Please correct me if I am wrong at any point;
So what happens when a unicorn uses magic for everyday run-of-the-mill tasks? Magic cannot be created nor destroyed, so where would they be drawing this energy from?

Plus, I don't understand how Discord was unable to act as a host when imprisoned in stone. After all, wasn't it the combined factors of the Elements of Harmony and the chaos given off by Sweetie, Applebloom, and Scootaloo that freed Discord in the first place? We've seen non-organic objects become a sort of host for a short while, such as the plow in Winter Wrap Up when Twilight uses her come to life spell or the rocks Twilight made into a temporary tuxedo on Spike.

This also sounds like when Discord uses chaotic magic to wreck chaos, residual chaotic energy is the leftover product, thus empowering Discord. Would this mean in areas of heavy magic use such as Canterlot residual positive energies are left over?

It works like this: A host draws upon the appropriate energy surrounding them. Ponies run on various levels of Harmonic energy, but their individual talents determines how well they are able to process and use that energy in certain ways. And when I say that magic cannot be created or destroyed, I mean that it permeates the MLP universe, almost like a dark matter, and I assume needs to constantly be in motion flowing through it's various hosts. How much energy is used is dependant on the host and the situation. (Such as a mundane magic spell using only a small amount of energy, while the Elements of Harmony appear to utilize ALL Harmonic energy at a single point of time)

When Discord was turned to stone, all energy he had moved out of him, however, his ability to absorb energy isn't disabled. If he is exposed to a sufficient amount of chaotic energy, he gains the ability to move. The positive feedback loop Discord creates causes more chaotic energy to flow through him, being both an energy parasite and host. The more chaos is around him, the more energy flows through him.

Heh, that certainly makes Discord sound over powered. That would also explain why after the Elements are used all the energy is used towards restoring balance, so to speak. So the Everfree is a theoretical result of when a massive amount of specifically chaotic energy is dispersed back into the environment? Is it possible for chaotic energy to be converted into harmonic energy?

Well, Discord did ALMOST win.

Here are some points from my theory scattered here and there that help explain why he couldn't completely dominate with his power:
-There are several types of energy corresponding to emotions and mental states, each with different influences and interactions with each other
So in my theory, there are types of energy that corresponds to differing emotions. Harmonic energy is a compilation of several positive energies, which the individual Elements represent. I do not think Chaotic energy can be converted, but when exposed to a superior amount of Harmonic Energy, it is negated. It cannot destroy Harmonic energy nor it's hosts, so that was why Discord could not destroy the Elements, or the Mane 6. He could avoid defeat by hiding them and corrupting the host's mind's, but in the long run, that Harmonic Energy just required that trigger to defeat him.

And the Everfree Forest, (if you look a few posts down I explain this in more detail) was created when the chaotic energy of Discord moved into Luna, then spread outward and infected the surrounding land during the intense magical clash that led to her banishment.

Hmm, this is starting to make sense, but a lot of it seems to be based on speculation. So the energies themselves cannot be altered, but the hosts can as was the case of Luna turning into Nightmare Moon and the Mane Six being "grayed".

If I may, this sounds more like a system of auras than actual magical energy. What I mean is, one's aura can change and influence the types of magic that they may use and how easily they can use it. Discord, for example, might have a chaotic aura and thus can easily use magic in a similar manner.

Magic itself doesn't seem like it has a set "type", but instead magic is shaped and directed by the one controlling it. Such evidence is found in examples of uncontrolled magic (I.E. Twilight's entrance exam) where Twilight herself did not seem to be using particularly harmonic energy, but the end result was something Discord would have been proud of.

Hm. You may be right in that respect, and I do theorize that the magical energy present can influence the emotional states of the hosts in proximity, but if magic was an emotionless energy, it would not explain why energy parasites, such as Wendigos and Changelings, require a specific emotion.

Well in order for energies being fed off of by parasites to make sense, the hosts would have to be drawing in the appropriate energy to begin with. In the case of the Wendigos, they feed off of anger, not malefic energy given off by angry ponies. If Wendigos did feed off of malefic energy, that would mean whenever a pony is angry or disgruntled they absorb these hateful energies from a source, the most likely of which would be the environment. If latent chaotic energy caused the "wonderland" known as the Everfree Forest, malefic energy would have horrifying effects on the flora and fauna.

The same would go for the opposite end of the spectrum; "love" energy that Changlings feed off of have to have from somewhere unless there is another explanation to the sources of energy. Energy would have to be converted from one type to another, or else there would be limited amounts of specific energy in different areas. This is why I thought that auras might make more sense; rather than pre-created forms of energies existing in different shapes, places, and areas, magic energy is an emotionless (and limitless) source of potential. It is one's aura that would determine what sort of feelings/vibes/emotional energy is given off by a specific pony or ponies which would attract the emotion parasites.

Solid Theory. A few discrepancies though.

If the energy was limitless, then of course, the possibilities of magic would be limitless, including Discord's feedback loop. The world probably would be irreversibly damaged as a result / The Elements rendered useless because theoretically the chaos would reach infinity.

Also I came across the observation that Twilight has five stars on her cutie mark. Representing the other elements. I theorize that energy corresponds with emotions due to the individual aspects of Harmonic Energy, being Friendship, Generosity, Kindness, etc., being drawn together. The Sonic Rainboom that gave the Mane 6 their cutie marks was a magical anomaly caused not only by Rainbow Dash's emotions, but by a manipulation of energy created when the Element's chose their future bearers.

I also assume that the first time Harmonic energy in it's entirety was discovered by Clover the Clever at that point of freezing to death with the others when the ingredients for it were combined for the first time, and the Fire of Friendship could be considered a spell with an aura effect. These and some other things point towards magic being an influence outside of it's host.

As for the Sonic Rainboom, I don't exactly agree with the idea that it was caused by outside influences. That would imply that Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to do it again with the conditions being the exact same, and as the Season 2 finale showed, she can pretty much do it at will after she practiced. Not only that, but you almost make it sound like the energies hold some sort of intelligence by intentionally causing the precise events needed for something years in the future to happen.

True, but from what we have seen Discord was already borderline omnipotent, not to mention the ideas of auras does not necessarily mean that Discord is a parasite like a Wendigo. Discord's undoing was his own arrogance, what with being so sure his plan was flawless that he did not consider the probability of failure.

However, I was not saying that he would be all powerful, I was saying that the potential for magic is limitless on top of being endless. Magic has an infinitely varying number of uses, ranging from picking up a book to imprisoning powerful foes. But though magic may be limitless, the abilities of the users of it are not. That's where the magic equation comes in; Many different factors account for a unicorn's ability to wield magic as you have already read, but the force they are using is, as you said about dark matter, limitless. The discipline of the user along with all the other factors determines how much magic they can use and what they can make it do.

How energies/auras would come into play is that they would just act as another factor; if one's aura reflected the will to cause pain, then such spells related to these feelings might be easier to create and use. The basic idea of the aura would be pretty much the same as your idea of energies, except it is the pony would determines what kind of energy the magic is. That way, there wouldn't be any sort of pockets of specifically hateful/benevolent energies that would cause strange effects on the user and the environment around them.

The Harmonic Energy that may have been discovered by Clover the Clever would have been a result of an aura of positive emotions; happiness, kindness, comfort, etc. By discussing their feelings and interests in the cave like they did would have strengthened the aura and positive energies coming from said aura as well.

.... Huh.

Welp, Brain.exe is currently crashing at the moment. I'll have to read this later when I recharge.

So if magical beings act as hosts for specific kinds of magic, would that classify creatures such as the Wendigoes and the Changlings as parasites of these types of magic, or would the fact they seem to feed off emotions categorize them in a different group?

Yes, they would count as energy parasites. I theorize that they themselves are unable to process larger amounts of magical energy, or require a specific type of energy to sustain themselves, thus they evolved to create that emotion around them to draw that energy. Wendigos most likely use anger to alter the climate to conditions favorable to them, and the Changelings use love to sustain their physical and magical strength.

Now onto the Pegasi...

I had not explained this in my original FJ post, but I did in my MLP forums debate which you can see in the content description.

A host utilizes magical energy through Desire to the power of Emotion boosted by knowledge multiplied by Concentration as the equation states. Or in other words, a pony has to want to do something magical related in order to do it. Main example would be the difference between the flight performance of Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy has no desire to fly unless she deems it necessary, (which is usually in response to help a friend or animal) thus her access to the energy that she is able to hold as a pegasus is limited... Unless she has a solid reason to boost herself, in which case she is able to at least keep up with Rainbow Dash in flight.

Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, is able to utilize her flight energy to it's maximum potential, and even go beyond what is feasibly possible. I theorize that the Rainboom originally was created due to the emotions that Rainbow Dash was feeling at that moment and time; It was when she became Loyalty. Her Loyalty to Fluttershy to defend her status, and when she acted selflessly for one of the first times in her life. She found she could not do so again, until she had to defend her friend again, Rarity, from an untimely death. Like how an athlete or actor is able to empathize an emotion to boost performance, Rainbow probably made that connection and is able to use it to do the Rainboom at will.

And as a few final words, Cutie Marks are an all important factor in this. Those determine to that pony what types of magic they hold and how they are able to influence them. Every pony utilizes the same magical energy differently to help them in a specific interest.

I said something about cutie marks, i'll copy pasta here.

But if horn size is directly related to magic capability, why is Twilight stronger than other unicorns?

The answer: Her cutie mark.

This adds another factor,** natural affiliation/inheritance of magic.** Which brings up even further questions, such as does the requirement of magic in what your cutie mark is increase your magical prowess? For instance, does a farmer or gardener unicorn have less magic because they need it less? Obviously magic is improved with practice that commonly is a use to a desirable end, so if said farmer pony used their magic to sow seeds or run farming machinery, would their magic be more powerful over time than a unicorn that only used their magic in less scale but more consistently? Such as a librarian using magic to get books from high shelves, or sort documents.

Cutie marks open up a whole other can of worms though. Cutie marks are specific to a pony's special talent, but they would be too specific to act as a focus on a pony's abilities, magic or otherwise. Rarity's cutie mark is three gems, yet her interests focus on sewing, styling, etc. It seems more so that because a pony focuses on whatever their talent is that they get better at it, not because their cutie mark is gauged towards it. Personally, I think that a cutie mark acts as a title or a way of showing part of a pony's personality rather than a means of boosting one's abilities.

I think of it less as a booster and more as a symbol of their specialty magic-wise. While Rarity is talented in the physical world of fashion, she requires only levitation. However, a common thing she uses in her designs are gemstones. And magically, she is a lot more proficient in finding gemstones than other unicorns. Cutie Marks are gained when they figure out what talents they possess.

Ah, I understand what you're saying, but cutie marks acting as boosters would have the issue of being too specific; Snails for example would have increased abilities in all things snail, which severely limits him. Meanwhile Flim and Flam would have a boost towards anything to do with apples, which would seem too general and unrelated to how they actually use their magic.

One would also have to observe fillies and colts would do not yet have their cutie marks such as Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. They are already skilled in what they like to do AND are better than any other pony in that field; It is only a matter of them realizing what they are skilled in to earn their cutie marks. When Twilight was a filly she was not skilled at all in magic, only after hours of practice did she achieve the skills which she had at the time. Not only that, but Twilight continued to practice and study magic after earning her cutie mark to get better at it; It did not seem like she inexplicably became more skilled because she had her cutie mark.

I just assumed that the Everfree was a passive neutral, and the lack of magic in it was a dead zone, making it a good spot for a villain or monster to hide as it acts as a kind of Bermuda triangle, hiding them from prying eyes.

I don't think of it as a LACK of magic but more of a negation effect. Like I said, the majority of Equestria seems to run on the Energy of Harmony, which the ponies control to manipulate their surrounding environment. If there is a large amount of an opposite energy saturating the area, the Harmonic effects cannot take place.

Also, the magic appears to have shifted the development and evolution of the creatures and plant life within, as they are also chaotic. (Zap Apples, Poison Joke, Timberwolves and the like)

So, not neutral, but chaotic? The way I see it, neutral makes more sense because evolution is just that. It is random, but it has a livability curve. If something comes out broken, it dies and it's traits aren't passed on. So both Chaotic forces and Order are in place(On the subject of order and chaos, I recommend playing Fire Emblem, Radiant Dawn). Due to the lack of mollycoddling that the rest of Equestria gets, everything there is tougher and better suited for survival, even the plants.

Also, check out zekeon's posts below, and my little agreement. It offers another side to the story.

Everfree? Dead-zone?

Did you read my comment about pegasi yet?

Oh my god. We had the same idea, and I didn't even read yours. Yes, the NMM vs PC battle back in the day, with the proposed conflicting energy overdose, could in theory, fry the area, kinda like a breaker on a electrical grid. Now that the magical energy and it's effect on the environment is gone, so evolution is free to take over, which results in what we call normal weather and animal behavior. Sound good?

Hmm... How about this:

When Discord was defeated by Celestia and Luna, that Chaotic Energy chose another host, but not the Everfree Forest at first. Instead, it chose the nearest and weakest host within proximity: Luna. Luna began to empathize the chaotic magic, which began to change her perspective and become willing to upset the balance she and her sister fought to obtain. A battle of chaos vs harmony, negative vs positive raged, probably overpowering Celestia at one point, but eventually she was able to bear the Elements all at once and banish her sister. Nightmare Moon, being an embodiment of the negative side of the Harmonic Energy, took negative magic with her, but the chaotic magic stayed, infecting the surrounding area with it's energy. Thus the Everfree Forest was created. (And I say that Everfree is chaotic instead of neutral due to the abilities of the creatures and plant life within it. You can't just say that Poison Joke isn't something chaotically magical, nor Zap Apples, which originated from the forest as well)

Point conceded. Let's just say it is chaotic neutral, opposed to Discord's chaotic evil. Luna would be Negative Harmonic of Dissonant Harmonic, Celestia would be Positive Harmonic of True Harmony, and Chrysalis could be....... actually, I don't know.

I did some thinking on this, and after seeing a spoiler for Season 3, I'd think differently.

Thanks to this picture, which is Trixie wearing a necklace of some sort, I doubt that Discord counts as Chaotic Evil. Rather, he's Chaotic Dissonant. The chaos he creates is to change the world into something amusing to him, not truly being opposite of harmony itself.

What is theorized is that the necklace is an element of Disharmony, and by the results of what it will theoretically do, (which is shown in other pictures depicting an abandoned, desolate Ponyville) it counteracts all things classified as harmonic. Rather scary.

Celestia would be Harmonic Good, Luna Harmonic Evil. They are like Yin and Yang.

Chysalis probably is the opposite of Love... An entirely different energy altogether... Hate?

As interesting as this is, even my mind is starting to get fucked. Holy shit. I think I need to dust off Flash and make a typography animation to voice over. This is fucking cutting edge. Maybe I should flip this to EqD....

Then we present it to MA Larson, Lauren Faust and the other writers of MLP and watch them have a seizure.

Diabolical.

I'd also voice this, but I am without a microphone. 'Tis a shame too. I would have a perfect announcer/host voice. Think Mic the Microphone in his fanfic readings, but a bit deeper.

Awwww, fuck. That would be perfect. Maybe I can just pitch it to someone famous then. Maybe even Mic himself if he wasn't on vacation. Actually, I am thinking of partnering with PaleoSteno if he is up for it. He would make a pretty good fit for it, I think.

Not a bad idea, I'd be willing to voice in that too, if that's what you need.

While you're at it, we should create the Equestrian Science Committee.

Think of the EXPLOSIONS!