Chapter 4: Meeting the Sentrys Part 1
Back in the present…
“See? Even you admitted it wasn’t that bad!” Twilight protested.
“After the initial meeting where I was terrified beyond the ability to even walk towards your house? Yes, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still really unnerving and stressful for the entire train ride and the first ten minutes after I first saw your family!” Flash countered.
“Oh, just kiss already!” Luna cheered.
Flash and Twilight both blushed and barely kept from jumping, forgetting that they had an audience. Though Flash did have to admit that Luna had a very good idea, so he followed her advice and earned an adorable Twilight-shy-squeak for his trouble.
“Yes, very good. That was a rather silly argument anyway,” Luna said with a nod from atop her cushion as she took another sip from her jumbo coffee mug.
“I agree, sister,” Celestia said with a faint smile. “But you must admit they were both rather adorable when they were bickering about something so minor.”
“True. Especially when young Twilight’s nose scrunched up in frustration.”
Poor Twilight just buried her face him her wings, something that just made her all the cuter to Flash.
“Agreed, and I wouldn’t have her any other way,” Flash said, giving Twilight a reassuring pat on the back. Twilight just grumbled before scooting closer to him on the couch.
The four ponies had moved into one of the castle’s sitting rooms after breakfast. With both sets of families coming to the castle, Celestia and Luna had been interested to hear how both ponies handled meeting the other’s families for the first time. So Twilight and Flash had spent the last hour or so telling them about Flash’s first meeting with Twilight’s family while they waited, and now it was time for the Sentrys’ side of things.
“I still say it wasn't that bad,” Twilight grumbled from beneath her wings. “And it definitely wasn’t as stressful as meeting YOUR parents.”
Three and a half months after ‘How to Date a Princess’…
“Twilight, breathe,” Flash said gently, softly tracing his wing over Twilight’s back as she practiced Cadence’s breathing technique. “It’s ok. I promise, they are going to love you. Everything will be fine.”
“Heeeee, hooooo,” was Twilight’s only response as she continued her calm breathing. She had been mostly ok on the train and for most of the walk through Canterlot, but now that they had reached the outer city limits and were only about a block away from Flash’s parent’s house, her panic had begun to resurface. It wasn’t anywhere near the Maximum-Princess-Twilight-Hyper-Panic-Level, but Flash still thought it best to take a few minutes to help her relax.
Thankfully, there was a bench nearby, and it gave them time for Twilight to calm down and take in the scenery. Unlike the central city with its abundance of shops and bustling atmosphere and countless fancy ponies, the outer city was much calmer, almost serene. There were more trees and grassy areas to relax in, the houses were more spaced apart and less ostentatious, and the amount of hoof traffic was significantly lower when compared to the main city.
It was peaceful, and the perfect place to stop and catch your breath after a long day. Something that Twilight was thankfully able to do after another minute of gentle wing rubs.
“Better?” Flash asked gently once she had stopped the breathing exercises.
“A bit,” Twilight replied, leaning into Flash’s embrace. “For now.”
I wonder if this is how Twilight felt when I was freaking out about meeting her parents. Then again, she hasn’t frozen in place yet and needed me to push her forward, so she’s already doing better than I did, Flash thought to himself, taking a moment gently nuzzle Twilight reassuringly. So soft…
Focus…
“Just try and remember how freaked out I was meeting your parents, and how wrong I was,” he said, earning a slight huff from Twilight.
“But you had already met Shining and Cadance beforehoof, which meant that they would be able to vouch for you to Mom and Dad.”
“That didn’t stop me from panicking. Though if it makes you feel any better, I’ve already vouched for you in my letters, and I know for a fact they are very excited to meet you. Trust me, they will love you,” Flash said reassuringly, quietly standing up and helping Twilight back to her hooves, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Just one more block and you’ll see. Trust me, ok?”
Twilight took a deep breath, then nodded. Smiling, Flash started walking again, given the two nearby guards a quick hoof gesture to let them know they were good to keep moving. Twilight gave the guards a small smile of thanks, which they returned as they fell quietly back into step as though nothing had happened. Twilight then gently made her way under Flash’s wing, something that always made Flash’s heart flutter.
I wonder if those two guards have taken my mom’s training class yet? If so, I really want to see their faces when they see her.
After a few more minutes, they finally arrived.
The house was exactly as Flash remembered it. A two-story light blue wooden house with a green picket fence and more flowers than Flash could count growing absolutely everywhere. The entire house was surrounded by flowers, the fence was laden with hanging plants, and rows and rows of even more flowers were laid in neat rows along the lawn. The only place not a maze of flowers was the main stone walkway towards the house and the dozen or so hoof-lengths of grass on either side of it.
You know, I’m surprised there’s any normal lawn left at this point. Even when I was a foal, I swear the flowers got closer to my playset every year.
“Whoa,” Twilight muttered, her mouth dropping open. “What in Equestria?”
“I know, right? It feels like there are more flowers every time I visit,” Flash said with a small smile as he opened the main gate. He turned towards the similarly flabbergasted guards. “You two can begin your patrol patterns. We’ll be here for the night. Though please do not intervene when my mom comes out.”
“Yes sir?” the Lunar guard said, sounding a little confused. “Though, why would we want to intervene?”
Ah, right. I should probably mention my mom’s excitable nature before somepony panics.
“Don’t worry,” Flash said, smiling as he took his wing off Twilight’s back and stepped onto the walkway before talking to Twilight directly. “I’m serious, don’t worry. My mom can be excitable at times, so she may be a bit hyper when we first meet her.”
“How hyper?” Twilight asked, stepping into the yard behind Flash and closing the gate behind her.
“Just think if it like meeting Pinkie Pie for the first time again, only less her running off to go throw you a party, more hugs, and less breaking the laws of physics!” he said jokingly, getting a giggle out of Twilight. Flash could see her body relax a bit, making him smile. Sneaking in one last kiss on her cheek, Flash began approaching the house, paying special attention to any movement inside the windows.
Any second now…he thought as he slowly approached the front door. He saw a flash of white in one of the upstairs windows.
Here it come—
“FLASHIEEEEE!!!!!!”
The front door exploded open, and Flash was tackled by what he would always describe as the world’s most muscular teddy bear. His back collided with the soft grass as the squealing blob of fur did her best to crush his windpipe in her diamond grip.
“OOOHHH this is so exciting! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME YOU HAD A MAREFRIEND SOONER!? Oh, this was the BEST possible news we could have gotten after such a wonderful third honeymoon and—WHY DID YOU WAIT SO LONG TO TELL US!?!? Once you told me I went to Velvet and she said it’s been three and a half months since you started dating! THREE AND A HALF MONTHS!!! Do you know how long that is, young stallion!?”
Is it three and a half months, or is that a trick question? Flash thought as his eyes remained buried in the mass of light blue fur. Rather than answer, which wouldn’t have done much good as his mom had already started talking again, Flash did what he always did and grabbed the blob obscuring his vision and gave it a good squeeze.
SQUEAK!
“It’s nice to see you too, Mom,” Flash said, smiling as his mom squeaked and was forced to release Flash from her death-grip-of-love. “How was your trip? Did you and Dad have fun?”
“Don’t try and change the subject, young stallion,” his mom replied, quickly returning the hug and nuzzling him. Flash smiled, the warm touch of her very light blue and extremely fluffy coat bringing back so many fond memories of the two of them curling up together whenever he had trouble falling asleep as a foal. All too soon, she released him, sitting up so that Flash could look her in her bright blue eyes that was somehow both piercing and vary warm and motherly all at the same time.
Despite all the times his mom had greeted him by tackling him in the yard, something that never failed to impress Flash given how the top of his mom’s head only came up to his chin, he still had to wonder how it was that her white poofy mane was somehow still in perfect condition despite the speed she had been flying. Maybe it was like Pinkie’s mane and just defied the laws of physics? Though he had never seen him mom pull a full tray of cupcakes out of her mane, so maybe he had just been spending too much time with Pinkie. Plus, Flash wasn’t sure how a cutie mark of a blue and gold shield with a gust of wind as the coat of arms would lend itself to impossible to explain shenanigans.
Ok, if my brain is trying to tie my mom’s cutie mark to her mane, I think she may have tackled me a bit harder than she normally does. Well, either that or I’m just really distracted. Or tired. I did need to stay up pretty late last night finalizing all that paperwork.
“Are you listening to me?”
Flash blinked and came back to reality. He must have spaced out for a good minute, because now his mom was giving him a very deadpan, unamused look.
Ok, not Mom’s fault then. I’m just distracted and maybe a bit tired. I knew I should have taken a nap on the train.
“Sorry, mom. I was just remembering a few things. My bad,” Flash chuckled sheepishly, sitting up a bit to give her another, slightly-more-proper hug.
“Try to focus, dear. I swear, you need to pay attention more, especially when on duty!” Swift Strike groaned, returning the hug, much gentler this time.
“But I’m not ON duty, and didn’t you once yell at one of your subordinates about that only to nearly be hit by a pegasus pulling a flying cart during a scouting mission?” Flash said with a cheeky grin, which quickly vanished as his mom playfully bit his ear and tugged. “YIPE!”
“Quiet, you cheeky colt,” his mom said, releasing his ear. “And that’s not the point. The point is you need to stop getting so distracted thinking about other things! I swear, you can be as bad as your father sometimes. Why, during our honeymoon, the goofball actually managed to get so distracted that a crab came up and pinched his nose! He was running around for almost ten minutes trying to dislodge it, all because he was so focused on trying to prepare our picnic, which I will admit was so SWEET of him, but he really should have been more careful—”
And off she went, talking about the honeymoon and ignoring him and Twilight.
I’m pretty sure I get the whole ‘occasionally lose focus’ thing from both of you, Mom, Flash thought, mentally smiling and shaking his head. You just tend to talk endlessly while he gets distracted with remembering things. Which is probably the reason you haven’t even said hi to Twilight yet.
Actually, where IS Twilight? I would have thought she would have at least given a nervous ‘hello’ by now. Mom didn’t accidently scare her off somehow, did she? I know my mom can be a bit intense, but she’s got nothing on Nightmare Moon or Discord. Certainly not enough for Twilight to just NOPE herself out of here like she does with ladybugs…
Ignoring his mother for the moment, Flash looked over towards where Twilight had been standing and was rewarded with an interesting sight.
Twilight was standing there, looking rather nervous again as she stared up into the bright purple eyes of Flash’s father. His father, meanwhile, stood there looking down at Twilight, and…wow, Flash never noticed it before, but looking at the two of them together, he saw that his dad was almost as tall as Princess Luna!
How have I never make that comparison? Is it because I’ve never seen my dad and Princess Luna together in the same room? Now I’m just wondering if Big Mac would need to look up to look him in the eyes too. Actually, I bet he and Big Mac would get along really well given my dad’s love of growing things, even if my dad can be a bit of a chatterbox while Big Mac is rather quiet, Flash thought with a mental chuckle.
Focus on your dad and marefriend, Flash.
Recentering his attention on what was actually in front of him, Flash could see his dad’s dark orange coat and blue mane were perfectly combed, unlike their normal slightly unkempt appearance. His wings were preened too, and were perhaps the neatest Flash had ever seen them. He must really want to make a good impression. His wings were so big, it would have taken him hours to make them look that good. Not for the first time, Flash was just glad his wings weren’t quite as big as his fathers.
Though Flash did wonder why his dad’s expression was so unreadable compared to his normally playful smile. He knew his dad was excited to meet Twilight, so why—
Wait, is he…
“H-Hello sir,” Twilight said, stuttering a little bit, but still managing to smile. “I-I am Twilight Sparkle, y-you’re son’s m-m-marefriend. It’s n-nice to meet you.” She held up her slightly trembling hoof for a hoofshake.
In response, Flash’s father blinked at Twilight, before he slowly lifted his own hoof. He then proceeded to completely avoided Twilight’s hoof, and instead went directly for Twilight’s nose.
“Boop.”
Yes, yes he is! Oh dear Luna, Dad, really? Flash thought, trying not to laugh at the massively confused expression on Twilight’s face as she stared at the hoof currently pressed up against her nose. You know Mom is going to kill you for that, right? Seriously, I don’t think your sandwiches are going to save you this time.
“…Buh?” was the only response Twilight gave, her crossed eyes wide in confusion.
“I said,” Flash’s father continued in a low baritone voice, his stony expression breaking into his typical welcoming grin, his eyes becoming lively and playful as he retracted his hoof and sent it forward again. “Boop!”
He booped Twilight’s nose again and causing her muzzle to scrunch up adorably, and then stepped back and gave a polite little bow. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Twilight!” he said cheerfully. “Or do you just prefer Twilight?”
Twilight just blinked in pure confusion, her face not too different to Flash’s when he had met Pinkie for the first time.
“J-Just Twilight is fi-i-i-i-i-n-n-n-n-e-e-e!” Twilight began, finally finding her voice, only for said angelic voice to bounce as Flash’s dad grabbed her still-extended hoof and gave it an exited shake that would do Applejack proud. Flash did notice that Twilight seemed to be a bit more relaxed once her released her hoof, if still a little confused.
Oh, Dad. Grandpa would be so happy you kept that little tradition alive. Mom on the other hoof…
And then it hit Flash.
His mom had stopped talking.
“Aaron Cosmos, you did NOT just do that!” his mom yelled, causing Twilight and Flash to both jump at the sudden loud noise. Well, Twilight jumped. Flash just kind of jerked a bit, given how him mom was still pinning him to the ground.
Oh, boy, here we go. Can you please at least get off my chest rather than using it as a springboard this time, Mom? Please? Flash thought, hoping that his mom’s mind-reading powers would help him just this once.
But given that she was staring intensely at his father and not paying any attention to him, it probably wasn’t working.
“Whaaat? It was just a little joke to help break the ice! Why shouldn't I do it?” Aaron asked sheepishly, his large wing not-so-subtly pushing Twilight gently away from him. Flash had to facehoof at that as Twilight seemed to get the message and bid a hasty retreat over towards Flash and his mom.
Daaaaad, Flash thought with a groan. Just because I said in my letters that Twilight was more down-to-earth and likes to be treated more casually doesn’t mean you just throw all forms of social grace out the window and do THAT. At least ASK her how formal she wants you to be first.
Given the angry flick of her wings, Flash was sure his mom was having similar, likely more shouty thoughts. His dad, however, continued on, his sheepish smile growing as Flash’s mother began to crouch down. “But honey, it’s tradition—ow ow hey come on it wasn’t that bad ow ow ow ow your dad did the same thing to me, rememb—ow ow!”
Faster than a speeding Rainbow Dash, Flash’s mom used her son’s chest as a springboard to pounce on Flash’s father, her hooves and wings giving him a number of hearty smacks as she circled him like a hummingbird. Though his dad just laughed playfully with each clearly fake ‘ow’ sound he made.
And after years of experience with these kinds of shenanigans, Flash could tell just from the way his mom moved that she was drastically pulling her punches.
“I told you WE WOULDN’T BE DOING THAT STUPID TRADITION! It’s ridiculous and POINTLESS and I don’t need you scaring the princess off! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I’VE WAITED TO FOR FLASH TO FINALLY GET A MAREFRIEND!? I FINALLY have a chance to show off our photo album and YOU ARE RUINING IT! WHEN THIS VIST IT OVER YOU’RE DOING ALL THE DISHES BY YOURSELF AND THEN SOME!!!”
Says the mare currently screaming like Rarity when some rich snob tries to purposely ruin one of her outfits. Flash thought as he got back to his hooves, unable to hide his smile and eye roll as his mom grabbed his dad in a headlock and proceeded to grind her hoof into his mane in a way that was both somewhat aggressive and very playful.
“Not the mane! I just combed it!” his dad cried in an overly dramatic voice, barely holding back his laughter. “And need I remind you—ow—that you’re the one who is currently yelling and smacking —ow, the totally real pain— me around like the silly pony—OW, not the ear— that you are?” Aaron sassily replied.
Flash’s mom just growled in exasperation and gave his ear another tug before resuming her zipping flight around his dad.
Really, Dad? I know this is just another day ending in y for you, but really? If you’re trying to get her to de-stress or tire herself out, you can do it in other ways, you know. You don’t need to turn the cheekiness up to eleven to do that. Flash thought as he sighed in exasperation, but even then he could help but smile at the not-so-uncommon scene. Hopefully it wouldn’t last too long though, as Flash DID still want to introduce Twilight formally.
Speaking of his lovely purple angel, Twilight was looking extremely confused at the moment as she continued to watch Flash’s parents act like goofballs, though she did have a small smile on her lips. As if sensing him watching her, she turned towards him and raised a single eyebrow as if to say, ‘I take it this is normal?’ in a beautifully playful voice.
Focus, Flash.
“Yeah, this is pretty normal,” Flash said with a grin.
“When you said your mom was as excitable as Pinkie, I didn’t think this is what you meant,” Twilight said, turning to watch as Flash’s mom gave his dad a sassy wing-slap to the back of the head, his dad overplaying how much it didn’t hurt by exaggeratedly exclaiming ‘OW THE BACK OF MY HEAD!’ “This just reminds me of Pinkie and Cheese having a fake argument over what to do for a party and then having a harmless food fight and party supply fight.”
Flash laughed at that. “It does, doesn’t it? Though I don’t think I remember Pinkie ever doing that,” Flash said, pointing as his mom landed on his dad’s head and did a few annoyed bounces with all four hooves. His dad didn’t even flinch, and simply stuck his tongue out teasingly once she had stopped, earning him another groan/growl from his mother. “Yeah, if they are arguing about something small, they usually don’t take it seriously, and then shenanigans often ensue. Like you and Spike having an argument about who’s a better cook only to get into a baking contest that leaves me covered in flour.”
“That was one time!” Twilight squeaked, blushing all the way up to her ears. So adorable.
“Still a perfect example though, Miss Wait-Didn’t-I-Have-Three-Bags-Of-Flour-And-Not-Two,” Flash teased, making sure to placate her with a quick kiss to the cheek. “Though hopefully my mom and dad will stop soon, as I would like to actually introduce you—oh here it comes.”
Twilight turned again, just as Flash saw his dad finally move. As his mom came soaring around his front again, Aaron gracefully leapt to the side out of reach. His mom tried to redirect herself but clearly didn’t even try to avoid his dad’s massive wing as it sprang out in a trap.
“OOF!” Swift Strike grunted as she collided with the outstretched wing, which wrapped around her small body three times before pressing her into her husband’s side. And then Flash’s dad proceeded to simply fall over, pinning his newly captured wife between himself and the ground.
SQUEAK!
Twilight blinked at that. “Is that norm—” she began, only to be rudely interrupted.
“GET OFF ME YOU BIG LUG!” Flash’s mom screamed from beneath her husband, sounding as if she was trying to hold back laughter. Only her head was currently visible around the feathers of his large wings.
“Now why would I want to do that?” Aaron asked, smiling gently as he began to nuzzle his struggling captive. “After all, I have this wonderfully fluffy and beautiful mare right here with me who is so much better than even the softest teddy bear. What’s more, I now have the pleasure of showering this wonderful mare with all of my affection until she’s nice and calm.”
“I’ll show you calm yo—mmph!” Swift Strike tried to protest, only to be cut off as Aaron caught her lips in a kiss. Whatever words she had for Aaron were lost as she let out a happy little moan. After about thirty seconds, Aaron broke the kiss and began kissing and nuzzling every inch of Swift Strike’s head that he could reach, giggling as the mare in question merely blushed and weakly struggled in her feathery prison.
I wonder if me and Twilight will ever get that mushy. I might one day, but Twilight? Actually, I wonder if Twilight will one day be big enough to trap me in her wings like my dad is to my mom. That actually sounds reallllllllly comfortable, especially if she’s snuggling me at the same time.
“I was going to ask if that was normal, but given your reaction I’m assuming this has happened before?” Twilight asked with a small smile and a raised eyebrow, pulling Flash back to reality and forcing him to shake his head to end his daydream.
Focus on the parents and marefriend, not the daydreams of fluffy alicorn wings, Flash…
“Yes, yes it is,” Flash said with a grin. “In fact, my mom could have easily dodged that little trick my dad pulled with his wings, but whenever they get into a little display like what you just saw, she almost always lets him catch her. Also, my mom is totally playing possum right now. She’s been trained how to escape all kinds of grabs and pins, so she could easily break free of my dad’s hold. The main reason she doesn’t is because she would need to hurt my dad’s wing to do so. Not much, mind you, but once he has her pinned under him, she needs to be more forceful than if he was still standing up. Plus, if she was serious about escaping, she would just keep squirming until she broke out, and my dad would get the hint and let go. That or she would use a safe word that they came up with.”
“Why does she let him catch her?” Twilight asked, before a concerned frown passed over her face. “She’ll be ok though, right? I know you mentioned she used to be in the guard and is pretty strong, but having a lot of weight on you for a long time can be painful.”
“Like that time I got buried under three cart’s worth of apple because of Rainbow messing up a stunt?” Flash said jokingly, replacing the worried frown with a small giggle. “And to answer your second question first, my mom will be fine. See how my dad’s wing is bent? He’s angled it so that he’s actually propping himself up off the ground. He’s still not pressing enough weight on her to hurt her. Plus, my mom is all muscle under all that fluff, so she’d be fine for quite a while regardless.”
I wonder if Mom would be able to beat Applejack in a hoof-wrestling contest. I would LOVE to see the look on Applejack’s face if she lost. Rainbow’s face would be even better if SHE lost instead!
Focus Flash…
“As for your first question, my mom tends have trouble dealing with stress. Whenever she gets too worked up, she pushes that anxiety down inside her and bottles it up. It helps her keep calm in combat and other stressful situations, but she has trouble letting those emotions back out again in a productive way, so my dad does this little routine with her as a way to help her feel better faster. Actually, as my dad is usually less stressed too once he lets my mom up again.
“Think of it sort of like a release valve on a pipe, something my dad does to help relieve the pressure she’s under. Sometimes it’s what you just saw, sometimes it’s just my dad cuddling my mom and letting her vent to him as he patiently listens and snuggles all the stress out of her. Some of his methods might be rather weird and silly compared to most other couples I’ve met, but to me it always showed me how much they loved each other.”
“They do certainly look a bit calmer now,” Twilight agreed, smiling. “And I think I understand. Cadence always said ponies express their love in different ways. Plus, it’s no stranger than half the things Pinkie and Cheese get up to, and they’ve just started dating a week ago,” Twilight giggled. Flash did as well, only stopping when he heard a strained grunt from his mom, which made both of them look up. His mom had managed to get one leg free, but a quick kiss distracted her long enough for his dad to slip it back into the wing cocoon despite her struggles.
“Give them a minute,” Flash said with a knowing eye roll. “And Pinkie and Cheese are NOT a fair comparison couple. Pinkie going to buy milk has the potential to become stranger than half the things my parents do on a daily basis!”
Twilight laughed. “True enough,” she said. “Though I am curious as to why you didn’t tell me that this might happen. Hay, why didn’t my MOM tell me that this might happen! She had to know this was a thing, right? She goes bungee-jumping with your mom, so she must have had some sort of clue, right?”
“I don’t know why your mom didn’t tell you, though maybe she wanted you to get to know them before she told you some of my mom’s crazy stories. Because trust me, my mom has had plenty of crazy adventures and she has an acute talent at taking even mundane events and turning them into grand adventures. Even if they greatly blow things out of proportion.” Flash said teasingly.
“I HEARD THAT, YOU CHEEKY COLT!” Swift Strike called out, only to be silenced by another kiss from Aaron, prompting Flash to chuckle.
I learned that cheekiness all from Dad and you know that, Mom. Blame him, not me!
“For me… Would you have believed me if I told you my mom was a hyperactive ball of muscle and fluff while my dad was a calm big friendly giant and that there was a chance they would have a mock fight which would end with my dad using his wing to trap my mom until she calmed down?” Flash asked bashfully. “You were stressed enough as it was given the number of princessy things you’ve had to deal with these last two weeks, and I couldn’t really think of any way to tell you about them without giving you a completely wrong impression! And trying to make time to have a proper conversation would have taken up too much time and made you even more stressed! Though I will say that my dad actually asked me not to tell you too much about them in the last letter he sent me.”
“He did?” Twilight asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“YOU DID? WHY!? Why wouldn’t you want Flash to tell the Princess about us!?” Swift Strike yelled up at her husband, earning a rumbling chuckle from Aaron.
“Because it would ruin the surprise, of course!” Aaron exclaimed, taking a moment away from showering his wife with love, his voice clearly indication how much more relaxed he was now. “What better way for somepony to get to know you than by watching them interact with the ones they love? And with a loving relationship as unusual as ours, what better way to explain it than by letting her see it firsthoof? Besides, what’s the harm in having a little fun by booping Twilight? It wouldn’t really work if she knew it was coming, and I though your family’s tradition would be the perfect ice breaker!”
“AH HA! You were planning it this whole time! I knew it—mmmph!” Swift Strike exclaimed, her struggles renewing until Aaron caught her lips in another intense kiss. The yelling quickly morphed into a happy moan.
Maybe you shouldn’t have said that directly in front of her, Dad. Flash thought with a facehoof and a chuckle. Though knowing you, that was definitely on purpose. I’m honestly surprised that you managed to keep it a surprise until we had the chance to come over.
Flash was about to speak again, but his eyes then caught a quick glance of the two soldiers who had escorted them to the house. Both of them were now standing at a very rigid attention, their eyes rapidly switching between brief glimpses at Flash’s mom and shooting back to their appropriate position. He could also swear that the solar guard’s leg was twitching ever so slightly.
Welp, I guess that confirms that mom still maintains her reputation among the guards as the world’s most terrifying drill instructor. I’ll need to remember to ask Dad what her current nickname is too.
“Tradition?” Twilight asked, pulling flash back to the present.
“I’ll explain when we get inside,” Flash said with a nod. “For now, since my mom appears to have calmed down a bit, let me formally introduce you.” He led Twilight closer to his parents. “This is my mom, Swift Strike, and my dad, Aaron Cosmos. My mom is a retired royal guard and one of the most energetic mares you will ever meet.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Princess,” Swift Strike greeted sweetly as Aaron finally released her from the kiss. “Your mom’s told me a lot about you. I would shake your hoof, but my GOOFBALL OF A HUSBAND still won’t GET OFF!” She struggled inside her wing prison again, but with no results. Aaron chuckled as Swifty gave him an overly exaggerated pouty face.
“What’s the magic woooord?” He teased lightly.
Swifty huffed before muttering “please,” her face becoming even more pouty. Aaron gave a satisfied nod, then finally rolled back to his hooves and gently unwound his wing, causing Swift Strike to roll in midair before landing gracefully back on her hooves.
“Thank you,” Swift Strike grunted, quickly brushing herself off before smiling at Twilight excitedly. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Twilight,” she said, bounding happily forward and giving Twilight’s hoof a good shake. “Sorry my husband is being such a goofball, but I can’t wait to get to know you better. I have a feeling we’ll be great friends. OH, and I need to show you Flash’s baby album! Oh, it is going to be so much fun!”
One-track mind as always, Mom. Flash thought with an internal groan. Just limit it to one book, please. I really don’t need Twilight to see every embarrassing thing I did as a foal. Especially not the incident where I mistook a furry coat for my own mother.
“N-Nice to meet you?” Twilight said, blinking uncertainly at being the center of attention again, at least if Flash was reading that little ruffle of her wings correctly. Flash just gave her a quick squeeze with his wing as reassurance.
“And my dad is a renowned florist and one of the calmest ponies you will ever meet,” he continued, reaching out and receiving his regular hoof-bump greeting from Aaron. “All the flowers you can see here are his work, and yes, I do mean all of them. Every time I visit, it seems like more of the lawn has been consumed by his flowers. I mean, jeez, Dad, I was here just last month and I think you doubled your plant capacity in that time.”
“What can I say?” Aaron said with a shrug. “I love my flowers. And the more I grow, the less we need to pay on food. Though I still don’t understand why Swifty says I have four green hooves. I mean, my coat is completely orange! Not a speck of green on it, especially not on my hooves.” His voice got quite dramatically by the end, and he grinned playfully.
That joke was old the last twenty times you told it, Dad, Flash thought with a small smile. You should get a joke book or something. Get at least a little bit of new flower-related joke material.
It took Twilight a few seconds, but when the joke finally clicked, she immediately snorted and broke down into giggles. Flash could tell his dad was both relieved and excited by her reaction.
“You can see where I get my sense of humor,” Flash said.
“Yes, I can,” Twilight agreed. “Though I will say that was…not the first impression I was expecting.”
“I hope not, that would have ruined the surprise!” Aaron said with a laugh before looking a bit sheepish again. “I hope it didn’t go too far? Flash mentioned in his letters, even before his most recent ones, that you liked to be treated more casually than the other princesses, and that you were both very friendly and had a good sense of humor. That…wasn’t a problem, was it?” Flash could see both his parents tense up a bit as Aaron scratched the back of his head sheepishly, but thankfully Twilight was on the case.
“No no,” Twilight said, laughing a bit and waving her hoof reassuringly. “I was a little unsure at the time, but don’t mind a little bit fun or a small prank here or there. And given how me and Flash are dating, I think it’s ok for us to be casual with one another, now and in the future.”
“See? I told you she had a good sense of humor,” Flash said, grinning internally as he saw the last bit of stress drain from his parent’s postures. Aaron especially smiled broadly, though Flash could see the glint of trouble in his eyes.
Dad, what are you planning? Flash mentally chided playfully. Something told him he was likely about to find out.
“That’s great to hear! And in that case, how about we show you our lovely home?” Aaron asked with a wink. Then, before anypony could react, he leapt forward. Swift Strike let out a startled squeak as he landed on top of her. Flash just chuckled at the two of them wrestled on the ground, and a moment later Swift Strike was once again wrapped up snugly in Aaron’s wing.
“AAROOOOON! PUT ME DOWN, YOU GOOFBALL! RIGHT NOW!” Swift Strike exclaimed, struggling against her new feathery prison. Aaron, unperturbed, simply gave her a quick kiss before turning back towards the house.
“Nonsense!” Aaron said with a playfully wide grin. “What kind of gentlestallion would I be if I didn’t carry my lovely wife back into our home? Especially since she said that her hooves were still sore from training yesterday?” He began walking, pausing long enough to gesture towards Flash and Twilight to follow him.
“Oh, gee, I don’t know, maybe the kind that DOESN’T TRY TO CRUSH HIS WIFE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YARD FOR TEN FREAKING MINUTES! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WHEN THIS VISIT IS OVER! I SWEAR TO LUNA!” Swifty yelled. However, given how his mom hadn’t escaped his dad’s wing yet, Flash knew his mom was still playing possum. Heck, she was likely trying not to smile as his dad entered their house.
Out of the corner of his eye, Flash could see the two royal guards near the gate both relax and heave massive sighs of relief the moment his mom was out of sight. The solar guard even took a second to shake himself.
He must started taking Mom’s class. Don’t worry buddy, it does get easier after the first few classes. Just hang in there.
“I must admit,” Flash said as he focused back on Twilight, “my dad usually doesn’t poke my mom’s buttons this much. She must be really stressed about our visit.”
“Do you know why?” Twilight asked. “It’s not because I’m a princess, is it?”
“I will admit your status as a princess might be part of it, but I’m sure that’s not the whole story,” Flash said, giving Twilight a quick reassuring kiss before the two of them began walking towards the front door. “Both of them were probably just nervous about making a good impression, and maybe your title just increased the stress a little bit. My mom especially knows she can come across a bit strongly, so maybe she’s worried that she might scare you off on accident.”
“I doubt your mom could be anywhere near as scary as Nightmare Moon or Tirek,” Twilight said with a wink, earning a laugh from Flash.
“True enough. Just be the friendly adorkable mare I know you are and I’m sure she’ll calm down in no time,” Flash said, earning a quick jab to the ribs from Twilight for calling her adorkable. “Also, I promise I will give you more of a warning of what to expect if we ever meet the rest of my family. Watch out, my uncle LOVES to try and tickle me and the rest of my cousins.”
Twilight giggled as they arrived at the front door. Flash failed miserably at finding it adorable and gestured her inside first.
Smiling to himself, Flash took a moment to look around his childhood home. The walls of the entranceway were painted with two contrasting styles, with the left wall covered in sponge-painted flowers and the right covered in different emblems that made up each branch of the guard from across Equestria. Each wall contained a mixture of framed photos, some of his parents, some of him and his family, and some of just flowers or of his mom at her students’ guard graduation ceremonies.
Flash still remembered helping his mom paint the left wall as a surprise for his dad after he had been gone for a month-long business trip. The flowers on that wall were just like his father’s cutie mark: a bright pink flower with six huge petals that emphasized his father’s skills with growing plants of all kinds, but especially flowers. Aaron always said it was a flower meant to symbolize gratitude towards those you love, and so what better way to show your gratitude towards your father for all that they do than to paint a bunch of said flowers along the wall.
Flash could still remember the expression of pure joy on his dad’s face when he first saw the painted wall.
Unlike Twilight’s house, there was no staircase leading to the second floor here. Instead, most of the entranceway was fully open above them, allowing pegesi to fly up to the second floor. There was still a set of stairs located at the back of the house near the kitchen, but no pony in the family really used them too often. There also wasn’t a railing along the upper balcony, though Flash still had faint memories of his parents covering the opening with clouds before he had learned to fly. He couldn’t help but smile when he remembered the time he had taken a small chunk of that cloud and used it to make his mom’s mane and coat all poofy from the static electricity.
His dad had loved that, especially since it made his mom even more fun to hug! Swifty on the other hoof had decided to tickle her son for a good ten minutes as punishment, which of course just made his fur all frizzy too!
Good times.
Off to the right, Flash could see his mom’s exercise room. Weights of various sizes were stacked neatly along the far wall, a few different training machines sat scattered about the edges of the room, and the center still contained the thick cloud mat his mom used for sparing. His mom had encouraged him use the room when he was still trying to become a guard. She would even tutor him if he was struggling with certain moves, gently guiding him through the motions endlessly until his form was perfect, pointing out his mistakes with a keen eye and a supportive attitude that made him want to try it just one more time. Which was very helpful, since he HAD ended up flat on his back on that mat more times than he cared to remember.
Though that was a small price to pay for learning how a living pony might react to my moves and actively try to counter them. I learned more from my mom kicking my flank than I thought possible, though I will never forget the day I finally managed to fully pin her. She was so proud…
“Is this you?” Twilight asked pulling Flash back to the present. She was pointing to a picture off to the left, near the entry to the family room. Taking a closer look, Flash smiled at the image. It was him wearing his first suit of armor, with his dad standing proudly on his right and his mom caught mid-bounce on his left, both wearing the most excited smiles their muscles would allow.
“Yeah. I had just graduated and joined the guard,” Flash said happily. “My mom was really supportive of me throughout the entirety of my basic training, and when I finally graduated into a full guard, she was through the roof. She spent at least an hour hugging me nonstop once the ceremony was over. It was wonderful of her to support me like that, and I know she would have been just as supportive no matter what I chose to do. She even helped teach me more once I was a guard, first aid stuff like wrapping injuries and fixing a dislocated shoulder. She can be very thoughtful and hardworking when it comes to being a guard, and I’m glad she was able to teach me so much.
“Though I was surprised she managed to get to sleep that night I graduated given how happy she was,” Flash joked.
“I HEARD THAT, YOU CHEEKY COLT!” his mom yelled from the family room.
“You know he’s right,” Flash’s dad chimed in. “Even at home that night you were just an adorable little bouncy bundle of energy. You were even dancing on the ceiling in excitement at one point. That I know of at least. I would not be surprised if it happened at least four more times when I was busy making dinner.”
That gives a whole new meaning to the song ‘Bouncing on the Ceiling.’ That does sound a bit fun though. I wonder if Celestia would mind if we did that at the next Grand Galloping Gala? Flash chuckled at that mental image as he led a giggling Twilight into the family room.
This room’s walls were painted to look like a wide-open grassy field on a clear day, and the large cloud couch was decorated to look like a large patch of flowers. The coffee table was currently covered in a plethora of appetizers, most freshly-picked flower dishes, and the nearby desk belonging to Flash’s dad looked as organized as ever – which was to say, not very much at all. Papers were stacked in high, precarious piles on the right side and numerous seed packets and garden plans were scattered on the left. Typical Dad.
Speaking of his dad, the large stallion was currently reclining in his favorite blue cloud chair, leaning back as Swift Strike continued to struggle in his grip. Aaron had released her from his wing again, but now he was holding her in place with his forelegs, gently nuzzling the top of her head and tracing her side with his wing. Her struggles were a lot less energetic than they were outside, and every now and again a small yawn would pass her lips.
“It’s nice to hear you were so supportive of him,” Twilight chimed in, still sounding a bit shy. “And if he had never joined, then I may never have met him.” She gave Flash a gentle nuzzle. Flash returned it, smiling, as his mom gave an adorable squeal.
“EEEEEE! Oh my gosh, you two are so CUTE together!” Swift Strike exclaimed. “Aaron! Let me go so I can hug them!”
“You can hug them later, dear. Let’s give Twilight a chance to get comfortable first before you try and crush her in an Overly-Excited-Swift-Strike-Hug™, ok?” Aaron asked, giving his wife another kiss on the head.
“Fine…” Swift Strike grumbled, puffing her cheeks out.
I will never understand how my dad can remained so unfazed by my mom’s pouting. If I ever have foals, I need to make sure Mom never gets a chance to give them pouting lessons. Or suplex lessons…unless they decide to join the guard, of course, Flash thought, before blinking and shaking his head. Why am I thinking about future foals at all?! I’ve only been dating Twilight for three and a half months! Maybe my brain’s just too stuck on thinking about the inevitable baby photos that my mom will be sharing.
Focus on the present, Flash, not the very embarrassing future.
He gave himself a hopefully-barely-noticeable shake and guided Twilight over towards the couch. Thankfully, his marefriend seemed unaware of his internal monologue and was simply giggling at Swift Strike’s expression.
THAT’D be an awkward conversation to have right now.
“So, before we begin with all the questions, do you want to clarify the ‘tradition,’ Dad, or should I?” Flash asked as he and Twilight sat down. He could see Twilight’s ears perk in interest and his mom’s attempt to glare up at her husband, something that was rather difficult given how her back was still pinned to Aaron’s chest.
“Sure, I’ll do it!” Aaron beamed, grinning widely as Swift Strike’s glare only intensified. “And while I talk, feel free to help yourself to some appetizers. I wasn’t sure exactly what you would prefer, so I made a wide selection.” He gestured at the coffee table proudly.
At the mention of food, Twilight’s stomach immediately rumbled, making her blush a bit as she leaned forward and added everything from carrots in a blanket to rose and tomato cups to her plate. Aaron grinned widely as she took her first bite and gave a hum of approval.
The fastest way to win Twilight over: food. That or a good book. Never change Twilight. Never change, Flash thought as he helped himself to a few appetizers himself.
“Now then,” Aaron began, “this tradition began a few generations ago, going back to Swifty’s great-great-great-great-grandfather Sunny Smiles. From what I hear, he was quite the prankster, and loved to play little jokes on ponies to help them smile. However, he was also quite a large stallion, and it was said he could look quite intimidating if you didn’t know him.
“So when his foals grew old enough and first introduced their special someponies to him, he thought it would be a fun little prank to pretend being a tough, judging father, just to see how they reacted. Then after a few seconds, he would give them a quick boop on the nose before wholeheartedly welcoming them into the family.
“Since then, it’s become a bit of a tradition for the stallions on either side of the family to do the same thing, whether their foals are fillies or colts. Sunny Smile’s kids and their husbands did it to their own foals’ special someponies, and so on and so forth. Even Swifty’s father did it with me, which was an interesting sight given how I was a good bit taller than him. I wasn’t sure what he was doing, so I just made a funny face to counter his serious one! He couldn’t maintain the illusion and burst out laughing!”
“It’s also a tradition that me and my mother both hate and have tried to get rid of!” Swift Strike said, grumbling angrily. “It’s an old joke that isn’t nearly as funny as they all think it is and it’s time to just let it go already!”
“But your grandmother loves it!” Aaron countered. “She loves telling stories about the different ways ponies have reacted, like how her first special somepony puffed his chest out and tried to glare back, only for him and her father to end up glaring so much they were basically squinting at one another! Or how your sister-in-law got revenge on your dad a few months later with a plastic spider, starting a tradition of pranks between the two of them. And Twilight said it wasn’t so bad!”
“It was just a harmless little prank, and I am a little curious about how other ponies have reacted,” Twilight admitted with a giggle. Aaron beamed like a school colt, and Swifty groaned.
“Well I still don’t like it,” Swifty huffed. “I don’t see why anypony find it so funny, no matter how many stories my grandmother tells.”
“I don’t know,” Flash said, taking on a fake contemplative look. True, he was personally a bit split between his parent’s opinions on the little tradition, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t rib his mom a little. After all, nothing helped the two of them relieve stress like a little bit of harmless teasing. “It seems pretty funny to me. In fact…”
“Don’t you DARE do that with your own foals, young stallion!” Swift Strike exclaimed, struggling again before Aaron caught her in a quick kiss.
“No promises,” Flash said with a grin, only to splutter as Twilight buffed him with her wing. “Ack! Ok, ok! I won’t do it. Maybe. But it’s still a bit early to be thinking about that anyway.”
“Agreed,” Twilight said quickly. “I mean, we just started dating a few months ago.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t think ahead,” Swifty said, her voice light and teasing.
“Mom,” Flash groaned, blushing a bit. In truth, he had just been thinking about foals as a concept. Not that the idea of having foals with Twilight was a bad one, just that it was still too early and—
Am I actually trying to explain myself to myself? Focus on the present, Flash!
“Well if you two ever DO get that far, don’t let him do what Aaron did to you,” Swift Strike said, finally managing to twist herself sideways so she could look up at her husband in disapproval. Aaron just smiled and nuzzled her again, earning some angry muttering mixed with another pouty face.
“Moving on,” Aaron said with a chuckle, “We’d like to know a little more about you two. Twilight’s mother filled us in on your first date at the gala—”
“And how Flashie gave Bull Horn what for!” Swift Strike exclaimed, her face morphing into a wide grin.
“But she didn’t give us too much info on how you met or have been getting along so far,” Aaron finished calmly, his eyes rolling playfully at Swift Strike’s outburst. “So I wanted to ask a few questions, if that’s ok with both of you.”
“Fine with me,” Flash said, nodding. “Twilight?”
“I’m ok with that,” Twilight said, nodding as well.
“Great! So, tell us, how did you two go from being guard and princess to friends?” Aaron asked.
“Well, aside from Twilight trying to be friends with all the guards, being the Princess of Friendship and all,” Flash said with a wink, making Twilight giggle, “It mostly started because I was the one to spend the most time with her, even when she wasn’t doing princessy things. A side effect of her not wanting too many guards and me needing to act as her personal guard until we could get more.”
“Because he was always following me around, I wanted to at least get to know him a bit better,” Twilight continued. “And for him to stop being so serious all the time. So, I asked him to be more relaxed when we weren’t in public and started trying to get to know him more. He was a bit hesitant at first…”
“I was just trying to remain professional,” Flash said, “But she was insistent, and so I eventually started to open up. As luck would have it, both of us have an interest in old legends and history, which soon became the first thing we started to bond over. And over time, our friendship grew from there.”
“See, I told you Flash’s love of history would help him find a marefriend,” Aaron laughed, earning an eyeroll and a smile from Swift Strike.
“You only told me that once, you goofball. And I seem to recall you were half joking at the time. Anyway, my turn!” Swift Strike said, squirming in her husband’s grip. “Has my little Flashie help kick the flank of any other nobles? Like Upper Crust?” she asked, far too excitedly in Flash’s opinion. He just barely resisted the urge to facehoof, while his dad was not so restrained and adjusted his grip on Swift Strike so that he could actually facehoof and facewing at the same time.
“Um, no?” Twilight answered uncertainly. “Mostly if a noble is giving me trouble or is trying to go somewhere they’re not supposed to, Flash or another guard just escort them out.”
“That, or Twilight teleports them out, and only rarely does that involve the noble ending up in Ponyville’s fountain,” Flash added.
Twilight blushed and gave him a mild glare, but Flash just shrugged. “What? It’s true! You did that to Bull Horn after his little…let’s say ‘slip up’ in the throne room. And it was awesome!”
“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Swift Strike cheered. “Nothing says ‘Stop being a snobby idiot’ than a dunk in a fountain!” Then her smile got that Captain-Mama deviousness that Flash knew meant trouble, but the kinda trouble he was on board with. “If you two ever have any serious problems with a noble, just let me know! I’ll have a suplex shipped to them in no time at all.”
Typical Mom. I may just take you up on that if there are any more shenanigans from Bull Horn. Or any other nobles, for that matter.
“Honey, no suplexing the nobles,” Aaron playfully chided. “Being annoying is not a crime.”
Party pooper.
“I know, I know, but a mare can dream, can’t she?” Swifty said, sighing happily.
“Uh…HAVE you suplexed a noble before?” Twilight asked, sounding confused.
“During training with guards who also hold noble titles? All the time! Nobles that aren’t in the guard? Only once, truthfully, but he was resisting arrest and had already injured two other guards as he tried to escape,” Swift Strike said. “So, it was more neutralizing a dangerous threat rather than punishing him for being a pain in the flank.”
That response seemed to mollify Twilight, but Flash couldn’t help but deadpan.
Don’t forget how you suplex basically everyone you help train, Mom. Including ME! But if Bull Horn tries to attack us again, I’ll be sure to have Spike send you a message. Harmony knows how different the Gala would have been if you had been there that night.
“My turn!” Aaron said happily. “Twilight, I’ve read quite a bit about Sweet Apple Acres in one of my gardening magazines, and Flash mentioned in one of his letters that you are good friends with one of its owners, Applejack. Do you two spent time helping her on the farm at all? If so, do you help her with any gardening task?”
“I do help Applejack out on the farm sometimes,” Twilight said, smiling as Aaron bounced a little in excitement. “And Flash will occasionally help too, if he’s off duty of course. Though I mostly stick with helping with harvesting the apples or helping with chores around the farm. I…haven’t actually tried gardening too much, to be honest,” Twilight said shyly. “But I do want to try it at some point, especially once my earth pony magic starts to grow stronger.”
“Well, if you ever need any tips or a place to start, just let me know,” Aaron said with a nod. “I do love teaching others about flowers, and I’m sure I could make you the Princess of Flowers in no time flat!”
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Twilight giggled.
Don’t worry, Twilight, I’m sure he’ll remind you every time you see him, Flash thought, grinning a little at the barely contained excitement on his father’s face at the prospect of becoming Professor Cosmos. If there is one thing my dad loves, it’s his flowers. And you would look really pretty with a little flower crown on your head…
Focus…
“Has Flashie given you any self-defense lessons yet?” Swift Strike asked. This time Flash did facehoof.
Really, Mom? I know YOU love teaching others self-defense, but when have you ever actually offered to teach a Princess how to defend herself? Seriously, did you ever just walk up to Princess Luna and offer to teach her combat skills to help her catch up after one thousand years on the moon?
…
On second thought, don’t answer that. That is definitely something I can see you doing and I don’t want to know.
“Uh, no,” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve had a few classes in the past on magic defense, and I’ve learned a few more defensive spells after all the adventures I had been on, but I’ve never had any formal training. And aside from fighting Tirek, I’m not sure if I would need it.”
“It never hurts to be prepared,” Swifty sang, only to be buried in Aaron’s wing again as it fell atop her. “Ack!”
“I think that’s enough on our part for now,” Aaron said wryly, pausing to give Swift Strike a quick kiss as he moved his wing out of her way again. Swift Strike spluttered a bit, shaking a loose feather off her nose, but she was smiling and nuzzled more comfortably into Aaron’s hold. “Was there anything you wanted to ask us, Twilight? It’s only fair you get a chance to ask about us as well.”
“I…have a few,” Twilight admitted. “The biggest of which is actually…How do I word it?” Her voice trailed off and she tapped her chin in thought.
“You want to know how a small, beautiful, hyperactive ball of fluff who became a super-strong guard met a large, calm, flower-loving pegasus and how two ponies who sometimes go together like fire and water ended up married?” Aaron asked.
To say Twilight looked like she had just been told two plus two equaled fish would be a serious understatement. Though Flash did admit that the way her muzzle scrunched up in surprise was very, very adorable.
Focus, Flash.
“Not in those words exactly, but…yes,” she said, nodding. “But how…”
“He’s just that good,” Swift Strike said with a proud smile. “My husband works in a popular flower shop, and, as an expert in customer service, has learned what ponies look like when they're just dying to ask a question. He could see it in your eyes.”
“That or he just made a wild guess and Mom is trying to make him sound all wise and experienced,” Flash joked.
Aaron let out a rumbling laugh. “It was more of the latter this time, though I appreciate the faith in my abilities, honey.” He gave his wife another quick kiss, this one earning a happy murmur from the small pegasus. Flash just smiled at the familiar scene before nudging Twilight.
“Good thing we have so much food on the table. This story may take a little while,” he said quietly, reaching forward for a few more appetizers, Realizing that her own plate was now empty, Twilight moved to do the same. She seemed to be particularly fond of the mixed flower and pasta salad, something that Flash agreed wholeheartedly with, given how it was one of his favorite dishes.
One of these days, I’ll get that recipe from Dad.
“Now where to begin?” Aaron said, taking on a contemplative look around before grinning playfully. “It all began, with a huuuuuuge explosion! One that would form the very universe we now—Ow!”
Swift Strike gave him a playful chomp on the leg.
Oh boy, here we go again. Sorry, Twilight, I think we might need to wait a few minutes.
“Not that far back, you goof!” Swifty said, releasing her teeth from Aaron’s leg. “OUR story, not the story of the universe our physics professor gave us back in high school!”
“How would you even remember that story? You always fell asleep in his class after the first ten minut—OW!” Aaron exclaimed as Swift Strike bit him again. “Oh, you little…”
Almost faster than Flash could see, his father’s wings sprung up and wrapped around the still-trapped Swift Strike. The small mare squealed as the feathers began to aggressively trace her body, laughing and squirming to try and escape the tickle torture.
But despite being outsized, Swift Strike wasn’t outmatched. The moment Aaron let up a bit so she could catch her breath, Swifty finally stopped playing possum and spun in his grip, her wings attacking her husband’s stomach directly. Aaron howled with laughter as his wife finally put forth the effort to escape and begin her tickle assault in earnest. What had been a fairly calm scene quickly devolved into a squirming ball of feathers and limbs as both ponies tried to gain the upper hoof on one another. Flash knew it would only end when both of them were collapsed on top of one another, out of breath but fully relaxed.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, I suppose.
“Welp, so much for story time,” Flash snarked as he took a bite of some of his dad’s flowers. Yum. Delicious as always, Dad. “Once they get started like this the only thing to do is wait for them to wear each other out. Unless, of course, you want to be dragged into the middle of their tickle fight.”
“I think I’ll pass on trying to get in the middle of that,” Twilight said, giggling a bit. “Though it’s actually kind of nice to see them like this. It’s hard to explain, but it really makes it easier to see that they love each other, even if they are very excitable.”
“I know the feeling,” Flash said, watching as his dad tried to pin his mom to the chair, only for her to go for where his leg connected to his body, earning a surprisingly high-pitched whinny from his father as he was forced to abandon his attempt. Though he quickly counter-attacked with a raspberry directly to his wife’s stomach. “Seeing them like this always made me remember just how much they cared for each other.”
“My parents had something similar. My dad would put on these old records and sweep my mom out into the middle of our family room for a dance. She would always protest despite trying to hold back laughter, but he wouldn’t let her escape until he got at least three songs in. Whenever I watched them do that, I felt the same way I do watching your parents.”
“Love takes many forms,” Flash agreed. “Or at least that’s what Cadance once told me.”
“She told me the same thing when I was a foal. When did she tell you?”
“Back in the Crystal Empire. Cadence came to me one day because she thought that I was looking rather down. It was close to Hearts and Hooves Day, and I admitted to her that seeing so many ponies with significant others was making me feel a little bit self-conscious about my own love life. She asked if I wanted some help or advice, but I told her no because I didn’t think it was the right time to start looking for a special somepony. In truth, I was a little bit embarrassed about being alone when almost everypony around me was with somepony that day. I think she picked up on that, because she just smiled and said, “love takes many forms, and sometimes it comes about when you least expect it.” I told her that sounded a bit cliché, but she said that didn’t make it any less true.
“And looking back, she wasn’t wrong. Love did kind of come out of nowhere for me, and it’s still growing,” he added, giving Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek. Twilight giggled, her face turning pink as she nuzzled him happily.
“AH HA!” Aaron exclaimed, pulling their focus back to the living room. Aaron had somehow managed to sit on Swift Strike and was currently gasping for breath like he had just wrestled a bear. A teddy bear, maybe, but still a bear. “Got you!” he cheered, looking down at the white tail furiously flicking back and forth from beneath him like a white flag.
You ruined the moment, Dad. Completely.
“Mmph mmmmp MMMM!” was the only response, as any complaints Swift Strike made were completely muffled by the cloud-chair. The surface vibrated as she tried to free herself from beneath her husband.
“Does your dad always win these tickle fights?”
“Actually, he only wins about fifty percent of them, and it’s usually only if he strikes first. If Mom strikes first, he has almost no chance.”
“Ok, ok, you win! Just get off already!” Swift Strike exclaimed, panting heavily but smiling like a madmare as her head made its appearance. Aaron smiled back, before leaning to the side enough that his wife could escape from her prison. She then wasted no time hopping up so she could cuddle against Aaron’s chest, closing her eyes contently as she got her breath back.
“Feeling better?” Aaron asked gently, booping her nose with his own.
“Very,” she muttered, sounding rather tired. “Go on and tell the story. The ACTUAL story this time if you please.”
“Sure, Swifty. You just take a bit of time to rest,” Aaron said, gently wrapping his wings around his wife. Swift Strike just murmured happily. It brought back so many memories of Flash seeing them do this that he couldn’t help but smile and pull Twilight closer with his own wing. Twilight happily returned the gesture, happily nuzzling him and Aaron got comfortable. “Now then, the actual story this time.”
DA NA NA NAAAAAAAAA! 
SOOOOOO SORRY IT TOOK SO LOOOOONG!
Fun fact, this chapter was originally 3 times the length, but in the end I decided to split it up into three chapters for easier reading. Now that I've graduated from my master's program, hopefully I'll be able to write more and get you chapters on a more predictable basis.
Please enjoy the shenanigans of Flash's parents, let me know what you think, and be on the lookout for more hopefully coming soon. 
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Not the story I expected to see updated today
11246637
Surprise!
This chapter had me at the very least smiling the whole time, and laughing a few times.
The wait was worth it.
The shenanigans of Flash's parents were gold, Swift Strike is quite the ball of energy and Aaron being a gentle giant was good. Certainly looking forward to more of them.
Now I want to see that, are we going to be meeting the extended families?
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Glad you like it. Extended families my come in a later story, though I may also do a story about swifty and Aaron’s younger years at some point as I love exploring their relationship so far.
IT LIIIIIIIVES!
Wow, your version of Flashie's parents are cute. So good to see you getting back in the swing of things!
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It’s good to be back. I actually have the first draft of the next two chapters written, I just need to update them to match the changes in this chapter and then edit as normal. And if you think their cute now, just wait until next chapter when I get to their backstory
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Flash must have had quite the Folahood growing up. Really looking forward to when the families met. 
That would be a good read I would think.
My only real complaint is the long wait between chapters BUT I fully understand why that happens; real life, writing, editing, and so forth so the complaint is a minor one at best (or worse?). So no need to worry, I'd much rather have good quality over a rush job and so far, for me at least, this story has been the former.
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Thanks for understanding. The wait should hopefully not be as long for the next chapters, though there will be other stories I want to publish along the way that are already being edited.
Aww, that was adorable.
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Glad you like it
So, it has been a while since I've read the rest of this series. I don't remember the details of what I read and what I experienced, but I do remember that despite liking the scenarios and overall story, something about the characters seemed wrong. Now that I've read this chapter, the problem is much clearer: Everyone is unbelievably childish, even for this universe.
I'm not even halfway through this chapter and I'm already annoyed with Flash's parents. They're acting so ridiculously juvenile that I can't believe they're proper adults. It's not just that they're over the top, bit they're acting in a way that doesn't make any sense for this situation. One would expect most parents to try to provide a good first impression to their son's fillyfriend, not have play fights. Even someone like Pinkie would still be happy and excited for her son's development rather than getting into silly fights with her husband.
The immaturity seems forced in order to get a laugh, but it really doesn't work. It's awkward because it doesn't make any sense in this context.
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Afraid I kind of felt the same way. Are there parents out there who behave so immaturely when there are guests? Flash's parents remind me of a couple of middle schoolers playing house. A good two-thirds of this could be cut, and the story would not have suffered.
Sorry got no comments for the previous chapters nor stories cuz I'm on reading spree on your saga! It's so amazing! I see that this is suppose to be 3 chapters for the Sentry's family, so I'll wait around till I finish this to move to the next story. AAAAAAA IT'S SOOO GOOOD!!!
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Glad you like it