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// (Noir Report): Presenting Proof of Earth Pony Teleportation [Eclipse Flash's Hotswap] 
// Story: The Unique Properties of Dark Magic 
// by Shadestyle 
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I apologize for the lateness of this entry.  The woes of the modern ruler are many, and our new occupants took up a few weeks of my attention between the discovery of this spell and my recording of it.






Entry #18, Day 303


Today's entry marks another spell beyond my reach, but firmly within my student's reach.  And I could not be more proud.  She had discovered this spell when trapped in a conversation that she really did not want to be in and would have strongly preferred to be elsewhere.  The blend of Hatred, Fear, Nervousness, Wrongness, and Discomfort together formed the foundations of a spell that swapped the positions of her and her friend.

Not via the force that most ponies would assign to a specialized kinetic-energy reliant Earth Pony spell, but rather, the unique and rarer effect of true teleportation.  Indeed, from what I have heard, teleportation is almost unheard of outside of unicorn magic.  I wouldn't know, considering my own specialty does not suitably align with unicorn teleportation as of late.  Regardless, today marks the momentous occasion of a spell blurring the line between two disparate schools.

Through an admittedly complex blend of emotions, an Earth Pony may use Eclipse Flash's Hotswap in order to spatially substitute themselves for an object of roughly equal volume and shape.  When the spell is cast, an object of the user's choosing is marked, and then, through a sudden and violent twisting of space and transmission of matter, the user and their target are instantly teleported into each other's places.

One must keep in mind, however, that this spell can be picky about what constitutes a valid target for the spell, namely, the target cannot be a subject of hate for the user or one that inspires nervousness or caution.  I believe this may be due to the user's magic refusing to cross them with such a target even for the brief instant that the spell's target and it's caster are superimposed over one another.  A form of crude, instinctive safety measure.

The second stipulation is that, while the spell can still be cast in such a situation, it becomes many times more difficult if the user is attempting to teleport nearer to the subject of their anxiety and malice, as the emotions must be maintained even in the face of an intent to approach them.  To fear something, but approach it regardless.  This is the mark of true bravery according to many and as such is a difficult to obtain and much sought after trait.

As an enchantment, the spell functions similarly, although, the more lifelike the enchanted object is, the more it will want to teleport away from danger inadvertently.  Enchanters should take a good hard look at where their bravery stands, before attempting to use this spell in objects which too closely resemble a pony.  To do otherwise, I suspect, would result in embarrassing misfires and malfunctioning of their spellcraft.

This spell will be classified as an F-Rank Magic, due to its pitiable mana requirements.  Indeed, my student has found herself unable to tire herself out by Hotswapping alone.  While my student is supernaturally gifted in raw power, it is still a mark of impressive spellwork that the Hotswap Teleportation Spell costs so very little to use.  As such, I have informed local Materia shops to stock special dummies, to be paired with Hotswap Materia that are sold at them, as I suspect the demand will be great.

Similar rules apply to this as are applied to any other mobility spell.  Supervision is recommended, though not strictly required.  If you cannot find someone to supervise your initial forays into a new mobility spell, there are training halls in every Zone, with trained representatives whose job it is to help newcomers to the magical arts safely get a grasp on any new abilities they might find themselves with.

Returning to the subject of enchanting, I have discovered various other quirks to some spells and their enchanted variants.  Namely, Hotswap's cowardly behavior from time to time has served to bring into question if other spells do not have similar effects when confronted with emotional or behavior triggers associated with their creator.  The answer to this question, as I'm sure you might have guessed, is yes.

Objects enchanted with Black Flames do nothing to harm subjects that the creator themselves cannot bring themselves to harm, obviously.  Royal Crystal Growth creates similar substances to those that its enchanter would create if they cast the spell themselves.  Even Prestidigitonium will often bear marks of art styles and preferences, similar to those of their creator when it is used to create images using nothing but flames.

Indeed, I should really have taken the time originally to piece out exactly how my own spells behave under duress.  If I had, then I would know just how much they buck and fight when I myself would be conflicted, and just how annoyingly my own magic can have a sense of humor that is far funnier when I am not it's victim.  One such example is the nature of my shield spells to allow attacks to hit me, so long as they are both harmless, and adhere to comedic timing.

This behavior serves to exemplify the nature of magic, and how enchantments draw so much behavior and information from their originator.  Although spells cannot learn, they can know, holding some hidden wealth of knowledge created in the exact instant that they are cast, drawn from their creator's own mind and memories, and a list of firm rules, born from their master's own emotions and beliefs.  These two aspects together, along with the spell's capability to affect the world around it, form the basis of all magic I know of.

Those who understand themselves will understand magic, and those who understand others will understand the magic of others.  There are no firmer truths than these, and understanding these truths is the first step towards mastering Dark Magic itself.

I wonder, if a pony used this to send a message long distances, would that make it an Instant Transmission?