The spell slashed through the air, the dirt exploding next to me and I threw myself to the side, for a second bringing a shield up to deflect the following spell as I rolled back onto my hooves.
I ducked, returning fire with a slashing force spell at the same time as my chakram went flying out.
Shining Armor took both of them on a pink shield that flashed up in a half dome before him before it dropped and his horn shone.
Then a spell of force lashed out at me in turn.
I knew better than to try to take one of those on my shield head on. Shining Armor hit like a bucking truck. Instead I angled the shield to deflect the blow down into the earth before me.
I can definitely tell he and Sparks are brother and sister, he hit almost as hard as she does.
The spell hit my shield and deflected into the dirt, the impact forcing me to take a step back. As the spray of dirt and dust rained through the air and obscured me from view, I wrapped myself in an invisibility spell and left an illusion of myself in place.
I ran to the side, moving around to flank.
Shining sent another spell through the air, this time a spear of ice. My illusion dodged to the side before returning fire.
He brought a shield up.
I snatched my chakram from the ground, spinning it in my magic as I charged, my horn shimmering.
My horn hit his shield from the side, the anti-shield spell I had been channeling popped it like a mirror in a shattering sound and I slashed at him with the spinning chakram.
He reacted quickly, taking it on the shoulder of his armor.
I flicked a pair of knives at him and his horn exploded out a shockwave of force. It hit me before I could react, taking me off my hooves and sending me rolling on the ground.
"Ow," I said, looking up against the blue skies.
"Ow is right," Shining said and looked down at the knife buried in his foreleg. The armor was mostly on the outside, one of them had managed to slip through, "That one is yours I think."
I shook my head and picked myself off the ground, "No, it's yours," I said and stomped my hoof on the ground, making my harness and cloak along with weapons fade away. His armour did the same, along with the wound, knife and all the damage we made to the meadow, "You were still able to cast and move, I took that blast right to the muzzle. If it was real, your next spell would have caught me before I could recover."
I then walked over to him and bumped my hoof against his, "You're better than last time," I accused him.
Shining grinned, "That was years ago. Besides, I'm Cadance’s Captain, I have to keep in practice."
"I find it difficult to find the time," I admitted, "I really should too. Never know when the next crisis appears."
"Perhaps Twilight would enjoy the same thing?" Celestia suggested as she, Cadance and Sunburst approached from where they had been watching.
Shining grinned, "The magic maybe, the physical activity, not so much."
"That, and the fact that I'm not sure I'd survive trying to take blasts from her at a regular basis," I agreed, "Even when holding back, it's like being hit by a log when she cast a spell."
"Are you really okay?" Sunburst asked Shining with a small frown.
Shining smiled at him, "I'm all good. Dream, remember," he said and moved his foreleg that I hit, "Can't even tell I took a hit. My own fault I even got hit, I didn't expect him to hit me from the side, nor be able to break my shield."
Celestia smiled and nosed at my ear, "Page can be quite sneaky when he bothers trying."
"You would know," I said and glanced up at her, my nose brushing hers.
Cadance looked smug and moved up between Shining and Sunburst, slipping a wing around each of them but didn't say anything. She just met my eyes for a second before turning her head to whisper something into Shinings ear.
Shining smiled and then looked to Celestia and myself, "We still have another couple of hours before we need to wake up, we're going to go explore I think."
"We are?" Sunburst asked and looked at him before he nodded, "Oh. We are!" he then agreed quickly.
"Have fun," I said, "We'll be... on a completely different part of the planet I think," before I looked at Celestia, "I just finished a new region, want to see it?"
"I would love to."
I smiled at her and tapped a hoof against the ground, moving us several hundred kilometers to the south from the starting valley. The grass beneath our hooves was replaced by drifting sand as we found ourselves in a desert just next to a rocky outcropping.
"A desert?" Celestia asked as she raised her head and looked around, "Why a desert?"
"I wanted to try something different. Besides, deserts can be nice."
She nodded, "I suppose," she agreed and walked a bit forward before turning to me with a smile, "It certainly far enough to give them some privacy."
"Yeah, I may have to create some sort of private areas," I admitted.
"Or not," Celestia said and gave me a small kiss, "Even that valley is more than big for the few ponies that know this place exists."
I nodded, "True," I admitted and looked around, "Come on," I said and jumped onto the rock outcropping and started walking.
Celestia followed, "Where are we going?" she asked as she moved up next to me.
"Nowhere really, just should get off the sand. When in the deep desert, stick to rocky terrain," I told her with a smile, "Besides, there was something I needed to discuss with you."
"What about?" Celestia asked, fluffing her wings a bit before lifting a wing to hold over me, giving me shade against the burning sun.
I smiled in thanks at her, "Trouble, what else?" I said before I sighed and moved a bit closer, my side touching hers as we walked, "I wish I never just had troubles."
She gave my ear a nuzzle, "What is it, Page?"
"Merchants in Canterlot are raising prices on my ponies. They have to buy on credit because there isn't enough liquid bits to buy outright yet and because of the risk of losing the cargo, the prices quoted are... high."
Celestia nodded, "I see. Do you have a solution?"
"I do," I said and sighed again, looking up at her, "But you know how much I hate asking for more bits."
She smiled a bit sadly but nodded, "I do know, Page."
"In this case however, it won't be a loan," I said, meeting her eyes, "An investment fund."
She smiled, "Oh?"
"I talked it through with Tight Bit and Starlight Glimmer. If we set up a fund the merchants in Nocturnis can borrow from to make their purchases at a five percent interest, it will not only lower the costs but also easily absorb the potentially lost cargo. They'll still be expected to pay it back in case of a loss, but could be added to the interest on further loans instead of bankrupting the pony or ponies in question. In time, it will even provide returns to the crown for the initial investment."
Celestia looked amused, "You wish to start a bank?"
"Well, not exactly," I admitted, "We'll likely need a couple of ponies managing it, but it's more of a pile of bits to improve the process."
Celestia looked thoughtful, "How much are we talking about?"
I flicked my ears a bit to the side before I sighed, "...Twenty thousand."
"Done."
I frowned up at her, "Sunshine..."
"None of that," Celestia said and brushed her lips against mine, "Even from my private accounts, it is a small amount. Is that twenty thousand with an emergency amount calculated in?"
I hesitated.
"In which case, make it an even fifty," she said with a smile, "Page, stop being silly."
"...I hate owing money, especially to ponies I know," I said and leaned against her.
"I know you do. But like you said, this isn't a loan. This is me setting up an investment for private business loans specifically for Equestrian colonies. One I expect to produce a profit in the future," Celestia told me and slipped a wing across me, pulling me against her side .
"...Thank you, Sunshine," I said and then smiled up at her, "Anything I can do to thank you?"
Celestia smirked, "A couple of things spring to mind."
"Well, a goddess does deserve to be wo-" Was as far as I got before I was interrupted. A rustling sound and something enormous moved beneath the sand. A dune collapsed in its wake before the sand became still once more.
Celestia stared at it before she turned to me, "Page, what exactly did you make in this desert?"
I just looked at her innocently.