I ducked, the wooden staff passing by above my head and I shifted mine, held between foreleg and body, my hoof crooked around it.
Swinging it around, I gripped it with my teeth to spin it around in a return strike and to my other foreleg.
Moon Glow shifted her own around and brought it up to block, bracing it against her neck with her foreleg to take the impact. It completely threw me off when I felt the impact and I almost dropped my staff.
She pulled back, shifting her weight and rested her staff against her neck, held with one hoof, "You let go too early, sir. Always keep two points of contact with the staff. Hooves, teeth, neck, does not matter. But two points of contact or you completely lose leverage."
"This is way harder than it looks," I admitted and shifted my staff around into the same resting position as she held.
I could use a spear okay. Sword, yeah, sure. In my magic primarily.
But I used a sword held in my teeth in the past during training with Luna.
But that's not the training Moon Glow had set up. No, she wanted me to use the staff like an earth pony. Which meant no magic, no wings.
The worst thing was that I couldn't even really argue with her logic that sticks were everywhere and if I got as far as needing to defend myself like that, my wings and magic likely weren't working.
"It really is," she agreed with a nod, "while some things carry over from the spear, you don't have that sharp point so you really need good leverage and grip. You can't just jab and let the sharp point carry it through, sir. You're several times stronger than me, but you saw how my staff blocked yours with no effort?"
"One point of contact," I agreed, slowly nodding, "Shifting it with my teeth is well and good, but don't let go until I have it with my other hoof."
Moon Glow smiled and nodded, "Correct. If it helps, sir, you're doing really good for somepony that has never used a staff before."
"My bruises appreciate your kind words," I said dryly, "Not quite true though. I have used a staff before, it was the first thing I learned actually when my wife was teaching me to defend myself. But it was always held in my magic which is very different."
She nodded, "Going up against a good unicorn is a nightmare," she admitted, "They'll always have an advantage in grip and reach, even if they don't blast you with magic. You have to break their concentration somehow. A bonk to the horn is ideal for that."
I nodded in agreement, "Yes, having a red hot steel spike driven through your head sure breaks my attention, Glow."
She grinned, "That's the point, sir."
"I thought the point was that you enjoyed the opportunity to beat me with a stick."
Moon Glow smiled, "Whyever would I ever do that, your majesty?"
"Maybe for all the stress I put you through?" I suggested with a smile of my own, "Seriously though, Glow. I appreciate it. Both the work you do and agreeing to help me practice. If nothing else, it's good exercise."
"You're welcome, sir," she said and then glanced up at the moon, "I think we should break for tonight. It's getting late."
I nodded in agreement again, "And if I don't get to reviewing those reports, Flower is going to borrow your stick," I agreed and hoofed over my staff when Glow offered to take it.
Glow grinned and nodded, giving me a small bow. I nodded to her and then headed over to where Leaf and Shade were waiting,
"And you two don't need to be enjoying yourself so much," I teased them.
I got a pair of innocent looks in turn,
"Whatever do you mean, sir?" Leaf asked.
I shook my head with a smirk, "I swear, I should sell tickets or something," I said and then reached up with my hoof to brush my mane back. Shade held out my silver circlet and I smiled at her,
"Thanks," I said and took it in my magic, putting it back onto my head. Didn't want to risk damaging it by getting hit in the head with a stick.
I felt my mane with my hoof again. Starting to get a bit long really, but Luna liked it and so did Sunset. Even so, I should likely have it looked at and maybe evened out a bit. My tail too for that matter.
There wasn't much scheduled for the rest of the night. Well, official stuff anyway, I had planned to visit Fern closer to sunrise but until then my schedule was actually fairly clear.
There was a stack of reports and various stuff waiting back on my desk, but right now I rather jump off the platform with my wings tied.
I couldn't even go visit Sparks and Sunny, they were working on getting back on Nocturnis time during the trip so we were still awake.
But I could visit Sunshine.
"I think a nap is in order after all of this," I said and stretched a bit, "Especially if I'm going to be running around with Fern later. I'll never know where that overgrown houseplant gets the energy."
"It's a mystery, sir," Leaf commented.
I grinned at her and then took to the air, heading for my balcony. It wasn't a very long flight and I didn't bother to land.
Slowing down, I swept in through the opening and then pulled up hard, turned it into a flip and my tail wrapped around the rafter. The momentum swung me up and I put all four hooves on the ceiling to brace against the impact before swinging back down again.
Careful motions with my wings quickly slowed my swinging down to nothing before I pulled my legs to myself and wrapped myself in my wings.
One yawn, a bit of magic and I was in the dream realm.
A quick sorting and de-nightmaring of dreams later, I trotted up to Celestia's dreamportal. It was silvery and blue. She was having a happy normal dream.
Smiling, I touched my horn to the silvery surface and slipped in through it.
The dream formed around me and I found myself standing on the grass of a hill. I could see the mountain Canterlot is built on the side off in the distance, but no city clung to its side.
Beneath the hill was a small village surrounded by fields, but it looked different. Straw roofs, wood and mut walls. A dozen smaller buildings and a larger one that was made completely of wood, looking a bit like a longhouse.
A river glittered in the sunlight next to the village and I could see earth ponies going about their business.
A quick glance around revealed Celestia, she was laying on the grass, surrounded by a group of ponies of all major tribes, unicorn, pegasus and earth pony.
She looked younger, barely larger than Cadance is now, her mane still a bright pink and not moving.
Her group was facing a small gathering of earth ponies, led by an elderly earth pony.
Solidifying the dream as I approached, I listened in.
They were talking about... staying the winter?
Celestia's ears perked up and she looked around before she spotted me. She smiled and then turned back to the older earth pony, "Birch, this is my stallion, Blank Page."
I gave the elderly earth pony a bow, wings spread but didn't speak.
She looked me over and then nodded before turning back to Celestia, "It's agreed. In return for favorable weather during fall, your group may put camp on this hill and move through the village at will."
"Thank you, Birch. We appreciate it. We will assure that weather is favorable for your crops."
As the earth pony delegation got up and moved away, I slipped in next to Celestia and settled down, "This was really early," I told her softly.
"It was," she agreed and smiled softly, "Two years."
"Two years?"
"Two years until it really starts," she said softly, "That's when villages had really started to join my sister and me. That's when the earthy pony empire took notice. What followed was a long time of strife," she sighed before turning to me, nosing at my ear, "But these two years were really good."
I shifted, leaning against her, "And this time, did you intend to create something like Equestria?"
Celestia laughed and then smiled at me, "As much as you intended to become a prince. No, my sister and I’s goal at this time was to forge bonds between villages of the different tribes. To stop fighting and to increase trade."
"Well, you certainly succeeded there."
"Eventually," she said and then frowned, "Birch didn't survive the winter. She got ill soon after first snow."
"It was a rough time," I said quietly.
"...It was," Celestia agreed and then sighed, "One we must never return to," she said before she shook her head and then turned to smile at me, "I think this is a perfect time for a history lesson."
I had rather different ideas about what I rather spend the time doing, but I nodded anyway, "Of course, miss Celestia," I said with a smile, "What will I be learning today?"
"Let's go down to the village," she said and got to her hooves.
Nodding, I followed her.