarity was a bladecaster in The Immortal Game, so it would make sense.

And one more thing I'd like to touch on that I'd like your take on, is the concept of dark magic in the MLP universe. Stuff like necromancy, lichdom, and spells that can sunder a soul, among other things. Would you think they would exist in the MLP universe?

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DoomSp0rk In reply to ScarredLatios [2013-07-10 04:32:38 +0000 UTC]

I LOVE THE EVERLOVING SHIT out of The Immortal Game. And you're right, bladecasting is hardcore Lunar magic. Bladecasting, at least at low levels, is essentially finely-controlled multi-target telekinesis. The Blade can be "assembled" and wielded as a single unit for maximum damage and magic-construct dispersion, or "disassembled" and used for various feint, multi-pronged, and "cloud" style attacks. At higher levels (casting a blade from nothing) bladecasting utilizes a form of subspace distortion and matter inversion to summon a physical blade from the quantum-magical soup that is The Dreaming (Dangerous Business reference). Blades summoned this way are even more versatile than normal bladecaster blades, due to their infinitely higher "resolution" (number of segments). It should also be noted that the summoning and wielding of a mageblade is an art, learned through trial and error and perfected through rigorous practice. Lunar magic all the way.

Also are you trying to go all Attack on Titan on the use of bladecasting within the MLP universe?

And now for my understanding of the Equestria Total Magic System (as I have just now decided to call it).
[1] Each species has its own, mostly unique, source of magic and school of magic. All creatures can to some extent convert ingested food into magical energy, athough some have more direct or efficient means than others.

[2] Ponies in general have the Solar/Lunar model of magical manipulation and construction, which I wrote about earlier. As for their source of magic, Pegasi can utilize atmospheric electrical, thermal, or pressure disturbances to catalyze basic subatomic-interaction/manipulation effects, such as cloud walking, lightning casting, and the art of storm creation. Earth Ponies can draw power from the earth, in the form of thermal or ley (magical) energy, to fuel their immensely powerful and long-lasting geological effects. Unicorns are actually the least blessed of the three races in terms of energy absorbtion – they have no natural external power source other than food intake, so if they wish to harness additional energy they must engineer mana intakes and manipulation systems directly into their spells. However because of this, Unicorn magic is the most sophisticated and versatile school of magic in the world.

[3] This is where it gets fun. Dragons are powered by a self-sustaining miniaturized fusion reaction which takes place in a special magical construct within the body. Because of this, Dragons can maintain their magic on nothing more than hydrogen (by drinking and converting water), are gifted with immense power and have incredible longevity. The oldest dragons do not even need food, dreaming their days away underground, supplied with water from the subterranean aquifiers, their internal fusion providing all the energy they need. Dragons shape spells using "Incantations" (A precise arrangement of meaningful words in a harmonious pattern), driving their magic through a complex emotional system that is utterly incomprehensible to other races. Thus Dragons are the great poets of the world.

[4] Changelings have no ability to convert food intake into magical energy, and must drain magical energy from another being directly (ley or "raw" magic being incompatible with most living beings' internal magic systems). Furthermore, individuals undergoing extremes of emotion have higher levels of stored magical energy, making the infatuated, despondent, or heartbroken extremely tempting targets.

[5] Deer (of which there are three known but only two surviving races) can absorb magical energy directly from almost any natural source not under direct control of another consciousness. They also are blessed with many-tined antlers, magical constructs capable of channeling immense quantities of power in an instant, but which lack "accuracy", leading to the rapid breakdown of any Deerish spell not under active maintenance. The Deer overcame this shortcoming by designing and fashioning crystalline structures capable of channeling and guiding magical energy in a set pattern for theoretically unlimited periods of time. (Dangerous Business reference.) Thus the Deer are the great builders and inventors of the world.

SO, how does Dark Magic play into all of this? It is simple. Dark Magic is in theory just as accessible to a magical individual as any type of "light" magic. It is not more complicated, more difficult, or uniquely specialized in any way. "Lunar" magic can easily stray into mentally-invasive magic, magic that plays with the soul, and even magic which reanimates the dead. Likewise, "Solar" magic can easily stray into emotionally-manipulative magic, magic which affects the mind, and even magic which attempts to alter the past, the future, or the nature of the universe. Good examples of "dark" magic include the Want It-Need It Spell, Sombra's memory and mental-torture spells, and the spell that powers the Alicorn Amulet. However, in a land as magically rich as Equestria, with all its magical history, there are innumerable cultural taboos and religious, professional, and legislative restrictions on the practicing of Dark Magic. While it is possible to practice the Dark Arts, and undoubtedly there are cults and organizations that do, doing so bucks millenia of tradition, folklore, mythology, morality, and even instinct, and in most countries is punishable to the fullest extent permitted by law.

It's like 2 in the morning! I have no idea what I'm writing! Hooray for on-the-spot headcanon categorization and systematization!

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ScarredLatios In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-07-10 21:41:35 +0000 UTC]

Well, to answer your question, I am in the process of writing a fanfic entitled 'Heavy Rain', a dark mystery tale in which Twilight and Rainbow investigate the disappearance of ponies around Ponyville, which in turn leads to the discovery of a nefarious plot to plunge Equestria into chaos by a shadowy cult. Anyway, in the fic, I plan to have a scene in which Twilight and Rainbow are in a tavern in Canterlot investigating a lead, when a couple of drunk rival griffin mercenaries start a brawl, which inevitably escalates into a full-on bar fight with a good majority of the tavern's patrons getting involved.

But before the fight can escalate even further or take a deadly turn, it is broken up as two patrolling Lunar Guard bladecasters, who were alerted to the ruckus by a fleeing patron, enter the bar and restore order with a single magically amplified shout from the elder of the two bladecasters. And by restore order, I mean they immediately restore order; once the fighting bar patrons get a look at the bladecasters and realize what they are, the fight is immediately taken out of them. It serves to highlight the sheer intimidating presence a bladecaster carries. Even the instigators, the two drunken griffin mercenaries, know better than to pick a fight with the bladecasters. Aside from some choice insulting words and venomous glares, they don't put up a struggle as they are arrested (having been singled out by the tavern owner as the instigators of the fight) and lead away by the unicorns to spend the night in jail.

Sound like a cool scene to you?

Your description of how dragons in the MLP universe create magic kinda remind of both the Dungeons & Dragons dragons and the dragons in the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the D&D dragons in that they have an internal organ called the draconis fundamentum that is the source of the elemental energy responsible for their breath weapons, and I would like to assume plays a role in their spellcrafting, as well, and the Skyrim dragons in that they rely on Words of Power to create their spells, which comes in the form of a Shout. Pretty interesting similarities to make.

And I'd like to assume that if knowledge did exist in regardance to the dark magics, be it in the form of spell tomes or otherwise, that it would be locked up tight and closely guarded, like in a restricted section of the Canterlot Castle library, so that it may only be accessed by someone who has the express permission of both the princesses. Consider the mass burning of Astor Coruscare's 'Ponies Make War' in TIG. Only one copy of the book survived (or was it two? I forget) and even that tome was well hidden.

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DoomSp0rk In reply to ScarredLatios [2013-07-11 03:50:12 +0000 UTC]

That sounds quite awesome. You sound like a good writer, just from reading this. My one question is, what kind of MLP variant are you going for where [A] Bladecasters, of the [B] Lunar Guard, are [C] on civil patrol duties? It seems like either Equestria is at war or close to it, or Luna has retaken a great deal of her previous political power.

Also, dat Royal Canterlot Voice. Works every time.

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ScarredLatios In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-07-13 04:08:32 +0000 UTC]

Well, in my opinion, there doesn't need to be a war going on for bladecasters to exist. I'm of the thought that the order of bladecasters has always existed since Celestia and Luna founded Equestria, with Luna naturally serving as the catalyst for their founding, training and their implementation into the army. When Luna was corrupted into Nightmare Moon and banished to the moon by her sister, the bladecasters didn't fall apart in their creator's absence; no, Celestia made sure of that. Despite her sister's banishment, she wasn't about to let such an elite and noble group as the bladecasters, a group that her sister worked so hard to found almost single-hoofedly, disappear. Throughout the thousand years of Luna's absence, Celestia maintained the group, out of the love she still shared for her sister.

As for the subject of the Lunar Guard, I'm of the opinion that there are two distinct 'divisions' of Equestria's army: the Solar Guard and the Lunar Guard. As you can guess, each of them is closely associated with the Princess their name is affiliated with. They're kinda like what you'd see in medieval cities with day and night guard shifts, the Solar Guard operates in the day and when the night comes, they're relieved by the Lunar Guard. And they both have very different appearances. The Solar Guard are the guard ponies we've seen in the show, the all-white ponies with the Roman-esque golden armor. The Lunar Guard made an appearance in 'Luna Eclipsed' as the ponies that pulled Luna's sky chariot into Ponyville, the dark-hided, black-armor wearing ones. I'm sure you've wondered as to why they all look the same? The answer is quite simple: their armor is enchanted to make them appear that way. It makes them easier to recognize and spot for citizens needing their help. And don't worry, it's not a permanent thing; as soon as they take the armor off, they revert to their normal appearances. The same aspect goes for the bladecasters of each respective Guard, although they're different in the fact that they don't wear magically enchanted armor that alters their appearance, they just wear differently colored cloaks: The Solar Guard bladecasters wear white cloaks while the Lunar Guard bladecasters wear black cloaks. When Luna was banished to the moon, much undue suspicion and distrust was placed upon the Lunar Guard. The citizens of Equestria were of the opinion that since Luna had fallen to evil, her chosen guard wouldn't be far behind her in going the same way. It was a thoroughly undeserved and foolish opinion, as the Lunar Guard outright refused to take part in Nightmare Moon's attempted coup, just as the Solar Guard were ordered not to take part by Celestia, despite their worried insistence. The battle between Celestia and her fallen sister was between them and them alone. And much like the order of bladecasters, Celestia took upon the temporary leadership of the Lunar Guard in the thousand years her sister was gone. When her sister returned and was restored by the Elements of Harmony, Celestia gladly handed the leadership of both the bladecasters and the Lunar Guard back to her sister.

And finally, in regards as to why bladecasters would be performing civil patrol duties, why would they not be? Sure, there may be significantly fewer patrolling the streets than regular guards (say 5 to 6), and their patrols would probably be limited to in and around Canterlot (which is where they're based), but the fact that they're bladecasters shouldn't exclude or forbid them from patrolling the streets. Like the regular soldiers, they're seen as upholders of the law, possibly even more so, and to see them taking patrolling the streets serves as both a relief to citizens and a deterrent to potential lawbreakers. Assuming the bladecaster order numbers between 30 to 50 members, allowing 5 to 6 of them to patrol the streets shouldn't be a problem.

Whew, well, hope that helps to answer your three question points.

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DoomSp0rk In reply to ScarredLatios [2013-07-13 19:38:42 +0000 UTC]

I cannot just delete this comment from my messages without replying. Thank you for taking the time to write all this down, and I hope to have more awesome lore discussions in the future.

/)

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DoomSp0rk In reply to 1000Nachts [2013-06-06 23:32:59 +0000 UTC]

Thanks that's kind of what I was going for.

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DoomSp0rk In reply to Pri1ncessLuna [2013-06-02 02:38:50 +0000 UTC]

I am most honored.

THE LLAMAS SHALL BE DOUBLED!!!

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DoomSp0rk In reply to LordCJ [2013-06-02 02:40:38 +0000 UTC]

Why thank you for that. I had felt something about the balance bugging me but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. You, good sir, receive my Llama of Utmost Appreciation.

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LordCJ In reply to DoomSp0rk [2013-06-03 00:17:31 +0000 UTC]

Your welcome. Glad I could help.

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