Magic in the Trioverse

So what is magic?

It's a convenient word that lets you do whatever you want with the plot.
Friendship?
It's a thing permeating Equestria that allows fantastical things to happen.
The discarded fragments of an eldritch abomination?
Green rocks?
The manifestation of the great will of the Fausticorn?

It's dust.

Magic is like dust. It's everywhere, and you only see it when you shine a bright light on it, or swipe your hoof over a spot a lot of it has settled.(metaphorically speaking)

Everypony and everything is constantly breathing it in. Most creatures exhale it, using little to no magic that enters their bodies. Then there are the creatures that take the magic in, and keep some of it for themselves.

Dragons, ponies, changelings, ect. They inhale, keep what their body needs, and exhale any leftover.

From here, magic can be classified into two forms, and two affinities. The forms being Passive Magic, and Active Magic. The affinities being Harmonic and Chaotic.

Forms are the state magic is presented as.

Passive Magic is always persisting; it doesn't expire. Much like one's heartbeat, it can't be directly controlled by conscience will.

Examples:

Phoenix life cycle. Earth pony magic. Pegasus flight and cloud sitting. Hydra regeneration. Lamia camouflage and poisons.

Active Magic is initiated and controlled. It typically draws from a limited supply of magic that's built up in the user, which replenishes over time.

Examples:

Unicorn spellcasting. Changeling love draining.* Using any form of mystic eyes. Activating a magic item.

*In this case the target's magic is expended in the process, instead of the changeling.

There are also instances where Passive Magic interacts with Active Magic, and vice-versa.

Examples:

Changeling shapeshifting(keeping form is passive, changing is active). Pegasi cloud shaping(passive shapes clouds, which can be used to cause active magic, such as lightning). Magical potions(passive effects becoming active once drunk).

Affinities are where magic leans on a scale of use and how it interacts with the world.

Harmonic Magic brings the world together, while Chaotic Magic changes the world. The affinities are more pronounced when used in Active Magic, over Passive Magic.

Spells lean somewhere between the two affinities. For example, a spell that makes plants grow would be more harmonic than a teleportation spell. Another example: A spell that makes something out of pure magic would lean closer to the chaotic side on the affinity scale.

Individuals that can wield active magic will tend to find themselves more capable of using one kind of affinity over the other. For example, some unicorns have an easier time with a chaotic spell, but a harder time with a harmonic equivalent. And vice-versa. There are also unicorns that don't have much difficult with either, their magical affinity being somewhere in the middle of harmony and chaos.

Though not a hard rule, most races gravitate towards one side of the scale, with non-magical species being in the center. Most ponies' magic, active and passive, leans towards harmonic, while the opposite would be the case for changelings.

So, where does magic come from?

Well, a long time ago- [redacted]

Comments

[Fresnor]

So Soil is their power? What is today's power-charged triad?

[MrAlterad]

3514139

So Soil is their power?

I got the reference the second I read that line. I lol'ed. Thank you good sir!

[Toonebs]

Spells lean somewhere between the two affinities. For example, a spell that makes plants grow would be more harmonic than a teleportation spell. Another example: A spell that makes something out of pure magic would lean closer to the chaotic side on the affinity scale.

I see what you did there!