A Sci-Fi Slant for MLP:FIM (Part 1 (?))

While My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic takes place in a realm of fantasy where immortal princesses raise the sun and moon and the changing seasons require group participation, its also a pre to early industrial setting that features refined tool use, crafting and textiles as well as the construction of multi-story buildings. All built by intelligent, reasoning creatures who use nothing more than their hoofs, mouths a very few instances of magic such as levitation. This has lead fans to create post-industrial, steam-punk themed stories where magic is either a defined and constant underlying element, or a semi-ignored maguffin. Something beyond full understanding which is nonetheless accepted and used to get ponies both into and out of trouble, as well as casual everyday use, while living in an otherwise presented rational and practical world.

So armed with the most dangerous things an individual can have, a notion and the time to write it down, thought I'd try to introduce some Darwinism besides all of the Creationist Pony myths. Switch out magic for olde sci-fi psionics or mental powers. First off to warm up: semi-pointless basics.

All breeds of Equestrian Equine average four feet in height, with males commonly larger than females, have shorter, thicker legs and possess better joint articulation than similarly known Earth quadrupeds. They also have squatter, rounder heads to accommodate larger brains and, more advanced and intricate, eyes.

They also developed early into their evolution a secondary and seemingly redundant nervous system along their bone structure which resulted in contact level telekinesis. Nothing of note to budding digit-owning sentient species, but for one dependant upon four hooves the allowance to fully grip and use early tools would be enough to move them from stone to bronze-age levels of technology.

Unicorn equine allow and are sign of further development. Their horns an enhanced "muscle" that lets them effect things at range and provide for refined tool crafting which in turn lets earth equine - base genus equine (BGE) from here on - build and craft better as well. With proto/pre-history unicorns largely ostracized into their own herds for their deviation to stabilize into its own sub-equine genus.

Pegasi would be another, more purposed, equine branch from herds isolated to mountainous regions. Their wings physical manifestation of telekinetic muscles which allow them to fly instead of glide or jump further over gaps in escape as they developed besides griffons and dragons. Residual psionic organs in hooves letting them effect airborne water vapor and wield clouds as weapons against intelligent predators. Pegasi and griffons likely allying in mutual protection at early tribal levels of organization.

Alicorn equine would likely be recent in evolutionary terms. Like unicorns when they started showing up be a once in a few to a hundred generation thing after the three major Equestrian Equine types found each other and began mixing genes. Would be a hybrid of what the race could become in their future, but from stone-age to as far as their early post-industrial history, be a focus of social-political activity - to put it lightly. But this article isn't about culture, its about "magic".

To suggest "only telekinesis" in this science-themed replacement for mystic magic is the same as calling the Pacific Ocean a puddle. Pyro-kinesis and cryo-kinesis are both forms or disciplines of telekinesis, one is just able to excite matter on a molecular level to produce heat while the other slows things down to make them cold. There are many examples in science fiction of telekinesis doing more than bluntly moving objects up to and including teleportation, which could detail altering the dimensional membrane between "normal" and sub-space to allow for the instant displacement of something from on location to another as only one of many explanations. The only thing well off limits for psionic rather than magical Equestrian Equine would be easy or casual transmutation.

No silk top hats from rocks. Certainly no carriages from pumpkins or horses from mice. Basic laws of heat, mass and physiology just wouldn't allow it.

And yet in the same way every two to four legged being has to learn to walk before it can run, equine psionics wouldn't be a know-one-know-all natural trait. Unicorns and alicorns would have to refine and hone their abilities in order to learn new "spells" or telekinetic disciplines. And just like some are better runners and even walkers than others, naturally stronger or inheritably frail, some would be able to learn and master many abilities which root from telekinesis, innately know and wield them, while others will be limited to the base ability.

Likewise, as there would be more agile and faster pegasi who could do things others of their kind couldn't more for instinctive psychic power as practice and training, there would be a rare BGE who could do more than grab things better with her hoof. Possess a telekinetic based fore-sense which their subconscious processed and translated into a "twitchy-twitch" to the conscious mind that once publicly recognized and examined, would likely stir up Equestrian technology as well as culture.

Mostly because "spell books" wouldn't just be written text, but psionic resonance etched into the facets and flaws of a gem stone. The solidified thought or image of telekinetic disciplines so they could be recorded and learned from. This would also be how items and fetishes are made, with the "reader" simply needing to project enough power into a gem for it to project the "programmed" spell. Research and development for augmenting gems, so that weaker unicorns or alicorn could utilize powerful spells would be a semi-given.

So when its eventually realized that all Equestrian Equine generate telekinetic energy, at a given point a support-industry will emerge. then an even more inventive equine will figure out how to put a basic electric charge - say from a steam engine - through a gem programmed for levitation, and say hello to flying steamboats!

That's about all I have for a rough and speculative outline. Doubt I half presented the idea of grounding fictional characters to a plausible physical universe while attempting to keep them magical, but at least I tried.