Flurry The Fearless (Mostly)

Cadance and Shining Armor couldn't believe their ears. "What?" Her mother asked, staring at the light pink alicorn quizzically.

"I'd like to live in Ponyville and attend the School of Friendship! Where Starlight teaches!"

Glances between both her parents and staff passed briefly, silent conversation being had. The royal caterers and decorators left behind serving platters and floral arrangements to excuse themselves, seeing that this conversation was clearly private and a family matter.

"But honey, you're already an expert in friendship! You know all about it! Why would you want to go there?" Cadance asked again.

"You might not have noticed because you're so busy all the time, but I don't have any friends. How can a friendless princess be an expert in friendship?"

Shining Armor furrowed his brows confusedly. "You have plenty of friends! What about Citrus Tart," he countered.

"She moved away two years ago."

"What about Resonance? Weren't you two attached at the hip?"

"She betrayed me and was only using my title for popularity. She treated me terribly."

The blue haired stallion was visibly uncomfortable with every pony he brought up, seeing as there was a valid reason for each of his daughter's friendships to end repeatedly. He was getting nervous and sweaty, quickly seeing that he hadn't been paying as much attention as he'd thought he was.

"Candle Bright?" Cadance asked, trying to take some of the heat off her husband.

"He had a crush on me and got mad when I didn't return his feelings."

Shining Armor made a mental note to hate that kid.

"Speckle Heart?"

"He's stuck-up and obnoxious. He only cares about himself. He only hung around me because his parents are dignitaries and 'ponies of our caliber should mingle.'" Flurry rolled her eyes with this statement, quickly being reminded of his posh Ponish accent and snotty behavior.

"Helix?" Cadance tried again, suddenly not liking being in the hot seat.

"Please don't even get me started on all the problems with that pony."

"Moon Beam?"

"She hates me, and I didn't even do anything to her!"

Both the Prince and Princess had begun to feel concerned. Flurry Heart was right, she was indeed friendless. Even worse, her parents had failed to notice.

Flurry Heart relieved herself of her deadpan expression, noticing how downtrodden her parents looked. "Listen guys, I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything. You're doing a great job as my parents. But I need to form bonds. I'm so lonely I've started ripping crystals out of my wall and making sculptures to talk to!"

"You've been doing what–" Cadance started.

"That's terrible!" Shining Armor cried.

"I know! That's why I want to go to Ponyville! It's like the Friendship Capitol! I'm sure to make friends there and learn lots about it with the help of Starlight and Sunburst," Flurry Heart segued, steering the conversation back on course.

"We get that, Flurry but…" Shining Armor trailed off, still uncertain.

"I mean, how can I be a true princess if I don't have friends. I can't mediate, delegate, or negotiate if I don't have anyone to talk to or practice on. Think of all the 'ates' I'll be missing when it comes time for me to rule!"

"But how will we know you'll be okay on your own? Flash Sentry can't go with you," Cadance rebutted, still worried about her daughter leaving.

"I'll be completely protected in the student dorms. And if you're really that concerned, you can give me a personal bodyguard from Canterlot. Like...hmm...Gallus the griffon! He was a student at the school when he was around my age, and he's Twilight's best guard, who she trusts completely, and you've met him before! You know he won't bring any harm to me."

The royal parents exchanged a look. Flurry Heart had thought through this, and made excellent points. Genes be damned, she'd gotten her mother's charm and her father's persuasion. Curse genetics!

"Are you sure that this is really what you want?" Cadance looked serious, and mildly fearful.

"Yes. Yes! I think it could really help me."

The frowns from earlier had returned to the couple's faces.

"Okay, what's going on? Why are you both so adamant about me staying?"

The mare sighed at her daughter's question. She levitated a rose from the vase at the center of the table, twirling it with her telekinesis.

"It's just that...we always knew you'd want to go on your own adventures, have new experiences. We just thought we'd always be able to go with you. To watch you grow and flourish into a beautiful plant," Cadance said, voice dripping with both pride and sorrow. She passed it to her spouse, who also began to levitate it as he spoke.

"We also didn't think the time for you to leave home would come so soon...I mean, you're not even thirteen until July, and you're already ready to go out on this journey of self discovery…"

Oh.

Flurry Heart hadn't even begun to think about how her absence would affect her parents, let alone her newborn sister, Skyla. She wanted to be there for her family, they meant more than anything to her.

Just as the young pony was ready to drop the conversation and retract her proposal, her father's horn began to glow brighter as he turned the petals of the flower to a shimmering crystal. Purple, pink and blue glinted brightly in the morning sunlight. He hovered it in front of Flurry, waiting expectantly. She took it out of his magical grasp and into her own, still staring in awe. "But you can never be prepared for how soon one's journey must start," Shining said, staring lovingly at his daughter. "We want you to be happy and find out who you are and what you're capable of," Cadance continued, now sporting the same smile. "If you want to go, you can."

Flurry Heart dropped the rose out of surprise, nearly shattering it. Luckily, her incredible reflexes saved the day, wing curving and stretching outward to curl around the stem of the flower. "Really?"

"Yes, Flurry. You have our permission."

Flurry Heart set the rose on the table, staring at her parents with a puzzled look, searching for any trace of trickery. When she found none, she flew across the room and tackled her parents in a tight embrace. "I'M MOVING TO PONYVILLE!"

The family laughed at their daughter's outburst and hugged for a bit more before Flurry Heart took her place at the table, ready to dig into some good old fashioned pancakes.

"I can't wait to get into all kinds of shenanigans and hijinks and–" The princess was quickly silenced by glares and raised eyebrows from her parents. "Uh, I mean, can't wait to get to studying!" she quickly stuffed an entire pancake in her mouth to keep from letting anything else slip, then gave a sheepish smile.

After breakfast, the family decided to spend some quality time with each other, taking turns playing with Skyla and playing party games. As Flurry squished her sibling's cheeks, she grew curious. "Hey Dad, where'd you learn to petrify roses anyway?"

"Oh, it's in the spell book Twily gave you to study," He said, before turning his head in alarm. "Wait, how did you not know? It's in the third chapter and you said you've been studying chapter eight."

Flurry Heart froze with alarm, plastering a very obviously fake smile on her face. She turned around slowly, in an attempt to stall for time to concoct a reasonable lie. By the time she was turned a full 180 degrees, she still had nothing.
"Oh, well you see, I...what happened was...um...I THINK SKYLA NEEDS A WALK! SO I'M GONNA GO DO THAT. WITH HER. AWAY FROM HERE. NOW. BYE MOM, BYE DAD!" The alicorn took off, her younger sister in tow, cooing as she levitated up and out of the room in her sister's trail.

"FLURRY HEART!"