--Thunder Bolt--

Application: Character: Sunyatay Sutra (I may make her visible for this RP and just disappear when she's embarrassed or shy especially if the GM wants that; or she can have to struggle for visibility and add to the weirdness of the Inn setting) RP Experience: Years of play-by-forum RPG's, also paper-and-dice (GURPS, D&D) as a player and GM. Activity Level: I'm here pretty much every day.

Discord appears to be a physical creature when he's manifesting normally (instead of animating his image in a stained-glass window or whatever) because it's possible to trap him by turning him to stone. So, a sufficiently powerful human weapon, such as a depleted-uranium tank shell, supersonic cruise missile, or laser (e.g. the Airborne Laser) would probably be able to injure or kill him if he could not see or hear it coming in time to react. Any supersonic projectile (or laser) fired from beyond visible range would reach him before sound from it could be heard (the sound of it being fired, the sound of its rocket engine, whatever), so if Discord is not looking in the direction of the attack, it would have a chance to hit. Discord tends to move, teleport, change shape, etc. erratically, so he shouldn't be easy to hit. However, an area-of-effect weapon (JDAM bomb, cruise missile, buried explosive device, etc.) would have better chances of scoring a hit. Or, the humans could try carpet-bombing (high-altitude B-52s) or lots and lots of dakka (massed machine gun fire, A-10 Warthog anti-tank cannons, barrages of tank and artillery fire). With a major opponent like Discord, the humans should have to try several different strategies before finding one that works, especially if they're the protagonists. He should be hard to beat, but realistically, I don't think he would be completely invulnerable to all human technology unless you decide to make him invulnerable for story purposes. Celestia isn't invulnerable ("A Canterlot Wedding"), and she is a being of comparable "divine" nature. Another possibility, if the humans have allies (a disgruntled pony?) who know about Discord and Equestrian history and biology: the humans capture a Cockatrice and use it to turn Discord to stone. Or perhaps they can recruit Medusa (she's not directly canonical, but there are plenty of other Greek-mythology creatures in FiM canon, like Cerberus).

Don't kick yourself too hard. There's a term for this: "Poe's Law." Basically, you can't parody fundamentalists without it seeming real, or conversely, read a fundy site without wondering if it's a parody.

The pony's whispered thanks made Sunyatay feel just a tiny bit more real. She was doing something good, that mattered. As soon as she and the pony entered Ponyville, she started hearing gasps and screams, ponies running for cover, doors and window shutters slamming closed. "A haunted corpse! AIIIIIIIIIIIII!" somepony cried. Sunyatay felt herself fading. She tried to speed up, but each step seemed to take all the strength she could spare as she fought to keep from dropping the pony. She opened her eyes to check that she was still on course for the Library, then clenched them shut again so she could focus solely on the task at hoof. Don't drop the pony. Take another step. Don't drop the pony. Take another step. The sound of a door opening, and hoof beats. Sunyatay cracked her eyelids open. Through a blur of squinting and growing dizziness, she saw a purplish pony shape taking a balanced stance, ready for action. A smaller green shape peered out from behind. With a final effort, she levitated the pony toward Twilight and set him down in front of her. "W-what's happening Twilight? Is he...d-d-d-dead?" While Sunyatay swayed on her hooves and tried to catch her breath, Twilight scanned the fallen pony. "No. But we'd better get him inside! Quick, clear off the table!" the young wizard said as she easily lifted Blaze and took him into the library. Sunyatay followed, passing through the door as Spike closed it behind them. "Hurry Spike!" Spike rushed about, clearing stacks of books and notes from the table so Twilight could set Blaze down. Sunyatay gathered herself again, concentrating her strength to emit two words: "He's cursed!" They echoed in the Library like a hollow, wispy moan. "Whatwasthat?!" Spike said, disappearing behind Twilight's right rear leg. "It's...the....the Deathly Harbinger! It's sucked the life out of him!" "Arrrrrgh, not that again! Spike, whoever...or whatever brought him here wants us to help him! Quick! Get me Curses and Cures, The Alphabetical Encyclopaedia of Apotropaics, Banishings, Cures, and Defense, and Starswirl's Asklepionomikon!" While Spike rushed to get the requested books and Twilight's keen eyes and magical senses started to examine the pony, Sunyatay felt herself relax a little. He was in good hooves.

I doubt that the humans would (realistically) be able to successfully reverse-engineer the EoH and put the results to use, because, as invading conquerors, they are by definition not Harmonious. The EoH only worked because the M6 manifested the relevant character traits. The trouble with Discord is that his ability to truly defend Equestria is limited. If he uses his powers too much, he ends up trashing what he's trying to protect. The Changelings: "They have a world of seven billion souls! Come, my children! Let us go through their portals, and feast upon their capacity to love!" This invasion could turn out really bad for humanity!

1) I think you would have a better story if it's not a complete cake-walk for the humans. They shouldn't be able to just "nullify" magic, especially if they've got super-future-tech. I think it might even be better if you set the story in the near future. Modern weapons (tanks, fighter jets, machine guns, artillery, cruise missiles, drones) would have many advantages, such as standoff range (ability to destroy a target from miles away). If you want to mix things up a little, you could have it so that sophisticated electronics don't work (differences in physics between the two universes), but magic is also less effective against humans and their equipment, i.e., transformation spells like Discord's don't work directly on them. Creative approaches would have to be used, such as floating balloons over a human force, then Discord turns them into heavy rocks... 2) Before humans could try to reverse-engineer the EoH, they'd have to get their hands on them (or some of them at least), which would mean they've already defeated one of Equestria's most formidable weapons. Given that the EoH would represent completely alien "tech" to humans from a Realistictm universe, reverse-engineering them should be extremely difficult. On the other hand, the EoH seem to be a close-quarters weapon only. How would they do against cruise missiles, or JDAM bombs deployed from a B-2 Stealth bomber? 3) That should be extremely difficult for the humans, given that the Princesses control the Sun and Moon. If they kill Celestia, wouldn't Equestria go dark forever, and freeze over? One possible way to deal with her: hostages. "Now that we've shown you what a fuel-air explosive can do, perhaps you should consider terms of surrender, before we drop several of them on Manehattan." Another possibility would be sheer numbers. A full-scale human invasion would include hundreds of thousands of troops and possibly millions of colonists, spreading throughout Equestria. There are only four Princesses. 4) Let's say one nation discovers how to open portals into Equestria. That nation starts sending exploratory parties, makes contact, etc., realizes that they've found a "new frontier." That nation may have peaceful intentions, or perhaps just want to conquer Equestria economically. Through espionage, other nations (China, Russia, India, Japan, the EU...) learn about the tech and duplicate it. Heavily populous nations like China and India would have strong incentives to colonize. The other major powers couldn't just sit by and let them do it without either trying to stop them (at a risk of war) or joining in to get their slice of the pie. If climate change and resource depletion are threatening to force a collapse of human civilization, the humans could invade out of desperation. Perhaps many of them could be refugees without any hostile intentions toward the ponies, but coming in such large numbers that they threaten to overrun Equestria. This would present a conundrum to the ponies: attack them, or try to welcome them with the "magic of friendship," with the downside that the end result would be a predominantly human, rather than pony, society. 5) Don't forget wild cards, like the dragons and the Changelings... Some further thoughts: Equestria is way over-reliant on a handful of exceptionally powerful individuals for its defense. The Princesses, Shining Armor, Discord, and the Mane Six with the Elements. 11 beings, total. The Royal Guard did not make much of a showing against the Changelings in "A Canterlot Wedding." Instead, everything hinged on Shining Armor's ability to shield Canterlot, and the M6 wielding the Elements. The Guard appear to be mostly ceremonial and bodyguard type forces (guarding doors, etc.) rather than a true battlefield fighting force. We've seen several times that ponies panic, flee, and hide when faced with a threat or even an unusual entity (e.g. Zecora, before Twilight befriended her). This means it is quite unlikely that ponies will have any concept of military doctrine or strategy, such as how to organize a combined-arms force, provide close air support or fire support for ground forces, how to operate logistics, supply lines, and a system of command and control, how to conduct a flanking attack, set up overlapping fields of fire, or retreat in good order. The Wonderbolts exhibit a degree of military culture and discipline, but they're only a single squadron of fliers, trained for exhibitions rather than war. Even if they pressed all of their cadets into service, they'd have maybe one wing of combat "aircraft," without long-range weapons (cannons, missiles). During the crucial early days of the invasion, the humans would probably be able to establish forward operating bases almost completely unopposed, with platoons of soldiers or Spec Ops teams carrying assault rifles, mortars, and RPG launchers. Anti-aircraft guns or SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile) batteries would be deadly to most pegasi. A handful of special talents like Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts might be able to counterattack once they learned how to drop bombs accurately, but as soon as there's more than a few human aircraft able to engage them, human numbers and superior armament would prevail. A lot would depend on how many portals the humans can generate, and how big they are. Can tanks and aircraft fit through? What about fuel tanker trucks and earth-moving equipment for constucting forward operations bases on the Equestrian side? How fast can humans move forces through? Here's an idea, if you want some human heroes: human military people who, as a matter of conscience, defect to the Equestrian side act as "advisors," and help organize the Equestrian forces.

OK, here's the thing I hate most in a movie: Checkhov's Disarm: Our protagonist, usually a woman, is confronted by a villain. S/he has a gun, the villain is unarmed. You already know what's gonna happen, don't you? Of course you do. The protagonist either steps toward the villain (often either chambering a round or cocking the gun--which means they started out threatening with a gun that wasn't ready to fire), or allows the villain to start taking steps toward them while monologuing. Usually the protagonist knows the villain is a completely irredeemable psychopath who means to do Terrible Things to her and/or her children (if the protagonist is a woman), destroy the world, or do something comparably nefarious (either sex). The scene often drags out, as one character sloo-o-o-w-l-y steps closer to the other. Step. Step. Steeeeep. We already know exactly what's going to happen as soon as the situation presents itself, so dragging it out doesn't create dramatic tension. It turns the scene into a slow-motion train wreck, and gives us plenty of time to start shouting at the protagonist, "YOU GO DIE! YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO LIVE!" By the time the sudden-but-inevitable melee attack from the villain disarms the protagonist, we've already reconciled ourselves with their well-earned death, and it's almost disappointing when the Deus Ex Machina (there's almost always one of these) rescues them in the end. The neat thing about a gun is, it's a long-range weapon. You can kill somebody from all the way across a room with a gun! No, really! Also, it's not a knife. A gun doesn't become more intimidating if you move closer to your target. What are you gonna do, stab 'em with the barrel? I just despise this trope. Especially since it's used so often that, realistically, any protagonist in that situation (especially a woman who isn't some kind of combat-trained stupendous badass that wants to fight the villain hand-to-hand in a display of Warrior's Honor) really ought to know better.

Sirene Lustershine. The first name hearkens to the Sirens, and sounds similar to "serene," i.e. the "more wholesome" pony she wishes she was but can't quite make herself become. "Luster" in her last name is as Fancy Ram said above, with the "-shine" added to give it more of the shiny, feminine vibe of the MLP universe in general.

This sounds vaguely like the Goetia or the Lesser Key of Solomon. The basic legend is that King Solomon sealed 72 demons in a brass vessel, and employed various spells and rituals to make them do his bidding. The legend dates to Europe in the Rennaissance and late Middle Ages, with no evidence connecting it to a historical King Solomon. The grimoires putatively contain the spells and rituals Solomon used. These things do "exist," in that there are manuscripts (grimoires) containing descriptions of rituals, spells, and exhaustive preparations that must be made to perform them (how to make and ritually purify the components and magical tools used, etc.). The question is, do they work as described? The answer is almost certainly 'no.' These manuscripts have been known for centuries (and they were in turn based on older systems, such as the Jewish kabbalah and Greek Hermetic magic), yet no bungler has unleashed the demonic horde, nor has anyone demonstrably become immensely powerful or wealthy through their use. In other words, the anticipated consequences (what we would expect to see in reality) of this sort of thing working do not appear in the real world. On the othe hand, if you take a more modest definition of "magic," such as "magic is the art and science of changing consciousness in accordance with Will" or "one person's magic is another person's engineering," then a case for its reality can be made. Consider the Placebo Effect. It has been thoroughly demonstrated that if a physician provides a patient with an inert pill (like a sugar pill, called a "placebo") as if it is medicine, that it can sometimes actually work to treat the patient's malady. The patient's belief that the pill is medicine is apparently enough to make it work as such, to a degree. This has been demonstrated convincingly enough that no medical test of a new medicine is considered valid if it does not "control" for the Placebo Effect, i.e., if the new medicine cannot be shown to work better than a placebo. For a pharmaceutical researcher, the PE is an obstacle to be overcome, but for a mage, it is her/his bread and butter. The complex symbolic correspondences of astrology, geometry, gematria, etc., the need to acquire difficult-to-obtain components, the psychodrama of ritual and incantations in arcane languages, etc. are all crafted to focus the mage's consciousness into a state of belief (i.e. generate and enhance the PE as much as possible) and depending on the ritual, place the mage in altered states of consciousness. As the PE and other demonstrable factors (such as the effects of hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, etc.) indicate, magic can "work" (have real effects) even if it does not tap into any Forces Unknown to Physics. As for this "seal" you're talking about, I don't see any valid reason to have anything to do with it. If there's nothing to it, then you're wasting your time. In the exceedingly unlikely event that it's real as described, you would be toying with malevolent entities far older, wiser, and more experienced with this sort of thing than you and your friend. Take that line about using the blood of seven witches who are "pure of heart" to open and close the seal. What does that mean, exactly? That's a classic Monkey's Paw loophole. "Behold, I close the Seal and return thee to thy confinement!" The demons chuckle. "There ssseemsss to be a problem with the blood of Tina Jacobson," one of them says. "She is a virgin! She's only ten! By the Keys of Enoch and the Sigil of Solomon, I bind thee!" "Yessss...but ssshe is alssso the meanessst girl at her ssschool. RAAAAAR!" *omnomnomnom* Thus endeth the career of another bright but over-eager Magician's Apprentice. Then there is the third possibility, of "magic" working as described above. Performing a ritual sufficiently intense to convince yourself that you're working with demons could be dangerous even if the demons themselves don't exist. A Nocebo Effect can cause real physical harm (possibly up to and including death, see the linked article) in the same way that a placebo can have real physical effects. If you are interested in the practice of magic, I suggest starting with Brain Magick by Philip H. Farber. It seems to be on a fairly sound scientific footing (no blatantly bogus claims that I have been able to find), and the exercises it has involving "entities" center on ones that you create rather than malevolent concepts created by other people.