Take the journal to Flurry Heart - our strategy should be watching our daughter, not intruding on her privacy.

The FLURRY HEART METER was UNAFFECTED

Currently the meter is at 4 / 10 !

Shining picked up Flurry’s diary, careful not to disturb the cover. He gathered the different scraps of paper into a single sheaf, making sure to collect each and every piece of writing that might be private.

He couldn’t peek into his daughter’s diary. That wouldn’t be right. All might be fair in love and war - but this was no war. Besides, even if Flurry ended up never loving him again, at the very least he would keep her trust - he wanted to make sure that she’d feel comfortable turning to him in a time of need.

Leaving the spell book behind, ‘Those hokey old tomes never have anything useful, anyway,’ Shining walked out of his study, taking the turn that would lead him down to the west wing of the castle, where Flurry’s room was.

He saluted a pair of crystal guards as he passed them in the hallway. Being a long-time captain of guardsponies gives you a sixth sense for sentinels. What would have passed for two emotionless sentries to your average civilian were clearly two nervous soldiers in Shining’s eyes.

Something was up.

“Soldiers, report!”

The stallion on the left, a crystal-unicorn corporal who had recently joined broke down almost immediately. “S-sir, I wouldn’t go to see the young princess right now - she’s n-OOMPH.”

A stiff elbow from the mare on the right, a sergeant with many more years of experience cut him off. “Nothing to report as a guardspony, sir. Little princess is safe and sound in her room.” She snapped off a quick salute.

Shining frowned slightly, but nodded and returned the salute. He’d like to know what the corporal was going to reveal, maybe something about Flurry’s current mood - or whether she’d already gone to sleep. But the sergeant had a reason to cut off her subordinate, and Shining was no micromanager - the chain of command existed for a reason.

But still… maybe a quick question wouldn’t be completely out of order. “Corporal what wer-”

“Mmmnf!” A loud squeaky shriek pierced the hallway. It had come right from Flurry’s room.

Shining’s eyes darted to the sergeant, trying to see if she would react to the cry but instead the sergeant remained at perfect attention, eyes locked forward. “What was that sound sergeant?”

“Sir, guard post five is reporting all clear, Princess Flurry Heart safe and secure. Further, guardsponies obey standing orders to respect the privacy of all wards whenever reasonable or practicable, sir!”

‘She’s too damn experienced to just be a sergeant.’ Shining grunted, then nodded. “Hm, very well, carry on sergeant.”

Shining sighed and trotted down the hallway a little faster now. He wasn’t sure what was going on in there, but at the very least Flurry was awake. Maybe she’d seen a mouse or something. He wasn’t sure if they had mice in the castle - it was probably difficult for rodents to tunnel through solid quartz but he’d seen crazier-

*BZZZZZZZZZ*

As he got right up to the door. A strange buzzing hum seemed to fill the air, coming right through the door. It made his ears flick slightly - it sounded so familiar… but he couldn’t quite place it. Was it maybe one of the magically powered lightbulbs in the hallway on the fritz?

The thought was pushed to the back of his head as he raised a hoof to knock on the door. He was about to experience first contact with the enemy. A one-on-one discussion with his teenage daughter, a chance to maybe resolve the mission in a single night! He clenched the diary in his right hoof with nervous energy… he had to do this just right.

“Mmmmmngh!” Another loud squeak came through the crystal door. Just what was going on in there? Was she listening to music or something? Maybe that buzz was a speaker that had gone haywire? But he didn’t hear any music… was she listening on headphones?

He rapped gently on the door with his hoof, whispering so as to be as unobtrusive as possible. “Flurry, sweetie? It’s me - can I come in?”

Nothing. Just the buzzing drone.

He was just about to knock again when he heard a muffled squeak, barely audible above the buzzing sound.

“Mmnnf… y-yes daddy!”

‘That’s weird. I haven’t heard her call me daddy since she was seven.’ Still, it was an OK to his request to enter. He steeled himself with a deep breath. He couldn’t believe how nervous he was - he’d briefed God-Princesses and felt less anxious - but this was no time for hesitation.

He pushed open the door.

His eyes caught a flash of Flurry Heart on her bed, sitting in an awkward position. But before anything could register, the teen became a blur of color and motion her head snapping to her door with surprise, then her whole body twisting and flipping away with speed that would make a Wonderbolt jealous.

Flight or fright was a wonderfully powerful drug, and Shining imagined the adrenaline must have been surging through the young mare’s veins as she simultaneously pulled her covers over herself and flung whatever she had in her hooves at the sound that surprised her.

Something sailed through the air slamming against the crystal wall next to Shining’s head and falling to the ground - all while emitting the loud, annoying buzz that had been so hard to place.

“WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE!?” Flurry’s face had gone from frightened to furiously fucking angry in about half a millisecond. Shining cringed as he recognized those features in Flurry’s face, inherited from her mother, which signified a really significant chewing out.

“Uh… I uh…” Shining stumbled over his words, all thoughts and rational planning out the window as he tried to react to the unexpectedly fierce venom pouring from his daughter.

“HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BUCKING KNOCKING!?” She screamed, her wings outstretched.

Finally, Shining found his voice. “I-I… did knock though, I asked if I could come in… and you said ‘yes, daddy’... I didn’t mean to scare you…”

Flurry’s eyes darted left and right, and her ears splayed back. Her whole face was turning redder than a ruby crystal pony at sunset. “I… uh… was….”

Shining was distracted from his fumbling daughter by the buzzing object at his hooves, which had been rotating in a small circle from its vibrations before bumping against his front left hoof.

“What’s this?” Shining picked up the humming wand-shaped object.

Flurry Heart shrank under her covers, nervously searching for words. “Oh… that’s uh… my…”

“Back massager!” Shining shouted with a smile. “I knew I’d heard that buzz somewhere before - your mom has the exact same brand. Neightachi Magic Wand. I’ve used it myself when my neck gets stiff.”

“Uh… yeah!” Flurry coughed. “My… uh… back’s been acting up.”

Shining brought the massager up to his neck, pressing the bulbous soft end against the inside of his collarbone, the deep vibrating hum of the wand hitting deep within his tense muscles.

“O-o-oh… y-y-y-yeah….” Shining chuckled, his voice vibrating. He clicked the switch to off. “That always hit the spot. Does your mother know that you borrowed this?”

Shining’s face fell when he looked at his daughter. Flurry already looked like she was having the most unpleasant and awkward conversation imaginable. How had he grown so distant from her that she couldn’t even stand a simple conversation with her dad?

“It-it’s my own massager.”

“Ah.” Shining smiled. The fur around the spot where he’d massaged his neck was damp… almost slick. He brought the wand up to his eyes for inspection, wondering if it was leaking. “Oh! You like to use massage oils, just like your mom.”

“D-dad!” Flurry squeaked. Trying to interrupt him.

This was good, maybe he could relate to her by chatting about her frou-frou massage habits and how he knew about such things through Cadence. He brought the wand to his nostrils and sniffed. The rich, musky aroma filled his nose - a burst of flavor and excitement rushed through his mind, made his hackles stand on end, send a flush of blood through his body.

“Ah! You use scented oils like your mom too - even the same vanilla scent - though yours seems a little spici-”

“DAD, GIMME THAT BUCKING THING!” A powerful magical aura tore the back massage from his hoof as Flurry wrenched the tool from his possession, flinging it into a corner of her room. The teenage-filly still hadn’t moved from underneath her sheets - her cheeks were puffed out with anger and tears were forming at the corners of her eyes. “What did you even bucking want, anyway? Why are you here!?”

Shining swallowed deeply. He raised up the diary with his ears splayed back. “I… uh… f-found this in my study.”

“Holy buck!” Flurry squeaked, again reaching out with her magic to snag the journal and parchments to yank it away from her father. “I can’t believe I forgot about that!”

“Don’t worry - I promise I didn’t open it.” Shining quickly reassured. “Guard’s honor.”

Flurry rolled her eyes, the slightest twinge of mirth appearing at a corner of her mouth. “Jeez, dad… I know you didn’t open it. I have a protection spell on the cover - it instantly takes a magical snapshot of whoever’s opened it and sends it to my mirror.” She motioned at her dressing-table mirror. “But… thanks… for being honest.” She gave the barest little hint of a smile, her ears splayed back.

Shining let out a deep breath. Not a bad first step, considering. “N-no problem, honey-bunny-”

“Don’t call me that.” Flurry snapped.

“S-sorry.”

“I’m not some little foal, dad.” Flurry growled. “Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be treated by the whole damn Empire like you’re still the little baby from your crystalling? I had to tell my guard-detail to stop ponies from coming up to pinch my cheeks, even when I was thirteen!”

“Sorry.” Shining reiterated. He’d learned a long time ago to simply nod and apologize when mares got going.

“I’m a grown mare. Not a filly!” She shook her head with a groan. “If I can’t get respect for who I am ‘as a pony’... and not some eternal royal-baby or alicorn princess… when I’m on the streets or at school, at the least I’d like to get it from my bucking family.”

Shining’s ears popped up. ‘School! That’s it! That MUST be where all her emotional anxiety is coming from! I’ve gotta find out what’s going on at her school.’

“Why have you gone all quiet!? You gonna tell me off for swearing or something!?” Flurry snarled, her blood fully risen as she’d worked herself into a little tizzy.

“No! No.” Shining quickly waved his hooves. “You get a pass for tonight.”

“And just why do you get to give passes!?” Flurry crossed her arms.

Shining ignored the obvious bait - he wanted to win Flurry over, not antagonize her. Pausing a moment to let the mood settle, he adopted his most empathetic, concerned tone. “Flurry… is everything… OK?”

Flurry cocked her head, arching an eyebrow in disbelief. “Is everything… OK? Are you serious? Of course everything’s not OK! You have no idea what I have to go through - and now you trot in here saying you’re going to spend more time with us, like that’s going to make anything better… when it’s really just going to make this next month like living in bucking TARTARUS!” She threw her hooves up in desperation and slumped back onto her pillows.

Shining sighed. Perhaps it was best to make a tactical retreat, for now. “I… I don’t know what I did wrong Flurry. But I know I did something, and for that… I’m really sorry.”

Flurry sighed back. “D-dad… you don’t need to apologize.”

“No. I do.” He was sincere, he was open, he was vulnerable. “I miss having my little girl but that’s my fault - I spent too much time away and you’ve grown up. I need to find a way to connect with you, and that’s why I’m here.” Shining let out a deep breath. “I just hope… you’ll give me a chance.”

Flurry looked at him with bemusement. Then let out a little snort. “Pfft… what the hay was that after-school special nonsense?” She started giggling.

Well, at least he’d managed to make her laugh. “H-hey! I’m serious!”

Flurry was chuckling now, “Yeah yeah… I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m still half convinced you’re headed back to Canterlot tomorrow morning.”

“I’m not!”

“Fine.” Flurry wiped a tear from her eye. “Just don’t be so dramatically corny, dad.” She rolled her eyes. “All I really want is a little space and time - sometimes my whole life just feels so bucking claustrophobic.”

“Ok… ok.” Shining put up his hooves defensively. “I know I have a lot of work to do, just know that… I love you, Flurry.”

Flurry shook her head and rolled her eyes. “What did I just say about the corny-afterschool special lines, dad?”

“Sorry.” Shining turned toward the door.

“It’s fine. Thanks for returning my diary, I guess.”

Shining paused. Wondering how best to conclude his first contact with the ‘enemy’.

1) Head right out the door. This is as good as it is going to get. Flurry just said that she’s looking for more time and space. You have to be the cool guy and step away.

2) Turn around and give her a good night hug. She’s warming up to you! This is the time to seize the initiative and go for something more - physical contact is huge: a nice dad-hug will remind her just how much you care about her, and could set you up perfectly in the days to come!

3) Go in for the hug and use her mirthful state to even go for some ‘tickle-time’ just like you used to. If you can get her laughing she’ll get over herself and that rigid exterior that she puts on as a front. Tickle-time will make her feel comfortable around you again… plus she smells simply amazing right now!

Author's Note

STRAW POLL HERE!

Vote for your choice! Once we hit 100 votes I'll write the next chapter!

Ok what the buck that was ridiculously fast. Bumping the vote count requirement up to 100, but I bet you guys will blow through that in only a few hours as well.

Returning the journal was far and away the top choice on this one. I'm really loving the comments and discussion this is generating. Some of you guys are far too clever for your own good!

We definitely dodged a bullet with not opening the diary... Flurry would have been furious. We would have found out what was going on in her head though.

The arcane spell-book was probably a red-herring. There was always a chance that Shining would have accidentally gotten a lust/love spell mixed up and somehow managed to cast the thing on an alicorn princess who is the daughter of the alicorn princess of love, without either of them knowing.

Journal was a neutral choice - the fear here was that Shining might catch heat just for being the messenger... but it turned out that the detection-spell trap actually helped us! Flurry trusts us more now! We would have gotten a point off of this...

Except we seemed to have interrupted a rather vigorous back massage session. Mare's hate when you do that.

Anyway, now Shining needs to make a choice as to how he should finish this night off!

Are you going to make the right choice? Think hard - it may not be obvious!

As always, commented suggestions are also welcome and can end up becoming a new choice / outcome if good enough!

Also, let me know if you want me to make the choices result in different random dice rolls (with a H/M/L rating) to determine what the outcome will be. This way I have to play fair!