mylittlejamjar | Twelfth Bolt (Visual)

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Twelfth Bolt (Visual)

*The background of this post is definitely Alastor's castle, but all that's visible in the shot is a strange creature that's oddly blood colored. Hanging around its neck is a sign that reads in type-printed font,

Hi, I'm one of Alastor's bloodgoyles.
I'm harmless, please do not shoot me.
(Ps. Blood given willingly.)

It waves a claw at the screen, gives a brief screech like a predatory bird, and the feed cuts out. So yeah, that's a thing.*

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The flattest stare.]

I did not believe I would have to enstate a "no dark magics" rule within the guard.

[The boss is not particularly happy, Alastor. Better put on your game face and explain.]

If you did that, I wouldn't be able to use any magic at all aside from what I manage to convert from unicorn magic. I have mentioned I'm a demon, right?

But these guys aren't anything to worry about. They look kind of intimidating, but they're only dangerous if somepony does something to seem like a threat. Just call it a bit of home security and housekeeping for my castle.

The animation ritual didn't hurt anypony, either, unless you count a small cut that's more than likely going to be healed up in a few days.

Demonic magic is a subtly different beast than what I speak of. Weather manipulation is not a corrupting influence. Blood magics and those that infuse the souls in objects are. The fact you are obviously practiced enough to avoid the pitfalls of inexperience does little to reassure me.

After all, have you stopped to think how others would see such a thing? Should a pony under my employ start practicing magics that were banned after Nightmare Moon was imprisoned for a thousand years...

[Translation: She's glad you're smart enough to do this well, Alastor, but you're still making her look bad, if anyone happened to look.]

Luna, what you're asking is that I stop existing. I'm a Devil Arm, I'm literally a soul lingering in a weapon and using that to manifest a body. Well...I guess here I could still exist if I hadn't put part of my soul into my sword, but I would have died two-thousand years ago.

*His tail flicks in discomfort as he recalls that particular event.*

Besides, these things don't even have souls of their own. They're constructs powered by magic with a basic intelligence that lets them react to things around them but no real sense of self or identity. And blood magic isn't inherently corrupting. Blood carries power and blood magic just uses that. It just has a bad reputation because the kinds of people who typically use it are the types who easily go mad with power, especially since it's usually a lot simpler to kill someone for blood than to get a willing donation.

And public perception is why I went out of my way to let people know that they're harmless and that I didn't take the blood I used to make them by force.

[Luna's own tail is flicking in agitation, the alicorn headshaking.]

Automatons. Golemancy is a skill that only Star Swirl ever practiced, and you have been down in the Archives enough to be familiar with the yogurt-craving fruits of that labor.

The sanguine arts of your world quite obviously work on different principles than those of our own. In addition, we would rather assume that this world would be closer to another Equestria than it would be thy own lands, in any given circumstance.

It's a popular one where I'm from and refined enough that only an amateur is likely to end up with their creations turning on them or going wild. I'm a skilled sorcerer, I haven't had my magic go wrong for centuries before I got sealed up. This isn't even my first time making things like this.

And keep in mind that I'm not from any form of Equestria and unicorn spells aren't exactly easy to translate to the kid of magic I have. Most of the magic I use is likely to be spells I learned in my own world, which still work on the principals of demon magic.

["Haven't had my magic go wrong" - meaning Alastor would have had contingencies in case of magical surges, in case of sudden sentience. And yet...]

Do you have contingencies in place for if you are drawn back to your own world? Your magic may indeed be the magic of demons, but that does ponies little good if a demon is not there to control them.

Standing orders to defer to specific other people if I'm not around. My orders always come first, but they'll also listen to Dante, Vergil, you and Celestia.

I still find such creatures suspect, but... I suppose there is little use issuing complaints at this point; you have done all you can to prevent potential calamity.

In the future, I would prefer I am notified in advance if you intend to create magical constructs of any sort, however. I would rather not have any surprises such as this, and it would be much easier to reassure me of the safety of a project before it has been undertaken.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Twelfth Bolt (Visual)

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