“Shining Armor?” Cadance called out,

“Yes honey?” He responded, walking back out of the suite’s study,

“I have a question for you,”

“What is it?”

“How much do you know about…” Cadance paused for a second, “...combat magic?”

Shining Armor took a moment to respond, obviously taken aback by the question, “Uh, more than most, why?”

“I was just wondering…” Cadance paused again, “If you could maybe teach me some.”

“Sure I guess,” Shining Armor gave her a strange look, “But why?”

Cadance looked at him with a deadpan stare, “Do I really need to answer that question?”

Shining Armor thought for a moment, then spoke, “You’re not looking to start picking fights are you?” He asked worriedly.

“No no,” Cadance quickly shook her head, “I just want to be prepared is all, considering all that has happened so far and well… Let’s just say some things have come up that I want to be ready for.”

“Combat ready?” The explanation did nothing to ease Shining Armor’s worry, “What could you possibly need to be combat ready for? Do I need to be ready? What has come up?! Is everything okay?! How-!”

He was interrupted as Cadance embraced him.

“Everything is fine, Shining,” She said, “It’s just regarding the worm.”

“Oh, well that explains everything then.” He said sarcastically,

“It does,” Cadance affirmed,

Shining Armor took a moment to calm down, “What is going on?” He asked again slowly.

“You remember when the worm freaked out and ran away? Right after we saved the empire?”

“Yeah…” Shining Armor said, confused on where this was going.

“Well it was for a reason.”

“What reason?”

Cadance sighed, “Something or someone from the worm’s past caught up with him, and he got so scared that he didn’t just run away from it, but from me as well.”

“Some-one?” Shining Armor repeated, then he shook his head, “Why did it run away from you?”

“I’m not too sure, but I think he was worried about what might happen to me.”

“Well now I’m worried about what might happen to you!” Shining Armor exclaimed, holding Cadance tighter,

“Which is why I want to learn combat magic.” She finished

Shining Armor took a deep breath, then looked Cadance in the eyes, “Okay, what do you already know?”

“Other than the defensive stuff you’ve taught me before, not much.”

With a small sigh, Shining Armor broke the embrace and put a hoof to the bridge of his snout,

“Alright, let’s start with the beginning.”

Cadance sat in a crystal stool in the middle of the lounge area, which had now been converted into a small classroom. Shining Armor stood across the room, with a large chalkboard that had been wheeled in from the study. She giggled as he began to draw certain shapes and figures on the board.

“What?” Shining Armor asked, looking back at her,

“Oh nothing, I just find it funny how similar you and your sister can be. She used to do this all the time when I foalsat her.”

A bit of a blush appeared on Shining Armor’s face, but he quickly forced it down, “That may be so, but I think you’ll find our teaching styles are a little different from each other.”

“Oh?” Cadance asked, “How so?”

“My lectures tend to get physical.” Was all Shining Armor said,

“Oooh,” Cadance said with a smile, but otherwise fell silent as her husband finished preparing.

“Right, first things first.” He began, raising his voice slightly. “Magic combat and non-magic combat are very similar, and as such they follow a lot of the same rules. Do you know what any of those rules are?”

Cadance raised her hoof, and Shining Armor let out a dejected sigh before calling on her.

“Yes, Cadance?”

“Um… Don’t get distracted?” She tried,

“Correct,” Shining Armor said, “Staying focused is an integral part of any battle,” He wrote that along with a number one beside it, then the numbers two through five below. “Any others?”

“Oh! Uh…” Cadance wracked her brain, “Know your enemy?”

“Partly,” Shining Armor answered, “There is more to the full rule though,”

Cadance frowned deeply in thought, “Know yourself?”

“Correct, though there is a third part as well.” Shining Armor explained, he then wrote ‘Be aware’ on the board, “This rule is a big one, in combat you have to be aware, not just of yourself and the enemy, but also your surroundings, as they can play a huge role in how you fight.”

Cadance nodded rapidly, then wished she had something to take notes in.

“Do you know any other rules?”

Almost immediately Cadance shook her head,

“Alright that’s fine, just take care to memorize these,” Shining Armor said as he wrote the last three rules down. “Third there’s offense and defense, you have to know when to fight offensively or defensively. Next, stay calm, emotions can make you hit harder, but they can also blind you as well, keeping your emotions in check is one of the most important things to do in battle. Finally, there is the rule of Don’t over-.”

There was a moment of silence

“Don’t over what?” Cadance asked,

“There are a lot of words that fit, but the main few are overextend, overexert, and overcompensate. You never want to leave yourself open to attack by doing these.” Shining Armor explained,

Cadance thought back to her previous fights, and realized pretty quickly what she had been doing wrong.

“Okay, what next?” She asked,

“Now,” Shining Armor said, taking a moment to rewrite the rules off to the side before erasing them, “We move onto actual combat magic.”

“Oooh,” Cadance clapped her hooves together,

“To start, there are several different ways to fight with magic. The first, and most common, is to simply use magic to fight with normal weapons, such as swords or bows.” He drew an image of a sword in a magic aura. “The second, which is also pretty common, is to fight with pure magic itself,” He then drew an empty magic aura. “Now these last two are pretty similar, but there is a key difference.

Shining Armor took another moment to draw two more magic auras, one with a circle inside, and another with an X. Cadance just watched on with interest.

“Both of these are fighting with spells, though they use different types of spells.” Shining Armor explained, he pointed to the circle one first. “This is to fight with weaponized spells, spells whose purpose was turned into one more combat oriented, think of it like using a freezing spell on somepony. Not the spell’s intended purpose, but it still works.”

Cadance winced at the mental image.

“The next one though, is probably the rarest form of magic fighting, at least in this day and age.” Shining Armor pointed to the X aura, “This is the use of combat spells, spells specifically designed to inflict damage upon a target, and the reason why it’s so rare is because these types of spells are heavily restricted, so only ponies like you and I can get access to them.”

“Wow,” Cadance said, “So how many combat spells do you know?” She asked,

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, “My name is Shining Armor, not Shining Sword, I only know a few combat spells.”

“Well what are they?”

Shining Armor exhaled, “All unicorn guards are taught Magic Dagger during their training,” He began, and in a flash of magic, a small ethereal blade appeared in front of him, another flash and it disappeared. “The other is… too large to demonstrate in this room.”

Cadance tilted her head, “What’s it called?”

Shining Armor mumbled something and started pawing the floor with a hoof.

“What was that?” Cadance asked, leaning forward slightly.

”Fireball,”

“C’mon you can tell me.” Cadance insisted

Shining Armor sighed, then looked up, “Fireball.”

“Fireball?” Cadance asked, “Why would you… Wait… That’s from your game isn’t it!” She said excitedly.

“It is,” Shining Armor said quietly, blushing.

“Oh that’s so cute!” She continued, then she gasped, “Can you show me!”

“Perhaps some other time,” Shining Armor said, clearing his throat and regaining his composure. “We should finish the lesson.”

“Right, okay,” Cadance said, sitting straighter, though she still held a smile.

“Now,” Shining Armor continued, trying to stay focused on teaching. “There are pros and cons to each type of fighting. Fighting with weapons is the easiest, though you are limited by your ability to handle the weapons and the weapons themselves. Pure magic is also easy, but it will burn through your magic pool quickly, however the more magic you use the more damage it will do. Both spell types are similar, you just have to know the spell and how to use it, though that usually requires a lot more control and discipline.” He punctuated each point with a mark on the board. “Understand?”

Cadance looked over each style for a moment, then nodded.

“Good, now let's see how well you can practice each type.”

“Wai- wha- Already?!” Cadance blinked in confusion.

“What? Did you think you’d have to write an essay about this?”

Cadance gave a weak nod,

Shining Armor let out a laugh, “Think of this more like training rather than an education.” Then he stopped for a moment, “Actually, are you sure you really want to learn this?” He asked sincerely.

“Absolutely,” Cadance replied,

“Good, then I’m gonna work you like my drill instructor did to me.” Was all Shining Armor said,

Cadance gulped, and immediately regretted her decision.

“Grip it harder,” Shining Armor commanded,

“I’m trying!” Cadance exclaimed, forcing more magic around the handle.

Shining Armor inspected the aura surrounding the crystal ladle they were using in lieu of an actual weapon.

“Adjust your stance.”

Cadance straightened up,

“Keep it rigid,”

“Okay.”

Shining Armor placed his hoof on the tip of the large spoon and tilted it.

“Hold it tighter.”

He moved it again, though there was some resistance.

“Tighter.”

He did it once more, and the ladle barely moved,

“Better, but tighter.”

Sweat was starting to appear on Cadance’s face, and she closed her eyes to concentrate.

“Keep your eyes open,” Shining Armor ordered, “Now hold it flat.”

Cadance did so.

“Okay, now I’m going to add some weight.”

“What? Why?!” Cadance asked,

“To increase your strength,” Shining Armor answered, “An actual sword will weigh much more than this spoon, and you’ll learn to fight the leverage. Now keep it flat.” He then hung a basket on the ladle, and began to fill it with objects.

Cadance began to sweat more from the strain, “How long do I have to hold it like this?” She asked,

“Five minutes.” Shining Armor said simply.

“What?!”

“Or until you drop it,” He added.

Cadance almost dropped the ladle then and there, but Shining Armor stopped her,

“But if you do, I'm doubling the amount of time you have to hold it next time.”

Gulping, Cadance held the ladle straighter, and for the next five minutes she forced her way through the strain and continued to hold it, the magic around her horn glowing brightly the entire time.

“Aaaand time!” Shining Armor said.

Cadance immediately let the ladle drop, causing it to clatter to the floor along with the rest of the stuff hanging from it.

“I did it!” She cheered,

Shining Armor stayed silent, and as he looked at the mess on the floor a smirk appeared on his face.

“Looks like you dropped it.” He said,

Cadance’s face dropped, just like the ladle, “B-b-but I held it for five minutes!” She argued,

“And?” Shining Armor replied, “That doesn’t mean you should drop it, imagine if that was a real weapon.”

“Oh,” Cadance said, looking down at the pile of items on the floor, “Are you still going to double my time?”

“Yes,” Was all Shining Armor said,

“Oh come on please?” Cadance whined, and she nuzzled up close to her husband, “I’ll make it worth your while…”

He blushed heavily, and coughed into his hoof, “This is endurance training dear, you need to do this, the time was going to increase anyway.”

Cadance pouted, and pulled away from Shining Armor, “You’re no fun.”

“This isn’t supposed to be fun,” he responded, “Now get ready for the next part of your training.”

Cadance sucked in a breath through her teeth, “Sorry honey, but it’s princess time.”

“What time?” Shining Armor asked,

“You know, time to be a princess, royal duties and all that,” Cadance explained quickly, and she began to walk out of the room.

“This isn’t just an excuse to get out of training is it?” Shining Armor called out from behind,

Cadance looked back, and gave a small smirk, “Only partly.” She responded, then she ran the rest of the way out of the room giggling, leaving Shining Armor alone with a small mess to clean up.

He shook his head, “Next time I’m gonna triple it.”

A few hours later, after a few major things had been taken care of, the princess of love’s training resumed. Since Shining Armor had more time to prepare, an actual training ground had been set up. Well, it was borrowed from the crystal guard, so the pair was currently training next to the barracks, where quite a few onlookers had gathered to spectate.

“Okay, what are we doing now?” Cadance asked as she finished tying her mane up.

“Now,” Shining Armor began, “We are going to work on your form.”

“My what?”

“How you fight.” He clarified, then he picked up a crystal sword and tossed it over.

Cadance yelped, and stepped back as it landed on the straw covered ground in front of her.

“It’s just a training sword dear, it isn’t dangerous.” Shining Armor said,

Cadance picked it up in her magic and realized it didn’t even have an edge.

“What am I doing with this?” She asked,

“Here,” Shining Armor said, and he moved a training dummy in front of her, “Hit this.”

Cadance looked from the sword to the dummy, then to her husband, “You just want me to whack it a few times?”

Shining Armor nodded, “I want to see how you fight before we really start training.”

“Okay,” Cadance said, and she turned back towards the dummy, she then floated the sword over to it and raised it to strike.

“Get closer,” Shining Armor interrupted,

“Why?” Cadance asked,

“The further you are away the less control you have over your magic, it’s an excellent way to lose your weapon, not to mention it leaves you exposed to any other combatants.”

“Alright then,” Cadance said as she shuffled closer to the dummy.

She looked at Shining Armor again, and when he nodded she raised the sword to strike again. With a simple downward slash, the training sword hit the dummy, and bounced off, completely out of Cadance’s grip. With another yelp, she flinched as the sword landed next to her again.

“Hold it like the ladle dear!” Shining Armor called out.

Cadance nodded, and picked up the sword once more, grasping it far harder than she did before.

“Hit the dummy several times,” Shining Armor ordered.

Nodding again, Cadance moved the sword over and just started wailing on the dummy.

A hit to the head, one to the left shoulder, a swipe to the right leg, a slash to the neck, and finally a stab to the chest. When it was over Cadance was just starting to break into a sweat, but the dummy showed little damage except for a few new dents in the fabric.

Cadance took a moment to calm her breathing, then she turned to Shining Armor, “How’d I do?”

His expression was completely neutral, and he took a moment to think before responding. “That was uh… not the worst I’ve seen.” He began,

Cadance lost her smile,

Shining Armor continued, “Couple things, one you didn’t move in the slightest, two you attacked randomly and without direction, three you weren’t watching your weapon.” He listed, “Luckily we can work on all of those.”

“Why do I need to watch my weapon?” Cadance asked,

“Because some of those hits were too close to the handle, and you weren’t paying attention to which side of the blade you were using. Thankfully that sword is supposed to be double sided, but others are not, so you have to know which side you're using.”

“Okay…” Cadance said, acknowledging the criticism,

“Other than that though, some of those hits were pretty nice, you hit hard and fast, and you didn’t drop the blade again, so that’s a plus.”

A smaller smile returned to Cadance’s face.

“We will definitely be working on those later, but for now let’s move onto pure magic.”

Cadance readily moved the sword off to the side and dropped it.

“I assume you already know how to do this, but I still want to see how you do it.” Shining Armor said, “Go ahead and hit the dummy a few more times.

In a flash Cadance’s horn ignited, large amounts of light blue magic gathering around it. A moment later three bolts shot out, each one flying across the training grounds and impacting the dummy, nearly causing it to tip over in the process. Small amounts of either smoke or steam began to emanate from the impacts, it was hard to tell.

“Very nice,” Shining Armor commented, observing the dummy for a moment, “Now most guards are restricted to certain sizes and amounts to help conserve magic, but I don’t think that’s much of an issue for you is it?”

“Nope!” Cadance answered, smiling wider.

“Alright, now hit the dummy with the biggest blast you can manage.”

Cadance lost her smile, “Are you sure?” She asked, looking a bit uncertain herself.

Shining Armor hesitated for a moment, then answered, “Yes, it’ll help me gauge exactly what you can do.”

“You might want to take a step back then,” Cadance said

“Are you sure?” Shining Armor asked this time.

Cadance nodded, and Shining Armor took a few steps back, then so did she. Just like before, she began to gather a charge in her horn again, only this time she let it grow way past the amount from earlier, then continued to grow it until she felt a pressure around the base of her horn. Cadance held it there for a moment, the vast amount of blue light nearly acting like a second sun. Shining Armor took that moment to cast a small shield around himself, just in time to see her release.

The massive ball of magic flew towards the dummy, the huge amounts of air it displaced sweeping most of the straw on the ground away, creating a sort of trail behind it.

It then hit the dummy.

And exploded.

Violently.

Both Cadance and Shining Armor shielded their eyes, and a wave of hot air passed over them, and for a moment everything was silent, then Cadance felt a few pieces of straw land on her, and she opened her eyes to look.

The dummy was gone, obliterated beyond recognition, both the stuffing and fabric that made its shape had burnt away, leaving only a charred crystal frame behind, which promptly crumbled to pieces. A small crater surrounded where the dummy once stood, and there were a few small fires on any remaining pieces of nearby straw.

It was then that Shining Armor dropped his shield, and he took a moment to regain his composure and more importantly stop gaping before walking over to Cadance.

“I don’t know what I expected from an alicorn,” He said, “But it wasn’t that.”

“How was that?” Cadance asked,

Shining Armor shook his head, “Amazing. It makes me wonder what Princess Celestia could do, I certainly wouldn’t want to get on her bad side, but never mind that, how are you feeling? How much magic did you use?”

“A lot,” Cadance answered, closing her eyes to concentrate, “But I still have some.”

Shining Armor whistled, “I wouldn’t be surprised if you chose to only fight like that, that much magic at that power is just… wow…” He looked over to the crater, “We’re going to need a new dummy,”

“How about you?” Cadance asked, elbowing her husband in the side.

“Wha-hey!” He said, before smiling, “You can’t use me, at least not yet!” He leaned in close, wiggling his eyebrows, “That’s for later,”

Cadance burst out laughing, so hard in fact that she had to use Shining Armor for support as she ran out of breath. When she was finished, she took a moment to get past any remaining giggle fits, then she looked him in the eyes.

“After what you pulled earlier, you’d be lucky for me not to use you as a training dummy.” Cadance said with a smile.

That caused Shining Armor’s smile to falter a bit, but he quickly recovered, “You’re no fun.” He whispered.

Cadance snorted, then pushed him away, “We’ll see when we’re done here, what are we doing next?”

Shining Armor cleared his throat, “Right, next up is spell fighting.”

“Oooh,” Cadance said, smiling a bit, but then she gasped, “But I don’t know any combat spells!”

Shining Armor chuckled, “I wouldn’t expect you to, but you can use more than just combat spells, what other ones do you know, ones that you think you can weaponize?”

“Oh, um…” Cadance trailed off, thinking hard, “I know levitation…”

“Levitation works,” Shining Armor nodded,

“And well…” She frowned, “There’s my love spell.”

“I know you’ve probably told me this before,” Shining Armor said, “But how does that spell work again?”

“To put it simply,” Cadance began, “I can’t force ponies fall in love, but I can nurture the spark that turns into love, it just has to be there, and my spell is like squirting a bottle of lighter fluid on it.”

“An interesting analogy,” Shining Armor commented, “Do you think you could weaponize it?”

“I mean it can end fights, but I can’t fight with it,” Cadance said,

“Ah, well let’s just start with levitation shall we?”

“Okay,” Cadance responded, then she got a confused look on her face, “How does levitation differ from using magic to fight with weapons?”

“It doesn’t,” Shining Armor said, “It’s like thinking about it in a more broader term, when using levitation, anything you pick up can be used as a weapon.”

“Even straw?” Cadance asked, moving a small pile of it with her hoof.

Shining Armor looked down at the ground, and lifted up a piece of straw in his magic, “Sure I guess, it really depends on how you use it.” He prodded his foreleg a few times with it, “Though some things work better as tools than weapons.”

“Ohhh,” Cadance said, “Like this?” She asked, and her horn flashed once more.

In an instant, all the surrounding straw on the ground was pulled inward and thrown up into the air around Shining Armor. He stood there for a moment in shock, before he spit out a few pieces that managed to end up in his mouth.

“Yes… Like that,” he said, pulling out one of many pieces stuck in his mane.

Cadance giggled a bit.

Shaking his head, Shining Armor managed to dislodge a majority of the straw, “Does this make us even?”

Cadance smirked, “Not even close.”

With a sigh, Shining Armor brushed his mane back with a hoof, “Alright, let’s move onto the last part for today.”

“Oh? What might that be?” Cadance asked,

Shining Armor’s horn lit, and the training sword from earlier flew over and landed by Cadance’s hooves, then a second one appeared, which Shining Armor held in his magic.

“A test of what you’ve learned so far.” He answered,

Cadance’s eyes widened, “A test already?!”

“Don’t worry, it won’t be graded,” Shining Armor said, “And practicing against a real opponent is much better than a dummy.”

“Okay…” Cadance said uneasily, slowly picking up the other sword on the ground.

“The rules are simple, three hits and you’re out, any magic is allowed” Shining Armor explained, “Oh, and don’t hit too hard please.”

Cadance nodded, and got into a lower stance, holding the training sword in front of her. Shining Armor mirrored her slightly, and they began to circle each other. Rather than wait for a first strike, Cadance took initiative and moved forward to try and hit her husband. Shining Armor quickly moved to the side and dodged the attack, before retaliating with one of his own. Cadance leaped back as the sword came within inches of herself, then retreated further as she dropped her own blade.

Shining Armor looked at her in confusion before realizing what was about to happen, right as Cadance sent a volley of magic bolts. He rolled to the side, managing to evade the first bolt, then blocking the second with his sword, only for the third one to sneak past and hit him squarely in the chest.

“Ooh! Ah! Hot hot!” He exclaimed, rubbing his now slightly charred fur with a hoof.

Cadance winced, “Sorry honey!” She called out.

“No, that was good!” Shining Armor responded, “I’m gonna have to up my game.”

He picked up his sword again, and quickly made his way closer to Cadance, watching her the entire time. She took up a more defensive stance, and charged her horn for another volley. However Shining Armor was expecting this, and as three more magic blasts were sent his way, he pulled up a shield and blocked all three of them. Cadance began to back away, but Shining Armor closed the distance fast, and it was then that she realized that she left her sword on the ground, which was now behind her approaching opponent.

With a flash another burst of magic was fired, only for it to be blocked once more, and by that time it was too late, Shining Armor was upon her. With a quick tap to her side with the sword, Cadance was hit.

“One to one,” Shining Armor said,

Thinking quickly, Cadance grabbed her sword from behind him and pulled it back, intent on hitting him from behind. Shining Armor immediately noticed this however, and turned to smack the incoming sword away with his own.

“Not gonna happen,” He said as he tapped Cadance’s other side. “Two to one.”

She scoffed, and grabbed her blade before running around to the opposite side the training ground, trying to get some distance between her and Shining Armor. He looked at her for a moment, then shot some magic blasts of his own. With a yelp, Cadance ducked down low, and managed to dodge two of the magic blasts, with the third one accidentally hitting her sword, knocking it out of her grip.

“Uh oh,” She said, then looked forward, where Shining Armor was already closing the gap between them.

With another flash of magic, Cadance’s horn lit up, causing Shining Armor to pull up another shield in preparation, but instead of firing more magic, Cadance created her own shield to surround her, completely protecting her from all sides.

“Is that one of my shield spells?” Shining Armor asked after taking a moment to observe it.

“Uh… no?” Cadance said, failing miserably to lie.

“Mm-hm,” Shining Armor nodded, absolutely completely most definitely believing her, “I guess I haven’t told you the weakness to that one yet have I?”

“Weakness?” Cadance asked, eyes widening

Shining Armor ignited his horn, and in a fashion much similar to earlier, all the straw on the ground inside the shield was thrown up into the air. Cadance flinched, and sneezed, then began trying to spit out the pieces in her mouth, causing her to immediately lose concentration on the spell. Of course she realized this as soon as it happened, and she opened her eyes to try and spot her husband.

He was gone, having moved while she was blinded. Cadance looked left and right, but still didn’t see him, which could only mean one thing.

“Gotcha,” Shining Armor said, directly behind her.

Cadance squeaked, and instinctively kicked out with her hind legs, they felt purchase on something hard, which immediately broke, then she hit something much softer.

With a grunt, Shining Armor was sent sprawling across the ground, Cadance whipped around in an instant.

“Oh my goodness! Are you okay?!” She asked, “I’m so sorry!”

Shining Armor just laid there, holding a hoof over his snout as a small amount of blood began to trickle out of each nostril.

“Ugh,” He said, a bit nasally, “I forgot how strong you are.”

“Are you alright?” Cadance asked, standing over him with worry, “I didn’t break your nose did I?”

Shining Armor looked up from the ground, looking his wife directly in the eyes.

“Are we even now?” He asked,

“Sit.”

The worm sat,

“Lay down.”

The worm laid down.

“Now roll over,” Cadance commanded,

With a small huff, the worm rolled over, managing to scratch the crystal floor quite a bit. Cadance didn’t seem to mind it, but Shining Armor did.

“Why are you doing that?” He asked,

“To try and teach an old dog some new tricks,” Cadance answered, “And it helps with obedience.”

“Is it-”

Cadance glanced at Shining Armor.

“-sorry. Is he not obedient enough already?” He tried again,

“Apparently not,” Cadance said, glaring at the worm “Stand up.”

The worm stood up.

“Do you not feel weird doing that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean having him do tricks when he looks like a pony?”

“He isn’t a pony.” Cadance stated,

“He isn’t a dog either,” Shining Armor commented,

“Mm, well I can’t really train him like this when he’s a worm.”

“The real question is though,” Shining Armor began, “Does he need that training?”

Cadance stayed silent for a moment.

“Speaking of training,” Shining Armor quickly changed the subject, “Are you ready for today’s session?”

“Oh!” Cadance exclaimed, “Is it really that time already?”

“Just about.” Shining Armor answered, “And I have something special planned for today.”

“Like what?”

“I managed to get a copy of Magic Dagger, and if we have time later I might even show you a fireball.”

“Oooh,” Cadance said, “Sure we can head over there in a moment. There’s just one more thing I would like to try. Follow.” She commanded.

The worm followed Cadance as she walked out of the room, and so did Shining Armor, considering he couldn’t really start training without her. They made their way through the castle, they weren’t very deep inside, so the group quickly found themselves out on the main balcony.

“Transform,” Cadance ordered.

Shining Armor just barely had enough time to move to the side and avoid the inferno that surrounded the worm as it changed shape. He would’ve complained, but there have been closer calls before, so instead he chose to just sit and watch.

“Down,”

Lowering its massive head closer to the floor, both the worm and Shining Armor watched as Cadance fluttered over and landed on it. She stood there for a moment, just behind the worm’s head, before crouching down slightly, partially fitting in the space between its armor plates.

“What are you doing?” Shining Armor asked, watching the display with interest.

“We’ve done this before… Once.” Cadance answered, “And I kind of want to do it again.”

“Do what exactly?”

Cadance just smirked, then tapped the worm’s head twice.

“Fly!” She shouted.

One moment they were there, the next they were not. Only the slight gust of wind keying Shining Armor into what just happened.

“Woah!” Cadance cried out, and she grabbed the edge of the armor plate harder as she was nearly thrown out of her little spot.

The worm, either unaware or uncaring of her predicament, continued to fly at breakneck speeds, something Cadance was not used to, despite having had wings her entire life. They began to bank, and Cadance started to slip, but she quickly pulled herself back into a more secure position, right as the worm began to slow down a bit.

When they leveled out, Cadance was able to sit up and pay more attention to where they had gone in such a short time.

“Wow…” She said, looking down.

The entire Crystal Empire was visible below them, every district, every building, even the large amounts of farmland surrounding them. The castle was especially visible as they circled hundreds of meters above it, something the worm tended to do quite often. Cadance had never had the chance to fly up to the top of the spire, much less this high. It was certainly breathtaking.

The worm chirped, catching her attention.

“What is it?” She asked,

Responding with a quick thrash of its head, the worm essentially bucked Cadance off, sending her further up into the air. She yelped, and quickly flared her wings to begin hovering, then glared at the worm. Before she could say anything though, the worm erupted into magenta flames once more, showing Cadance just why she had been thrown off.

When the smoke cleared, a much slimmer worm remained hovering mid-air, it held still, allowing Cadance to fly over and land on it once more, where a conveniently placed armor plate remained for her to hold on to.

“Ohhh.” Cadance realized, “Did you just want to fly faster?”

The worm chirped again, this time at a higher pitch.

Nodding, Cadance gripped the edges of the plate hard in preparation for what was to come, if she almost slipped when the worm was weighted, then it would be even harder to stay on when it wasn’t.

“Ready?” She asked, a tiny bit of uncertainty in her voice.

The worm clicked in agreement.

Gulping, Cadance reaffirmed her grip on the armor plate.

“Go!”

Shining Armor watched as the pair disappeared into the horizon, flying so fast it was hard to track them even from the ground. He waited for a few more moments before walking back into the castle with a sigh. Looks like another training session would be canceled.

Again.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

So this one was fun, quick too. Though the next few might not be. Due to reasons I am losing my ability to write on the go, which means I am restricted to writing at home, where I can easily get distracted. Hopefully though, since in return I will be getting a lot more free time, I can write more, but if I don't, feel free to tell me how lazy I am... within reason of course.