Knights of Ice and Crystal

by Leila Drake

Chapter 28: Destiny

Jonathan and Darren decided to make Eclipse's last two-teacher lesson something special. It took a bit of convincing - with intense help from Fluttershy - but Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor agreed to let them use a hall inside the Crystal Castle. To keep Eclipse's secret safe, the royals told their guards to stand watch at the door and prevent anypony uninvited from coming in. With the help from Fluttershy and Sunburst, Darren and Jonathan spread boxes on the floor and hung balloons from the high ceiling. They pushed the tables and chairs against the far wall and prepared a crystal jar with berry juice.

After a quarter-hour of meditation in the Whites' basement, they treated Eclipse to a milkshake Jonathan had made in the morning. When Feather and White realized they were up to something, they insisted on coming along to the castle. Peridot complained when they told her she could not come along, especially since they did not explain to her what the trip was about. In the end, she relented and agreed to visit a friend instead.

Half an hour later, Eclipse's parents watched in a mixture of amazement and fear as he summoned a dark cloud of shadows. Surrounded by Light spheres from Jonathan and hugging each other for comfort, Feather and White gaped at their eight-year-old son while he jumped around the hall, hitting box after box with bolts of dark lightling. Purple smoke rose from his eyes but the hint of a smile lingered on his face while he frowned in concentration to focus his magic. The boxes were empty, though, and since the hall was so large the splinters did not fly far. Fluttershy was still glad she could hide behind Sunburst who had conjured up his own force field - just to be on the safe side. After a week of watching Eclipse train, his shadow magic did not scare her as much anymore. When he hit the last box, which was also the biggest, Fluttershy spontaneously jumped up and applauded him by stomping her hooves on the ground.

Eclipse blinked a few times and the eerie light from his eyes faded away.

"Thanks, Fluttershy!" he said with a grin. "Oh, hey, hey, it didn't explode this time!" he realized happily, pointing at the box that had simply slid a few feet across the floor. "That's what you meant, right?"

"That was really impressive," Fluttershy kept praising him.

"Yeah, very good," said Jonathan, also with a boyish grin on his face. He went to the table that had been pushed against the wall and poured two glasses; one for Eclipse and one for himself. "Here you go, pal."

Just like Jonathan, Eclipse downed the glass as if he had not drunken anything all day and wiped his mouth.

"Whew," he said. "Thanks. That was awesome!" He giggled, encouraged by his success. He hardly noticed his father's deep frown or his mother's surprised chuckle.

"We're not quite done yet." Darren pointed at the balloons above them.

"I've got this!" Eclipse declared. "That juice was great, I'm super refreshed!" He grunted as he strained to summon his power once again. Letting go of the dark current, he directed it at all of the balloons at once. They burst with a synchronous bang and rained streamers down on Eclipse, which made him laugh. He ran over to his parents, his hooves clattering on the crystal floor.

"Did you see that, Mom? I did it, I can control it now! It's gotten so easy!" When he stretched out his forelegs to hug Feather, Eclipse bumped against the sphere Jonathan had conjured. "Ouch!" Rubbing his muzzle, he glared at Jonathan. "Not cool!"

"Sorry." The priest relaxed and the Light sphere disappeared.

Eclipse jumped over to Feather to hug her. She took him into her embrace and stroked his mane.

"Wow," she said. "You're really powerful. But, you know, you can't use your powers in the open like that."

"I know. They look scary and stuff. But, Mom -" Eclipse began but he was interrupted by White.

"You shouldn't use them at all," he said sternly. "Just look at this!" He raised his hoof, pointing at the splintered boxes. "Your power is destructive and dangerous. Can't you see that? Feather?" he asked his wife for support.

"I... I don't know," she said hesitantly. "I think I'm okay with it..."

"Perhaps we should pack it up and..." Darren began but his sentence remained unfinished. He quickly sheathed his sword and spun around to face the door. Somepony was knocking at it with emphasis.

The big pair of double doors swung open. Two royal guards in full armour and with halberds entered and they did not look happy. One of them seemed a bit small compared to the size of their halberd.

"Uh-oh," Jonathan mouthed as the guards walked directly towards Darren.

"Sir, you need to come with us," one of the guards said with a gruff voice.

"What is this about?" Darren asked, immediately changing his tone from child-friendly to business. "We did not want to be disturbed - did the Princess not order it?"

The guard opened his mouth but Eclipse was faster.

"You can't take him again!" he shouted angrily. "He didn't do anything wrong!"

"Stay back, lad," said Darren, raising his hand. "I'll be fine -"

"No!" Eclipse shouted and dashed towards the guards.

Feather gasped in shock and ran over to Eclipse, trying to pull him away.

"I'm terribly sorry," she said, struggling with the unruly colt writhing around in her grip. "Please, make it quick, okay?" Her voice quivering with doubt, she tried her best to gain control over Eclipse who was becoming more upset by the second. "Honey, please," she begged him to calm down.

White came to her aid and together they managed to put a distance between themselves and the guards.

"He's so strong," whispered Fluttershy anxiously to Jonathan.

"Must be his powers," Jonathan muttered back, flexing his fingers and preparing for a spell. "Darren!" he said aloud.

Darren moved towards the guards and several things happened at once. As he turned to leave with them, they raised their weapons to switch sides; Eclipse, scared by the sudden movement, screamed, "No!", spread his forelegs and floated into the air, his eyes glowing with purple fire; Jonathan summoned a sphere of Light around the guards.

Surprised by Eclipse's outburst of magic, the guards staggered and spun around to face the colt. Time seemed to slow down for Eclipse; he only saw the halberd slipping from the hoof of the shorter guard, its sharp blade falling exactly in Darren's direction. Without thinking, Eclipse thrust his hoof forward and a string of shadows raced towards his friend. The shadows hit the ground and a deep red crystal sprouted from the floor, deflecting the halberd. It fell to the ground with a clang that echoed through the hall.

The silence that followed was deafening. Eclipse blinked at the perplexed guards.

Darren heaved an exasperated sigh and frowned at Eclipse. A thin wall of ice that had been standing between himself and the guards crumbled and melted into a puddle at his feet.

Jonathan smacked his own face. He raised his eyebrows at Eclipse and silently pointed at the puddle.

Eclipse fell to the floor, his knees were suddenly so weak. The puddle... a wall of ice... He stared at the scene and understood. There had never been any real danger. Darren had conjured up his own shield. And he, Eclipse, had just made a big fuzz over nothing.

"I'm sorry! I - I didn't think -" he stammered, staggering backwards. He bumped into his father who twitched and gaped right back at him, his face full of fear. "I'm sorry!"

The guards, slack-jawed and uncertain, looked at Eclipse, then Darren, then Eclipse's parents.

"Uhm..." said Jonathan with a nervous grin. "We can... explain?"

Behind Sunburst, Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind her wings.

White made a face and averted his eyes, ashamed for his son.

That was it. Eclipse had enough of hiding and apologizing. He did not want to keep his powers secret from the rest of the world for all his life! It was about time to tell everypony how he felt. He huffed and stood up.

"No," he said. "I can explain." Walking towards the guards on shaking legs, he took a deep breath. "I thought that weapon was gonna hurt Darren. That's why I made the crystal. But I'm not gonna hurt anypony."

The guards both lowered their halberds to point them at him, the colt whose powers were so alike to Sombra's. But Eclipse simply stopped walking and looked up at them.

"I know what you're thinking," he said. "'His magic looks just like King Sombra's. He must be Sombra or a monster like him.' But I'm not like that." He hiccupped as his cheeks turned hot. "I'm Eclipse! My Mom is F-Feather Rush and my Dad is White Alloy. Peridot is my sister and all - all I ever wanted to be is a guard! And to protect the Princess and the Crystal Heart - any my friends and family..." He sobbed as the shame and sadness overwhelmed him. "But I can't be one, can I? I'm, like, the exact opposite of a guard! You'd never let me join them! Would you, Dad?!" He spun around, facing his father, his cheeks wet and legs trembling like leaves.

"I never said that," muttered White, taken aback.

"You didn't have to," said Feather quietly. "It was kind of obvious, honey..."

"Guess my power is just too scary," Eclipse went on. "But I can take it all back. If that's what it takes to make you safe I can take it all back." With a pained smile, he lifted his trembling hoof and closed his eyes. An otherwordly tone filled the hall, a high-pitched hum, and the crystal that Eclipse had created vibrated like the string of a harp. Then, it dissolved into a dark haze and disappeared. Still sniffling and sobbing, Eclipse wiped his muzzle and turned away.

"We did not teach him that," Jonathan whispered nervously into Fluttershy's ear.

---

White exhaled slowly. He felt guilt rushing through his gut, hot and stinging him on the inside. Why did he doubt his son so much? What kind of a father was he? First, he encouraged him not to be scared of his own powers and then, after actually watching him use them on purpose, he backed down? Pathetic!

He could do better. He had to do better. This was not just about his pride or about the safety of everypony. It was about Eclipse's future. Looking at Feather, his fearless wife from the City Guard, he made a decision.

"I didn't imagine that you'd be so powerful," he rasped. "With that shadow and the crystal. But the way you use your magic, that says a lot about you. You're not - scary. You're couragious and loyal and... kind. I - you're -" White's eyes widened as realization struck him. "You're perfect guard material," he said, hardly believing his own words. "You know what, if you want to do that you should do it. I'm not gonna stop you. I Promise."

"Dad!" Eclipse cried. He ran into White's embrace and hugged him as tightly as he could. "Thanks, Dad..."

"No, thank you for changing my mind," muttered White, holding Eclipse's head against his chest. "Merciful stars, I've been an idiot!"

"Oh, my," said somepony. Eclipse raised his head. Had that been Fluttershy? "Look!" she said, pointing a shivering hoof at Eclipse's flank. He wiped his muzzle again and could not help but smile.

---

It took them all a while to clean up the hall, to carry out he splintered boxes, remove the water puddle and sweep away the streamers. The mixture of water and paper made for an awful mess that none had anticipated. In the end, the two guards had a heart and helped; they leaned their halberds against the wall and carried the largest box outside. Feather and White managed to locate a broom closet and Jonathan went to inform the Princess about what had happened.

The guards, still overwhelmed by the revelation of Eclipse's powers, kept a little distance to him. They taller one, a purple crystal earth pony, explained why they had wanted to take Darren with them.

"Somepony threw a brick through your window," he said. "The City Guard told us that you were here. We just wanted to show you and ask what you want to do about it."

"You were not going to arrest me?" Darren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Sir."

"This would be funny if not for the brick," said Darren dryly, putting the bucket down that he had been holding.

"Though Eclipse is probably glad it gave him a chance to be honest with his dad," said Sunburst, "In retrospect, I mean." He jerked his head in the direction of Eclipse who was busy carrying a paper bag with splinters across the hall. "Though I bet you my mineral collection nopony expected his Cutie Mark to look like that."

"A white tulip... no, I suppose not," said Darren thoughtfully.

"What does it even mean?" Sunburst asked, leaning onto his broom. "I kind of fail to see the relevance to, you know, all of this."

Fluttershy tapped his shoulder with a hoof.

"Excuse me..." she said. "I think I have an idea." She cleared her throat. "A white tulip usually stands for purity, new beginnings and, uhm, worthiness..."

"Oh." Sunburst scratched his bearded chin, then shook his head with a laugh and adjusted his glasses. "Okay. Well, I guess he did make a new start... By the way, where the hay is Jonathan? He should be back by now."

As if on cue, the doors of the hall opened again and Jonathan entered, followed by Prince Shining Armor. When Shining saw the wet floor and the cleaning crew, he chuckled. His guards snapped to attention as soon as they saw him and saluted him. The Captain saluted, looked around and found Eclipse.

Eclipse noticed the Prince walking towards him and winced. The paper bag fell from his grip and bits of wood tumbled out.

"P-prince Shining Armor!" he stammered with something like terrified admiration.

"Hello, Eclipse," said Shining with a friendly smile. "I heard you earned your Cutie Mark! Congratulations!"

Eclipse forced his mouth to close and nodded slowly.

"I came to see if you are okay," Shining went on, concern creeping into his voice. "You gave my guards a bit of a scare there."

"Sorry," Eclipse squeaked, his ears folding down. "Am I gonna get banished now?"

"What?" Shining jerked his head back. "No, of course not! Everything's fine." He exchanged a look with the guards. "At ease," he said and the two armoured ponies relaxed. "Report."

"Sir, we came in to inform Mr Houndslayer that somepony threw a brick into his apartment. When we turned around, the colt used his magic and I," the guard gave off an embarrassed cough, "I dropped my weapon. But, er, thanks to his crystal no one was harmed."

"See?" said Shining. "It's okay. Nothing bad happened. Well, from what Jonathan told me, you overreacted a little but than can happen to anypony."

"I - guess so," Eclipse muttered, relieved that his hero took the matter so lightly. "Th-thanks for not arresting me - Sir!" He tried to imitate the guards by standing stiffly and saluting.

Shining Armor laughed. "It's a bit early for that. But when you're done with school, you can apply for training as a guard, deal? Come on, let's bring you home." He nooded at Feather and White, who had silently watched the conversation, and they sprang to Eclipse's side.

Fluttershy suddenly gave off a gasp. Everybody's head turned to her and she blushed violently.

"Sorry," she said with a lopsided smile. "It's just that my Cutie Mark... I think the friendship problem has been solved."

Jonathan grimaced uncomfortably. His hands twitched but he kept them on the broom.

"Yup, itch is back," he pressed out. "Agh, uncomfortable," he muttered with a huff. "Let's get out of here before I do something embarrassing."

---

Saying goodbye to Jonathan and Fluttershy was hard for Eclipse. Over the week, he had gotten used to having them around. The entire White family accompanied them to Central Station, along with Darren and Sunburst. Fluttershy gave Eclipse a tight hug, Jonathan did the same even though he always told everyone he was not the hugging type. The four o'clock train already rolled in when Eclipse let go of Jonathan.

Darren and Jonathan shook hands and patted each other's backs, Sunburst told Fluttershy to say hello to Starlight for him and Feather took Jonathan aside for a moment.

"Thank you for your help," she said seriously. "I don't know what we would have done without you. I'm sure Darren will be a great teacher but I gotta admit it, it was good to meet another human."

"I get what you mean," said Jonathan. "But, besides Twilight, Darren's my best friend. You can trust him no matter what, you have my word. And - well, thanks for letting me stretch my wings for a bit. It was kinda nice to do some priestly things, you know." He grinned. "Bye, Feather." He offered her a fist to bump.

Feather ignored the hand and gave him a hug instead.

"Oh. Okay," said Jonathan. "Alright, enough, we don't wanna make your husband jealous." He gently pushed Feather away with a smile.

"Yeah, well, thank you two," said White. "Take care and say hello to the Princess!"

"Um, Jonathan, we need to go," said Fluttershy. "The train..."

"Right! Bye, everyone! See you sometime!"

As soon as the two had entered the car, the door slid closed with a hiss. A sharp whistle rang through the station and the train accelerated.

"Bye!" Eclipse and Peridot waved at the train as it disappeared in the distance.

---

The guards had been right. Somepony had thrown a brick into Darren's apartment. When he entered the room it was as cold as the air outside. Splintered glass was spread all over the table and the floor.

"Shit," said Darren. He stepped over the glass shards, crushing them while he did so, and gingerly picked up the brick. There was a sheet of paper wrapped around it. Darren unrolled it and deciphered the crude large letters. They had been written with a red pen, giving them something of an ominous vibe. Darren passed the sheet on to the landlord who had watched him through the door.

"Do you know what this means?" he asked politely.

The earth pony took the paper. His eyes widened as he read the note.

"Thats, uh, that's from an old story," said the landlord hesitantly. "It's a spirit of cold wind and, er, hatred. I-I don't know why they wrote it but I think it would be best if you found another accomotation, Sir. We can't afford to get a bad reputation."

Darren sighed and put the paper on the table. He said his thanks to the landlord and when the pony left, Darren closed the door. He rummaged in his closet until he found one of his gloves, put it on and started picking up the glass shards.

---

"Need anything else?" Abs threw two blankets and pillow onto the mattress that he and Sombra had carried from Still Waters' room into the living room.

"No, I think I'm good," said Sombra, unfolding the blanket. "Thanks. I know you don't have to do that."

"So do I. Breakfast is usually at five-thirty," said Abs. "I got the early shift, need to follow some weird unicorn around the city. Well - let's just hope he won't get up so early." He winked and went into the bathroom. The door slammed shut and very soon water rushed through the pipes inside the wall.

"That pony is so weird," Sombra muttered to himself. But even though he was confused by Abs's antics, he still felt immensely grateful for his unexpected help. He was so damn tired... He had never gotten used to sleeping outside or in a hall with fifty other ponies beside him. Sombra already looked forward to getting a long, quiet, good night's sleep. Oh yes!

What bothered him a little was the incredulous look on Still Waters's face when Sombra had stood up from the dinner table. But he had not commented on Sombra's blank flank. Instead, Still Waters went into his room, beckoning for Sombra to follow him. They had spent the evening talking about the colt's game - which turned out to be a pen and paper game about a group of adventurers wandering through the Frozen North and fighting monsters. Sombra found it surprisingly easy to recall his knowledge he had of the North. He described some of the creatures from the ice and he and Still Waters drew sketches and complicated tables for hours. Eventually, Abs had knocked at the door and told Sombra to help him move the mattress.

As Sombra lay on the mattress in the quiet living room, the moonlight shining through the thin curtains, his gaze fell upon a framed picture on the wall. It was a family picture. Four ponies, all of them crystal earth ponies, stood in a group, two of them in ceremonial armour. The two foals on the picture, one blue and the other green, smiled happily. The stallion was Abrasive Paper, as tall as he was now but slightly less muscular. The mare next to him had a green coat. The cold moonlight made her look paler than she must have been. One of her forelegs held a glaive, the other was clutched by the smaller colt, Still Waters.

There was a second picture right next to the first one. On that one, there were only three ponies and they looked significantly older. As far as Sombra could tell it was very recent: Abs without armour and both of his sons standing at his side. The older one was a stallion now, as tall as his father albeit not as trained, and the other had the same long mane as today. All of them did their best to smile but Sombra still noticed the small frown between Abs's eyes.

Sombra felt his blood run cold as he put two and two together. Abrasive's wife had been a guard. And now she was dead. She must have been killed in the war. There was no other explanation.

For how many deaths was Sombra responsible? At his idiotic attempt to free the Umbrum, how many ponies had lost their lives in the mines?

He pulled the blanket over his head and rolled over, turning his back on the wall and feeling like the biggest asshole on the face of the planet.

---

Darren Houndslayer the Frost Death Knight could not sleep. He stared at the ceiling and huffed indignantly. A cold gust of wind howled through the broken window. Hooves clattered on the street. Leaves rustled. An owl hooted. A dog barked four times. Every noise in the nightly silence sounded thrice as loud. It was infuriating.

He had to admit it to himself. He was not used to sleeping outdoors anymore. Great.

Darren sat up and squinted his eyes shut. Maybe he should meditate to get what little regeneration he could. Or...

His gaze fell onto the note on the table. WINDIGO, it said. Maybe there was a way to get his sleep after all. Darren rolled his sleeves up and smiled.

Ten minutes later, he was snoring peacefully. A thick layer of blue ice covered the window, refracting the moonlight into a thousand glittering stars.

---

Abs had a deep sleep. He was, in fact, quite proud of the fact that he could get his shut-eye standing in a hallway while pretending to guard a door. Not that he would ever admit that to Captain Spark. But tonight, his head jerked up when he heard a thud in the living room. That had been an unfamiliar sound. Unfamiliar sounds usually meant trouble. He blinked a few times, then he remembered his guest.

He turned around and tried to fall asleep again. Another thud. Then, a groan. Abs heaved a sigh and got up. He carefully opened the bedroom door and tip-hooved into the living room.

Yes, the noises came from Sombra. Lying on the floor next to the mattress, the slate grey unicorn was all tangled up with his blanket, groaning and talking in his sleep. A faint purple glow shone through the bandage that covered his curved horn.

"Leave... nothing... shut up - shatter... unh... no! ...devour..." Sombra's legs twitched as if he was fending off something. He was obviously having a nightmare.

Abs hesitated. It was rude to wake somepony up but he could not shake the impression that Sombra would thank him for it. He walked over to the writhing stallion and stretched out a hoof. Before he even touched Sombra, the unicorn gasped and kicked into the air. Sombra's eyes snapped open and he inhaled with a deep gasp as if he had been underwater.

"Gaaah!"

Abs winced and staggered backwards. Sombra's eyes had changed. Usually an emerald green, his irises were now of a piercing red, the pupils slitted like those of a snake. The whites were aglow in a sickly green and purple smoke curled upwards from the corners of Sombra's eyes.

"What the f-! Sombra!" Abs ran to grab his glaive.

"It's coming!" Sombra shouted at him. He jumped to his hooves and looked left and right, panting heavily. Abs gasped and pointed his weapon at the shadow pony. "It's here!" Sombra wailed at him like a colt. His behaviour, Abs realized, was in stark contrast with the menacing air his appearance gave off. Sombra was scared - thoroughly, properly terrified of something. Abs lowered the glaive, unsure what to do. Now Sombra leapt forward and grabbed the shocked earth pony with his hooves, shaking him. "Nopony's safe! They found me! They're here!"

"Wh-who's here?" Abs shouted back, instinctively trying to match Sombra's volume. "Sombra, who is it?"

"They found me!" Sombra repeated. Abs shuddered, the insanity in the unicorn's eyes creeped him out more than the eerie light shining out of them and that had to say something. What was he supposed to do? Slap him in the face to ground him? Arrest him? Alert the Guard? Yes, he should -

"Nooo!" Sombra screamed, looking at something Abs could not see. The unicorn lit his horn and this time, there was not the green glow of his regular magic. The bandages were ripped of by the sheer blast of dark energy that exploded from Sombra's horn. Thick, suffocating smoke broke forth from Sombra's coat, mouth and eyes, enveloping him, shrouding him.

Abs shrank against the wall, cowering before the monster as his fear paralyzed him. Sombra's body was gone; instead, there was a cloud so dark that it seemed to suck all the light out of the room. The red, curved horn was still visible and, just beneath it, a glowing pair of eyes that had lost all likeness to those of a pony.

The creature snarled at Abs, a sound straight from Tartarus, and the cloud rose from the ground, filling up the tiny apartment. Then, with an enraged wail, Sombra lit his horn and the windows shattered outwards with an ear-deafening explosion. The cloud rushed outside and into the sky - and it was gone.

Breathing heavily, Abs stared at the broken windows. His ears rang in a high-pitched tone and he felt dizzy. Still Waters, he thought, struggling desperately to get on his feet. Is my son okay?

From outside, he could hear the first screams.

Author's Note:

Well, that escalated quickly.