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Inside the Crystal Castle, at the end of a narrow corridor, Flurry Heart trotted up to three doors. She reared up and spread her forehooves wide. “And these are your guard quarters!” she announced in a ceremonial way, as much as her high, squeaky voice allowed for it. Flurry Heart turned around. She wrapped her tail around her left hindleg. “One room for each for you! What do you think?” Her smile was cute and inviting.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, the three mares who were now her freshly appointed guards, moved back their heads ever so slightly, their eyes twitching. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tried to muster up a smile, barely succeeding, and Apple Bloom was giving Flurry Heart a frown.

Flurry Heart was keeping up her smile. As no response came from the mares, she puckered her mouth, her pupils shrunk slightly and she looked around between them. “You don't like them?”

“Uh, well..... See, we, uh.....” Sweetie Belle stammered, not able to produce a proper answer. Scootaloo shifted her eyes away, pretending to look at something on the wall. Apple Bloom's expression remained the same.

The pinpricks in Flurry Heart's eyes grew again and her smile returned. “Oh, you are going to like them, don't worry! I know it's hard to get used to a new place, but once you see the rooms, you won't leave them anymore!” Flurry approached the mares and gave each of them a nudge in the face.

Apple Bloom looked after the princess with her teeth exposed, growling. Scootaloo's pupils shrunk and her face became a blank stare, while Sweetie Belle coughed awkwardly, her eyes shifting away like Scootaloo's had done before.

“Never leavin' sounds like a good idea, we should go inside and lock the door before she can follow us,” Apple Bloom spoke between gritted teeth.

Flurry Heart approached the middle door and opened it. She turned at her three guards again and waved them over with an eager expression. Then she went inside.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed her with slow, hesitant steps.

As they were all inside, Flurry Heart turned round at them. The walls of the room were made of blue crystals, like the rest of the castle, and a large wooden bed with purple and orange bedding formed the centerpiece of the room. The green nightstand next to it housed a crude-looking figure of Rainbow Dash and the walls were decked out in Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash posters and merchandise. On the ceiling, right above the bed, a large poster of Spitfire in her Wonderbolts uniform, looking down at the bed from half-lidded eyes and flashing it an enchanting smile, was hanging.

Flurry Heart, tail wrapped around her left hindleg once more, closed her eyes, cocked her head and gave them a proud smile.

Scootaloo looked up at the poster on the ceiling, a faint blush streaking across her face, then let her eyes wander around the room, taking in all of the interior. “What's.....” She looked Flurry Heart into the face. “What's all my stuff doing here already?”

Flurry's smile grew wider. She opened her eyes. “I let it all bring here right after we arrived at the castle!”

The three guards gulped after the sentence had washed over them. Scootaloo shifted her eyes to look at Sweetie Belle. “There really isn't an escape from her, is it?”

Flurry Heart kept looking at them, her proud smile unfaltering.
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Not far from the castle, only a few side streets away, stood a colossal two-story building shaped like a square and carved out of a red crystal, with massive, imposing sections that surrounded a large courtyard in the middle of the construction. Its towering gates were flanked by two guard statues standing on high sockets, made from the same red crystal, that wielded long spears which got crossed at their ends, forming a portal-like structure together with the statues.

Flurry Heart approached the building with a respectful look in her eyes, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trudging along behind her. They stopped in front of the building and raised their heads to look up at the statues.

“That's the crystal guard residence,” Flurry Heart explained, turning around at them. “Now that you are my guards, you need to know this place. Come on, I show you around!” A boisterous expression appeared on her face and she ran off, towards the gate and up the crystal stairs. She opened the gate with her magic, making it swing to the outside. Flurry Heart stepped into the hall behind it, took up position at the side of the gate, stretched out her left forehoof and gestured them inside, invitingly.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle crept closer. They trotted up the stairs looking at the statues with wide eyes and open mouths. In the building, Flurry Heart closed the gate behind them. As it fell shut, the sound of it reverberated menacingly through the halls of the cavernous building. Instinctively, the mares ducked their heads a little.

Flurry Heart turned away from the gate and did a few steps past them into the hall. The building was quiet. Only from far away, faint shouts found a way into their ears. Flurry Heart looked to the left, then to the right, watched by her guards. She tapped her chin. “Hmm, what should I show you first? You need to know where the locker room, the guard canteen and the training grounds are..... And I definitely want to show you the training chamber in the castle, but that has to wait.....” Her face scrunched as she was sunken in thoughts, pondering her next step. After a few seconds, her lips returned to their smile and she turned around on her hooves, her tail swishing through the air. “I know!” she shouted. “You have to see the locker room first!” Flurry started grinning widely. “I even prepared a surprise for you in there!” She zipped away, through a swinging, blue crystal door on the left and into the corridor behind.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed, as slow as before.

Behind the door, they looked down a long and wide corridor. They followed Flurry Heart through the corridor, past blue crystal doors on the right, that had generous spaces between them.

As they had reached the middle point of the corridor, large windows, that consisted merely of one big window pane, appeared to their left. Scootaloo looked up and out of the windows into a large, expansive, inner courtyard. Crystal pony guards in shining, silvery crystal armors, with silver or blue crests on top of their helmets, were dueling each other with long wooden spears in one corner or doing push-ups in another corner of the courtyard. Some others were galloping on a round dirt track at the outer perimeter of the courtyard. In the middle stood a tall, muscular crystal stallion, wearing the same armor as the other guards, but no helmet, with a purple-grey coat and a rose-colored, striped mane and tail. He looked at Scootaloo all of a sudden, a cold and passionless look full of scorn in his eyes. Scootaloo instantly frowned back at him.

Flurry Heart stopped in front of Scootaloo at one of the doors and she bumped into the princess, still looking at the stallion.

“Here we are, the locker room!” Flurry Heart chirped. She went on, pushing the door open.

The room behind it was not remarkable. A line of blue lockers made of something that looked like a mix of crystal and metal stood left and right at the red walls. There was a vast, free space between them, in the middle of which two blue crystal benches stood. At the far end, the room had a turn to the left, to a part that could not be seen from their position. The right line of blue lockers ended a few steps before the outer wall of the room. Next to them, a blue washbasin was fixated on the wall. It looked lonely and bleak in its corner. To the left of it, at the wall right opposite of the door, was a small window. It stood open and they could see the brown trunk of a tree, some of its leaves and a patch of grass through it.

Flurry Heart marched onwards, not wasting a minute, and stopped in front of the lockers on the right, roughly in the middle of the line. She turned around, looking at them secretively. “Close your eyes!” she shouted.

The three mares lowered their eyelids and sighed, annoyance apparent in their faces.

“Come on!” Flurry Heart said, looking at them motivatingly. “It's a surprise, it needs to be extra exciting for you! Close your eyes!”

Scootaloo exchanged unhappy glances with her friends. She looked at Flurry Heart, frowned and took a step forward. “Is this really necessary? Can't you just show us what it is so we can get this over and done with?” Her face was cold and hard.

Flurry Heart's ears sunk and she puckered her lips. She remained like this for a second, then she lowered her head slightly and looked onto the floor with a frown. A tiny sniff, almost unnoticeable, came out of her nose. Then her head suddenly shot up again and the smile was back in her face. “Okay! Then let's just skip the moment of suspense and I show you right now!” She whirled around and opened the three locker doors, in quick succession.

Behind the formerly closed doors, three sets of armor came into view, one of them pink, the other one of a pale red and the third one blue. They became engulfed in yellow magic and Flurry Heart hovered them out, in front of each of the mares they were meant for.

The three new guards gritted their teeth nervously as they looked at them. “Are these our armors?” Scootaloo asked. Her voice sounded strained. “The ones you designed for us?”

“Um-hm!” Flurry Heart flashed them a proud smile like earlier. She opened her eyes. “I actually designed them already before I came to Ponyville! And the blacksmiths of the Crystal Empire are quick, they finished them in just a day!” She squeed.

Sweetie Belle coughed. “And they are supposed to look like this?” A blush appeared on her face.

“Of course.” Flurry Heart nodded. “They fit to you, don't you think?” She grinned.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow while scrutinizing her armor. “Really? Why can't we get silver armors like the other guards? They are going to laugh at us if we show up like this.” Scootaloo blushed, as well. And so did Apple Bloom.

Flurry closed her eyes and shook her head. “No, they won't, I'm sure!” She came closer and put the helmets onto their heads with a smile. “Come, put them on, I promise you, nopony will laugh!”

Reluctantly, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did.
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“HAHAHAHAHAHA!” A group of crystal guards, outside in the courtyard, laughed at the top of their lungs. They patted on each other's backs, unable to control their delight.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wore their armors and looked down into the grass, smiling profusely, their mouths thin lines. Flurry Heart stood between the guards and them, smiling.

One of the guards opened his eyes. He pointed a hoof at them. “So, you are the new guards of the princess? Those armors look lovely, I hope you will enjoy your daily tea parties! Your outfits are perfect for that!” The laughter got even louder and became a roar. Some guards lost all their discipline and collapsed to the floor, where they rolled around in laughter.

The purple-grey stallion stood next to the guards, smiling in amusement, but he was quiet.

Apple Bloom's face took on a darker shade of red and she exposed her teeth. Furiously, Apple Bloom ripped her helmet off her head and flung it to the ground with full force.

“SHUT UP!” she roared at the guards, then flashed them a mad glare out from under her mane.

Instantly, the guards stopped laughing and froze in place, their pupils small. None of them dared to say a word.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle shifted eyes over to Apple Bloom, looking at her warily. The blushes in their faces had disappeared, they looked pale now.

Flurry Heart gasped, fearfully, and flinched her head back. Her eyes had become wider. She looked at the helmet and her expression became bitter, then she switched her eyes to look at Apple Bloom. Tiny tears appeared in their corners. As she became the target of Apple Bloom's glare, she evaded it by casting her eyes down.

The stallion next to the guards was still smiling, unphased by the outburst. His smile had even grown wider and there was a fascinated gleam in them now. He lifted his forehooves and clapped them together, three times, before he put them back onto the ground. He came closer and approached Apple Bloom.

“That was very impressive,” he said, smiling at the outraged mare. His voice was deep and rough. He set himself into motion and came closer.

Apple Bloom gave him a glare, her face still red.

The stallion stopped in front of her. “My name is Cherry Quartz. I am the combat trainer of the crystal guards. How is your name?” He smiled down at Apple Bloom. From a closer view, the smile had something murky and wrong to it.

Apple Bloom did not respond and kept up her glares.

The impolite silence did not affect his smile. “And very revolting too, I see.” He brought his right forehoof under Apple Bloom's chin and lifted it, so that she had to look at him. “Revolting, stubborn, impolite,” he spoke. The stallion looked into her eyes deeply.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged looks of concern. Apple Bloom shoved his hoof away, but stayed calm otherwise.

After a short pause, Cherry Quartz, his hoof back on the floor, continued. “Full of rage and very aggressive. Nothing how a Crystal Empire guard should behave themselves..... I like that.” He smirked. “I can already tell that you will be a fierce fighter in battle. If you offered your services to the right ponies, you could earn a fortune in less than a month. Talk to me, if you ever–”

A deep, female voice interrupted him. “Quit tempting the new guards with your strange desires, Cherry Quartz!” The voice was swift and sharp, akin to a blade that rushed through the air.

Cherry Quartz rose his head, abruptly, and looked to the side with a cold expression.

Out of the door, the same one through which the trio of guards and Flurry Heart had entered the courtyard a few minutes ago, a crystal mare with a light-blue coat, orange eyes and a mane whose colors resided somewhere between purple and a very dark shade of pink, came. Her mane was flat and dull. It covered her forehead and was just short enough not to cover her eyes. At the back of her head, it was tied up and formed a short, stubby ponytail. She was wearing an average crystal guard armor but, much like Cherry Quartz, without a helmet. The mare's eyes drilled into the guard trainer with disdain. She stood there for a moment, staring at him, then came closer.

Flurry Heart looked up at the mare as she stopped at her side.

The mare gave Cherry Quartz one last flash from her eyes, then she redirected her attention, first at the new guard trio, then at Flurry Heart. She looked at Flurry from disciplined, rigid eyes. “Introduce me to your friends,” she spoke. Her voice sounded strict, but slightly less so than it had sounded when she addressed Cherry Quartz.

As the voice of the mare washed over her, Flurry Heart's body became instantly stiff and she stood to attention. She looked over at Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “This is Cherry Valley,” she introduced the mare, pointing her right hoof at her. “She is my combat trainer.” Flurry Heart turned her head and gave Cherry Quartz a stern look. The stallion gritted his teeth.

Cherry Valley nodded. “Good.” She looked back at the trio of mares. “And you are?”

“I'm Sweetie Belle. Nice to meet you!” Sweetie Belle gave the mare a welcoming smile.

“And I'm Scootaloo.” Scootaloo's face eased again, now that the tension decreased.

Apple Bloom said nothing, her eyes were tightly locked on Flurry Heart.

“And that's Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo added, giving Cherry Valley an apologetic grin.

Flurry Heart's trainer nodded again. She gave a sideways glance at Cherry Quartz, then looked at them again. “Don't listen to Cherry Quartz too much. He'll just pull you into something shady if you do.”

Cherry Quartz' face darkened. “And your lectures of righteousness are exactly what they need, huh?” he shot back, sarcastically.

Cherry Valley ignored him. She looked at Flurry Heart again. The young princess still had tears in the corners of her eyes. The mare gave Apple Bloom a glance, then looked back into Flurry Heart's face. “Princess,” she said.

“Yes, ma'am?” Flurry Heart immediately answered her look.

“I will take your friends and give them the rest of the tour. I'm sure they would like to see where your training happens.”

Disagreement flared up in Flurry Heart's face momentarily, but the strict look Cherry Valley gave her made it disappear again quickly. “Okay,” she said.

Cherry Valley nodded and looked at the trio. “You, follow me,” she told them in a sharp tone that did not allow for any protest.

Flurry Heart looked after them with a thoughtful expression as they left the courtyard and went through a door on the opposite side.
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Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed Cherry Valley through a different corridor inside the large guard residence. The mare did not look around at them, not even once she spoke. “I need to make sure you are aware of this. Don't pay attention to Cherry Quartz if he offers you anything. He is filled to the brim with a questionable, personal life philosophy that will do you no good if you decide to go down his path.”

The three guards looked at her and nodded solemnly.

“You got this?” Cherry Valley asked them, sharply, as she did not hear any answers coming from them.

“Yes!” they shouted together, flinching.

“I hope that, for you. Now, what else do you need to see here? I am on the way to Princess Flurry Heart's training chamber, but we can one make one staging post.” Cherry Valley shifted her head slightly to the side, not quite looking at them.

“Uh, the guard canteen?” Apple Bloom asked. At her side, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at Cherry Valley from blank and slightly startled faces.

“Alright. You are lucky, we just went past it.” Cherry Valley stopped abruptly and turned around. She pointed at a blue double door a few meters behind them.

The three guard mares went back and took a look inside. The guard canteen was a long room that seemed to stretch almost over the entire length of the corridor. It was empty at this time of day, but the smell of food drifted over to them from a kitchen they could not see. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle held their noses into the air and sniffed.

“If you are done sniffing at the dinner for tonight, guards, then move your flanks back over here!” the commanding voice of Cherry Valley cut through the air.

Startled, they jumped up and pulled their heads out of the door. Cherry Valley's strict face stared at them. They turned away from the door and hurried to get back to her.

“Now follow me, we need to get back to the castle!” Cherry Valley turned away from them and trotted further down the corridor towards the exit, not looking around to see if they came after her.

“Who does she think she is, bossin' us around like we are her recruits?” Apple Bloom mumbled under her breath as they followed Cherry Valley.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at the combat trainer, wordlessly.
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Cherry Valley entered through a door into a dark room. She reached to the left and pushed a switch and, instantly, bright, orange lights flared up on the ceiling and the walls. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle entered behind her. Their heads turned around as they took in what they saw with eyes wide from astonishment. The walls of the large chamber they found themselves in now were littered with small stepping stones, undoubtedly serving the purpose of climbing walls. Gymnastic apparatuses were placed all over the room and every inch of the floor, except for a tiny space in front of the entrance door, was covered in soft workout mats. They were of turquoise color. A barrel filled with wooden spears stood in one corner and in the middle of the room was a large, free space, marked by mats that were of a red color instead.

Cherry Valley went ahead and further into the room. “The royal training chamber. Only I, Princess Flurry Heart and her parents have access to this room,” she explained, once more without turning around. She approached the barrel with the wooden spears and began to rummage in it.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle spread out and gave the room a closer exploration. After about a minute, Cherry Valley let go of the barrel and turned around at them. Nothing about the barrel behind her had changed, the wooden spears still stuck in it as randomly as before.

“So, you three are Princess Flurry Heart's new, personal guards.....” Cherry Valley spoke the sentence as if she had just found out about this fact. “I can't say that I'm surprised that her old guard quit the job. It's a miracle that he lasted for so many years.”

The three mares stopped their exploration and looked at Cherry Valley. “Not quite quittin', more like she–” Apple Bloom began, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle covered her mouth before she could finish the sentence.

Cherry Valley's eyes narrowed slightly. “You have taken on a lot by accepting this position,” she continued. “I suppose you will have it easier than the princess' last guard as there are three of you. But guarding Princess Flurry Heart is a special and delicate task.”

Apple Bloom mumbled something, but Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle did not remove their hooves from her mouth.

Cherry Valley headed back for the door and waved the three guards after her. They followed suit. The combat trainer laid a hoof on the door, then flashed them a glance from stern eyes. “If you want to keep this job and stay here, you better make sure that Princess Flurry Heart is not getting hurt, neither by you nor anypony else.” She pushed the door open, not awaiting an answer.

Flurry Heart appeared in the door frame. She stood a few steps in front of the door, her old smile having returned into her face. Cherry Valley looked at her in surprise. “You waited for us, Princess?”

“Um-hm.” Flurry Heart nodded, while her trainer and her guards left the chamber.

Cherry Valley switched off the lights and closed the door, then locked it. Finished with the task, she turned around and approached Flurry Heart. “Training's tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM sharp. Be ready.”

“I will be.” Flurry Heart stood tall in front of the mare.

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle raised their eyebrows and cocked their heads at the sight of the princess' unexpected discipline.

“And you” – Cherry Valley turned away from Flurry Heart to face them – “better head for your quarters now and get prepared for tomorrow. Guard training happens in the morning and Cherry Quartz has no patience with latecomers.”

“We'll be there in time,” Scootaloo promised.

“You better be.” Cherry Valley headed back they way they had come from, the three guards trailing behind her.

Flurry Heart watched them trot down the corridor that was in front of them. Hope and determination were in her eyes. “I will make you become my friends again, you'll see,” she whispered.
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Author's Note

Featured Voice Performers
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Ashleigh Ball as Princess Flurry Heart
Michelle Creber as Apple Bloom
Madeleine Peters as Scootaloo
Claire Corlett as Sweetie Belle
Kathleen Barr as Cherry Valley
Doc Harris as Cherry Quartz
Peter New as Laughing Crystal Guard