My Interpretation of Magic in the World of Equestria

For my story 'Chronicles of an Unknown World', I have create a set of rules to follow when describing magic. These rules will continue to be in effect for the rest of my MLP fanfiction writing career. Of course, instances of these rules will appear later in the series of stories that I plan to write and release, but for now I'm just applying them to Princess Celestia' letter in chapter 3 of the first chronicle.

#1 - How to see Magic:
In my mind, magic is a force that floats in massive quantities all around Equestria. They are an invisible source and can be seen only if you are a unicorn or if you have a unicorn's help. When 'looking' at magic sort of speak, you're more sensing it's presence, not really looking at it with your eyes. That's why non-unicorn ponies cannot see or use magic, because they don't have the horns necessary to sense the magic around them.

#2 - How to use Magic:
When unicorns cast magic, they are actually using their horns to suck up the nearby magic in the air around them to use for energy. Using this logic, a unicorn may become unable to cast certain spells if there is no magic in the area, but this is a highly rare occurence due to the all the magic that is floating around Equestria. Magic is a type of energy, but not one that is made of conventional powers. Anyways, unicorns absorb the magic in the area then 'bend' it in several different ways to create magical spells, incantations and the like. When preforming a spell, the spell uses up two things: the magic the user has absorbed and some of the magical stamina that the user has. Yes, there is a limit to how much each unicorn can cast. Every unicorn pony has a sort of 'magical stamina' that is held in their horns. They can increase their stamina like you can increase your physical stamina: by repeatedly using spells until they get tired, in which their magical threshold will increase a little.

#3 - The Unicorn's horn
Unicorns cannot preform magic all willy-nilly and not have any consequences. It takes power in order for magic to be absorbed, so this is where the unicorn's horn comes into play the most. The unicorn's horn is an organ that is protected by a hard outer shell. This shell not only allows the unicorn to safely use magic without harm to their magic making organ, but also increases the power of the spells since the tip of a horn's shell can pinpoint magical accuracy. One main function that the unicorn's horn has is that it contains the basic elements that make up a unicorn's 'magical stamina'. When broken, a unicorn's horn oozes a strange liquid. This liquid is used by a unicorn to absorb magic in the area. If a unicorn's horn is damaged and too much liquid is lost, then the unicorn cannot perform magic until healed. Another main function that the unicorn's horn has is that it gathers magic up from the areas around the unicorn. This procedure allows the user to actually preform magic, as described above.

#4 - Magical Runes:
Unicorns have the option to draw magical runes on the ground to increase their spell's strength. Runes are made of magic sand (A pink sand that is softer than normal sand), chalk (used to create patterns on the ground) and sometimes scented candles (Which increase a unicorn's senses, thus upgrading his or her ability to absorb magic). When unicorns wish to use a rune, they not only must use a specific pattern for a specific spell, but they must also use the correct materials to complete the rune. Runes generally look like transmutation circles seen in the anime and manga series 'Full Metal Alchemist', except for the text written in the runes.

#5 - Teleporting and Lodestones:
There are two types of teleporting in the world of Equestria: short range and long range. In the TV show, we see Twilight short range teleport all the time. However, long range teleporting is a much much more difficult spell to cast, and can only be cast my the most elite of unicorns. Short range teleporting is completed when the user creates a mental image of the place to teleport to then cast the spell, 'flinging' the unicorn from one place to the other. Long range teleporting is basically the same except that the user will need a lot more magical power to travel the distance needed. This is why Twilight used runes to help her teleport to Celestia in my story: she needed the extra firepower to cross the distance needed.

As an option, unicorns can choose not to create a mental image to teleport, but instead select a magical signature to grab on to, then use said magical signature to move from one place to the other. This is where lodestones come into effect. Lodestones are magical pedestals that create a very unique magical signature in the spectrum that is the 'plain of magic'. Normally, if a unicorn wants to long range teleport using a magical signature, they have to sift through trillions of different magical signatures to get to the one they want to teleport to. However with the use of lodestones, they can find specific places to travel without taking too much time to find. In addition, a unicorn can bind a lodestone's magical signature to a item, making long range teleporting even easier.

I know it's a lot of info to take in, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section below.