Daddy Daughter Day [Crystal Empire] Attn: BlueBlood

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

Flurry sat at her desk in the main library of the Crystal Palace. Her mother in her infinite wisdom had a small section converted into a classroom for the growing alicorn. An entire empire of knowledge was at her hooves but yet here she was, writing an essay on manners. How was she to know that keeping your wings extended in front of dignitaries was a no no. Her eyes rolled as she sighed. Quill to parchment, she would stop after only four sentences. 
 

“Hm...” the young princess would say as she tapped the quill to her chin. “I wonder if..” Flurry perked up as the clock struck ten. Her father should have just finished the last of his duties for the day and soon he would be all hers for the rest of the day. “I wonder what fun things daddy has planned for us,” as she began to trot in place, just waiting for the library door to open. Quickly she cleaned her desk and sat her school bags in the corner before her laser like attention went back to the door.

[Blueblood]

~Shining Armor~

 

Today was going to be a good day.

 

Shining Armor, Prince-Consort of the Crystal Empire (it would be Emperor-consort, but that would mean that Cady would have to take the title of Empress, and claiming a higher-tier title than Twily down south would have given the wrong impression) had taken lighter duties this Friday.  The Crystal Guard was finally developing a decent class of officers that he could safely leave duties to, giving him more time to spend with his special little daughter!  Flurry being born an alicorn had made for a wild ride in many respects, but he wouldn't have traded it for the world!

 

Shedding his uniform jacket, he trotted over with quick pace over to the castle library, rapping sharply on the door before entering.  "All done with your lessons for today, Fluffalump?"  He'd adopted the nickname as one of his many 'Dad Privileges', alongside which was the right to make any pun at any time, regardless of how many groans or laughs it got.  Plus, if he recalled correctly, Flurry didn't always appreciate the manner in which her name brought to mind the... incidents surrounding her Crystalling.

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

”Daddy!,” Flurry exclaimed as she flew at her father before wrapping around his neck with a tight hug. Hearing her nickname however made her momentarily blush. “I worked super hard to make sure I got done when you got done. I don’t want to waist a second of DDBFF time,” as she giggled before taking a seat on her fathers back. “That’s something Auntie Twi taught me,” she said with a wink. 
 

“Umm, so how mad where those visiting creatures with my, as the book mommy had me read called it, show of authoritative power?” Flurry’s head lowered in shame for a moment as she remembered being sent out of the room. 
 

Quickly however, the young princess’s thoughts shifted back to the day ahead. “So, what fun do you have planned for us? Games? Adventure? Ice Cream for dinner?” Flurry grinned from ear to ear.

[Blueblood]

Wrapping his LDBFF in a big ol' hug, Shining smiled down at her.  "Good job!"  He didn't ask for the essay, figuring that it was Cadence's work to grade it.  He hadn't been present for the incident, just for its aftermath with the diplomats in the lounge, cooling off in the less formal settings outside the main entrance hall.  Truth be told, their shock had not been in anger so much as confused offense.  But daddy's little Fluffalump was much too young to have all that explained to her.  Yup.  "Well, they weren't exactly happy about it, but we managed to calm them down."  His face grew a little serious as he turned back to look at his daughter.  "Please do remember not to do it again, though.  When your mother says that if this goes on, she will send you to get lessons from Uncle Blueblood, she's not kidding."  Hopefully that implied threat would provide sufficient incentive for good behavior.

 

But enough disciplinary work, the weekend was theirs!  "Well, I did have one thing in mind..."  He smiled, trotting off down the hallway and towards the doors opening to the back courtyard.  "Do you remember last month, when you were all excited to see the Crystal Pegasi do their flight exercises, in celebration of the first Crystal Wonderbolt?  How both Cady and I had to hold your legs to keep you from taking off and joining them?"  Throwing open the doors, he revealed the local flight team, who gave them both a salute.  "I heard they were ready to start having a look at potential recruits."  He winked.  If Flurry was having trouble keeping her wings still, that was probably a sign that she wasn't using them for their intended purpose enough.  Getting regular flight training from the best in the Empire would very much help solidify proper muscle control in her growing body.  Plus, she had always been the sort for more energetic play!

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

Flurry had to think for a moment. How bad could visiting Uncle Blue be? He had Aunt Twi's old castle now so at least she could visit her friends in Ponyville, though as she thought about it more, there has to be a reason that it was being threatened in the first place. "I'll try my best daddy. It's just hard to control sometimes." The little princess slouched as she tried to put the idea of being sent away out of her mind. Her moment of sadness would pass however as she saw her father's plan when the door opened. Her wings flapped in excitement as she hovered in place above her father. "Eeee!" she exclaimed, hugging her father once more, this time much stronger as a bit of alicorn strength was unintentionally applied. "Oh thank you daddy!" She would release it quickly though "Sorry hehe."

 

The young princess would zip over to the flight team and beam her smile, her wings flapping to bring her to eye level with them. Looking back to Shining, she would frown. "Hold on a second everypony," she said before flying back over to her father. "Daddy, what are you going to do? I thought we where going to do everything together today?" Her face would show a half smile that would grow into a full grin. "I got an idea daddy," as her she stuck out her tongue in concentration as a golden orb would go around the unicorn stallion. "You can float around with us! What do you think?"

[Blueblood]

Silly Shining!  He thought a day in which he was cheering on his flying Fluffalump from the ground would be enough.  Nope!  Little Flurry wanted in the air with him, and who was he to say no?  "Ahah, so you've been paying attention to your magic lessons with Sunburst, eh?"  Lighting up his own horn, he took control of the bubble from his daughter, careful to keep it intact as he did so.  With a grunt of concentration, he lifted the whole thing off the ground.  "Aha, your old Man's still got it!"

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

Flurry smiled at her father as he took over her levitation bubble and nodded. "Yep. Magic learning is so much more fun then history and etiquette and...." she shuttered for a moment. "...Math." She would clap her front hooves together as the bubble began to float under her father's magical power. "Sunburst says practice makes perfect and if you don't use it you loose it....Daddy, is that why Mommy meant when I overheard her said she was out of practice flying?" The filly had to think for a moment. "I can't remember the last time I saw mommy do a lot of flying other then for a few moments at a time."

 

As often with young foals, Flurry's mind quickly shifted back to flight team. "Ok everypony, I'm ready!" she said calling over to them. "Ok daddy, hope you can keep up." With a burst of speed, the alicorn was in the air following in formation with the flight team, looking back at her father every so often. It wouldn't take long before she would get a little bolder in her flight, first doing a double roll before going for a vertical loop. "WoooHooo! This is amazing!" 

[Blueblood]

Shining wondered to himself, as he pulled himself up by his fetlocks, if there wasn't something he could do to make history more interesting for his little Fluffalump.  He remembered being entranced by all the stories of old heroes, ancient battles, daring do, and- *Wait, was that just the history they taught to stallions back in the day?  The Empire is a little behind the times, perhaps I ought to find a few tutors for her that are more used to teaching colts.*  Flurry didn't exactly fit into the "prim and proper princess" type, which was one of the things that set her apart from her mother.

 

Speaking of which, he shrugged.  "It has been a while for her.  Maybe soon you'll be able to give her a few pointers.  That be a nice change of pace, wouldn't it?"  He chuckled, positioning himself so that he didn't get in the flight team's way.  As out of practice as Cady was, she still had significantly more time in the air than him.  "Ready?  Three, two, one, liftoff!"  As the team took off with Flurry in formation, Shining pulled his bubble along behind, cheering encouragements the whole way.  "That's my girl, show them the pinfeather flip!"

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

Flurry would continue to put on a show if her own. Slowly, one by one the flight team would begin to bow out. Though Flurry herself was not getting tired, seeing everypony around her was enough to get the picture across as she would fly over to her father’s bubble and smile and give him a nod before going in for a landing. 
 

Once on the ground, the young alicorn would give they a salute before returning to her father to give him the biggest hug ever, running through his bubble once he was back on the ground. “Thank you daddy,” she said giving him a squeeze. “What’s next on your list, or is that more of an Auntie Twilight thing?” She said with a laugh. Flurry’s stomach would began to rumble. “I guess that’s a hint, right?”

[Blueblood]

~Shining Armor~

 

Shiny couldn't help but feel immensely proud, seeing his daughter outlast even veteran flyers on Maneuver.  Though having aspects of all tribes, some alicorns demonstrated affinities for particular ones, and Flurry's spirit tribe seemed to be the Pegasi.  No big surprise there, considering how well her wings were developed even at birth!  Once the show was over, he directed himself downwards, prepping a big hug for his little Fluffalump.

 

"You looked great out there, Flurry!"  He praised, completely sincerely.  He didn't have a formal list for today, preferring to have just a short selection of things to be brought up as appropriate.  And right now, the most appropriate thing was lunch.  "Hehe, I'll take that hint!  There's a new yogurt shop that opened up last month that got *really* popular, and I managed to reserve a spot there for today, just so we wouldn't have to deal with any lines."  The Crystal Empire had a long-standing tradition of livestock and milk production, from sheep more than cows.  It was an acquired taste, but one Flurry had grown up with.  This new shop was all yogurt; savory varieties with crunchy grains for a meal, and sweet frozen yogurts for dessert, all of them at the very highest quality.  It was the closest to "ice cream as a meal" Flurry was likely to get.

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

The little alicorn's eye would light up at the sound of yogurt as her stomach rumbled once more. "That sounds amazing Daddy!" Flurry would once again fly up to land on her father's back. "Just one question though, where is it?" She would raise her eyebrow. "I can't remember the last time I was out of the library or castle at all lately." Flurry was kept to a tight schedule after all. Being the youngest princess she had lots to learn. Her mother and aunt where both much older before they had to learn all this dull stuff. Perhaps that was the main reason she was looking forward to today so much after all. 

 

"So, what flavor are you going to try first daddy? I'm thinking Pineapple...no Strawberry...oh or Banana...or maybe," as she gave Shining a small pout, "All three! Oh I can't wait for this!"

[Blueblood]

Not that Shining Armor had lacked any confidence in how his choice of lunch venue, but it was gratifying to hear that she was happy all the same.  "Don't worry, I can take you there.  Be sure to pay attention to where we turn just in case you need to get home quickly though, alright?"  He gave a wink at her, not wanting to call out her ignorance.  This was also kind of an experiment in pedagogy; Shiny came from a family of book-readers, and that was the default assumption about how ponies learned.  Given Flurry's restlessness, however, perhaps a different method should be chosen to self-motivate learning.  After all, she needed to learn the Geography of the Crystal Empire eventually, and this would probably suit her better than studying maps all day!

 

As the Crystal Consort trotted off on a procession of two out of the Palace gates, he made sure to point out the Street names along the way.  "This long street is called Amore Avenue, the yoghurt shop is the third turn down on the left.  That street is called Cadence court, they named it after your mother!"  Thoughts of Yogurt flavors entered his mind from little Flurry's questions.  "Actually, mixing all three sounds pretty good, Fluffalump!  Maybe a bit of kiwi thrown in, too?"

[Skycoaster]

Flurry Heart

Flurry nodded as she watched her father guide them in the direction of the shop. She would smile as he mentioned the names of the streets. Though the young princess had her differences lately with her mother, she was still very proud of her. Her mother ruled the whole empire after all. It didn't take long for Flurry's young mind spark a question. "Daddy, do you have any streets named after you?" Flurry's eyes went wide for a moment as an even wilder though entered her brain. "Do...Do I have a street named after me?" Her small smile grew into a grin as she awaited the answer.

 

Flurry had to think for a moment. "Maybe together but not mixed?" as she imaged the bowl of frozen yogurt. "Kiwi, no. Maybe Banana?" Looking up, the young alicorn would gasp. "Daddy, where here!"

[Blueblood]

"Yup, I sure do!  Shining Street, Four turns down and to the right."  It was pretty close to the end of the Avenue at that point; for all its portentous name, the Crystal Empire just wasn't all that large in its capital city yet.  Larger than Ponyville, but not quite up to the size of something like Fillydelphia.  They had a thousand years of growing to catch up on, after all!  "Hm, I don't think you do yet, actually; all the streets have names already, but they're building more.  Once more are finished, then you'll probably be able to pick the one that looks most like the street you'd like to be named after."  Shiny knew this was just kicking the can down the road; as beloved as their little alicorn princess was, the Crystal Ponies hadn't quite reconciled the whole 'Crystalling' incident yet.  That was one of the reasons Cady was putting so much pressure on Flurry, she wanted her little daughter to be so spectacular a princess that nopony would bring to mind that little incident again.  Of course, that begged the question of why she was named Flurry Heart to begin with.  That was going to set up some issues in the teen years for sure.

 

But, those problems were a long ways away.  Right now, Shining Armor didn't have deal with a moody teenager, but a happy bouncing filly on his back.  "Yup, we sure are!"  The outside and interior of the building, like all others here, was of Crystal, but they had the striped awnings of an old-fashioned frozen treat shop from further south.  The menu was written out in sparkling jasper on a slate by the counter, and Shining took a look at the specials.  "Hmm, the Pineapple Pretzel Twist special looks pretty good to me.  I think I'll be having that.  Have you decided yet?"

[Skycoaster]

Flurry nodded as her father spoke. "Someday then," she'd say with pep in her voice as she imagined just how many new streets could be added by then. Her mind quickly shifted gears to the task at hoof...or task at stomach? She's lock her gaze on the menu, studding it intently. If this was going to be the perfect day she wanted to make the perfect choice. "I know!," she said hopping off her father's back. I want a Banana split! That sounds really good, and everypony says more fruit is good for a growing pony, right?" she'd say beaming to Shining.

 

She'd walk up to the counter wanting to order herself. "One of the finest Banana Splits Please," as she then waited for her father to order his.

[Blueblood]

Fruit for a growing filly... well, that was one way to justify getting more ice cream!  Shining's eyes misted over a bit, remembering how little Twily would use that exact same reason to argue in favor of more trips out for frozen treats.  Arguments which, as a dutiful BBFFF, he totally backed her up on.  At least frozen yogurt had more dairy nutrients than normal ice cream.  "That's right, Fluffalump, I'm proud of you!"

 

Following his daughter up to the counter, he put in his own order, to the indulgent smile of the pony working the counter.  "That's one Banana Split and one Pineapple Pretzel Twist, coming right up!"  With a dazzling display of dexterity, the crystal mare whipped up two mounds of yogurt, fruit, and mixers, before sliding them back to the counter.  Shining pulled out the bits to pay, and carried both of the bowls back carefully to the table.  "There we go!"  He smiled, taking out a spoon and sampling his mix.  The salty, sweet, and tangy blend of flavors caused him to close his eyes in appreciation.  "Fantastic.  How's yours?"

[Skycoaster]

Flurry's eyes lit up as she saw the frozen treats being made behind the counter. Seeing the cherries on the top of each of the three scoops and the whipped cream made her grin as only a filly could. This was going to be the best meal of her life. The filly would hop up of a stool across from her father and watch him take his first bite and judge his reaction. Nodding, she levitated her spoon up to her muzzle. Strawberry topping with whipped cream and a cherry With one bite the spoon was clear, though she didn't taste the cherry. "Soooo goooooood. Thank you Daddy," she'd say loading the spoon with a bite from the pineapple topped scoop." As she looked down, she'd realize why she didn't taste the cherry on the first bite as it sat squarely on the top of her muzzle. Looking over to her father, she'd try to reach it with her tongue for a few moments to no luck before levitating the cherry into her mouth.

 

"I know," she said "Smaller bites...It's not a race..." She could hear her mother in the back of her head as she took a much more, regal sized bit.

[Blueblood]

Shining wished he had a camera, to capture the moment where his little Fluffalump had a cherry on her nose.  As much as Cadence tried to lecture her little daughter on table manners, he knew full well that she would see the moment as heartwarmingly cute as he did.  The image, however, could only be fixed in his memory, where it would be recollected for the rest of his life.  "That, plus if you eat frozen foods too fast, your brain will freeze up.  That's why they call it brainfreeze, you know."  Not strictly anatomically true, but Shining Armor reserved the right of all parents to tell harmless and amusing lies to their children.  Though Santa Hooves was, in fact, real; he was just a franchise operation these days, recruiting all dads by default.  One of these days, Flurry was gonna catch Mommy kissing Santa Hooves, he just knew it...

[Skycoaster]

“Brain freeze? Isn’t that a Power Ponies villain?” Flurry looked up over the mountain of frozen yogurt. She’d take a few more bites more, though slightly bigger. “I know mom wants me to be perfect, but….I mean Aunt Twi can really down some hayburgers and no pony blinks twice. Do you like Hayburger as much as Aunt Twilight? I only had it once. Grandpa snuck one to me when I was a little younger.”

 

It had been a while since she had last visited Mema and Papa as she thought about when they would visit again. By now two of the three mountains of yogurt and their toppings had vanished, only leaving the chocolate one. As she was about to ask, it hit. A hoof went straight to the filly’s forehead. “Ow ow ow,” as she looked to her father with an expression words could not describe. 

[Blueblood]

Shining Armor, who had a near encyclopedic knowledge of such things, had to concede, "Well, yes, he did appear as a one-shot henchstallion in issue #93, but that's where his name came from.  Remember how he got his powers from a radioactive milkshake?"  Comics were weird, but that was why he loved them. 

 

Not nearly as much as his family, though, which was increasingly populated by alicorns, and their appetites.  "Oh, I like hayburgers well enough, but your Auntie Twilight eats them like your Great-Auntie Celestia eats cake!  I think that's how she fuels her magic."  As soon as he said that, he felt that he had made a mistake.  Soon little Flurry would plead for daily mountains of ice cream/frozen yogurt/frozen custard under the guise of that being how she got her Alicorn powers.  And honestly, she wouldn't be wrong... after she grew up.  But a growing filly needed a balanced diet, hence the need to keep treats like this rare.

 

Fortunately, this might turn out to be a self correcting problem.  "Oh, Flurry," Shiny sighed, "I did try to warn you.  Come here..."  He pulled her into a hug, away from her plate, to allow her insides time to warm up and have the throbbing pain go away.

[Skycoaster]

Flurry leaned her head on her father’s shoulder and returned the hug. “Thanks Daddy. Please don’t tell mom,” she said, squeezing his neck in an embrace. Releasing her grip, and after the brain freeze had subsided, her eyes went back to her banana split. “Can’t let it go to waist, especially now since I know how not to eat it….”

 

The little alicorn would finish the last of her split, making sure to eat the bananas that gave the dish it’s namesake. With a glow of her horn, the empty dishes would levitate back to the counter. “Thank you Miss. It was deeeeelicious.” Without warning, Flurry leaned into her father’s side, closing her eyes. “Today is the best day of my life…I think. Thank you daddy. What’s our next stop?” 

[Blueblood]

"Don't worry, this is our little secret."  Shining reassured Flurry.  The filly needed a break from the pressure of princesshood, which Shining knew would only mount as the years grew.  He saw the same thing happen when Twily ascended to alicornhood, and he'd been called into help in a couple of her early freakouts, before she'd grown into her position.  He had high hopes that his daughter would take to it better, having more years to prepare.

But all that was in the future.  Today, she was just his little Fluffalump, having a day of fun with her dad.  He was even pleased to see her politely return the dishes to the mare behind the counter, who seemed quite charmed with the little princess.  "Why, you're welcome, your highness!  I hope to see you two here again!"

"You probably will, if your yoghurt is always this good.  I daresay it would calm a raging yak!"  Unless they got brainfreeze.  A Yak with brainfreeze was not a pleasant eating companion.

 

Holding Flurry close once again, Shining had to think.  He didn't have anything else planned, but didn't want the day to end just yet.  "Hmm... why don't we try to find something nice to bring home to your mother?  She's been working hard lately."

[Skycoaster]

Flurry nodded in agreement with her father to the mare whom worked the  frozen yogurt shop. "Yep!" As the little princess's lean turned into a hug, she'd look up to her father and smile. "Ok. Mommy likes flowers and chocolate, right?" as she tapped a hoof to her chin. "Dose she like books like Aunt Twilight?" If she had to be honest, Flurry had no idea what her mother liked to do in her time off....Time off? She had to think for a moment. She'd open her mouth as if to speak, but would wait till they where out of the shop to ask her question.

 

"Daddy, when's the last time Mommy had a day off?" Flurry's face began to frown. "I know I get burnt out from my studies and I only do that for five days a week, not every day like mommy's job." Flurry would look up to her father. "Do you think that I cause most of her stress? Is being a mommy harder then being the ruler of the Crystal Empire?"

[Blueblood]

Flurry's question made Shining Armor pause.  When was the last time Cady was able to take a holiday?  Probably her last visit to Twilight- no, that had been for a conference, and she'd had to come home right after... "It's... certainly been a while."  Looking down at Flurry, he shook his head and brought her in for a hug.  "No, I'd say ruling is more stressful.  It's like having hundreds and hundreds of foals, some of whom never seem to grow up."  As much as he would like for Flurry to stay Daddy's little filly sometimes, he was always quite proud to see moments of maturity in his daughter, and this seemed to be one of them.

 

Actually... that was giving him an idea.  "You know, I think a day off might be one of the best gifts we can give her.  Maybe you could help me do her her job for a day!  Do you think you're ready for something like that?"  He put as encouraging a tone as he could into the question; if there was one thing that Shining Armor was learning about his daughter is that she preferred to learn by doing; if he and Cadence wanted her to grow up to be a Princess, she would need to get hooves-on at some point.  If it went well, she might start changing out books for on-the-job training.  And if it all went pancake-shaped, well.  That would at least be a little extra motivation for her to actually study some more to do better next time!

[Skycoaster]

Flurry smiled in relief that she wasn't the main cause of her mother's stress...though a few hundred foals left an interesting image in her head. "I...um....wow. No wonder mommy always looks like she's ready to take a nap about dinner time." When her father suggested giving her mother a day off, she beamed and nodded. When he sudgested that she fill in for her, little Flurry's jaw dropped. "I....um...." she would take a few pancaked deep breaths. "Isn't there an age limit or something? I think my books called it a Regency Rule?"

 

It would take the youngest alicorn a few moment before she would nod though. "If you think I'm ready, I'd do it for mommy." As her brain caught up, she'd realize that her daddy would be along her side, or would she be along his side?"