Flurry Heart woke suddenly. She had been sleeping in her bed and was currently in an odd position. It took her a minute realize what had woken her up. It was sound of her name. Someone was knocking at her door. "Flurry Heart, its time. Get yourself dressed and meet me in the throne room. Cadence wants to see you off."

Flurry Heart stretched out her arms and yawned. The sun was just barely peaking in through the curtains. It had to be no more than a bit past dawn. Slowly getting to her hooves, her hands threw off the blankets still holding her to the bed. Another long stretch later and she was heading for the dresser. She quickly threw on a white T-shirt and black leather jacket, poking her wings through the holes as she did so. Then pulled on some thick brown cargo pants.

In her tired state, she felt like she was forgetting something but shoved it from her mind. Today was the day and Ember was waiting for her. She gave her wings a quick stretch before tucking them against her back. "Alright," she said to herself, "Time to show Ember I can do this."

She confidently opened the doors to her room and was heading down the stairs to the throne room in seconds.

As she neared the room, she passed some of the guards on the way to patrol, some servants who also appeared to be just now getting up and the usual pony who was getting in line early to bring their disputes to her mother. She wouldn't be opening the throne room up for a few more hours but that didn't stop them from wanting to be first in line.

Two guards stood in front of the throne room, their heavy armor made it clear that they were no meant to be messed with. Their large swords and dark crystal bodies made them look like a force to be reckoned with, ready to tear down any who opposed them.

They casually stood aside and opened the door as Flurry Heart neared. She greeted them with a casual nod.

As Flurry Heart entered she had to hold back a laugh as her eyes fell on her mother. Her mane was a mess and she was still wearing a night gown. Clearly she wasn't used to being up at the crack of dawn, at least not anymore. Ember stood nearby and appeared to be giving her a hard time. She wore a black cloak with a hood, brown leather jacket and dark brown pants. Both looked over at Flurry as she neared.

Ember held out her fist and Flurry bumped it with her own. She also gave a quick hug to Cadence. "Morning Flurry."

Flurry Heart smiled, "Morning. A bit too early for you there?"

Cadence blushed, "Actually I never went to bed. Shining was a bit... Invasive last night, and I..."

Flurry held up her hand, "I get the picture. 18 years now and it still hasn't gotten an less weird. This what I get for being the daughter of the Princess of Love."

Cadence continued to blush while try to hide a smile behind her hand. Flurry turned to Ember who bending down to get something.

Ember lifted a large bag and handed it to Flurry, "This will be you provisions. It is magically induced in order to hold a bunch of stuff. More than an average bag would normally be able to carry. It should be more than enough to last you the next several weeks we will be out."

Flurry held out her hand and nearly fell over upon receiving it. She extended her wings out used them to help balance her as she fumbled with the heavy bag. Magically induced or not, it was still a large heavy bag. "Thanks!" she blurted out.

Cadence composed herself. "I am so proud of you. You may have had a rough start not too long ago but now with Ember at your side, I can promise you, you will learn all that you need to know about survival. And when that next big incident pops up, I won't even try to stop you if you decide to face it head on."

Flurry Heart smiled, "Thanks mom. I promise to follow everything Ember tells me." She then tried to lift the backpack onto her back, only fall back onto the floor. Her wings splayed out as she struggled to stand.

Cadence turned to Ember, "I would like to thank you again for taking her under your wing. Now that she knows just how dangerous the world outside can be, I think she is going to be hanging on your every word. She will grow in strength under you."

Ember gave Cadence a thumbs (claw?) up, "After seeing her power through that Dragon beat-down, I think she's tough enough to handle anything. She just needs to learn how to use that strength properly."

Flurry Heart finally managed to the get to her feet, all be it completely hunched over. She quickly applied a strength spell to her back and was able to stand upright. It wouldn't last long, most of her spells don't, but it should last long enough for her adapt somewhat to the heavy object on her.

"Well, Flurry appears to be ready to go." Ember observed. She put a claw on her shoulder, "Better say your goodbyes. Its going to be awhile."

Cadence reached out and gave Flurry a long hard hug, "Good luck out there. Your father would be proud as well. He wishes he could see you off but something important came up on the outskirts of the city. I'm sure he would tell you to be careful as well."

Flurry Heart blushed, "I am adult now, don't worry. I will show you what I can do when I get back."

Cadence broke from the hug and took a step back, "Right, off you two go then. I need to get ready for the day. Goodbye Flurry, we will be cheering you on from here."

Flurry gave a nod and a waved. Ember turned and headed towards the set of double doors while Flurry turned and followed close behind.

As the doors shut behind them, Flurry felt a wave of nerves hit her. "This is it. I've never been gone for no more than a few days outside the city. I can't believe I am doing this. I am so excited... OK maybe a bit nervous too... But still excited. I wonder what Ember will be teaching me first."

Ember, as if somehow reading her mind, responded, "First lesson starts once we reach our first camp site. Got a particular cave in mind that I had scouted out earlier while you slept. Hope your strength extends to all parts of your body because you are going to need everything to get through this first lesson."

Flurry Heart trailed behind as her mind raced, "Oh boy, I hope I haven't gotten myself into anything too crazy... But I've seen how strong Ember is. If anyone can teach me its her. I hope I can show her that it was worth taking me under her wing."

Flurry Heart realized she was falling behind and began to pick up the pace. Both soon excited the castle and already the backpack was starting to slow her movement, causing her to let out a long deep exhale.

Ember smiled back, "Don't go getting tired on me yet, your training has only just begun!"

Flurry Heart shook her head, "Not even close, I am going to show you everything I've got!"

Ember laughed, "Oh trust me, I can already tell you I will be seeing everything soon enough."

Flurry gave her a confused look and Ember just continued laughing. The adventure had just begun.

Author's Note

This is going to be fun. I've got two chapters already written up. I'll be releasing Chapter 2 soon and Chapter 3 in the next few days. After that, chapter uploads will be a bit sporadic so keep an eye out. Hope you are as excited as I am.

Proofreader has gone MIA, let me know if you see any big errors. I proof read this a lot but I'm not perfect.

Edit: Couldn't find a good anthro picture with Flurry and Ember. If anyone happens to know of one let me know.