Lyra intensely followed Thiemo with her eyes as he placed himself in some sort of weird construct with other humans. She had never seen so many humans together. Well, she had never seen a lot of humans, period. It took all her willpower to avoid opening the doors of the automatic carriage and following Thiemo outside.

She wasn’t the only one who thought so. Aura’s snout was practically stuck to the glass and kept sliding up in the hope of being able to catch a bit more of the outside world. The princess, however, tried to keep her pride, as her eyes and ears attempted to collect as much information as possible.

She, as a qualified explorer of foreign life forms and their environment, would have loved to go out and swim in that metaphorical flood of information. The first thing she would have to do was sort out what she already knew. About clothes and their significance, she had already learnt from Thiemo. It served as protection as well as a fashion statement. The proof was Daniela, who sat before her and today wore blue trousers and a black top that exposed her belly button to the world. Why just the belly button was not known to her though, but it was of little consequence.

“Magic huh?” She was interrupted by the voice of the woman about whose clothes she had just thought of. “I guess I’ve never really given it much thought.”

“What?” asked Lyra, surprised. “How you can say that? Where there is life, there is also magic.”

“So, maybe you could tell me a little about magic? For a novice like me?” Danielle asked and turned on her seat so that she could see them all.

“Well that’s kind of obvious. Erm… sorry. It’s only that this is usually covered in magic kindergarten.” Danielle laughed once, reminding Lyra very much of Thiemo. “What?”

“Nothing. I just really didn’t think it actually existed.”

‘Right, the show,’ Lyra reminded herself. “Well, that’s the first and most important tenant: magic is harmony, and harmony means life. Take, for example, our bodies. There are a collection of organs within them that must function together in order to keep us alive. And the separate organs are also only separate cells that all cooperate in harmony to allow the organ to fulfil its function.

“This is the magic that harmony makes possible. Just imagine magic as waves of water. It is everywhere, and everything contains it. It surrounds us, only waiting to be used. Then the different schools come into the play. The first magic school is the Arcane. This is what we unicorns mainly use. Levitation, shields, and magical beams – all these fall in the school of the Arcane. Then there is the school of the Elements. Here, magic is used to interact with the surroundings and to gain certain effects from the four elements. For example, one can poke a large boulder on top a mountain and push it down just like that. One could also collect water from the air around them, once they are skilled enough. Of course, one can cause many of these effects with the school of the Arcane as well, but it is complicated by all the charms and rituals one needs. However, because there are only a few unicorns with the talent to use the school of Elements, there are only a few means of learning how to use it. In schools, only the Arcane school was taught. Shamans, like your brother Thiemo, have learnt to use and interact with the elements using runes and gems.”

"Wow." Auralia’s astonishment was evident. “You really know a lot about magic.”

“Like I said, this is what you actually learn in magic kindergarten. I have not learned much beyond that. If you really want to speak to an expert about it, you should ask Princess Twilight Sparkle. I am sure she will gladly give you a lecture lasting several hours."

Amaryllis giggled at Lyra’s words. “Maybe I’ll do that one day. But yes, this was what I also learned from my books as a nymph. Really, the magic of the changeling also belongs to the school of the Arcane.”

“And what about black and white magic?”

Lyra looked to Amaryllis, then to Danielle before she laughed. “Don’t tell me you believe that!”

“What? You’re saying there isn’t anything like black magic? Bad magic?”

“No magic is specifically bad,” Lyra clarified. “As I already said, magic moves in waves through the surroundings. Our horns can interact with it and give it form. We manipulate these waves so that they fulfil a certain purpose. And like I also said, magic is common in harmony. What you call bad magic would be magic that goes against harmony, counteracting against it and destroying life around it. Chaos. In chaos, there can be no life. Chaos magic is a completely different school. The problem is its unpredictability. Under chaos falls destruction magic and necromancy. Destruction magic is used often where it makes sense to take things apart, to create something only partially. Our ancestors have built houses out of rocks with its help by splitting the connections between the atoms where the rock wasn't needed. But the border also often becomes blurred. Our scholars still argue where the difference between Arcane to Elemental magic is to be made. Both can be destructive, but they all serve different purposes.”

“Maybe you should explain to her how every being has different magic reserves,” Amaryllis briefly chimed in.

“Ah, I completely forgot. Like I said, Twilight would have been able to explain this better. Once more to the waves. Normally, they move at an equal pace. However, some spells require them to move faster. Where, however, do they get to draw this energy from? Beings with magic have developed in such a way that we can absorb some of it. When we use magic, we use the amount needed from within to gain the desired effect.” Lyra waited some seconds for confirmation from Amaryllis, who nodded. “What you might ask is: why don’t we simply use the magic that surrounds us. The problem is, have you tried to influence a sea stream? Water is much easier to move in a bucket than in a bathtub. We form the magic and then use it. Understand so far?”

“I believe so…”

“Good. Back to chaos magic. Now maybe you have recognized the problem. Chaotic magic damages not only to the victim, but also the user. If the user forms the magic with his reserves, he damages himself with the magic. You could say that chaotic magic isn’t free of charge. The waves are not in harmony anymore, and this can have unpredictable results. Eris is the best example. Her kind of magic can be used to amuse or to terrify, because she actually influences the sea. She practically forms whirlpools in the sea so as to form a small part of it as she wants. However, the more whirlpools she generates, the more side effects appear.”

Danielle tapper her finger on her seat. “Eris … Discord is female?”

“Oh!” Lyra perked up. “That was one of the differences between the show and reality of Albion.”

“In any case, there is no bad magic, only magic that is abused,” Amaryllis finished the explanation.

“My mom told me she fought against ponies who abused magic,” Auralia said proudly. “My mom is a hero, just like Dad.”

“Never tell my father that I said this, but he considers the Elements of Harmony as potentially the most effective warriors Equestria has.” With Amaryllis’ questioning face looking at her, Lyra tried to remember Specter’s words. “If we take your mother for example.” She nodded at Auralia. “Your mother is an earth pony. She is therefore more in contact with natural magic than pegasi or even us unicorns. From us, they have even learned to see magic directly. Your mother feels it in the objects around her and can stimulate it or even weaken it as she sees fit. This is why she can also empty a whole apple tree with a single kick. She can feel the weakest magical place and therefore the place of the lightest opposition. My father thinks that she can transfer that to other living beings. If she had to, she could probably immobilize an opponent four or five times her size.”

“Your father sounds as though he’s formed a working theory,” noted Amaryllis. “What does he do?”

“He works in Celestia’s School for the Defense against the Dark Arts.” Once more, Danielle laughed.

“Sorry, but there is a book here that has a name similar to that. Where does the name come from?”

“The most frequent first adverse side effect of chaotic magic is a darkening of the eyes. Hence, it is simply called dark magic. That’s probably how it ended up with the name,” Amaryllis answered the question.

“My father always uses this explanation in the first hour of every new semester for the new entrants,” Lyra continued. “In any case, then there is Pinkie Pie. Of course, she can feel the magic around her like Applejack. However, the following is only a speculation of my father, but he believes that Pinkie can influence magic directly with her hooves as though they are horns. Though the material is the same, normally hooves contain no magic nerves. So it is a mystery as to how she would do it.

“Rainbow Dash is a pegasus. They move not only air with their wings, but also magic. It makes it more ironic, then, to compare them more to swimmers than fliers. In any case, Rainbow Dash needs to be able to build up an immense drive around her speed. And here is the interesting point. The arcane wings of pegasi are bigger than their physical ones, and Rainbow’s must be huge. If it were any different, she could never be as quick as she is. Pegasi like her can use their arcane wings as weapons as well. They only need to touch their opponents to cut as deeply as a sword. Rainbow would probably be able to rend a pony in two if she’s want to. Whether she is able, I do not know.

“Rarity is somepony one could call one of the more normal ponies of the Bearers. However, it is her talent and her many years' experience that makes her very dangerous. As a designer, she works daily with the smallest objects: needles, pencils, et cetera. And mostly several at once, while she is looking somewhere else completely. I can tell you that Rarity probably has hundreds of small needles in her possession. She would have the experience as well as the ability to use them to inflict maximum damage. And the worst one part is that she is aware of that. Besides, she always has a sewing box anywhere she goes. I have seen it. Nobody needs to always have thirty needles.

“And then, of course, there is Twilight Sparkle. I don’t know how long it would take to list out the number of ways she could destroy her opponent. She could simply take away any magic around an opponent or simply crush him with magic.” Lyra saw Danielle growing nervous in her seat, and she could understand why. It was a sobering thought that a pony could have so much power. “We should be happy that she’s hesitant to use her power in that way.”

“What about Aunt Fluttershy?” asked Auralia, obviously curious to hear more.

“All my father said regarding her was: quiet waters are deep, but that mare is an endless black hole. I hope that whoever is foolish enough to get in her way makes peace with whoever they believe their Creator to be.”

Author's Notes:

I had so much fun to write this. Why? Because I wanted to show how bad ass the mane 6 in the Journey-verse could be. Why aren't they? Because they don't like violence. Well, besides AJ and Rainbow to a certain degree. It's a crucial part of their characters and I don't change something like that. The mane 6 wouldn't be the mane 6 anymore. Also, the thing with dark magic. I used a different term in German who you can't really translate.

I addition I'm very happy to announce my new story, My Little Pony - Inquisition. I hope you take a look. It just started, so there isn't that much yet, but I promise that will change.

Special thanks to JBL for editing my mess.