• Published 3rd Nov 2012
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Letters from a Fascinated but Frustrated Scientist - Andoriol



Various reports of an outsiders view of equestrian reality

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Threat Primer

To Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Cadence
Revised Threat Primer Submission

By Emeris Fillson

Okay ladies, I have come to the conclusion that our knowledge of the various threats to Equestira are well known, but that this knowledge is spread thin and in various esoteric forms and is completely useless.

Herein is a consolidation of as much information as I’ve gathered. I know there’s more out there, but this is what I’ve been able to gather and confirm myself.

I recommend having this copied and given to all of our special ops and higher-ups that actually deal with this. Attached is my suggested coding system so that field operatives can call in their situation quickly an easily.


Fae
Code: Nightmare
Sub-Coding: Winter (Winter Court) , Summer (Summer Court) , Waking (Unknown Court, in Equestria) , Forgotten (Unknown Court, in Aether)
Creatures of dreams and nightmares, the native residents of the Aether. They are the ones that threaten dreams and nightmares. They are not all malevolent, but are almost all dangerous simply due to being outside of what could be expected of sane beings.

They normally subsist by consuming dreams and memories. This is normally alright as they nibble at the edges of dreams, they’re what make dreams fade as you wake. The problem is when they cconsume more of a sentients memories, emotions, and eventually soul.


The Do-Nots
Make Deals

Insult

Use Emotional Magic on them (it empowers them almost as much, if not more than it harms them)

Praise Celestia or otherwise use her name (Praise Luna instead)


Game-Plan
Find out why it’s there and, if benign, try to get it to leave. Even if it’s benign or even helpful, Fae aren’t supposed to be in our world. If malicious, kill with extreme prejudice.

If ponies are being drawn into the Fae Lands, we are not allowed to go there and interfere. You’ll almost certainly be on your own and you’ll probably die. Just try to seal off the way they’ve been luring ponies in. If you can catch them in our world, exterminate with extreme prejudice.

If you can’t catch them in our world or they’re clever and start taking out your team, call for backup, specifically request Princess Luna directly. Code Lunar Nightmare Green.


Strengths
Great at finding loopholes

Able to enter and manipulate dreams

Varies depending on the Fae.


Weaknesses
Cold Iron

Concentrated Moonlight

Varies depending on specific fae.

Cannot tell falsehoods (Do not allow this to mislead you, they can tell fiction and mislead you very well, they just cannot tell outright falsehoods)

As a general rule, if it’s brightly colored, freeze it. If it’s dark or in shadow, light it up or light it on fire.


Structure
There are two courts of the Fae, the Winter and the Summer Courts. While any particular fae may not be heavily aligned with one side or another, during war all Fae will choose a side. There are no truly neutral fae.

The Summer Court deals with warmth, growth, passion, mania, light, earth, and fertility. Their Queen is Titania, lady of Fire and Light and Green.

The Winter Court deals with cold, death, logic, dementia, paranoia, darkness, wind, and wasting. Their Queen is Deiusa, lady of Wind and Darkness and Blood.

Luna used to head her own Court, the Night Court which represented mortals. But with her time on the moon, her Court has dissolved. While it’s reforming, this is causing considerable strife in the Aether and we’ll be dealing with a lot of Fae acting up while loyalties change around.


Notes
Hobs hate light

Trolls don’t like soap

Goblins are fucking stupid, but usually very numerous, don’t assume you’ve got them all

Kobolds like their traps

Dopplegangers are a thing. If one of your buddies acts weird, touch them with your standard iron nail in your kit subtly. If they don’t like it, capture and interrogate with extreme prejudice.

Wendigos, while rare, are powerful fae of cold. Their "demon" title is a mislabeling. They are damaged by harmony and friendship and love, but they are powerful masters of ice and hatred.

Iron nails are your friend here

If you ask a Fae what it is, it will usually try to dodge the question. Summer Court will usually try to use extremely flowery and pompous language, Winter Court will normally try to turn it back around on you.

Fae only need to abide by deals when asked it and they acquiesce three times! Asking less does not bind them to it any more than you or I would be, but asking more is a grievous insult! Don’t do it! Even if you’re getting a permanent pass for them not to harm you, don’t ask a fourth time! They will go out of their way to cause you as much pain as possible through every loophole they can find! And if not you, then your herd, your family, your friends, anything you care about that isn’t covered.




Demons
Code: Hell
Sub-Coding: N/A
Natives of Tartarus, these are some of the most potentially horrifying and dangerous beings you’ll encounter with any regularity. Great evils and monsters are sealed there, and the term demon can refer to either the slave races they have spawned in their imprisonment or the great evils themselves.

The term is also applied to powerful beings that have no relation to the above beings but are imprisoned in Tartarus.


The Do-Nots
Make Deals

Extended Interaction

Panic


Game-Plan
Exterminate with extreme prejudice. Demons can normally be determined by their smell and the nauseating feeling they normally have. If it smells like sulfur, it’s probably a demon.

Generally, exterminate with extreme prejudice. If you have reason to believe it’s been summoned, restrain it and try to trace its origin. Otherwise, blast the bastard.

If it’s possessing things then it’s a summoned spirit and can be harmed by Iron, same as a Fae. Otherwise default to Harmony magic if you have access to it. Holy, Light, and Order magic are also safe bets.


Strengths
Some are Reality Warpers

Unusual physiology (Don’t assume you know where their vital organs are, even the things like their brain)

First and Second Circle Demons are truly immortal, as fundamental concepts you can only banish them and render them unable to be summoned for a length of time. Causing permanent harm to one of them is effectively impossible.

Third and Fourth Circle Demons tend to be able to regenerate from even the smallest scraps of flesh and blood if they are not harmed with a material, magic, or item that bypasses their healing.


Weaknesses
Silver

Harmony Magic

Binding Agreements

Holly Wood (Common weakness, not a guarantee)

Cold Iron (Common weakness, not a guarantee)

Necromantic Magic

Properly formed Circles


Structure
Back when the world was formed, there were the Titans, beings of such primal power that it boggles the mind. Their primary form is the soul of a fundamental concept of reality and is so massive and powerful that it has multiple souls. Each of these souls is also a physical being and so powerful and metaphysically heavy that it has multiple souls of its own.

The mightiest being is the Titan, or the Zeroth Circle Demon. These are the World Forms that form the metaphysical core of Equestria. Some of them chose this fate, others were bound to it by force, but the Titans form the core of Equestria and their bodies are Tartarus. You will never encounter one of these beings, their minds are so vast and different from our own that it’s like comparing us to a gnat. It’s just not a fair comparison.

The souls of the Titans are known as First Circle Demons. The First among their peers. These are beings of immense power, and tend to be comparable to Discord. They are the personification and embodiment of some force or aspect of existence, for example: Zeus is the primal force of storms, and Lucifer is the personification of vice.

The souls of the First Circle Demons are the Second Circle Demons. These are actually relatable and tend to have understandable personalities, but are still extremely powerful. For scale, the Princesses operate at about the power of these Second Circle Demons. These include beings like Aeres, who cannot be defeated in war, and Asmodeus, the bringer of lust.

Then there are the “natives” of Tartarus, the Third Circle Demons, the Created Races. These are species or individuals of power on general, higher than that of the average ponies’, but not significantly so. These are what one classically thinks of when they think of Demons. Wendigos are theorized to have been these kinds of beings.

Finally, there are the Fourth Circle Demons, these are the animals and beasts of Tartarus, they are metaphysically similar to Third Circle Demons, but are stupider, weaker, and vary greatly in size and function, being little better than beasts.


Notes
Demons can lie! They will lie! They can't go against a bargain though, nor can they lie about the terms of a bargain. And their true name will give you power over them even without name magic.

Demons love music, but hate Heartsong. Engaging in Heartsong near a demon is an almost surefire way to send it into a murderous rage. But by contrast, few demons from the lowest to the highest will turn down a chance to dance or join in when given musical accompaniment.

There are two forms of demons in our world:

Manifested: The form of the demon comprised of ectoplasm, it is functionally similar, but is fundamentally different from Escaped demons. They can be banished with sufficient damage (reducing them to giblets works well here) and are definitely vulnerable to Cold Iron. This is the most common form of demon as they slip through the cracks of Tartarus in spirit form or are summoned as such.

Escaped: The actual physical form of the demon in our world. Much harder to kill, not necessarily vulnerable to Iron. No time limit and generally free reign. These are unable to assume spirit form but are not bound to follow their word.

Common Demons
Erymanthoi, the blood apes. Think gorilla only twice normal size, blood red, and harder to kill. They’re obsessed with killing things. They can slip into our world at places of great bloodshed where blood magic has been used.

Agatae, the beautiful wasps. Standing about eight decahooves tall at the base of the wing joint, these wasps appear to be made of multicolored and constantly shifting gemstones, their wings flowing rainbows. Their name is extremely appropriate as they are astoundingly beautiful. Their stinger is the size of a sword though. They are very intelligent, but very strange and are prone to fits of mania. When the sight of beauty fundamentally changes someone, an Agatae can find its way into Equestria.

Decanthropes, the body snatchers. In truth, it is a warty green strip of disgusting flesh only about a hoof wide and a decahoof long, resembling nothing more than a detached, gangernous tongue. Its true form is rarely seen though as it worms its way into the flesh of a living being, coils around their organs and takes control of them. It can possess others that have contact with the primary host by either injecting them with its toxin through its hosts fluids (Kissing or intercourse are common methods) or by transferring between them and allowing residual poison in the vacated hosts body to control it. So long as its poison is in a body, it can control them even at a distance of five magnahooves. A single Decanthrope can produce enough poison to control approximately ten hosts continuously. The hosts can be spotted by how their eyes do not reflect light. They like to perform with their host bodies, but these performances are unsettling and inspire dark emotions. A Decanthrope can enter Equestria when a being survives being hung for three days.

Luminata, the deer that hunt. While it appears to be a large albino buck at a distance, up close it is revealed to be a writhing mass of tendrils. They like to hunt any game by luring it away from civilization, getting it lost, and then engulfing it whole. They are strong and tough and immune to blunt trauma. Oak, ash, and rowan trees are their bane and even a leaf from one of them will burn upon contact. Your standard kit should contain an ash switch for this reason, just as griffons who hunt alone carry. They come through far more often than anyone is comfortable with as they actively seek ways into Equestria. They prefer hunting griffons though.

Makarios, the street of wonders. Less an individual, but rather an entire bazaar that is in truth one Second Circle demon. There will be several identical looking merchants offering a wide variety of impossible goods. The demon itself is pleasant and nice and helpful, but it is a businessdaemon. It bargains in dreams and souls and memories and fragments of self in return for impossible and amazing goods. Powerful love potions, poisons made from hate, dragons tears, and woven sunlight are but a few examples. Any bargain made in the bazaar, no matter how bizarre, is binding. The goods themselves are the threat, as Makarios has no morals or concern about the consequences of the goods it parlays. It only wants to give ponies what they want and get paid in bits of self. All deals are final. Makarios can be banished simply by asking it to leave by name, but tracking down all of the goods it has brought about is imperative; it is suggested to try and bargain for a list of the deals it has made in this journey to Equestria.

Loki. A powerful demon of lies and bargains. He is one of the rare First Circle Demons able to enter Equestria with any regularity. He likes making bargains and deals. Any time a wolf eats a snake after being bit by it, he can stride forth into Equestria. He is brilliant, devious, and manipulative. But he is not a major threat. Do not engage. Alert the Princesses to his presence and avoid conversing with him. His most common form is that of a dull green pony in resplendent emerald robes with golden armor, his helm having two swept back horns, but he is a master shapeshifter and can assume almost any form.




“Monsters”
Code: Encounter
Sub-Coding: N/A
These are the natural creatures of Equis that happen to be big, mean, and dangerous. These are the cockatrices, the hydras, the giants.

The Twilight Guard will generally not be called on to deal with these creatures, that’s the Solar Guard’s job.


The Do-Nots
Kill Indiscriminately. They’re a part of the ecosystem, if not a pleasant one for herbivores.


Game-Plan
Restrain it, determine that it’s not possessed or another form of being masquerading or otherwise in the shape of a natural being, then get a hold of either the Solar Guard or a local animal control representative in order to determine further courses of action.


Strengths
Varies


Weaknesses
Sharp things

Heavy things

Stabby things

Hot things

Cold things

Enchanting things


Structure
N/A (Hopefully)


Notes
Read your damn “Possible Dangerous Creatures” primer if you want to know more.




Elementals
Code: Maelstrom
Sub-Coding: Blazing (Fire) , Flowing (Water) , Growing (Wood) , Crystal (Earth) , Thunderous (Lightning) , Zephyr (Wind) , Eldritch (Unknown)
Manifestations of the souls of the various aspects of the world. They vary from unimaginably intelligent to barely sentient at all and their shapes vary wildly, but they can be identified by the elemental or natural theme to their forms. They will always have some form of theme going on for their element or the area they represent. If it doesn’t show any other signs and has an elemental theme, it’s a safe bet it’s an Elemental.


The Do-Nots
Kill Indiscriminately

Offend


Game-Plan
Stop it from rampaging with restraint if possible, then try to determine what’s making it be a threat before resolving the problem. An Earth Pony (or Zebra) and a Unicorn get the best reaction when negotiating with most Elementals, with the exception of Air Elementals, for which a Pegasus and Unicorn are best. If you have a Kelpie squadmate, have one of them talk with any Water Elementals.

Generally it is ponies or other living beings damaging the ley-lines of the area or disrupting the natural order. This isn’t always the case though, and a number of Elementals are incapable of speech (or the complex thought required for speech) so aren’t able to communicate what the problem is.


Strengths
Direct Elemental Control

Difficult to truly put down as they’ll oftentimes reform unless the structure giving them form is destroyed


Weaknesses
Their opposing element

Damaging the source of their existence (poisoning a lake that has spawned an elemental for example)


Structure
There are some local courts of Elementals where the sentient Elementals congregate and agree upon policy, but there is no general, consistent structure to Elementals.


Notes
Common Problem Elementals:
Dogs of Unbroken Earth:
Forests that have never had their trees cleared or other places of life where beings have never lived. They like meat and milk but hate any encroachments of civilization. They have long brown fur that has moss, twigs and mud entwined with it, their eyes glow red or green depending on their mood, they stand one to two decahooves at the shoulder, their howl causes glass to shatter, and copper and tin to tarnish. They are associated with Earth. They are dangerous and bad, they’re basically impossible to avoid a confrontation with if settlers are in the area. They have no specific bane, fire and wind are more effective than other attacks though. Plants are their weapon, and any roots will attempt to trip you and any thorns will attempt to stab in vital places like the eye, neck, or major joints. Not to mention that they’re big and dangerous on their own.

Huraka:
Bears that stand 4 to 5 decahooves at the shoulder, their eyes are shining gold, their fur as soft as a cloud, and their breath continuously steams from their mouths. They are the Elementals of the major winds that course through Equestria. Their breath destroys deception and illusions.




Undead
Code: Corpus
Sub-Coding: Bloody (Vampires) , Scripture (Lich’s) , Wrapped (Mummies) , Spectral (Ghost or Wraith)
This refers to any self-mobile corpse or disembodied soul. They are thankfully rare, and the former is almost impossible to find ‘natural’ manifestations of outside of Vampires.

There exist several broad categories of undead.

Zombies. The most basic corporeal undead. It’s a body animated by a necromantically created impulse (essentially a simple created soul that’s not built around living processes). They are powered by flesh and blood, ideally of the living, but they can burn their own flesh to keep going, this is the reason for their accelerated decay.

Ghouls. A more advanced Zombie, and a potential natural creature unfortunately. Their motive power comes from a semi-sentient to fully sentient spirit, possibly a full on ghost or demon that has bonded itself to a corpse the same way a soul is bonded to a living body. Their brain and heart are the anchors of this soul to this body. They are similar to zombies, but rather than patchy self-consumption that a zombie does, they instead appear malnourished and wasting away. They oftentimes have poisonous touches, a foul oder, and are vicious, malicious, and intelligent.

Vampires. Arguably the pinnacle of corporeal undead. They feed directly on the life force of their victims rather than purely the flesh. They oftentimes appear perfectly normal and even ageless. They possess a number of powers. They are a full (if corrupted) soul bound to unliving flesh, efficiently converting its own blood into motive energy. They are very strong, fast, and tough, possessing an almost absurd healing factor provided they are fed. A fully realized vampire also possesses special abilities of some form or another, such as a mist form, shapechanging, an enthralling gaze, or other such abilities.They can be created in a number of ways and it is a popular way for beings to seek immortality. They are particularly vulnerable to the sun due to their over-active healing factor. Fire negates their healing factor, as does silver, gold, and salt. Their heart is the soul’s anchor to the body.

They are primarily created when a living being is drained of all of its blood and, while its heart is still beating, feeds on blood (whether willingly or not). Normally requiring either a vampire’s intervention or blood magic to achieve this. After this, the newborn vampire quickly regresses into a near childlike state as their soul starts to tear away from their body and reform, attempting to consume their own body to fuel the transition. Unless immediately fed, newborn vampires often appear as Zombies.

After feeding on a significant amount of fresh flesh and blood, the newborn vampire’s soul begins to properly re-anchor to the body, causing any obvious wounds or decay to begin to seal up and restoring a portion of its sentience. In this state the now Fledgling vampire resembles a Ghoul and operates much like one.

Upon feeding sufficiently that their soul is “properly” re-anchored to their form, their body achieves a semi-ageless appearance and they begin to gain powers. These powers are gained by staying well fed for extended periods of time, allowing the soul to develop additional tricks with which to use the power it has. As such, older vampires tend to be stronger than younger ones.

When created by another vampire, the created vampires are bound by blood magic to obey their creator. However, there is no such compulsion when created by magic. If the Matriarch vampire is killed, any Fledgling or weaker vampires die. But any fully realized vampires that were in her coven are freed to do as they please.

Mummies. A way to extend life after death. It involves the binding of the soul to the internal organs and then placing them in sacred jars. The body is then preserved, normally wrapped with special linen. There is nothing to prevent the rot of the mummies body other than the preservation techniques used on the body upon creation. They are more common in Saddle Arabia. The danger of a mummy is in their place of burial, as they are often created as a way to protect mass graves or the graves of royalty. The entire grave/structure is built to empower the mummy and restore it. This works best for mummies as their forms can handle intense self-enhancement magic without damage, and they cannot truly be killed until their internal organs are destroyed. The grave they inhabit will normally rebuild the mummies body if it is damaged or destroyed.

Lich’s. Spellcasters that have extended their life using magic by in some way separating their soul from their body. They always have an item of some form (this is commonly a book, but can be any single item, even a building) that contains their soul. They must gain life force in some fashion. Either by direct feeding as per other undead, or by converting mana into life force. Those that convert mana to life force can usually subsist entirely on their respired mana, but their body slowly decays and they often take to absorbing mana from other sources. They commonly resemble zombies, but their spellcasting is oftentimes well beyond what normal ponies can ever achieve. You’ll rarely find a Lich that’s less than an Eighth Degree Master of Necromancy and an overall Sixth Circle spellcaster.

Unless their Phylactery (the item which contains their soul) is destroyed, most Lich’s will reform given time. Additionally, if there is more magic within or on or infused into their Phylactery, the Lich’s body also possesses these abilities. For example: A lich with a kettle as its Phylactery infuses limited self-repair magics as well as greater toughness and strength into the kettle. The lich’s normal body will heal quickly and be far tougher than it should be at all times.

Lich’s normally protect and zealously guard their Phylactery for obvious reasons. They have no true weaknesses other than sunlight and salt.

Ghosts. The remnants of the souls of a being lasting after its body is destroyed. Any living thing can leave a ghost provided its soul is strong enough. They are incorporeal, physical attacks not utilizing silver or salt will pass right through them. Magic has a better chance to work, but is not a guarantee. They are not inherently hostile! Attempt negotiations first if feasible. They are able to, in order of ascending required power: Possess objects, create frost, move objects, possess corpses, create icicles, drain life, possess living beings, empower possessed objects/beings.

Wraiths. An incorporeal soul focused around a specific emotion, similar to a ghost but almost always hostile. Wraiths tend to be stronger than Ghosts due to their focus and are accompanied by a distinctive chill. They can inspire their core emotion in those around them as well. Virtue magic is your friend here.

Shades. A being that deliberately and methodically turned themselves into a Wraith. They are in many ways similar to Wraiths, but tend to be a more powerful manifestation, retaining some aspects of their original abilities. Additionally, Shades feed off of the emotion that is at their core, gaining strength from it and are often able to assume a corporeal form provided enough power. Virtue magic is extremely effective against them.


The Do-Nots
Give it blood

Get bit

Get touched

Assume it’s down for the count.


Game-Plan
For corporeal undead, capture and trace if feasible. Otherwise exterminate with extreme prejudice then trace to its source. Salt its body after destruction/redeath.

For incorporeal undead, figure out why they’re here and address the issue if possible. If malicious, exterminate with extreme prejudice. Virtue and Light magic are your friends here, salt it.

For a Lich, determine the location of its Phylactery (the object in which it has bound its life force, normally a book, though there are exceptions) and destroy it. Salt is useful against the body of the Lich, but sunlight is normally useless. Assume an extremely powerful spellcaster and plan appropriately.

For vampires, find the progenitor and kill them, use the ashes to trace any of its spawn that are still alive and do the same. Sunlight, pure water, and salt are your friends here. Blood magic is a good weapon against weaker vampires, but fully realized vampires will shrug it off. If they’re displaying powers other than strength and speed, don’t bother.


Strengths
Hard to kill

No meaningful physical weak points

Tend to be disease ridden

Can have a death-touch that causes a necromantic poison to spread through a ponies mana-flows. This disconnects the soul and motive life force from the body. Use concentrated sunlight to cauterize the wound/area if possible.

Can sap strength

Feed on flesh and blood to power themselves


Weaknesses
Silver

Gold

Salt

Concentrated sunlight


Structure
Corporeal undead tend to serve a necromancer. Vampires and Lich’s being exceptions.

Lich’s tend to be powerful necromancers in of themselves and are very dangerous spellcasters. Approach with caution.

Vampires tend to congregate in covens or flocks around the oldest, their progenitor, which has power over those it has spawned. Killing the progenitor will destroy the weaker vampires (those without higher thought functions yet), but not the sentient ones.


Notes
Sunlight accelerates the decay of undead considerably. They will either hide during the day or go on killing sprees.




Abominations
Code: Disaster
Sub-Coding: As per Elemental
While technically, an Abomination is an Elemental, they are on such different scales as to not matter. They are the manifested souls of concepts or things so massive and powerful that they are almost protodeities and are oftentimes malevolent.

Imagine the deific spark of the sun or the moon without a pony holding it, now imagine if it was angry. That’s an Abomination. They are thankfully rare, and most of them are sealed up absurdly tight since every living being out there doesn’t like them. But they are all unique and terrifyingly powerful.


The Do-Nots
Wake them up

Let them loose

Attempt direct confrontation without multiple Ninth Circle Masters.


Game-Plan
You’ll know when you encounter an Abomination. If you have not been called in to fight one (in which case you will be briefed), your first course of action is to call for backup.

Code Twilight Disaster Green if the Abomination is threatening to break free (even if you think you can have it sealed back up)

Code Twilight Disaster Violet if it is free.

Code Twilight Disaster Ultraviolet if it is free and approaching or near a settlement.

Attempt to determine what it is the manifestation of and then react with power accordingly, focus on slowing it down or crippling it. This is not a permanent solution, but will give back-up time to arrive.


Strengths
Raw power.

Immortality. It’s basically impossible to truly kill these things. They’re the manifestations of the Frozen North, of the Badlands, of the Magma Fields, of Shattered Time. You would have to destroy their source to truly kill them.


Weaknesses
Their opposing element.


Structure
N/A


Notes
These are all unique, you’ll have to make it up on the fly as you go.




Outsiders
Code: Emeris
Sub-Coding: N/A
This is a catch all term to cover the beings which come from outside reality and do not follow the same laws of physics. At my core, I am one of these beings, wrapped in a shell of powerful Harmony magic from Equestria itself to allow me to operate on normal physics.

For example: According to Celestia, in my natural state I am constantly dark yet radiating light, I cast no shadow, and I am more magic resistant than pure iron among other things, with light and shadow magics simply passing straight through me as if I don't exist.


The Do-Nots
Assume anything


Game-Plan
Call for backup. Specialists are best to handle these kinds of beings.

Figure out what rules the thing operates with on a basic level and exploit them if you must. Some cannot be killed because they have no concept of death (Like killing a rock, you might destroy it, but it's not really "dead"), thus the specialists. Avoid confrontation and proceed with caution as much as possible.


Strengths
Unknown / Varies


Weaknesses
Unknown / Varies

Reality Calcification


Structure
Unknown / Varies


Notes
Unknown / Varies




ProtoDeities
Code: Ascendant
Sub-Coding: Corpus (Necromantic Ascension) , Hell (Demonic Ascension) , Nightmare (Fae Ascension) , Maelstrom (Elemental Ascension) , Horror (Unknown Ascension Method, appears imminent) , Fear (Unknown Ascension method, appears non-immediate) , Eldritch (Known Ascension Method, not otherwise categorized)
These are beings which are on the cusp of ascending to either godhood or something similar. A pony about to become a crystal lich. A griffon about to become a demon. A seapony about to become an Elemental of a Tsunami.

They are powerful, they are unique, and they are dangerous to the point that they must be put down.


The Do-Nots
Allow them to force a confrontation in their specialty. You will lose.


Game-Plan
Call for backup. Code Eclipse Ascendant Blue (or higher).

Figure out what ritual they are using to ascend and shatter it, ideally in a way that harms them. Once this is accomplished (and only then) do you go after them. This is because sometimes the ritual is contingent upon their death or can operate even without them being alive. Stop their ascension, then kill them.


Strengths
Raw power

Near invulnerability (source varies)


Weaknesses
Focus. Most are monomaniacally focused on one form or another of power and if you can confront them in a situation where this is useless you take away much of their power.


Structure
N/A Though they may have minions or supporters to watch out for.


Notes
N/A




Deities
Code: Deus
Sub-Coding: N/A
This category refers to beings like Discord. I’ll sum it up now: Know when you encounter one and if you do, run.

They tend to be beings directly connected to powerful Leylines of some form or another and as such have so much raw power that it’s not even funny. Do not engage.


The Do-Nots
Engage

Attempt to seal

Attempt to stop

Taunt

Manipulate

Control

Do the Cha-Cha-Slide With


Game-Plan
Call for backup (discretely if you must). Code Eclipse Deus Ultraviolet.


Strengths
Are you fucking serious? I related them to Discord for a reason. They are out of your league.


Weaknesses
The Elements of Harmony. That’s about it.


Structure
N/A


Notes
Seriously, do not engage. Call for backup. Run. Talk with them if you can to slow them down.


First term indicates the branch of forces addressed or called for ease of routing. Any second portion will indicate further specifics e.g. - Lunar Shadowbolt, Solar Dawnguard.

Second term indicates the nature of the situation or threat. If more specific information is available, it will be preceded by a sub code e.g. - Blazing Maelstrom (Fire Elementals), Bloody Corpus (Vampires).

Third term indicates the threat level.

The fourth, optional term indicates any further details or requested actions. There may be multiple terms added after the core three terms. Additional terms should likely be added, these are merely the ones I've come up with.

First Term

Term - Meaning
Lunar - Nightguard
Solar - Royal Guard
Zephyr - Skyship Navy
Whirlpool - Waterborn Navy
Equis - Police Forces
Eclipse - All Forces

Second Term

Term - Meaning
Waylaid - Bandits / Criminals
Encounter - Natural monsters
Corpus - Undead
Dream - Fae
Maelstrom - Elemental
Hell - Demonic
Purrfeather - Griffon
Labyrinth - Minotaur
Doppleganger - Changeling
Wyrm - Draconic
Disaster - Abomination
Emeris - Outsider
Ascendant - Protodeity
Deus - Deity

Third Term

Term - Meaning
Infrared - Update on Situation Only
Red - Mild Concern
Orange - Serious concern
Yellow - Mobilize backup /put on call
Green - Send backup, mobilize forces
Blue - Send Immediate backup
Lavender - Send immediate backup, mobilize additional forces
Violet - Send Immediate Elite military backup, mobilize extensive forces
Ultraviolet - Extreme Threat, send Elements of Harmony and/or Princesses

Fourth Term

Term - Meaning
Aftermath - Send cleanup crews
Codex - Extensive info to come
Fim - Negotiations started
Circle - Casualties taken
Spearpoint - Aggressive actions in process
Keep - Fortifying position
Wandering - Requesting Orders
Robin - In retreat
Birdseye - Scouting
Snafu - Situation as expected
Fubar - Situation beyond expectations
G.D.M. - Situation lost, raze current location, friendly fire expected


I apologize if this isn't as entertaining as most of my letters have been Princesses, but these things are scary and we need to deal with them as efficiently as possible. None of them are really going away either.

While the average cop or soldier doesn't need to be informed about these, the special forces do, and it'd be a good idea to give most soldiers and cops a basic understanding of what a demon, fae, undead, and elemental are in case they need to call in for backup.

And seriously, if I have to go on one more mission where I have to explain all of everything about the threat to every individual I'm working with, I'm going to do something drastic.

...

Probably enchant all of your favorite public chairs to make very loud, nasty, wet fart sounds whenever you and only you sit on them or something similar.





Best wishes,
Emeris Fillson



P.S. - Seriously, get this spread out to the special forces at very least. It can't just be the Broken Horns that has this information.

Comments ( 40 )

Hmm... since I actually am a scientist, I wonder if I'm going to find this agonizingly painful.

If I do... I'll have to make Calpain read it and suffer too. :trixieshiftright:

5042067

Physics Word Count: 666

666!!!!!!!!!!!

Proof that physics is the work of the Devil! :pinkiegasp:

5080866 The easiest way to become immortal is to just evolve into an energy being like that dude did in the first season of "Babylon 5". Or like that other dude did in the one episode of "Star Trek: TNG".

And since it's happened in 2 really cool sci-fi series, it MUST be true!

:twistnerd:

5104233 They are evolving into the equivalent of the First Ones! :pinkiegasp:

scifiupdates.com/main/images/stories/tv_series/b5/others.jpg

You didn't write down what Code Twilight was.

Robin - In retreat

ha

Ok, I know snafu and fubar but what the hell does G.D.M. stand for?

Liches

So liches are always evil in this setting?

I realize that's rather the norm, but still. If they can really subsist on life-force (EI, a field of grain now and then would work from my understanding), or even convert it from raw magic, and their souls are intact, it seems to me that really shouldn't be a given.

Heck, Emeris himself, as he points out himself, is basically an eldritch freaking abomination, and he's been given a second chance.

Or did I miss something?

Excellent system of classification in the usual Emeris way.

Robin - In retreat

"Bravely bold Sir Robin~"

The fact this exists now makes me worry for emeris is the main storyline. I.e. What will be the greatest level of threat encountered by em? Cuz I don't know how emotionally invested in the adventure part of this fic as I am the romance/slice of life

5162987
Was it agonizingly painful? :duck:

5163190
Twilight is not a princess by the point this is written and as such, doesn't have a guard for messages to be routed to. Her guard will actually be built with some of these things in mind.

5163231
It's something Emeris came up with out of respect of the sacrifice someone will make in the story. The last letter stands for Memorial.

5163300
They actually aren't always evil in this setting! But if they've done something to attract the attention of the guard they likely are.

Things without souls offer relatively minimal vitae (the motive energy of life and the stuff that undead feed on) compared to those with. A Lich would need to either consume an entire orchard/field of grain or other such massive amount of (non-magical) plants in order to get the vitae equivalent of a single adult pony. So those that feed on life force will slowly trend towards feeding on the living because of the immense efficiency. Not to mention that the amount of plants needed can be detrimental to the lifestyles of others as well (It could cause a small-scale famine sort of thing).

The consuming magic version isn't a whole lot better and allow me to summarize: Tirek. (No, he's not a Lich, but the damage he does is similar to what a Lich would do if they got even slightly out of hand)

Additionally, the process of creating a phylactery is inherently black magic, which means its very likely that the lich (if they weren't already a member of the Equestrian special forces that are allowed black magic) they are likely already corrupted and dangerous.

And not to mention that as they get older, they almost always get more powerful and as such, require more and more energy to survive.

So while a Lich isn't inherently a monster/bad guy, it's massively more likely that they are.

So no, you didn't miss anything! But you didn't have all of the info. :twilightsmile:

5163497
:pinkiehappy:

5163785
Bravely ran awaaayyy~

5163943
Emeris is going to run into some really, really nasty things over the course of the story. But he's not always going to be as caught off guard as he was with the Timberwolves for example. When he comes in aware of what's going on, he's actually very competent and almost uniquely well suited to handling the most dangerous creatures (other than gods). But the story isn't going to shift focus from Slice of Life/Romance to Adventure for a while. At least 3, maybe 4 more of my enormous chapters before we even start to get into real Adventure stuff, and the Romance stuff never goes away. It's just going to alternate between Slice-of-Life and Adventure from then on. :pinkiehappy:

I love official looking articles on fantasy material. It's almost disconcerting.
I cannot be certain how much of this was from original Mythology, or simply derived from more recient works of fiction, such as Dungeons and Dragons, or the Dresden Files.

5164097 *sigh* You really shouldn't have encouraged me.:ajsleepy:

:scootangel::rainbowlaugh::rainbowlaugh::trollestia:

Code Lunar Nightmare Green.

Is that a reference to The Laundry series?



It's interesting seeing that you plan to have Twilight ascend to a princess still, though I imagine it'll have to be something more than we've seen in canon due to her nature having been corrupted by dealing with her fear of 'Gary'. I mean, she is the princess of magic (friendship == magic), and yet the whole merged arch came about because she couldn't trust in her friendship with others because 'Gary' was obviously evil despite what everyone else said plus her own observations.

How many big failing moments did Twilight have canonically friendship wise? The Want-It Need-It spell was one big one, I'm not sure if the wedding qualifies as no one believed her when she tried to warn them something was wrong, but that wasn't her fault and they apologized later. Many of the other moments actually had her gain in friendship (Discord being a huge one, but many of the other episodes slowly led up to it).

It just seems to me that Gary's entire presence would have removed a lot of that canon friendship growth (by being a bigger mover and shaker in the story than the Elements of Harmony) and the Twilight Emeris episode would have been a huge setback.

5164229
It's a mix and match. Some of it is old mythology, some of it is modern stuff, some of it is from my own head to make things fit into the MLP universe. The demons are inspired heavily by the Exalted tabletop RPG, and the Fae are inspired heavily by both that and the Dresden Files. Elementals are inspired by a couple different things, some of which I have trouble remembering the sources of. The undead are inspired by another variety of things and being made up whole cloth, the vampires in particular being inspired by the Nasuverse. And so on and so forth.

5164235
:pinkiecrazy: Mission accomplished!

5164281
No, it isn't, but I'll look into it!

Also: Counterpoint!

Whenever she made a mistake in friendship, she learned from it! Who is she friends with now?

Also, Emeris appeared (as Gary) after Season 2 but before Season 3. Things are different now! And while I know exactly how different it's gone, I can't say anything without spoiling a lot of stuff! But it's interesting shit! The Crystal Empire is going to be handled two years after when it normally would have, and there's going to reprecussions! Or shall we say... Consequences :pinkiecrazy:

5164097

Thanks for the answer! It was very informative. :twilightsmile:

Does that mean however that there are government sponsored liches in Equestria? Because if so, that's rather awesome. :rainbowdetermined2:

ProtoDieties

Dieties

Er, unless I'm missing something here, isn't it Deities? :rainbowhuh:

Huh. Equestria is an alternate Creation, then. Though Celestia and Luna aren't quite on the level of Ignis Divine and... er, Luna. I do like how demons still love to dance. Oh, Malfeas, you'll never live that one down.

In any case, fascinating bundle of world-building, this. Thank you for it. :twilightsmile:

5164384
YES.

5164398
The fuck :applejackconfused:

I typed it right, but it autocorrected or something, wtf.

5164497
Yes and no! There are similarities, but things are different in more than just names :pinkiehappy: Remember that Sol was supposed to be able to throw down with any single Titan aside from maybe Malfeas himself while Celestia and Luna both needed outside assistance to stop Discord.

And I always loved the fact that the massively powerful and intelligent and awe-inspiring beings that were the Titans loved music and dance. It was a precious piece of world-building that I loved and decided to keep.

It's not something they need to live down since they're supposed to be absolutely amazing dancers, think Michael Jackson at his best times ten and we're probably getting close! Definitely not something to live down in my book!

And happy to provide! :pinkiehappy:

5164588

Makes sense.

I once had Fimfic condense all five pages of a comment section into one, and ended up replying to someone who was not the guy I was actually trying to reply to...

It was strange.

I would have thought the Outsiders were Dresdenverse.

5164097 Well, the 'scientist' often does not 'speak' like a scientist.

And I think you might need to brush up on genetics. For a good portion of the genetics section, I was unsure if you were talking about polymorphisms/mutants of the same genes, or different genes misusing the terms 'dominant' and 'recessive'.

Dominant and recessive are terms used to describe expression/activity of different alleles of the same gene, which vary by a small portion of its sequence, often one to a few nucleotides. Larger sequence shifts can occur due to insertion mutations (sometimes intragenomic or due to viral sequence insertion) or crossover events.

If you are talking of different genes you might wish to substitute the terms 'activation' and 'suppression'. For instance, the genes you lable 'dominant' which seem to actively prevent expression of another gene labelled 'recessive' might actually be genes of a different sequence suppressing the activity of this 'recessive' gene by one of several potential mechanisms.

:twistnerd:

5171352
His Science-fu is weak. He's smart and clever, but he's not Mr. Fantastic or any other Omnidisciplinary Scientist. Hell, he was studying to be an accountant when all this mess got him ported to Equestria. Not only that, biology/genetics is actually his worst field out of the stuff covered so far.

Also, I'm writing these with a major goal of "fun to read", not just "strict conveyance of information in a rigorous manner as well as experimental data, procedures, and citations".

That said! I might be mis-using the terms here, a distinct possibility. :twilightblush:

The genes that Emeris is referring to control the expression of the other genetics which are present in all Equines in this universe. Small variations in these determine whether the genes that say "Make wings here" or "Build mana-pathways here" and such activate partially, completely, or are actively suppressed (all of those genes having their own variations obviously).

The system which determines which of these all activate is messy. Some versions of the gene actively suppress other genes, others will inhibit the expression of traits and so on and there's a certain amount of honest dominant/recessive byplay here as well to make it even more confusing.

To try and rephrase what he says in that "letter":
There's a place on three different chromosome sets that seems to determine whether traits of each of the three major pony races are expressed:
Gene on Chromosome set A - Controls expression of Earth Pony Traits
Gene on Chromosome set B - Controls expression of Pegasus Traits
Gene on Chromosome set C - Controls expression of Unicorn Traits

Due to ponies having a triploid genetic structure, each pony possesses three versions of each of the above three genes. Emeris has identified around 8 - 12 versions of each gene.

Is that any better? And please do correct me if I'm misusing terms here, I hate doing that but it's been years since I've had a biology class and it's unfortunately likely :twilightangry2:

Once I came across a work that explained that "cold iron" is actually useless against fae, because it is a mistranslation of a rune. Rather than 'iron of the cold[low temperatures]', it is 'iron of the cold[northern lands]' or more succinctly 'iron of the north'

That is to say, a magnet.

Makes a hell of a lot more sense to me. I mean, iron is super common. Why, for that matter, would its being cold matter? Would molten iron be harmless to them?

As for silver, it is (for natural creatures) very nonreactive, that is, it doesn't irritate the skin or flesh. The logic there is that for unnatural critters, it is the opposite.

5171453 I wrote up a basic hypothesis for the pony genetics using the Cake Family as an example.

http://charlesdeleroy.deviantart.com/art/Explaining-the-Cake-family-s-genetics-279604144

This little dissertation assumed the ponies had typical double helical DNA, since the theoretical chemistry for any alternative genetic code is outrageously overcomplicated for anyone other than a hard-core biochemist to understand.

5173324 I theorized that cold iron actually was an old term for meteoric iron, which was actually an alloy with nickel (something ancient societies could not have known) and tends to be remnants from protoplanet cores, which would also have been exposed to the radioactive decay of Al-26 from nearby supernovas.

Thus, the alloy might have subtle properties from cosmic rays and isotopic configurations which disrupt thaumatic fields through some manner.

:twistnerd:

5174953
5173324
I hate to break bubbles, but cold iron isn't iron that's cold. It's iron that has been shaped into a weapon and used to kill something. It effects spirits because it created one and holds the iconology of being dangerous. Think of it in the sense of cold like "Sombra was a cold heartless monster." Actually replace Sombra with Tirek on account of him being cold in all three senses of the word...

5526497 My pseudoscientific explanation is 20% cooler and also has SCIENCE, which automatically makes it right!

:trollestia:

5526538 All right then. I shall submit to your superior science being applied to magick. :rainbowlaugh:

5526557 Science makes everything better! Until it destroys the world.... :twilightoops:

Which still makes it better somehow! :pinkiecrazy:

5526591 My comments have frequently led to those...

:trollestia:

5526497
:rainbowhuh:
that is an interesting take. never encountered it before. Though my understanding is that the fae aren't, strictly speaking, spirits. And i find it hard to work with, because from my viewpoint, the only one who is made 'colder' by taking a life with a weapon is the wielder, not the weapon.

I do like 5174953's idea, though it tends to make anti-fae weaponry nigh unobtainable. also makes the 'lost in translation' aspect moot, which was what attracted me to the magnet version

5528434 it's not a matter of theory, I'm Wiccan. This is like asking a Christian what a crucifix or rosary is. The thing with weather or not objects become tainted or affected by their use, perhaps some research is in order. Just remember to take anything you find online with a grain of salt. It can be hard to find the truth amongst the facts. Check out the Annabelle doll, the hope diamond, and the Busby chair. Unfortunately, examples of weapons is a case of too many to remember any off the top of my head.

EDIT-almost forgot this part. Fea might not be spirits but they do exist on that plane of reality.

5528434 It involves quantum physics and narwhals! :pinkiecrazy:

Fim - Negotiations started

:trixieshiftright:

5164097

>> amiamera
It's something Emeris came up with out of respect of the sacrifice someone will make in the story. The last letter stands for Memorial.

Oh? Who would that--
...
Holy fucking shit. :twilightoops:

5650759
Degree isn't a direct counterpart to the circle of magic one is able to access, but pretty close. Note the areas where he says he's a tenth degree master: Reality Calcification, Boons, and Countermagic. The areas that he admits even in Consequences that he's still really good. We haven't seen him use any of those magics yet in-story (We will soon though!) but that's an honest assessment of his skills. He's absurdly good in those areas. The ninth-degree battlemaster thing is a bit iffy at the current point of the story. Likely not technically true, but probably effectively true for reasons we'll see.

And an XXX mare would likely be more feminine than an XXY mare. But this is me talking out of my ass. I haven't really sat down and thought about it.

5651214
More the latter than the former! On average, he's right, but it's a 60% vs 40% thing rather than any huge majority.

:pinkiecrazy: / :trollestia:

5651363
Greenfire magic is Vice magic. This is one of the things that has changed in the years I've been writing this. Vice magic sounds so much better to me than Greenfire (what I called the stuff that Twilight was doing in the Crystal Empire (remembering that I initially wrote this within a few months of those episodes airing)), it just sounds better and is more appropriate to what I'm saying it does.

5651503
Your reaction just fucking made my day. :rainbowlaugh:

Just let me say this: He's one of my favorite characters I've made for a reason.

-Eats worldbuilding like it’s the best food I have ever encountered-

Sooo.... This series of papers got me thinking to myself.. What is the most common symptom of harmony magic? Harmony magic appears to enforce unity within groups, pacify hostility, strip away dark magic and emotions, and enacts both heavy reality warping and calcification. Heartsong seems to be a form of harmony magic. As was the GSE. Meaning the biggest danger of harmony magic is that it bypasses name magic in striping one of their free will.

The mightiest being is the Titan, or the Zeroth Circle Demon. These are the World Forms that form the metaphysical core of Equestria. Some of them chose this fate, others were bound to it by force, but the Titans form the core of Equestria and their bodies are Tartarus. You will never encounter one of these beings, their minds are so vast and different from our own that it’s like comparing us to a gnat. It’s just not a fair comparison.

Quite a bit of Nirn lore inspiration there, if I were to venture a guess. Don't get me wrong - I like it - but it's obvious that you're drawing inspiration, or that both concepts draw from a common source.

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