It Takes a Family to Raise a Flurry

Prince Shining Armor looked at the framed photo of Princess Flurry Heart as he held it in his hoof. "Have you noticed our daughter acting strangely?" he asked.

"What, you mean all the black?" Princess Cadance asked from the bed. "I had a goth phase too, you know."

He set the photo back down on the dresser. "No, I don't mean that."

"Well it's a rather broad question, don't you think?" she asked. "She's a teenager. All of her behavior is strange. Can you be more specific?"

"I mean the way she..." he trailed off, struggling to find the words. "She's been acting very..." He looked over at Cadance's horn. "Have you sensed anything different about her?"

Cadance's eyes followed his, crossing slightly as she looked up at her own horn. "Shining, you know as well as I do that there are limits to magic. And magically being able to understand a teenager's mind is definitely one of them."

"It's not her mind that has me concerned," he said.

Cadance quirked an eyebrow and filled in the incomplete data. "Oh. Well, I don't think you need magic to know what she's going through. It's the heat of summer."

Shining Armor blinked at her. "And?"

"And don't you remember what it was like for you at her age? Because I remember. Everywhere you walked, your dick got there first."

"Well yeah, because I was always so hor-" Shining's throat went dry and he turned a whiter shade of pale. "But she... she's not... she can't be-"

"Be what?" she asked. "A young mare in estrus?"

"Gah! Don't say that!" Shining yelped.

"What? It's true."

"That's no reason for her to be walking around with her tail up in a bun!"

"It's actually a great reason. Better ventilation," she explained matter-of-factly.

"Then why aren't you-?" Cadance she shifted her weight to lay on her side. Shining stopped mid-question and looked at his wife's gravid belly, round with foal. "Oh, right."

"Yeah. It's a different ache."

"But still, her filly bits are uncovered! It's immodest! It's lewd!"

"Only if you're looking at it," Cadance said.

"I- buh- no!" Shining stammered. "W- well, what am I supposed to do about it!?"

"I suppose your two options are, one, nothing, or two..." Cadance trailed off. "Or two, I think this is something you should talk to your dad about."

"Dad? Why?"

"Because it sounds like you're a father that needs fatherly advice, from another father who has experience raising a daughter."

Shining nodded. "Yeah... I suppose."

The two stallions clinked their cider mugs together. "Happy Late Father's Day, Dad," Shining said. "I wish I had a card for you or something."

Night Light smiled. "That's quite alright. You and your sister are both happy and successful." He motioned to the crystal royal bar they were sitting at. "Heck, you're both royalty. What more could a father ask for? And don't worry about being late, Son. I know you were busy being a father, yourself."

Shining nodded. "Yeah... and I thought being the prince of an empire was a full time job..."

Night Light chuckled and took a long swig of his drink. "You don't have to tell me, Son. You and your sister were quite the hoof-full yourselves."

Shining stared into his cider for a moment. "Actually, that was kinda why I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I, uh... I wanted to ask you about... for some advice about Flurry. She, uh..." Shining paused to finish his mug of cider. "Hey Dad, do you remember when Twilight was Flurry's age?"

"Why do you..?" Night Light's jovial demeanor turned serious and he also finished his drink. "Oh... Oh. Right."

"Two more?" the bartender asked, noticing the empty mugs as he passed by. They both nodded.

"What am I supposed to do, Dad? I mean, I'm supposed to be her caretaker."

"You are the caretaker, sir," the barkeep said as he placed two full mugs in front of them.

"Hey Lloyd, do you think we could get a few?" Shining asked in a polite, but a dismissive tone.

"Certainly, sir. You know where the bell is," Lloyd said before heading back into the kitchen.

Night Light slowly turned his mug around in a circle with his hooves, contemplating whether or not to gulp the whole thing down in one go. Moderation seemed to be the sensible course of action. He only chugged half of it. He wiped the foam from his lip with his hoof. "I'm no detective, Shining, but you're asking me about this in the height of summer... so I assume..."

Shining drank most of his mug. "Yeah."

"Well, you know what your sister is like," Night continued. "When she sets her mind on something, there's no force in this world that can keep her from her goal."

Shining stared a thousand yards into the distance. "... Yeah."

"And I'm not making any judgements," Night Light continued, "From where I sit, it looks to me like you've done a fine job raising Flurry. But she is, irrevocably, a princess. And I suspect that she has become quite accustomed to getting what she wants."

"What are you getting at?"

Night Light swirled his mug. "Your sister was a magical savant before she became an alicorn. I'm just saying, that when it comes to this sort of thing..." he finished his drink. "... You would really rather be a willing participant." He pressed the bell on the bar.

Lloyd reappeared form out back. "Yes sir?"

"Something for the ladies." Night light requested.

Lloyd didn't miss a beat. He reached under the bar and grabbed two small vials. Night Light took one and drank it in a quick gulp.

"And you sir?" he asked, offering Shining the other one. Shining looked at Night Light who only nodded. Shining sighed and drank the other vial before they turned to leave. "Enjoy your evening, gentlecolts."

Night Light accompanied Shining back to the royal wing of the Crystal Palace. The final pair of guard opened the doors to let them inside. Inside the hallway, Shining turned to go left. "Where you going, champ?" Night Light asked. Shining looked confused. "It's Sunday night."

"Oh yeah." Shining turned around and went the other way.

Later that night, under the cover of darkness, Princess Flurry Heart snuck into the castle kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Inside was the remains of a massive cake from the party earlier. Flurry rummaged through the vegetable crisper and picked up a zucchini. She held it in her hoof and inspected it.

"I admire your ambition," a voice came from the dark kitchen, "But you might want to start with a carrot and work your way up."

"Nothing!" Flurry snapped on reflex. "I mean, I wasn't- I was just grabbing some cake!"

"Uh huh. Sure..." Princess Twilight Sparkle said from the dining table with a cake slice on a plate. Though with the size of her belly, one could be forgiven for thinking that more cake was the last thing the Princess of Friendship needed.

Flurry quickly put the vegetable back in the drawer and grabbed a piece of cake with the number 'eighteen' on it and walked over to sit at the table.

"You know, you're not as sneaky as you think," Twilight said. "I used to be a teenager too. All these tricks you think you've invented, I mastered years ago." Flurry rolled her eyes. Twilight smiled. "So who is it?" Flurry Heart raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, don't give me that look. There's only one thing that could get a filly your age this worked up this time of year."

"It's nothing! I mean, it's nopony!"

Twilight pursed her lips. "I respect that as a princess, you'll need the capacity to lie. But don't do it to me. It's insulting to both of us."

"Hmf."

"Flurry, remember when we were reading that murder mystery novel, and you picked apart the villain's scheme, and carefully explained to me for two hours how to better dispose of a body?"

"...Yeah."

"What makes you think that there's something that you can't tell me?" Twilight asked.

"Fine! Yes, there is... somepony on my mind." Flurry answered and trailed off.

"Okay, good. That's a start. So what's the problem?"

Flurry stared off into the distance. "Auntie... what do I do when I feel attracted to somepony I'm not supposed to be?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "It's not me, is it?"

Flurry nearly choked on her food.

"I'm not judging."

"Auntie!"

"Flurry, you are a beautiful princess. I can't think of anypony that wouldn't be honored to be the object of your affections. And yes, that would include me. I just want you to be happy. So if there's any way I can help, I will. But you have to start by being honest with me."

Flurry pursed her lips.

"Is it one of your guards?" Twilight asked. "You know, your father used to be-"

"Yeah, I've heard the story!" Flurry bristled. Even in the low light, Twilight could see Flurry's cheeks turn a much darker shade of pink, and if she were biting her lip any harder, she was liable to draw blood.

"Oh... I see." Twilight smirked. "It is him."

"What!? N-NO it's not!"

"Flurry, please promise me that you'll never get into gambling, because your poker face is terrible."

"What are you talking about?"

"Flurry, if your wings were any stiffer, you'd be liable to break your chair."

Flurry became acutely aware of her wingboner but could do nothing to suppress it. She put her face into her hooves. "Sorry."

"No apologies," Twilight consoled her. "I told you that you can calk about anything with me. Though I feel that I must ask... is it love, or just infatuation?"

"He's my dad, of course I love him."

"What I mean is, are you in love with him?" Twilight asked. "Or is it lust?"

"It's both, I guess."

"And it's not just lust?" Twilight asked.

"Would that be better, or worse?" Flurry asked.

"Neither. It's just different. How long you've felt this way? Just during this spring and summer... or has it been for a longer while?"

"...A while."

Twilight hummed to herself in thought for a moment. "If you've been feeling in love for a while now, it's a pretty safe bet I know somepony else that knows about it."

Flurry's eyes went wide. "Do you think Mom knows how I feel about Dad?"

Twilight shrugged. "I can't say for sure or not. She's always described her 'Princess of Love' senses in terms of vagary. She likely knows that you are feeling in-love, but she probably doesn't know for whom. Has she said anything to you?" Flurry shook her head. Twilight nodded. "Yeah, she tries to be very hooves-off when it comes to this sort of thing. Unless somepony outright asks her, or it becomes a problem."

"Is it a problem?" Flurry asked.

"If you haven't acted on these feelings, then no. There is no taboo in thoughts, or even words. Only actions. There are good ponies who feel attracted to foals their whole lives, but never once act on those feelings."

"So should I just try to bury these feelings, or..?"

"No, that's never healthy." Twilight rubbed her chin. "I think I know just the pony to talk to about this."

Laying in bed, Night Light read a book by the light on the nightstand. The door opened and Twilight Sparkle walked in. He set his book down. "Did you satisfy your foal's cake craving, my princess?" he asked. Flurry Heart walked in after Twilight. "Princesses," he amended.

Flurry Heart did a double take. She had thought that they were going to Twilight's suite in the Crystal Empire Palace. "Um, good evening Grampa Light," Flurry greeted.

"This is a surprise," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure at this late hour, birthday girl?" Night Light asked.

Twilight interjected, "Well, somepony has been having feelings for a certain stallion," she explained as she climbed into the other side of the bed to get her weight off of her swollen hooves.

"Ah." Night Light set his reading glasses on the end table. "Well, this time of year it's only natural, Flurry."

"A certain stallion she feels ashamed about," Twilight added.

"Oh? Oh." Night Light smiled softly. "Well, I'm very flattered Flurry, but I am married."

"No!" Flurry yelped and cringed. "It's not you, Grampa!"

Night Light put his hoof to his chest. "My dear, you wound me. Words do hurt, you know."

"Sorry."

Night Light smirked. "Though I suppose that does narrow right down the number of stallions to whom you could feel ashamed to be attracted... unless we are extending the moniker to Spike." Twilight wheezed. Flurry's expression waivered briefly, as though considering the dragon for the first time, but it quickly passed. "I must say, there are times when I'm quite envious of the drake. I had never much fancied dragons before, but the way he describes Lord Ember's cloaca-"

"Actually, Dad," Twilight interjected, "Flurry was more curious about how you would feel if you found out that your daughter was... sexually attracted to you?"

Night Light leveled his gaze at Flurry and then at Twilight. "Oh? So we're having that talk this evening?" Twilight nodded. He looked at Flurry again. "Well, I suppose me being in your aunt's bed does warrant some explanation. I don't imagine that you'd believe that she merely had a bad dream?" Flurry shook her head. Night Light sighed. "Where to even begin?" He patted the empty space on the bed beside them. "Have a seat. It's a long story..."