wallpaper by Mateo-theFox

Ministry of Peace logo by Brisineo

I'll admit it: despite my intentions last week, I don't have a big, special celebration post devised for my 100th blog post. (Besides, after the other big, heartfelt celebration this week, I'm feeling a little melancholy.) At the same time, recently I have seen several queries and discussions related to the origin and nature of megaspells. It seems like a somewhat timely topic. So this week's blog is going to cover what, for many of you, is probably familiar ground: my headcanon regarding megaspells. (Because what celebration of a milestone is more common yet more loathed than a clip episode? ) But first...

I do want to give another shout out and thank you to all of my fans and the amazing Fo:E community. And to give a very special shout-out to everyone over at Stable-Tec Studios who helped raise over a thousand dollars in charity money for the Against Malaria Foundation.

Thank you for being such amazing people.

Now, on to discussing the bomb...

art by Mozgan

As you might imagine, when Mozgan gave us the impressive picture above earlier, it sparked some discussion focused on how much blame Fluttershy really shouldered for the megaspell bombs.

Ellenok:

...she didn't make balefire, or any destructive spells, Twilight and some zebras were the ones who weaponized them. She made an amazing magical discovery, and her mind went immediately to the good it could do for the world, so she shared the knowledge in an attempt to bring peace. There were never any MoP balefire bombs.

Mnemoniac:

Fluttershy's gift was far more powerful than just nuclear power... She meant it in the best possible manner, as hope and life, and it certainly isn't her fault that it was put to use in the most odious manner possible. However, as a leader and a pony of tremendous power and responsibility, it is her fault that she didn't see how it could be used as a weapon.

art by Dan232323

In a recent interview, I was asked "If you could go back and add one thing from the new seasons into the story, what would it be?" My answer was:

There are so many new things that the episodes from mid-season two through season five have given authors to play with. But the one that I think, would have been the biggest boon, lore-wise, to the universe would have been the Super Speedy Cider Squeezie 6000. After that episode came out, I wrote a small fragment called The Motorwagon Orb postulating that wartime Equestria could have seen the proliferation of motorized carriages based on that design, with "Flam and Sons" being the Equestrian equivalent of Fallout's Chryslus Motors.

However, a very close second would have been the Crystal Empire. One reason that I didn't choose the Crystal Empire as my answer is that adding it into Fallout: Equestria would have bloated an already exceptionally long story. Another is that it was grounded in the Canterlot Wedding episodes, and I am somewhat thankful that I didn't have to incorporate all of the elements of those episodes. But despite these issues, the Crystal Empire adds a lot to the Fallout: Equestria universe and helps retroactively explain certain things in the story. The Crystal Empire gives us the genesis of megaspells.

This is something that I explored in my blog posts on The Fate of Rainbow Dash and Crystal Empire Blues. However, this blog has gained a few thousand followers since those were posted, and the information was buried in Crystal Empire Blues blogs that were so arduously long (at least, for a blog post) that I can imagine many readers skipping them entirely. So I intend to repost the relevant bits of story below.

In an unrelated thread asking about the zebra's balefire bombs, I offered the following:

A megaspell is a spell or similar magical effect that has been boosted several orders of magnitude by a megaspell framework. Any spell could theoretically be turned into a megaspell by the application of a megaspell framework. Balefire bombs were balefire eggs that were magnified by a megaspell framework built out of zebra-enchanted gems. Ponies built megaspell frameworks in the form of ritual chambers, as seen with Celestia One.

Let's take a look at the Crystal Empire:

A city built along arcane geometry...

...designed to focus magical energy into a central point...

...to amplify the size of a single spell several orders of magnitude...

...with a side effect of magical radiation that transforms regular ponies into an alternate kind of pony. (And in this case, with repeat or significant exposure causing the transformation to become permanent and breed true.)

That right there is pretty damn close to what a megaspell is. As such, in the Fallout: Equestria universe, the Crystal Empire itself is a proto-megaspell. (And yes, that would make crystal ponies not some fourth breed of pony, but the first breed of "ghoul".)

Considering this, it is expected that the medically-oriented Ministry of Peace would try to learn everything they could about crystal ponies in order for their hospitals to better render medical aid in accordance to their unique biology. And it is easy to see how the Ministry of Peace would have thus been set on the path to unlocking the mysteries that allowed the creation of megaspell frameworks. (Considering the nature of the Crystal Heart spell, I think it also helps justify Fluttershy's expectations on how megaspells would be used.)

Of course, anything involving the Crystal Empire is purely headcanon. Authors of other Fallout: Equestria stories can ignore all of this at their leisure.

vector by ScarletLightning565

original art by Csimadmax

Copy of a report recovered from the Ministry of Peace hub in the Crystal Empire (as first seen in my Fallout: Beyond Equestria game):

From the Chief Caretaker to the Ministry of Peace HQ in Canterlot:

The unique, geometric layout of the Crystal Empire is not merely one of aesthetics. The entirety of the city-state is designed as a sort of conduit in a manner that bears resemblance to a magical matrix. The purpose of this specific design is singular, to allow the ponies of the empire to focus emotional energies to amplify the casting of a particular defensive spell, for which the Crystal Heart is the centerpiece and magical nexus. The use of positive emotional energies as a magical amplifier has long been documented -- perhaps most significantly in the 'communal casting' effect of the Elements of Harmony -- but the specifics of the design and scale of the effect seen for the emotional matrix and the Crystal Heart is beyond anything previously studied... One hesitates to even call such a "spell" anymore. Until a proper classification for such intensified magic is determined, I shall hereby refer to such enhanced magic as a “mega-spell”. Needless to say, further study of the Crystal Empire matrix is suggested. As to how this ties to our current studies of Crystal Pony physiology: it would appear that the amplified power of a "mega-spell" results in a side effect beyond that associated with the base magic. The casting of such a spell generates a subtle sub-energy that bleeds off into the surrounding area. A sort of "magical radiation", if you will. The effects of this radiation are physically transformative. Temporarily so for a single exposure, as was apparently witnessed by the Ministry Mares themselves upon their first visit to the Crystal Empire. However, this "magical radiation" accumulates in the body until a threshold is reached and the transformation becomes permanent. Furthermore, the transformation holds on a genetic level, and is therefore passed on to the next generation. It is worth noting that the Crystal Heart is activated annually. It is my conclusion that the Crystal Ponies were, originally, normal Earth Ponies. At this point, further study would require permissions to perform investigative autopsies on Crystal Ponies. I request that you obtain sanction from Princess Cadence so that this research may proceed. Chief Caretaker Bedside Manner

One last thing. There were multiple suggestions that I spotlight the following amazing song in my 100th blog post. By popular request, here is Jessi Nowack as Littlepip, singing "Boulevard of Broken Dreams".