A post-apocalyptic or dystopian setting that is the result of Villains from Equestria learning of the existence of the Human World and invading and successfully conquering it Managing to deal so much damage to Human Civilization that it collapses and implodes. Whatever "Free" Humans that eluded capture and enslavement trying to survive as well as hide form this new world order.

So what ideas do you have for a story in this setting? Especially if it involves first contact with Equestria. first contact with hope and salvation.

7958909
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/1857/the-optimalverse somewhat overlaps, apart from not being the villains and not being enslavement.

There's the question of "why wouldn't a country just send a bomb/nuke". For Discord/Nightmare Moon and anyone able to potentially cause mass extinction that might be possible (for villains that could drop the moon or stop the earth's rotation)

- I think I remember fictions where Discord invaded?

I would write that Equestria knew of the conquering (probably just Celestia) and let it happen as it kept the peace. Our protag/s discover the origins of the villian and journey to Equestria seeking help. Eventually they discover the willful ignorance of Equestria.

It's up to our protags to stay cool and get the Equestrians to help and for Equestria to understand that that not just they deserve peace and harmony.

Perhaps the story can tell about a group of survivors who have heard legends about the existence of the magical land of Equestria and their ability to escape. After years of wandering and fighting for survival, they finally find a portal that leads to Equestria. But as soon as they get there, they realize that the situation in this peaceful country has changed due to the invasion of villains from their world.

A group of survivors find themselves embroiled in the struggle to free Equestria from the tyranny of villains. Together with the inhabitants of Equestria, they begin to build a new strategy of resistance and struggle. In the process, the heroes encounter new magical possibilities, friendship and betrayal, and gradually find strength and hope for salvation.

The story can be filled with emotional moments, adventures, communication with various races and creatures in Equestria, as well as many unexpected plot twists. It can be a story about survival, the struggle for freedom and faith in a better future that can only be created together.

I would turn it on it's head. They would come to conquer, but would end up making things better. Most would love them.

I’ve seen this prompt before and I don’t really like it.Sure there are some stories where the humans revolt but they probably end up making peace with ponies.I was thinking more along the lines of domestic terrorism such as bombing, or suicide attacks due to extremists.There have been terrorist attacks for lesser evils put upon people, much less a take over of every country by farm animals

7958927

[...] somewhat overlaps, apart from not being the villains and not being enslavement.

An appropriate answer.

7959193

I would turn it on it's head. They would come to conquer, but would end up making things better. Most would love them.

More information, please.

7958909
Well, one of the first things I'd do if I tried to write such a story is change the "Equestria learning of the existence of the Human World" angle to "Equestria and humans have had mostly peaceful contact for a minimum of 100 years", and such a change would be mandatory for the story to have a shot at working and feeling at least semi-realistic overall. That would allow any Equestrian villains ample time to realistically be able to learn how our weapons work and form plans to counter them (i.e. use spells to jam all nearby guns so they can't be shot at, and/or use portals to send missiles and potentially nukes fired back at us or even worse, the white house and/or other places world leaders often stay or simply set the portal to send our missiles to where they could do the most damage.

Also if the villains can cast mind-control magic (and if they really want to take over Earth, they better be able to do so), use them on either anyone nearby or on soilders that will come to fight, to further push our backs against the wall. And just possibly, actually manage to take over a country due to our weapons being made effectively useless--something we had never faced before on this level. At worst, we've faced being overpowered by superior forces or outsmarted during wars, but not outright had all of our military weapons being made useless by an enemy. Even if the villains don't actually "take over" per se, or just need more time, havoc, both from panicking civilians, damage or being hit with our own missles, bombs, and possibly even a nuke and due to any direct actions from villains would be awful, maybe even something you'd see during an apocalypse. A fight for normal folk to survive in such conditions could cause deaths from ensuing bloodshed.

However, despite the damage being done, both by villains and to ourselves due to our weapons being used against us via portals, we could later, at some point, try to fight back using proto-anti-magic technology (likely untested for use in a war), as a last-ditch plan, that we would have tried to develop without the Equestrians' knowledge, just in case any of them ever become a threat. The princesses, Twilight, and other ponies well-versed in magic could then teach us anything about magic and its weaknesses we still don't know, possibly how to reverse mind-control spells (or do it themselves), to ruin the strategies done by the villains and allow us to win with both our military might, now much more able to deal with magical shenanigans, and back-up from good Equestrians. It would take some time to rebulld, especially if we had to deal with the fallout from a failed nuke attack, and would likely become much more wary of Equestria.

7959331

"Equestria and humans have had mostly peaceful contact for a minimum of 100 years"

That would make the story even more unrealistic than it already is. You're telling me after 100 years of contact all they have is one dinky prototype? My brother in Christ, anti-magic tech would be implemented in all locations of importance within a year. Not to mention weapons are still plain old guns and missiles? At the very least, I expect rockets to teleport from factory directly into the enemy's asshole.
Seriously, why does every humans vs magic story arbitrarily gives magic the ability to stop technology from working despite never having anything close to it in the show. They also always ignore that there are multiple easy ways to completely neutralize magic shown on screen.

7959391

Admittedly, I was basically thinking off the top of my head, so a lot more thought would be given if I were to actually write such a story (such as if the "100 years" part would need to be shortened) which I currently have no real interest in writing. But at least some of my ideas were based off 1) our overall level of technology being roughly as it is right now, and 2) how it can take many years, if not decades, for brand-new technology to be developed, let alone mastered, even when we have decades of understanding and research. Hell it's even possible that the only ways to cancel magic only exists in Equestria and be incapable of being recreated on Earth with even our current technology. After all, if we could deal with just about anything with it, we would have made cancer be about as threatening as the common cold years ago, been able to find a cure for prion diseases (which we currently still can't despite being aware of them for decades), or have nuclear fusion as a reliable, widespread power source, and a lot more. Or at least we would have made Covid-19 vaccines capable of actually preventing people from catching Covid-19 (not merely making it less likely to be fatal) despite the decades of research we have on how to make vaccines and the time and money we put into rushing to develop Covid-19 vaccines.

Seriously, why does every humans vs magic story arbitrarily gives magic the ability to stop technology from working despite never having anything close to it in the show.

Probably for the same reason some HiE/PoE stories have humans arbitrarily be resistant or outright immune to magic, even after EQG showed humans being affected by magic on screen--for the story to work. Plus, for story-telling purposes, it's honestly a lot more fun and interesting to think Equestria and magic really could give us a real challenge than something we could stop with little to no issues like our current level of technology can deal with anything. At any rate, since magic isn't real there's no way to know how we would even fare against it anyway since it could break the laws of physics and be beyond what our technology can do anything about, let alone be able to create anti-magic technology on Earth, even if we had 1,000 more years to prepare. Or, magic might not be able to even work on Earth or work "differently", or anything in between.

7959429
1000 years to prepare? My guy, Sci-twi, a normal human high-schooler, was able to make a hand-held device that detects, steals and grants magic to humans, without even knowing what magic is. A year is a stretch, let alone 1000. It's evident that magic is nowhere near as complex as real world issues you mentioned. We also see the limit of ALL mlp magic in Twilight vs Tirek, it's not even nuke level. We stomp them without a doubt.

Plus, for story-telling purposes, it's honestly a lot more fun and interesting to think Equestria and magic really could give us a real challenge

I wouldn't have a problem with it if that was the case but it's not. In 90% of stories they don't just "provide a challenge" but outright stomp humans, which is bullshit.

7959440

1000 years to prepare? My guy, Sci-twi, a normal human high-schooler, was able to make a hand-held device that detects, steals and grants magic to humans, without even knowing what magic is.

In Sci-Twi's case, more or less just got lucky that she was able to have something capable or detecting and stealing magic, especially given she never tried to absorb magic afterward to help with that world's rouge Equestrian magic problem. And even then she was somewhat justified by being Princess Twilight's, whose special talent is in magic, counterpart. So that natural skill could have theretically existed in Sci-Twi, and Sci-Twi only as far an humans go. In other words, she may not have been a "normal" teenage human as far as the ability to learn about magic goes.

I wouldn't have a problem with it if that was the case but it's not. In 90% of stories they don't just "provide a challenge" but outright stomp humans, which is bullshit.

Now that, even I'd admit is bullshit when it's not justified is some way. it's also worth noting that in raw power, yeah our military might is probably greater than that of magic, but it's the utility of what magic can do, such as teleportation, mind control spells, transmutation spells (something I even forgot about in my first 2 comments and likely isn't used much in canon because it's so overpowered but has been shown to work on ponies and even inanimate objects, and I shouldn't have to explain how and why a successful transmutation spell being used could be bad news for us) time travel, etc. is that could potentially cause us serious problems since it could be something we can't overpower by "simply firing more missiles or nukes to stomp them."

However, I don't see Equestrians, save for Discord who is a reality warper, being that much of a threat to us if they don't utilize what magic can do or invade us blindly without a plan to deal with our military's weapons. If they just try to overpower us with magic beams, then I don't see modern-day humans losing to such a scale of attack. At worst, it could do some initial damage if the attack comes out of nowhere. And of course if we are able to successfully create anti-magic technology and an Equestrian villain(s) don't think of countermeasures, then I think we would win without too much difficulty. But regardless, humans (or ponies) being so superior (without some in-story justification at least) isn't my idea for an interesting story to write or read nor am I interested in talking much about cases where one owns the other and why I rarely ever read them. Hell I'm already getting bored talking about possible cases where it's not arbitrarily a one-sided fight and much more compelling.

Edit: humans being able to stomp Equestrians might satisfy an inherent desire for humans to be a superior species, but is boring as fuck for a story IMO unless it's a comedy.

7959448

So that natural skill could have theretically existed in Sci-Twi, and Sci-Twi only as far an humans go.

Even if that was the case, just how much of an advantage can it provide? She was going to a normal human school and using normal school equipment with a budget of a middle-class family allowance. You really think thousands of scientists with super computers, unlimited budget and live test subjects couldn't do the same?

but it's the utility of what magic can do (teleportation, mind control spells, transmutation spells--something I even forgot about in my first 2 comments and likely isn't used much in canon because it's so overpowered but has been shown to work on ponies and other organisms --time travel, etc.) is that could potentially cause us serious problems

True, but only a few individuals can do it. Pony military is shown to just shoot slow beams and then charge into melee while throwing away any weapon they had.

But regardless, humans (or ponies) being so superior (without some in-story justification at least) isn't my idea for an interesting story to write or read nor am I interested in talking much about cases where one owns the other and why I rarely ever read them.

I wholeheartedly agree on that.

7959481

You really think thousands of scientists with super computers, unlimited budget and live test subjects couldn't do the same?

After we disregard It would be impossible to have an actual unlimited budget for it, they probably could, given we could even contain enough magic (if we even could) to run the number of tests needed and had enough time to do so. And how magic would work from a scientific level is up in the air, which is why I used the nuclear fusion example. We've known how nuclear fusion works before most people alive right now have been born, but we still haven't mastered using it ourselves outside of more experimental and limited ways. If we were in a situation where we had to learn to use iv in a widespread way or use it to leave the Earth in, say, 5 years, let's just say we would be in trouble even if we went all-out on research on nuclear fusion.

And even if we did master anti-magic technology in a year, who's to say it would be impossible for a countermeasure to be used against whatever we could come up with or if what we do come up with would have limits? For example, after enough tests, we might be able to have a way to nullify even mind-control magic with technology from Earth or outright drain magic, but it might only work if activated at the right time or done just right, and if something went wrong or the timing was off... Now we could be able to stop any magic-based threat after a few years of time leaving no real way for Equestrians to pose a real threat to defeat us let alone actually do it, or magic could turn out to be a lot more complicated for what our technology has ever dealt with and we might not be able to do it so easily. Or, what we do come up with end up being less effective or limiting in practice than it seemed during testing.

True, but only a few individuals can do it. Pony military is shown to just shoot slow beams and then charge into melee while throwing away any weapon they had.

that is true, but well I'm not talking about us being against a pony military such as that. I'm talking about if a group of villains capable of such spells tried anything. I wouldn't be the least bit worried about a threat you just mentioned being able to overwhelm us and our weapons and wouldn't be able to take a story where it happened seriously. That type of attack we should be able to stomp, no doubt about it.

On a final note, it's the "what ifs?" and the chances of things not going as smoothly as we might assume it would (which history shows happens quite a bit especially when big-brain people get too confident in what we can do, basically said "what could possibly go wrong?" and it bit us in the ass) is what I find much more fun and interesting to wonder about here. if you're not that interested and/or are convinced nothing would go wrong for us at all when against the true capabilities and utility of magic (i.e. not just being something to shoot beams with), then I'm going to drop the matter here and now.

7959499

After we disregard It would be impossible to have an actual unlimited budget for it

Why not? After the initial peaceful contact, humanity would naturally be curious about magic and ask ponies about it. When they learn it can teleport, mind control and time travel, every government official would have a full blown panic attack. They'd want to have a counter to that asap, every other project would be put on hold and more money would be printed if that's not enough.
I don't think magic and fusion are comparable. We have perfectly working fusion generators, it just takes more power to contain fusion than it can output. Magic is shown to be contained in a normal glass bottle so there really shouldn't be any issues there.

but it might only work if activated at the right time, and if something went wrong or the timing was off

Material of Chrysalis' throne nulifies all magic, including even Discord's, in a large radius. Just mass produce it and put it everywhere. Or the magic syphon Cozy Glow, a literal child, figured out that drains the magic of an entire planet in just three days. Hide it in some secret facility, It only takes the space of a small room, and it instantly drains any single magical being that comes to Earth, done.

if you're not that interested and/or are convinced nothing would go wrong for us at all when against the true capabilities and utility of magic

I'm adamant against the notion that equestrian villains can destroy the human civilization and enslave everyone or come anywhere close to it, that's just silly. The story can portray them as a credible threat without portraying humanity as chumps. Your proposal of one hundred years of peacefull contact invalidates any threat they could pose too. It completely destroys the unknown of magic, their greatest asset. They would also need knowledge of humans, because their usual method of just stomping around and declaring themselves new rulers of the land would quickly end up with them being shot. My take on a story like this would be simple.
Crossover writing 101: villains of different franchises combine their power and defeat their respective heroes, heroes combine their power and beat all villains, the end. Simple solution to the problems above is to just add a human villain in the mix. The equestrian villains make first contact with some generic evil head of a corporation, we'll call him Bob. They strike a deal to help each other conquer their respective worlds. With Bob's knowledge, the villains will know exactly were to teleport and who to mind control at the perfect time. Bam, now Bob is a shadow leader of the country. In turn he gives human heavy wepons to villains who conquer Canterlot. Twilight flees while the other princesses hold the villains back. She traces the weapon shipments to Earth. Twilight finds Bob, Twilight beats Bob and breaks the mind control spell over human leaders. Gratefull, they send the army to free Canterlot from the villains. Earth and Equestria establish friendly relationships. The end. Post-credits scene hook for a sequel that will never be made.
Both sides are respected and villains are shown to be a credible threat without going full stupid OP.

7959560

Why not? After the initial peaceful contact, humanity would naturally be curious about magic and ask ponies about it. When they learn it can teleport, mind control and time travel, every government official would have a full blown panic attack. They'd want to have a counter to that asap, every other project would be put on hold and more money would be printed if that's not enough.

Even that wouldn't guarantee we will be able to do so, or at least not have enough of whatever counters we'd need. With enough time, we likely would though.

I don't think magic and fusion are comparable. We have perfectly working fusion generators, it just takes more power to contain fusion than it can output. Magic is shown to be contained in a normal glass bottle so there really shouldn't be any issues there

We could come across a problem of power when it comes to anti-magic technology, similar to how we're currently limited in nuclear fusion due to how hard it is and how much power it takes to actually do it. Many an invention has been made near-useless due to it being too difficult, dangerous, or unpredictable to use practically, or it was at first until it could finally be mastered.

Material of Chrysalis' throne nulifies all magic, including even Discord's, in a large radius. Just mass produce it and put it everywhere. Or the magic syphon Cozy Glow, a literal child, figured out that drains the magic of an entire planet in just three days. Hide it in some secret facility, It only takes the space of a small room, and it instantly drains any single magical being that comes to Earth, done.

Potential problem there: it's safe to say that the material to Chrysails' throne and that magic syphon wouldn't exist on Earth, so trying to mass- produce something we don't even have would be a little hard to do. Possible with enough time though. Speaking of something that could affect an entire world, it's possible such a spell could be done on the Earth to greatly weaken (or not ruin) our technology if we couldn't yet have a countermeasure to such a attack. It even sounds easier, and quicker to learn how to do to just deactivate or disable nearby manmade technology with spells, given the caster had gained a decent knowledge of it, then it is to create proper anti-magic technology that can counter all ways magic can be used or outright negate it anyway.

They would also need knowledge of humans, because their usual method of just stomping around and declaring themselves new rulers of the land would quickly end up with them being shot.

Well yeah, that's a given, which is an essential part of my scenario or else I don't see it being possible. But the original 100-year part of it if I didn't make it clear is something I literally thought of off the top of my head and now that I had some time to think about it more, would likely greatly shorten to be plausible.

Simple solution to the problems above is to just add a human villain in the mix. The equestrian villains make first contact with some generic evil head of a corporation, we'll call him Bob. They strike a deal to help each other conquer their respective worlds. With Bob's knowledge, the villains will know exactly were to teleport and who to mind control at the perfect time.

that sounds prett good. An idea like that would also make it easier for villains to do all-out with what magic can do while still allowing us an opening to win. Believe it or not, one thing I've been a bit dissatisfied in is when the full range of the potential of magic can do (which is honestly pretty OP when you think about what it has been shown to do from a utility standpoint) is ignored or disregarded, which I sometimes see in hypothetical humans vs ponies discussions. It tended to give an impression that humanity could only win against Equestrian villains that can use powerful magic, is if they are nerfed or numbed down to be incapable of using it to its (more or less) fullest potential. Bonus points when it's also due to them not taking us and what we can do seriously and thus don't utilize it that well since it's not its raw power that can make it a true threat.