Fascinating Experimentation
“That’s a lot of straps and wires,” the human said. Perspiration built on its nearly-furless skin. She resisted the urge to start licking it for the salt content. Humans gave off lots of delicious salt.
“You’re sure you’re a mammal?” Twilight said. She mixed up a mild sedative unguent while Spike fastened the natural pleather straps and steel manacles. “Only, mammals tend to be a bit more furry, and you don’t have feathers like a gryphon.”
"My mother could tell you I am," the human said. It choked out a little laugh-like cough and continued perspiring, despite the bone-deep chill of the laboratory.
"Well, she's not here so I'll have to make due," Twilight sighed. "Spike, could you bring me the cloth-cutter?"
The human smelled appetizingly afraid. It was amazing how many endocrinological features ponies shared with these eldritch bipeds. She remembered a treatise by Time-Turner the Sage on how, with slight evolutionary changes, ponies might have developed without the ability to vomit or burp, something that remained hopelessly abstract and unprovable. It wasn't so unprovable and abstract, however, after reading Animal Husbandry's postulate on the nature of convergent evolution. The deep-sea Kraken had an eyeball structure remarkably similar to that of earth ponies, and the same cornea structure was mirrored hair, as she could see when she held up a Brownian filter and a green-flame candle to the human's eye.
"Fascinating. Spike, could you take a note?"
She shivered. Frost condensed on her lens. "And please, get me a coat or something? It's really chilly down here."
"It doesn't seem cold to me," the human said.
"Hold your humans already," Spike said, tossing her the cloth cutter. "I'll be right up. Celestia's horseshoes, I should have just gone to Rarity first," he muttered, just on the cusp of hearing.
"What was that?" Twilight snarled. The hunger pangs were making her crabby.
"Nothing. I'll be right down!" Spike yelled over his shoulder.
Twilight locked the instrument over her front right leg and snipped it down the human's "shirt", assuming such a term applied to ape-garments.
"Definitely a mammal!"
The human coughed and tilted his head away. "Maybe it's a bit cold after all."
#
Fish cascaded up the low waterfalls, helped along where necessary. Fluttershy hovered around, relaying trained commands to her gangs of jays and murders of crows. Everything needed to go smoothly at the spawning. If not, the consequences would snowball and have a devastating effect on the aquatic ecosystem, and Equestria needed strong fish supplies to keep relations with Gryphonia friendly.
Trimmer the Red Jay whistled a pre-arranged tune into her ear. It wasn't long before her eyes confirmed Trimmer's signal. A rising tide of silver and pink rolled up the waterfall.
Trout and salmon trailed sperm and eggs through the frothing water. Hooded monk-fish and even a few sea-popes crowded in at the edges, ready to reproduce asexually by adopting unfertilized eggs. Even a few swordfish, herring, and sheildfish squeezed in through the shining bubbling mass.
"Nature is so fascinating," Fluttershy said, her breath sharp and ragged. She really liked this part. Angel sat next to her for a few more minutes before he went to through up in the bushes.
Fluttershy had been careful to keep her bear, otter and eagle friends away from this event, even though she trusted them to not give in to temptation. She gently glided into the shallows of a nice estuary, where the fish with performance anxiety had pooled around, pretending to really enjoy the algae at the edge of the pond.
Fluttershy snapped thick waxed gloves over her wings once she was safely on the ground. Now time for the tricky part.
She grabbed a sexually-disintrested trout, gentle but firm, and began to squeeze. Once again, she felt like there was something else she was supposed to be taking care of.
#
Lyra plunged into the thick, curly undergrowth of the everfree forest, wobbling on two legs with a machete gripped between her teeth. She'd only had a minor run-in with a lone Timber Wolf, and that had been easy enough to deal with once you knew their weaknesses and stayed away from the wild zap-apple copses.
Anyway, a pony had to take some risks when she was hunting…the most dangerous game.
Not that she'd actually kill and eat them, she reminded herself. She just wanted to get her blood going with the thrill of the hunt, maybe hog-tie them and scare them a little, and then they'd be in a good mood to talk. Creatures that became an apex predator in certain environments would only respect a new sapient race if they proved they were good hunters too, right?
She reluctantly dropped the machete from her teeth and latched it onto the hoof-handy attachment. She needed her magic free if she wanted be on her guard.
Speaking of magic, Lyra thought. She ducked into the foliage while some clouds of chaos magic whizzed along, pushed by a few untamed phoenixes and a predatory rainbow-serpent.
The Everfree forest was just plain weird sometimes.
Once the danger had passed, Lyra pulled out the most sacred relic from her secret collection of Human Artifacts. She'd traded a clan of vicious lunar faeries ten gallons of fresh mare's milk and a two-gallon jar of wild buckwheat honey for this. It was worth every drop, and the ten weeks afterwards when she'd woke up feeling sore in the leg-pits, and the half-a-year she had spent beforehand cultivating buckwheat flowers and training bees. She wiped a thick layer of sweat from her neck just thinking about it.
Preserved inside a piece of amber, resting in a glass prism filled with heavy water to let it float and spin under the least thaumic influence, was a bone. Specifically, it was a human canine tooth. The molars and front teeth looked a lot more non-threatening and pony-like, but this was enough. Sympathetic magic was a type of magic so old it almost didn't count as magic, and she'd heard of pegasi, donkeys and earth ponies working it, although she hadn't seen it first-hand. It should be no problem for a unicorn.
She levitated the amber inside the prism, making it bob and spin. Once she'd focused her magical grip on it, she pumped a steady psychic pulse into the tooth. She let it float and drift, opening her mind wide until drool warmed her neck.
An echoing pulse vibrated down her horn. She'd managed a resonance lock. Lyra slowly increased the power until the canine spun, it's blood-tipped roots pointing north by north-east. She smiled.
The quarry had emerged. She just wished she'd thought to bring heavier clothing, as she trotted through the tangling thorns and disordered winds howled above her. The Everfree Forest was surprisingly cold for this time of year.
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Ok so after reading every single chapter and I have one thing to say
Imma go to that type of world bring a fuck load of guns and ammo and shoot the living fuck out of them. Let's see whos the real dominat species.
Also if that doesn't work bring a knife and stab them if they get close.
If that doesn't work ITS TIME FOR ZOMBIES.
This is hilarious, in a really really messed up way.
3696670
First, where would you get zombies? o.0 Or are you planning to invade equestria with lots of rum-based cocktails?
Second, wouldn't you feel a little guilty when Fluttershy breaks down sobbing after you murder two of her friends in apparent cold blood?
Third, what makes you think unicorns don't have a spell to repel bullets?
3696800
Excellent. Just as I hoped.
3696835
That's for me to know any you to never find out
Nope I have a medical condition where I can't feel negative emotions and fear itself.
Trust me they work.
Also I'll tell them about the MLP fan fic shit and the multiverse theory so they won't feel bad about dying cause there's hundreds of them
But if it's up to me I'll bring a gun and let's see who eats who first.
3696905
I wonder why I see so many readers trying to assert their monkey superiority over magical horse-godlings. Does my story really scare you that much?
I think if I was in their shoes I would most probably submit to them.
Maybe I would lose a arm, ear and a leg...But it would be worth it.
3696835
blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/01/are-you-serious-right-now.jpg
3696835
...Possibly the fact that there is no evidence suggesting they would have such a spell? We do not assume that something is true simply because we do not have evidence to the contrary!
4136377
Allow me to restate my case then. It is fair to assume unicorns would not have a spell >specifically< for deflecting bullets, but I think a "repel small fast projectiles" spell is not unreasonable. Bullets have a lot of speed and impact, but fairly low mass.
4142836
That's really only a small step less specific than "bullet", so I'm honestly going to have to disagree with you here. While you may believe it to not be unreasonable, you still have no real evidence of it being something available to the average unicorn (or even existing, for that matter). I mean, as far as unicorns go, we only have Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, and Alicorn Amulet Trixie (...and technically Princess Cadance, I suppose... but since she was never depicted as a unicorn in the show, she shouldn't count—besides, she was never actually shown casting a spell shield, just maintaining one) as examples of users of any sort of "magic shield"... and both Twilight and Shining are undeniably outliers, distanced from the norm by default (Trixie is automatically disqualified due to the Alicorn Amulet, and Cadance is automatically disqualified on account of being an alicorn princess), since they're both presented as being exceptionally powerful, talented, and skilled unicorns within the setting; So, obviously neither of them are good examples of what is reasonable to assume of the average unicorn, agreed? Rarity would be a much better example for a comparison—her only real skills in magic we've seen thus far are multitasking with telekinesis, locating buried gemstones (which is apparently an innate skill related to her Cutie Mark, rather than something she had learned through study of magic), and poorly manipulating weather after having her Cutie Mark exchanged with Rainbow Dashes. Based off of that, we can basically extrapolate that the majority of unicorns shouldn't to know much more than telekinesis and things related to their Cutie Mark (which, such as in Rarity's case, may very well have just inherently manifested rather than being learned through study).
Most bullets are at least transonic (and thus you literally don't have the time to react to them at ranges below 100 meters) and are incredibly difficult to see even in the best of situations, due to their relatively high speed and small size. Also, while a bullet's relative mass mass is low, penetrative power is incredible due to its relative cross section, sectional density, impact surface area (the very tip), and specific kinetic energy.
———For example, let's take a look at the 5.56×45mm NATO, specifically the up-to-date M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/5.56x45mm_NATO.jpg/800px-5.56x45mm_NATO.jpg
The M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round is an improved version of the M855 full-metal jacket "ball" round with a 4 gram (62 grain) "gilding metal" brass alloy jacketed copper alloy core with a 1.2 gram (19 grain) "stacked-cone/arrowhead" shape hardened carbon steel alloy penetrator tip, firing with an increased muzzle velocity of 890–950 meters per second (2920–3120 feet per second, Mach 2.62–2.79) and muzzle energy of 1585–1810 joules (1170–1335 foot-pounds force). While it's true that a hard punch from a heavyweight boxer can produce over 1000 joules, it's more complicated than that, so they aren't comparable. As I said above, a bullet's penetrative power is incredible due to its relative cross section, sectional density, impact surface area, and specific kinetic energy. The M855's average cross sectional area is 18.46 square millimeters (36,431.276 circular mils), its sectional density is 123.115 kilograms per square meter (25.216 pounds per square foot), its impact surface area is 1.27875 square millimeters (2523.645 circular mils), and its specific kinetic energy is 396.25–452.5 joules per gram (18.9–21.6 foot-pounds force per grain). Factoring the muzzle energy with the areas, we get a sectional energy of 8586–9805 joules per square centimeter (40,857–46,657 foot-pounds force per square inch) and a maximum impact surface energy of 123,949–141,544 joules per square centimeter (589,807–673,533 foot-pounds force per square inch). What all of this essentially means is that in order for a unicorn to make even a square meter "shield" to repel these 5.56mm bullets, it would need to be able to withstand a total energy of 1.24–1.415 gigajoules (457,100–521,990 foot-short tons force) across its entire outward surface—equivalent to the explosive energy contained within 296–338 kilograms (653–746 pounds) of TNT. If the unicorn created a semicircular dome with a 2 meter diameter to repel these 5.56mm bullets, it would need to be able to withstand a total energy of 7.79–8.89 gigajoules (2,871,970–3,279,660 foot-short tons force) across its entire outward surface—equivalent to the explosive energy contained within 1860–2125 kilograms (4100–4690 pounds) of TNT. Note that this is merely the minimum energy requirement for the shield to be "bulletproof" at the literal instant it was measured, and not the energy requirement to maintain the shield over time (which would be measured in kilowatts and either kilocalories per minute or some definition of horsepower, probably electrical horsepower)—and since the shields need a total surface energy in the realm of several gigajoules to be "bulletproof" at any point in time, it's reasonable to assume that the power requirement would likely be within the range of a dozen megawatts to possibly over a gigawatt—potential power output/consumption comparable to large high-power engines and turbines or small power plants and nuclear reactors. Don't you think that's just a tiny bit absurd an assumption for the average pony? I mean, I could swallow someone claiming that a unicorn like Twilight Sparkle (that is to say, of relatively comparable talent, power, and skill) might be capable of this level of power output/consumption for a short time (she's clearly not indefatigable in the show and has shown strain and exhaustion after casting spells several times), but that's only because Twilight's the obviously OP "strongest unicorn evaaaar" main character. But your average background unicorns? I'm gonna have to draw a line there.
...Okay, yeah, one could always fall back to the old tried and true (and slightly annoying)
static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/12/123441/3285538-5485227315_352888130e_z.jpg
argument and leave it at that—but don't you think that's... I dunno, kinda lazy and uninspired? I don't know about you, but personally I prefer my magic to at least have some basis in reality, even if what it can accomplish would conventionally be considered physically impossible in the end. I just feel that it makes the setting far more immersive if magic isn't merely used as a universal excuse for anything and everything you are too lazy to put in the minimum effort to attempt an explanation of even minor detail. Do you understand what I'm saying?
4143977
Your argument is well-thought-out and compelling. I concede your point about the relative rarity of shield spells suitable to the purpose. Unless they get the Observer ponies from the comic series in to help them, small arms fire will present a serious threat to unicorns.
4143977 you also have to take in G force if Twilight puts a shield up and by some miracle the bullet doesn't smash though the G force would most likely cause some nasty whip lash as it moves at such a speed a bullet weighing at most 1/20 of a pound would shoot up to nearly half a ton because the speed going from 1500 feet a second down to zero in a split second would slam into Twilight with the weight of a car going 80 mph.
4554700
Seeing as the shield is supposedly an immaterial field, the forces exerted on the outside of the shield wouldn't necessarily reach the unicorn inside, since there is no physical connection through which the force can transfer.
However, shockwaves should be able to penetrate the shield regardless, as the shield doesn't seem to stop vibrations in the air and ground (such as sound) from passing through. This means that a nearby explosion—especially one produced by a thermobaric weapon—would produce a hypersonic blast wave that could potentially devastate the shielded unicorn's body, possibly doing enough damage to their internal organs to kill them outright.
4555882 We also take into account that we have no idea how shields are formed I assume that the horn is what takes most of the damage. So if something hits a shield and is strong enough it would shatter the horn as it is the horn that is generating the shield. Kind of like a reactor. If a large enough bullet struck the shield then the whip lash or G force would by pass the shield and target the object that is producing the shield or what ever. Kind of like harry potter when a wands explodes because another wands spell is stronger and when it over powers the other spell the want can only take so much damage as the spell hitting the other one travles down the beam and the wand is the one that takes the damage. It sounds weird I know and I have worded it wrong but what I am saying is that the shield is produced by a unicorn/ alicorns horn. if something hits the shield and is stronger than the shield then the horn will feel the impact. So if a manticore was to stand on a normal unicorns shield the unicorn would feel the strain as the extra weight would burn though their energy faster as well as put pressure on the horn as it is the receiver. So if something was to hit me the skin doesn't feel it it is the nerves that feel it.
The first twenty seconds of this give an alright example of what would happen though I think if the robot had sat on her it would have crushed her like an ant.
We also take into account where the energy comes from with the girl above she is using her hands which allows for more damage to be taken but with the horn being so small and concentrated any extreme force would most likely cause the horn to explode.
4556053
By what basis do you infer that the energy expended on force fields is absorbed by the horn?
Quite the contrary. Evidence seems to suggest that the force field, while it needs to be renewed now and then, is a free-floating construct. If there is some kind of backlash, then it would probably be in the form of migraines or some other physical strain, as demonstrated with Shining Armor's headaches in the Canterlot Wedding two-parter.