"Magic only exists in my world by accident," Flash Sentry explained. The banquet hall was silent as the intimate circle of friends leaned on his every word. "We exist in a society based on technology and resource management. I'm... no economy major, but—suffice to say—greed and hunger got us to where we are now. Our greatest achievements have been through sciences—be they applied or social. It's... ended up with most of the world in a pretty cruddy place. Me? I'm lucky to have been born into one of the cultures that's... well... we're not stewing in war and garbage half the time, for what it's worth. Well, a lot of us aren't. Other places in the world..." He shrugged, his eyes scraping the floor. "...they're a lot worse off. A lot of them are suffering because of us or because of others like us... but that's a super long and depressing conversation."
"So... ... ..." Carrot Cake's eyes narrowed. "It's not at all like Equestria?"
Flash slowly shook his head. "No."
"You can't fix your problems with magic?" Derpy asked, blinking in opposite direction. "There're no spells to clean up all the trash or weather fliers to keep the skies clear?"
"I wish it were that easy," Flash said. "But...I kid." His eyes rolled. "I'm pretty sure that if we actually did get ahold of magic, then we'd only find ways to use it to exploit each other."
"My word...!" Fancy Pants cleaned off his monocle. "Sounds like the griffons at the height of their warmongering age!"
"I'm gonna pretend you're on point with that," Flash droned. "Long story short—I don't know what the future holds in store for my world... what with magic spreading faster and faster through the portal."
"Did you say 'through the portal?'" Cup Cake remarked.
"Uh huh." Flash nodded. "A whole lotta crap has gone through there. Princess Twilight's crown went through—and... uh... it turned someone into a she-demon who tried to command an army of zombies."
"HAH!" Lyra smiled. Upon receiving many glares, she shrank in her seat, ears folding. "S-sorry..."
"Nah, it's okay. It's dumb." Flash cleared his throat. "Let's see... a bunch of geodes ended up in the Everfree Forest and it allowed a counselor to go full Poison Ivy Psycho on the campers." He eyed the ceiling as he thought aloud. "There was the time the fabric of reality almost broke because of the magic unleashed by the Crystal Preppers. Then there was that crazy girl at the mall with the screwy mirror. Oh! The Sirens! Can't forget them!"
"Sirens?" Octavia remarked.
"Ancient creatures who controlled people through hypnotic singing... I guess. Yeah... they nearly took over the high school during the Battle of the Bands. From what I recall, they affected me too. I was a real douchebag that week. My god..."
"I find that hard to believe," Soarin said.
"Magic, bro. It just... corrupts in my world, sorry to say."
"Where the Sirens come from?" Bon Bon remarked. "They're legendary beings of ancient sea magic—and that doesn't sound like something that happens naturally in your world."
"I remember asking my friends about it once," Flash said. "Erm... my world's equivalent of... of..." Flash fidgeted in his seat.
"The Council of Friendship," Soarin explained. "Princess Twilight and her companions."
"Right. Them."
"You have Princess Twilight in your world?" Derpy asked.
"Not... quite..." Flash exhaled. "But they do save the day a lot over there, so they're just as important." A sly grin. "And awesome."
"Soooooooo..." Bon Bon cocked her head to the side. "They defeated the sirens?"
"Yeah. But with Princess Twilight's help. Turns out the sirens were banished to my world ages ago by some dude named... Star Wars the Bimbo?"
"Starswirl the Bearded," Octavia corrected.
"Right. Him."
"That's... rather distressing," Fancy Pants remarked. "From the sound of it, your world's been used as an interdimensional prison for creatures too dangerous to be housed in Tartarus."
"No wonder everything there is so messed up!" Filthy Rich exclaimed.
Vinyl Scratch nodded.
"It's..." Flash gently shook his head. "...it's not Starswirl's fault. Or any monster's, for that matter."
"Isn't it, though?"
"Trust me." Flash sighed, rubbing both sides of his head with his fetlocks. "Nghhh... my world didn't need crazy magic to be garbage."
"It can't be all terrible, though!" Derpy exclaimed. "After all, it gave us you!"
"Yeah!" Lyra nodded, smiling. "There's gotta be more poni—er... humans like you over there!" Her tail flicked enthusiastically. "Maybe the magic that works in your world is the kind that can't be contained by a spell!"
"Heh..." Flash smiled rosily. "It's really swell to hear someone say that. But... uhm..."
"Your music is certainly to die for," Octavia remarked. "Speaking hyperbolically, of course."
Vinyl Scratch nodded fervently.
"Oooh! Oooh!" Lyra hopped in place. "Could you play us some more tunes?"
"Now's..." Flash squirmed. "...not really a good time for that, don't you think?"
"Flash, my boy..." Fancy Pants smiled. "We've been waiting a long time to make sure something good came of you after that dreadful arrest."
"I sure as sugar ain't going to bed anytime soon!" Cup Cake plugged with an uppity laugh.
"Dude..." Soarin leaned in. "...you've got yourself an audience. Bask."
Flash sighed... ultimately shrugging. "Fine. But I'm not doing Coldplay. You guys deserve better."
"Sweet! Lemme get you some strings—" Lyra bounded out of her chair so quickly she tripped and fell on her chest. "D'oh!" In a blink, she was back up and galloping. "Heehee! If only we could build a campfire indoors!"
Bon Bon face-hoof'd.