Consanguinity

by D4ftP0ny

A Study in Skyla

The first thing Flurry Heart noticed was that she could hear the birds outside the window, chirping away as they greeted the new morning. It was a sound that made her smile even before she opened her eyes, her heart fluttering in time with their warbling calls as she shifted onto her back and stretched in the blankets. Mmm... it sounds like a... a lovely morning, she thought, the warm cloud of sleep still drifting across her mind. She inhaled sharply and held it for several long seconds as she stretched before allowing her body to relax and exhaling in satisfying fashion. Aaahh... it sounds really nice outside, but maybe I'll just go back to sleep...

She rolled over onto her right side and curled up against the warm, comforting blankets as she wrinkled her nose against the cool morning air from Skyla's open window. Besides, it's way too chilly to get out of bed just yet, she thought, her eyes squeezing shut more tightly as a huge, silent yawn forced its way out of her muzzle. Even a Princess shouldn't be expected to get out of bed when it's too chilly. She smirked and snuggled down a little further into the blankets, burying her nose into their soft folds. I'm sure Mommy'll come wake me up when I need to get up... but until then... she let out a sigh as she felt herself starting to drift back towards sleep, I don't see why I need to be out of bed... just yet...

She gave herself willingly to the embrace of sleep, eager to dive into her dreams once more, but just as she touched sleep's glassy surface she was yanked back to wakefulness as if she'd been tugged by a rope. She jerked sharply and her eyes flew open as she lifted her head off of the bed, her muzzle still covered by the blankets she'd rooted down into.

The sky was growing brighter out the window, but she could tell that it was still too early for the sun to even be up. It was a time of morning that she thought should definitely be off limits and one that she avoided whenever she could, but one that she recognized thanks to her mother's insistence that she rise early for special events. She blinked in the half light of the room, her ears fully upright and twitching amid her messy curls as she lifted her right hoof and tugged the blanket off of the end of her nose.

“What happened..?” she mused, her words feeling fat and sluggish as her tongue did its best to work while still being mostly asleep. “Why... what woke me up..?” She licked her lips and blinked languidly before bringing her hoof up to her eyes and rubbing them firmly as she made a small, irritated noise in her throat. “Mmmmmmph... mornings suuuuck...”

She was about to flop back down and attempt to sleep one more time when she felt something impact her backside, and the strike was firm enough that it made her jump in surprise. It didn't hurt, but it was enough to cause a bubble of indignation to rise up in Flurry's chest in the form of a grumpy growl.

“Heeeeyy, knock it off, Skyla,” she grumbled, her wings extending behind her and flailing lazily as she waved her right hoof near her head. “We don't have lessons today, so we should get more sleep...” She let out a sigh and pulled her wings back against her, but only moments later she felt another strike against her rump, just as firm as the first. Her eyes narrowed as she felt her irritation boil towards anger, and with another growl she twisted on the bed so that she could face her companion. “HEY, I said to knock it off-!”

She felt her words die on her lips as her gaze found Skyla still fast asleep, her brow furrowed as if she were knee deep in worry. She was lying on her right side, just as Flurry had been, so that her hooves were pointed at Flurry's back and, as she watched, Flurry saw her back hooves kick in her sleep so hard that they tapped against her leg again. Her eyes widened as Skyla's lips moved, half-spoken words tumbling from them as she breathed in her sleep.

“Skyla..?” whispered Flurry, her ears folding back against her mane. She pushed at the blankets with her front hooves, freeing herself from their comforting embrace so that she could scoot closer to the other filly, who's frown only deepened as Flurry drew nearer. “Skyla, are... are you okay?” she asked, her heart suddenly pounding in her ears. “Is everything alright?”

Skyla's only response was to kick her hooves again, her tousled mane twisting around her ears as she squirmed. Flurry shook her head as she stared at her bed mate, panic rising swiftly in her chest as unblocked feelings flowed through her freshly awakened form. With a muttered curse word that she'd heard one of the guards use, Flurry did the only thing she could think of to do: she extended her front hooves and threw herself forward onto Skyla, her whole weight crashing down onto the other filly with a soft whump.

For a second, nothing happened: Skyla made a funny squeaking noise as all the air left her lungs, but she didn't move or try to remove Flurry from her body. Flurry's panic flailed inside her as the other pony's form lay dormant beneath her sprawled self, and her wings rose away from her body as she prepared to move onto the next phase of the plan. If that didn't wake her up, I'll make SURE she wakes up!

The rest of the plan, however, turned out to be unnecessary. As the first second passed, Skyla's whole body tense and she gave a sharp jerk beneath Flurry's smaller form as she inhaled sharply and let out an angry growl.

“Flurry Hearrrrt, get off of me!” she wheezed, her wings wriggling beneath Flurry's chest. “I can't breathe with you up there..!” Flurry felt all of the tension that had been inside her suddenly relax, and she felt tears gather in her eyes as she moved her legs beneath her and stood up. She stepped backwards and away from Skyla, who levered herself up with her forelegs and gave Flurry a grouchy glare. “What was that for?” she grumbled, her mane disheveled and her ears flat against her head. “At least I try to be nice when I wake you up...”

“But...” sniffled Flurry as she sat back down onto the bed, her tail curling around her as she did her best not to dissolve into tears, “you were muttering in your sleep, and kicking me in the back... I... I got scared, and didn't know what to do...”

Skyla blinked. “I... I was?” she asked, and Flurry nodded vigorously, her already untidy mane getting even more mixed up as she did.

“Uh-huh... I couldn't hear what you were saying, but you were doing it a lot.” She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her left hoof, her lip quivering. “And you looked really upset, like... like you were having a bad dream or something...” She sniffled again and let out a long sigh before dropping her hoof back to the bed, her mane drooping into her eyes as she shifted. “I didn't think, I just kinda... did it.” Her brow furrowed and she extended her right hoof towards Skyla. “I didn't hurt you, did I?” To her relief, Skyla shook her head.

“No, you didn't hurt me,” she admitted, “but you did scare me.” She frowned. “And... I don't remember having a scary dream. I really can't remember if I had any dreams last night.”

Flurry sat forward. “So you don't remember why you were muttering and tossing around like that?” I'm sure that I'd remember if I had a dream that made me mutter and kick my hooves in my sleep, thought Flurry as a little piece of irritation broke off and floated around her mind, but just as quickly as she felt it, she dismissed it. But, I heard from mommy that waking somepony up too fast can make them forget whatever dreams they were having, so... She winced. So it's actually my fault she can't remember... super...

“No, I can't remember a thing about any dreams,” repeated Skyla, her mouth curving downwards a little bit more as she narrowed her eyes at Flurry. “But it might be because I didn't sleep when I normally do last night. I was up late with-,” her eyes widened, and her frown exploded into a broad smile so quickly that Flurry Heart blinked. “Oh! You were asleep when I came back in, so I didn't get to tell you what happened!”

Flurry smiled sheepishly. “I honestly didn't even know you left... but tell me what happened!”

With expressive hoof gestures, Skyla quickly recounted her late night encounter with Shining Armor, including her conversation with the guard and her practicing with the stallion in the training area. She described in detail how close she'd come to striking the white pony, and Flurry couldn't help but wince when she did so.

“...you almost hit daddy in the face?” she whispered, and Skyla nodded emphatically.

“Yeah, I did! It was so close that I bet he could feel the breeze from it!” The pink filly rose to her hooves and hopped down out of her bed as the sky grew brighter outside. “He told me that we could really practice today, since we didn't get to do a whole lot last night!” She turned and gave Flurry a broad grin before shaking herself from nose to rump, her mane, tail, and wings all flailing around her chaotically before she stretched languorously.

“And you're gonna do it?” Flurry asked as she, too, hopped down off the bed and stretched, her muscles pulling tight across her back and shoulders as she did so. She extended her wings up and away from her body, stretching them as far as she could before returning them to their resting place against her back.

“Well of course I'm gonna do it,” replied Skyla as she trotted over to the window, her eyes bright. “Like I would pass up the opportunity to spar with somepony as distinguished as Shining Armor!” The light from the morning sun suddenly poured through the window, illuminating the gold in the taller filly's mane as she beamed out at the city below her. “I'd never be happy with myself if I didn't go for it,” she said softly. Flurry Heart frowned at her as the room brightened, her bottom lip protruding out into a pout despite her attempts to the contrary.

“It seems like something that you really want to do,” she said, and Skyla turned away from the sunrise to nod.

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

“Well, that's the first I've heard of it,” Flurry huffed as she moved to stand next to Skyla, her wings rustling against her flanks. “You never mentioned fighting or anything like that before, and now it's suddenly a huge part of you?”

Now Skyla's face fell, and, as Flurry watched, it was like a door had closed behind the other filly's eyes – a door that was always guarded and seldom open.

“I guess I haven't told you everything about me,” she said simply, her lips slowly moving back to the flat line that was Skyla's default expression. Flurry huffed again, louder this time, and her cheeks puffed out slightly as she frowned.

“And what about your bad dream?” she pressed, taking a step closer to Skyla. The other filly's brow furrowed.

“What about my dream?” she muttered, taking a step away from Flurry Heart. “I can't even remember it, so it must not have been that bad. Just... drop it.” She turned and moved towards the vanity that sat opposite the window, her magic igniting along her horn as she walked. Flurry gave her head a vehement shake and followed Skyla, her tail swishing angrily behind her.

“Skyla, we're sisters,” she said, “and sisters are supposed to talk and share and know everything about each other! And I didn't know that you like all that fighting stuff, and we aren't talking about your dream... that just doesn't feel right!”

Skyla stopped at her vanity and snatched up the hairbrush that sat on it with her magic; without hesitation she spun around and leveled the brush at Flurry, the rounded front edge of the brush so close to her nose that she had to stop and jerk her head back to avoid running into it.

“That's enough,” said Skyla, her as voice flat and hard as a skipping stone. Flurry blinked at the brush and brought her gaze back to Skyla, and she was taken aback by the stoical look the other pony's eyes. Her blue gaze lacked the luster that had been there mere minutes ago, and had been replaced by something that Flurry had never seen on the other filly's face. “I know that we're sharing the same space right now, Flurry Heart,” she said as she allowed the brush to sink and float back towards her, “but we're not sisters. You're from here, and I'm from somewhere else. If anything, I'm just a stranger who's come to depend on the kindness of your family – an immigrant without a place to return to – and that's not the same as a sister.” She sighed and turned back to the vanity before lifting the brush to her mane. “You deserve better than that,” she muttered out of the corner of her mouth as she began to brush her hair. “Better than me.”

Flurry Heart felt an uncomfortable squeezing sensation in her chest as Skyla's words fell across her and, combined with the look on Skyla's face, they seemed to wring all of the sunshine out of the whole world. Her ears wilted towards her mane, and she sat her rump down onto the floor as a beam of sunshine started to make its way down the wall in front of her.

“You... don't think of us as sisters..?” she whispered, her lip quivering again as the tears she'd denied earlier came roaring back to her. Skyla sighed and stopped brushing long enough to look at her in the mirror and give her a soft smile.

“Flurry Heart... you know that I care about you,” she said gently, “but a sister is... something different. Something that I... don't know how to be.” She winced and started brushing again, faster than before. “Look, don't worry about that,” she said quickly. “Just worry about watching me spar against Shining later, and I'm sure everything will sort itself out.” Her eyes flicked to Flurry in the mirror again. “If you want your mane brushed, you're going to have to get your rump over here,” she said, a tiny smile touching the corners of her mouth.

Flurry stared at her for a long moment, her insides churning and forcing tears closer and closer to her eyes. What does she mean? she thought. Why is she saying these things? What else is she hiding from me? She sniffled against the sudden blockage in her nose, and Skyla's tiny smile retreated back to where it'd come from. The older filly let out a sigh, turned from the vanity, and crossed the space that separated them. She circled around behind Flurry, who continued to stare at the vanity as she struggled to comprehend what was happening; she passed out of Flurry's line of sight, and a few moments later came the familiar tugging of a brush on the ends of Flurry's curly mane. Flurry winced in spite of herself and bit her bottom lip to keep her comments from coming out.

Silence settled between the two fillies, with only the sound of the rhythmic pulls of the hairbrush to tell them that time hadn't stopped around them, and Flurry Heart found herself squirming in that silence. It wasn't a nice kind of quiet, like the kind that happens when ponies are reading books or doing other quiet things together; rather, it was a quiet that made her feel antsy and uncomfortable, as if it were somehow making her want to scream out loud and leap out of the window to escape it.

Finally, Skyla sighed in her ear.

“Look, I'm sorry if what I said made you sad,” she said, “and you know that I care about you a lot, but... I just don't think we should be calling each other sister.” The brush pulled at a knot, and Flurry winced.

“Mommy and Aunt Twilight call each other that,” she muttered, not even trying to hide the sulkiness in her voice. The brush slowed a little, but only for a moment as Skyla sighed again.

“That's not the same thing,” she said as the brush resumed its previous pace. “Your mom married your dad and that makes her Twilight's sister by law. That's different.”

Flurry felt her shoulders slump, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Okay,” she whispered, tears causing the edges of her words to tremble. The brush slowed again, but this time Skyla said nothing and, after a few more minutes of silence, the brush left Flurry's hair and floated to the vanity as Skyla stood up behind her.

“All right, you're good to go,” she said gently. “Why don't we head down and check out what's for breakfast? I'm sure that they've got something we could have, even though it's still a little early for everypony to be awake.” The thought of food sparked a glimmer of excitement in Flurry's heart, and she sat up a little straighter despite the tears that still stained her cheeks.

“Okay,” she said again, a little more firmly this time. “I am really hungry...” Skyla's smile returned, and it made Flurry's heart feel better just to see her look happy again.

“Well, let's not waste any time, then. If you're not careful, all the good muffins will be gone before you get there.”

Flurry frowned. “How... how do you know that?” she asked, and, to her surprise, Skyla's smile became a grin.

“Because I'm going to get there first and eat them,” she whispered wickedly. She turned and bolted for the door, her wings giving a single flap that propelled her forward and pushed Flurry's newly brushed mane out of her face. Before she knew quite what was happening, Flurry found herself on her hooves and scrambling for the door as Skyla pushed it open and hesitated in the hallway, her eyes on Flurry.

“Don't you eat them all!” shouted Flurry, a smile bursting back onto her face. “I'm gonna get to my muffins first!” Skyla just grinned and leaped forward, her mane and tail flowing elegantly as she did so. Flurry slammed the door behind her and took off after the pink filly, her large wings flapping insistently as she willed herself to go faster. It wasn't as if the conversation earlier hadn't happened – she knew that she couldn't forget what Skyla had said, or what she'd learned – but it truthfully wasn't as if things had changed. She still felt the same way about Skyla and, no matter what the other filly said, Flurry knew what she felt.

I just have to show her, no matter what, she thought as she hurtled down the hall. I just have to be her sister, no matter what she says... and someday she'll see it, too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Wait, she came how close to hitting you in the face?” Cadence paused, her right front hoof still suspended off the floor as she stared at her husband. Shining Armor smiled disarmingly and shrugged.

“Pretty darn close,” he admitted, raising his left hoof up in front of his face. He moved it to a spot perhaps five inches from his muzzle before giving Cadence a lopsided grin. “If I'd have been a little bit slower, you'd have had a husband with a black eye this morning.” Cadence's eyes narrowed at him, and he had the grace to look sheepish as he placed his hoof back to the floor.

“Shining Armor, that was very irresponsible of you,” she chided as she pressed the metal chest plate suspended in her magic firmly against Shining, the aqua blue sparkles darting around it to secure the straps that would hold it to the stallion. “I can't believe that you would do something so reckless so late at night.” Cadence's magic went dark and she stepped back from Shining, who rolled his shoulders and shifted his body as he acclimated to the breastplate.

“Oh, don't give me that tone,” said Shining lightly. “I was just following our plan to try and get closer to her – remember, the one where we spend time with her separately and together to form deeper bonds with her?” He gave his shoulders one final roll before giving her his most dashing grin. “Besides, she wasn't anything I couldn't handle.” Cadence's muzzle wrinkled as she gave her husband the most condescending look she could muster. Says the stallion who almost got a mouthful of wood shavings last night, she thought wryly.

“Well, it won't be long before you'll have to put your bits where your bridle fits,” she said with a nod towards the door behind him. “I heard from the guards that Skyla and Flurry were up extra early today, and that this practice match is all that they've been able to talk about.”

The stallion nodded as his horn ignited with magenta magic and wrapped around the wooden spear that leaned against the wall to his right. “I heard that, too. I guess this really is something that she wanted to do...” He let his words fall away as the spear floated to him, and Cadence rolled her eyes.

“I know that face,” she said as her own horn lit up with soft blue light. “That is the face my husband makes when he isn't sure he's doing the right thing.” Her magic touched the edges of Shining's breastplate as she dropped her gaze to its unblemished surface, its lack of dents and scratches a testament to Shining's skill. “I'm going to tell you this just once, Shining Armor: don't think too hard about this.” She gave her horn a twitch and shifted the breastplate around minutely as a smile touched her lips. “Skyla was training on her own, and she leaped at the chance you offered her. Don't worry about anything other than giving her your full attention today.” She took a step towards Shining as she released her magic, pressing her chest against his breastplate as she brought her eyes back to his. “That's the best we can do,” she whispered as she looked into his bright blue eyes, the eyes that Flurry had inherited. Her smile quirked upwards a little more as she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss against Shining's lips, her heart skipping a beat despite the hundreds upon hundreds of times she'd kissed him before. Shining's brow smoothed as Cadence pulled back, and his smile returned in the wake of her kiss.

“You're right. I have to give Skyla one hundred percent of my attention.” He twitched his horn to his left and the spear floated in front of him, its shaft vertical with the point up. “Otherwise, she might actually hit me this time.”

“And we wouldn't want that, would we?” chuckled Cadence as she stepped around Shining's left and put a hoof on the door behind him. Shining turned around as Cadence pushed the door open, and together the pair walked out into the training hall.

The hall wasn't full of ponies by any means, but Cadence still found herself surprised at how many ponies had decided to come and watch this sparring match. Cadence and Shining Armor had been in one of several small staging rooms that sat opposite the entrances and adjacent to the room where the practice weapons were stored, and from where she stood she could see no less than two dozen ponies lining the walls in pairs and trios, their heads pressed together in quiet conversation as they waited for the practice match to get started. Her eyes swept the clusters of onlookers, surprise filling her to the brim.

“I thought this was just going to be a private thing,” she murmured to Shining.

“I thought so, too,” he admitted with a sigh, “but Crystal Lance told me that it's been the talk of the Guard ever since Skyla woke up this morning. Apparently rumor moves faster than sunlight in this Kingdom.” He huffed softly, his mouth drawing into a thin line. “I could call to clear the training room, of course, but all of these mares and stallions are off-duty...”

“Say no more.” Cadence lifted her left hoof and patted Shining on the shoulder, her lips curved into a supportive smile. “I'm sure you'll both be fine, even if there's an audience.” She leaned over and planted another kiss on his cheek before returning her hoof to the ground and taking a step back, allowing the stallion to move forward into the room while she turned and started to move along the wall to her left.

Her eyes swept the room again, and it was easy for her to locate Skyla as she walked. The pink alicorn was standing at the center of the training room, her staff tucked beneath her right wing as she eagerly watched Shining approach. She wore a breastplate as well, though hers was not quite as unmarred and lustrous as Shining's was, and Cadence had to admit that she looked quite natural in it. She didn't slouch or fidget with it, as Cadence imagined that Flurry might if forced to wear such a thing; instead, she stood up straight as Shining approached her, an excited smile chasing away her normally placid facade. It's clear which of her parents she took after, thought Cadence with a wry smile. Even if she looks a lot like me when I was younger, it's clear that she takes after the Sparkle side.

Cadence's hoofsteps slowed minutely as she watched Shining stop in front of Skyla, his smile just as bright as hers. He nodded and spoke to her, though his words were too soft for Cadence to hear, and Skyla nodded in return, her ears perked straight up out of her curly mane. She really does look like me... The thought shouldn't have surprised Cadence, but it did catch her off guard nonetheless. It's one thing to know that her mom is you from another universe, but to see such a striking resemblance even though you know you're not her real mom is... almost disconcerting. She watched Skyla and Shining both gesture as they spoke, their smiles growing as they did so. And to see how much she resembles Shining Armor in her expressions and attitude is almost as weird... Cadence turned the corner of the room and started up for a point near the center when a voice reached her ears, a voice that yanked her attention away from the impending sparring match faster than Twilight yanking a book away from a pool of water on a table.

“Mommy! Over here!”

Flurry Heart's voice drew Cadence's eyes to a spot very near the middle of the training area, where she saw the small white alicorn waving her hoof frantically next to a taciturn Starlight Glimmer, who was pointedly keeping her attention on the ponies at the center of the room. Cadence's smile returned and she moved towards her daughter, who began to bounce in place as she approached. The small group of ponies who had gathered around the small Princess all bowed to Cadence and spread out along the designated training space, leaving plenty of room for the royals to watch unobstructed.

“I was wondering where you'd be,” said Cadence as she stopped in front of her ecstatic offspring. “Are you excited to watch daddy and Skyla spar?”

“It's all she's been able to talk about since she found me an hour ago,” muttered Starlight, her ears tilting back towards her mane, “so I'd say the answer to your question is yes, Princess.” Flurry bounded into the air once more, this time adding a massive flap of her wings so that she launched twice Cadence's height into the air before returning to the ground, her disheveled mane falling wildly around her brilliant blue eyes.

“Of course I'm excited!” she exclaimed, her tail swishing behind her as she crouched low, her wings still extended. “How could I not be excited?! Daddy and Skyla are going to fight!” Cadence fought the urge to roll her eyes at her daughter as she extended a hoof and began flipping stray locks of Flurry's mane back into place.

“Now calm down, Flurry. It's not a fight, it's a sparring match.” Cadence's hoof made quick work of Flurry's tousled tresses and returned to the floor as the small alicorn's brow furrowed up at her.

“What's the difference?”

“A fight would imply that they're trying to hurt each other,” said Cadence simply as she turned to her right and faced the center of the room, where Shining and Skyla were still talking to one another. “This is training, where your daddy is trying to see how much Skyla already knows about fighting and teach her a little more.” Flurry hurried to stand in front of Cadence, plopping her rump down right at Cadences hooves so she could lean against her legs.

“What's he going to teach her?” she asked, and Cadence shrugged.

“I'm not sure. I guess we'll just have to watch and find out.” Shining Armor and Skyla shared one final nod before backing away from one another for several pony lengths, their smiles still firmly in place. Shining must have done a good job of keeping her calm despite the crowd, she thought, her gaze darting around to the onlooking ponies once more. As the Prince and Skyla moved, all conversation in the room died and plunged the space into an almost deafening silence that was perforated only by the shifting of ponies and the clopping of the combatant's hooves. Shining's magic moved his spear to hover in front of him, the shaft slanted downwards across his chest with the tip pointing towards the ground to his right, and Skyla's magic burst to life and moved her staff into a similar position as their hooves came to a stop.

Silence reigned over the room for several long moments, and only the breathing of Starlight to her left and Flurry beneath her kept Cadence from wondering if she'd been trapped in a time-freeze spell. Then, without any warning or signal, Shining Armor gave a loud, bellowing war cry and rushed forward, his spear lifting so that it was pointed directly at Skyla's chest.

Cadence felt Flurry Heart jump at Shining's shout, but the filly remained silent as the stallion rushed towards Skyla, who simply bent her knees and held her ground, her ears flat against her head and her eyes focused entirely on Shining Armor's massive form. He dwarfed her in every way, but the pink alicorn showed no signs of retreat as the Prince drew within striking distance and, almost faster than Cadence could follow, the huge stallion locked his legs, turned his body, and lashed out with his spear in such a way that Skyla would have had no chance of hitting him even if she'd used every last inch of her staff. The wooden point lanced straight for Skyla's chest, but a flick of her horn brought the right side of her staff up so that it batted Shining's spear away as easily as if it had been Flurry Heart trying to hit her with a stick. Shining stepped back as Skyla allowed her momentum to carry her around in a quick spin to her left that brought her staff around in a sweeping strike from the right that she aimed at the stallion's legs, but Shining's retreat meant that her staff whistled through empty space in an arc that surely would have left the Prince with aching knees for weeks had he not moved.

Skyla's magic shifted on the staff as she stepped forward and pressed her attack, her eyes focused on Shining to the exclusion of everything else as she whirled the staff and struck out at Shining's face with the left side of her weapon; Shining Armor, however, merely pulled his head back and let her strike swish past him, his eyes calm and impassive. She shifted to strike with the right side of her staff and Shining repeated his dodge effortlessly as she struck at him once, twice, then thrice more at his head in quick succession; however, Shining Armor did not dodge the last strike, instead whipping his spear up and batting the left side of her staff away much as she had done his weapon earlier. Skyla's hooves skittered across the smooth stone floor as she fell back, her staff whirling in one quick defensive sweep as she took several steps away from Shining, who gave her a broad grin.

“Not too bad, kiddo,” said Shining, his voice light and conversational, “but you're going to have to really step up your game if you're gonna hit me.” Skyla took a step to her right, her eyes never leaving Shining's as she began to circle him.

“Honestly, I thought I'd be a little closer to hitting you already,” said Skyla as she moved. “I guess you were tired last night.”

“Yeah, I was,” admitted Shining with a chuckle as he began to circle, as well. “Sorry to make you work harder than you thought you'd have to.”

“Don't be – I'd much rather have a challenge!” Skyla's hooves scraped against the stone as she lunged forward into an attack again, her wings giving a mighty flap that propelled her forward with a mighty war cry that almost rivaled Shining's. A murmur of approval rose from the gathered ponies as Skyla went back on the offensive, her staff whirring through the air like an angry wasp seeking to attack somepony who had disturbed its nest. Cadence felt Flurry shift against her legs, but to her surprise it was Starlight who spoke first, her tone echoing the quiet scrutiny of the rest of the crowd.

“Shining's got the upper hoof, but Skyla's impressive,” she said softly. “I can't believe she knows how to fight like that...” Cadence nodded as she watched Skyla and Shining spar, their wooden weapons cracking violently against each other.

“I agree... I never would have guessed that she'd press Shining so hard.” Skyla might lack physical size, but she's being much more aggressive than I expected... though considering what Shining told me about last night, I suppose I really shouldn't be surprised.

“I can't tell who's winning,” grumbled Flurry at her hooves, and Cadence pulled herself out of her reverie to glance down at her daughter, who looked up at her with a scrunched muzzle. “You guys are talking like you know what's going on, but I can't tell at all.” Cadence breathed a laugh through her nose and offered Flurry a gentle, parental smile.

“Well, I've watched your daddy spar with other ponies for a very long time, snowflake, so it's easy for me to tell when he's having a hard time with an opponent.” Flurry's eyes widened and her muzzle smoothed out.

“And is he having a hard time against Skyla?” she asked. Cadence opened her mouth to respond, but the thought that Shining might not want his daughter to know how exactly he was fairing in a battle against a teenager caused her to hesitate over her answer and, once again, Starlight Glimmer surprised her by sighing loudly and turning her attention to Flurry.

“He is,” she said simply. Cadence straightened and couldn't stop herself from leveling a cool look at Starlight, but the unicorn simply returned her gaze with one of the exact same temperature. “I may not have watched him my whole life, Princess, but I can see. He's having a hard time keeping that staff of hers away from his bright, shiny breastplate, and I think he's more than a little put off by it.” The cracking of wooden weapons shifted in tone, drawing Cadence's gaze back to the match. Shining Armor slid to his left and jabbed with his spear, an attack that Skyla had to dart back and out of the way to avoid, but it came so close to her coat that the crowd collectively inhaled through their teeth as the young alicorn regrouped. Cadence could see sweat beading on Skyla's coat and, to her surprise, on Shining's coat, as well. Hmm... maybe I've been making him neglect his training a little too much...

“How can you tell?” complained Flurry with a frustrated clop of her front hooves. “I just see them moving around and hitting at each other!” Cadence sighed softly and started to gather every last ounce of combat knowledge that she'd gleaned from Shining over the years so that she might be able to appease her curious daughter, but it was Starlight who responded first. The unicorn sighed much louder than Cadence and stepped forward, dropping to her knees next to Flurry so that they could look at the fight from the same level.

“All right, look at how they're moving.” She lifted her left hoof and pointed to Shining and Skyla, who clashed loudly before drawing back a few paces from one another. “Look at them, and tell me what you see.” The pair watched each other warily for several heartbeats before Skyla pressed her attack yet again, her staff whirling and striking at Shining's impeccable defense.

Flurry Heart was silent as she watched, so silent that Cadence was sure that she'd simply decided to give up her line of inquiry to avoid having to deal with Starlight Glimmer, who had, admittedly, always been a bit cold towards the smaller alicorn. However, just when Cadence was about to tell Starlight to forget about Flurry's question, the little Princess shifted on her rump.

“Skyla's faster,” she said slowly, “and she's hitting a lot... but daddy's not letting any of her hits get through. He stops them with his stick, and keeps moving around a lot.” Out of her peripheral vision, Cadence saw Starlight nod.

“That's right – good observation. Now, we can take a couple of things away from that. First, Skyla's got a lot of skill because she's keeping up that level of energy in combat. That means that she's well trained, and has done this quite a bit.” She pointed at Shining again. “Your dad isn't letting her hit him at all, which means that he's really, REALLY good at defending himself against attacks, even attacks as fast as Skyla's. And the way he's moving is forcing Skyla to chase him, something that should wear her out and leave him with energy to win the fight.” Cadence felt Flurry shift again, and this time she stood up.

“So daddy's winning?” she gasped, and Starlight rose to her hooves as well.

“Well, that depends. Even defending makes a pony tired, and if Shining's not careful, then-,”

On the training floor, Skyla whirled her staff again and lunged at Shining as she had done countless times before, and the white stallion shifted his spear to intercept her strike as he had done innumerable times; this time, however, the smaller pony's wings gave a mighty flap that launched her up and over Shining Armor, her body revolving on a vertical axis so that she was still facing her opponent even when she was above him. The stallion's eyes widened and his spear darted upwards, but Skyla's staff flashed and the sound of wood striking metal ran across the room. The crowd gasped as Skyla continued her arc, her staff lashing out one last time as she rotated and pointed her hooves towards the ground. Shining's spear caught her strike and swatted it away, but as he turned around to face her in her new position, the motion of defending himself took his spear far out to his right, leaving him wide open; Skyla landed deftly, her staff floating to her right, and brought the weapon in a broad, fast arc at Shining's unprotected chest.

The unicorn's horn flared, and magenta light filled the room as Skyla's staff rebounded off of a massive tower shield, a construct made entirely of Shining's brilliant magic that hovered between the alicorn and himself. The crowd's murmur rose in a wave as the two ponies stared at one another, their chests rising and falling rapidly in the sudden stillness, and Cadence's eyes widened as a wave of surprise welled up inside of her.

“Oh my,” she whispered. “It's not every day that he has to use that...”

“Wow... Mommy, what IS that?!” squeaked Flurry, her wings fluttering anxiously against her sides as Shining Armor straightened and lowered his spear. Skyla quickly lowered her staff as Shining had done, and the massive shield disappeared from between them. The voice of the crowd rose again, this time in hoots and cheers as the sound of clopping hooves filled the room beneath the words, and the two combatants had the grace to grin sheepishly around at everypony before stepping towards one another, their cheeks flushed but their smiles happy.

“That's your father's signature shielding technique,” answered Cadence, lowering her head so that Flurry could hear her. “He usually doesn't use that in practice unless somepony really catches him off guard, which Skyla must have done with that little flip trick she used.” Her lips curved into a smile. “He calls it Amore's Aegis.”

Flurry made an astonished sound in her throat as the gathered ponies began to speak among themselves and move towards the exits, their faces animated as they talked about what they'd just witnessed. Skyla and Shining were speaking to each other in low tones once more, with Shining gesturing with his right hoof as Skyla nodded emphatically, and with Flurry distracted, Cadence turned to Starlight and nodded.

“Thank you for that earlier,” she said, her lips quirking upwards. “I must admit that I'm not as well versed about combat as Shining, so I'm not sure I could have told her what to look for, or engaged her so well.” To her surprise, Starlight's cheeks colored slightly and the other mare rubbed the back of her neck with her right hoof.

“It... was nothing, really,” she said. “Flurry asked, and I answered in the best way I knew how. That's all.”

“But it was really nice of you.”

“And that surprises you?”

“Maybe just a little,” admitted Cadence with a shrug. “Everypony knows that you're not the biggest fan of Flurry. I guess... I wanted to point out something that I think is a good development.” She gave Starlight a full smile as Shining and Skyla turned towards the far side of the room, their heads still pressed together in discussion. “After all, it's clear how much you care about Skyla – I guess I'm hoping that you'll care about Flurry just as much someday.”

Starlight snorted. “Oh, don't make it sound like such a big deal,” she said with a wave of her hoof.

“It isn't?” Cadence's smile turned into a thoughtful frown. “It was a big enough deal to keep you here to watch over her, wasn't it?” Now the unicorn's eyes widened, and she waved a hoof frantically.

“Oh no, no no no, don't misunderstand, Princess! I-I stayed because I wanted to make sure nothing bad was going to happen with the space-time continuum, that's all! It was totally and completely scientific!” Cadence's expression softened, but she just nodded.

“If you say so, Starlight.” Cadence turned her attention back Flurry, who looked as if she might dart after her father at any moment. “Flurry Heart? Come with me, snowflake.” She turned towards the far door, and Starlight mirrored her movement as Flurry Heart groaned.

“Awww, why can't I go talk to daddy and Skyla?” Cadence's eyes darted to the pair, who were still talking and smiling together, before returning to Flurry.

“Let's give them a little bit more time to be together, just the two of them,” she said with a nod towards the door. “We'll have plenty of time to talk to them about things later.” Flurry huffed, but with only a moment of hesitation she scurried to catch up to Cadence and Starlight as they moved towards the exit.

“I think Skyla won,” whispered Flurry, and Cadence chuckled under her breath.

“I'm sure your father will enjoy hearing that,” said Starlight with a smirk. “It's not every day that an experienced warrior gets pushed to his limits by a teenage filly.”

Comments

[badninja]

Wow Shining Armor got a good workout it looks like. I wonder just how skilled Skyla's universe dad actually is?

[Arcane Howitzer]

Looks like they've got themselves a fierce little warrior princess in Skyla. Good, they'll probably need her sooner than they'd think.

[BenRG]

I wonder just what The Empress had planned for Skyla and what she may have done to her daughter without her knowing. I recently played Bioshock 2 and I'm starting to get flashbacks to Sofia Lamb's treatment of Eleanor. Could Skyla have been programmed to be a soldier without her knowing it?

Suggested soundtrack for this chapter:
[youtube=KkW_gXw1yok]

[wlam]

8114798
I think considering that she has been told so and trained for it all her life, she knows quite well. You don't really need to program anyone to make them enjoy fighting. You just need to make them good at it. People naturally enjoy doing things that they do well.

[The Great Derpsby]

“I'm sure your father will enjoy hearing that,” said Starlight with a smirk. “It's not every day that an experienced warrior gets pushed to his limits by a teenage filly.”

And to be fair, it was totally obvious this would happen. Shining catching her sparring late at night was a setup for Skyla winning the duel, thus showing off how strong of a fighter she is.

[D4ftP0ny]

8114565
Thank you for pointing that out! You'd think that I'd be used to the gendered nouns and whatnot by now... ^^;

Changed.

[D4ftP0ny]

8128846
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[RoyalBardofCanterlot]

Exciting fight. The beginning was cute-accidental spanking, lol. Skyla took it a bit far with Flurry, but it just shows how harshly Skyla was raised. Skyla clearly cares about her in a sisterly way, despite her words.