Confessions of an Immortal Time Lord

Magic

***

You love sudden interludes, don't you? You don't? Then just skip to the next chapter.

...Oh, I forgot. You can't.

Well, then either put on the headphones (that will appear as soon as you press 34 on the control panel - jazz, rock, blues and classical music available) or listen to my grumbling.

If you are still reading this, then you decided to choose the second option. (You could still read with the headphones on, if you haven't found it out). Good. Today my sad philosophical speculations will be replaced by something interesting, something worth reading. Finally, you may think (and have probably thought by this point). So what is it going to be, the Great and Powerful Timelord?

Magic. Today we are going to delve into the field of magic. Before you start whining (like That's boring! We learned it in Magic Kindergarten, then school, then the University blah blah blah etc, etc), let me assure you that we are going to scrutinize the origins of magic, not the process itself.

Magic. Magic... Heh, I love the word. It's so... um... magical? (Way to go, Doctor... Now I even can't find decent adjectives without a narrator...)

Anyway, magic. Where does it come from? According to the studies of such Equestrian masterminds as Twilight Sparkle and Colchevsky, the historian of the Decay period, magic comes from the existence of ponies itself. Unicorns can channel magic to create spells; pegasi use it to walk on clouds and control the weather; earth ponies inherit magic from the birth to become physically strong and hardy. So the ponies (not without the major help from the magnificent Celestia and minor assistance from Luna, of course) create magic and exchange it with the nature. That's the conclusion of Equestrian historians and scientists.

Forget it. It's so wrong.

At this point, you may ask me: Hey, you're always refute theories without creating any of your own! Being a ctitic without being a writer, huh? To that I may only answer: yes, I'm being a critic without being a writer; in other words, I cannot create, I only watch things go by and apply my corrections. And right now you are the one to blame for making me stray from the path of explaining magic to the impenetrable thickets of sad grumbling.

So... magic. (Seriously, how many times have I said that word?)

Those Equestrian geniuses were not far from the truth. The origin of magic truly lies within Equestria. But it's not ponies.

It comes from the dragons.

Now if this sounds shoking, may I remind you that dragons are the first inhabitants of Equestria? Not the country, the planet, I mean. (In fact, only you ponies call it 'Equestria': according to the Shadow proclamation, it is planet n. 1728304347634. But for the sake of easiness, let's just call it 'Equestria', shall we?) First came the dragons, then Star Swirl, then the Princesses, then the ponies... You should re-read your history book. ...Oh, I keep forgetting: you are from the New Lunar era, right? You just couldn't have known about the Golden age. (Not the era of Celestia and Luna, mind you! Albeit it is called the 'Golden age of Equestria' by the propaganda, it is actually a Silver age according to the true history.)

Here's a short synopsis for you.

The first creatures of this planet were the Dragons. They created magic. Then came an alien called Star Swirl (a.k.a. Star Swirld the Bearded), who happened to be a powerful alicorn. (And you wondered why they were called alicorns!)  He made a pact with the dragons, giving them his name and receiving the gift of magic in return. What's the big deal with names? you may ask. Patience, young ponywan. Patience. (Seriously, I have to stop making bad puns... Unfortunately, I can't think of any good ones at the moment, so... you know the rest. Deal with it.) Soon, due to the process of evolution (who said science and magic can't co-exist? Here's the proof!) creatures known as ponies were born. Star Swirl experimented with them, and thus the three different races came to be. That was the real Golden age of the equine civilization. When he knew his time had come, he created Celestia and Luna (yes, don't look at the book with wide eyes, you haven't misread - he created them) and passed away. (I miss him. I miss them all.) While both Celestia and Luna were in charge, evolution produced Zebras, who were very susceptible to magic (The irony! They could inherit the magic but couldn't use it due to natural reasons), and Griffins, the brutal hunters, not sensible to magic at all. Then Celestia banished her sister to the Moon (I'll return to this story later - after all, I'm the one responsible for such a decision) and became the sole ruler of Equestria for a thousand years.

Let me enlighted you on the political map of Equestria (the planet, I mean - the one under n. 1728304347634, remember?) before the Silver age. (It is needed for better understanding of magic - It won't be boring. Well, maybe a little.)

The biggest country is, of course, Equestria. The Great Solar Empire. It has a strict class system and a cult of Magic. Here, civilized ponies practice their skills in bending magic to their will, sometimes using machines to aid them in their research.

Next comes the Griffin Empire. Griffins don't possess magic. Instead, they rely on brute force, conquering the Hydra Kingdom, the Donkey Republic and countless other small countries. Their religion is the cult of Blood. It is so severe that sometimes the Griffin knights would go conquer other nations in the name of Blood.

The Dragons. These creatures don't have a state. They don't need it. Because of their natural greed, each dragon possesses a pieace of territory, which is also his hunting ground. Everything that steps on it is prey. This may remind you of anarchic feudalism but the dragions actually have a ruler. She has many names, the most popular being She Who Swallows The Sun. She doesn't rule the dragons, and they don't obey her. She is simply so respected by all dragons that they chose her to represent the interests of the whole nation before other countries.

Which reminds me of Draconic jurisdiction... It's the only extraterritorial jurisdiction in Equestria, did you know it? 'Wherever a Dragon lays his claw, the Draconic Tradition is in charge'...

Erm... I'm going off track again, right?

So, magic. The most ancient magic is Draconic magic. (I loooove repeating myself, y'know)

Dragons possess the power of words. That's what I was talking about. The power of names. The magic of words is also the most powerful one. By the way, that's why I can't tell anypony my real name - it will destroy the Time the same second. (Ahaha... Time... Second... You get that? Aha... ha... ha... Ahem.) Anyway, Dragons don't need to concentrate the magic like ponies or feel it inside like zebras. They can simply say the right words, and - puff! - the magic happens. Sounds simple, huh? But ponies can't do it. Ponies' words will remain mere words, while right words coming from a dragon's mouth will become magical.

Ever wondered why you need to say 'Dragon of [insert the name of the territory here], I hereby request permission to enter your territory!' before going to visit your dragon friend (if you have any, that is). Because otherwise, you won't be able to enter. The magical border is the most invincible frontier.

So if the Dragons' magic comes from the words, where does ponies' magic come from?

Upon realising that ponies, in contrast to dragons, were talkative and light-hearted, Star Swirl decided that word magic would be too much for them to handle. So he transmitted the words into shapes, the shapes into dust and breathed the dust into the nature and the ponies, giving them the ability to pass the magic from generation to generation. I know, sounds like a foal's tale, but it's true, believe me. Before I arrived in Equestria, I didn't know a thing about magic (while in the future I knew it, but for the sake of the story let's pretend I didn't know a thing about it). At first, I thought: There must be a scientifical explanation to all of this. Magic is just a form of science. Now that I'm wiser, I think: Science is a form of magic, It just works slower and is more understandable.

And what about the Zebras? It's simple: they can't cast magic but it fills them from the inside. Their magic is the magic of nature. The magic of healing, alchemy and mystery. Maybe that's why the Zebras talk in verses?

Anyway, now that we know what is magic, I want to let you go until the next chapter. Really, you need to relax, without thinking about difficult and tiring stuff like the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything. (it's NOT 42, I assure you . It. Is. Not.)

On to some more adventurous stuff in the next chapter! Allons-y!

***

Next on the Confessions!

~~~

"I swear I couldn't hear a beat!"

"Doctor..."

"Not a single one!"

"Doctor."

"Of course, one time's not enough, I said to myself, so..."

"Doctor! A pony's heart is located at the left side of their chest..."

~~~

"No, Twilight, it's not that way..."

"I see, Fluttershy. Sorry for accusing you."

"We just happened to share a kiss."

"What."

~~~

"These aren't the droids you're looking for? Your Jedi tricks don't work on me, Twilight."

~~~

"No! No more beautiful mares for today."

"Why, Doctor, it's so nice of you..."

"When I said 'no more beautiful mares', I meant Fluttershy."

***

Author's note.

Now that was just lame. The chapter's too short, not funny, not sad and, what's more important, doesn't make you think. Exercise your brain, y'know? I wanted to make it better! *Sob* *Sob* Please don't send me to Magic Kindergaten for this, Celestia! I tried! I tried so hard!

Now that I stopped whining and criticising myself, you can leave your comments and rate the story. No, really - comments and ratings are fun. F-U-N. Try it!

Peace.

P.S. If you wonder who She Who Swallows The Sun is, you should immediately read 'It Takes A Village' by Determamfidd. The thing's should be considered canon when talking about dragons!