After getting his soda, we both agreed that we need to call an emergency meeting to bring in everyone we know so we could find out what’s happening.
“When you say everyone,” he said, “Do you mean everyone that we’ve known or-”
“It would get overcrowded fast,” I interrupted him; “I think we should round up everyone we think would be helpful to figure out this whole ‘magic’ thing.”
“Got it, so where do you want the whole thing to take place?”
“How about in here,” I gestured him to the largest room in the house, the studio. “It would provide all the room we-”
Snap!
Before I could even think about what just happened, there was a bright flash like a photo bulb exploding for a moment. Suddenly, Agent Faust and our Twilight Sparkle appeared with a chalkboard with some charts and diagrams attached. Celestia and Luna were sitting down at a table, looked like they were having cake. Sunset Shimmer fell over as if her seat had collapsed underneath her. The Crusaders were kneeling down, focusing on dissecting a corpse of a radio. Pinkie was eating an ice cream sandwich. Fluttershy was petting a white rabbit. Rainbow and Applejack were sitting down, holding a couple of game controllers. And Rarity looked like she just got out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around her, trying to put mascara on.
“Huh?”
“Wha?”
“Hey!”
“Owe!”
Except for Rarity screaming her head off, that was what most of them were saying out of shock and confusion.
“What just happened?” Luna asked, along with her and the rest of the girls looked around.
“Mr. D?” Applebloom stood up, “Why is there two of ya?”
“Huh,” the other me folded his arms, “They really do look like their counterparts don’t they?”
“What did you just do?” I questioned.
“You said we should get everyone that’s helpful in figuring all this out, so here they are.”
“Okay, how did you do that?” Faust demanded. She looked around the room finding who else is there. Both of my bosses spotted her as well.
“Mother?” they both asked in unison.
“WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES!?” Rarity shrieked, adjusting the towel to cover up as much as possible.
“Aw come on!” Rainbow complained, “I was so close right there!”
“Forget that,” Applejack told her, “Where in tarnation are we?”
“Hello?” I called out to them, “Can I get your attention here?”
They did die down in what they were saying and looked at us.
“Julius?” Faust said, approaching us, “Why are there two of you here?”
“Hello again,” the other me reached out a hand to her, “I’m his alternate self from the other side of the portal.”
“Oh Celestia,” Sunset muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Celestia inquired, turning to Ms. Shimmer.
“Everypony, we need to have a little talk,” my other self said, and this got everyone in the room to look at him funny for once. “What?”
“Did you just say, ‘everypony’?” Pinkie started to giggle. “That’s a weird way of saying, everybody.”
“Still,” Sweetie Belle piped up, “Why are we here?”
“I’m getting to that,” he said, clapping his hands, thereby transforming my studio into a classroom. Except for the both of us, the rest were sitting down in the rows of desks. The chalkboard in which Faust and Twilight had brought along was suddenly beside us.
“Here’s a question for you all class,” he said, turning his attention the chalkboard. “Is there any magic in this universe?”
“What?” Celestia asked, looking down to the desk she’s suddenly sitting at.
“Magic?” Fluttershy asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“What he means to say,” I gave her a clarification. “Is that when he’d got here, he made an interesting point.”
Scootaloo raised her hand, “And that being?”
“This is supposed to be the human world, right?” my other self asked, whipping a pair of reading glasses out of nowhere, taking a closer look at the board.
“Yeah?”
“So that would mean that there’s absolutely no magic whatsoever here, right?”
“Well of course,” Twilight said, “It’s a scientific fact that magic doesn’t exist.”
“You mean something like pulling a rabbit out of a hat isn’t real?” Pinkie asked, looking somewhat sad to hear the news. Nearly everyone in sight was rolling their eyes.
“I wouldn’t dismiss that Twilight,” my other self said, getting everyone’s attention.
“Whatever do you mean dear?” Rarity asked.
“If magic doesn’t truly exist in this universe,” he turned back to the class, “Then can anyone in here explain how all of you got here exactly?”
“Well…” Twilight started but quickly trailed off. There was intrigue now among them.
Applebloom raised a hand, “Mr. Disc, what’s goin’ on here?”
My alter-ego popped right between where Faust and Celestia were sitting, “What’s goin’ on indeed. Tell me something, in this universe; does the rule that nothing is made nor destroyed still apply here?”
“Well of course,” Faust said, “It’s the law of the universe for all matter. Why?”
“I want to make sure of something.” He turned to Twilight, “Is this board yours?” he inquired, pointing to the board in front of the class.
“It is,” she responded.
“So would you tell me what you’ve been up to Ms. Sparkle?”
“Well,” she said, adjusting her glasses, “As I was telling Agent F, for several months, I’ve noticed that something unusual has been going on at Canterlot High. It’s only until recently that I was able to enroll in the school that I could find out what’s really going on.”
“Oh, do tell,” Luna said, “What is it that made you wanted to investigate our school for?”
“For one simple reason,” she said, turning to Faust, “I’ve detected on two incidents, huge amounts of energy that I have pinpointed to the school. From what I’ve recorded, it is a scientific phenomenon in which I’ve never seen nor read before. Try picturing an explosion of energy, about the same amount of as a nuclear bomb going off, but there’s neither damage nor radiation. Both incidents go right to Sunset Shimmer, as well as some of these guys.” She pointed to the older students in the group.
“In a way, she’s right,” Faust nodded, “We thought that these two explosions were either thought as an attack by a bomber or some freak accident. But with some investigation, as well as from Celestia and Luna, we’ve come up with a hypothesis that Sunset, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow were involved. But the question was what happened exactly.”
“You mean the Elements of Harmony thingy?” Rainbow asked.
“Oh…” I saw my other’s self eyes widen, “OH! This makes so sense now!”
“What are you going on about?”
“Let me test something…” He paced around the room until he stopped in front of Rarity. “You’re good at clothes right?” she nodded, and he snapped some yards fabrics, a pair of scissors, and a spool of thread. “Here, make some clothes out of this,” Rarity reached out, but my other self lifted into the air. “Hold on, I want you to make it, without touching it.”
“Are you mad?!” Rarity cried out. “That’s not even reasonably possible.”
“What are you doing?” I questioned, walking up to him.
“Just watch,” he told me, putting the raw materials onto a workbench with a sewing machine. “Or try this,” he turned to Rarity, “Try to imagine making a dress from this; that you’re the one stitching and putting everything together, without getting out of your seat.”
“Ah fail ta see what this got to do with anythin’,” Applejack said skeptically.
My other self told her to just wait and see.
Rarity looked at the fabric in front of her. “Well…” she closed her eyes. “If it were up to me using that shade violet, I would perhaps use it to make a casual dress with it. Probably use about only four pieces at most.” Then something unexpected happened, there were some sparks going around her head like how fireflies would circle around in the summer air. And the cloth she was thinking about and the scissors, without any strings attached, were lifted up and unrolled itself. As she described what she would do, the scissors cut out the cloth into four different pieces in the air.
“Uh, sis…” Sweetie Belle squeaked.
“Not now Sweetie, I’m thinking,” Rarity told her, still had her eyes closed. I turned to the rest of the class; they were memorized at what was happening like I was.
“Yes, I would make it chic and sleeveless. Perhaps adding a lighter color to offset it as a white fabric rose. It wouldn’t be too big, but just enough to catch someone’s eye.” The scissors cut out the white fabric into a long strip before it was rolled up to look like a rose, the needle and thread were lifted up and it sewed the thing into one piece.
“Uh, Rarity,” Celestia started but was shushed by her own student.
“In a moment, I need to think… Then I would have used that machine to sew-” she was cut off when the sewing machine started up, stitching a few inches of the cloth, but suddenly stopped. “What!?” Rarity asked in shock that, although without even touching it, the dress she was describing was making itself.
“And that just proved it,” the other me said with a smile. “I think I know what’s going on!”
“Yeah, care to explain how Rare’s gone psychic on us?” Rainbow Dashed asked.
“Remember how I said that in this universe, like our own, that nothing is created or destroyed?”
“But I don’t see where you’re going with this,” Fluttershy said, “T-That is if you don’t mind of me point out.”
“No need to Shy, it’s actually quite simple,” he turned to the chalkboard and cleared all the paper that cluttered it.
As he was erasing some of the writing on the board, Twilight called out, “Hey! That took a week to write out!”
“You don’t need it anymore,” he said, turning back to the class. “Here’s an extra credit question, since all of you have been to the universe with talking, colorful ponies that have copies of all of you, what’s the biggest difference between ours, and yours?”
Sweetie Belle raised a hand, “Is it that they have ponies that look like us?”
“No.”
Pinkie raised her hand, “Is it that we have different styles in music when we break out into song?” We all looked at her, “What?”
“Is it about magic?” I asked.
“And Bingo used to be his name-o!” he cheered, “That’s it! That right there is the biggest difference is, or shall I say, there was no magic here.”
“Was?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Just because things can’t be created or destroyed, doesn’t mean nothing can be added on.” He turned to the chalkboard and quickly drew up two plants. “Let me put it like this. Let’s say there’s a planet out there that its forests are nothing but bone dry wood. Let’s say further that never in its history of this planet, has there been any exposure of fire before. But what if,” he pointed to the second planet, in which a stick figure was riding on a rocket. “This planet has the exact same conditions as the other, and its creatures have learned how to control the fire from all the stuff that’s around them. So that they know how to handle it. And let’s further that one of its creatures had flown to this planet, with a box of matches in his pocket. So this creature finds this plant’s folks that have never seen fire before. Now, what would happen if this said creature had lit a match, lit a few sticks on fire and gave it to this planet’s creatures?”
“It would spread,” Fluttershy whispered.
“Correct, and that’s exactly what’s happening here. If I’m right, when our Twilight had not only shown off the power of the Elements of Harmony not just once but twice, it has caused a wildfire of magic. But the only difference as far as I could see between this and my analogy is that it appears that you folks probably don’t have a clue that you have magic now.”
“Wait! We all have magic now!?” Applejack asked in surprise.
“It seems to be, but be careful, though,” he said as one of the drawings of the fireless planet becomes a ball of fire. “Like fire, magic can be a fantastic servant, but a horrible master. So remember, please use magic responsibly.”
Okay, I understand some of the facts Discord said... But it brings one question to mind:
What about Human Twilight, Celestia and Luna? Those three have no connection to the elements since they never used them.
Since many people don't know the correct spelling, I thought I'd point this out...
"chic and sleeveless". (It's a French word that worked its way into English, hence the uncommon pronunciation.)
5862952 Thank you kindly, I shall correct that immediately.
5862770
I think the point is anyone, even those who have never been to Equestria (and I think Luna and Celestia haven't in this example despite Discord claiming they have), can use magic. They just never realized it. It probably also helps going to Equestria and being shown how to do it like Julius and the humane five were, such that he knows what to do when he returned.
5863302 Excuse me, Mr. Hammer, I'm Nail, not to complain or anything, but I think you just hit me right over the head.
But in all seriousness, that's exactly what I was getting at. Yet, at the same time though, I now feel sorry for Agent F because now with this realization, it's going to make her job a good deal more... hellish from here on out. I mean, think about it, if word gets out that people in this universe can use magic, imagine what their Sombra, Tirek, Chrysalis and who knows who else would do if they got their hands on this vital information!
5863342
I just wanna state that I'm loving that you keep continuing this storyline with Mr. Disc and take it in interesting directions.
As for magic for all (assuming it's true and not just a limited area that is slowly growing), the only universal magic we've seen is telekinesis from Rarity. Here's a question: Could Rarity do telekinesis in time unrelated to her obsessions? Like pick up a pencil and writing a letter that way?
Could Applejack or Rainbow Dash do the same thing?
They are all human, even if their counterparts are not all the same tribe of pony. Then again, Julius is also just a human too, yet he can do Chaos Magic.
And speaking of magic in general, apart from Discord's chaos magic and telekinesis, we have to assume that magic needs to be trained. No snapping fingers and whatever you think of happens. For people to independently discover how to cast spells would be insanely difficult, and require massive collaboration (assuming they weren't trained in Equestria). We can also assume the limitations in one (teleportation not being common at all) applies to the other world too.
Actually that should make Sunset Shimmer the second most powerful magic user in the world, after Julius, because she is a highly trained unicorn.
As for the horrors counterparts: Assuming they have counterparts (does Sunset Shimmer?), I imagine it wouldn't come naturally. And how would you translate Sombra or Chrysalis very specific magic to a more generalized setting anyway?
Myself, I'd be more wary of people like Cadance, who now can ship whoever she wants together and have it work. Shipping Princess indeed.
5863342
Welp...
So much for trying to keep the two worlds separate... Cause if this keeps up, it's going to be a matter of time until
both of the worlds are going to be exactly the same that no one can tell the difference...
...
And I can image there is going to be more trouble then the standard villains getting powers... Like say... I don't know...
...
THE REST OF THE WORLD KNOWING MAGIC!!! Secrets can't last forever...
Welp, it was a good run guys. I'm off to do the last things I always wanted to do before the world goes kabooie!
5863302
5863342
Right... But now that I'm thinking about it...
If more magic is influencing the human world... It's going to create more problems then solutions.
A few, like 3 to 5 using magic, is fine (Kinda) and wouldn't (kinda) damage the world much...
...
But if more magic is pumping into the human world... Who knows what's going to happen next!?!
The whole world would go back into the dark ages once the world finds out magic exists... If the world leaders didn't press the Nuke buttons first...
5863482 I can just imagine Faust tarring her hair over... It... Faust? I wonder...
5863535
And don't forget the scientists, like Steven Hawking , Albert Einstein and many others, that spent their whole life and time trying to understand life and help build the building blocks of everything that works... Is all going to come crashing down in a fiery blaze...
The beginning of this video explains a bit about if magic faded away.
But if magic came back like the force of a sucker punch... It would be total chaos... And not the good kind that Discord can laugh at...
5863560
Magic doesn't negate science. None of sciences' theories take it into account. It will still work with magic (unless you believe in the TCB style magic annihilates technology), it will just be more accurate if the theories are modified to account for magic's effects.
5863638
Well, I was thinking more of Harry Potter's world of magic, never thought of the TCB version of magic.
The reason why I think of that is when before anything tech. related or understanding how the world works came into being, everyone thought that the world revolves around magic. Example:
The sun goes up and down, while the moon follows the sun = Magic
Someone is sick = Magic
Birds can fly and such = Magic
How did the mountains rise and fall = Magic
Lighting comes shooting through the sky = Magic
But over time, some bright minds started to question on how the world really works. It would take a lot time, patient and convincing for the rest of the world to understand. Two things come into mind of the human race, which can be both a blessing and a curse, is Pride and stubbornness.
With those two come into mind, it would take a really long time to changes one mind or the belief on the world.
Like if a grand rule has been set that explains on the world being flat. It took a long time for someone to question if that rule is true or not.
But if magic comes back into the world of tech, no one could tell on what is real anymore.
Don't know what that thing is or how X works and such? Just say magic and POOF! Problem solved.
By now, humans would say that magic is nothing more then fictional and a trick tot he eye.
Plus... If magic did came back... Well... Let's just say people will start questioning if there are really gods and goddess in both the upstairs and downstairs... It would be like the crusades all over again. There would be a lot more fighting on who is right and who is wrong...
5864436
I think you are greatly overplaying the potential here. Just because magic may exist in the setting won't mean a return to crusades or dark ages..
Magic was used in all the examples you gave as a default answer to things that they did not have the ability to explain otherwise. God has been used in the same manner. "Why is the sky blue?" "Because God designed it that way." "Why does the sun raise?" "Because God raises the sun."
Magic in the MLP setting is a force, independent from the forces we currently understand. It can be predicted, studied, and analyzed. The opposite of the kind of historical usage of "Magic" you are referring to. So really you should consider "Equus Magic" different from all uses of "Magic" you otherwise would know. It's just something new, it can be studied, be mastered, be predicted. It can (and is by Princess Twilight Sparkle) treated as another branch of the sciences.
That someone wouldn't understand how magic works is no different from someone who isn't educated in a branch of science understanding, how, say, Quantum Mechanics work. It can be used as a dismissive explanation, but that's just a silly usage (and no different from me asking how something works these days and someone replying "computers" or "electricity" to me).
Also you can't base the world on crazies, they are like that now without any magic. Have faith that the rational will prevail, especially if magic is shown to be understandable.
5865035
Sorry. ^-^lll
I tend to over think on everything from both real life and fictional. I'm that kind of guy that would say "What if..." a lot... And have my mind wonder a lot too...
... And I tend to be one of those "Better safe then sorry" guys that would make sure that nothing bad would happen.
I also would blame myself on playing a lot of games that have the permanent death, Hardcore mood...
In those moods, you learn a couple of important tips:
* Check every inch of the room
* Don't leave anything untouched
* Never lower your guard
* Etc.
Anyway, those are some good points.
I found some articles that might fit in what we are talking about:
Science and Magic
And
Sciene versus Magic - Is there a Difference in the World of Fiction?
I also can understand that magic and Science MIGHT go hand and hand... But... If that would happen, it would break two things in everyone's mind:
Trust and Faith
I'll still read this story till the end!
5865174
The words Trust nor Faith appear in either article you quote. You'll have to elaborate on it.
Magic and Science mixing isn't a new concept, there are a few tropes about it. Specifically, MLP follows the following tropes that I could remember off the top of my head in regards to magic:
Magic A is Magic A
Magitech - "According to Word of God, all the technology seen in the series was charmed by the unicorn who made it. Two better examples were the rotor used by Tank's flying apparatus (which noticeably has no anti-torque tail rotor, so magic must account for this as well), which had an unicorn-type magical aura on it (that happened to match the colour of Princess Celestia's magic aura); and Flim and Flam powering their cider machine directly with their magic."
Mundane Utility
Sufficiently Analyzed Magic
Post Modern Magik
All in all, you could consider Equus Magic a form of Minovsky Physics (it's not canonically, but then again it's a show for little girls so don't expect explanations from canon), though it's difficult when the protagonist is a Chaos Magic user who can circumvent many rules that you could otherwise impose on magic.
It all depends on how it's approached and written about, obviously.
5865174
I love this general quote about technology vs magic from your second link:
And then everybody gets in a full out war.
I approve of this.
It was of course established that humans have magic in Rainbow Rocks. Just...not a lot. But enough to keep the Sirens going.
5862981 So remember, please magic responsibly."
Don't know if this was on purpose or not but if it isn't then
"So remember , please USE magic responsibly."
~T.CC