Hope, Imagination, Magic, and Love

by MuffinPonyPoser

Bonus Chapter 1: Magic types

Twilight stepped up to an oversized chalkboard. The chalkboard shifted colors every few seconds, changing to every color of the rainbow.

It took a second, but she was in a place full of countless of those.

“So, I presume you would like to hear more about our world, yes?” She asked nobody in particular.

At least, that’s what it seemed like.

“Look, here you don’t have to be scared of being found out, and I’ll forget you’re even here when it’s not my turn to lecture.” She spoke to you.

Yep.

It is indeed one of these

Twilight seemed satisfied as the rift that allowed you to watch and hear her moves slightly closer to the chalkboard. On the chalkboard is a bunch of boxes with writing in them*1.

“Magic, the crux of our civilizations. Yet a vague and arbitrary idea when groups of humans try to make universal laws. So, let’s get a couple things about magic straight, shall we?

Now, the most basic form of magic is the thaum. It’s comparable to the atom-” She cut off for a second while a whimsical Pink Pony whispered something in her ear “And yes, we have magic to detect what you call the ‘Elements of the Periodic Table’. just as atoms build molecules, different types of thaums combine with each other to form compound magic.

Unicorns were not the first to find out about the thaum. It was actually a pair of Earth Pony scientists who made a wager. One blew up half of a mountain to find the thaum, and the other accidentally made a kind of sunscreen

Magic has different forms depending on its elemental signature. The 8 that we know of are Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Death, Life, Order, and Chaos.

The four basic elements, you humans have an idea of. Fire is heat, though it can sometimes manifest as pure energy. Air works the same way. Water is all forms, though blood control is both illegal and a form of Life magic. Earth magic works with metal, earth, and gems, but dabbles into shadow magic.

Now, I hear your heads turning, as how could chaos and order really fit into this idea?

Well, Chaos and order often have similar effects in creatures, even with their opposing nature. One causes awareness of events, enhancing cause-and-effect reasoning. This has to added benefit of allowing ponies like Pinkie-” A party pony jumps through a window, with the window intact, and waves, “to time things just right.”

“That’s partly how my Pinkie Sense works!” the pink party pony said, pausing the performance. Said pony then jumped out of the window and ran off.

“Yep.” The purple scholar deadpanned.

“Anyhow, Chaos magic is, well, random and chaotic. With some ponies, it allows them to grasp others better, in other situations it allows the understanding of complex equations that even I have difficulty with.

You might think that death is some sort of terrible element, one that is shunned, but it really isn’t. On top of being a natural element that nopony has control over, it is a natural element. Necromancy isn’t all that can be achieved, there’s also Spirimancy and Shadowmancy. Magic study of spirits and shadows, respectively. There are earth ponies with death, and they can become stronger by taking some of the magic from the life around them. Besides some predators, Death magic isn’t all that dangerous.

Now the Griffons, that’s a different story. They are able to consume the souls of the recently departed to both further their lifespans and gain more magical strength. It’s unethical unless in times of war, but it’s an ability they have. Dragons, likewise, can travel vast distances via Shadowmancy. It’s unclear what else they can do, as dragons are generally one of the four base elements.

Life magic isn’t just what it sounds like. Yes it allows the subtle and not-so-subtle control of plants and fauna, but it also gives way to Lumomancy, or light magic. It can give immunity or resistance to poison, and allow creatures to imbue others with magic to strengthen them.

Having two opposite types of magic is especially rare, especially if they are the only two elements in their Thaumatic Profile. Having all four of the basic elements or sub-elements is even rarer, so rare it has happened two or three times in RECORDED HISTORY.

If any have any questions of magic, please ask!"