“What kind of fighting style was that?” Shining's voice didn't hold the accusatory tone that Skyla had feared that it would and, as the group of ponies who had watched their bout filtered out of the room, she turned and offered him a smile.
“It was one that started as a pegasus style of martial arts, believe it or not,” she said, her heart still pounding from their fight. “A pegasus never just fights on the ground, they take the whole sky into account when they're in combat, and that was what my parents wanted me to remember.” She lifted her wings away from her body and gave Shining a shy smile. “It was partially to keep me aware of attacks from the sky, but mostly because I'm an alicorn and not taking advantage of something that is part of me would just be silly.”
Shining nodded as they moved to the far side of the room, his right hoof rising to the fresh dent on his breastplate. “Yeah... I guess I kinda forgot that myself,” he admitted with a sheepish grin as Skyla pulled her wings back against her. “You really caught me off guard with that little up-and-over maneuver you pulled. There aren't any pegasi in the Crystal Kingdom – none that were born here, at least – so it was kind of refreshing to have to think vertically.” Skyla's brow furrowed into a frown as she stared intently at Shining's breastplate, her mind moving slowly after her adrenaline-filled bout. After a few moments, however, all of the pieces clicked into place, and she felt her cheeks burn.
“O-oh, I... I dented your armor,” she observed, and immediately she kicked herself in the rump as Shining gave a dry chuckle.
“Yeah, you sure did. I was pretty proud of how this looked before, y'know...”
Oh dear Celestia, you're saying all the wrong things! Skyla's mind whirled for a split second as her thoughts tried their best to re-organize themselves into a more coherent formation in her head. He obviously isn't going to be happy that you hit him, you idiot! And you did it in front of his daughter, his wife, and some of the guards who work with him!! Skyla's ears folded back against her mane, and without another thought she turned to face him squarely and dropped her head into a deep bow.
“I-I'm sorry, Shining Armor,” she said, her words tumbling from her lips. “I didn't even think... I mean, I just got so swept up...” She took a deep breath and felt a spark of shame as it shook in her chest. “I'm so sorry,” she finished softly, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Whoa, there's no need to apologize,” came Shining's voice, his words quick and steady. “You just got caught up in the moment and did as you'd been trained to do, that's all.” Skyla opened her eyes and raised her head back up, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she met the unicorn's gaze again. The stallion gave her a broad smile and waved dismissively with his right hoof. “No shame in that, Skyla. In fact, that's one of the reasons I had us wearing breastplates today.” He tapped the shiny surface of his armor with his upraised hoof, and his smile became a grin as his horn lit up gently. His magic shimmered over the surface of the armor, and the dent popped out with a bright, pleasant ting! “There was no telling how we were going to match up against each other, and I thought that a little extra precaution might be a good thing – especially considering how close you got to knocking me out last night.”
Skyla's eyes widened as he lowered his hoof, the dent and scuffs gone as if they'd never been there in the first place. “You... removed the dent?”
“Well of course I did. Dents give the armor weak spots, and we can't have that.”
“But... but I thought that you'd never been hit before!”
Now the stallion arched an incredulous eyebrow at Skyla, though his grin retained the sly edge that it had gained when he'd fixed the dent. “Skyla, that's silly. Being a Prince doesn't mean that you can't get hit... it just means that you need to go through a couple of extra steps to make other ponies think that you can't be hit.” The stallion's magic shifted to the straps of his armor and began to undo them as Skyla stared at him, her mouth open in a confusing mixture of relief and confusion.
I'm starting to think that there's a lot about Shining Armor that I don't know.
Shining's magic made quick work of the straps, and in a few moments he placed the breastplate onto the stone floor next to the wooden spear he'd fought her with. He sighed deeply as his magic winked out and rolled his shoulders as he glanced back to where a few ponies were still lingering near the door.
“I know I said it before, but I hope it didn't bother you too much to have the crowd here,” he said softly. The bright aqua of Skyla's magic darted along her own piece of armor as she used it to feel along the thick straps and unclasp their buckles.
“O-oh... well, it did at first,” she admitted, her magic tugging at the armor and pulling it away from her chest. It was damp with sweat, though thankfully it wasn't matted down like she'd seen it before. A short little session like this is nothing compared to what I used to do... “But after you told me that everypony was just here out of curiosity, and that I could ask you to send them away if I really wanted to, it was easy to ignore them.” She twitched her horn and settled her breastplate onto the stone next to Shining's before lifting her left hoof to her chest and smoothing out her coat. “Actually, I didn't really even think about them when we were fighting...” she grinned sheepishly, “...is that weird?”
“Nah, not weird at all!” Shining stepped over his spear and move to the wall where he turned and sat down, his back pressed against the cool stone. “In fact, I'd have thought it was weird if you couldn't fight in those circumstances.” Skyla frowned at him as she stepped over her weapon and moved to sit next to him.
“And why's that?”
“Because of what you told us about your home,” he said simply, his eyes still looking around the room. “It sounds like your training there was a lot more intense, and I'm sure that your parents – at least the way you've described them – would probably have had plenty of ponies there to watch you grow towards the valiant alicorn general that they always wanted...” He winced and bit down on his words so forcefully that Skyla heard his teeth clack together as she sat down. The stallion closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly before turning towards Skyla. “I'm sorry,” he said as his eyes came open, “I didn't mean to sound like I know what happened over there.”
“Please, don't apologize,” said Skyla with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “You're not wrong, even a little bit: that's exactly how they acted.” She sat up straighter against the wall, her memories churning in the back of her mind as she fought to keep her expression neutral. “They wanted everypony to know just how powerful I was getting and how powerful I would become because, by extension, that meant that our kingdom was powerful. My mother wanted them to see me so that any spies that might have been in our midst – and there certainly were some – would report back to Queen Twilight and tell her how I strong I was... and my father...” she trailed off into silence as her face fell. “Well... yeah,” she finished lamely. Shining shifted on his rump and frowned at her.
“What's wrong?” he asked, and the pink filly bit her lip.
“Well... I-I guess it feels... weird... or bad to talk about him to... y'know... you.” To her surprise, Shining's smile returned to his lips and he chuckled deep in his chest.
“Are you afraid it would bother me?”
“...maybe?” Skyla felt her brow furrow, but Shining just waved a hoof.
“Don't be. That Shining Armor, your father? He's some other guy who turned out to be a-,” Shining once again bit down firmly on his words, his hoof darting to his mouth so that he could cough into it. “Well, he's not me, at any rate,” he finished, though Skyla couldn't help but feel a surge of curiosity as to what he had been going to say. “The point is, I kinda feel like you might need to get some stuff out. Y'know, talk about the things that bothered you about your parents, about that world's Shining Armor in particular, because I'm not him. I'm just a pony who looks like him, and lemme tell you that if you thought my shielding spell was thick, it's nothing compared to my hide.” He poked at his flank with his right hoof while squishing his face up, a combination that drew a giggle from Skyla. Shining joined in with her before shifting around so that he could face her directly, his eyes crystal clear and sharp as any sword. “I told you yesterday that I wanted to talk to you about your future, but I think that we might have to deal with your past before we can even think about moving on. My little sister once made an analogy about moving on as trying to catch a train while hauling a mountain of luggage, and that you could either stay at the station with all of your luggage or ditch it all and catch the train.” He chuckled. “As I recall, one of her friends was fairly upset by that little saying... but I think it made the point.”
Skyla nodded slowly as she let his words sink in and, despite her best efforts, the memories in the back of her head churned a little faster. Leave the past behind before you can move on to the future, she thought. That sounds like wisdom if I've ever heard it... but haven't I moved on? She frowned. I mean, I jumped dimensions to get away from all of that... aren't I already free? Silence stretched between her and Shining Armor, the stillness of the room around them ringing in her ears as she looked up at him. He really does look like father, she thought. The same jawline, the same silhouette... but there's something very different about him...
Suddenly, she felt her mouth open, and before she knew it she was speaking in a low, soft tone that wouldn't carry very far even in the empty cavern of the training hall.
“Father... always pressed me to train harder and longer,” she admitted. “Even when I was making progress, he always pushed me to do more. Do it again,” she intoned in a deep, gruff voice, “do it faster, do it ten times exactly like that!” She sighed. “That was what my life was like back in the Empire: eat, sleep, train, with a little bit of studying sprinkled in.” Her hoof scraped at the stone as her eyes dropped to the floor, visions of the past flashing behind her eyes. “Almost everything I've learned, as far as knowledge goes, was because I didn't have friends or anypony to spend time with... so I read. I read books upon books upon books... I probably read most of the books in the library back home.” She chuckled dryly. “I guess I should have thanked my parents before I left, since it was thanks to them ignoring me that I was able to complete my mirror.”
“Was your father the one who trained you with your staff?”
Skyla nodded slowly. “Yes, he was the one who suggested it as my weapon. Mother insisted that I should use a sword, but father... well, he told her that the staff was elegant and practical, as befitting a future queen.” She winced. “That was the last thing I wanted to hear, but he said it anyway...” Her horn ignited and she poked the staff with a gentle touch of her magic. “And now I'm stuck with the stupid thing, apparently,” she growled as she let her horn go dark. “If it was what I went out to do when I was stressed and worried, then I guess it's part of what I'm going to do from now on...” Next to her, Shining Armor sighed.
“Yeah... that's something they don't tell you in basic training: that your weapon becomes such a part of you that you sometimes feel like you can't think without it.” The corner of Skyla's lips quirked upwards and she rubbed her forehead with her hoof.
“Like I said, stuck with it,” she muttered. “To be honest, I kinda thought I'd be able to stop training when I came here, but when that guard told me I could go train and tire myself out... it was like I couldn't stop myself.”
“You've only been here a few weeks,” said Shining with a shrug. “How long were you training before this?”
“I dunno... since I was old enough to handle my magic?” Skyla pressed her lips into a thin line and shrugged as well. “So, maybe when I was eight or nine?”
“That's six or seven years that you've been training with the staff.” Shining's hooves clacked against the stone as he shifted and stood up, his shadow falling over Skyla. “And if you've been training as much as you say you have, I'm sorry to tell you that it's going to take a little longer than a few weeks to get yourself and your body out of the habit of training like that.”
“Greeeeeaaat,” deadpanned Skyla as she rose to her hooves, as well. Her ears drooped against her mane and she cast a disparaging glance at her wooden weapon. “Just what I needed... something else of theirs that I have to get rid of...” Her eyes went back to Shining, who bit his lip as his own ears flattened against his mane. Skyla frowned. “What? What did I say?”
“I...” Shining shook his head and seemed to war with himself about whether or not he should say what he was thinking. Skyla could see his jaw muscles clenching as he chewed his words and finally, after several moments of contemplation, the stallion sighed again. “Maybe... you don't have to get rid of everything they gave you.”
His tone was gentle and his words were carefully chosen but, despite his clear and apparent care, Skyla felt a wave of fire burst to life inside of her, its tongue licking the back of her throat.
“Oh?” she asked, and she couldn't keep the edge from her voice even if she'd wanted to. “And why not? All they've ever given me was pain and heartache – why shouldn't I try to cast away everything to do with them?” Shining Armor met her gaze squarely, but instead of responding immediately he lifted his right hoof, pad towards her, and held it there. Skyla frowned a little deeper as her gaze shifted from his eyes to his hoof and back again, and she was just about to ask if she was supposed to know what to do with his hoof when he spoke.
“Take it easy,” he said gently. “I'm not trying to tell you that you have to keep anything that they taught you.” He held her gaze as he dropped his hoof back to the ground, his tail flicking behind him. “But, if you'll forgive me saying so, I think it'd be a shame to throw away something that shows a little bit of love from them.” A bitter laugh ripped its way from Skyla's throat before she could even hope to stop it, and she felt her tail lash her hindquarters as she did so.
“A little bit of love?” she murmured angrily. “What did my parents ever give me that shows even the tiniest smidgen of anything even remotely resembling love?” The white stallion remained unfazed, his blue eyes calm and collected.
“Your training,” he said simply. Skyla scoffed again.
“My training was to forward their ideals for my life,” she said, a resentful edge slicing through her words like the honed blade of a knife. “It had nothing to do with love for me.”
“You might think so, and again, I can't tell you that you're wrong...” Shining shifted on his rump, an uncertain look flashing through his eyes for the first time since they'd started their training, “...but I can't help thinking that at least your father put some love into what he had you doing.” He lifted a hoof and pointed to the staff lying on the floor. “The staff is a very elegant weapon, one that takes advantage of a pony's natural agility and litheness – and a great choice for a pony like you, who has great flexibility in combat – but there's something else about it that I don't think you've considered.”
“And what's that?” quipped Skyla, her lips curling into a frown that she couldn't quite shake.
“It's defensive rather than aggressive,” Shining said, placing his hoof back to the floor. “The natural way to use the staff is for defense and, even when you're attacking with it, it's easy to step back and fall into a defensive stance that will get out back and out of trouble really fast.” He gave Skyla a small smile. “Did your father teach you something like that?” Skyla's lips relaxed and her brow furrowed as his question caught her off guard.
“Well, um... yeah, I guess he did,” she said after a moment. “How to flourish my staff to swat away enemy spears and swords and give myself room to maneuver. He told me that even if I can fly out of danger, flying isn't always the best option – especially if there are archers or mages nearby.” Shining nodded.
“Right – a maneuver that would keep you safe and give him a sign if you were in danger.” Shining sighed and shrugged, his shoulders sagging as he gave Skyla a tired smile. “I'm not trying to tell you that you're wrong about them, or that they were trying to do anything but use you for their own ends, Skyla... but I can tell you right now that if Flurry Heart were to become interested in fighting, I'd teach her the same style you know.”
Skyla felt a churning inside of her stomach, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick as her memories slammed around in her head again: memories of her father, so like Shining Armor and yet so different, sternly instructing her in the proper use of her staff.
~*~*~*~*~
“Again, Skyla!” Her father's voice rang across the indoor training area, his words and tone giving her no option but to obey. Skyla's teeth gritted together and she forced her exhausted body to move yet again, exactly the same way that she had hundreds of times before: she took a quick half-step back, her hooves scraping across the stone floor as she gave her horn a minute flick that brought her staff whirling up in front of her from its horizontal position, the ends blurring as it hummed through the air. She let it complete two whole revolutions before finishing her backpedal, the staff giving a final, firm flick downwards before coming to hover near her right side.
Skyla's muscles ached, and her head was starting to hurt from using her magic for so long... but despite her physical maladies, her bright eyes did not hesitate before darting to her father, who stood off to the side of the main training area. He wore his full armor, as he had done since Queen Cadence's official declaration of war on Equestria, and his eyes peered out at her from beneath the edge of his helm, his face impassive. She watched him for several long seconds as he stared blankly at her, and as she waited she felt her chest start to squeeze. Please, father, she thought, please tell me I did well... something, anything... please...
Finally, the white stallion nodded.
“Very well, Skyla. We're done for the day.” He turned and headed towards the door, his armor-clad hooves clanking loudly against the stone. Skyla dropped out of her stance and allowed herself a moment to relax, her wings drooping down almost to the stone as she released her magic and dropped the staff without a second thought.
“Father!” she called after the retreating figure, her hooves clicking as she turned to face him squarely. The stallion slowed to a stop, his helmeted head turning to face her as if he couldn't be less interested in her if he'd tried.
“What is it, Skyla? Do you wish me to run your drills yet again?”
“N-no, father, no... not today.” She let out a quick sigh and managed to stand up straight, sweat slowly dripping down her neck as she met his gaze. “Have... have I improved, sir? Is my technique better?” She managed a weak smile for him. “I... I know that I could be better, but... a-am I doing better..?”
Silence answered her for several long moments, and Skyla could feel her heart squeezing tighter in her chest as the massive stallion held his tongue. Please tell me I'm better, she silently begged. Please tell me that I'm improving... something, ANYTHING to motivate me..!
“You have improved,” he said cautiously, “but I fear you have much to learn before I'll be comfortable letting you loose on the battlefield by yourself.” He turned to face her a bit more squarely, and even though two dozen or more feet separated them Skyla could feel his smile, even if she couldn't really see it. “That flourish will help keep you safe, so I expect you to practice it whenever you aren't working on something else. Do I make myself clear?”
A smile burst on to Skyla's face, a ray of sunlight in an otherwise overcast day. “Yes, sir!” she answered briskly. The stallion nodded and turned to the door without another word, but Skyla knew that she wouldn't need another word: he'd already said exactly what she wanted to hear...
~*~*~*~*~
“He... he taught me the staff because he loved me?” she whispered, her words barely audible even to her own ears. “Because he cared about my safety..?” She let her gaze fall to the floor, her mind and heart whirling.
“I can only say that I think he did,” said Shining, his hooves shifting at the edge of her vision. “Or, I can say that I'd teach you the same thing because I care about your safety – maybe that's more the right way to say it...” He chuckled, a sound that drew Skyla's eyes back to him. “I'm trying to tell you that I care about your safety, Skyla, and that as a pony who cares about you, I can say that at least this thing – your staff style – is probably yours because your father cared about you, too.” The filly nodded slowly, the corners of her eyes pricking with tears.
“You... you care about me?” she asked.
“Well of course I do, you big dork!” said Shining with another lopsided grin. “I know we've got a lot of complicated stuff going on, and that there's a long way to go before any of us are comfortable making big, official-sounding declarations about anything, but I care about you a lot. I care about how things are going for you, and about how you want to spend your time here.” His grin grew into an earnest smile. “So if you'd like to continue doing this training, I'd be more than happy to help you – and heck, maybe we'll even teach you some brand new things, to boot.”
Skyla watched him, his face open and his eyes bright, as the weight of his words sank into her. He cares about me, she repeated, and as the words permeated her consciousness she had to admit that she felt a little silly about how surprised she was to hear them. I mean, he offered me a place in his home when he had no obligation to do so – I think that really says all that needs to be said, she thought wryly. However, hearing him say it out loud, without any filter or pretense to get in the way, somehow made it that much more real to Skyla, and with a brisk shake of her head she pushed the memories of her father away and gave Shining Armor the biggest smile she could muster.
“I'd love to keep going,” she said, her voice quivering as she tried to fight back her tears, “as long as you're willing to teach me!” The stallion nodded happily, his tail swishing behind him.
“That's awesome!” His eyes darted to the floor and back to Skyla, and a familiar look passed over the white stallion's eyes. “But we have to be careful – I don't want to ruin your ex-spear-ience!”
Skyla's eyes widened, and she couldn't even think about stopping the huge snort of laughter that wrenched its way free of her chest. She threw her head back and laughed long and loud at his stupid joke, her tears finally finding a reason to spill down her cheeks as her hooves flew to her sides. She heard Shining's laughter join hers, their mirth echoing together in the training hall, and as she did so she felt a little part of her shift ever so slightly. It wasn't much, like a door creaking open just enough to let a sliver of light out through the frame, but it was something more than she'd had before... and for the first time in a very long time, Skyla felt a tiny moment of peace.
Shining Armor cares about me... and maybe, just maybe... my father did, too. It was a thought that she'd never truly entertained, this idea that her parents had actually cared about her... but perhaps it was worth taking another look at.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun was slowly edging closer to the horizon as Celestia's hoofsteps echoed down the long hall in Canterlot Castle, their bright tones clashing with the soft orange sunlight that peeked in through the high windows in the hall. It was drawing close to the time when she and Luna would need to play their parts in shepherding day into night, and her sister had yet to appear from her chambers.
I'm sure she's just enjoying the evening air on her balcony, she thought as she nodded to one of her gold-clad guards as he passed her going the other direction. The guard tossed her a crisp salute as he passed, his smile determined and his face serious. After all, it truly is a beautiful evening. I couldn't blame her in the slightest if she was trying to shirk her duties just a little...
Celestia chuckled to herself as she approached the door to Luna's room, the brilliant silver crescent moon that adorned it making it impossible for her to mistake it as anything but her little sister's room. The white alicorn paused outside, her right ear twitching as she leaned her head a little closer to the portal. Pausing outside somepony else's room and listening before knocking or entering yourself was a terrible habit, she knew, but she'd grown used to it after teaching Twilight and countless other young fillies and colts for so many years. She knew that each pony needed and deserved their own space to live in and feel comfortable in, and they wouldn't feel that way if she just barged in whenever she needed something – no matter how much she knew that she absolutely could.
Not to mention that it has led to me hearing things that I probably ought not have, she reflected, her lips curving into a knowing smirk. But then again, that's sometimes proved more useful than I'd like to admit...
Her keen ears, however, detected nothing unusual coming from Luna's room. In fact, they couldn't detect anything from the other alicorn's quarters: not a single hoofstep, sigh, or even the rustle of wings to indicate that Luna was flitting about in the air greeted Celestia's refined listening technique, and with a soft sigh she straightened her neck. I'm ashamed to say that I'm a little disappointed, she admitted silently. Eavesdropping is a fairly thrilling pastime, after all, and I like to experience as much excitement as I can get! After all, barging into a pony's room was uncouth. Listening through their door was a much more... sophisticated kind of uncouth, and Celestia liked to think that she was nothing if not sophisticated. And so, faced with a silent sister inside a hidden room, Celestia did the most sophisticated and responsible thing that she could think of.
Her horn ignited with a soft golden light, the golden light gave the shiny brass handle of Luna's door a firm twist, and Celestia slipped into her sister's room without a sound.
The area was commodious and modestly decorated, with only bookshelves, a large desk, and a spacious bed to distract from the castle's natural elegance. Outside on the balcony, through doors that were thrown open wide to allow the fresh evening air to flow in, stood Luna's massive telescope, its lens pointed skyward in preparation for Luna's nighttime study of the stars over which she held sway. It was the one extravagant thing that she owned, and Celestia couldn't help but wonder if her sister's anti-materialistic mindset was some form of penance for her previous misdeeds.
Luna sat at her desk, a sizable book open before her. She sat with her chin in her upraised left hoof and a soft smile upon her lips, and Celestia hesitated in the doorway as she saw the gentle set of her sister's eyes. Oh... perhaps barging in wasn't the right thing to do, after all, she thought with a wince; however, as she moved slowly and quietly into the room, she felt her heart warm as Luna sighed and flipped a page with her right hoof. Celestia's smile grew, and with exquisite care she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, the latch clicking softly as she did so.
Luna's ear twitched and her eyes left the book in a flash, her teal eyes locking onto Celestia's as she put on her best sheepish grin.
“Oh, don't mind me,” said Celestia cheekily, “I was just coming to check on you.” Luna didn't move from her position, but her smile became a bit more pointed as she scrunched her muzzle.
“I don't seem to remember hearing you knock.”
“Hmm, that's strange – I swear I can remember knocking...”
“The last time you were here, perhaps,” said the dark blue alicorn with a sigh as she straightened her neck and sat up in her chair, her ethereal mane shimmering around her shoulders. “But I'm quite certain you did not knock this time, sister.”
“Aah, well, I suppose you may be right. It's getting so hard for me to remember such things in my old age...”
“You know as well as I do that you're not senile, Celestia. That little act may work on your subjects, but it most certainly does not work on me.” Celestia chuckled and moved to the desk, her gaze falling to the book that Luna was reading.
“I was just coming to get you for our nightly switch, and when I didn't hear you moving around I decided to check on you,” she said. Luna's left hoof shifted around the book's cover and closed it briskly, but Celestia didn't need to see what was written inside to know what book this was; after all, Luna might have been vain enough to put her cutie mark on her door, but she was certainly not vain enough to put it on a book unless there was a very specific reason for doing so. “Were you reading something from Skyla?” Luna nodded, her soft smile returning.
“Yes. She wrote me several times since I checked the book last, which makes me feel a little inadequate, I must say.” Her ears drooped, but her smile didn't falter. “I may have to make more time in my day to check this book if she's going to write me so often. The last thing I want is for her to feel ignored.” Celestia moved behind Luna and turned towards the balcony, where the sky was beginning to darken towards night.
“That's exactly how I felt when Twilight Sparkle was first writing to me from Ponyville,” she admitted. “It was her first big assignment away from the castle and away from me, and I couldn't help but think that something terrible might befall her if I didn't answer her as quickly as I could.” Luna's chair scraped across the smooth marble floor, and Celestia turned to her left as Luna moved to stand next to her.
“Which nothing did, of course,” said Luna with a smile that was equal parts worry and confidence. Celestia giggled and started slowly towards the balcony.
“Of course not,” she said. “Well, nothing that resulted from me not writing her back right away, at least.” She shrugged. “Twilight sort of turned out to be a bit of a magnet for adventure and bad things, so there really wasn't anything I could have done to prevent it.” She reached out with her right wing and brushed her feathers gently along Luna's back. “But that didn't stop me from writing back to her at every opportunity. I enjoyed talking to her, and I'm sure that you enjoy talking with Skyla just as much as she does with you.” She withdrew her wing and gave Luna a knowing wink. “I'm certain that nopony would object to you checking your book a little more often.”
Luna rolled her eyes, but her smile shone like a full moon in a clear winter sky. “I'll keep that in mind.”
“And how is Skyla doing?” asked Celestia as the pair stepped out onto the balcony.
“She's well, perhaps more so than I had expected.” Luna's ears perked back up, and Celestia could see the pride settle in on her sister's features as she continued. “She's quite strong, and just today she had an excellent time sparring with Shining Armor. She tells me that she actually scored a hit on him, if you can believe that.”
Celestia's eyebrows rose. “I suppose I can, though it's surprising. Shining's defensive skills were well known in the Royal Guard – almost the stuff of legend.”
“Skyla said as much, and as such she expressed no end of pride in being able to hit him as she did.” Luna's wings rustled, and she stood up a little taller as she gazed out onto the world below. “She also tells me that she feels like she may be making progress with her emotions. She's been trying to sort out how she feels about Shining Armor and Cadence ever since she decided to stay there with them, and she said that tonight she feels like she made an important step.” She met Celestia's gaze, and the love in her smile was unmistakable. “I feel so torn, Tia... I'm so happy that she's making progress, and I'm overjoyed that she's addressing her feelings... I just wish that I could be there with her to help her through it.”
“But you are,” said Celestia. “You're communicating with her via your book, and that clearly means the world to the both of you.” She nudged Luna with her wing. “You of all ponies should know that distance doesn't stop your love from getting to somepony.”
Luna laughed softly. “Yes... I suppose you're right.” She let out a sigh and flicked her tail. “I do worry about her... though that's to be expected, no doubt.”
“It most certainly is,” answered Celestia with a firm nod. “You'll worry and worry and worry. You'll worry if you hear from her too often, and you'll worry if you hear from her too little. You'll fret and agonize and brood and despair and even bite your hooves from time to time...” she sighed and gave Luna a knowing smile, “but that's what its like to love a child from afar, I'm afraid, and the only thing I can say is to not lose heart, because worrying proves that you care.” Luna sighed and her shoulders sagged, but the smile she offered Celestia was strong.
“...well... there's nothing to it, then.” She gave her head a shake and straightened, her eyes clear as she stared out at Equestria below them. “Let's make short work of this, so I can go in and write back to her posthaste.”
Celestia's horn ignited with a blaze of gold and Luna's with a flare of blue, the two colors each filling their respective halves of the balcony as if they were a tangible substance and not just light.
“It'll be the fastest sunset and moonrise in Equestrian history,” she said with a grin.