//------------------------------//
// Lessons 
// Story: Mana Spark in Equestria 
// by James Fire 
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"Let the magic do its thing."

We are in my workroom on top of Canterlot Mountain, with reinforced mana barriers to contain anything... unusual. My first lesson with Discord where I actually attempt to do it could prove disastrous, as I am inexperienced in letting the magic decide what to do, as well as it going against all my previous training. Three previous lessons were spent discussing magical theory, and how he did what he did.

"So how does your magic work?" I can't keep the awe out of my voice, even after centuries of practice.

"Well, I think what I want it to do, and it does it. I never studied it more than that, I just did what came naturally. I did do some surface scratching, so I know that I can cast it your way, but my way is natural to me."

"Ya know, Twilight is probably going to want to know all this too. And before I start, I want to watch and test a few things, to see how it reacts to various things."

"Of course. Anything for a friend."

That was the last of that day, and the next was spent with Discord firing magic at various sacrifices targets, with me trying to disrupt them. I learned a lot that day. Like his Chaos casting method is able to partially or completely ignore barriers/shields, if they are thin or weak enough. Luckily, the reinforcing of the barrier on my workroom seems to have held, and if it didn't, the stone beyond absorbed any stray blasts. 

Under further testing, the mana powering the Chaos spell seemed to interact and communicate with other mana, and find a way around or through to do what was requested. It would draw more power while doing this, but it still did it. It seemed that Magic was sentient, at least. It could understand thought patterns, and execute simple instructions. While it had difficulty accomplishing more complex tasks on its own, like disassembling an old style computer without damaging anything, that is where Order casting comes in.

You direct the magic along set paths to do what you want. This is less flexible than Chaos casting, but it carries with it greater power, as you have full, direct control over the framework of the spell, as well as that of the magic itself. It comes with limitations, such as requiring a strong will, but most spell asters have that anyway.

Discord seems to be one such exception. In my conversations with him, he is distracted, but always paying attention. Even if I thought he was definitely not paying attention, and intentionally asked a difficult question, he would answer immediately and impeccably, leading me to believe that while he doesn't show it, he may have a very strong will in there somewhere. Probably with all the cotton candy he keeps making appear.

On the final day, we talked about ourselves. I didn't learn much about his time before Equestria, aside from it happened, but I told him much about me.

"You see, according to this scale I developed, I am only a third-level Demigod in terms of raw power. Of course, my control of magic and my throughput ability gave me a much higher value. My throughput ability is nearly that of a full Demi-Titan, with my control being on par with half God level. The main reason for such a large gap between those is that power is earned. Control can be taught and learned, but throughput can be magically enhanced. I have done so much of that, in preparation for the trials ahead. That's why I always carry many gems and such full of mana. I can't store it myself, but I can definitely use it.

"Now, based on my observations of you, and the few times we clashed, I would rank your raw power slightly above mine. With your using Chaos casting though, it is difficult to tell what your control is, and throughput requires an intensive experiment session. It is mostly just pushing as much mana through you as we can.


I attempted his method, telling the magic what I wanted, and letting it do it.

"That's it! Keep going." The cheerleaders helped.

I told my magic to turn the stone block in front of me into a teddy bear. My horn shining brightly from the raw magic throughput, I wasn't even tired at all from this. Very little exertion at all. 

POP

I open my eyes, and there stands a five-foot tall teddy bear. Huzzah! First casting, complete.

"Good. Now, you remember what we talked about with this?" Discord is serious for once, not distracted, not slacking. Full attention on me.

"Yes Discord. While this is massively easier to cast, it can't do complex actions in a single spell. I still feel drained of a lot of mana though."

"That is the other price of this. More mana is usually required to get the same effect as Order casting, but it requires less mental acuity. Order requires discipline and a strong will, but less mana."

Gleefully casting rapid-fire spells, I am only half paying attention, but that is enough. That mug is now cotton candy, the workbench is now made out of allotropic titanium, and that crystal ball in the centre of the room is now tiger-eye. I quickly use Order based casting to return them to normal.

I do inquire Discord of one thing though. "But I can use my will to make Chaos casting more powerful, right? Just like I can use more mana to make Order based casting more powerful?"

"To a point. If you rely on your will too much, it becomes Order. You can give the chaos parameters, and very specific instructions, but if you control it too much, you are just using Order with the mana of Chaos."

That makes sense. Now I truly wonder how much fun I can get out of this before I run out of mana. Time to be childish.