Shining Armor closed the book he was studying with satisfaction, having thoroughly absorbed the knowledge held within. Written by the celebrated psychologist Clear Mind; gifted to him yesterday by his sister Twilight Sparkle, whose book recommendations had never been anything less than perfect, 'Parenting Teenagers: A Guide to Dealing With Angst and Rebelliousness' was truly enlightening.
Chapter 6, he felt, had been particularly eye-opening. The idea of wild moodswings even as you did everything right was quite terrifying, but fortunately it seemed as though you only needed to stand strong and stay the course, and the turbulence would ease on its own. Truly, hormones were troublesome things.
"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!"
Shining Armor looked up to see Flurry Heart coming towards him. Her head was at an odd angle, with one side of her face pressed against her shoulder. He frowned slightly as he saw she had a mild grimace of pain on her face.
"What is it, Sweetheart?"
"My earring got caught on my neck."
Flurry got close and showed her father the affected area, and indeed there it was, her emerald earring was caught in the flesh of her neck and was the clear cause of her unusual posture. He was about to light his horn and remove it for her when he remembered the contents of the book he had just finished reading, and he stayed himself as a chill ran down his spine.
Chapter 3: Fashion and Self-Adornment
You may not understand the latest fashion trend that your child has latched onto, but it is important nonetheless to maintain a supportive attitude. Self-expression is crucial for a developing teenaged mind, and there is a great need to validate the life choices that your young ones make.
Such trends can materialise in the blink of an eye, and predicting them beforehand is a fool's errand. Carelessness here could be disastrous, for a minor incident which you swiftly forget may seem to them a grave unjustice and be remembered as a bitter memory for a lifetime.
Shining Armor broke into a cold sweat. This was it, this could possibly be that moment, the moment he had been warned about. That was not pain on her face, it was nervousness, she was seeking his approval! That had been a close one, he had very nearly ruined this for her, and her trust in him would have swiftly followed!
His mind briefly flashed back to a couple of years ago, when Flurry Heart's persistent requests and relentless good behaviour had earned her the privilege of wearing earrings; and now here she was, experimenting with them in ways that confused, and quite frankly scared him just a little bit. But he was well armed for this situation; Twilight had pulled through for him again, and just in time!
"W... Well, that looks very nice, Sweetheart."
"... What?"
Oh no! She had sensed the hesitation is his voice, and did not believe he was being earnestly supportive! Shining Armor steeled himself and steadied his voice as he prepared to give his daughter the confidence he wished he felt right now.
"Yes, it looks lovely. It's perfectly horizontal, it must have been quite difficult to get the angle so precise, but you've done a marvellous job."
"No, Dad, I was just shaking my head and it got caught there by accident. It's stuck on there, and I can't get a good grip on it behind there with my magic so I need help getting it off."
Chapter 7: Slang
Linguistic drift can be scary, your child's colloquialisms might reverse the meanings of words and seem to turn the entire language upside down. Don't panic! If your child is speaking to you in ways that confuse you then that's a good thing, it means they feel comfortable sharing with you their culture and that of their peers, and it shows yet another aspect of their self-expression.
These changes can happen with exceeding swiftness, and there's really no way to predict what new phrases may emerge after the publication of this book. Thoughtless overreactions have the potential to be catastrophic; do not allow a minor misunderstanding to breed resentment in the mind of your child, it could be recalled sourly for decades to come.
"Oh, is that what they're calling it? I wouldn't have guessed that, but I guess that's what I get for bossing around the guards all day instead of being all hip on the fashion scene!"
"But Dad, I-"
"Don't worry, Sweetheart, I think it's great that you feel comfortable enough to share these things with me. I'm happy that this makes you happy, and I don't see anything wrong with this. Just remember all the normal rules of earrings, keep it clean, and everything will be fine."
"Dad, I.... You... Lllllllvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv...."
Flurry's eye started to twitch rapidly. Shining Armor saw this and he gave a great grin as he winked back at her, then he pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. He was, of course, very careful not to press on her neck where the earring had attached, he didn't want to hurt her!
"I love you too Flurry Burry. Ok, I've got to get back to work now, my break has been long enough. See you at dinner!"
Shining Armor felt a great sense of pride as he walked away, his little girl was growing up so fast! That situation had required every bit of his quick wits and experience, but he had pulled through unscathed. She had come to him for validation of her personal identity, and he had not let her down! Her faith in him had been rewarded, and now she truly knew the extent of his love and support for her.
Yes, he had done well.
Flurry Heart blankly stared at her father leaving as her mind, overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of what had just happened, rebooted. After a few moments she came back to herself with a blink, then nodded, turned around, started walking and opened her mouth once more.
"Moooooooooooooooooom!"