Flurry Heart left the conference room alone, sighing. It would be a few hours while Twilight ran tests on Comet, and this left her with a companion she hadn't been with in a while: loneliness. Yes, she had the castle staff, but with the noble foals only being near her at their parent's behest and any adults being close to her for the leverage they could get, it didn't leave many options. Thankfully, there was always one. Taking a small group if guards (after checking for shadows) she set off for her destination.

"Hello, welcome to the Shimmering- OH! Princess Flurry Heart! My apologies for not noticing you come in," the receptionist pony bowed nervously. "You're here to see Sharp, right? I can let you in, just give me a few moments to alert the staff upstairs." The mare made a few frantic calls via the intercom system and within minutes the little princess had an entourage of staff taking her to the room she wanted. She entered alone, closing the door behind her, and faced the only other pony present.

"Hey, Uncle Sharp."

A dark green pegasus stallion with a straight, long mane of dark brown hair sat at the window, gazing out at something unknowable in the snowfield. He chuckled, which grew into a hearty laugh, and turned to face the filly. "The little snowflake arrives! It's been ages. My princess," he knelt down, bowing in respect far deeper that most ponies chose to. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? New orders? Or are you in danger?"

Flurry trotted over and gripped the stallion in a hug, which he reciprocated without hesitation. "No, not anymore. But I just wanted to come see you. I need somepony to talk to," she replied.

"Well, you know I'm always here to listen. I would be a horrible guard if I did any less." He hopped up on the bed and patted it with a hoof. "Come on up, it's comfier than the floor." Flurry followed suit, careful not to knock the bed into the medical equipment next to it as she landed.

Sergeant Sharp Wing of the crystal guard, draped a wing over his charge in a loving manner only family can pull off. And while never related by blood, he had been assigned to be Flurry's guard so long ago and held that position for seven years, cementing him in the filly's life forever as 'Uncle' Sharp. He smiled a warm smile, a rare feat for a veteran guard such as himself, as he felt Flurry try to snuggle up under his wing completely like she used to when she was no older than five. "Comfy?"

"Mhm. I miss seeing you around, Uncle Sharp. I wish Mom and Dad would let you get back to work soon," the princess lamented. "But they just keep telling me you're in no condition to be a guard anymore! And... and they say you need to stay here. Why are you stuck here for so long, Uncle Sharp? Are you sick?"

Sharp looked around his room. It tried it's best to feel like a cross between a hotel and a comfy apartment bedroom, but even without the medical supplies it felt off, more clinical than anything else. He patted Flurry on the head. She'd understand one day, he hoped. But she needed him to keep her safe now, so he put on his kindest face and comforted her.

"No, my little snowflake. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I need to stay here for a while yet. I'm sick, but you don't need to worry about catching anything. And it won't make me leave you alone any sooner than I would normally. All it does is make it difficult to do my job protecting you and making you happy," he lifted her chin to stare him in the face, "so your parents put me here so I can recover. Now, you wanna play a game of cards? I want to see you still know how to deal, little one.

Flurry's eyes lit up, and she scrambled to find Sharp's favorite deck of playing cards in the nightstand drawer. "I'd love to! After the last couple days, I've been looking forward to playing with you!"

By the time they had finished, orange light illuminated the sky as the sun slowly set beyond the horizon. Sharp Wing put his cards back where they belonged, happy to have taught Flurry a few more tricks. "Well, my precious snowflake, it's getting late. You ought to head home. Stay safe, alright?" He ushered her towards the door with a wing, the pair sharing one last embrace before Flurry departed. As she left the building, the clerk had one last thing to say to her.

"Thank you for visiting the Shimmering Jewel institute for the mentally ill, your majesty. Do come again!"

Author's Note

Taking a break from prank war to write this again. A new character has joined, and I hope you all like him despite the shorter chapter.

I can't write long stuff rn. I 8s sick