//------------------------------// // Chapter 23: Spells and Specialization // Story: Knights of Ice and Crystal // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// An ice floe. How the hell did an ice floe spontaneously appear on a lake? As Darren still tried to process the impossible, the thin ice melted and cracked ominously. Then it suddenly gave way and Twilight, Darren, Jonathan and carpet splashed into the lake. Spluttering and snorting, they resurfaced and swam to the lakeside. Twilight dragged the now heavy carpet after her in her magic. "Are you okay?" White's worried call carried over the lake while Arcus put down the camera and jumped into the water. The trained earth pony swiftly swam towards Twilight who was already in the shallow area. He took the carpet from her and with a wet slap the cloth became a messy heap on the grass. "We're fine!" Twilight shouted over to White after a glance at her human friends. Everyone flopped down on solid ground and laughed. "Whew," said Jonathan, wiping his face. "Can we go again?" "No!" Twilight said sternly. "Oh, come on, you can't tell me it wasn't fun," Jonathan insisted. Twilight did not grace that with an answer. "Thanks," she told Arcus who nodded and shook himself like a dog, thankfully at a distance. Darren inspected the carpet. It was soaking wet but otherwise undamaged so he unfolded the woven cloth to let it dry in the sun. He gave a wave to the Whites who waved back and joined the crash test drivers at the lakeside. "Good thing it's not as cool as yesterday," said Jonathan, taking off his shirt and pullover. He shook them, quickly wrung them out and put them back on. Darren did the same with his shirt and vest. A gasp escaped Feather when she got a glimpse of the large scar across his chest. "My stars," she muttered, her hoof covering her mouth in shock. The children exchanged confused looks. Darren did not know what to say. How was he supposed to console her? Yes, I was stabbed to death but it wasn't permanent? He opted to sit down and take his boots off instead. "I can cast a spell to dry -" began Twilight but Darren simply waved it off. "Honey," said White cautiously, touching Feather's side, maybe as a warning or to soothe her. Jonathan grimaced. As he also sat down to take his shoes off, he explained calmly, "That's how it was done." When he saw the anxious look Twilight gave him, he added, "Guess why I always wear turtlenecks." He tugged at the collar of his pullover and turned his head to show them the deep scar that ran across his neck. It had not been a clean cut. Feather blushed. "You said that you - you used to be undead," she stammered, staring at Jonathan and Darren in turn. "I didn't think about how -" "Don't worry," said Jonathan. "I've grown used to it. It is what it is. But what's the point of shocking ponies? That's why I hide the scar." He gave her a reassuring smile. Darren grunted something of a confirmation and wrung his socks out. "Okay," Feather said quietly. "Sorry." Raising her voice to a normal level, she continued, "Is anypony hungry?" Eclipse and Peridot cheered; White and Arcus silently raised their hooves. "Oh-hohoh, this is precious!" Arcus showed the newly developed pictures from his polaroid camera around. Twilight and Jonathan snickered about their own expressions when Darren had tried to stop the carpet. Peridot had a laughing fit when she caught a glimpse of them over Twilight's shoulder. Darren took one of the pictures. It was a little blurry but their hilariously contorted faces, ranging from excited to panicked, made him chuckle, too. "You know what, Darren," giggled Twilight, trying to get serious again, "How would you feel about an album?" "What do you mean?" asked Darren, giving the picture back to Arcus. "It's a book, with pictures of your friends and of places you've been," explained Twilight. "Ah, like a journal." Darren thought of the little book that was stored in his bag at the castle. He rubbed his chin. "I don't see why not." "Here," said Arcus, passing all of the pictures to him, "you can start with these. And I'm gonna take some more of everypony if you guys don't mind?" "Not at all," said White. Twilight smiled widely. Eclipse grinned at his parents. "Group shot!" he shouted, throwing his forelegs up and flapping his little wings. His mother stroked his mane and chuckled. "Maybe a little later when the humans are dried up," said White with a smirk. "And please make sure to send us copies." Arcus nodded, already fiddling with his camera again. Something tugged at Darren's sleeve. He looked up and saw Eclipse's mother standing next to him. Feather took Darren aside and asked, "Do you want to use that carpet as a flying cart?" A cart? She probably meant a flying mount for carrying goods. Darren had already seen a few of them flying above the city, pulled by pegasi. And Twilight had once told him that she owned a hot air balloon. "Basically, yes. Why?" "I just remembered something important. You'll - you will need a license. Every flying cart requires one. If you use the carpet like a cart you can use the same sort of license. It doesn't even cost that much. I can help you with that if you want. I work at the City Guard so I know how the forms work." "That's kind," said Darren. "I didn't know." Feather shook her head and winked at him. "It's the least I can do." The sun was still high in the sky. Darren leaned back and enjoyed it for the first time after years of darkness and cold. The Crystal Empire was sunny but the forcefield did not let all of the radiation through - mainly the visible parts, it seemed. While Darren let the beams of sunlight warm him up inside and out, the Whites and Jonathan decided to play with the beach ball; this time on dry ground. As Arcus adjusted some settings of his camera and took a picture of the game, Twilight sat on the picnic blanket next to Darren. She lay down on her side, facing the lake, and sighed. "This is so nice and relaxing," she said. "Coming here was a great idea. I could use the break." "Thanks," said Darren. "I apologize for dropping you into the lake." Twilight laughed, "It will help us remember today. But where do you think the ice came from?" Darren huffed and sat up. He was almost dry again but the boots would take a bit longer. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, staring at the lake. The sun drew glittering patterns on the blue surface. Eclipse squealed with delight when he missed the ball by inches. The shrill, happy, childish shout struck a chord in Darren. His sadness and happiness mixed into a weird sensation that was hard to describe. He had thought that he would be reminded of Lake Lordaeron much more but this picturesque pond turned out to be entirely different from the majestic and dark, well, inland sea. All of this, the trip, sitting with Twilight, watching the Whites playing - it felt right. And, he realized, even though he would not see his family again in this life, he still had the memories and his love for them. "What was the question again?" he asked. "The ice on the lake, where did it come from? Was it you?" "It can't be, I'm not a death knight anymore." "But who else could it have been? I didn't do it and White Alloy didn't do it," countered Twilight. "Neither did I." Darren heard Levinia's voice in his head. He winced, having forgotten that she was still there. "I was busy helping White." "Isn't it possible you can do magic without your sword?" suggested Twilight. Darren shook his head. "I tried," he said. "But I needed the blade in order to cast the spell against Eclipse." "Did you only try dark magic or frost magic, too?" Darren's eyes widened. He had not thought of that. Twilight was right - the moment in White's basement aside he had only attempted to cast dark spells. The frost magic of death knights was based on the curse that bound them to the Frozen Throne. But maybe, after all these years, could he have tapped into the arcane aspect of frost magic as well? There was only one way to find out. And now was a good time for it as any, away from the city and close to Twilight and Jonathan. If anything went wrong they could help contain the magic. It would be safe. He stood up. "I'm going to try something," he said. The grass caressed his bare feet as he walked a few steps away from Twilight. In order to make it work he probably needed to think "cold" thoughts. But here, with his friends and in the warm sun, he did not feel hateful or particularly sad or angry. Darren racked his brain to come up with an alternative. The lake. That might work. He closed his eyes and imagined going into the water and diving to the bottom. Huge masses of water pressing down on him, blue light from above, no air to breathe... and, of course, the cold. It did not feel like enough. He needed something freezing... the Frozen North? No, better yet: Northrend... the Storm Peaks or even Icecrown... snowstorms, the aurora, dark blue rocks, looming black spires... A biting wind that chilled him to the marrow of his bone. Armies of undead monsters crawling and limping through the barren, hostile environment... Darren used the imagery to make a hole in his heart, a hole that needed to draw energy from his surroundings to be filled again...it was so easy that it shocked him. "It's working!" Twilight cheered, blissfully unaware of what went on in Darren's mind. He opened his eyes. The air around him had picked up and currents of icy wind surrounded him. The humidity from the air had condensed into snowflakes that danced around Darren. As soon as he was distracted by his success, the tiny storm calmed down and the air warmed up again. "That was amazing!" said Twilight. "And, funny, it didn't feel as scary as it used to." She wrinkled her nose. "Maybe because the dark magic is gone and it's just ice?" "Possibly." Darren shrugged. "It was... It was easy. I will try other frost spells later. Thank you, Twilight." He smiled. The alicorn beamed at him. "You're welcome! Oh, this is exciting! Now you can do arcane magic, too! Just think of the possibilities!" "Ice cubes in a drink?" Darren said dryly. "I, er, I thought more along the line of things like shields, crossing water or ice traps or... or... well, okay, ice cubes in a drink." She blushed and laughed. "I will limit it to frost spells," said Darren thoughtfully. "The other spells I know require energy from living creatures. That's out of the question." "What do you mean?" asked Twilight nervously. "What kind of magic do Death Knights actually know?" Darren sat down and put his socks, which were finally dry, back on. He cast a look over to the playing ponies to make sure they were still busy with their game. Reaching for his boots, he explained, "Essentially, death knights can master three kinds of spells: Frost, Blood and Unholy. We usually focus on one of the three branches at a time. Frost spells use the thermal energy of anything that surrounds us. We reduce the temperature from, say, the air, and use the energy for other spells or moving the developing ice as we see fit." Twilight raised a hoof as if she was sitting in class. Darren snorted. "Yes, Miss Sparkle?" he said, pretending to be serious. "Why don't you just tap into the energy of the leylines, like arcane mages and unicorns do?" "I don't know," Darren admitted. "I'm not a mage. I suppose it has something to do with the curse of Undeath... When one doesn't have a living body to serve as a conduit something else has to pay the price and provide the power?" But, on the other hand, there are undead mages, he thought. There must be another factor playing into it. Twilight rubbed her muzzle, slowly nodding. Darren decided to move on. "Blood spells draw life energy from close bodies. It can be used to heal the knight. It also draws... a lot of attention. The knights that want to distract opponents from their comrades mostly prefer Blood spells." "I've seen you do it," said Twilight quietly. "When you, uh, when you fought that elf, with Arcus. You... well, he didn't look so good afterwards..." Darren felt his cheeks turning warm. Of course Twilight had seen it, she was very observant. What else did she notice that he would have preferred her to forget and overlook? "I had no choice," he said quickly. "We needed to get out of that city." Twilight looked at Darren with sympathy. "And I saw that you stopped at a certain point. Darren, I know you feel really bad for what you did as a death knight. But isn't it also important to learn as much as we can from what has happened? Yes, you did cruel things and I can't explain that away. But if we understand how the science behind it works then maybe we can take the parts that weren't bad and use them? Wouldn't it be great if something good comes from all of it?" "A valid point," Darren muttered. He rubbed his eyes with one hand and sighed. "But to make one thing perfectly clear: I can tell you what I know but I will not do any experiments with Blood or Unholy magic." The intensity with which he looked at Twilight eventually made her avert her gaze. She nodded meekly, biting back her disappointment of missing out on magic experiments. Her ears folded down but she said quietly, "I understand." "Very well... Anyway, that was the Blood Magic. Unholy spells are basically the opposite of the Light. They damage souls or draw from the forces that binds all things together to... do all kinds of harm," Darren said vaguely. "In a way, they're similar to Void spells." "Hey, Twilight, are there any cherries left?" Arcus called while he stored the camera in his saddlebags. "Sorry, all eaten up," Twilight answered. "I suppose it's time we went back to the castle," suggested Darren, partially relieved that Arcus had interrupted his explanation. "Oh," said Twilight, looking disappointed. She cast a glance at the sun. Sighing, she relented and rolled up the first picnic blanket. "Alright. But I'd like to know more about your magic. This is a one-time chance to get to knowledge from a -" as she saw that Feather and Peridot came into earshot, she lowered her voice, "- death knight." Darren frowned. He watched Jonathan and Arcus as the earth pony showed the human his newest pictures. "I'll tell you more," he promised, "but not today. Let's agree on a date and I will call you via mirror, alright?" Twilght nodded and rolled up the second blanket. Sombra and Abs left the fortress much faster than they had entered it. They ran along the seemingly endless corridors and thanks to Abs memorizing most of the way they made it out pretty quickly. The snow hit them like a wall as soon as they crossed the magical barrier that hid and conserved the castle. Sombra envied Abs for his much warmer cloak. They stayed close to each other, trying their best to plough through the cold blanket that covered the black rocks. To Sombra's chagrin, much of the path he had carved had already been filled up with snow overnight. When Abs saw Sombra's frustration he silently walked ahead. With Abrasive's earth pony strength and Sombra's magic - he managed to cast the occasional melting spell - they reached the barrier within a day. Sombra did not care that the voice called him a coward; he had never felt so happy at the sight of the Empire's pink force field. Darren spent the afternoon with Twilight and Arcus while Jonathan decided to show the Whites around Ponyville. To Darren's relief, Twilight was not angry because he had refused to contribute to her magical research. He would have expected her to at least try to convince him one more time. But no, she was content with taking Arcus and Darren on a walk in the direction of the Everfree Forest. They talked about their adventures on Azeroth, about Arcus's newest assignment which was surveying a complicated area close to the Castle of Friendship for some large public building and about the weirdest customers Darren had met in Peppermint's shop. Arcus had a laughing fit when Darren described how he had spent ten minutes explaining to an elderly mare why the special non-fat vegan mineral water from Manehattan was unavailable because Peppermint was aware that the mineral water he got from a local spring already was non-fat, vegan and, as Darren had said with emphasis, crystal clear... Before they reached the edge of the woods, Twilight took a turn and led them to a small cottage, the very one Darren had seen when he had called for Levinia. She knocked at the door. After a few seconds, the door opened and Fluttershy peeked out through her long pink mane. "Oh, hello," she said in that soft voice of hers. "I was just packing the last scarf. Come in." She stepped aside. Twilight entered, hugged Fluttershy and sat down on a comfortable-looking green couch in what appeared to be Fluttershy's living room. All the birdhouses, mouseholes and small open cages made Darren think of a petting zoo or an aviary. Arcus and Darren greeted Fluttershy with the obligatory hoof bump and followed Twilight inside. "What a nice place you've got," said Arcus. Fluttershy blushed. "Thank you! Oh, do you want some tea?" "Sure!" Twilight smiled and leaned back. Darren looked around and found a large pillow that was apparently meant to serve as a chair. He carefully sat down on it. His knees were now at the height of his chest. He shifted his weight to prevent himself from tipping over. Arcus occupied the remaining seat. Fluttershy's house smelled like herbs, chamomile and nettles. A suitcase with wheels, already packed and ready, sat next to a flight of stairs. "How are you feeling?" Twilight asked Flutershy. "Oh, I'm very nervous," said Fluttershy matter-of-factly and with a smile. She gave everyone a small teacup and saucer each and served them fresh herbal tea. The smell of nettles amplified. Fluttershy seemed to love drinking herbal teas. "Please be careful, the tea is still hot," she said. "I mean, I've been to the Crystal Empire before but I don't know Darren very well." She winced and cast a look at Darren. Arcus frowned a little as he took a tentative sip from his cup. "Don't worry, Fluttershy, Darren and Jonathan will do their best to solve the friendship problem," said Twilight. Fluttershy nodded and drank from their own tea. "I look forward to getting to know you better," she kindly told Darren. Her ears folding down, she gave him a brave smile. "Where will you sleep?" asked Darren. "Oh, Jonathan and I will get a room at the castle," said Fluttershy. "I'm jealous," said Twilight with a grin. "You're gonna get to see my niece. You've got to tell me how big she is when you come back! Flurry Heart is the cutest thing there is," she told Arcus and Darren. "I love her so much." Her face assumed a dreamy expression. "I haven't seen her yet," said Darren. He emptied his cup and put the saucer down on the coffee table. "Isn't she the alicorn that broke the Crystal Heart? Flurry Heart is the talk of the Empire." "Oh," said Fluttershy, taken aback. "What are they saying?" she asked, nervously trying not to stare at Darren's tattoo and look at his eyes instead. "She has the admiration and love from the entire city," Darren summarized, making a point of giving her a warm smile to reassure her. If she had the same disposition as his daughter Darcy he would have to be careful not to offend her with blunt answers. "Oh, good." Fluttershy heaved a sigh of relief. "I was afraid that ponies would remember her more for shattering the heart than for the Crystalling." Twilight set her cup down and stood up. "Thank you for the delicious tea, Fluttershy!" she said. "You're welcome!" Fluttershy beamed. "Let me just wash the dishes, then I'm ready to go." One hour later, Twilight and the little dragon Spike, Starlight, Arcus, Applejack and a blue pegasus with a rainbow-coloured mane - probably Twilight's friend Rainbow Dash - waved at the train that swiftly rolled out of Ponyville's one-track train station. Fluttershy, Jonathan and Darren shared one compartment, the Whites the next one. As Fluttershy eyed the sword that hung next to Darren's newly enchanted carpet, Jonathan assumed his favourite sitting position and put his hands into each other. "If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna take a break and meditate a bit," he said. "Sure, no problem at all," said Fluttershy. "I've never seen you meditate before," she muttered curiously. "Yeah, I usually do it at home or someplace quiet," Jonathan explained. "I pray every day but with everything going on today I didn't get the chance for a proper quiet time yet." She nodded and Jonathan closed his eyes. He immediately relaxed as a faint golden light glimmered around his hands and the top of his head. Darren's face fell as he remembered that he could not call for the Light's presence anymore. He quickly looked out the window to distract himself. Fluttershy said nothing until the train arrived in Canterlot. There was a one-hour time gap between their arrival and scheduled departure from Canterlot so Jonathan suggested to visit the bookstore. Getting a confused look from Darren, he explained that most train stations in Equestria had a small café, a restaurant, toilets and a bookstore. Darren had to admit that books made waiting far more pleasurable than just standing at a track, reading the departure table for the umpteenth time and watching pigeons shit all over the place. He still had trouble with the Equestrian language in its written form. The translation spell worked better with the spoken word and it did not help that the ponies used several kinds of fonts depending on the circumstances. If he had not learned a few letters by making a map with Arcus he would have had much more difficulty reading. Trying to decipher the titles on the books displayed, Darren told Jonathan, "I've borrowed some books from Twilight's castle." Feather and the foals had disappeared in the direction of children's literature while White Alloy stood nearby, trying to decide between two books about the royal treasury of Canterlot. "Hm, good idea," said Jonathan. "That spell of Twilight's gonna wear off eventually. You better practice reading and get to know the language while it's easy." Jonathan took a travel magazine and browsed through it, then put it back on the table. "What do you like to read about anyway?" "Science and History," said Darren instantly. "Art? Fiction?" "Not really. With a few exceptions." "Huh." Jonathan grinned. "Hey, I found something you'll like." He gave Darren a book that was bound into dark blue cloth. Darren opened it. The pages were empty. It took him a second to understand. It was an album. "Thank you," he said. "I do like it." "I'm gonna take one, too," said Jonathan. "I have an idea."