A Heart of Silver

Chapters

Choosing A Guard
First Day of the Job
Flurry Heart's Lessons
Adjusting Issues

Choosing A Guard

Princess Flurry Heart sat on her bed. She had a book levitated in front of her and was reading when somepony knocked on her door. "It's unlocked," Flurry Heart called out, placing the book down. The door opened and Shining Armor walked in, wearing his captain's armor. neutral expression drooped.

She knew exactly what her father was here for, she knew very well. She had been dreading this day for the past month and a half. "Really? Are you making me go through with this? I'm eighteen -almost nineteen. I don't need some random pony following me every waking second of the day."

Shining Armor sighed at his daughter's stubbornness. "Flurry Heart. We have had this discussion multiple times. I don't care if you need a personal guard or not, but it makes me and your mother feel better knowing that you have one." Flurry Heart rolled her eyes. "I'll let you choose the pony to be the guard." Flurry Heart sighed. At least she had some control over the situation.

"When are they supposed to get here?"

"Around 2." Shining turned to leave but added one last thing to the conversation. "Oh, and if you aren't there, I'll choose the guard."

"What! You just said I could choose the guard." Flurry Heart huffed.

"Only if you're there to choose them," Shining said with a smirk.

"Pinkie Promise." Shining stopped and looked back at his daughter. She had a smug grin on her face.

"What?"

"Pinkie Promise that you will not try to change the guard I choose with somepony else." Flurry Heart crossed her fore-hoofs.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." Flurry Heart nodded in content approval. Shining closed the door, leaving Flurry Heart alone. Grabbing a cloak from her closet and casting a spell to disguise herself, Flurry Heart left the castle. This would probably be the last time, for a long time, that she was going to be able to go anywhere without having a pair of eyes following her every move and hooves tracing each of her steps.

Furry Heart, disguised as a pegasus, entered a cafe. Not long after she entered, a voice called out, "Hey, Skyla."

Flurry looked at the one that spoke. Three mares; a pegasus named Lemon Zest, a unicorn Chalk Dust, and a crystal pony Ruby all around her age sat at a roundtable. Lemon waved Flurry over with her wing. Trotting over, Flurry Heart smiled outwardly while internally she was thinking up something to tell them. "Hey girls." Flurry gave a wave to a waiter, signaling her usual order. "Okay, so first, I have a bit of news."

"Good news or bad news?" Lemon asked.

"Both. I got a promotion. That's the good part. The bad part is that this means I will have to work more hours at the Castle, so I may not be able to attend our get-togethers much. Sorry."

"Ahh, don't be sorry. This is great. You're moving up in the world. Before you know it, you'll be the personal maid to the royal couple!" Ruby stated.

"Yeah, I doubt that, Ruby." A bowl of salad flew through the air and landed in front of Flurry Heart. She waved a 'thank you' to the waiter before taking a bite.

Shining Armor returned to the royal chambers. Cadance was sitting at a table, reading a scroll detailing new legislatures that had been petitioned recently. Without looking from the paper, Cadance greeted her husband, "Hello Shining." Shining's response was a series of grumbles. "I take it she's still not big on your 'protection plan'?"

"No, she isn't. Why does she have to be so stubborn?"

"She's your daughter. She was bound to inherit some of your stubbornness."

Shining simply rolled his eyes. "Did you get the transfer list for the guards yet?"

"Hmmm." Cadance shifted through her pile of papers. "Here it is." She levitated a rolled-up scroll to her husband. Shining took it and stared at the broken red wax stamp on the scroll.

"Why is the seal broken? Was it like that when it arrived?"

"No. I opened it." Without even needing to look at her husband's face or hear him say the words he was thinking, "I was curious. Anyway, most of them are ordinary, but one was-" Cadance pondered what was the right word she was looking for, "-peculiar."

Shining opened the scroll and looked down the list. "Unicorn, Pegasus, Unicorn, Earth Pony, Unicorn -if the last one's a unicorn too- wait."

"Yeah, that one."

"A thestral? In the solar branch? There's got to be a mistake."

"Twilight signed it."

"It's not a mistake?"

"Nope."

"Why would a thestral join the solar branch? Where are the files for these guards?" Not a moment later, Shining found the stack of files very close to his face.

"Here they are dear," Cadance smirked.

Shining took the files and pulled out the one he was looking for. "Silver Shield. Age: 25.....Huh. He excelled in all the courses that leaned more towards the lunar branch. But he specifically asked to be in the solar branch. He said for a personal reason that he would rather not speak about."

The train rattled over the snow-covered tracks. Inside was a platoon of royal guards assigned to the Crystal Empire. Almost all of the guards were stiff at attention. As if, at any moment, one of their superiors might walk down the aisle. All but one. A white thestral with a short scraggy brown mane and a long brown tail. His bat wings had a tan leathery-wing membrane on them. His cutie mark was that of a silver shield. It almost blended in with the white of his coat.

Silver's stomach growled, snapping him out of his mindless daydream. Sniffing the air, Silver detected the smell of apples. Food. Sure enough, a mare pushing a cart with a bag of apples was walking down the aisle. Silver fished some bits out of his bag. "Would you like anything...." the mare's voice trailed off at the sight of Silver. Unnatural, slitted golden eyes. Four sharp fangs, two large ones on his upper jaw and two small ones on his lower jaw. Bat wings instead of a pegasus' normal wings. Silver didn't even need to take notice of her body language to tell that she was unsettled by his appearance.

"A bag of apples, please." The mare shakily handed Silver a bag of apples. Silver thanked her as he handed her a small bag of bits. The mare lowered her head and quickly, but not quite running, made her way to the next cart. Silver sighed when he heard the train cart's doors further behind him close. Biting down on an apple, Silver sucked out all the juice. Ponies still weren't used to seeing a thestral in public. All the rumors surrounding thestrals didn't help any. But he didn't blame her, he hardly blamed anypony for reading in that manner.

Looking out the window and squinting his eyes, Silver could see what looked like a tiny tower. The Crystal Empire. They were close but it would still be a while before they arrived.

The platoon of guards pilled out of the train and onto the Crystal Empire train station. Shining Armor, fully dressed in his captain's armor, stood waiting for them. "Alright. Your platoon has been assigned here, to the Crystal Empire. Now, follow me. I'll explain how things are around here on the way." All the guards took to a single file line. As they walked down the streets of the empire, the resident crystal ponies stopped to watch the line of guards. Most looked for but a moment before turning away and back to whatever they were doing, their curiosity sated.

Silver looked over to see a group of foals, trying in vain to reach a ball that had landed on the roof of a building. The majority of the foals broke off and scattered- presumably to find an adult to help them, or maybe because that was the resident grumpy old stallion who hated foals and they didn't want to be caught trying to retrieve their ball from his property- leaving one pegasus. Silver quickly broke off from the line and walked over to the remaining foal. With his wings tucked beneath his armor, Silver couldn't fly. Instead, he climbed up to the roof from a stack of boxes and retrieved the ball. Handing the foal back the ball back, Silver did his best to hide his thestral features. He didn't want to give a poor foal a heart attack.

The feeling of false feathers made Silver look closely at the foal. It looked back up at him and its eyes narrowed and it smiled, showing two pairs of tiny fangs. Silver smiled at the young foal and showed his fangs too, causing the foal to giggle. Affectionately rubbing the foal's mane, Silver winked before speeding off to catch back up with the group. Once caught up, Silver was smiling; as he knew that, at the least, he wasn't the only thestral in the Crystal Empire.

"These will be your bunks," Shining Armor announced to the group. Six bunk beds, three on each side of the room. "Now, I want all of you in the training room." With his duty done, Shining Armor left the group to their own devices. Silver Shield practically made a beeline for the bed in the back corner. Silver placed his bag of belongings on the end of the bottom bunk. Out of the corner of his eye, Silver could see the other guards drawing straws with the occasional glance his way. Really, they're drawing straws to determine who shares a bunk with me?

The group of guards stood at attention in the training room. Shining Armor paced in front of them, sizing each of them up. "Now. One of you will be selected for an important duty. Protecting my daughter, Princess Flurry Heart. But before that one of you is chosen each of you will partake in a sparring match with the best sparring pony here." Silver's ears twitched. There was a faint sound of hoofsteps. Getting closer and closer, but not louder. Silver's ears started moving up and down and twisting and turning to locate the source of the hoofsteps. To his left. Looking down the hallway to his left, Silver's eyes squinted. It was a very faint pink colored pony. Short mane with alternating colors of various shades of violet, light blue, and pink. She -and Silver was certain it was a she- walked with an air of royalty. "Silver Shield!" Silver snapped back to the immediate reality.

"Sir," Silver said.

"What are you looking at?"

Silver made one last quick glance down the hallway to confirm his suspicions. "Captain Shining Armor, I believe that your daughter is approaching." Silver nodded his head in the approaching pony's direction. Now the hoofsteps grew loud enough for the others to hear.

"Flurry Heart. You're early." Shining Armor sounded slightly surprised like he was expecting his daughter to not be there.

"Well, I do plan on seeing, and choosing, the guard who will become my personal guard." All the guards remind at attention. Flurry Heart walked up to the line of guards, inspecting each, asking for their name. And every single one of them answered in an identical tone and mannerisms. Give name gruffly, do not break attention, and say no more than asked for.

Internally, Flurry Heart was cringing. All the same, no difference, nothing for uniqueness. She was starting to wonder if her dad intentionally chose the platoon composed of one pony, carbon copied onto the other for the entire platoon. Once she got to the last guard, she was considering letting her father choose instead. If simply because she couldn't tell the difference between any of them, so much so that she doesn't remember half their names- make that any of their names. "And your name is?"

"I'm Silver Shield, your royal princess.... or highness. Which would it be highness, excellence, royal princess, or just princess?" For a few seconds, nopony spoke. "Does nopony here know?"

Shining Armor was about to speak up, calling Silver out for breaking attention when Flurry answered, smiling. "Actually, it's just princess."

"Well, I'm Silver Shield, Princess Flurry Heart." Silver gave a friendly bow to the princess before returning to his more lax form of standing at attention. Flurry Heart's mouth formed a subtle smirk. Finally, somepony who speaks without having to be ordered to.

"Congratulations Silver Shield. You will be my personal guard."

Silver Shield followed Princess Flurry Heart to her room. "Your room is the one right next to mine." Flurry Heart pointed to the door next to her own room's door.

"Yes, Princess." Silver stopped in front of his new room. He just stood there, staring at the door, not moving.

"You gonna go in and see it?"

Silver returned to reality once more. "Yes, it is just that I never thought this is a situation I'd be in. Personal guard to one of Equestria's princesses." Silver opened the door. It was a modestly spaced room. A queen-sized bed tucked against the wall adjacent to Flurry's room. A small, walk-in closet and a bathroom. An empty bookshelf, multiple shelves -probably for pictures- lining one of the walls, and a tv facing the bed. Instead of cold crystal flooring, rugs covered the entire area.

"You look as if you've never had a room to yourself before," Flurry Heart noted from the doorway.

"Never since joining the royal guard. In the guard, you do all the daily routines together, like a machine."

"Your armors different. It doesn't look quite so... armored." Silver looked down at his armor covering his body.

"Actually, it's armor from the Night Branch redesigned to match those of the Solar Branch. The Night Branch's armor sets for thestrals are less armored than the rest. Normal pegasus armor wouldn't fit me."

"Still doesn't answer why it's less armored."

Silver chuckled. "Can't hear if its armored like normal armor. Too much metal clanking against metal. That and it's much more lightweight, for flying. Requires a lot less work to be maintained."

"I've never met a thestral before."

"Didn't think you would. We don't exactly get out often. Sun hurts our eyes."

"Well, I'll leave you to get settled in here."

Silver nodded back to Flurry. Once she was out of sight, Silver got to unpacking. Few clothes, a pair of dentures, toothbrush and toothpaste, and a small pile of books, some read and some not. Silver turned back to grab one last book and saw Shining Armor standing in the doorway. "Captain."

"Silver Shield, right?" Silver nodded. "Okay, my daughter chose you. Now you better take this with every ounce of seriousness you have. If anything happens to her-"

"Trust me, Captain. I ensure you that I will watch over your daughter."

"You start tomorrow morning."

Princess Cadence walked into her daughter's room. Flurry Heart was looking into a box but Cadence couldn't see what was in it but she had a feeling that she knew what was in it. Cough!

"Mom!" Flurry kicked the box under her bed, hopefully away from prying eyes. Flurry bounded over to her mother and gave her a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, it is my castle. And you are my daughter. Can I not go to my daughter's room in my own castle?" Cadance gave Flurry a few seconds to try and counter before continuing. "But news travels fast around here. I heard you already chose your personal guard."

"Yes. Turns out he isn't a robot-like pretty much every single other guard here. A rare creature, a royal guard that shows, du-du-duuuuu! Emotions." Cadence shook her head and smiled. "I mean seriously, would it kill somepony for a guard to show the slightest hint of emotion at any point?"

"You know your dad just worries about you. I do too."

"Can you tell him to lay it off a bit then, I've found it impossible to get through that thick skull of his. Maybe you can?"

"Flurry, it took me ten years to get it through that thick skull of his that I liked him. Then another few years just for him to do or say anything about it."

"Hmph."

First Day of the Job

Flurry Heart rubbed her head. "But why? I mean yeah, there was that changeling that got into the Empire, but that was Thorax! He wouldn't hurt a fly. There's no need for a guard."

Cadance gave her daughter a disapproving look. "And don't forget when you were kidnapped by Chrysalis." Flurry Heart looked away from her mother and nodded slowly. She remembered that day even eighteen years later. She was scared. Not the horror movie kind of scared, instead the fear of death scared. Cadance wrapped a wing around her daughter comfortingly. "That's the biggest reason. Before your father could watch you on his own but now that you're more likely to go off on your own he wants somepony to be able to watch you for him. It's just one guard and from what I heard from Shining about how he introduced himself and what you just told me, I don't think he'll be too big a stick in the mud to you. So just please try and make this work, for your father and I. Please?"

Flurry huffed before looking at her mother and sighing. "Fine. But remember that I don't want him following me around all the time. I like my privacy."

"That's something you'll have to discuss with him yourself." Princess Cadance gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead and smiled. "Maybe you two could negotiate. Anyway, we're having soup for dinner."

"Ah, soup? Again? Really. We had that last week!"

"Well, you're the picky eater missy." With her last word in, Cadance left, leaving Flurry to think on her own.

I wonder if I really can convince him to not follow me all around. If anything, it's worth a shot. Flurry Heart looked herself in the mirror and tried to give a commanding look. but all she could achieve was making herself look silly- or just pissed off depending on what angle one looked at her from. Dammit. I'm never going to be able to lead this empire if I can't even make a look convincing enough to come from somepony in command.

Sighing and admitting defeat to her reflection, Flurry stepped out of her room and stood in front of the one to Silver Shield's room. Okay. Just walk in and tell him that although he is my bodyguard, he is not to follow me every single second of the day, regardless of my father's orders. Right. No, maybe that sounds too mean. Or he could say no to that and tell me that my dad already told him to ignore me if I did something like this.

Silver finally finished unpacking all his things. Sighing from content relief, Silver looked around the room, wondering what to do. Grabbing the tv remote, Silver turned it on and flipped through the channels. "Nightmare Before Heartswarming -a few months too early for that one, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Jigsaw, a Jigsaw marathon, RCIS Manehattan, don't know that one, or that one. Hmmm. Let's try searching for..."

Flurry Heart paced back and forth right outside the room, wondering how she was going to tell Silver Shield. Maybe asking nicely will do. No, niceties never worked with Gale at first. Then again, Gale is a completely different pony and different circumstance entirely. Okay, Flurry Heart, just go with your original plan. Tell him straight and simple. Steeling her resolve, Flurry Heart puffed out her chest to appear large and in charge but couldn't hold it very long before letting out all the air in one big gasp. Shaking her head, Flurry pushed the door open.

Sliver was still flipping through channels. Flurry felt her knees shaking somewhat and her voice seemed to be caught in her throat. After a few -to her- tense seconds, her voice finally found it's way out, "Silver Shield. I want you to know- I mean I -. Even though you're my bodyguard you don't- you are not to follow me around every second of the waking day."

Without looking away from the tv screen Silver replied, "First, Princess Flurry Heart, just Silver is fine. Second, how old are you?" Silver asked her, but he already knew the answer.

"Uh-ummm. Eighteen, almost nineteen."

"Exactly. You're not a toddler. So I won't treat you like one. I'm your bodyguard, not your babysitter." For some reason, if any other pony had said that to Flurry Heart, she felt like she would just get offended. But the tone that Silver said it in plus the smile he had that Flurry could see, made him seem not insulting in his wording, only matter-of-factly.

"Well, good then." Flurry straightened her stance. "Good we got that out of the way." Flurry turned to leave.

Silver suddenly realized something and spoke before Flurry Heart had left, "I only ask one thing, Princess Flurry Heart."

Flurry stopped and looked back at Silver over her shoulder. "What is that Silver Shield?"

"That when you do go somewhere, you tell me that you're going somewhere and where that place is. Whether or not I accompany you doesn't matter. It is still integral to my job that I can reach you quickly if need be and knowing where you are would help with that aspect. If not, then I will be required to go with you to wherever you go at all times."

"Okay. Okay. No need to be passive-aggressive about it."

"That wasn't passive-aggressive, at least, not intentionally. I honestly need to know that stuff, its all in what they drill into us during training. Either you tell me where you're going when you go somewhere or I accompany you, those are your two choices, Princess Flurry Heart." Silver looked over at the princess, the first time he'd done so during the entire conversation. For a moment he forgot how to speak. She was gorgeous. He knew that the princess's all had a certain standard of appearance to abide by, but either Flurry Heart's standard was extremely high, or she was just that beautiful. Stop staring Silver! You're her bodyguard, she personally chose you! You are to guard her, not date and certainly not gawk at her. At least try to act professionally!

Flurry Heart didn't like having to tell Silver Shield here whereabouts all the time, but she supposed it was a better choice than having him follow her around constantly. "I was just kidding about you being passive-aggressive. Well, I'm heading out to a cafe to eat with some friends of mine." Flurry Heart noticed the staring. Why is he staring? Is he trying to get a read on me?

Once again disguised, Flurry Heart entered the cafe again. Her friends were still sitting and chatting away at the same table they were at when she left earlier. "Good news," Flurry Heart said, taking a seat next to them. The three mares halted their conversation.

"Oh Skyla, back so soon?" Ruby asked her.

"Yeah. But good news, so even though I've been promoted the workload isn't very different. Or different at all now that I think of it."

"That's great," Lemon clapped her forehooves together and smiled. "But let's get down to the juicy stuff. So what was that group of new guards the captain was leading earlier about?" Lemon had the look of a cat playing with its food on her face.

"Just some new guards." Flurry waved the question off like it wasn't of any importance. Lemon's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Oh no, there is definitely something more to that. Tell us, oh, and think you can hook one of them up with me? They all looked like some prime material there. I bet some of them have some serious mileage with their spears." Lemon Zest waved her abdomen in a circle before her head was beset by a book dope slap, curtsey of Ruby.

"Lemon Zest, we're in a restaurant. A public restaurant. There are kids around." Chalk Dust hissed at her inappropriate friend. Lemon Zest looked hurt, emotionally, way too much; and offended.

"What? I said spear, not like I said-" Lemon Zest looked around to see how close the closest kid was before continuing, "-dicks. But of course, that's what I meant." Lemon Zest crossed her hooves and smiled triumphantly. Ruby just gave her another whack on the head with her book. "Okay, okay, fine." Lemon then leaned her head against Flurry's shoulder. "So, how about that offer?"

Flurry Heart rolled her eyes and pushed her friend's head back. "I told you, it's just a new set of guards."

"You heard her, Lemon," Chalk Dust told Lemon Zest. "However, there was that one guard that was trailing behind."

"You mean the one that had different looking armor?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah. What was up with that one, Skyla?" Chalk Dust asked Flurry Heart quizzically.

"I don't know. Like I said, they're just a new group of guards. Maybe I'll have something more about them and why they're here later, but for now, I don't know a damned thing." Flurry Heart closed her eyes, raised her hooves in a shrug, shook her head, and sighed. "Hey, am I right to assume that you girls haven't had the chance to tell Gale yet?"

"You are correct," Chalk Dust replied in a teacher-like tone of voice.

"Okay, well don't. It isn't needed now."

"Thank you captain obvious," Lemon Zest joked at Flurry. "We sorta figured that one when you told us that nothing really changed from your promotion."

"Thanks. Anyway, what are you girls working on at the moment?" Flurry Heart said, wanting to keep up with her friends. "You girls have heard my career news, so tell me yours."

Chalk Dust practically beamed with joy at the suggestion. "Well, I'm being considered for a position at CEU." Chalk Dust said it with an air of obvious faux royalty. She loved to talk about her dream of being a professor. The four mares clapped, oohed, and awed at her announcement. "Of course it's only an assistant teacher aid, but you gotta start somewhere," Chalk said with a shrug and a smile.

"Sorry to let you down girls, but I'm still just a garbage girl at the restaurant." Lemon Zest shrugged. "Wait. Skyla, Chalk Dust. Both of you, rub me now. Maybe your good luck will rub off on me." Lemon leaned onto the table. "So rub me good," she added in an explicit manner, earning yet another book-powered dope slap from Ruby. "Hey. What about you Ruby?" Ruby put down her book and looked at the others, who were all looking at her expectantly. "Or have you ever gotten one yet?"

"No," Ruby said quite simply and resumed where she left off in her book.

"No? Really Ruby. Okay, put the damn book down," demanded Lemon Zest. Ruby complied if only to get this over with. This happened every time the conversation shifted to their careers- or in Ruby's case, lack of career.

"Why not?" Chalk Dust asked, hooves crossed and a disappointed scowl on her face.

"Still looking for one. But no pony's hiring right now." Ruby told them and raised her book but Chalk Dust trapped it under her wing.

"No, there are businesses hiring, you just haven't been looking."

Even Flurry Heart got in. "Ruby, you can't just live off your parent's forever."

~Next Day~

Silver smacked his lips. He looked over at the clock. "9 in the morning! No, vait, that's 6." Silver yawned and dropped from his hanging sleep. Silver slinked quietly to his bathroom. After letting the sink fill itself with water, Silver dunked his head into the sink. The cold water fully kicked him awake. Reaching over for a towel, he dried off his face. In the mirror his eyes were narrow and his mane and tail were messy, like a bunch of tied cords and cables messy. Taking the brush, he brushed down his tail and mane. Even after that, large parts of his mane and tail still spiked out around the edges. Gelling his mane and tail, Silver tried to not gag. "Hate this stuff."

Continuing through his morning routine, Silver brushed his teeth, stared at the mirror until his eyes dilated, and covered his lisp. "I vant that apple. I vant that apple. I. Want. That. Apple. I want that apple." Finally, Silver started to pop his neck, wings, and hooves. After content that his morning routine was finished, Silver put now his armor. He opened his door but was stopped in his tracks by a rumbling in his stomach.

"Sounds like somepony's hungry."

Silver looked towards the voice. It was Princess Flurry Heart. She was wearing a robe and sipping from a levitated mug of coffee. "I just got up."

"Me too," Flurry Heart spoke in midst of a yawn. "I'm going to get something for breakfast, you coming?"

Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Princess Flurry Heart sat at the dining room table. Countless castle servants whisked in and out of the room, taking empty plates and cups, and leaving filled cups and more for in their place. Silver meanwhile stood a bit back, trying to keep his eyes open. He felt like it was too early to be up yet. Come on Silver! You have a job to fulfill now, protecting Princess Flurry Heart. Oh, why did she pick me?

"Stuck on another word, honey?" Cadance asked, looking over her husband's shoulder at the crossword he was doing.

"Yeah," he said dejectedly as if this was that common of an occurrence that he couldn't try to fake that he knew the crossword's answer. "It's 'Well who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?'"

"Oh, that one's tricky. It sounds familiar but I can't put a hoof on where." Princess Cadance tapped her head lightly, thinking.

In a moment of sudden wakefulness, Silver couldn't help but blurt out, "Duck Soup." Cadance, Flurry Heart, and Shining Armor all looked at Silver. A red blush of embarrassment spread across his face. "It-its from Duck Soup. 1933 by the Marx Brothers."

Shining looked down at the crossword and counted out the blocks. "It fits, entirely. That's it," he said

"1933? How did you know that Silver Shield?" Flurry Heart asked perplexed.

"I-uh, watch way too many movies." Silver answered while trying his best not to look at any of the three royals in the eyes. Shining Armor looked almost angered that Silver Shield spoke so abruptly but was curious how much Silver actually knew. Princess Cadance was one step ahead of her husband though.

"Feather Duster, bring me that special movie quote crossword puzzle from last month." One of the maids nodded and trotted off to retrieve the paper. "So, how well do you know movies Silver?"

"Umm, too well, your highness."

"Oh, just Cadance is fine." The maid returned with the crossword puzzle and Cadance cracked a smile as she started. "There can only be one."

"Highlander."

"Frankly, my dear, I-"

"don't give a damn. Gone with the Wind.

"Love means you never have to say you're sorry."

"Love Story."

"A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."

"Silence of the Lambs."

"Stella! Hey, Stella!"

"A Streetcar Named Desire."

"DRY LAND IS NOT A MYTH! I HAVE SEEN IT!"

"Tricky one that is. While many ponies have famously attributed it to the 1996 film Waterwold, it is never actually spoken in the film."

"He's right." Princess Cadance felt herself smile, maybe her daughter will get along with this new guard quite nicely.

Flurry Heart's Lessons

With the royal family's collective stomachs filled to their hearts' content -even Silver, who snacked on whatever fruits passed by him- the three ponies rose and thanked the servants for the meal. "Alright, I'm off to Sunburst's for my lessons," Flurry Heart spoke a little louder than necessary. She turned to leave but was called back by a grunt from her father.

"Aren't you forgetting somepony?" Shining asked his daughter.

Shit.

"Dad, it's just to Sunburst's house. I can walk that distance on my own. I have for years," Flurry insisted with a hoof in the air, to more emphasis her point. Shining raised an eyebrow, solidifying the fruitlessness of his daughter's demand.

Cadance could tell by her husband's expression that this was not a fight that Flurry could win on her own. So she went to their daughter's defense. "Shining. She has a point. It's just to Sunburst's house. She's been going there on her own since she was twelve. I think she can handle it at eighteen-"

"Almost nineteen!" Flurry interjected. She had earned the right to be called almost nineteen, almost nineteen years of hard labor spent to earn that right.

"-eighteen. And Silver Shield could take some time to learn the layout of the castle."

Shining grumbled. It was two against one and one of them held power over where he slept, he had no choice but to begrudgingly comply. "Alright. But only to Sunburst's and back okay."

"Okay, dad." Flurry Heart trotted off.

After Flurry Heart was well out of earshot and once Cadance was distracted enough helping the maids clean up the table, Shining Armor walked to Silver Shield. Silver was in a semi-trance of a daydream. "Follow her."

"Huh?" Silver asked, having returned to reality.

"I said to follow her."

"But sir, you just said-"

"I know what I said. Go follow her. Don't let her see you."

Flurry Heart weaved her way in and out of the city's streets towards Sunburst's house, humming to herself. Sunburst's house was small and modest but filled to the brim with books and scrolls, much like Sunburst himself; a face you could lose in a crowd but filled with boundless knowledge. Flurry Heart ratta-tap-taped on the front door and waited. She could hear the sound of books and scrolls falling and quickly bing stacked again, multiple times over before Sunburst opened the door. "Ah, Flurry Heart. Ready for this week's lesson?"

"Yep."

"Well then, come in, come in." Sunburst moved aside to allow the young princess entrance.

"So what do you have in store for today?" Flurry asked her teacher.

"Let's see." Sunburst turned to one of the many walls in his house covered in books. "History of the Diplomatic Arts, Magical Ethics, Cultures and Creatures of Equestria-"

"Cultures and Creatures of Equestria? Is that a new one that Auntie Twilight sent in?" Flurry Heart took the book and looked at it.

"I believe so."

Flurry turned to the back cover and read the summary, "'From the northern ice caps of the Crystal Empire to the southern reaches of Equestria, the Griffin kingdom in the east to the seas of the west, the clouds high above or the caves dark below, this book is the most current, and accurate guide to the both the denizens of Equestria and her neighboring lands and their ways of life.' Huh." Now curious, Flurry opened to the index. It listed various different species that lived in Equestria; ponies, minotaurs, and griffins just to name a few. Flurry then reached the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; the section for thestrals. Gotcha.

Her mind was already swimming with all the rumors she heard about thesrals. They drink blood. They don't speak normal Equestrian. Allergic to carrots- okay, that one can't be true, I saw Silver Shield eat many a carrot during breakfast. Hibernates in the winter. Flurry flipped to the page listed and started reading.

Just outside Sunburst's house, Silver clumsily landed atop a cloud. He decided to wait until Flurry Heart left Sunburst's house to catch up with her proper. He slumped his back down on the cloud and looked above. Far above he could see where the boundaries of the Crystal Heart's protective field ended. It was a sunny and mostly cloudless sky; then it was a grey cloudy sky bombarded by constant snow and hail.

Lemon Zest rapidly flew around her house chasing her dog, her wings beating rapidly and loudly. "Come back here Spark," Lemon cried out. Spark bounded across Lemon's crystal tile floor. "Spark! HEE-" Lemon's command was cut short as she sailed into a wall a little bit too fast. Her left wing made a cracking sound that Lemon was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to make. "Ooowww." Lemon groaned out.

Hearing his owner's painful groan, Spark walked to Lemon's side, nuzzling her and giving small affectionate licks to her neck.

Smiling, Lemon placed a hoof beside Spark and scratched him beneath his ear. "Good boy."

A knock echoed throughout Lemon's house. Lemon winced as she got to her hooves. Lemon leaned against the doorframe before opening the front door. Waiting outside was Ruby.

"Ruby."

"Lem-" Ruby stopped and looked at Lemon. "You're panting and leaning against something like your out of breath. Did I interrupt something?" Ruby asked, looking at the inside of Lemon's house.

"No. What are you doing here?"

"Well since you and the girls were so driven that I get a job, I decided to drag you along for the help in job hunting." Lemon opened her mouth to ask how Ruby knew she was home that day but was cut off by Ruby already answering the unasked question. "And I know you would be at your house since it's your day off today."

"Okay. Let's-" Lemon cut herself off. She placed a little too much weight on her broken wing and winced.

Ruby didn't fail to notice her friends signs of pain. "Lemon? Is something wrong?"

"No. I just hit a wall. With my wing."

Ruby sighed at her friend's carelessness. "Go lay on your couch and I'll take a look at it." Ruby pointed to Lemon's living room couch. Lemon nodded and walked over to her couch. Ruby shut the door behind her and trotted up behind her friend. Lemon laid down on her back. "Okay. Now, spread it out and show me," Ruby blurted out without thinking.

Lemon grinned and spread her legs wide open. "Like what you see?" Ruby stared with her mouth agape for a good few seconds before she remembered what she had really meant. Ruby grabbed a nearby book and whacked Lemon in the back of the head with it. "Oww," said Lemon, rubbing her head.

"I meant your wing dammit!"

"Alright." Lemon slowly unfurled her left wing.

Ruby already saw the problem. Lemon's wing was in the shape of a 'Z'. "Okay. That needs a doctor." Lemon pulled her broken wing back and leaned forward. "Come on." Ruby heaved Lemon onto her hooves. Spark sat down in front of the two mares with a leash in his mouth.

"Hey. You never do this for me," Lemon objected.

"Huh?" Ruby asked. She bent down and connected the leash to Spark's collar.

"Bringing over the leash. I have to search throughout the house for that damn thing. And here he is bringing it over. What's up with that?" Lemon pouted angrily. Ruby was unsure if she was asking her or Spark.

Ruby shook her head and sighed. "Come on, Lemon. You too Spark." Spark gave a small bark of agreement and followed Ruby out of the house with Lemon following right beside Ruby.

Ruby and Lemon sat in the waiting room for the doctor's office. Ruby was filling out the injury sheet. Lemon was squirming in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position without placing much strain on her wing. Spark was sitting beneath their seats. Lemon winced at a jolt of pain that shot through her when she pushed her wing too much. "Sit still, Lemon."

"Well, you try sitting still with a broken wing."

"Okay. On a scale of one to ten, how much does it hurt?"

"It feels like a broken wing, Ruby."

"Where does it feel fractured?"

"Um." Lemon pondered the question momentarily before answering. "Here, and here." Lemon pointed to the two parts of her wing that felt the worst. Ruby drew a rough sketch of the Lemon's wing and circled the two places Lemon pointed to. Ruby stopped and sighed when she read the next question. I'm going to regret this.

"Are you sexually active?"

"Oh yes, I am. And I can show you." Lemon smirked when she answered.

"Keep it down, "Ruby hissed at Lemon. "I'm just going to circle 'active'."

Ruby filled out the rest of the intake sheet without much commentary from Lemon. After another round of waiting and waiting, Lemon was finally called to the back. "Maybe I should come with you," Ruby told Lemon. Lemon gave her friend a confused look. Ruby hadn't been injured and Lemon was far past the age for an adult to accompany a foal to the doctor's office. "You know, to keep you in check."

Lemon got the feeling that Ruby was going to accompany her whether she liked it or not and that arguing with her wasn't going to change that. "Fine."

Silver snapped himself out of his daydream when he heard a door open and close. Leaning over the side of the cloud, he saw Flurry Heart leaving Sunburst's house. Okay, I doubt she knows I'm here. So I'll just stay in this cloud and follow her. Silver proceeded to more or less wiggle back into the cloud. Silver poked his eyes out of the cloud to see where Flurry Heart will go to next but she was gone. Silver's eyes darted in every direction frantically and muttering to himself. "I couldn't have lost her that easily."

"Well, you did."

Silver jumped out of his hiding cloud when he heard that voice behind him. Princess Flurry Heart was scowling at him and he knew exactly why. The only question is if he can convince her that this wasn't his idea. "Princess Flurry Heart. I was- umm- you see-" Silver continually fumbled over his own words. "I wasn't-. Ummm..." Silver slowed his attempt at explaining himself as Flurry Heart's eyes narrowed even further. She didn't say anything, only stared further and further until Silver finally stopped talking.

After a second or two of nothing but palpable silence, Flurry Heart flew back to the ground and trotted off. "Princess Flurry Heart, wait." Silver quickly flapped his wings to catch up with the princess. "This wasn't my idea."

Flurry Heart stopped, turned her head so Silver was in her peripheral vision, and slowly asked, "Then whose idea was it?"

"Your father. After you left the room, he quietly told me to follow you."

"Then why were you hiding in that cloud?"

"I was waiting. I was going to talk to you when you left Sunburst's house." Silver came to a halt. "And he told me to not be seen by you, I didn't know if he was watching or what."

"Don't you bat ponies have super sensitive senses? Sensitive enough to-"

"Princess Flurry Heart, let me stop you right there. First off, bat pony is actually a bit of a derogatory term for thestrals. Second off, our senses aren't at super levels. And third, I had to make it look convincible that I was trying to stay hidden in case your father was watching or if he asked Sunburst later."

Flurry Heart's eyes were wide at the revelation of what she just said meant. "Oh, my great-aunt. I am so sorry Silver Shield. I didn't know that that was a derogatory term. And I believe you, that is something my dad would do."

"It's okay Princess."

"But- but I called you-"

"Princess," Silver stated firmly enough to grab her attention. "It was an honest mistake. You couldn't really have known what that really meant." Silver trotted beside Flurry Heart, "Now from what I've seen and you've said, I think your father will have a freakout if we stay out longer than you usually do."

Flurry nodded her agreement and the two continued their trip back to the castle.

They had only walked for a small amount of time before Flurry looked over to her guard and spoke. "Silver Shield, why are you taking my side and not my father's in all of this?"

"Well, my mother was intrusive too. Wait, intrusive? I don't think that means what I just used it to mean. Ah, I'll look it up later. Anyway, my mother was a lot like your father. She was constantly asking me where I was going and for how long I was going to be out of the house. She was never to the extent your dad seems to be, but I understand your position."

Flurry Heart smiled. "I guess you and your mother fought a lot?"

"Oh, Celesita no. I love my mom deeply. But she is still overprotective and the most embarrassing mother to ever walk the ground."

"You think your mother's embarrassing? HA! Mine is worse."

"Really? Because Princess Cadance seemed to be the more reasonable of your parents."

"Oh, she. And embarrassing. Get this, back when I was taking classes in the public school, guess who came in to teach my sex ed class?"

"What?"

"Yeah. I swear, my mother paid the school to let her come and teach that class just to embarrass me."

Silver fell into a fit of laughter.

"Yep. My mother; Princess of Love, Ruler of the Crystal Empire, and teacher for the remedial Sex Ed class at my school. Oh, and that's not the end of it. She put up a magical projection on the wall and my aunt, Twilight was on the other end. Saying things like," -imitating the way her aunt spoke- "you must align your sexual organ to your partner's organ at preferable either a perpendicular angle -that being ninety degrees- or at a thirty-five-degree angle."

Silver fell on his back, crying from laughing. "Stop. Please hahaheheheh stop hahahehe. I'm go-heheheaahha-nna peehahhhaa."

"I should feel accomplished that I've managed to reduce my bodyguard to a pile of laughter. And I do," Flurry Heart said, smiling at both her victory and Silver. "Come on now. We've got to get going." Flurry reached her hoof down to help Silver up. Silver took her hoof and Flurry heaved backward.

"Thanks," Silver gave his thanks once he stood on his own four hooves again.

"Can you walk?"

"As long as I don't have to laugh like that, yes."

"Good, cause we need to get going."

Once again, the two made off towards the castle. And once again, Flurry Heart broke the silence after a minute. "Silver Shield, can I ask you some questions?"

"Yes, Princess Flurry Heart."

"Don't most thestrals have dark-colored coats?"

"Yes, they do."

"So why do you have a white coat and brown mane?"

"My dad. I have the same colored mane, tail, and coat that he does."

"Okay." Flurry Heart tilted her head upon hearing Silver's answer. "I feel stupid for not realizing simple genetics. How about your race? Why are they so feared?"

"Look at me. We have fangs, slitted eyes, forked tongues that can reach far outside our mouths, wings of bats, claws on said wings. And most thestrals have colors that blend in with the dark well, ponies didn't know what we were."

"Well yeah, but ponies are usually so accepting." Flurry told Silver.

"The princesses and most individuals are. Groups, not so. Plus the loudest ones are those who don't accept us and because they're so loud, all the attention is placed on those few."

"Right. Well, why a guard?"

"Huh?" Silver looked over to Flurry Heart, somewhat confused by the question.

"Why did you become a guard?"

"Oh. Well, princess, that one has a story behind it."

"I like stories."

Silver sighed. "I grew upon Canterlot and I was there the day of your parent's wedding and subsequently, there during the changeling invasion. I think I was about six at the time."

"Oh wonderful," Flurry said in hearing mention of her parent's wedding.

"Well, my six-year-old self would disagree with you there. During all the chaos of the invasion, I hid like a scared little foal hides from the monsters under their bed. At one point, a guard found me huddled up in a ball behind a set of trash cans and during the entire three hours of the invasion, that guard would not leave me. They inspired me to become a royal guard myself."

"Well, I'd say that is an admirable reason for becoming a guard indeed," Flurry Heart said, giving a single nod.

"Princess, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course. I'm not going to have you beheaded just for asking me a question without prompting before."

"Thank you."

"So what is the question?"

"Your studies. What are they about?"

"Lots of different things."

"I mean, what are they primarily focused around teaching you?"

"To learn stuff about being a princess. The history of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, the thousands upon thousands of trade deals that the Empire has, and learning about many different cultures."

"Do you enjoy your studies?"

"Yes. However, they sometimes suck and are repetitious but at the very least it's a way out of the house."

"I guess you don't go out much do you?" Silver asked the young princess.

"Nope."

"I'm guessing your father doesn't let you."

"Nope again. Says that I don't know what's out there. Problems start when I never will be able to learn if I don't go."

"Well, hopefully now he'll let you have some more freedom with a guard now." Silver's teeth started chattering loudly. "Um, Princess, is it getting colder to you?"

"Nope," Flurry Heart responded with a smirk.

"What?! How can you stand this cold? I can't feel my wings anymore!"

Flurry Heart chuckled before answering Silver's question. "It's always cold here."

"Aren't there pegasi who manage the weather?"

"Not here, all natural." Silver just gave a face that said 'really?' "Now come on, we're almost back to the castle." Flurry Heart broke into a gallop and quickly outpaced Silver who tried to shamble as fast as his hooves could muster.

Author's Note

If any of you are wondering why it says it was published on February 7th, thats because I accidentally pressed the publish button.

Adjusting Issues

At Crystal Empire Urgent Care, Lemon sat on top of the bed, wearing a patients gown and cast on her wing, scratching everywhere on her body except her wing. Ruby sat in one of the chairs, flipping through a tabloid, Princesses Weekly to be exact. Spark was curled up beneath Ruby's chair.

"Lemon, stop," Ruby hissed at her friend.

"I'm sorry. My broke wing itches and I can't scratch it. So I'm trying to distract myself by scratching everywhere else." Lemon reached behind herself and tried to scratch that one spot you can never reach on her spine.

Spark quickly sat up and turned his attention to the door. Not a minute after and the doctor walked in. "Hello, Miss Zest,"

The doctor held out his hoof for Lemon to shake and sat down on a rolling chair. "So, I see you broke your wing." The doctor pinned up some x-ray images of Lemon. One of the pictures showed her wing, its bone snapped right in two. "You have a wing midshaft humerus fracture. Luckily it's not too severe, so no surgeries are needed. However, it's not going to heal itself overnight so you're going to need that cast for a while and you will need some pain medication."

"Okay," Lemon said, nodding her understanding to the doctor.

"Now I can write you some doctors notes for your work if you need either of those."

"Yes, please," Lemon told the doctor.

"Alright. I'll get those to you." The doctor stood up from his seat and made his way to the door. "It'll just take me a couple of minutes."

Once the doctor left, Lemon laid down on the table, put her hooves over her face, and groaned. "Fuuuck. I'll have to talk to my boss."

"Why is that a problem?" Ruby asked her friend with a curious look. "Your boss isn't a jerk are they?"

Lemon peeked one eye out from behind her hoof and looked at Ruby. "What? No. It's unpaid medical leave. Unpaid, so I don't get paid. She's actually pretty cool. But still, my wing is fucking broken, I won't get paid for the three weeks so I'll probably not be able to pay the bills at the end of the month, and worst of all I am barred from having sex for three or so weeks."

Spark hopped off the chair, jumped up onto the table Lemon was laying on and licked her hoof. Lemon smiled and affectionately scratched Spark's head. "And this is all your fault, you adorable little dog."

"I don't think Spark has any control over your own recklessness Lemon," Ruby told her friend.

"Shut up, hahahahl," Lemon shot back to her friend through a giggling fit. "What are you reading there?" Lemon placed her good wing atop the tabloid to get a better view of it.

"Just something to kill time, I'm not even paying attention to what it says."

"So you're not interested?"

"Lemon, I'm more starring at the words than I am reading it."

"Alright then!" Lemon pulled the tabloid out of Ruby's hold and started flipping through it herself.

"If you wanted it you could've just asked."

"I did ask. You said you weren't interested in it or even really reading it," Lemon retorted, settling her eyes on one column in particular. "What's this? 'One Fan's Love Letter to Princess Flurry Heart'. I wonder if she'll respond."

"Who? The princess? She won't."

"Come on Ruby, let the fan have hope. She might respond."

"Lemon, she's a princess. She has no reason to interact with ponies like that. Ponies that aren't of nobility or high-class."

"Yeah" -Lemon admitted- "you're right."

The doctor walked back in the room with a doctor's note. "Okay Ms. Zest, here's the docto- how did I not notice your dog before?"

Spark gave the doctor a friendly yip.

"Guess he's just that well behaved," Lemon suggested. She sat up for the doctor to give her the note.

"And I'll go ahead and schedule you a follow up appointment in three weeks to make sure everything is okay. Just for sake of ease, let's say three weeks from today?"

"Yeah, that works for me."

Flurry Heart burst through the crystalized castle door, beating Silver by almost a minute. "Haha. Beat you, slowpoke," said in a tone of mock gloating. Silver was nearly humped over on the floor, panting.

"Yeah, I'm a thestral so, I usually have my wings for transportation. And it's cold. And I'm wearing my armor."

"Those just sound like excuses," Flurry teased. "And I thought you said thestral armor weighed less than the royal guards' standard armor?"

"It does. But it stills weighs. This is freaking metal I'm wearing. And the cold makes the metal contract, restricting my movements. And did I mention how cold it is?"

"Yeah, like three or four times." Flurry giggled.

"That's still not enough."

"Wait, you said that the cold warps your armor?" Flurry asked, a possible solution forming in her mind.

"Yes!" Silver exasperated.

"Hmmm. If the cold causes a problem like that, why don't you take your amor to the armorsmith or the enchanter? One of them may be able to remedy the warping for you."

"Who are they?"

"The armorsmith is Steel Anvil-"

"That's on the nose."

"-and the enchanter is Gold Etch. Yeah, their names really are that on the nose. You'll find them together in the lower level of the castle. Since you're just requesting a simple fix to keep your armor from warping in the cold, they shouldn't charge you. But if they try to, tell them I sent you."

"Thanks. Only, how do I get to them?" Silver asked.

"Just find a set of stairs going down and you'll know them when you see them." Flurry smiled at Silver, but he only gave her a confused expression.

"First day remember."

"Oh yeah. To get to the stairs; go down that corridor, take the third right, it'll be the second door on your left."

"Okay." Silver mentally went over Flurry's instructions again before going off down the corridor

Silver trotted down what he hoped was the right set of stairs. "How am I going to know if-"

Silver was interrupted by a loud, Shetland accent. "Aye, Etch, where'd ya put ma hammer?"

"I haven't touched your damn hammer, Steel!" a female voice answered back. "You've probably just put it on your workbench and forgot about it."

That's probably them.

"No, aye know ya have touched ma hammer. Aye last ad it n yer room."

"What were you doing in my room!"

Silver slowly trotted closer to the source of the two voices arguing.

"Aye was lookin for ye. Aye also found ma tongs n there. Why'd ye av ma tongs?"

"You in left those in my room and I kept telling you to get them out."

Silver turned a corner and found the source. A shetland Earth Pony and a tall unicorn.

"Now listen ere lass, if aye find one mor of ma things in yer room..."

Silver coughed loudly to get the attention of the two arguing ponies. They both became silent and turned to Silver. "Sorry to interrupt but I was told one of you could fix my armor."

The Shetland pony fully turned to face Silver and walked up to him. "Aye can. Now, wat ya need done?"

"I need it fixed so it doesn't warp in the cold, Princess Flurry Heart told me you could do it."

"The lass wae right, we can fix yer armor. Nd ye must be the new guard fer the princess. We'll ave yer armor fixed up nice n right n a few days."

"Thanks." Silver removed his armor and gave it to Steel, feeling quite naked without his armor. "Will I have to pick it up later or?"

"No, it'll be in your room when we're done," Etch told Silver.

Lemon opened the front door to the restaurant she worked at. "How about I keep Spark out here?" Ruby told Lemon, pointing to a No Pets Allowed. Service Animals Exception sign on the door.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Lemon said in agreement. "You can certainly control him better than I ever can." responded Lemon added as she walked in. Tables were filled with ponies eating all kinds of and started the search for her boss.

"Lemon Zest, there you are. I was just about to call you." Lemon's boss, a teal-colored crystal pony named Pepper Spice, trotted up to Lemon. "Look, I need you to--a and why do you have a cast on?"

"My wing's broke." Lemon gave her boss the doctor's note.

"Well I can see that, but not how it happened." Pepper quickly murmur-read the note to herself. "What did you do to break your wing so badly?"

"Was chasing Spark, turned a corner to fast, ran into a wall."

"So three months. Okay, yeah you can get the medical leave. Wait, you ran straight into a wall because you were chasing your dog?"

"Yeah, so?"

Pepper tried to hold in her laughter but she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle that quickly fell into a short-lived laugh. Once subsiding her laughter, Pepper apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh. Okay, now get this health risk out of the kitchen."

Silver quickly trotted back to his room, taking great care to not be seen. But he wasn't taking great enough care it seemed as when he turned a corner he bumped Shining Armor. Silver immediately saluted Shining, staring straight ahead and not making eye contact. Seconds passed with Shining's eyes narrowing ever so much without saying anything and Silver not moving any part of him from his training. The longer the silence passed, the more worry took root in Silver's mind.

Does he know Furry Heart saw me?

What was his last name? Silver S-something. Why am I blanking on this? I should have read that file! Shield!

Shining spoke, "At ease Silver Shield." Silver visibly relaxed and breathed out the breath he held in. "So, what did my daughter do?"

HE KNOWS!

"She went straight to Mr. Sunbursts house and left it coming straight back to the castle, sir."

"And did she see you at all?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Make sure to keep your eyes on her and follow her, hidden if you have to."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"You can go now," Shining told the thestral, stepping to the side a tiny bit to allow Silver passage.

"Thank you, sir." Silver quickly made his way around and away from Shining before he could be asked any more questions. As he walked, Silver took deep breathes to alleviate his heart rate from its million-beats-a-second state. "He doesn't know, he doesn't know," Silver muttered to himself multiple times. "He wants me to trail Princess Flurry Heart at all times." After calming his heart down enough. "Should I or should I not tell her? No, she's already caught me following her, she'll likely catch me if I try to do it a second time." He muttered to himself on what to do while his hooves kept walking- "If he did know, would he have confronted me about it? Maybe he's testing me, seeing if I'll tell him the truth," -and walking- "If I tell Flurry Heart and she confronts her father, then he'll know and we both will be screwed." -and walking- "If I ignore Shining's orders, he will undoubtedly find out, then I'm screwed." -and walking- "Maybe I should-ahhha!" Silver lurched down, breaking out of his thoughts. He had walked to a staircase and nearly fell down it. Silver took a few steps back and after ensuring he wasn't going to tumble down the stairs, fell against a wall and held a hoof over his heart. "I swear, my heart is going to get pissed and try to kill me at this rate. Dear Celestia, it's only my first day."

Finally his heart rate returned to a normal level and Silver looked around, only now taking notice of his location. "Wait, where am I?" Silver looked every way and didn't recognize any of it. Standing up, Silver trotted over to a set of stairs going up and found himself outside and on top of the Crystal Palace. "Wha- how did I end up here? Where is here?"

From so high up, Silver could see the entire Crystal Empire. He could even see past the Crystal Heart's barrier and into the endless expanse of snow. "So much has changed." He remembered seeing pictures of the empire when it reappeared back when he was in elementary school. It had looked so different in those pictures than it did now. Silver continued to look out over the crystalline architecture until a sudden blast of cold air hit him. "Bbbrrrrr! Okay, enough gawking. Time to get down." Silver turned and started down the stairs before stopping. "Enough stairs for me," Silver said as he turned around and jumped off the edge, deciding that walking back in from the ground would likely be easier than the labyrinth of a castle.

Flurry Heart tapped her pencil against her desk, pondering the worksheet laid out on. "Come on Flurry, last page," She said while looking at the massive pile of work she had already done. She looked back down at the paper. I could just not do this worksheet. It's just one sheet, it won't affect my grade that much. She had been staring at this final sheet for probably fifteen minutes and had made zero progress. No. I need to get this work done. Flurry blinked and the words started moving around on the sheet. Although deciding to do all of this month's work in just a day really wasn't my best course of action. Flurry glanced back towards her bedside cabinet and the contents hidden within it. I could take a quick fifteen-minute or so break to try some stress relief.

"Oh fuck it," Flurry Heart said, hopping off the chair. She used her magic to lock her front door, close the curtains, and place a silence spell on her room, nothing noticeable, but strong enough to let her not worry about being heard. She then opened a drawer and pulled out her object of desire, a vibrator. "Just need fifteen minutes," Flurry said to herself, eyeing the plastic seductively.

Flurry hopped on her bed and turned on the vibrator to check that it worked. Once on, it gave a very satisfying sound. Content, Flurry turned it off and placed it at her entrance. Inserting it partway, she focused her magic to hold it tighter and flipped the switch. Almost instantly, Flurry was hit with a wave of small relief that she was after. Pushing it further in, she grabbed one of her pillows, wrapped one hoof around it, bit on its edge, and snaked her other hoof down to rub herself with. Flurry let out a series of pleasure-filled moans.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Oh shit, it's Silver Shield! Panicking, Flurry turned off the vibrator and tossed it across her room. She jumped off her bed and used her magic to pull a robe out of her closet and quickly slip into it. "Yes?" Flurry asked when she answered, but nopony was there. She looked down the hallway to the left and to the right but nopony was in sight. "Hello?" she called out, hoping for a response. Nothing. Looking down, she saw a silver platter sitting at her doorway. Grumbling to herself, "It's been seven years." Flurry picked up the platter and opened it. "Well, at least my sandwich is here."

Flurry closed her door and put the platter on her desk. "Where did I throw it? I was here on my bed, then I hoped off and tossed it this wayyyy-" Flurry's voice trailed off as she looked wide-eyed at the open door to her bathroom right in front of here. "Oh no. Please no. Please, anything but that." Flurry entered the bathroom, eyeing her open toilet, and the vibrator bobbing inside it. Levitating it out and using a fifth of a roll of toilet paper to clean it, Flurry mumbled to herself, "Please just work." She flipped it on, hoping beyond hope that it still clung to life, but it only vibrated for moments before shorting out and a small puff of smoke came out. "NNNOOO! That was my favorite one!" Defeated and dejected, Flurry tossed the broken vibrator into the trash, covering it with toilet paper.

Returning to her sandwich, Flurry frowned at the silver platter. "I get that I told all the staff to never enter my room when I was in there and that I didn't want to see them, but seriously it was years ago!" Small crumbs fell as she spoke. "You can come inside my room now!" Flurry mockingly shouted to nopony in particular. Hearing her door open, Flurry spun around to see Silver walking in. "Oh, it's you, Silver Shield. Why'd you come in?"

"Because you told me to, Princess Flurry Heart," Silver responded with a face of confusion.

Now that Silver wasn't wearing his armor, Flurry could see every muscle on Silver's toned body. He was incredibly well built for somepony who just looked skinny. Holy buck, Silver looks like one of those male models on magazines covers. I wonder if he's as big as they were. I'm tempted to just let him fuck me to finally get some stress relief.
No! Bad Flurry Heart, that's your estrus talking! It's not even near estrus season and I'm already horny.

"So did you tell me to come in or not?" Silver's question pulled Flurry out of her mind and back into Equestria.

"No, I wasn't talking to you specifically. More to- ehh, nevermind. So from your lack of armor, I assume you found Steel and Etch and gave them your armor?"

"Yeah, not sure how much I trust them since-"

"They were arguing, yeah. They're always arguing, and trust me, they've been doing this for almost twenty years. They know what they are doing."

"If you say so, Princess," Silver said. His eyes drifted towards the stack of papers. "So is that a desperate attempt at getting all of your work done last minute?"

"Huh? Oh that? No. It's the opposite, that's all my work for this month. I've only got this one sheet left to do." Flurry Heart held up the final sheet of paper that had been stonewalling her for so long.

"Wait, all of that is this months work for you?"

"Yes."

"It's the beginning of the month."

"I wanted to get it out of the way early. Is that okay?"

"Yes Princess."

"Ughhhh. Look, you don't have to call me princess every time. I'm still a pony just like you."

"Oh, um sorry Princess- I mean Flurry Heart. Sorry Flurry Heart."

Author's Note

Yes I'm alive. And yes, this story is alive too. As a quick rundown of why it took almost 2 years for this chapter:
2 separate surgeries
started college not long after uploading the previous chapter
took college classes all summer long
an out of state week long wedding
family vacations, one of which was a two week out of country vacation
6-7 out-of-state hospital visits
started work on an actual book that I do plan on finishing and hopefully publishing
various health issues within my family
1 1/2 bricked laptops
and am currently building a computer myself
so yeah, sorry about the near 2 year wait, but on the bright side, the wait allowed me to really focus on where this story is going and even some changes for some future chapters.