A Tale of An Old Officer and His Delicate Daughter

by Mandalore the Inept

A Quiet Morning-Chapter One

There are times when one just wants to sleep, blissfully unaware of the world around them so that they could revel in their grand dreams of fantasy and pleasant memories of times long past.

“Dad.” a soft voice whispered, trying to rouse the cocoon of sheets from its slumber.

Unfortunately for Blazing Glory, life as a single father had to take precedence over any pleasant dreams he may or may not have had.

“Ugh.” came the reply from the bundle of sheets

“Daddy~” there was that little voice again.

The bundle groaned, “Can’t play with you now kiddo,” the golden pegasus turned in his bed, “Daddy’s trying to get some sleep tonight...” he semi-pleaded to the voice.

A bell like giggle came from next to his bed, “Daddy, you’re silly. It’s already past noon.”

This caused the sheets to come off a little, the stallion peeked out his red maned head at the outside world. Pure, heavenly, unwanted light intruded his senses as his old looking brown eyes adjusted to this new stimuli.

‘Well, shit.’ was what the stallion wanted to say to himself as he sat up. Of course, he couldn’t just say that with his young daughter in the same room as he was, so his mind translated it into a tamer phrase.

“Huh, would you look at that.” the stallion muttered as he rubbed his eyes with his hooves, the identification tags on the ball chain around his neck jingling around as he rigorously tried to rid himself of ocular irritation. Blazing Glory was really starting to feel older, waking up groggily at the apex of the day instead of alertly getting up at the unholy buttcrack of dawn as he was used to. Although taking a vacation from his time intensive occupation might have had something to do with that.

With the abominable blanket finally defeated, the gold stallion rose from his bedtime coffin with a yawn. He took a great whiff, as there was this delicious smell of maple syrup in the ai-

‘Waaaait a second’ he thought to himself. ‘I don’t remember making breakfast.’ He looked down at the foot of his bed where the tiny voice was coming from. There he saw his little daughter, a vibrant smile on her half hidden face, a familiar maroon beret on her pink maned head, and a large silver tray of food and drink balanced on her back.

'...How, where’d she...' he thought before being interrupted.

“I made you breakfast!” the little filly cheerily announced, the bright light of the outside world reflecting off her bright, cerulean eye.

‘Breakfast in bed?’ the stallion thought to himself, once again not necessarily complaining of this anomaly from routine. He took the silver tray off the filly’s back, trying as to not ruin the meticulous presentation that his daughter had created. A sad smile graced his face as he saw a little rose in a small turquoise vase on the top right side of the tray.

‘Wist.’ was the name that came to the stallion’s mind. He immediately wrenched his mind from his late spouse. ‘Daughter first, brooding later.’ he thought, physically shaking his head. He turned his attention the plate before him; a tower of three, golden brown pancakes with a dash of butter on top, looking as soft as the clouds that their house sat upon. On the side there were two eggs, sunny-side up, and a gratuitous amount of stack of hay bacon, all in its glorious fried goodness. He felt his mouth water a bit as the heavenly scent of bacon reached his nostrils.

‘Hay bacon.’ was all the veteran could think of as he licked his lips. His head reared back for a second before the pony froze up, his eyes became pinpricks as realization struck his hunger addled mind.

“Uh, Fluttershy?” the stallion asked his daughter.

“Yes daddy?” the little filly said, her eyes full of hope and expectation.

“When did you learn to make pancakes? Or eggs?” he inquired, now a little suspicious of scrumptious looking food presented before him.

The little filly retreated further behind her pink mane, fearing that her father did not appreciate her gesture of kindness.

“Oh... you don’t like it.” she murmured, her eyes wandering downwards. The stallion couldn’t help but sigh a bit, his daughter always assumed the worst of situations. He brought a hoof under her chin so that she see the small smile he was giving her.

“Fluttershy, you didn’t even let me try your food yet, how could I know if it’s terrible?” he questioned her. This little dose of logic got Fluttershy out her sullen state, an embarrassed blush and giggle emanating from the little filly.

“I’m sorry fo-” She tried apologizing for her behavior, but he quickly silenced her with a quiet shush.

Her father couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

‘Sometimes I wonder if she’ll ever learn to stop apologizing for everything.’ the stallion thought to himself. It only took a moment for him to remember why she apologizes a lot in the first.

The stallion sighed as he desperately warded off the need acquaint his face with his front hooves.

“It’s alright kiddo, no need to worry yourself over something as small as this.” Blazing Glory said. ‘Not like she can burn down a cloud house anyway, right?’ he reassured himself. ‘Though this does explain that burnt pan from last Friday-’ his thoughts were interrupted when his stomach rumbled, the near universal sound signaling hunger. The stallion couldn’t help but redirect his gaze back to the silver tray, the crisp, gold looking pancakes and the smell of fried hay bacon were looking more and more tantalizing with every passing second.

“‘Sides, it smells delicious, so....” his head disappeared amongst the pile of food, the sounds of vigorous chewing and swallowing emanating from the now disorganized pile of food. Fluttershy could only look on with disgusted delight as her father annihilated the breakfast she made for him. Not even a single crumb survived the onslaught.

It was only after a few moments did Fluttershy find her voice again.

“...Did you like it?” she meekly asked, as if the sight of her father licking the plate like a dog didn’t already her question. The stallion was wiping his muzzle with the napkin as he turned his head to look at his daughter, picking some flecks of food out of his five o'clock shadow.

“...That was actually pretty good, Fluttershy!” he beamed, any pretense of hunger vanquished by the abundant morning meal. Truth be told, years of sustaining himself on mess hall chow and ready-to-eat rations had sullied his idea of a good meal.

“Oh, I’m glad you liked it!” Fluttershy smiled, and that brought a brighter smile to his face, too.

The stallion put the rose-bearing vase on his nightstand before getting out of bed. His very messy, unsorted bed. He groaned. Old habits die hard.

“Hey, Flutters.” Blazing Glory called his daughter.

“Can you help your old pops out and put this tray in the sink? I have to deal with something.”

His eyes never left the unorganized mess that was his bed.

“Ok dad.” Fluttershy said, letting her father place the tray on her back. After making sure that the tray and plates on it wouldn’t fall off, she turned around and headed out the door.

“Oh and don’t worry about washing the dishes, I’ll get to that later.” he called after her before grabbing the lower part of his sheets, he pulled everything off and unceremoniously dumped them on the floor.

*****************

As Fluttershy walked down the stairs, she couldn’t help but wonder what events today would bring. Since it was still the middle of summer and her father had finally gotten permission from his employer to take a vacation, Fluttershy had finally gotten the opportunity to spend some time with her father. He always seemed even busier after the Flight Camp incident.

Fluttershy turned around the corner of the hallway, her destination in sight. Very carefully, she put the tray down into the sink, just as her father told her to. Then all of the sudden, she heard a cracking noise come from upstairs.

“Fuck!”

“Dad, are you alright!?” Fluttershy shouted with as much effort as she could muster. To her credit, it didn’t sound like somepony was blowing a dog whistle.

“...YEAH, I’M FINE!” her father replied, her ears faintly picking up her dad’s words.

She took off the maroon beret to wipe a bead of sweat she hadn’t noticed had developed on her forehead. But before she could put it back on, she found herself wondering why this particular piece of headwear was so significant.

‘Daddy never told me about what was so important about this hat.’ Fluttershy thought to herself as she let her eyes wander to the silver centerpiece She felt a shiver flow down her spine as the silver pegasus on the insignia impassively returned her stare, as if to challenge the young filly to threaten the Equestria-faced globe that it held in the protection of its hooves and wings. There were also some words, but they were too worn for her to see. Placing the beret on the coffee table, she allowed her imagination to run wild.

‘Maybe he was a firefighter!’ Fluttershy excitedly imagined, the idea that her father bravely battled burning blazes when he was younger was an exciting prospect, and would certainly make for even more exciting stories!

‘Or, maybe he was paramedic!’ the filly fantasized, envisioning her father swiftly soaring the skies to save suffering civilians. It would also explain how he got so good at treating ponies when they got hurt.

‘Like that one time Rainbow Dash tried to fly through lightn-’ Fluttershy started to recall an incident with her prismatic friend when she heard the heavy hoofsteps of her father coming down the stairs. Turning around, she saw her father pluck some wood out of his short red mane as he trotted over to the couch.

“Hey there kiddo, sorry I took so long. Dang sheets got tangled up there.” he apologized to his daughter. He paused for a second, before muttering under his breath:

“I also might need a new bed frame.”

“What was that, dad?”

“Nothing sweetheart.” the stallion said nonchalantly as he moved towards the kitchen. Stopping at the sink, he noticed that there was a grey plate and a greasy pan along with the white plate he ate from earlier..

‘Well, guess I don’t need to make breakfast then.’ Blazing Glory thought to himself as he let a stream of warm water splash onto the dishes. Letting the water pool up onto the plates he grabbed the worn sponge that laid behind the silver tap with his mouth, gently holding the sponge as to not drop it, but not too firm as to release any...leftover liquids from the porous cleaning utensil. Celestia knows that was something he wanted to avoid ever happening again.

Blazing Glory’s ears twitched alertly as he scarcely heard the soft hoof-falls of his daughter. He smiled.

“Trying to snatch a cookie behind my back again?” the stallion asked teasingly, never looking up from the sink as he started lathering dish soap onto the sponge.

“W-w-what!?” the filly froze in her tracks. “I-how did you know?” she squeaked out.

The stallion chuckled as he started scrubbing the frying pan.

“I’m just kidding, Fluttershy.” the stallion clarified, not wanting to upset his sensitive daughter. “Is there something you need?”

“Oh.” Fluttershy understood. ‘Thank Celestia.’ she silently thanked the Princess for her father’s apparent ignorance before returning to her original intentions.

“Um, I was wondering if I could help.”

“Go ahead, I don-... huh?”

Blazing Glory looked at his daughter, a puzzled expression accurately displaying his inner thoughts. When did kids ever want to do chores?

“Sure, just...dry off the plates and put in the cabinet when I’m done with them.” he suggested. “Lower one to the left, next to the oven.”

For the next minute, the only sounds that were heard were the soft sounds of water splashing upon porcelain and iron, the squeaks of rags, and the clatter of plates being stacked. Silently, father and daughter worked together to eradicate the threat of bacterial buildup amongst the tableware. It could be said that not a single germ survived to tell the tale of the combined assault of the seasoned stallion and his delicate daughter. Finally the stallion spoke.

“Well...that takes care of that.”

Fluttershy looked at her father, his expression never changed as he spoke. She opened her mouth to speak.

“...”

“Thanks for the help, kiddo.”

She never got to say anything as her father turned towards the living room and walked away.

“...Was it something I said?”

*****************

As Blazing Glory sat upon his living room couch, a thousand thoughts flowed through his mind, but only one persisted.

‘She’s growing up.’

The stallion scratched his head with his front left hoof as he sought potential motives for his daughter wanting to aid him in doing chores in the house aloud.

“Maybe she wants more of an allowance...But what the hell would she even buy? Toys? ...No, she hates playing by herself...Maybe she found herself a boy?...What the hell am I saying!? She’s barely just gotten her cutie mark!”

After a few moments, the stallion hung his head and sighed.

“Goddamnit, I have no idea what my own daughter wants.”

‘Why don’t you just get up and ask her yourself, Blaze?’

The stallion looked up, confused and somewhat frightened by the disembodied voice.

“Shade?”

‘You seem so interested in getting to know her, why do you not go up and ask her yourself.’

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was only a memory.

“But you always did have a point.”

Opening his eyes, the stallion’s view centered on the beret that laid on the coffee table in the center of the living room. Setting his hooves back onto the floor, he walked slowly towards the beret.

“I don’t know why she brought this old thing out, but if this damn sweat mop showed me anything.”

Gingerly taking up the relic in his front hooves, the stallion placed the beret on top of his shaved head so that the silver flash would be facing forward.

“...Its that I can’t sit around and expect rainbows and sunshine to fix everything. Time to be a dad!”

With the maroon beret on his head, Blaze set about with new resolve to do one thing.

“Let’s Go!”

Author's Note:

So...this is my first story, but that doesn't really matter. (Unless you want it to.)

Anyways, enjoy. (or not, your choice.)

P.S: May not update frequently, apologies in advance.

Comments

[Windchester]

Please write more,
You really caught my interest with this story. I love it. Please make more chapters.
This is so well writen, The grammar, The plot, and PANCAKES.
I would sincerly hate too see such a materpiece like this go without even living. Please make more.
~Windchester

[Field Marshall Nuggetman]

The cuteness it's too much. I must read moar.

The writing of this story is impressive better than mine actually, the grammar and spelling mistake are rare and you know what no more complaints I like and fav it.

(If you did the editing and proofreading yourself then man write a book not a fanfic a real book.)

[Mandalore the Inept]

3164403
Glad you like it.
And while I did edit and proofread this myself, I will not make a book. It would be way too meta and self depreciative.

3164261
I'll try my best sir.