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.

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.