Manus POV
I've been keeping the egg close as I scoured the library at Luna's request. The Sisters hope that I can discover what exactly is wrong with this world's dark magic, though I can't promise anything about blood magic since it's possible that the users were just psychopaths that got off on painting the world crimson. If they had this place organized, this would be much easier, it also doesn't help that very few of these even have titles much less authors.
Tartarian magic sounds more like Sin magic. From what little I've read, it's similar to Demon magic which can be dangerous with excessive use, but that's also dependent on the kind of Demon magic. At worst, Lust magic will turn the user extremely obsessive or into a horny mess that will fix itself in a few hours without release, and increased usage will give them traits of Succubi and Incubi. Further usage can result in actually becoming them.
Nightmare magic is just a branch of Dream magic, neither of which is dark magic.
Poison magic is quite capable of making antidotes and pacifying people without the risk of breaking bones or death.
Beast magic is part of the reason Beastfolk even exist and is just a branch of transformation magic, but Beastfolk have Gods to thank for their existence as well.
Dragon magic isn't nearly as barbaric to learn and use as this describes. This is one of the reasons dragons have two hearts damnit!
So many others, and so far, nothing I've read equates to dark magic, or even magic that's banned back home. It's like they had one bad experience or declared something unnatural and wrote it off every time. Honestly, what should they expect when their names seemingly reflect at times, their talents and personalities? Seriously, who the Hell names their kid "Sanguine-" I can't make out the rest of the name. Still, who does that? The kid was practically destined for something related to blood, and it just so happened to be magic!
Umbral magic, finally something I can work with. Let's see, originates from the Umbrum, a sort of shadow pony or something. It's not telling me anything that I didn't already know. From what I'm seeing, this isn't all dark magic. It has similarities with Lust and Wrath magic, in fact, this has to be a pony's attempt to combine a powerful magic with two others and pass it off as dark magic, or a poor attempt to adapt it for pony use. The more this magic is used, the more powerful it becomes because it's feeding off of anger and hate while it's also fueling said emotions and making someone want to keep using it by also making them feel different forms of pleasure. Usage = power = pleasure = more usage, an Ouroboros effect.
"Well that's one mystery solved. Half the problem is the government, and the other half is between the user and whoever named/ raised them."
Not even four hours in here and already have an answer. Still, as beneficial as this discovery could be to this world, it doesn't change the fact it's essentially been beaten into everyone's heads that such magics are to never be used. I don't need to be a politician much less Archmage to know that there's a good chance someone will slander me or something at the very least.
Looking towards the egg, I gently picked it up and left for the throne room with the book in hand. I can feel it, another day at the most and it will hatch, then it's just a matter of making sure it's well fed and basks in the moonlight for a few hours each night until it's able to care for itself. A few nobles were standing outside, but I paid them no mind as my business is more important than them wanting more money and power or whatever they feel the need to bug her about.
"I found your first problem with that thing you asked me to look into. The short answer is that someone bit off more than they could chew." I interrupted the noble inside, paying no mind to him beyond his existence.
"And just who do you think you are to just barge in here and interrupt an audience with Her Highness??!!" The noble practically shouted in my ear.
"My apologies, but her exact words were 'inform me as soon as you learn anything'. If you have a problem with me simply obeying direct orders from the Princess to the letter, you are free to take it up with her. Oh look! There she is now!" I bowed to her to sell the lie that she ordered me to do anything.
"Princess Celestia, surely this fool-"
"There is no need for such rudeness, Baron. However, he is simply following orders. The fault would lie with me as it was a poor choice of words on my part." She interrupted and shifted the blame towards herself. "We will continue this later; of that you have my word."
"Very well... Good day to you, Your Highness." He turned and left, the other guards following suit on her command.
"Now, what did you find?"
"Well for starters, you need someone to organize that entire part of the library, there's no reason for Nightmare or Poison magic to be in the same general area as Sin or Dark magic, much less each other."
"I'm sorry, what was that about Nightmare magic?" She asked.
"Irrelevant. Anyway, none of the magics I looked at are necessarily banned back home, and the reason dark magic corrupts the users here isn't because it's 'evil', but because the 'creator' decided to combine Umbrum magic with the Wrath and Lust branches of Sin magic. In short, once they start, there's no stopping it after so much usage." I explained.
"'Lust and Wrath magic'?"
"Tartarian magic, Demon magic back home, specifically Sin magic. The point is your welcome! I fixed in a few hours what you've outlawed for millennia! I haven't read much of your history, but I'm fairly certain that more than a few problems could've been avoided if someone took 10 minutes to research those after they became an 'issue'. Now, unless I'm getting paid to deal with that headache, you can find someone else to do so." Just as I finished that sentence and handed her the book, the doors behind me opened, revealing a light purple mare with a blue-ish purple mane with a pink stripe. Said mare was carrying a large bag of scrolls and books, of what I couldn't tell.
"I'm sorry for the delay, Princess! I wanted to triple check-" She started.
"Ooohhh no, please tell me she's not punctual or anything of the sort to the point it's a borderline criminal offense if she finds out?"
"-and then I-"
"Twilight, my student, I assure you it's not an issue. You're here, and so is Manus if he may be of use in the process of sending him home." Celestia stopped her and she finally took notice of me.
"I doubt that though. As much as I want to return to Xelroth, you'd need more power than can be safely stored or utilized just to teleport a guy halfway across the world. Locus forbid to another world or dimension."
"I'm certain I can-" I put a finger on her lips.
"This isn't me being doubtful, it's me being realistic. I won't stop you, in fact, I'll even help you. Just don't make a promise if there's a good chance you won't be able to keep it. Now lead the way to a more suitable location, I'm sure Celestia-"
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight corrected me.
"Not my Princess. Anyway, it's time we got started, so lead the way."
"Actually, this is where I need to be. It would be best to start where you came into Equestria." She levitated several books from the bag and began setting up some kind of equipment, probably another example of technological differences between worlds.
"Then while you're setting all that up, why don't you tell me what exactly it is you're doing?"
"First, I'd like to review any magic related to transportation magic. Then I'll need to see if there are any traces of magic and attempt to use the equipment I'm currently setting up to isolate the different types of magic before attempting to reopen the-" She began to explain.
"If you're about to say portal, let me stop you there. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a portal since those don't cause a body to glow unless one was opened inside a person, and that at best would result in live dissection." I interrupted to save time. She looked at me horrified.
"'At best'???!!!"
"There are worse ways to go. Continue?" I urged her.
"Okay...we'll still need to isolate the exact area you appeared in-"
"Found it." I pointed to a spot on the carpet several feet from the throne.
"What the-...how did-" She questioned how I found it so quickly.
"If you know what you're looking for, it's not hard to trace magical signatures. Now it would be nearly impossible here since everyone supposedly uses magic to some extent, but mine may as well be the black dot on a white board. Trust me, it would be kind of hard to mistake my own for any of yours." I answered as she continued to set up the equipment.
"Alright then...I'll need you to channel some of your magic into this orb once it's all set up. While I'm doing this, do you mind if I ask about that thing you're carrying?" She pointed to the egg.
"The egg? Once it hatches, it'll be a new breed of phoenix in this world. That's all I'm saying for now." I kept the answer short.
"A phoenix egg?" She didn't believe me.
"Yes. How long until it's set up?"
"Almost done,-"
"Really? All that equipment, and you only needed a few minutes?"
"-and done! Please begin?" She stepped around to another side.
"Celestia, if she attacks me, I'm blaming you." I said as I began pouring my magic into the orb. The orb was clear at first, then turned to red when I poured fire into it. It changed colors more as other elements were added, then I poured dark, lightning, and blood magic into it. I looked to Twilight as she took notes of the different changes the orb went through, then after the machine tried to- as best as I can describe it, rip a hole through reality, it began to break down as she looked at different parts of the machine with confusion, then alarm. After it broke, she took another look at everything before teleporting several feet back, looking at me unpleasantly.
"You use forbidden magic??!!" She shouted in alarm as she lit her horn.
"Oh wow! Who didn't see that one coming?" I said to no one.
"He does, my student, and we won't stop him from doing so." Celestia stopped her, causing her to look at her teacher with confusion.
"What?! But-"
"His magic is different from ours, but similar enough that if his findings are correct, he will have contributed just as much to magic as Starswirl himself. Before you arrived, he was just sharing his findings on various forbidden magics with me, and several days ago he used dark magic to save my sister and countless others from a necromancer. He's earned our trust."
"Saving others with dark magic? But...what?" Twilight couldn't understand what she just heard.
"Yeah, like, the only actual dark magic you have is really a poorly thought-out attempt at combining several magics. Seriously, do you know how many lives have been saved by poison magic for example?" I asked her for a serious answer.
"Poison only kills ponies in some of the most painful ways imaginable!" She didn't answer me.
"Yeah, and counter argument, Celestia, don't panic..." I set the egg down, carved a rune to reduce pain into the back of my hand, then cut off a finger with an ash dagger.
"What are you doing??!! We need to-" She did a complete 180. I paid no attention to Celestia's reaction.
"Counter argument: 'blood magic only creates monsters' or something like that, and yet,-" I reattached the finger. "I just did in seconds what it would take your doctors to do in days or weeks. Trust me, I know a lot more about 'forbidden magic' than you do, even the kinds I don't use. Celestia, she's your problem, I'm out. If you need me, I'll be unfucking your actual dark magic." I picked up the egg and left with the book in hand, though it was mostly because I didn't want to be seen after this catastrophic failure to return home.
Dark magic has several forms but is mostly the creation and manipulation of shadows. Its other forms would include, but not be limited to curses and resistance to them, and a way to enhance other types of magic. As one of the seven primal elements (water, earth, fire, wind, lightning, light, and dark), one cannot use it unless they are attuned to it.-
I wanted to take my mind off of that event by writing down what I knew of dark magic, correcting centuries worth of misinformation. After writing a couple more pages, I set the quill down and carried the egg with me towards its bed. I can feel it, it won't be long before a new life is officially welcomed into the world.
"Nova, I think that will suit you." I softly said to it.