A role-playing gamer in Celestia's Court

by Gsarge9289

Knowledge of Power

I woke up before the sun was out as I rubbed my eyes and let out a bit of a yawn. I had the nagging feeling that this was going to be another interesting day, at least for me. I got dressed and smirked seeing that Twilight and Spike were still asleep when I had an idea for a way to thank her for letting me spend the night. I crept down stairs and found the kitchen, I was pleasantly surprised to find eggs, milk, flour, butter, and baking powder I needed. After a bit more looking around I found a frying pan and mixing bowl. After finding a box of matches, I set about mixing all of the ingredients together along with some brown sugar and oatmeal. I got the mixture nice and fluffy and set about lighting the stove which to my surprise turned out to be gas. I melted a little of the butter in the pan and set about making a nice stack of pancakes for Twilight and myself. Once I was finished cooking and cleaning up, I had three places set at the table two with oatmeal pancakes and one with a bowl full of a mixture of small gems I willed up for Spike along with a few extra pancakes if anyone wanted seconds. I heard Spike's voice come from behind me.

"Woah, you did all this? You're really quiet when you wanna be." I turned to greet Spike with a smile and noticed a sleepy Twilight coming in behind him.

"Are those oatmeal pancakes? They smell wonderful. Where'd you find these gems?"

"Oh uh in the yard, about thirty feet underground." Twilight suddenly seemed more awake at hearing my comment.

"Ok, then, how did they get in the bowl?"

"I used my magic to bring them up. I'm pretty handy with earth magic if not much else."

"That's a rather impressive feat of magic for a beginner. How are you feeling?" We all sat down as Spike sampled both the pancakes and the gems before tearing into them.

"I'm doing better now. Felt a bit winded after I found them and brought them up." Spike noticed the lack of coffee and hopped from his stool going to get a coffee pot and grounds as he worked the stove which he lit with his firebreath.

"Sorry, I didn't know you drank such things." Twilight gave a yawn and munched on a pancake.

"Mmm delicious. Maybe I should just keep you here." Spike's head snapped back and gave me a bit of a glare.

"I'm not sure Spike likes that idea. Don't want to steal his thunder as your assistant." Spike turned back to the coffee with a smug look on his face.

"Well, I'll overlook this once since what you made was pretty tasty." Twilight and I both gave a roll of our eyes as I replied.

"I'm happy it gets the dragon seal of approval." I set about eating as well as listening to Twilight.

"I'm sorry if Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and I came off as harsh at the party, it's just that we recently lost the ability to call upon the Elements of Harmony and it has us a bit on edge about possible threats to Equestria. Spike, nothings planned for this morning or afternoon is it?" Spike turned from the coffee pot right as it began to sound and he turned off the stove.

"Nope. free and clear until Twilight time with Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo after school lets out." He then prepared a cup and put it in front of Twilight as she took a careful sip.

"Mmmm thank you very much, Spike. Well Onyxian, that gives you and I more than enough time to figure out what you do and don't know about magic along with the differences between your magic and unicorn magic. So, what do you know about magic?" I looked at her as she took another sip from her cup looking at me and listening intently. I wasn't really sure about the subject so I went with personal experience.

"Um well, in practice, for me atleast, magic works through focus and visualization of what I want to happen. It feels very instinct driven, almost primal. Though now that I've been using it more, it seems to be growing less and less so." I watched Twilight dip a bit of her pancake into the coffee and eat it as she then seemed to notice I was done talking, giving a quick gulp and clearing her throat.

"Well, that's typically how magic starts for young unicorns when they're still beginners. Though very few start off quite so specialized as you seem to be. Magic can be a very intimate part of a unicorn's life or simply a handy tool. The ones that go on to study magic formally tend to be the first category. Is magic common where you come from?" I shook my head as the short answer to her question before getting down to a verbal explanation.

"No, magic's rather uncommon, people with magic tend to go on to do great or terrible deeds that awe common people. Basically it's common enough that people think it's real, but rare enough to still cause a bit of fear and wonder."

"I see, so what were you hoping to learn first?"

"Control and conservation of energy. With a firm foundation you can build anything." I figured I'd got the most important aspect of magic in most tabletop and computer RPGs, being able to cast reliably and often.

"A very good start. I like that saying. Is that from somewhere?"

"Maybe, after all there's nothing new under the Sun...Uh I forget if there's more to the quote." We both had a bit of a laugh as I then ate a bit more listening to Twilight.

"Alright, so control and being able to cast more spells on less energy. Sounds like you expect to have to use your magic in a rather frantic fashion. Guess the creatures in the Everfree startled you quite a bit. Spike, please find me 'Basic Combat Magic'. The unicorn guards tend to be the most interested in the rapid casting of spells over a short time. It should be a good place for you to start." Twilight helped me set up a little place to study as I was happily surprised that I could read the language the ponies wrote in as I tore through the text book like I would with a new player's guide. It seemed magic was a lot of mental flexing and the stringing together of thoughts into a spell. Getting an idea after reading all of it, I put up the book and walked outside which caught Twilight's attention. "Onyxian? Is something wrong?" She followed after me as I was too busy clearing my mind for the task at hand and didn't answer her. "Onyxian, I can't help you if you don't talk to me." I found a nice clear patch near the library and stopped Twilight barely stopping in time to not walk into me. I motioned to her to let her know I could hear her. I then began to bob my head a bit and raised my hand over a patch of glowing ground as Sim Gretina's remix of "Raise This Barn" played in my head. I visualized a long handle with a large rounded head covered in notches as what usually came to my mind when what looked to me like a heavy mace emerged from the ground formed of the same obsidian as the spikes I made in the Everfree forest as I took hold of the handle picking it up and I noticed the ground around the library had grown dark like it had in the Everfree as well as the hole had filled in from where the mace had come from. Twilight pawed the ground looking at the dark earth on her hoof before looking at me. "Is this kind of thing normal when you get the sudden urge to use your magic?" I had given my mace a few test swings before resting it on my shoulder as I looked at her.

"Well the ground does turn dark after I use my magic. Sorry about not telling you what I was doing. I was just really excited at getting to try out what was in the book. I think it'll be a very helpful trick for long and complex spells." I'm sure I was beaming like a kid that had managed something silly that he thought was awesome.

"So this is a normal effect of your magic? Strange, it's like composted dirt. Any idea why your magic causes this?" Twilight seemed a bit concerned.

"Well all my magic has something to do with the earth. At least all the magic that comes naturally to me." Twilight looked at the mace I still had resting on my shoulder.

"Not too many unicorns can do magic that creates objects like that. It's very specialized." I fought my smile down to just a humble smirk.

"It's not that I'm creating something from nothing. It's all there in the earth under our hooves. I just kinda get it all to come together like how a unicorn would assemble something with magic." She just frowned at me like I had called what I had done a simple magic trick.

"That's parts made to go together, you forced a bunch of crystal into a single object. That's high level magic."

"It took a lot of focus and effort to do it, I likely couldn't have done it without the knowledge I gained from the book you suggested I study." I backed up as she moved suddenly to me from a close distance.

"You read a book about the basics of combat magic and somehow managed to apply that to a complex spell that allowed you to assemble that from what was in the ground?"

"Well, yea I guess. I mean my go to natural attack spell makes crystal spikes shoot from the ground at high speeds. Maybe my magic is more about conjuring things."

"I'm sorry, unicorn magic is much more general in nature. You're a savant compared to what I was expecting to teach, it's really throwing me for a loop. You're so eager to push the bounds of your magic, too. It's a little unnerving like you're on edge about something. Why was the first thing you wanted to make a weapon?" I let the mace drop by side as I looked down to the ground. She had a good point. Why had I made weapon? A few ideas came to mind.

"I guess you're right about me still being on edge from the creatures in the forest. Maybe I wanted something to take the fight to them and keep them away from Ponyville." Twilight cocked her head to the side at me with a rather surprised look on her face.

"You're worried about Ponyville being in danger from the creatures of the Everfree? It's not like that many of them come out of the forest. Are monster attacks more common where you're from?"

"To a point, yes. I guess I'm just being paranoid. I'm sure there's something a gem shaping would-be wizard can do to make bits in Ponyville." I turned my fallen face back up into a smile. Twilight looked back to the ground and then to me.

"Not sure if the Ponyville has the economy to support a jeweler but I'm sure a lot of ponies around town could use the soil enriching your magic seems to do. Both I'm sure do go a long way in helping you hone your control." It seemed now I had a next step in mind and something to work towards. Certainly a productive start.

Author's Note:

The song, please give an awesome artist more support.

Comments

[Slayer 10321]

Great chapter but we the readers demand MOAR, FASTER!!!!!

[Staccet]

4506057

[the blazing tiger]

5515773
All of my yes

[Spatan98]

I like it so far. I'm not sure what the extent of our little gamer's abilities will be, but I prefer electricity and necromancy (mainly the kind seen in Guild Wars 2). Being able to pop something with a strong enough charge sounds awesome, and having a small group of undead/demons at your beck and call is pretty dope as well.

I'd love to see this guy pull something like Ragnarok (from one of the golden sun games). Just the thought of a gargantuan onyx sword cratering the ground in the climax of an epic fight sounds amazing!