“Firestars Backdraft.” Robert chuckled. “Not many are willing to risk it.” Twilight blew ashes out of her face.

“I had to learn something to put out fires when Spike got the hiccups.” Twilight smiled at the now fond, but then terrifying memories.

“His Plasma Channel is safer, but slower. I imagine you were looking for something to cast straight away?” Robert asked.

“Yes and no. I did need something fast, and I can do Plasma Channel fast, but that doesn't put them out, it simply redirects them.” Twilight shrugged.

“Yes, which is why it's the standard for putting out fireplaces. You simply dump all that heat into the stones which are intended to take it.” Robert shook his head. “So, how'd yesterday go?”

“Most of time he wasn't near a fireplace.” Twilight said. “It went. They brought friends again.” she rubbed the bridge of her muzzle.

“You's want's me to give's 'em a talkin' ta?” Robert asked. Twilight blinked at him, then shook her head.

“No, not only do I doubt it will work, but this feels like one of those friendship lessons they need to learn.” Twilight sighed. “I've gotten kind of good at sensing them.”

“Ah. Glad those weren't part of my training.” Robert chuckled.

“Oh, popular were you?” Twilight asked.

“Not really. I always had friends, but never a lot of them. My father being important meant I'd get a lot of tigers sucking up to me, or trying to foist their kids on me as 'friends' so they could get close to my father. I fell for it a few times, and then stopped trying to make friends at all.”

“I never really had that problem. Mom and Dad aren't really.. influential, even if we're technically nobility. The 'House of Sparkle' and all that.” Twilight shook her head. “Then I became Celestia's student and had marriage proposals coming from colts and stallions of all ages.” she sighed. “Of course, I wasn't exactly an outdoorsy type even before then, but being asked to lock myself in a library? Yes, thank you very much.” she grinned.

“It's very hard trying to shut everyone out of your life though, isn't it?” Robert asked. “I found I did have a few true friends. The ones that wouldn't leave me alone even when I made it clear I couldn't and wouldn't help them get close to my father.” he smiled. “It's like being friends with a half-dozen Applejacks.”

“One is more than enough, thank you.” Twilight shook her head. “Speaking of her, how are the two of you getting along?”

“Slowly.” Robert replied. “All those years of distaste and mistrust don't go away instantly.” he smiled. “It's working though. I wouldn't expect her to embrace me as family overnight, but we're working on it.”

“Good for you.” Twilight smiled. “I believe it's your turn.”

“Yes... I've been trying to work this one out. It's only supposed to work at night, but if I just show the matrix, you might not recognize it?” she considered it.

“This one won't count.” Twilight said, with a shrug.

“Right, here.” he laid the matrix out. As expected nothing happened, but Twilight nodded.

“Ah, Lunar Storm. Luna showed it to me once when I was helping her catch up on magical development while she was...”

“Imprisoned.” Robert said, not bothering to dance around it.

“Yes. That's remarkably tactless.” Twilight pointed out.

“True, but it wasn't you. Besides, avoiding the issue is no proper way to mourne it.” Robert shrugged. Twilight raised an eyebrow. He shook his head and waved for her to continue.

“Right, I was catching her up on the advancements in magical theory in the past thousand years and she showed me that as the pinnacle of magical spell crafting at the time.”

“You laughed, didn't you?” Robert asked, completely seriously.

“I couldn't help it. She looked so mortified. I managed to calm her down. It wasn't that it was a bad spell, but we've had over a thousand years to pick it apart and create countermeasures. And in some ways improve upon the original..” she coughed delicately.

“Let me guess, you showed her your version?” Robert guessed correctly. Twilight nodded.

“She went from mortified to indignant to frustrated at having lost magical development. She seemed only a little mottled when I explained no one had come up with a way to cast it during the day.” Robert coughed. “What?”

“All you need is a bottle of moonlight.” he smiled. “Of course getting one is harder than it sounds, but once you've got it, it's enough to fuel the spell.”

“Whatever you do, don't tell her that.” Twilight implored him, hooves on either side of his head.

“I promise I won't. Now, for a slightly less controversial spell.” he turned and glared at one of the target boulders. A bolt of magically concentrated ice exploded through the air before him, and slammed into the boulder. Ice crackled over it's surface and into the cracks inside, then the boulder exploded in a burst of stone shards.

“Light Touches Ice Bolt.” Twilight snorted. “How about a challenge.” her horn flared, and something complex flowed out of it. A dozen spell circles crashed down into the ground around the base of the quarry,but they were little more than the targeting component. The air above her filled with a massive magical construct, drawing heat out of the air around them, and coalesced it into a roiling ball of plasma over their heads. Then she triggered it. White hot blasts of pure plasma arched through the air, slamming down into each of the circles, melting a dozen holes into the ground, each a good fifteen feet deep.

“Well well, Sunbeam's Opening Salvo. Haven't seen that one in a long time.” Robert said, throwing himself onto his haunches and applauding. “I suppose being an ancestral spell it's not something to be forgotten about.”

“No.” she said, panting faintly. Even for an Alicorn, that was a lot of magic to throw around. “It's been passed down for generations.” she glanced at him. “How do you know it? We never passed it outside the family.” Twilight leveled a stare at him.

“It's not exactly subtle, and so it's not unknown outside your family. That said, I wouldn't have known that's what it looked like if I hadn't been willing to guess.” he smiled brightly.

“Excuse me? You guessed?” a vein in Twilight's forehead popped.

“Yes? Look I thought that's what it might be, but you confirmed it.” Robert laughed, as Twilight realized she'd nearly had him.

“That's cheating!” she said, more than a little indignantly.

“No it's not. The whole point is to guess.” Robert replied, looking her in the eye. “Of course, I guess we could call that a draw, since I gave you a freebie.”

“Fair enough.” she agreed. “I think we've kind of reached the limit of what we can do without actually attacking each other.” she said after a long moment.

“Really? Then how about a little standing practice?” Robert grinned evilly.

“What's Standing Practice?” Twilight asked.

“Simply put, it's learning to stand up, while being assaulted by magic.” Robert replied.

“Oh, defensive stances.” Twilight said. “Another difference in training I guess.”

“Or my mentor is just strange. So, stand or strike?”

“Stand.” she teleported down into the crater. She raised a shield, and reached down into the ground, anchoring herself. “Okay, try and move me.” she immediately fell six inches. “What?”

“Teleported the ground. You gave me the idea.” Robert laughed. Twilight snorted. “My turn.” he stood still. Twilight's horn flared with purple light, and he floated up into the air.

“And the Princess said I'd never find a use for that reverse gravity spell again.” Twilight laughed. Robert landed with a thump. “I guess we're even. My turn again.” she laid down an anti- teleportation field into the ground beneath her, then held on. Rocks began to move around the floor of the quarry, rolling and bouncing, breaking and shattering against one another. Then they started spinning, slowly at first then round and round in a vortex around her. Her shield held easily because nothing was impacting it. In fact she was in the eye of the storm, untouched. Then the vortex shifted, and stones began slamming one after another into her shield, all within the same few inches. She poured power into the shield, and strengthened the target. Then suddenly it stopped hitting there, and began smashing the opposite side. She pumped power there as well. Too late, she realized what he was doing. The shield, weakened at the sides she hadn't reinforced. The vortex of stones struck at both sides of the shield at once, the combined assault punching through and shattering the shield. She jumped into the air to avoid being hit, and suddenly the stones fell, all of them, in a thunderous rain of pebbles.

“Two to one.” Robert panted heavily, struggling to stay upright. “Iron Hoof was a genius.”

“Yes, but he was no Star Swirl.” Twilight pointed out.

“He was also no Twilight Sparkle.” she flushed. “Even so, I'm impressed by your shield. The last opponent I faced upon whom I used that technique fell to the first shift in tactic.”

“No one shields like Shining and he taught me more than anyone I've learned from.” Twilight chuckled. “I wonder how he'd fare.”

“Like I said, Princess didn't make it past the first shift. He threw all his strength into defending from that first blow and then didn't have anything left for the second.” Robert laughed.

“Why on earth?” Twilight asked. Then she shook her head. “You know? I don't want to know.”

“Good for you, because I really can't explain. You should ask him if you're interested.” Robert suggested. “As for me, I believe it's my turn.”

“Right, I hope it's not as easy as last time.” Twilight's horn flashed. The reverse gravity spell didn't falter, and it didn't fail, but what it lifted was her. She cut it off, smiled, and then struck him with lightning. Or tried. The cloud formed, the bolt of lightning struck downwards at the perfect angle. But it skittered away at the last moment, earthing itself in a boulder, which promptly exploded. Two shields flickered to life, one solid and magenta, the other insubstantial and orange. Rock chips pelted Twilight's shield and fell to the ground. Chips hit Rober'ts, and rebounded, throwing themselves to the ground. Watching from inside her shield, Twilight came to the realization that she wasn't seeing just one shield, but dozens of tiny ones, placed just in front of the chips being deflected. An instant later she realized why. Each chip had a slightly different trajectory, and had to be deflected individually to ensure they didn't go flying away, like the rocks when she'd helped him with his shields. A thought occurred to her. Her horn flared as her own shield died. Wind swept along the bottom of the quarry, carrying dust and particulate with it. It swirled around into a dozen dust devils. One by one she sent them at him, varying her angle of attack with each one. The first hit him head on, and he weathered it without complaint. The second hit him just to his right side, but a shield deflected it over his head, forcing her to move out of the path of her own attack. The third and fourth combined into a slightly larger one than she'd anticipated, but the combined blast roiled forward through the air. Robert rolled his eyes, and suddenly a shimmering orange shield appeared in the middle of the dust devil and turned it back on itself, destroying it. The ball of fire that she flicked at him was completely unexpected. He jumped away, as it skimmed his tail, igniting it. He said several very unkind words to her, as he put it out.

“You said move you. You didn't say how.” she smirked.

“I did not. Very good. Not many are willing to try and avoid the distractions of a bunch of mini-tornadoes and launching a ball of fire.” Robert smiled. “Unpredictability is a powerful weapon, but not many know how to wield it to full effect.”

“So... channel Pinkie Pie?” Twilight asked.

“Not exactly, but it's a very good starting point. The old adage of expect the unexpected applies in combat above everything else. Except perhaps working with the Crusaders.” Robert grinned.

“Oh, the Crusaders.” Twilight vanished in a flash of magenta light.

“Okay then.” Robert said, blinking the stars out of his eyes. He shook his head, and trotted up the slope out of the quarry. He had, if not a date, then a prearranged meeting with Derpy. She was waiting at the cafe in town. Robert waved at her. She waved back with a huge grin on her face.

“Good afternoon Robert!” she called as he approached.

“Good afternoon Derpy. What's got your spirits up?” he smiled.

“Got the alternate invitations to the Equestria games. Says I can bring two with me.” she smiled. “So the kids'll be able to come and watch.” she showed him the envelope. “Even if I don't compete, we have front row seats.”

“Awesome.” he smiled. “So, I take it that's what lunch is for?”

“Oh, no, lunch is for eating.” she stared at him for a moment as the joke sank in. “Actually, Pinkie's throwing a party later and I wanted to invite you.”

“Miss a Pinkie Pie Party? NEVER.” he laughed. “And just for your information, I won't miss the games either.”

“You got tickets?” she asked, eyes widening.

“One ticket. Zecora's not interested, and everyone else I know is already going.” he chuckled. “Fortunately, a contact in Canterlot scored me a ticket.”

“Excellent. So, where you sitting?” she asked.

“Front row, north side of the stadium.” she stared at him for a minute, one eye spinning slowly. It wasn't the lazy eye, but what she jokingly referred to as her 'thinking' eye. It always moved when she worked things out in her head.

“In the reporter's box? How'd you work that out?” she asked.

“Traded an interview on the subject of the research Twilight and I did into Pegasus magic for a seat in the box. Fresh Scoop wasn't keen on heading to the Crystal Empire, so he was happy to make the trade. Something about not wanting to be in the same stadium as Princess Cadence after... 'the incident'. Wouldn't say what it was, but someone left a rubber chicken on his desk the day of the interview and he wouldn't even acknowledge it.” Robert smiled. “I guess some questions are better left unanswered.”

“Definitely.” Derpy thanked the waitress. “Umm... isn't all of … you,” she made a circular motion with a hoof “going to make a rather big splash at the games? I mean, we've grown accustomed to you, but the games only last a week.”

“Ah, well...” he took a deep breath, then released it. And suddenly Derpy was sitting across the table from an orange pegasus with a black mane and tail and black wing feathers. “That won't be a problem.”

“Wow. Cool. But isn't that going to interfere with your magic?”

“Yes it will but...” he changed back mid-sentence. “Twilight taught me how to set a timer on it. So it'll last for a set amount of time and then I'll revert. While it lasts, I'm nothing but another Pegasus.”

“Cool.” she grinned.

“Hey, where'd that sweet looking pegasus go?” Cloud Kicker asked, trotting up. Derpy laughed. “What?”

“That was Robert.” Derpy said, and then explained, still laughing. Cloud Kicker's face turned red.

“Oh.” she coughed, and started to turn away.

“Hang on.” Robert spoke up. She turned around. “I hear you're the closest thing to an expert that Ponyville has on Wingblades.”

“I know a bit, why?” she asked.

“I've been looking to learn, and going all the way to Canterlot for a teacher is a little more effort than I'm interested in.”

“Doesn't sound like you've got the discipline to master them.”

“Spend four hours flying there, or six on the train, train for half an hour, then fly or ride back? Not exactly an efficient use of time.”

“How fast are you going to only take four hours to reach Canterlot?” Derpy asked.

“I'm not much faster than your average pegasus, but I can fly higher up and I don't get caught up in the snarl of traffic patterns.” Robert replied. “Which also means I don't have to climb the mountain to land there, unlike a rather large number of pegasus who wait until the last moment to climb up and land. Why is that?” he asked the pair.

“Thin air combined with somewhat unpredictable air currents.” Derpy answered. “Weather teams only cover the cities and towns, and even they can only do so much.”

“Plus we have a much smaller wing surface to work with, giving less lift in general, so we have to work harder at higher altitudes.” Cloud Kicker added. “Which seems kind of silly, but then again, you're lifting a lot more of you.”

“True, there is more of me to lift and love.” Robert smiled smugly. The pegasi laughed. “I get the point. Well, it's nice to have some of the sky to myself. But what do you say? Teach me to not accidentally stab myself?”

“Are you going to keep bugging me if I say no?” she asked.

“No. I'm interested in learning, but I see no reason to annoy you if you're not interested. I can always find another teacher.”

“Not around here.” Cloud Kicker sighed. “No backing out. If I tell you to do something, I mean do it, and no arguments. They're not easy to use and anyone who tells you different is either an idiot or a liar.”

“Never had a problem following rules. But you'd better have an explanation for why I'm doing things.” Robert countered.

“I will. Deal?” she extended a hoof.

“Deal.” Robert shook it.