Letters from a Fascinated but Frustrated Scientist

by Andoriol

Dissertation on Name Magic

To: Celestia, Luna, Potential Psychopaths, Far Too Curious Scholars, and whomever else it may concern
Dissertation on Name Magic and its’ Nature

By Emeris Fillson

Since there’s been a ton of interest in a specific part of my dissertation on magic (and I’m still surprised you let that get out Celestia), I’ll elaborate on it.

Disclaimer: If you read any further about this, please understand that you are consenting to me using some pretty serious Black Magic on you to prevent any attempt at using Name Magic from existing. If you’re truly a deranged sort and don’t want to have the possibility of using name magic scoured from your soul and mana reserves, stop reading now.

…

Any further and you are allowing magic to be used on your psyche.

…

Alright, you were warned:

*{/<.(&$~#,.,)({}\|/

…

Okay, here we go.

In order to explain Name Magic, a certain amount of how magic resistance works needs to be explained.

Magic resistance works as the soul and mana impression of a being asserts how it should be and the ambient magic of Equestria supports it. When magic tries to alter a being’s existence, their soul asserts that that is not how things work and much like a conductor correcting a member of the orchestra who isn’t working right, Harmony magic corrects the error.

The more extreme the deviation, the more extreme the correction.

Spells on a person fade over time because Harmony magic recognizes it as not the normal state for a being by communicating with the person’s soul. In time, the spell fades as it’s slowly eroded.

Spells that are inherently dangerous to the subject such as transformations (especially like those that turn a pony into a fish outside of water) are corrected quickly, much like the conductor coming over to smack the offending musician.

This all works because the Harmony magic talks with the magic of an individual’s soul to figure out how things are ‘supposed’ to be.

Now, here’s where things get dicey.

Some forms of black magic work by using the casters soul as fuel to directly affect the soul of the victim. This inherently damages the users soul, leading to the corruptive effects of “true” black magics.

But then there’s Name Magic. Name magic, even in its most basic form, allows its user to use a freely given name to bypass the magic resistance of its victim. The Name acts as a key to the lock on the soul, simply bypassing its nigh immutable nature. Rather than smashing the chest to mess with the puzzle inside, one uses a key.

If this doesn’t seem too bad, allow me to point out that this allows magics placed on a pony to last forever, for a simple charm spell to become a permanent aspect of the pony. It allows a spellcaster to have complete and absolute control over the victim. A freely given name is basically giving the spellcaster your life and soul, allowing them to make you do anything, transform you into a fish on dry land, make you jump off a bridge, tear off your own limbs, to kill and rape those closest to you. Anything.

There are other uses for Name Magic, allowing a spellcaster to bypass the inherent resistances of materials like iron or adamantium or healing otherwise impossible to cure effects. But these are more advanced uses of the magic, and inherently allow one to use the previously mentioned more dangerous uses.

Not to mention that knowing how to use Name Magic on inanimate objects inherently involves the fundamentals of how to use a ponies name… even one not freely given.

Please stop to consider the horror of someone being able to look up your name and then make you do whatever they wanted.

Yeah, there’s a reason I’m paranoid about this stuff getting out and the Princesses have given me free reign to stamp it out wherever I find it.

Thankfully, while the initial levels involving freely given names can be discerned from first principles relatively easy, the more advanced versions are extremely difficult to figure out and effectively require instruction or decades of research.

Interestingly, the habit of assigning extensive titles to generals and nobility as well as heralds comes from an attempt to stifle the power of Name Magic in ancient Equestria. The amount of power one has over a pony is directly correlated to how much of their name one possesses on an exponential scale. Missing even one piece of their true name means the effect is dramatically lessened, and titles can be a part of one’s name provided they are earned and treated as such.

Heralds are obvious, so long as you don’t give them your name, it’s much harder for them to use it against you.

That said, once Name Magic had been stamped out in a significant sense, Nobles started giving more of their name and titles in a way to feel important, and in reaction to suddenly not having to hide it. Also, they’re pretentious ponces almost as a rule.

Now, hopefully, you can understand why it’s so terrifying and why I’m fully in support of the suppression of Name Magic. It’s existentially horrifying, its few uses that aren’t terrible inherently involve learning those terrifying magics, and generally just a tool of dictators and monsters.

There’s nothing funny about Name Magic or its implications.

Best Wishes,
Emeris Fillson

P.S. – There are no citations on this because they’ve all been burned or are locked up in special vaults to prevent access, only kept around as references to fight Name Magic for the Princesses should such a need arise.

Comments

[Moongaze14]

Love his essays about magic.

[Silver Eyes]

Addendum : When using naming magic avoid the following names: Christopher & individuals with the words Eyes or Silver in their name for safety reasons

[Oddboy]

This was an interesting read, as were the prior chapters. I liked it.

[WiseFireCracker]

Interesting. I've never been a fan of Name magic in other works of litterature and this works well to compound the point.

More fascinating though is the similarity I see between this and Chaos magic, from the definitions I came to use in some of my fics. "That which breaks the laws of magic". It bypasses things like magical resistance. In essence, Chaos is acting outside the rules, whether of magic or physics, while Order is the laws themselves. Harmony here would be a force capable of suppressing the excess of either.

I'd be curious to hear what Emeris has to say about Discord's magic indeed.

[Andoriol]

5007977
Welllllll. It helps to remember that Emeris is basically the single greatest master of the Anti-Chaos-Magic, Reality Calcification. It's not "Order" magic so much as "Fuck you trying to alter reality" magic.

Even Discord, the embodiment of Chaos, struggles to use his magic when Emeris determines otherwise.

In this system though, Discord's magic falls under Reality Warping/Distortion. It's literally rewriting the laws of reality on a local level. His "Chaos" is usually intelligent design (His own, demented design, but deliberate stuff), but he can just dump magic into a system and see what random state it settles into, which is a skill more than actual spellcraft.

In this, Discord doesn't bypass magic resistance so much as overpowers it to the point that it's trivial.

[beingme2]

As much as I love these kinds of essays, part of the fun in reading them is seeing the reaction of other people/ponies concerning the essays themselves. So if it isn't much trouble, can you also add some commentaries from other ponies who happen to read it? from the looks of things, these essays are being made public and I would really like to see applejack's reaction in knowing how every step she took is another step in guiding the seasons that changes the face of Equestria every year. now that's something to be proud of (not to mention, it is also something to shove those racist fucks (i.e unicorn supremacist) right in their faces)

it would be interesting to see how ponies react to see essays regarding their culture from an outsider's point of view (Emeris) just like how Twilight said in chapter 4

The insight and attention drawn to things that we ponies normally ignore due to our immersion in the culture were both enlightening and thought provoking to me.

It would be just like The Xenophile's Guide to Equestria chapters "Ponyville Perspective" and "Canterlot Criticisms". either make a chapter about it or just add their commentaries at the end of the essay being shown. I personally prefer the latter than the former though. I would love to see the ponies' reaction concerning the specific topic being discussed/documented (that and their would be more commentaries than just having it all in one chapter)

[FanOfMostEverything]

See, this is why I like the "True Name" variant of this system, wherein the name you answer to isn't necessarily the password that gives a magician unfettered access to your source code. Instead, it's something in some forgotten tongue that was old when the world was new. At least that way, someone can't steal your mail, then exploit a security backdoor into your very soul.

In any case, very interesting stuff.

[Karna]

*Scratches head*

Doesn't the very nature of the magical resistance mentioned in this article prevent the first bit of it from working properly?

Trying to scour something from someones soul sure seems like something that would be quickly addressed by Harmony magic.

[Andoriol]

5010800
I'll see about doing that if some inspiration strikes me, no promises though.

5011000
This world doesn't have that benefit sadly. Mind you, the stealing your mail and bypassing your magic resistance thing is a very advanced application of Name Magic that basically has to be taught. Normally, you have to have the person tell you their name themselves.

5012224
Good catch! There's tricks involved here, and not necessarily all magical ones.

[Karna]

5012242

I have to wonder how many ponies actually notice that bit, and maybe send him a letter questioning him about it.

"Dear Emeris,

In your dissertation on Name Magic, I can't help but notice that you stated that you scoured the possibility of Name Magic from me by reading the dissertation, and then immediately went on to explain in precise details how that wasn't possible without Name Magic.

In less technical terms, do you think I'm an idiot?

Awaiting your swift reply.

-Sincerely,
[I'm Not Telling You My Name After Reading That]"

[Andoriol]

5012270

Dear "Yes I really do think you're that stupid",

Note that Black Magic can do that too, though at a cost.

Note that I am (at least) a Seventh Degree master of all known forms of Black Magic (and some that aren't known).

Note that in sending this letter, I now have a trace on you, both metaphysical in any dust or hair you left on the letter and in the ink as well as the mail ponies records and I can use that to use proper Name Magic to prevent you from using further Name Magic.

Best Wishes (And Totally Gotcha),
Emeris FIllson

P.S. - You're number seventeen

Also, reading the letter "really" puts a trace on the reader to track the possible use of Name Magic, a subtle spell that lasts a long damn time (Remembering that more extreme forms of alteration induce more extreme corrections, the reverse is also true that the more minor the spell the longer it lasts) and lets him home in on those that try experimenting with it, at which point he can use his other methods of actually scouring the potential of that magic from them.

[Andoriol]

5080090

Round two.

Oh?

The problem with the mind might be solved by turning your soul into a magical intelligence,

This is sort of doable, but this is high tier stuff that very few beings are actually capable of, and even then it is absurdly dangerous.

and what I was talking about with the beetle shells was protein replacement, the one field of genetics that is explicitly LEGOs, as you really can take a protein gene and throw it in, then the protein gets made. HIV's virus class does that to make more of themselves.

Which protein are you replacing and what are the effects of swapping them out? There's no single protein linked to the difference between an exoskeleton and skin, they're different structures the same way an antenna is different from a forehead or a tentacle is different from an arm.

Also, the energy use problems could be solved by setting up priorities, with the regeneration being set up to work as a revival. And you didn't mention the possibility of 'power from blood' being used on the surroundings, which would drain all the physical energy from the surroundings, providing the energy for the regeneration. And the point isn't to be entirely immortal, it's to be so hard to kill you have to kill the whole planet.

While Power from Blood can work on other beings, it's a very high level application of the skill that few can do and has its own problems.

You need a plant/earth-pony connection of sorts to draw strength from plants at all, and drawing the life-force from animals bigger/more magic resistant than mice directly isn't worth the effort unless you sacrifice (kill them some other way semi-ritualistically) them.

And unless your cutie mark is related to it or you're dealing with some super high level stuff (8th or 9th circle magics) drawing strength from non-living things is basically impossible.

Mind you, this does actually work moderately well if you can draw strength from plants and are in a forest or other heavily wooded area, but otherwise it's impractical.

Actually, the soul into a magical intelligence would solve all the problems you stated, as a soul with the mind intact would start off next to unkillable. With the near immortality set up, all you would need to do from there is get a way to interact, like the bones of your now-dead body, or the necklace itself. How hard would it be to make something like that? Either a lich or possessed armor, with extra fleshy bits so you can exist with less magic. You could even put it in the story, with the Alicorn Amulet being a failed attempt at doing it.

One Word: Sombra.

Also: While the process of doing this isn't "inherently evil" or anything like that, it's absurdly dangerous (You are quite literally, performing the equivalent of open heart and brain surgery on yourself simultaneously), and is definitely black magic, and unless you're an absolute powerhouse like Twilight or a Princess you're going to need to use actually evil or inherently corrupting dark magics to accomplish this.

[Verequus]

Can't this spell on the essay not be bypassed by simply asking people to read it and then tell you about the contents?

[Andoriol]

5091011
Yes. But note that the paper doesn't go into the actual casting of that magic at all. It talks about what it is and what it can do and the basics of its function (things you can figure out on your own even without this paper given enough dedicated effort of study), but this doesn't go into how you actually use the magic at all.

Looking for those tomes that are often ancient and forbidden will usually tip off the Lunar Guard that you're out looking for them, same way looking for a nuke will tip off the CIA and FBI. Reading this paper will tag you as well, though in a different way.

Emeris is partially banking on any spellcaster that reads this being paranoid enough to read it themselves, and for the most part, he's right. Some may be smart enough to avoid it, but most are too prideful, to arrogant, too paranoid to get the assistance of others.

Not all though, and those are the scary ones that either he, the Lunar Guard, or the Broken Horns Coven get sent to rehabilitate or kill.

[Lord Midnight]

5091271 so essentially he's untouchable by name magic. they need to know sir Emeris, Knight of the beyond, formally Gary Stu Alicorn of the Earth. nopony but Luna and maybe Celestia know the Knight of the Beyond part so that's a massive chunk missing. Not to mention his dissociative identity thing.

The interesting thing is name magic was one so common that a practitioner still never gives out their true name. My parents for example gave me 3 names. One was my government name, another one, my practicing name, and the last one my family name that only my father knows.

[Thermophile]

I'd just have my trusty sidekick read this document to me out loud.

Or does the enchantment cause the reader to carry the spell with them anytime they say those words? Because, if so, that's some really strong magic.

Also, now I know why Twilight turning that frog into an orange wasn't a huge deal.

[Kadigan]

6505597
Generally, you have two 'schools' of creating magic in a setting -- one where magic is something that you use to manipulate reality, and one where magic is something you use to continue manipulating reality. It only really differs in how reality reacts to the use of magic.

In the first school, magic is used to instruct reality to rewrite itself, according to its own rules. If you use magic to set something on fire, it's subsequently on fire until put out. In the second, you use magic to actively rewrite reality despite its opposition, and if you want something on fire, you need to maintain the spell or otherwise the fire will simply fizzle out.

Obviously, MLP falls under the heading of the second approach, as do most other magical settings. In the second school, using magic on something is essentially superimposing one's will on the true reality of whatever it is you're casting on, and as such - the thing's true reality will reassert itself when it's no longer actively suppressed. In the first one, in contrast, magic is used to rewrite the true reality of something, and that true reality then takes over carrying the effects of its new state of existence.

For simplicity's sake, you can call these the 'School of Overwritten Reality' vs the 'School of Superimposed Reality'.

Naturally, aspects of one typically find themselves woven into stories set generally within the other, usually as a special-case. Think "Harry Potter" - most of the setting is under the general heading of 'Superimposed Reality'. That's why transfiguration is so goddamn dangerous - because at the end of the day, it will unravel itself, so you can't turn a log of wood into a sandwich and not suffer the horrific effects of having wood splinters in your bloodstream... But certain spells/objects/enchantments (like Avada Kedavra, Unbreakable Vows*, or the Philosopher's Stone**) have effects straight from 'Overwritten Reality'.

On the other hand, most pagan belief systems, for instance, tend to generally fall under the heading of 'Overwritten Reality' more often than not. Pagan beliefs - especially those that had to do with witches existing - include things such as permanent boons, turning people into frogs (and staying that way), and so on...

---

* Unbreakable Vows are... interesting, because they don't actually violate the idea of magic being impermanent. They don't actually cause permanence themselves - they simply sacrifice enough magic it would take to enforce the vow over a person's lifespan in order to fuel the effect. Once the one that has taken the vow dies, the magic disperses. Of course, having such an effect take 'payment' in advance implies the Universe to be deterministic, therefore blowing free will out of the water - but there already exist other things (such as precognition and the Hall of Prophecies) that take care of that long before you get to Unbreakable Vows... ;)

** The Philosopher's Stone is a very particular example, considering it's a vessel to bridge the gap, and as such is something of a transitory - but not 'fully there' - artifact. The Stone is used to make transfiguration (or any other sort of magical effect) permanent, thereby making it count as "enforced superimposed reality" - using the Stone is sort of like telling the Universe that it should make a new law that'll continue to maintain the effect in place of the caster's magic. This effect doesn't imply the Universe being deterministic, but it does expose some very interesting inner workings of it...