Daienu

by Tatsurou

Parental Disagreements

Parental Disagreements

Twow leaned back from his latest invention, sitting on the table waiting to be given form and purpose. He was having difficulty focusing on his work just now, as he was rather concerned about Yaazi. It was her first day of school, and despite all the discussion regarding it being best for her to go to school, he was still worried that her experience might be less than...desirable. What if the other students didn't like her? What if she was judged for being part Changeling? What if she stumbled across a dimensional nexus and became a focal point for negatively charged eldritch energy and destroyed a good portion of the countryside? He tried to tell himself that these were worries all parents had (except maybe that last one), but that didn't help him deal with it. The worry didn't go away just because you knew you weren't the only one who was worried. Standing up, he began to pace back and forth through his lab. He lifted his head as he heard Derpy approaching and speaking.

"He lives down here, in his lab," she was saying to someone.

"He doesn't have his own place? What about a job?" This voice was gruff, and sounded angry.

"He's working on that," Derpy gave quick assurance.

The door to the lab opened, and Twow saw who Derpy had brought in. They were two middle-aged pegasi. The male was larger than most pegasi he'd seen, gold with red mane and very battle scarred. The female was pure white with a pink mane. Before he could react, the male had sped across the lab, slamming him up against the wall with a leg across Twow's throat, applying pressure.

"So you're the one!" the Pegasus snarled, his single steel grey eye boring into Twow.

"W-what gives?" Twow demanded, reaching for the holster at his side. He was not about to take this without fighting back, and his present armament had non-lethal damage settings.

"Quickhoof," the female spoke, her voice soft and quiet, but penetrating. "We talked about this. You shouldn't treat him like this."

Quickhoof snarled. "I'm going to-"

"Daddy!" a familiar voice snapped with unfamiliar intensity from the doorway. "Put my boyfriend down, now." The last word came out in a rather surprising snarl.

Quickhoof immediately dropped Twow. He looked up at the doorway. "Fluttershy, what-" What she'd said finished processing through his mind. He turned towards Quickhoof. "Daddy?" he said, shocked. Fluttershy nodded. "Huh. Guess it's a good thing I didn't shoot him."

"That wouldn't have helped the situation, no," Fluttershy said, walking up to stand beside him as she turned to face the two guests. "Mom, Dad, it's very nice to see you. Would have been nicer if you hadn't been assaulting my boyfriend."

Quickhoof snarled. "He'd better be more than just a boyfriend if he knocked you up," he spat, glaring at Twow.

"Kncoked up?" Twow demanded, shocked. "What are you talking about? Pony and human genetics aren't cross compatible!"

"Then explain how you have a daughter!" Quickhoof snapped in response.

"Yaazi's adopted," Fluttershy replied calmly.

Quickhoof stared for a bit. The mare walked up and smacked him in the back of the head. "I told you we should get all the details before you made an assault. Why do you never listen?" Quickhoof lowered his head like a scolded foal.

Smiling, Fluttershy spoke. "Let's try this again. Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend Twow. Twow, my father, Admiral Quickhoof Bloodmane, and my mother, Wind Blossom."

Twow smiled at the two deciding to try and salvage the situation. "Can I offer you both some refreshment?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Wind Blossom replied. She turned a glower reminiscent of Fluttershy's Stare on Quickhoof. "Behave."

Quickhoof nodded. "Yes dear."

As they all sat down, Twow hit the fridge and got out some muffins and iced tea. Setting them out on the table, he did his best to not disappoint Fluttershy's parents. While he hadn't expected this meeting to happen so soon, he knew how important it was.

Wind Blossom spoke up gently. "So tell me Twow, what do you do with your time?"

"I'm...an inventor."

"Really? What sort of things do you invent?"

Twow struggled, trying to figure out how to explain this. "Well...I've invented quite a few weapons," he finally admitted.

"Really?" Quickhoof spoke up. "What sort?"

"The kind that are too dangerous to let outside the lab," Twow replied, not wanting to explain too much.

Quickhoof nodded. "I see. Good." His wing suddenly shot out, pointing to the feather behind Twow's ear. "And when did Fluttershy give you that?"

"Not too long ago," Fluttershy replied.

"Did she explain what it means?" he asked, his eye boring into Twow yet again.

"Yes," Twow replied. "I understand what it means. And I mean it just as much."

Quickhoof nodded, sitting back. Wind Blossom spoke up. "Now, tell us about your daughter. How did that happen?"

Twow noticed Fluttershy flinch, though he didn't understand why. "She...showed up on Fluttershy's doorstep, with a note to me asking us to take care of her. She needed us. We couldn't turn her away."

Wind Blossom nodded with a smile. "Right you are." She sipped at her tea.

"Umm..." Fluttershy began. "Not to be rude or anything, but...how did you learn about all this? I'd meant to tell you in person once Yaazi was more fully settled in, so we could introduce you to her as well."

Quickhoof smirked. "A friend of yours sent us this." He held out a piece of paper. "An invite to her birthday party."

The letter, plainly in Pinkie's writing, invited Quickhoof and Wind Blossom to "your granddaughter's birthday party" to be held "at her Dad's place".

Twow sighed. "Damn it, Pinkie."

Fluttershy facehoofed. "I need to have a talk with her about that."

Wind Blossom chuckled. "So, when do we get to meet our granddaughter?"

"Mom! Dad! I'm home from school!" Yaazi came running in, very happy. Then she skidded to a halt, her hooves affixing to the floor like they did to walls and ceiling. "Who are these ponies?" she asked, looking at Quickhoof and Wind Blossom.

Quickhoof stared at the Changeling filly, his demeanor going very cold. Yaazi stepped back from him, looking nervous.

Fluttershy stepped forward, laying her wing over Yaazi. Turning, she locked her eyes on Quickhoof, the Stare kicking in without warning. "Daddy, this is Yaazi, my daughter." She turned back to Yaazi, a happy smile on her face, ignoring jer father's reaction to her actions. "Yaazi, these are my parents...your grandparents."

Yaazi gasped, and her eyes opened wide as she grinned happily up at them. "Grandma! Grandpa!" she cried happily, throwing herself towards them.

Wind Blossom wrapped Yaazi in a warm embrace. "Hello, Yaazi," she said happily, hugging her tight. "Come on, Quick, hug your granddaughter."

Sighing, Quickhoof stepped forward, wrapping a wing around Yaazi, giving her a gentle hug. Twow couldn't help but smile as he wrapped an arm around Fluttershy.

Comments

[twow443]

Not bad, not bad at all. It could have been a bit longer, but hey. I enjoyed it.

Also, I saw a few typos. I'll be sure to address them in the riff.

[Tatsurou]

3082104
Alright! I wrote in what I could while maintaining perspective.