The Enforcer and Her Blackmailers

by scifipony


Appendix 2: Glossary

Barthemule - A virtually unknown student of Star Swirl the Bearded, famous for his mathematical treatises explaining his mentor's theory of time.

Brownstone - A kind of reddish-brown sandstone used for building. Also, a building faced with reddish-brown sandstone.

Don't See Don't Hear Don't Look - An illusion spell that renders a pony invisible by magically warping light and sound around the caster who must remain cognizant of her surroundings. It also emits a magical sensation that convinces nearby ponies not to look in the caster's direction.

Force - A complex multi-vector variant of Levitation that takes the anti-gravity aspect of Levitation and converts it into a directed force along a specific vector. Because the force rapidly reciprocates between the caster and the target, the resultant beam, when cast by a high level unicorn or alicorn, can generate a plasma.

Enforcer - A violent criminal employed by a crime syndicate; especially : hit man.

Horn - An evolved organ capable of flexibly solving the math necessary to warp normal physics into magic in multi-variable ways.

Grimoire - A book of magic spells and invocations. Typically, an ancient book of large size and arcane knowledge.

Levitation - The most common spell, allowing a unicorn or alicorn to typically manipulate two or three objects.

Magic Pulse - A supposed type of aether that suffuses the entire world and provides the energy that unicorns and alicorns use to warp the otherwise static physics of the world. The only evidence for this material is the behavior of Princess Celestia's mane.

Mirror - A shield spell that can reflect another force spell like a beam of light off a mirror.

Motivation - A derivative of Levitation that can operate machinery. Typically, it is used to power gears and levers. It is considered a refined version of Force.

Mnemonics - The verbal component of a spell, typically poetry, designed to remind the caster of the various magical mathematical expressions necessary to trigger the spell. In some cases, the mnemonics alone can trigger the spell, causing the caster to unconsciously do the required math.

Nettle-ewe - A psycho-active drug that magically increases the speed of thought.

Quick-draw - A style of spell casting, originally developed for competitive casting, that sacrifices accuracy for speed without sacrificing the efficacy of the spell and usually greatly simplifies the calculative burden of the equations necessary to cast a spell.

Spell - n. A codified linguistical-mathematical tract of steps that a magic user can use to learn or remember how to warp reality in a specific intended way.

Strand - Typically, the land bordering a body of water, but can refer to any land bordering an otherwise inaccessible view.

Stun - An spell that converts magic into a continuous electrical discharge akin to lightning.

Tartarus - A mythical hell in which the worst monsters and demons abide.

Teleport - A spell that translates the caster, objects in contact with the caster of limited size and adhesion, and a surrounding layer of air from one point in space to another.

Transform - v. To change (a magical-mathematical entity) by transformation, e.g., by translation, mapping, or through a function. n. A mathematical entity designed to transform a spell to tune, control, and make it into a different spell.

Valerian - Valeriana officials; Probably the most widely known of the calming herbs, valerian root is so effective that it had been designated as a prohibited substance by many of the equine regulatory bodies. In modern times, it is regulated, taxed, and available for sale, but not available to minors.

Visualization - How a unicorn or alicorn views the feedback of his or her horn. Most report numbers.