Faster Than You Know

“We saw the light from the castle,” were the first words out of Princess Flurry Heart’s mouth when they came to stand before her. The statement was in such a monotone tune that Chance couldn’t read the emotional affliction behind it with any accuracy whatsoever. Was she pleased? Angry? Sad? Mad? Sad and mad at the same time? Smad?

While her companion was busy processing the possibilities in the mazes of his own mind, White Heart dipped her head towards the Princess, smirking internally when Flurry Heart scowled in return. “Still disrespectful as ever I see,” she huffs. “At least your friend had the courtesy of and upbringing to give a proper bow in the presence of Royalty.” White Heart rolled her eyes and turned slightly to see that Chance was indeed bowing low before the Princess. Or . . . Wait, maybe not so much the Princess, she realized. He’d perfectly positioned himself between Flurry Heart and Amber Bright, and though his hooves were pointed towards the Princess, his eyes were mesmerized by the young unicorn at her side.

“I do hate to be a pest, love,” Flurry Heart spoke up, breaking the pegasus’ chain of thought once again. “But I must request to see your stamped letters saying that  that you are in my land legally and will not commit any crimes while here, the usual.” White Heart procured an official looking scroll from her suitcase and flippantly tossed it into the air for the Princess to catch. “Only one? Flurry Heart inquired.

“Chance was a last minute carry on item,” White Heart says without hesitation. “And if you have a problem with that you can take it up with Princess Luna, as she’s granted him access to whatever he needs to finish what he’s working on.

Amber Bright’s eyes lit up, the first reflection of real emotion either the pegasus or earth pony had seen thus far from her. “You’re the one that opened the castle?” she gasped. “What was it like? What’s your Element? If the doors opened for you that means you’re worthy of one of the Crystal Thrones. Was it Kindness? Honesty?”

“Loyalty,” Chance said easily, smiling as the unicorn bounced on her hooves as he did. “I’m Chance, by the way,” he said, taking a bow again and curling one hoof towards his chest in introduction. “And you must be Amber Bright, correct?” She flushed when he spoke her name and nodded quickly. “White Heart was just telling me about you. She says you’re the only pony she knows who studies nearly as much as you do. I’d love to see the Empire’s library if you’d like to show me.”

Horn already glowing with the first sparks of a teleportation spell, Amber Bright cast hopeful eyes to Flurry Heart’s towering form. “That’s all right, isn’t it? If Princess Luna sent him then it must be alright. And he’s Loyalty!”

White Heart didn’t miss the way the Empire’s Princess raked her gaze coldly over Chance, nor did she miss the brief flicker of anger in her blue eyes. “Go right ahead, Amber,” she said, the words and tone contradicting her suddenly stiff posture and darkened eyes. With a pop of violet magic, the unicorn and earth pony were off without further ado, leaving White Heart and the Princess alone at the empty station.

They stood there in utter silence for a minute, maybe five, just glaring at each other. Except it was more like Flurry Heart was glaring, and White Heart was looking back at her with a carefully schooled and well practiced deadpan stare. It was the first, and thus far the most important lesson Luna had ever taught her. Although to be honest it was far less intimidating coming from a stumpy little pegasus than it was from a fully grown, ageless alicorn princess. Flurry Heart, to White Heart’s credit, did look away first, rolling her eyes as she did so. “A pleasure as always, White Heart,” she said flatly. “You know we were expecting you, right? This is hardly a surprise visit.”

“Shoot, nothing gets past you, Princess! White Heart mockingly exclaimed, raising a hoof to make rude motion across her chest. She smirked when Flurry Heart’s lip curled. “And here I thought it was just a coincidence that you were here to meet us at the station! Imagine that.”

It was almost uncanny the way they simultaneously locked eyes again, fire burning in their depths before they both sighed and fixed their gazes on the ground. “We felt it, last night. The Castle of Friendship was opened,” Flurry Heart said. “I didn’t know when you’d be arriving until the word came that a train had been scheduled to cross the border and drop off a permitted passenger at the station.” She cocked her head, “A permitted passenger, as in singular. Element or not bringing your stallion friend along was not sanctioned. Technically, crossing the border without authorization is considered trespassing, and sometimes even terrorism depending on what the uninvited guest gets their hooves up to. In theory, I could incite a war over this entire charade.”

“Cute,” White Heart smiled. “Look at the Littlest Princess That Could making threats she’ll never follow through with. We all know you’d rather die than subject your citizens to yet another brutal, useless war.”

Flurry Heart straightened up, using her greater size and height to her advantage to look down upon the other mare. “At the very least,” she said coolly, “it’s more than enough justification to send Luna’s precious student back to her in a box of bloody puzzle pieces.” The pegasus didn’t flinch, and after a heartbeat more of their stubborn staring contest the Princess gestured  towards the sky with one of her mesmerizing broad wings that were almost twice the size of that of Equestria’s acting ruler. “I hope you’re up for a brisk night’s flight,” Flurry Heart hummed, one flap of her full wingspan enough to lift her a few dozen feet from the ground in one smooth motion. “I have a feeling we have much to discuss, you and I.”

“I’m sure,” White Heart agreed. She pushed off the ground as well, forehooves hooking into the handle of her suitcase and tucking it securely under her body as she continued her ascent. As per usual, Flurry Heart carved her own path through the sky, heedless of her guest and vast difference in capabilities between them. In her youth White Heart had found this air of pompous thoughtlessness to be a form of idiocy, once going so far as to call it a prime example of poor ruling capabilities. She had been quite lucky Flurry Heart had been somewhat patient with her in her youth, because if she said that sort of thing to her face now the pegasus would surely be catapulted into the moon. Not onto, or magically bound across it like her mentor had once been, but rather most certainly into. As in Flurry Heart would hurl her into space as hard as possible and make sure the moon had a deep crater  shaped like a short and ornery pegasus. And that her bones would permanently sit in the moon’s cold core. But no, no, much to a filly White Heart’s horror, adult White Heart recognized the movements as deliberate. She outstripped even her guests so that they would not forget who ruled them.  Her unfiltered brashness kept ponies in line with the belief they were safer for it, and her holier-than-thou methods of addressing everything and everypony reminded them that while they were of lower standing, she was by proxy the only pony qualified to lead them. It served as a reminder, a kingdom worth fighting for, dying for, under the banner of its most cherished child. Though it was the opposite of White Heart’s preferred methods of gaining trust from her fellows, it was an effective method in its own right. On top of that, is was an effective method that had put an end to a decades long war.

They had never once flown together, not in all White Heart's years as Luna’s student had Flurry Heart ever slowed her wing beats to accommodate her. Similarly, neither had the pegasus. She would never catch up, it was quite literally impossible, but she could make Flurry Heart work for it. And keeping on the Princess’s heels just enough for her to actually need to concentrate to stay ahead of her was a pastime White Heart quite enjoyed.

The Princess lead their northward flight up into the first layer of clouds, rocketing through it up into the second, the third, with very few wing beats to bolster her ascent.

To say it was a struggle for White Heart to keep up was a bit of an under exaggeration. Flurry Heart, blessed be the Princess and all that, had large wings even for an alicorn, well over double the size of Princess Luna’s, which would put them at four times White Heart’s own wingspan. Every beat of her feathers against crystal cold air was a struggle, an extra push  to keep up, to excel in the game of chase since she could never hope to outstrip the older mare in speed.

Flurry Heart cast a rather smug expression over her shoulder, an easily distinguishable look even with the night enveloping them and the rapid distance the Princess put between them. White Heart could see the first crest of the Crystal Mountains ahead, and beyond that the even taller spires of the Empire’s ever expanding cities. Even through the clouds she could see their light, so vibrant and bright that even Luna’s night could not put them all out. And at the center of it all, where the spires turned into towers and Mount Everhoof loomed behind it all, White Heart could see the light of the beacon piercing the heavens. It’d been years since she’d been privileged enough to see it up close, and as always it dazzled her with its eternal glow.  She’d seen what powered it a few times, the Crystal Heart that spun in slow circles at the castle’s center, it was at the very least awe inspiring, and though the small pegasus were loathed to admit it, she was impressed with the Princess’s ability to keep it lit. Perhaps ability is not quite the right word. No, lighting the Crystal Heart and keeping it a beacon of hope for so long was far more than ability, far more than skill. It was, from what little Equestria was allowed to know about the Empire, powered entirely by love. Pure, deep, and unwavering love. The Heart kept enemies out of the kingdom through the power of its citizens love for their home and their ruler. In the case of the beacon, maybe once it drew upon the power of love from the mortal ponies as well as it did Flurry Heart, but the chance of that still being the case was slim to none. The Lost Princess the beacon had been lit for was hardly remembered in Equestria, and since the Empire succeeded from them there hadn’t been much talk of her within the crystal borders either. Yet the beacon remained ever bright.

It was admirable. Sad, but admirable. But White Heart would never admit so to the Princess’s face. She might be outspoken, but there was a difference between speaking her mind and being unnecessarily cruel. She had no right to speak about something like that, being mortal herself, to somepony who never aged. In a hundred years of her life she would never be able to even begin to comprehend the pain of loving someone and losing them in the way that Flurry Heart did. And similarly, she would never understand the hope of seeing them again, regardless of how small the chances were.

The pegasus’ wings protested with every beat, her veins feeling as if they were on fire with every thump of her heart beneath her ribs. She wanted to prove herself, wanted to keep a decent enough pace with Flurry Heart to be a challenge. As of yet she’d never managed it, the Princess easily outstripping her every other time she’d visited. But she was older now, could see past the haze of adrenaline to plan some actual strategy. Flurry Heart kept ahead of her, higher than her, riding the slipstreams above the clouds while White Heart struggled to stay above them at all. She could see the Empire’s capital glowing in the distance, and with a quick glance calculated the angle of descent needed for her to reach it from her current position. It wouldn’t be too steep, and thus would be something Flurry Heart could outpace her at in matter of seconds. Not yet, she had to wait, wait until the dive was steep enough Flurry Heart wouldn’t be able to follow her.

They were nearly overtop the city when White Heart finally tucked her wings tight against her sides, flashing Flurry Heart a smug, closed-eyed grin as the swift halt of movement tipped heels  over head and sent her plummeting earthward with a high pitched whoop. She held onto her suitcase with all four hooves, keeping it secure against her chest as she fell with her back towards the ground. From that position she had a clear view of Flurry Heart trying to match her, the way the Princess copied her movements and went into her own nose-first, much more elegant dive and easily caught up.

“Bold,” the Princess practically purred in the face of White Heart’s rising laughter, “but futile.”

“Is it though?” the pegasus asked innocently. She could feel the rush of wind around her, one ear tilted back as she listened for the cease of noise that would indicate her rapid approach to the ground. It wasn’t far, she could tell solely because of the nervous way Flurry Heart started to flare her wings, pulling out of the dive as the ground hurried to greet them. “White Heart!” she yelled, genuine panic in her gaze as the small pegasus kept falling, a hundred, fifty, twenty feet left between her and total obliteration, ten - White Heart snapped her wings out, the motion flipping her upright once more and carrying her aloft just inches above the crystal road below, her hooves almost scraping against it. She heard the Princess gasp above her as she lighted down, still hitting the ground rather hard all things considered. She rolled a few times with the impact, grass sticking in her mane as she giggled and pushed herself over onto her stomach and fluffed out her wings, her suitcase thudding dully to earth in the field beside her.

A moment later Flurry Heart touched down much more elegantly, and White Heart’s laughter died down at the smoldering look in the Princess’s eyes. “What were you thinking?!” she snapped, and White Heart’s ears lowered against her head instinctually. “You could have died! One wrong move and you’d have been paste on the street! Is beating me really worth that much to you!?”

“No,” White Heart admitted softly. It wasn’t much different from Luna scolding her, with the exception that she could visibly see the rage in the Crystal Princess’s eyes.

“If you ever show such recklessness in my Empire again,” Flurry Heart fumed, “I will exile you without hesitation. Do you understand?” She dug her forehooves into the earth, stirring up dirt and grass. “I will not tolerate such dangerous, suicidal stupidity within my borders. No exceptions.”

“I understand,” White Heart muttered. How humiliating. The one time she managed to one-up the Princess and she was met with an ear scalding worse than any Luna had ever dealt out. What did Flurry Heart care anyways?

Sighing, White Heart collected her slightly dented suitcase and followed the Princess as she turned towards the castle with an angry flick of her tail in the student’s direction. It was now more than ever that White Heart was reminded of her status as a Princess’s student, suddenly feeling more like Amber Bright than herself under Flurry Hearts furry. That was probably it, she suspected as she trotted after the huffy Princess. Flurry Heart was probably worried about where her own sort-of student had gotten off to, and was directing her concern towards the ever challenging White Heart in her absence. Something that was probably more than easy enough to do considering that White Heart as per usual kept an air of disdain about her in the Princess’s presence. Or as a less prim and proper spoken pony might have put it, she was easy to get mad at because she was being a little shit. To say it lightly, of course.

Flurry Heart lead the way to the castle, greeting two earth pony guards outside the main doors to the structure’s upper floors before beckoning her guest inside with another irate flap of her wing. It had been a few years since White Heart had been blessed enough to find herself actually invited inside the castle, having been banned sometime between the time she’d put itching powder in the Princess’s sheets and the last meeting of nations. Look, she had been fifteen at the time, hardly something she could be held accountable for under the circumstances of, ugh, White Heart shuddered with embarrassment over the memory, puberty. Not that she’d been allowed a free roam of the castle at any period in her life, mind you, oh no. She’d been restricted to the wings Flurry Heart spelled her safe passage within. Such spells, she noted quietly, did not seem to be present now, as the whole castle glimmered invitingly before her lacking the blue barriers at every other turn as she remembered it.

“Where’s the library?” she asked as they passed an ajar door that, to White Heart’s shock, revealed a book collection to rival the last seven doors they passed.

“Which one?” Flurry Heart asked calmly.

White Heart gaped at her a moment, her mind racing with the thoughts of the absolute plethora of hidden knowledge that must be within these crystal walls. More than one library? Celestia bless her. “Whichever one Chance and Amber Bright likely disappeared into,” she said after a breathless pause.

Flurry Heart pointed her brilliant white feathers towards a door a few halls down. “Twilight’s Library,” she said, and White Heart pretended she didn’t hear the brief flicker of emotion that wavered the Princess’s voice as she spoke the name. “Door twelve on the left. Here.” She dipped her head, a glow of magic set before White Heart’s muzzle that slowly faded to reveal a lit candle placed inside the safe confines of a glass lamp. “I’d tell you not to stay up all night, but I saw that look in the colt’s eye. He’ll read until he passes out, I’m sure.”

“Probably,” White Heart agreed, taking the proffered lamp handle in her mouth.

“The guest rooms are on the fourth floor, west wing,” the Princess added after a lingering pause. “Amber Bright can lead you there if she ever gets her nose out from between the pages herself. If not, any of the guards can direct you.” She turned then, long lavender and azure hair spilling elegantly down her neck and now gently folded wings. “I would prefer if you kept your readings to yourself,” she said, and White Heart shivered as she once more felt the Princess’s guarded demeanor that had faltered at the pegasus’s flying stunt rise between them again. “If there are any questions, give them to Amber Bright. If she can not answer them she may choose if she wants to discuss them with me herself. Privately,” she added darkly.

White Heart swallowed. “Of course,” she mumbled around the lamp handle. “Good night, Princess. And thank you.”