Alignment 1: Magical Theory

Equestria, as a plane, by all rights should not exist.  This statement may seem bold, but its basis is firmly rooted in Magical theory.  In order to understand this conundrum, some explanation is probably required, both on the nature of Magic, and also on the nature of æther, the voidstuff between worlds, itself.

Firstly, you need to understand that Magic is, first and foremost, an energy.  However, unlike other raw energies like electricity or heat, Magic has the tendency to NOT spread itself out into a uniform consistency.  This is actually a good thing, considering this unique nature is actually what allows us as p0nies to utilize it effectively; if it wasn’t the case then the Magic would simply bleed off into the surroundings without being truly used.

Now, because of the unique, un-diluteable nature of Magic, we should have pockets of near-tangible, raw magic pooling everywhere and wreaking havoc on our, and in fact, EVERY plane, right?

That would be the case, save for the fact that another property of Magic completely negates this problem.

You see, Magic expresses itself much like sound does, with waves.  And, much like sound, if you set up two wavelengths that are exactly opposite to each other, they will cancel each other out, leaving silence.  Now, keeping this analogy in mind, I must bring up the fact that there are two different strains of Magic:  Harmonious magic, the magic of order, community, growth and life, and Discordant magic, the magic of chaos, selfishness, disrepair and death.  These two strains of Magic act in much the same way waves of sound do; if you have exactly the same amount of Harmonious and Discordant magic, they will nearly cancel each other out.  I say nearly, because complete overlap would be nearly impossible, but the magic available is so negligible that it's unusable.  There are many planes of existence where this is the case, and the inhabitants get by just fine without.

However, on most worlds, there is a disparity in the wavelengths of magic and the natural energy of both Harmonious and Discordant Magics are utilizable to some degree.  The greater the disparity in the wavelengths, the more powerful the magic, and thus the stronger the desired effect.  Examples of this are noted on the plane of Zendikar, with its wild and unpredictable magic storms.  That being said, on every natural world there must be a large overlap in the waves to ‘tune themselves out’, so to speak.  Most planes have an overlap in the 95% range (Zendikar is on the fringe of ‘normal’ with 89% overlap), but anywhere between 90-100% overlap is considered to be healthy.


Equestria has a 54% natural overlap between Harmonious and Discordant Magics.  Normally, what should happen in this instance is the resonance of the Harmonious magic, largely uninhibited by Discordance, would create a magic storm so violent it would literally vibrate the reality of the plane apart.

Now, there are planes of existence where the disparity is larger, or even nonexistent, but what separates Equestria from them is that Equestria is the only natural plane with such disparity.  Artificial planes, such as Phyrexia and Serra’s Realm (excellent examples, for they are completely lacking in Harmonious and Discordant Magics, respectively) are only able to function normally because, as artificial planes, they don’t have access to the natural wellspring of Magic natural planes do.

Now, this begs the question:  How does Equestria manage to survive with only 54% magic overlap?  The answer to this question can be found in Equestria’s placement in the Multiverse, and also the nature of the æther itself.

Equestria is situated in the center of a small cluster of universes known collectively as a ‘Foam Cluster’.  Normally, universes are spaced at random intervals away from each other, and a view from the outside looking in would reveal what appears to be small bubbles floating in fixed points in an endless sea.

A more relatable analogy would be pieces of fruit suspended in Jell-o.

However, Equestria (and the nine other worlds in the Foam Cluster) are unique in the fact that, instead of having their own separate bubbles, they share borders with each other.  Equestria, being at the heart of the Cluster, shares the most borders, whereas the other worlds may only share one or two.   The implications of such an unstable world forming the nexus of a Foam Cluster span farther than Equestria;  if for some reason Equestria were to collapse on itself the borders of the periphery planes would most likely shatter, resulting in a planar overlay similar to the one experienced when the Shard Worlds re-formed to create the plane of Alara.

There is good news in this, however:  Because the spaces between universes in the cluster are so small, occasionally holes open up between worlds.  And, better news, even though Magic has a peculiar stubbornness when it comes to matters of homogenizing, the creatures that store said Magics in them do not.  The end result, and what we are left with here in Equestria today, is creatures with a particular air of Discordance about them are occasionally snatched from their home planes and dropped off at random points around our world.  The most well-known of these creatures are the ones that house the Sparks of Discordance, essentially massive Magic batteries that churn out just enough Discordant energy to keep the plane from dissolving.  The creatures that house these Sparks are collectively known as the Twelve Titans of Holy Discordance.


In addition to the Twelve Titans, it is occasionally necessary for minor tweaks in the level of Discordance on Equestria to be made.  In this case, creatures that radiate only a small amount of Discordance are summoned.  However, the difference between these lesser Discordants (for lack of a better term) and the Twelve Titans is thus:  The mere presence of the Twelve Titans is enough to keep them producing Discordant Magic, whereas lesser Discordants must actively engage in and spread minor turmoil to remain relevant on the plane.  If for some reason a minor Discordant stops producing Discordant energy, the æther recognizes them as a foreign body and creates a shunt to return them to their homeworld.

Another strange phenomenon that is worthy of note:  Equestria, for some reason, has a massive temporal distortion around it.  Where on every other plane time passes at a 1:1 ratio with each other plane, an entire Equestrian month takes place in the span of a ‘normal’ hour.  Strangely enough, creatures pulled from other planes seem to age at the progression of their home planes; The Twelve Titans themselves have been around, and in the same health, for thousands of years.  It is assumed that they are still mortal, but their lifespans (and the way they are taken care of) are such that they, in all likelihood, will never die on Equestria.

It actually seems like a blessing that most of the creatures pulled through the æther are non-sentient;  the strain of near-immortality on a mortal consciousness would be staggering, to say the least.  Over time, the Twelve Titans have become domesticated, with every need they could ever have being taken care of for them by a world dependent on their survival.   Minor Discordants, however, are usually-

>'Sister dear!  Where are you?'
>You close your book and set it down
>Your name is Tsuki De'Lune, Second Child to the Throne of Andromidae, Noble Heir to the Title of Master Warcraft
>Or, as you prefer to be called, Luna
I'm in here, Tia!
>Into your bedroom steps a tall, marble white alicorn
>Her silky pink mane is tied back in an elegant ponytail, so as to keep it out of her magenta eyes
>Those same magenta eyes are looking at you in irritation, a slight scowl affixed to her face
>Her name is Amateras De'Celest, First Child to the Throne of Andromidae, Noble Heir to the Title of Cunning Magecraft
>She prefers Celestia
>But you call her 'Tia'
>She hates it
>'I can play this game too, Lulu.'
>You cringe
>You hate that nickname
Fair enough.
>She smirks, then laughs and tousles your azure mane
>'Alright, kid.  Father requested us in the throne room.  He said it's important.'
>You stand up and follow Celestia out of the room
Did he say what it was about?
>Your combined hoofsteps make an irregular clacking sound on the marbled hallway
>Celestia shrugs
>'Your guess is as good as mine.'
>You sigh, and nod
>It has been kind of hectic in the Equestrian Kingdom as of late
>There were rumors flying about some sort of commotion in the Crystal Empire
>Nothing was certain, but it had been said that the throne had been seized by a power-hungry unicorn by the name of Sombra
>Diplomatic communications between the two kingdoms had subsequently ceased almost overnight, much to the suspicion of the Equestrian Throne.
>Meanwhile, a fever of racial pride had swept the kingdom, further dividing the already tentative relations between the Tribes
>Gangs of Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth ponies had taken to the city streets, ambushing ponies of any different species
>In some of the more rural areas, it wasn't entirely uncommon for a town to purge itself of all but one species
>And to top it off, one of the Discordant Titans was gravely ill with an unknown disease
>No one knew what would happen if a Titan died, but it was generally agreed upon that no one wanted to find out
>You continue your walk in thoughtful silence, until you reach a gilded archway leading to an ornate, gem-encrusted room
>You enter the throne room, and are greeted by the sight of a deep purple alicorn sitting on the throne of Equestria
>His copper mane is cut short so as to fit under a large, simple crown, and his face is creased with stress and exhaustion
>His name is Andromidae De'Galactus, Bearer of the Honorable Title of Ad Homagium Deo de Horrendi Creationes, King of Equestria
>He is also your father
>With a grave look, he greets you
>'My daughters.  Thank you for coming'
>Celestia and yourself bow slightly
Of course, Father.  What do you require from us?
>He sighs
>'I'm sure you've heard stories of the coup in the Crystal Empire?'
>Celestia steps forward
>'We have, but we haven't heard much more than that.'
>The King looks slightly amused
>'Indeed.  None of us have.'
>'The coup in the Crystal Empire concerned us enough to warrant sending an intelligence gathering mission out.'
>'Simple and open, they were sent up as diplomats to test the waters in relations with the new leadership.'
>'The fact that we haven't heard from them yet, after nearly three weeks, gives us reason to suspect that they may be planning something.'
>He continues
>'Because of the vague details coming out, I find myself in quite the predicament.'
>'A military intelligence gathering deployment would be the surest option, but it may be seen as an act of aggression.'
>'Also, I don't have many troops to spare; with the recent animosity between the Tribes I've had to assign more security details around the kingdom.'
>'Not reacting, or not reacting with enough force, leaves us open to a surprise attack.'
>He gestures to the both of you
>'Which is where you come in.'
>'I feel that, as my daughters, your presence won't immediately inspire any hostile reactions, for fear of retribution.'
>'I also feel that, as my two best warriors, I can trust you to dispatch any threat you may face in the Crystal Empire.'
>'I'm charging you both with the task of finding out exactly what's going on up there, and responding appropriately.'
>'If it doesn't seem hostile, whatever you do don't provoke them.'
>'But that doesn't mean you should be naive;  If you sense a threat to the Kingdom or yourselves, don't hesitate to use force.'
>'Can I trust you two to carry out this delicate mission?'
>You both nod, and Celestia says:
>'Of course we will.  It is our duty to serve.'
When would you like us to depart, Father?
>'Immediately'
>Celestia turns to you and says with a grin:
>'Well, you heard him, Sister.  Are you ready?'
>You nod, and grimace
>Celestia knows instantaneous teleportation is not your favorite thing
>You shut your eyes tightly, and feel a sensation similar to warm static envelop you
>And, just as quickly as it came, it's gone, replaced with a chill wind
>When you open your eyes, you're greeted by the familiar angular shapes of the Crystal Empire from the view of a nearby hill
>At least, you think
>Despite being midday when you left your castle, it appears to be closer to dusk here
>And many, if not all, of the crystal structures seem to be full of a swirling black smoke
>The castle itself is a deep ebony, malevolence washing off of it in near-tangible waves as thunderclouds swirl and twist about its apex
>Banners of green and purple adorn its walls, each emblazoned with the mark of a large, black crystal
>Throughout the residential areas, occasional pits and swaths of scorched earth belch lime green flame toward the dreary black sky
>From your perch on the hill, you can see several dozen orderly squares standing at attention in the central plaza
>The squares seem to ripple in unison, and seconds later a howled war-cry gently wafts up at you
>As you focus your gaze, you can see faint outlines of spears and swords being wielded by ponies varying in color from light gray to dark black
>The soldiers begin rippling in unison, and you can faintly hear their screamed chants:
>'...sombra! sombra! sombra!...'
>This is highly unsettling;  The Crystal Empire has not had a standing army in years
>Because their only border is shared with the Equestrian Kingdom, they haven't had much of a need to defend themselves
>Which could only mean....
>'I've seen enough here.'
>Celestia shudders in revulsion
>'It's clear to me that the government running things now is not one that the Equestrian Kingdom can side themselves with.'
>'Furthermore, it seems that they seem to be mobilizing an army, for what we must assume is for an assault.'
>Taken slightly aback by her own words, she hastily adds:
>'Probably.'
>You run a hoof through your mane in anxiety
Sister, what do you recommend we do?  We can't take on an army alone, and with the military spread so thin an attack now would be disastrous.
>She ponders
>'You're right.'
>'We can confront the new King about this, though. We could be overreacting.'
>Trying to stay positive, she gives a weak smile
>You give her a flat look
Overreacting?  Seriously?
>She averts her gaze back to the castle
>'Well, Father gave us permission to defend ourselves, if we had to.'
>You give her a puzzled look
What do you mean?
>Celestia shifts uncomfortably on her hooves
>'You know....  If we go up there to see what's going on, and things go wrong.....'
>Her eyes plead with you, and you realize her meaning
>She has to find a way to legally justify attacking Sombra
>She's always been kind of a stickler for rules, and even if it was in legitimate self-defense she'd still feel like an assassin
>You personally respect the law, but know that sometimes you just have to do what's right for everyone
>And normally, you're not one to rush into danger
>However.....
>If you can take out Sombra, you may throw this army off balance long enough to raise a better defense for your Kingdom, if not forego an attack entirely
>And, the Crystal Empire has never rallied for war like this before.....
>Perhaps taking out Sombra is the right thing to do?
>You sigh
In the interest of the well being of our Kingdom, I believe a meeting with Sombra is necessary.
The reaction to our sudden appearance should give some insight on his intentions.
Would it be possible for you to teleport us there?
>Celestia nods nervously, and says:
>'Yes, but it takes a lot of magic.  I can't do too much teleporting in one day.'
>You put a hoof on her shoulder
That's okay;  Just get us there.
>She closes her eyes, and concentrates
>With a flash of light, you and Celestia appear in the throne room of the former royals
>Lounging on a large pile of black crystals is a black unicorn with a red horn
>His green eyes are smoldering purple smoke, and as he sees you he hisses through bared fangs
>If you weren't so scared, you'd laugh
>This guy is so evil it's comical
>Celestia stumbles slightly, and shakes her head to clear it
>She quickly regains her composure, and asks:
>'Sombra, I assume?'
>He responds with a hiss and a fires a bolt of purple/green magic at Celestia
>She deftly dodges it, and says:
>'We mean you no harm;  We only wish to discuss the state of affairs between our two kingdoms.'
>He pauses, and laughs
>'You mean MY two kingdomssssss....'
>Celestia glares, and her face sets in grim determination
>You mentally facehoof
> Apparently when you become evil you're forced to throw subtlety out the window
>Wait....
>Subtlety....
>You get an idea
>You begin to run away from your sister and at an angle to Sombra, apparently to the door
Sister, RUN!  He's too powerful!
And as the only one who can create magical shield walls, if harm comes to you our entire Kingdom may fall!
>You cover your mouth with a hoof in shock, feigning horror at what you just said
>Sombra's eyes light up in dark delight, and he begins slowly advancing on Celestia
>He begins charging magic in his horn, collecting a massive amount of purple/green energy
>Celestia begins gathering white energy in her horn, preparing to defend herself
>Their eyes lock;  this battle will go down in history
>Sombra roars in fury, and charges Celestia
>Only to have a look of shock run across his face before he falls down, dead
That... was ridiculously easy
>Your sister looks at you incredulously
>She was cheated out of her epic battle
>'What happened?'
>You shrug
When he turned to advance on you, he turned his back on me
And I shot him in the base of the skull with a bolt of magic
>You walk over to your sister, and she looks at you judgeingly
>'That wasn't very honorable.'
>Neither of you notice the energy in Sombra's horn failing to dissipate
Well, we're still alive, aren't we?
>If anyone were to observe it, it would appear to be gathering more magic
I think it's better to lose a bit of honor than our lives.
>The horn begins to spark intermittently and glow violently
>'I disagr-'
>Celestia sees the horn just as Sombra's body explodes in a wave of black, crystalline shards
>'LUNA, DOWN!'
>Celestia jumps in front of you, and forces a shield bubble around you both
>The shield activates just in time; shards of crystal explode past you and melt into the walls
>Except for one
>One tiny, sliver shard of black crystal made it through the shield just before it closed
>And stuck Celestia in the base of the neck
>Upon contact with her skin, it evaporated and painlessly absorbed into her
>But neither of you noticed;  you were too busy being terrified by the explosion
>After a few harrowing seconds, Celestia drops the shield
>'What was-'
>She cuts out as the earth begins to shake violently, and you feel yourself plummeting
Sister, you need to get us out of here!
>Celestia nods in a panic, and closes her eyes tight
>Her horn glows fainter than before, and you both disappear
>You reappear on the same hill overlooking the kingdom you were on before
>Only now...
>The Crystal Empire seems to be slowly sinking into the ground
>Sombra must have set a failsafe up;  without his magic, the Empire is going into stasis
>You watch in horrified silence as the entirety of the kingdom is pulled under, covering itself in rock and soil
>In a matter of minutes, nothing remains but an empty field
>Still in shock, you turn to Celestia
>She's sprawled out on the hillside
>You begin to panic, but then hear the familiar, irritating sound of her snoring
>Poor thing, she must have exhausted herself with all the magic use today
>With your ride back home currently unconscious, your options are limited
>So, you lay down next to your sister, close your eyes, and drift off, letting sleep take you where it will

------------------------------------------------
>Unbeknownst to anyone not listening for it, Sombra's absence sent a small, but noticeable, ripple in the æther
>It's a shame no one was listening.....
------------------------------------------------

>You are Anon
>And, honestly, today could be better
>Not that YOU'RE having any problems
>But, two of your good friends just went through some pretty serious breakups
>On the same day, in fact
>Esrith seemed to be doing okay;  His breakup was mutual
>It was unfortunate, but it happens when life pulls people in different directions
>Scrab, on the other hand....
>Well, he was doing about as well as someone could when one's girlfriend starts fucking one's best friend of fourteen years
>Being the good person you are, you invited them to hang out to take their minds off things
>It seems to be working
>You're currently sitting in a Dennys, having a lively debate on the name of the new Magic: the Gathering expansion
>'Look, all I'm saying is *I'd* like it better they went with 'Mirrodin Pure'.'
>Esrith gestures at Scrab with his glass of water, and you nod in agreement
>Scrab has his eyes screwed shut, and is rubbing his temples in frustration
>'Yeah, but it's not about what you WANT.  They've primed Phyrexia to win; It makes SENSE that Phyrexia would win.'
>'If the Mirrans pull through, it'd be kind of a cop-out ending.'
>Scrab sips his water
>'And I know a bit about cop-out endings.'
>This stirs a chuckle among the table
>You try to re-rail the conversation
I dunno, Scrab, I kinda want to see the good guys win this one.
>Scrab grins
>'What are you talking about?  The Phyrexians ARE the good guys.'
>Esrith puts on his best 'are you fucking kidding me' face
>You're sure you're doing the same
You're going to have to explain this one to me;  How do you justify calling a group that evil the 'good guys'?'
>'Well, if they win, they'll be the good guys.'
>Scrab gets a smug look on his face
>'You forget, history is written by the winners.'
>'So, whoever wins, they're the 'good guys'.'
>He actually does the air quotes
>'Without some kind of higher moral compass, all good and evil is relative.'
>'And, from a Phyrexian standpoint, the Mirran Resistance is a ragtag group of heretics and lost souls, unknowingly longing for compleation.'
>He has a point, but you facepalm anyways
*RUMBLE-CHURN*
>And it seems that greasy diner food has made you slightly ill
Scrab, you logic is so fucked it's made me physically sick
>'Your body is just rejecting the truth.  Embrace it!'
>You stand up
I don't think so
Off to the bathroom, back in a minute
>You turn and go, but from behind you you think you hear Scrab mutter:
>'We'll see....'
>Huh?
>Whatever, bathroom needs to happen now
>You stumble your way over, and just as the door closes behind you your vision starts to swim
>You grab for the sink, but your knees buckle and you collapse as a flash of blue light envelops you
----------------------------------------------

>You are Anon
>It feels like a few hours have gone by, but you don't remember anything
>You slowly open your eyes, your stomach still roiling and your head still swimming
>You feel plush grass on your back and forearms as you slowly sit up
>You appear to be.... in a forest?
>What the hell?!?