My Ponyhammer Headcannon : Ponies, magic and the Warp II

So now that I am back on track (not the first time I've said that...) maybe I could talk a bit more about my headcannons. Let's talk a bit more about magic, namely how it is treated in the Imperium of Ponies and how psykers survive it.

As it has already been hinted in the story, countless psykers, mostly unicorns are sacrificed daily to preserve the Empress's power. This is the most common fate for psykers in loyalist territories. Those who are not shipped to Canterlot are either lobotomised, or see their horn removed at birth (which, in some cases is not enough to remove the connection wit the Empyrean). On the planet with enough knowledge on the matter and the ressources to do it, the part of the brain which is connected to the horn is removed, increasing further the chances to sever the connection. However, this is not always enough.

And this raise a pretty good question. What about pegasi and earth ponies?

Because of the fact that their connection to the Warp is way more subtle and harder to detect, Pegasi and Earth Ponies psykers are a constant threat to the security of any planet. It doesn't help that one get harder to detect the more they tame their "gift". This is why, following the imperial edicts, ponies should be indoctrinated and regularly tested no matter what their body type. Unfortunately it is rarely applicable and the ressources needed to tes every newborn in hive colonies for instance would simply render the project unfeasible, and that's if the city gangs that usually thrive in these planets comply. Many governors have tried and failed to solve this conundrum, but so far, only a planet-scale genetic modification of the population could solve the issue. For a time.

Comments

[Moosetasm]

I've always headcannoned it that the unicorns are the only true "psyker" types. The other races of pony don't go creating magical effects as part of everyday life, even if pegasus ponies fly against all laws of aerodynamics, and earth ponies have their crazy strength and ability to tend the ground. Makes it a lot easier to ID those pesky psychers.

[Gowak]

4387481
Easy is rarely the way Chaos Gods makes things . My moto is: if it's easy, it's a trap, or part of some machinations.

I headcannon that Earth Ponies and Pegasi tend to channel their psychic potentiel in less blatant ways like farsight, divination, various forms of telepathy, etc (I'll talk about it sooner or later ). That being said, I believe non-unicorn psykers are an exception rather than a rule, but in a population counting several billions of untested ponies, that's enough to become a problem.