Formatorium

In the days of the Rhyacian Empire, it was thought that psychology had been researched to the depth of every field that could be studied, except one: the effects of magic on thought or, to put it simply, mind control.

Admittedly, this seems to be a rather massive oversight on the part of the researchers of the University of Arcania Psychology Department in Ponyville, but, at that time, nopony had any idea where to start. Pony minds seemed to be completely impervious to the magic of unicorns and, as such, many scientists deemed the use of magic on minds to be impossible and abandoned the study altogether.

This was the state of things until c. 950 R.A., when a young unicorn named Midnight Sun was accepted at UA, Ponyville. There, she discovered a way to access the mind of a pony through the body, rather than focusing directly on a pony's brain. Immediately, a new division within the psychology department was created to pursue this breakthrough. It was around this time that the entire Mind Magic Division disappeared, along with every tome and document related to the study of mind magic, except for one book on the basics of the field written at almost the very end of the Rhyacian Age. Its contents are partially recounted below.

(Excerpted from Mind Magic: An Introduction, published c.960 R.A.)

What, exactly, is mind magic? At its heart, mind magic is the combination of two great fields: the study of mind spell creation and the study of mind spell effects. While these two fields are tightly intertwined, the author will endeavor to untangle them in this limited space.

At this point in time, psychology has been developed to the point of mathematical precision. The actions and reactions of cities and regions of ponies can be predicted with near 100% certainty. It is through this extensive development of the field of psychology that mind magic can exist in a controllable form in the first place.

Before one can venture into the details of spell creation, one must first know how a mind spell works.

When a mind spell is cast, the magical energy of the spell is absorbed by the nerve endings of the pony being affected by the spell. The nervous system then channels the energy directly into the brain of the pony, where it can then slightly alter the subject's thought process.

The study of spell creation, then, is the study of altering ponies' minds such that the mathematics of psychology produce the desired outcome.

This is where the study of spell effects comes in. The term "spell effects" refers to the prediction of the reactions of a population affected by a mind spell, including how the number affected changes the reaction and whether the affected ponies accept or reject the spell's effects.

With an extensive knowledge of this field and the magical ability to execute these spells, one can hope to influence entire nations and empires.

With the awesome power of this knowledge, there come two fundamental limitations: 1) the smaller the target group of a spell, the less likely they are to accept the effects of the spell and 2) the larger the target group, the more powerful the spell caster must be. In the absence of either, mind magic is nearly useless.

This pamphlet comprised the sum total of the lost knowledge of the Second Formatorium for over 2500 years. This information is, of course, public record now.