Flurry swatted his incoming hoof. "Dad! I'm not a little filly anymore." She blew up her mane with a puff. She'd been wearing it down, trying for a gothic look that tickled her fancy. "Compared to the chill of the universe, a walk home isn't anything."
"I know I know." Shining was quiet for a few steps before sliding in closer. "What if I just like spending time with my favorite little mare in the whole world?"
A groan was all he received but she gave him a fond smile that said it all. They made idle chatter as they walked across the palace grounds, about the weather and some of the gossip of the city. "By the way, I'm having a sleepover." She inclined her head. "There'll be two fillies and two colts, besides myself, just to get that out of the way."
Shining tensed with worry at the idea, but he talked himself down, quietly, or so he hoped, "You're getting old enough to deserve some time to yourself." He laughed tensely. "Are they ponies I know?"
"You've met half of them." Flurry shrugged lightly. "They like the look, and wear it too. I like them, so you'd better not cause trouble for them, Dad."
"I would never dream of it." He crossed his heart with a hoof quickly. "But, uh, if you ever feel like you want to, you can always come home. We're here for you."
"Not. A. Filly." She thumped him with each word, glaring at him. "Thanks, but I'll manage a little party with friends." She skipped ahead slightly as they entered the castle proper.
He chuckled softly but a slight weight lingered over his shoulders. Before long his lovely little filly had rushed off to her room without a word. He pressed a hoof to his face. "That went smoothly," he muttered to himself.
"What did?" Cadance was trotting towards him with wings partially spread. "You got Flurry?"
"She's fine, just--" He paused to nuzzle Cadance, an easier topic by far. "She's a teen pony, so, you know, feelings?"
Cadance hiked a brow. "I know, but I don't, in some ways. When I was a teen, I was busy earning this tiara." She pointed up at it on her head. "So you, of us, actually know the 'usual' teen experience better." She wrapped a leg over Shining and drew him close. "But I know, for sure, that you love her, and that she loves you." She bumped foreheads with her husband.
The warmth from the touch melted away his tension and doubts, though his brain still bubbled with concerns. He took a breath and shook his head. "Just me worrying too much as usual. That's what Celestia told me the other day anyway."
"Yes, you do tend to fret," Cadance agreed with a wide grin. She leaned in closer. "If you ever get to be too worried, just know you have the love and support of everypony who cares about you. Me, your family, all of our friends, the entire Crystal Empire, even Celestia!"
"Thanks." He rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Now I feel worse." He wrinkled his nose at the thought. "Besides, Celestia is half a world away. There's only so much she could do for a father." He turned for Flurry's room. "I should make sure things are alright."
"I suggest not." Cadance tapped his shoulder once. "Did you end the last conversation shouting?"
"No! No, thankfully. I just felt--you know--awkward?"
Cadance nodded, smiling softly. "Give her some time, trust her, and let her find her way into adulthood. It isn't easy to go from being a little filly to being an adult filly."
Shining laughed at that. "I'm not sure she wants 'filly' to be used at all, but she didn't hesitate to call her friends some. Did you know she's having a sleepover, and there will be colts there?"
"Oh no!" Cadance put a hoof to her snout with feigned horror. "They may talk about things." She leaned in. "They may kiss."
Shining backed a step, sputtering. "They wouldn't?!"
"They might." Cadance stepped back herself, turning away. "And we should let them learn what it is to be a pony, which involves some kissing."
He blinked at that, mind stumbling around that mental image. He kept telling himself, "You need to trust her, trust her."
"And maybe, they'll discover they're a couple." Cadance sighed, hearts visible in her eyes. "And if you show her trust, she'll come home and share this colt with us, and we'll celebrate it, together."
Shining found himself imagining his daughter with a colt, going to formal balls as a couple. He tried to picture what sort of colt his filly would end up with, but it was hard. Almost every one he imagined, his mind went immediately to what was wrong with them. He shook his head firmly. "Stop that," he warned himself, trying his best to banish such things. He looked back to Cadance to discover she had vanished, off to other royal duties. "I'm on my own."
He marched up to her door with a grungy poster placed on it and a STAY OUT warning placard. From inside, music thumped, distantly complaining about the meaningless of the world. He wanted to bust through that door, to speak to her, to say a thousand things.
But his hoof wouldn't raise. "I have to trust her," he grumbled to himself, shrinking back. "She'll be fine. I raised a--" He sniffed, fighting his own emotions. "--fine filly."
The door cracked open and Flurry peeked out. "I thought I heard you. What's wrong?"
Shining considered running, but that felt wrong. "I'm so proud of you, and scared, of me, and how I'll mess it all up."
"Dad." She glanced behind herself, then emerged, her magic closing the door. "You didn't mess it all up, for a change." She smirked with past memories. "You're doing fine. Um--" She ran a hoof over a leg slowly. "Thanks? You know, for being a dad, even an awkward one."
"Any time." Shining smiled with rebounding joy. "Can I help?"
"By leaving, mostly." She stepped in and smooched his cheek. "You're the best." She fled into her room, her command given.
Shining turned away, rubbing where he had been kissed. "Yeah." He wandered away, that smile refusing to leave.
Maybe things would work out.
Author's Note
Done for a contest over here. Seemed fun, so I did it.
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