6-17: Family time
Shining and Cadance directed Twilight and Flurry to an empty room. Once they were all sitting down Twilight told them about the events of the day. Unlike the other parents, Twilight shared the memories she had gotten from Discord with Cadance and Shining.
As Flurry expected her parents weren’t nearly as angry about Mayhem’s game as the other parents had been. They were, naturally, still upset that it had happened, but they didn’t rage as much as the other parents. They seemed more disappointed.
In the end, they decided to focus more on stabilizing Flurry than their anger. It was clear the little alicorn was stressed and needed their support.
Twilight hung around for a while afterward, talking about unimportant things with her brother and sister-in-law.
Flurry sat on her parent’s laps, not contributing to the conversation.
Twilight eventually noticed this, and said, "You’ve been pretty quiet, Flurry. Is there a topic you want to discuss? I don’t want you not to feel included.”
She shook her head. “Please, just keep doing what you’re doing. I have my family close. That’s what’s most important to me.
“I don’t feel like talking right now, but I’m enjoying just listening to all of you talk. It makes me feel like everything is alright, and that’s what I really need right now. Knowing that all of you are fine makes me feel less sad.”
“I understand. I certainly don’t mind spending more time with Cadance and Shiny.”
Cadance moved Flurry over to Shining’s lap before standing up. “I’ll be right back.”
Flurry tensed. “Where are you going?” she asked in an unnaturally high voice. She hadn’t expected something so simple to hit her so hard, but it did.
Cadance looked with concern at her daughter, clearly not expecting her emotional outburst either. “I’m trying to help you, Flurry. I want to get something to help you feel better.”
“What will help me feel better is you staying right here! Didn't I just say that?”
Cadance immediately walked back to Flurry, pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to add to your stress.”
Flurry held her mother tight for a minute, calming down again. When she felt better she said quietly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so pathetic.”
“Don’t talk like that, Flurry. You went through a traumatic experience. It’s understandable your emotions are still a little hyper. That doesn’t make you pathetic.”
Flurry didn’t want to respond to that, so she changed the subject. “What… what did you want to get?”
“A hairbrush. I know having your mane brushed is something you really enjoy.”
It was quiet for a little while. Finally, Flurry said, “I’d like that.”
“Okay.”
“But I also don’t want any of you to leave me right now.”
“That’s not an issue.” She went to the door of the room, stopping one of the Royal Guards patrolling the castle.
“Yes, Princess Cadance?” the stallion said, snapping to attention.
“At ease, Sir,” she responded.
As he got back into a regular pose Flurry said, “Can you go to my room and get my special brush?”
Bowing his head he responded respectfully, “At once, Lady Flurry.”
As he left Cadance took Flurry back to sit down next to Shining.
A few minutes later the guard returned with Flurry’s favorite brush.
“Thank you,” Flurry said gratefully.
“Of course, Lady Flurry.” He bowed his head before getting back to his patrol.
As Cadance began to brush Flurry’s mane Twilight asked, “Why Lady Flurry?”
“That was Flurry’s request,” Shining responded. “She’s still a little uncomfortable over the whole princess thing, and feels that she’ll connect with the guards better if they’re not using so formal a title.”
“Well, I’m glad she found a solution that works for her. As someone in an official position of power I can’t exactly order people not to call me a princess when I am acting in that capacity.”
“Same here,” said Cadance. “I do try to nudge them into being a bit more casual, but they consider it a matter of duty to use my title when addressing me.”
“I guess I should be glad I don’t have a Royal Guard assigned to me. I mostly just interact with those that can talk to me on my level.”
“Hey!” said Flurry. “Can’t you talk about something else? You’re ruining my relaxation talking about uncomfortable things.”
Cadance smiled. “Sorry, sorry.”
“So why don’t we talk about you?” asked Twilight. Flurry tensed, looking afraid. The reason quickly clicked. “I’m not asking about today. I was just going to ask why you enjoy getting your mane brushed so much. It was the same thing at Pound and Pumpkin’s birthday. Cadance said it settles you down.”
“Oh.” The tension went out of the filly as she let out a breath. “I don’t really know. I think it’s just the feeling of closeness I feel when she does it. When I have a bad day and I go sit on her lap she holds me close for a little bit. Then she shows me how much she loves me by doing something I really enjoy.” She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation. “Sometimes, she’ll even sing to me while she does it.
“It just became something of a tradition between us.”
Twilight grinned. “I know that feeling. Me and my mother had something like that since the time when I was around your age.”
“What was it?” asked Cadance.
“I remember,” said Shining. “Since babyhood is the time when a mother is most connected to her child the solution was obvious.”
Twilight gave him a curious look. She agreed with the sentiment, but she couldn’t see how it related to her own tradition.
“So what did she do?”
“Well, she’d set Twily on the floor, putting a diaper on her and rocking her like a little baby."
Cadance and Flurry started laughing.
“Hey!” Twilight cried out, blushing. “That’s not funny.”
“Sorry,” said Shining. “I shouldn’t have spilled the secret.”
“Thank you!” After a few moments she realized what he had done. “HEY! It’s NOT a secret because it NEVER… HAPPENED!”
Shining was cracking up now. “Oh, boy, Twily. You should see the look on your face.”
“Well, I don’t appreciate your little joke.”
“But it made Flurry laugh. Isn’t that the most important takeaway here?”
Twilight sucked on her cheek, looking ready to blow, but eventually she forced herself to take a few deep breaths to settle her emotions. “I am going to be the mature one here and let things go.”
“Aww,” said Flurry. “But that was funny.”
Twilight’s gaze softened as she looked towards her niece. Flurry was starting to talk and had relaxed enough to laugh. That was more important to her than Shining making a joke at her expense. “Alright, Shining. I forgive you.”
She took a few more breaths to regain her composure. “You know me. You know I love to read and learn.” Flurry nodded. “Well, my mother had me put that love to good use. I loved to make lists, and she used that love to create bonding experiences between us that also were great at cheering me up.
“The books I read back then were a lot simpler than the ones I read now, and Mom always kept some craft books around for us to work on. Since we obviously didn't want to ruin the books she'd have me write down the instructions.
"It didn’t matter what the material was. It could be popsicle sticks, jewelry boxes, or little carts on a track in our living room. We’d follow the instructions, me ready to check them off one at a time. Just the simple act of creating something and seeing the end result was always a special experience.”
Twilight smiled widely. She put a hoof to her head. “Wow.”
“What’s up?” asked Cadance.
“I have a sudden urge to go to Canterlot and create something with my mom.”
“Maybe she can brush your mane too,” said Flurry, looking very content as her eyes drooped. “It does wonders for me.”
Twilight gave Flurry a warm smile, glad to see she was starting to feel better.
Time passed, and eventually Twilight bid them farewell.
Flurry was a little sad to see her go, but she knew her aunt couldn’t stay there forever.
With Twilight gone she lost that sense of completeness, that link in the chain holding her together.
She felt a desire to be alone now, and went to her room. Her parents tried to coax her into staying with them, but she didn’t listen to them.
She had thought her negative feelings were gone. She had had a long brushing and time with her family. Everything had turned back to normal, the way it should be. Now it felt like they had only been pushed to the side for a little while, and they were still waiting for her.
A few months ago her life had felt like nothing but pressure; a pressure to excel, a pressure to be her mother’s heir, a pressure to be a hero fighting monsters. That pressure had finally gone away when she met her friends, but now it felt like it was returning.
She knew her aunt meant well, but asking her to sit on her throne and suggesting that she would one day be part of the new Elements of Friendship just felt like that pressure was coming back. Her aunt realized her mistake and apologized for it, but it brought to mind the things she had been forgetting as she lived her ordinary life.
She was so deep in her thoughts she didn’t hear the knocking at her door a few minutes later. She didn’t even react until it sounded like an explosion went off nearby.
She jumped, letting out a yell as she looked around frantically for the source. Her eyes focused on Starlight, who was snickering.
“Hey there, Flurry!” she said brightly. “Back from your trip to Ponyville and you didn’t even pop in to say hello? If I hadn’t been out on a date with Sunburst I might have been offended.”
Flurry put a hoof over her racing heart. “H-Hello, Aunt Starlight.”
Starlight walked in, standing near the edge of her bed. “Well, I hope you don’t think you’re getting out of your magic lessons.”
Flurry glared at her. “Magic lessons? NOW? After everything that happened? Don’t you know what went on?”
Starlight’s eyebrow went up. “Should I?”
Flurry sputtered for a few moments, then her gaze softened. How would Starlight know if she just got back home?
“I thought you were going to cheer up a friend. Guess that didn’t work out so well.”
Flurry let out a huff. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Starlight shrugged. “Whatever. Not my business. At least I’m here to get your mind off your troubles.”
Flurry’s body tensed up. “I’m not in the mood! I’m not going to be able to concentrate on learning some new spell. My brain’s already fried as it is.”
Starlight sat down. “Well, that’s fine. We could always just review some of your previous lessons, like levitation. Doesn’t get much simpler than that.”
Flurry gave her a flat expression. “Levitation? Seriously?”
Ignoring Flurry’s poor reaction Starlight lifted up Flurry’s pillow and pulled out a feather from it. “Now,” she recited, “levitation is a skill every unicorn learns at the start. With a little bit of focus and a tiny bit of magic one can lift things up in the air.” With her magic Starlight lifted up the feather, then dropped it. “Now you try.”
Flurry crossed her hooves and rolled her eyes before lifting up the feather herself. Since Starlight obviously wasn’t taking the hint she didn’t care right now she’d just play along for a few minutes so she could get the mare to leave.
“Levitation may be a basic skill, but it has many applications, based on how you use it and what you use it on. For example…”
Flurry grumbled under her breath before letting out a squeal as Starlight tickled her side with the feather. The filly jerked away as Starlight snickered.
“… I can make a grumpy filly laugh.”
Flurry glared at her again. “Knock it off! I told you-EEEE!” She jumped as Starlight tickled her again. “Stop it!” She leapt off the bed as Starlight continued after her, forcing unwanted laughs out of her.
“Run, run, Flurry!”
After a minute of this Starlight dropped the feather and grabbed one of Flurry’s pillows with her magic, giving Flurry a gentle whack with it. Continuing in her academic tone she said, “The bigger the object the more magic it takes to lift and focus it, but a little pillow is still very light. Certainly light enough to annoy a tiny alicorn.”
Flurry stomped up to Starlight. “CUT IT OUT! I’m not in the mood for-OOF!” She recoiled a bit as Starlight whacked her again.
Starlight teleported another pillow onto the floor in front of her. “Let’s see if you’ve grasped the lesson.”
Flurry looked down at the pillow. “I’m not playing your game!”
“Okay, then. More whacks for me.” She put a little more into it this time, knocking Flurry onto her butt.
“Come on, little baby! What you got?” She smirked.
Flurry was steaming now as she shot up, her face going red. She grabbed the pillow in her magic, whacking Starlight in the face with it. “Enough!”
“Oh, do you finally want to play?” Starlight asked as she dropped the shield in front of her face. She swung at Flurry again, who put up her own shield in front of her. Starlight teleported the pillow, and whacked Flurry in the back of the head. “Ooh. Such poor spell work.”
Flurry let out a yell, going on the attack. She was sick of this game Starlight was playing.
Starlight simply blocked all of her hits. Flurry was in such a rage her attacks were pretty direct.
The longer things went on the angrier Flurry got, especially with the smirk Starlight kept flashing.
Flurry teleported directly in front of Starlight. Dispensing with magic entirely she used her hoof and slammed it into Starlight’s jaw, knocking her to the ground.
She used her magic to grab a second pillow, and relentlessly assaulted Starlight’s prone form with both of them.
“I told you to stop! I don’t need this today!” She continued ranting and raving the entire time.
After a minute the haze of her rage cleared, and as she came back to herself she felt fear that she had actually hurt her aunt. “Aunt Starlight?” she said, trembling.
She felt a light tap on the head, and a pillow bounced off it, falling to the ground.
She looked up to see Starlight hovering in the air above her, balancing on her horn with one front hoof. “Hello there.”
“You… you…” She looked over at the Starlight on the ground, and it vanished into energy.
Starlight landed, giving her a hug. “Well, I think you’ve got the hang of levitation.” The humor in her voice faded as she asked, “Feeling a little better now that you’ve worked out some of those heavy feelings inside?”
Flurry wasn’t sure if she was mad or relieved. “You did that on purpose?”
“Sure did. It’s not good to sit around and mope. Better to funnel those feelings into something productive.”
“Like beating you with a pillow?” she asked flatly.
“Hey, whatever works.”
“I… I could have really hurt you!”
“Nah. I’m not your guardian because of my looks, you know. Just like I’m entrusted to look after you in case any baddies come after you, I also need to be competent to deal with you when you’re not in control.
“You still have much to learn, my apprentice, before you’ll be able to take me down.”
Flurry grumbled a bit under her breath. “I think I could beat you.”
“Well, I’m not out to fight any more today. You had your magic lesson for the day, so you know what that means, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Ice cream sundaes!” Her voice trilled a bit at the end.
Flurry finally hugged Starlight back. “I think I'd like that. Can you… just not tease me anymore?”
“Can’t promise that, but it won’t be mean-spirited anymore.”
“I... I’ll settle for that.”
“Okay, so you ready?” As Starlight began to pull back Flurry grabbed her harder.
“No!” Flurry said. “I’m not done hugging you.”
“My apologies.” She increased the pressure as well. “I love you, Flurry.”
“And I love you too, jerk!”
Starlight chuckled.
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No Flurry you are not going to be able to beat her. Starlight did manage to keep pace with Twilight you are not even up to her fetlock yet in power and skill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEq1Z0bjdwc
9524557
Saw the quote, saw the link, clicked the link.... was not disappointed.
I assume this arc will end before Season 9 does, right?
That was perhaps the best line ever. And Starlight is perhaps the best troll ever.
I can see why Flurry would have a harder time calming down than the other kids. And it's not because she was essentially the one to lead the charge in the battle. Flurry's family is more expansive than the other kids, Where the others just have parents and siblings, Flurry also has Twilight and Starlight acting as her comfort zone. And she feels like she needs all of them together to be sure everything's okay. Flurry has more pieces that need to be accounted for.
And it seems that in this chapter, she experience a "Flurry of Emotions".
9524885
Don't worry. Just two more chapters. I could have included this chapter as part of the next one and made the epilogue portion 2 chapters total, but it's already getting long enough.
While the next part does start out slice of life style, things quickly start getting serious and it leads to something really big, so I felt this was a good place to pause.
Awww....nice to see Starlight can solve this with Flurry.
Considering she's now with Starlight, I would sure hope so. I've been highly anticipating that talk.
9525228
THAT talk, huh?
Starlight: You see, Flurry, when a mare and stallion love each other very much....
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/3/5/1380207.png
derpicdn.net/img/view/2017/3/5/1380206.png
Those panels are part of an actual comic about the subject, except it's worse in a funny way. Whether it's a joke or not I'm not sure but there's a tag on derpibooru about portraying Shining as a moron, like Chrysalis impersonating Cadance by simply wearing a cheap looking mask.
Cadance is giving Flurry a verbal talk about the birds and the bees, and Shining decides to make it a visual aid by mounting her. Cue reaction image from Flurry.
9526834 Oh, I've seen that comic. It's great. And I just mean the talk in regards to Starlight herself, and her past, and Flurry's experience with the fake one.
9526861
Yeah, Starlight is going to have a painful reminder of the past there.