"Happy birthday!" The entire dining room cheered, much to Lily's embarrassment as she tried harder to bury herself under her hooves on the table. The sight earned a laugh from all the adults, many of whom were the parents of her friends who were in attendance. Eventually, Orange crept up beside her and nudged her, at which point Lily hastily poked her head out and blew out the twelve candles on her cake.

As we applauded for her, I scanned the crowd of attendees. I knew my staff, and I knew Orange, but I couldn't place almost a single fucking one of the ponies who were currently in our home. I moved up beside the only guest who I recognized, who upon seeing me approach, fixed me with a bright smile.

"Thank you for the invitation, James," Celestia said with a slight bow. I nodded my head at her as we stood side by side and watched Lily chatter with her friends. "You've raised a wonderful young lady."

"Thanks," I chuckled, observing Lily with a smile for a moment. Then my eye twitched and I quietly huffed. "Truth be told, I'm scared as hell." Celestia's ear swiveled and she turned to me.

"As close as Cat, Amethyst, Orange, and even my crew and I were," I said, folding my arms. "I dunno." I shook my head hard until Celestia gently brushed my back with a wing, at which point I turned to her.

"I think if something happened to her," I shuddered. "It'd hit different." She hummed with a nod as she gently swept her wing across my back.

"It's understandable to be afraid as a parent," she replied as we watched Lily dance with her friends. "You've invested over a decade of your life into her. Poured most of your being into her." I winced at Celestia's words before she nudged me, drawing my attention to her.

"It's the fact you're capable of fearing for her that proves your love for her is genuine," she said with a warm smile and a nod. "And rest assured—You're no wayward pirate anymore, you're a member of my armed forces. Her safety is a concern for us as well." To my shock, her words offered a degree of comfort and I felt myself relax. As if sensing my weakness, she curtly giggled.

"And considering what occurred when you merely believed somepony had harmed one you love, I think it's best we avoid seeing the results of a genuine attack," she offered with a wry smile. I grunted and looked away.

"You heard about that, huh?" I huffed causing her to scoff.

"James, it was all over the news," she chided, before humming. "And I may have heard members of the post-war council, shall we say, capering over it? Specifically the effect it had on illicit activities along Equestria's eastern coast."

"Capering?" I groused, turning back to her. She nodded with an eye roll.

"To speak freely, they and many others view you in the same light as Discord or Nightmare Moon or Sombra," she explained before fixing me with a sad look. "Thus, the idea of having you be at their command is very appealing to them." I screwed up my face in thought, caught off guard by one of the names she'd used.

"Nightmare- Oh," I grunted upon realizing who that was. I folded my arms with a sigh. "Well, fuck 'em. So long as I get to live in peace with my girls, who cares?" Again she brushed me.

"I care," she replied with a nod. "And I assure you that I am making efforts to sanitize your reputation and shine more light upon your positive traits." She frowned hard and looked off to the side.

"You have certainly not made that easy," she grumbled before perking up at me. "But! Everypony loves a single father and his adorable daughter." I balked at her words.

"Single?" I murmured.

"Technically, yes," she said with a nod. I pursed my lips and considered Orange and Lily.

"Yeah, technically. Fair," I relented before a thought occurred and I folded my arms again. "Speaking of reputation, you know any decent universities?" A few moments passed in silence and so I turned to find Celestia leering with a raised eyebrow at me.

"What?" I asked. She blinked a few times in rapid succession before clearing her throat.

"Do I know of any decent universities?" She parroted, tilting her head toward me with her eyebrows raised. I frowned and nodded.

"Yeah. Do you?" I pressed causing her to recoil with her jaw hanging. She blinked and sputtered before scoffing with a sharp sigh.

"Yes, I know a few," she groused.

A gentle creak was all the warning I received. Before I'd even opened my eyes, I felt the air get punched from my lungs just before my guts stung like they'd been lit on fire. I wheezed out as hard as I could, looking up to see a hooded figure standing atop my bed. Through the corner of my eye, I saw my window was sitting open. That mattered less than the silvery sword currently stabbed into my belly. The figure wrenched their sword out hard enough to send me tumbling off the bed.

As I rolled over flat on my back, all the warmth and strength slowly draining out of me, my attacker slowly stalked closer and loomed over me. My breath caught in my throat.

"Seven lives, Admiral Cutter," Arnoso growled. My vision was going blurry, but I still got a look at his body. Where I'd sliced him, he was crudely and gruesomely stapled together, with a bloody rope bound over the metal bolts holding his hanging and bloated guts together. As I looked up at him in dread, I heard my door crack open. Looking over, I froze. "Cute kid~. She yours?"

"Lily, run!" I croaked, or at least tried to. Instead of heeding me, she stood there, wide-eyed as Arnoso slowly stalked toward her, dragging his sword across the floor as he approached. Then, finally, as he obscured her with his cloak, she screamed.

I jolted and shot to a sitting position. My vision swirled and slowly I realized I was alone in my room. The window was shut, I wasn't stabbed, and Lily was-

I sat there for a while, panting and heaving, struggling to overcome the image of Arnoso flashing through my mind. When I failed, my eyes fell upon my nightstand. With a grimace, I pulled open its drawer and popped open the secret compartment in the drawer's base. Inside, was one of the new vapor sprayers used for fast-acting doses of lucid laurels. I'd snatched it during a smuggling raid a few weeks prior and decided to keep it on a whim. The stuff was still positively booming in the underworld, and so it seemed like every ship we stopped that had illicit goods was carrying.

As I sat there, turning the vaporizer over in my hands, still struggling against the nightmare I'd had, I certainly understood why. Before I could even ponder taking a hit from it, my door slowly creaked open, so I dropped it in my drawer and pushed it shut.

"Papa?" I heard Lily call. Once the door was completely open, I saw Orange leading her in, but once she saw me, her ears shot back and she turned. "Sorry." Orange flinched and then whirled around, catching her with a wing.

"Nah, nah, nah, you were asking for him. Come back," she said, using her wing to push Lily my way. Lily blushed hard and looked away as she rubbed her eye with a hoof. Looking from her to Orange, the latter smiled and gently rubbed Lily's back. "She had a nightmare, in case you didn't hear her scream."

"Yeah?" I murmured, tilting my head. Lily whimpered before nodding slowly. "Me too." Lily looked up at me and blinked before considering my bed. I hummed and scooted further back, at which point, she hopped up beside me, followed by Orange. Lily sat beside me with her head hanging.

"I was-" She croaked and sniffled. "I was on the porch again." I furrowed my brow.

"The porch?" I asked, looking up at Orange who nodded her head towards the front of the house. "Oh." Lily sobbed and rubbed her eyes.

"You shut the door," she squealed. I hummed and pulled her into a hug she hastily returned.

"Well, obviously I didn't," I said, cradling her. "You wanna stay in here, tonight with us?" She nodded, and so I gently set her down before Orange and I made ourselves comfortable on either side of her. Despite giving her space between us, she scooted slightly closer to me.

"Sorry," she hiccuped.

"Nah, don't be," I replied after pulling the blanket over her. "Love you, Lily."

"Love you, Sugarfly," Orange added with a yawn.

"Love you both, too," Lily replied in a quiet murmur.

"Hey, Papa, can we buy several tons of cloudstuff?" Lily suddenly asked. "Maybe a hundred?" I blinked and looked up at my smiling teenage filly from my newspaper.

"Cloud what?" I asked, causing her to smile even brighter.

"Cloudstuff! It's what they build pegasi houses out of," she explained before squinting and tilting her head. "I mean, technically it's just clouds, but when they use it as building material, they call it cloudstuff." She gave me a nod and I furrowed my brow.

"Oh cool," I hummed, scanning the rest of the lounge for any of her friends to see if this wasn't a prank. "Why do you need several to a hundred tons of clouds?" Lily clapped her hooves and dropped a stack of drawings on my lap.

"Okay! So, I was crunching the numbers and I think if we took enough cloudstuff and fixed it under a pegasi-down canopy attached to a small sailing ship, it would float!" She declared, using her wings to sweep the papers around, displaying various designs and equations that I blinked upon seeing. "Then, we could use sails fixed to the sides as oars to catch the wind and make it fly!" I slowly scanned the scattered pages on my lap with a dazed expression.

"Oh," I replied, finally catching on to what she was talking about before nodding. "That's actually pretty neat." Then, I paused.

"Wait, why are we trying to make a ship fly?" I asked, fixing her with a curious frown. She beamed again and spread her wings.

"It'd be a huge innovation! Like, think of the speed of a chariot but with the storage capacity of a ship!" She declared, offering me a bright smile. Despite her smile, I held my frown and considered the numbers on her paper.

"A hundred tons? How much even-" I blinked as she quietly and nervously chuckled before tapping a page with her wing. My frown and eyes widened as I tallied up the zeroes. "Huh."

"It uhm," she cleared her throat and adopted a bashful grin. "It usually costs a lot for non-building purposes, since it's kind of a pain to wrangle and compact."

"Yeah?" I murmured, still blinking at the price tag. "Uh." She waved a hoof.

"Okay, okay, it's alright," she said, offering me a brighter smile. "I just figured I'd check." She giggled as I nodded and handed her her papers. But, before I could respond and before she took her papers, she hummed.

"I just," she took a breath and threw her head back with a squeaking sigh. "Hah. I just remembered being a little filly and being all excited about making a flying boat with you." Her head rolled forward and drooped with a quiet whimper as her wings sagged. She miserably sighed again and slowly began collecting her papers, letting one slip to the floor.

"Whoops, I dropped that one," she sulked. Looking down, I saw that instead of being a ship design or list of calculations, it was a, seemingly, deliberately crudely drawn picture of what must've been me and Lily standing side by side aboard a ship with wings, and surrounded by a big pink heart. I furrowed my brow hard at the picture and fixed her with a critical leer, at which she sulked harder, considering the picture for a moment before looking off to the side with a quiet and subdued and very forced sob.

"You know what they used to call me?" I demanded in a strained growl. She whimpered and shook her head, still looking away. "They called me Throat-Cutter. You know why?" She shook her head again and took a huge breath before sighing even harder. My lip twitched and my gaze fell on the drawing again.

"Cause God damn it, they couldn't see what I'd turn into," I snarled before groaning, snatching the drawing, tucking it into my coat, and rising to leave the lounge. "Silver! Where's a mother fucker buy cloudstuff?" I didn't make it to the door before Lily leaped up onto my shoulders like Orange always did and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She squealed, nearly causing my scowl to melt into a smile.

I stood with my hands folded behind my back, my eyes focused on the heavy round clouds hovering just above Trottingham's town hall in the distance. My gaze drifted down to my side, where Lily stood with her head hanging and a heavy blush on her face. Just before both of us, at the gate to my yard, was Admiral Bell, regarding Lily with a sharp and critical leer.

"You're very lucky your father is who he is," he declared, causing her to nod hard. Bell's eyes snapped to me. "Though, I must say his judgment in this matter is somewhat questionable." I shot a smirk back at him, causing him to snort and roll his eyes.

"Now! While I must again reprimand you for causing such a disturbance and scare, I simply have to know," he hummed, drawing Lily's face up. "Where did you get such a craft as the one you crashed into Trottingham's town hall?" She blinked and wilted again.

"I uh," she cleared her throat. "I made it."

"You made it?" Bell gasped, tilting his head back in astonishment. "On your own?"

"Well," Lily murmured, nodding her head at me. "Papa paid for the stuff to make it." Bell furrowed his brow and looked me up and down.

"And did he also pay for the design, or?" He pressed, shaking his head.

"No, that-" Lily grunted and looked away. "That was me. Sorry." Bell shared a look with me that I knew all too well. Then, noticing she was still looking away he turned his head and snorted hard to avoid chortling at the situation. The noise caused Lily to shiver, and he cleared his throat.

"Do you have the designs put to paper?" He finally asked, at which she nodded. "May I see them?" She somehow wilted harder before reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out her papers.

"Sorry," she murmured after turning them over to him. Bell sat and studied them for a moment before slowly nodding.

"I'm going to have to confiscate these for now, I hope you understand," he declared, offering me a wink.

"Yes sir," Lily murmured with her head hanging. Bell tucked the papers into his coat with a huff before glancing back at the rain falling upon the town hall.

"And Cutter?" He said, fixing me with an annoyed leer. "For Celestia's sake, Sir." I shrugged in response as he trotted away. Once he was gone, Lily let out a single, quiet sob before I scooped her up and carried her back inside.

"C'mon," I urged, gently patting her back as she hugged my neck. "Let's go have some ice cream."

Lily continued to prance around the lounge, squealing all the while as Blood Orange covered her ears with her hooves and I gently rubbed her back. Finally after completing another lap, she flew right up and landed between us on the sofa, nearly dropping the letter she'd received earlier.

"I thought Admiral Bell was mad at me! I can't believe he showed my designs to the university!" She cried as she re-read the acceptance letter again. Orange hummed in discomfort as she rubbed the inside of her ear with a hoof.

"Well, like he said," she huffed before smiling at me. "You're lucky your dad's who he is." I smirked at her words and Lily giggled and nuzzled my arm.

"I'm lucky whoever he is," she declared before sighing and leaning against me as she studied the letter again. "Oh wow. The second I'm done with secondary school, I'm in!" My smile vanished and I shrugged slightly.

"Well, not the exact second," I said, causing her to twist her head to look up at me.

"Why not?" She asked as she slowly sank to my lap and began counting off to-dos on her hooves. "I mean yeah, I need to get some things together and wait for my first semester to start up, but nothing is keeping me from starting other than that!" She beamed up at me, but my expression continued to sour.

"Well, it's also in Canterlot," I explained with a frown. "That's- That's pretty far away." Lily tilted her head as Orange fixed me with a concerned look.

"Maybe you take a little break from schooling and just hang out, you know?" I offered with a quiet laugh. In response, Lily blinked and eventually snorted.

"You make it sound like you're scared I'll be gone forever," she chuckled, causing me to sulk a little.

"Maybe a little," I murmured, looking away. I felt Orange scoot closer and nuzzle my arm and after a short period of silence, Lily sat up and hugged my neck.

"I love you, Papa," she muffled as she squeezed me. I slowly hooked my free arm around her and returned the gesture.

"Love you, too, Lily," I replied.

I dragged my hand down my face as I slowly stalked up the path to my front door. The southern sea near Naysow was hot as ever, but due to it being summer, it was especially sweltering. I yanked my uniform jacket off and slung it over my shoulders as I approached the door, but before I could reach for the knob, the door swung open.

"Welcome home, Sir," Silver chirped, holding the door open. "Miss Blood Orange is away doing some shopping and you have a guest." I furrowed my brow, but before I could ask, the air was punched out of my chest.

"Papa!" Lily squealed as I fell flat on my back from her tackling me into a hug. She'd long since outgrown the ability to safely perform that maneuver even before she left for Canterlot.

"Oh my God," I wheezed, slowly hooking my arms around her. "Hey." Despite the pain she'd put me in, I managed a smile as the nostalgic sound of her giggling met my ears. After I recovered and we made our way to the lounge, she hugged up to me as she unloaded detail after detail about her first year at university.

"And then! The freaking unicorns came stomping in, talking all this big talk about 'magic being their specialty' and for us to step aside while they worked!" She snorted hard before her smile returned. "And guess what happened?"

"What?" I chortled, resting my head on my hand.

"They got into an argument about which way to drive the cart and broke the front axle!" She said before cackling and waving her hooves. I couldn't help but laugh along with her, but I settled down first and sat with a warm smile plastered on my face and aimed her way. Eventually, she sighed and nodded. "So yeah. After that, things settled down and here I am!" I nodded at her story and she snapped her wings, glancing off to the lounge's entrance for a moment.

"How've things been with you and Momma Orange?" She asked, causing me to shrug slightly.

"About the same as ever," I said with a nod. "I've been home a lot more since it seems like every quarter there's less to do at sea."

"Ooh, that's fun!" She hummed before raising her eyebrows and scooting up beside me. "Soo, you'll be home for pretty much my whole break?"

I barked a laugh. "Most likely, yeah!"

"Yes!" She squealed before hugging up to me. We sat like that for a little bit before she cleared her throat. "Ah. Papa?"

"Yeah?" I asked, looking down at her as she scooted away. She blinked and nervously snapped her wings again. She took a shallow breath and nodded without looking up at me.

"I met somebody," she finally replied causing me to jolt. She blushed hard and looked off to the side. "He's-" I stared at her in shock as she chewed on her words for a moment. Finally, she held up her hooves.

"We were working on a larger scale model of my airship design together, and wound up staying up and talking," she explained, slowly tapping her hoof-tips together. "And uhm." I blinked and stared at her expectantly.

"He uh, he-" she rolled her head side to side. "He had trouble growing up like I did." She looked up at me with a sad frown.

"You know, dealing with poverty and all that?" She jolted and waved her hooves. "Ah! Before you and Momma Orange, I mean!"

"Right, right, right, go on," I urged, rolling my hand at her and sitting up straight.

"Right! Anyway, uh," she cleared her throat and nodded. "He managed to impress some important folk and won a scholarship as part of a special program Celestia launched after the war ended." She sucked in a breath and bristled her wings.

"I uh, sympathized, and told him that, and uh," she grumbled and slowly nodded. "We kept talking and spending more time together outside of class and projects and." She swayed to and fro for a minute before nodding again.

"Yeah," she chuckled briefly before fixing me with a nervous smile. "I think we're- together now." I met her eyes for a few moments before a smile broke across my face.

"That's great," I quietly replied, reaching over and pulling her into a hug. "I'm happy for you." She giggled and hugged me back. We sat like that for a moment before I pulled back and snapped my fingers.

"Where is he? 'Cause you're crazy if you think you're gonna keep him hidden from me," I warned, wagging a finger at her. She perked up and nodded.

"He's here! He-" She paused and offered an incredulous snort. "Oh gosh, he was scared stiff about meeting you. Especially once I told him who you were." She waved a hoof at me and I smirked.

"Hah! Good," I declared, before waving at the door. "Go on! Go get him." She beamed and flew out the door. Once she was gone, I took a deep breath and sighed before folding one leg over the other. A smile was still plastered on my face as I waited. Eventually, I turned as I heard hoof steps at the door.

My heart sank.

My face shifted to an even frown.

I began slowly and unconsciously drumming the arm of my seat with my fingers.

With every step he took, I felt my breathing become heavier and heavier.

Finally, he stood in front of me, right beside her, and with an abjectly shaken smile leveled my way. Lily beamed at him before turning to me.

"Papa, this is Gerry," she chirped, gesturing to him.

"He- He- Hello, Admiral, Sir!" The griffin squawked, desperately clearing his throat, adjusting his glasses, and nodding at me several times. "It's nice to meet you!"

"I see," I whispered.

Author's Note

Next one's the last one. Silver lining: It's multiple choice!