> How to Meet the Parents
>  by Piemaster128
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1: Morning, Sunshine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“OWOWOWOWOWEAREAREAREAREAREAREAR!” Flash cried in shock as he was suddenly and PAINFULLY awoken from his slumber due to a severe case of being pulled up off the bed by his ear! 
He knew he took the trash out last night! He checked!  
“EEP!” a startled voice cried, and Flash’s ear was immediately released, allowing him to plop back down on the bed and clutch his now likely-slightly-longer lobe. 
Owowowowowowooowwwwwwwwwwwww! Whyyyyyy…Wasn’t getting slammed into the wall yesterday – MULTIPLE TIMES – enough punishment? Wait…or was that two days ago? What day is it today? And why was I dreaming about taking the trash out?
Blinking the tears of pain from his eyes, Flash rolled over onto his back and took a quick twenty-second look around. He was NOT in HIS bed, but was instead lying in a much larger, fancier, and comfier bed. The walls weren’t made of crystal, and a nearby desk was absolutely COVERED in books, which meant he was in Canterlot Castle. Specifically, in the room Twilight used whenever they stayed here for princessly or not-quite-as-princessly reasons.
And speaking of said lovely angel to whom this room belonged, Twilight was currently sitting on the bed next to him, her eyes incredibly wide and her face bright cherry red as she stammered helplessly, trying to form words and only managing to squeak adorably. 
She was ALSO still wearing her dress from the night before while he was still wearing his suit, minus the black jacket that went over his once-nice-but-now-really-wrinkled-shirt.
Ok. Ok…I feel calmer now. Not in the middle of a battle. Not being scolded by Mom for not taking the trash out. Just Twilight trying to eat my ear in her sleep then getting startled awake and sitting up without letting go of it…I think.
No problem. Noooo problem.
He remembered what happened now. Twilight had fallen asleep as he was trying to be romantic, and had then absolutely REFUSED to let go of her living, squirming teddy bear, so he had been forced to sleep in her room as he was too worn out to carry her back to his room instead. 
Probably best if he told her that before she got the wrong idea. 
With a slight groan, he sat up and gave his wings a quick stretch, getting the blood flowing after a good nights sleep and preparing to hug Twilight. Something he was sure she needed seeing as she immediately tried to back up when he moved. 
Looking closer, he saw that Twilight’s eyes were still a little glazed over, implying that she was still trying to wake up, and her wings were still stuck outwards in the ‘I’m surprised but still ok’ position. They weren’t not yet in the ‘I’M TERRIFIED AND AFRAID!’ position, a subtle difference in the feather alignment and wing angle Flash had learned over the years.
Given how this was the first time the two of them had ever shared a bed and that she likely had no idea how they ended up in her room in the first place, Flash was willing to bet that, based on all these cues, she was just REALLY confused about what happened and why he didn’t leave last night.
Best clear this up them.
Flash skillfully used his extended wings to warp around her in a hug while simultaneously lifting his hoof to gently silence her adorable squeaking. Her gloriously beautiful amethyst eyes met his…
No, focus. You can be distracted by her beauty later. 
“You fell asleep in the garden,” Flash said gently, feeling his own cheeks glow ever so slightly. “Right before I started getting romantic. So I brought you back here, and then I went to sleep too. Nothing else happened.”
Ok, her breathing was a bit slower now and her face wasn’t quite as red, so good progress so far. 
“B-But why are we BOTH here!?” Twilight stammered as Flash removed his hoof. “W-Why didn’t you g-go back to your room?” She looked away shyly. 
Flash smirked. “Well, I was going to, but SOMEPONY didn’t want me to leave,” he teased. “I only made it halfway to the door, twice, before being magically yanked back to the bed by my tail. The second time said yanker decided to use my flank as her pillow.” That earned a spluttering reply from Twilight and Flash had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. “Though I thought that might just be TOO awkward, so I turned myself around and let her be the big spoon this time.”
Oh, poor Twilight. Even after five years of being together and two days of being engaged, she just couldn’t quite handle his teasing this early in the morning and looked like she wanted to sink through the bed and floor as she buried herself her large fluffy wings. That, or she was even sleepier than he thought and just didn’t have the mental capacity to react to his flirting or to try and outsmart him via counter-flirting. 
Well, he’d best wake her up then. 
Bending down and nuzzling through the protective shield her wings provided, Flash found her face and attacked her lips with his own before she could try for a strategic retreat. The epic battle was over in one hit. 
“Mmmmmmmm…” Twilight hummed, her resistance and flustered demeanor melting away as her body relaxed and she allowed Flash to pull her to his chest. He held the kiss for a few more seconds before releasing, earning a relaxed smile from his fiancée. 
Fiancée. 
I reeeeeaaaaaallllllly like calling her that. It’s just so…right. 
Focus…
And then her stomach rumbled loudly, causing her to blush to return with a VENGEANCE. 
Flash knew what that meant.
“Food time?” he asked, raising a playful eyebrow. 
“Yes, definitely food time,” Twilight agreed. “Or at least it will be once I get out of this dress.” 
Ah, good point. He had been wearing his suit for at least twelve hours now if the clock on the wall was right. It would be nice to hold her without it in the way. 
But first, maybe a liiiiiittle more teasing…
“But I just proposed two days ago! We aren’t even married yet and you’re already undressing in front of me?” Flash gasped in mock horror that would do Rarity proud. An annoyed alicorn wing lightly swatted the back of the head. 
“Quiet, you,” Twilight said with a mock glare. “We both know neither of us even wear clothes ninety-five percent of the time. So no Sassy Flash, otherwise we’ll just have to see what Rarity thinks of your little comment.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me. You love me too much!” Flash said, raising an eyebrow confidently with that trademark grin of his. 
“Try me,” Twilight said, winking as she gave his nose a little flick with her tail. She slipped off the bed and walked towards the bathroom. Well, actually, walking was a generous term as she was basically sauntering towards the bathroom with her hips and tail swaying from side to side in a way that was practically hypnotizing. Especially with that dress…
Wow…Was the only semi-coherent thought that entered his mind until the bathroom door closed behind her. Blinking, Flash shook his head to clear it.
Did she do that on purpose? Was she teasing me? Honestly, given how she has only ever done that for me three other times, I can’t tell. Maybe it’s the dress. She DOES have a habit of walking differently when wearing dresses, especially when I’m the only one watching. Like during that one mini fashion show Rarity convinced her and the girls to do in the boutique before the Gala last year. The way the dress perfectly hugged her body and—
Focus…You still need to get out of your suit.
…Still, I suppose I should be grateful she never tries that in public. If she ever did, I would be in serious trouble. And not just from all the lampposts I would walk into while distracted.
Then again, it’s not like I would complain if she did that more often. Maybe she will now that we’re engaged.
Engaged. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Ok, seriously, focus Flash. Twilight will still be just as eye-catching later. Focus on getting ready for the day. And maybe tone down the teasing juuuuuuust a tad in the off chance that she is actually threatening to sic Rarity on you again. Given the two kidnappings she’s already perpetrated, it’s best not to wind that unicorn up any more than the future wedding already is. Both of you really need a nice, calm day off anyway.
Hopping off the bed, Flash made his way to the closet. Since Twilight didn’t live here full-time anymore, there were only a few hangers inside, so he had plenty of room to hang up his clothes. By the time he was done, Twilight had emerged from the bathroom, her dress hanging in her magic. Her mane had been combed to her usual style rather that ‘frizzy bed head’ and her coat had received a quick brushing.
Grabbing a hanger with his wing, Flash tossed it in a lazy arc to his lovely princess, who caught it, hung her dress on it, then deftly tossed it back, the dress landing perfectly in the closet. 
“You still need to teach me how to do that,” Flash said, stealing a quick kiss before lifting his wing in invitation. Twilight returned the kiss, before accepting his proposal and scooting under his wing happily.
“I’m sure I have some geometry and physics books that can help you.”
“No math, please.”
“Yes math. Math is fun!”
“Not for me.”
“Then I guess you’ll never learn how I do that then.”
“Mmmmmmmmmmmm.”
“No pouting. You can learn to do it when you at least learn geometry.”
“Math and epic three-point throws, or no math. Hmmmmm…No math it is,” Flash said cheerily, earning an eye roll from Twilight as they finally started to walk towards the door at a slow leisurely pace. “Now, math-related flirting aside, I just wanted to make sure you were ok with, well…”
“I don’t mind that we shared a bed,” Twilight said earnestly, her cheeks lighting up a bit at the mention of it. “We ARE engaged now, and it’s not like I haven’t fallen asleep on you a few times in the castle’s library. The bed is a little more intimate, but I…was actually going to ask you if we could start sharing a bed soon,” she added, looking down shyly. “Let’s just call last night an…involuntary trial run.”
“A comfy involuntary trial run?” 
“Yes, a comfy involuntary trial run. You were very comfy, and after all the chaos these last two days, it was nice to have such a relaxing rest.” As she opened the door, her voice turned guilty. “Sorry about your ear.” 
“It’s all right,” Flash said, stopping just outside their room and nuzzling the top her head lovingly. “A bit surprising, but it’s ok now. And certainly not enough for me to turn down your proposal for more nightly cuddles from now on,” he added, stealing another quick kiss. “Though it’s nice to know your sleeping brain apparently thinks my ear is tasty. What were you dreaming about anyway?”	
“Pancakes. Just…mountains and mountains of pancakes,” Twilight said dreamily, smiling off at nothing. 
“Food, huh? I’m surprised it wasn’t just mountains and mountains of books. If it weren’t for all the kisses, I might actually think you might like food and/or books more than you like me,” Flash joked. 
“Never,” Twilight said, gifting him with another kiss as she closed the door to their room with a small click. “Now what was this about you being romantic after I fell asleep?” she asked as they started down the hallway. 
Oh, here we go. 
“Well…”




A few minutes later, at the dining hall…




“BAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAH!” Twilight laughed hysterically, trying to control herself but failing horribly. “HEHEHEHE, I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry, but REALLY!? It took you until you finished you big speech to realize I had passed out almost ten minutes beforehoof!? And your only response was to moan up at Luna’s moon!?”
“Yes, yes, it’s hilarious,” Flash sighed, rolling his eyes and giving Twilight a quick little tickle with his wing. He couldn't deny that it was a rather funny moment in hindsight, but that didn’t mean that it also wasn't SUPER embarrassing too. Only he could have been so caught up in the moment that his fiancée passing out would have gone completely unnoticed. 
Curse him for being such a shameless romantic. 
“It really is,” she teased, giggling. “But I do appreciate the effort you went through to actually carry me all that way just so you could try and give me a romantic speech in the garden. I hope you remembered what you said too, because I would still love to hear it.” 
Flash knew she was being genuine by the way she smiled and finally got her giggling to ease up. And also because it was Twilight. She was always super genuine, caring, friendly, loving, beautiful—
Focus…
And it’s a good thing she’s stopped giggling, as we’re now at the dining room and it’s pretty hard to eat when you’re uncontrollably laughing.
Well, unless you’re Pinkie Pie, who seems to be able to eat no matter what she is doing. Heck, she could probably eat while scuba diving. 
Somehow.
“I’ll tell you later tonight then, provided you don’t fall asleep again,” Flash joked, earning a playful shove as the doors to the dining hall opened before them. 
To his surprise and Twilight’s excessive amount of drool, the table was already stacked high with many, many plates of pancakes. There was also a large variety of syrups and toppings, including whipped cream, chocolate chips, a variety of berries, butter, and so much more.
Besides pancakes, there were a quite a few plates of waffles, two fruit bowls, a platter piled high with donuts, and a few jugs of water, milk, iced tea, and a massive pot of coffee. Sweet, sweet coffee, the gift from heaven itself and the only thing that could truly wake him up in the morning. 
Save for Twilight, of course. 
Still, he was surprised by just how MUCH there was. Sure, he had expected breakfast to be ready by now, but not THIS much breakfast. There was enough here for at least ten ponies. Or seven ponies and a starving Twilight. Maybe Celestia and Luna were just really hungry?
Speaking of whom, Celestia was sitting at the far end of the table eating a stack of at least seven pancakes enthusiastically. Luna was sitting next to Celestia, looking far more awake then she usually did this early in the morning, though Flash did wonder why she was eating a raw pineapple rather than pancakes or maybe donuts. 
Especially considering that she hadn’t even bothered to remove the rind. 
Eh, he’d seen Twilight swallow whole apples when she got hungry enough, and he distinctly remembered Cadence once getting a banana stuck up her nose while burying her head in a fruit bowl, so maybe weird eating habits were just an alicorn thing. 
Though Cadence WAS pregnant at the time. 
At least all the pancakes were currently on the table and not stuck on Twilight’s horn. THAT had been one funny breakfast. 
“The happy couple arrives!” Luna proclaimed loudly, tossing the remains of her pineapple over her head to land perfectly into a trash can near the kitchen doors. Did ALL alicorns have the ability to throw things and always have them land in the right spot? That would be so unfair. “Pray tell, how went the rest of your date?”
“Great,” Flash said, smiling as they sat down. “At least until Twilight fell asleep on my back while I was trying to be romantic.” Twilight bumped him with her shoulder, glaring as Luna laughed uproariously. Celestia was far more restrained, simply smiling and giggling softly as she pulled another dozen pancakes in front of her.
Not to be outdone, Twilight pulled over a good three plates’ worth and dug in happily. As she inhaled her food like it was a fluffy gift from above, her magic added butter and syrup so deftly she didn’t even have to pause in her food rampage. Flash grinned at the display and decided to settle for a nice plate of waffles and a tall mug of coffee.
Best not to get between a hungry mare and her pancakes.
“Rage Shifting does tend to take a lot of magic,” Celestia said calmly, nodding at Twilight. “I can understand why she would be so tired, and I hope you both were able to rest comfortably.” She said, her smile widening ever so slightly. 
But Flash could tell it was no longer a normal happy smile. After five years of being direct friends with the two of them, Flash had learned quite a lot about Celestia and Luna, and there was one look he knew better than all the others. 
Despite all her practice in keeping her face calm and gentle, Flash could tell when Celestia got the look of a prankster. That special look she got when she was about to mess with somecreature, no matter how big or small. He recognized it instantly, which he should, seeing as it always showed up at least once whenever he and Twilight came to visit her. 
He braced himself with a nice long sip of coffee, ready to counter whatever fastball of wit she threw at them. 
Or at least TRY. He was bound to succeed one of these days in deflecting her teasing right back at her. Then SHE would be the one stammering helplessly and blushing for a change!
Please let today be the day that I can come up with a good comeback. Please.
“Though I DID hear a rumor circulating among the guards about how Flash entered your room, Twilight, but never came out. I certainly hoped he was behaving himself,” Celestia said with a predatory wink.
The universe did not heed his call.
Flash had been ready for a fastball. However, just like always, he had greatly underestimated her pitch as said fastball decided to do a complex series of loops and twist mid-air before smacking him right in the back of the head. 
I, she, that, room, who, rumor, universe-hates-me, bed, derp, were the only thoughts that had survived the twisted wreck that used to be Flash's train of thought. Twilight faired no better than his helpless stammering as she immediately choked on her pancakes, coughing before grabbing the jug of milk and downing half of it in one go. 
That was enough for him to try and get his brain back into order, if only to try and help Twilight.
But then Luna just had to go and make things WORSE. 
“I quite agree, sister. I shudder to think of the scandal should it prove true that Twilight’s noble knight would take advantage of her in such a way.” 
Her grin easily gave away the fact that she was joking, but it didn’t make this conversation any less awkward.
Oh harmony, WHY? Flash exclaimed mentally as he felt his brain somehow break a second time! If it was joke about ANYTHING ELSE last night I could easily turn it back on them! But that just—how am I supposed to counter that?! And why can’t I think of ANY kind of response! Anything would be better than stammering and blushing like a high-school colt! Stupid immortal jokesters. They ALWAYS have new ways of messing with us. Ugggghhhhh, I wonder if Shining and Cadence got the same treatment, or if they still do. 
Flash groaned internally as he face-tabled, and then groaned for real once the pain from face-tabling registered.
Even when they told the sisters the truth, Flash knew he and Twilight would never live this down. 
Stupid impeccable memory of millennium old alicorns. 
At least the pain was enough to help reform a small portion of his brain.
“N-NOTHING HAPPENED!” Twilight cried, finally finding her voice, even though upon looking to his side Flash could see her face was the color of one of Applejack’s reddest apples. 
“Are you suuuuuuuure?” Celestia said teasingly, leaning forward with that sly grin of hers. 
“YES!” Twilight practically screamed as her voice nearly cracked. 
Celestia, you’re not helping. Come on brain, get it together and help Twilight before she really starts panicking. There is no way Celestia would let a rumor like that fly rampant, especially if there was a chance a mean noble might hear it.
“Twilight, they’re just messing with us. Again,” Flash said, reaching out with his wing to gently rub her back. He shook his head as he tried to get his own blush to die down. “There is no way they would let that kind of rumor spread very far, and they would have far harsher words for me if they believed it. And just so we’re clear, you jokesters,” he added, pointing at the alicorn sisters as decisively as he could, “Twilight was sleep-casting. She didn’t want me to leave last night as I was a comfy pillow, apparently.”
Unfortunately, all that accomplished was making the princesses laugh all the louder. 
As if they weren’t already having way too much fun with this.
Shaking his head, Flash grabbed a waffle and shoved his face into it.  
Mmmmmmmm…food makes everything better. Needs more butter, though. 
“Oh, is that all?” Luna asked, still smirking. “Well, that is a relief. I can’t imagine what you would tell your families at lunch today had he misbehaved himself.”
Now it was Flash’s turn to choke on his breakfast. 
LUNATIC SAY WHAT NOW!?!?!?!?
“LUNCH!?” Twilight cried, her wings springing out in surprise as Flash tried to swallow—
Nope, nope, nope, food is stuck, FOOD IS STUCK!
Thank Harmony that Celestia had good eyes, as a burst of golden magic quickly grabbed his barrel and SQUEEZED, forcing the air and the food out of his windpipe and across the table.
Waffles, how could you betray me?!
“Why of course,” Luna said, nodding as Twilight instinctively rubbed Flash’s back with her wing, the soft purple feathers gently tracing over him and helping his gasps for air become more relaxed. “We know how eager you must be to tell them, so we invited both your families to join us for lunch. In fact, even Cadence and Shining Armor have agreed to come for a few days, though Celestia and I only told them to make the trip so that we could deliver some important news.”
Which means it’s up to us to tell them, more than likely. And only two days after I proposed! Two days in which we have bounced from one big crazy stressful event to the next with barely a break! SO MUCH FOR A NICE DAY OFF!!! Uggghhhhhhhhhhhh…
“B-B-But we just got engaged!” Twilight cried, her mane beginning to spring out in random directions as it always did under stress. “And every day since then has been chaotic and stressful and we haven’t had time to THINK about telling them or HOW to tell them and we don’t even have a date for the wedding o-or PLANS or INVITATIONS orororormmfp—” 
Twilight’s rant that was quickly veering off course from the original point was suddenly interrupted as a pancake was grabbed in gold magic and immediately shot into her mouth at Rainbow-inspired speeds. She blinked in surprised, but moaned happily and made little om-nom noises as she inhaled the pancake.
And that actually seemed to halt her current freakout. Normally Flash would just kiss her to calm her down, but apparently food worked just as well.
Good thing too, because Celestia kissing Twilight was a REALLY weird image in his brain…
Ok, apparently the mug of coffee wasn’t enough to wake my brain up and I now officially need half that pot over there to wake me up fully and drive out whatever crazy is still stuck in my head from that brief moment of choking. 
Good thing it was within wing’s reach.
“Twilight, relax,” Celestia said calmly, standing up and walking towards the two of them. “They will need to be told either way, and Cadence and Shining Armor were already planning a trip to Canterlot next week anyway. I know it’s sooner than expected, but I know you would want to tell them in person, and this is the best time to do so.” As she reached them, her wings gently extended and pulled Twilight in for a quick hug. “I thought you would be excited to tell everyone what had happened.”
“We are,” Flash cut it, downing his second cup of coffee. “But we also haven’t had time to relax for nearly two days. Between the proposal shenanigans, the excitement of all our friends, Rarity kidnapping Twilight for most of the day, Rarity trying to kidnap Twilight again the next day, and our crazy date last night that was supposed to be relaxing but had a surprise visit from Bullhorn, neither of us have even had a chance to think about our parents and families yet. We’ve just been bouncing from one crazy event to the next, each one coming just as we thought things were calming down.
“It’s just…” Flash sighed. “Why today? Couldn’t we have had a day or two to recover and let the fact that we are engaged actually sink in? Or at least a day to enjoy being engaged without someone going crazy over it? Because I KNOW my mom is going to go crazy. In a good way, but still.”
“I didn’t realize you had been experiencing so much chaos,” Celestia said, smiling apologetically. “We could delay it if you so choose?”
“No no, ” Flash said with a tired head shake. “Crazy or not, it’s best we tell them sooner rather than later. Besides, I do appreciate that you managed to arrange it so that everypony in both our families could meet up in the same place, especially given how far apart we are all living from one another. Though I’m sure Twilight would have preferred it if we’d instead come up with a plan before hoof. A big plan, probably with checklists, letters, party supplies, more checklists…” 
Twilight made eye contact with him over Celestia’s wings and gave him a deadpan glare, but Flash just winked. At least his teasing looked like it was taking her mind off her panic.
“Very well,” Celestia said softly. “Still, despite the suddenness of this meeting – and the lack of checklists,” she teased lightly, earning a blush from Twilight, “—I can promise you that everything will be fine. And I do think that meeting them today will help save you the trouble and hours of planning later down the road.”
“I agree,” Flash said, downing his third large mug of coffee in one gulp. AHHHH! My brain is awake now! “Compared to Tirek and having Twilight’s friends and Spike kidnapped by Changelings, this is nothing.”
That had been quite the horrifying day indeed. 
A nice day on the town interrupted by a rude Rainbow Dash who seemed intent on separating Twilight from her guard/coltfriend. It was only because Flash and Twilight knew Rainbow so well that they had been able to tell it wasn’t her and trigger the alarm for the rest of the guards, though the fact that she didn’t know her own mother’s name was a dead giveaway. 
Actually, that had been the first time he had seen Twilight Rage Shift once they had found out that Spike had been replaced as well. Flash had almost felt bad for that changeling that had replaced the dragon withering under her blazing glare.
Almost. 
Still, it was the first time he had ever seen her get angry enough to catch fire, and it did have the benefit of allowing them to learn the location of the Changeling hive. The problem was when they got there and discovered the anti-magic field that surrounded the hive.
In truth, both of them had wanted to storm the place, but with Twilight being the last princess in Equestria, her safety was their top concern. And even if she hadn't been, the reality was that they couldn’t go storming a Changeling hive surrounded by an anti-magic field thing because Flash would be unable to fly, Twilight would be unable to fly OR cast magic, and both of they would be vastly outnumbered and outmatched no matter what, even with all their current guards. 
They were, basically, helpless to save their friends, and it really hurt Twilight mentally to be so close yet so far. Flash himself had also felt quite a bit of shame that his own training was next to useless here, but said training had also allowed him to primarily bury those feelings and focus on helping Twilight hold onto hope that things would be ok. 
At least Thorax, Discord, Trixie, and Starlight had showed up a few hours later and volunteered to go in for them. And they even ended up saving the day! Twilight had been so proud of Starlight that she had spent nearly a week talking about it non-stop. 
It had been adorable…
Oops, what was everypony saying again? 
“…though I would consider wearing your ring when you meet your family, Twilight” Luna said.
Both Flash and Twilight blinked. 
What does she mean by that? Twilight’s still wearing her…ring…
Luna, noticing their confusion, raised her eyebrow. “You…did take it off on purpose when you went to bed last night, correct? It’s back in your room…correct?” 
“I never took it off,” Twilight muttered, her eyes wide in horror.
There was about a five second pause as Flash looked more closely at Twilight’s horn and Twilight reached up and felt her horn, before both of them officially, and justifiably, lost their minds. 
“WHERE’S THE RING!?!?!?!?” 
The Royal Canterlot Voice bellowed out of Twilight’s throat so intensely that Flash was nearly flung off his chair. It was a miracle that all the windows in the room didn’t shatter from the pure force, but they were likely enchanted against breaking. But the uneaten stack of pancakes in front of the purple alicorn was NOT enchanted and as such went flying right into Luna’s face.
Instant karma? 
DAMNITFLASHFOCUS!
“I don’t know! You had it on when I put you in bed last night!” he cried in shock. 
Luna dang it, HOW DID I NOT NOTICE!?!? HOW DID TWILIGHT NOT NOTICE!?!?!? SHE COMBED HER MANE AND EVERYTHING!
Before Celestia could say anything or try and hug Twilight again to calm her down, the purple alicorn was gone. Flash would have leapt up and flown full speed back to Twilight’s room too, had Celestia’s magic not latched onto him and held him in his seat.
“Wa—HEY!”
“Flash, please calm down,” Celestia said softly. 
“But Twilight—“
“Is likely back in her room right now, and we don’t need two panicked ponies tearing it apart in search of a ring.” Celestia said gently, something that failed to calm Flash’s nerves at all.
“I take it she didn’t take said ring off on purpose?” Luna said, her face a perfect deadpan as she removed the two pancakes still stuck to her horn. 
“Of COURSE NOT! She’s worn it for two days straight! Why would she take it off NOW?” Flash cried as he struggled to get free of Celestia’s magic, and then winced as he realized that he was currently screaming his head off at Princess Luna. His struggles stopped as he looked at the table in embarrassment. “Er, s-sorry Luna. Just REALLLLLY kinda panicking inside. And outside. Just panicking everywhere really. And—”
Oh Celestia, now I am rambling like a moron! And my leg is twitching like Pinkie on a sugar rush! Stop, leg! 
STOP!
“Tis all right, Flash,” Luna said, nodding, and Flash was relieved to see that the softness in her voice was enough to make his mouth stop running away without him. At least now he wouldn’t have to worry about choking on a donut that Celestia shoved in between his teeth. “Stress can make fools of us all. Thought I think your hunt for the ring should be fairly simple.”
“Indeed, you do not need to panic Flash,” Celestia said, gently waking forward and hugging Flash just like she had Twilight. The warm soothing feathers and gentle tickling sensation of her flowing mane quickly calmed his panic down from ‘BUCKBUCKBUCKBUCK!’ to ‘Be calm. Someone has a plan or solution.’ Kind of like what Twilight had to do on the rare occasions that he had his own freakout, like during their third anniversary where he had lost his gift right before their date.
Did Twilight learn how to calm others down from Celestia? It would make sense given all the time they have spent together.
That distracting thought was enough to calm him down further, prompting Celestia to release her hold on him, both physical and magical, before returning to her own seat as she levitated more napkins towards Luna. “I apologize for stopping you from assisting Twilight in her search, but seeing as she didn’t take the ring off last night, then I think it is safe to assume that the ring is still in your room somewhere. Especially seeing as it is too large to fit down the drain of Twilight’s shower. 
“Unless you think it fell off her horn on your way here, but I find that unlikely.” She added.
From annoying and teasing to calm and reassuring in ten seconds flat. How does she DO that? Flash wondered as he considered what Celestia had said. She was right on both counts. Twilight’s head had been at such an angle as they walked that the ring falling off as they came downstairs would have been next to impossible. Which meant it had to still be in the room since that was the last place he had seen it on her horn, and someone getting into their room and managing to steal it off of Twilight’s horn while they slept was next to impossible, especially given the elevated security after the whole Bull Horn incident. 
Wait…Did my brain just estimate the angles of Twilight’s horn while walking down the hall three thoughts ago? UGH! Curse you GEOMETRY! Stop trying to work your way into my brain already! It’s too early for math!
Any further thoughts, math-related or otherwise, were cut off by the return of one still-slightly-frazzled-Twilight, now wearing the ring on her horn, and one very nervous-looking maid with the pop of teleportation.
“Ok, it turns out it was on my bed and Miss Dusty here found it just as I popped in and I mayhave scared her and then thankedheralot and now I mayhavetoldhershecouldhavetherestofthedayoff—” 
Three pancakes were unceremoniously shoved in her mouth by Celestia’s magic. Again. 
“Twilight, breathe,” Celestia said calmly, levitating her up and directly into Flash’s lap. Flash grabbed hold of her and rubbed his wings up and down her sides as she finally started to relax. Actually, just holding her close did wonders to calm his own still slightly frazzled nerves as well.
Here, have a fiancée.
Flash had seen this a few times before. Twilight would get so worried and worked up that even solving the problem she was facing would leave her in a state of frazzled chaos for at least a good ten minutes as the adrenaline slowly wore off unless Flash or Spike manually calmed her down. Given the news of their impending meeting with their families and the loss of the ring, it was no wonder she was still in fight-or-flight mode even after she found the ring. 
Which might also be why the poor maid was still trembling in place. She had likely never dealt with a hyper-panic-mode-Princess-of-Friendship before.
Thankfully, Celestia had it covered as she grabbed a plate off the table and stacked it with a little of everything before turning her attention to the shaking-like-a-leaf-maid. “Dusty, thank you for finding the ring. Feel free to have some breakfast. You may certainly have the rest of the day off, with no penalty to your pay or vacation days. Though please keep the news of the ring to yourself for the moment, ok?”
Dusty, apparently having trouble speaking, nodded nervously as Celestia gave her a soft smile and deposited the plate on her back while also levitating a donut in front of her muzzle. Though food seemed to work on her too, as she immediately stopped shaking like Fluttershy and took a big, happy bite of said donut.
I wonder if Celestia is just naturally that good at calming others down, or if she has practice calming down ponies that Twilight has accidentally freaked out specifically. Given how long she spent as Celestia’s student, I can assume it’s the latter. 
After all, in just the past five years, there have been at sixty times when Twilight’s studies have gone wrong and/or terrifying and/or exploded spectacularly. Heck, there have been three miniature explosions in her lab in the last five months alone, and only one of them was because of Pinkie.
Also, why is she telling Twilight to breathe when she just shoved three pancakes into her mouth? That seems a bit contradictory.
“Feel better?” Flash asked Twilight, squeezing his hooves and wings more tightly around the still-trying-to-eat-and-calm-down alicorn and giving her a little nibble right behind her right ear. Said nibble instantly found Twilight’s sweet spot, and Flash’s fiancee immediately let out a happy murmur before fully relaxing in his grip. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
When in doubt, nibble her ear, Flash thought to himself as Twilight nuzzled deeper into his chest. He had actually discovered that little spot on her ear by accident when they had been cuddling one day. For some unknown reason, it always had the effect of helping Twilight calm down rather dramatically. What had been more surprising was when she had found out that he had a similar spot directly between his wings that would have nearly the same effect. 
Oh how she loved to abuse that knowledge, not that he could complain after a long day of guard work…
“Mmmmmm…” Twilight muttered after a few minutes, before finally swallowing and turning to give him a quick kiss. “Yes, I feel better…a bit.”
“A bit?”
“Flash, we need to tell our families that we’re engaged. I know they’ll all be happy, and that at least MY parents know that you were going to pop the question, but…I’m just so exhausted right now. I was planning on using some of today to actually REST and to try and recover from all the chaos these past two days, but now we’ll need to deal with squealing and excitement and likely being tackled by Cadence and we’ve ALREADY had a chaotic day so far and just…” She sighed. “All I really want to do is go and take a nap together. Is that too much to ask?”
“Maybe. At least Celestia and Luna saved us the stress of actually having to organize a meeting with everypony. Though it is a shame that now you can’t send your brother confusing letters three days before the wedding,” Flash joked, earning an I’m-trying-not-to-laugh-glare from Twilight. He just smirked.
“Besides, tired or not, at least this won’t be NEARLY as stressful as the first time I met your family…
> Chapter 2: Meeting the Sparkles Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three months after ‘How to Date a Princess’…


I’m ok. I’m ok. Everything is FINE. 
It’s just a casual dinner with the parents and siblings of the world’s most amazing mare. 
It’s ok that she hasn't told her family that I'm her coltfriend yet even through its been three months since we’ve started dating and that her siblings are the PRINCE and PRINCESS of the CRYSTAL EMPIRE and that her brother was my guard captain for years and that I’m now dating his SISTER and that his wife will KNOW if I ever hurt his LSBFF because of her LOVE MAGIC and—
GAHSOMETHINGSOFT!!!!
Oh. It’s Twilight. 
It’s just Twilight. 
“Flash, relax,” Twilight said, gently resting her hoof on his. 
“Why? I’m fine. TOOOOOOOTALLY fine. I’m just going to go meet your parents and tell them I’m dating their daughter and see my old guard captain to let him know I’m now dating his sister which is something I completely forgot about when I first asked you out despite the fact that he was always so protective of you and gave me a maybe-sorta-I’m-not-sure-if-it-was-really-meant-this-way playful warning not to let anything happen to you and Cadence will be there with her fancy love magic to know if I ever hurt you and I think I’m stuck just saying my thoughts out loud again and I don’t even have my armor in case something unforeseeable happens which means I won’t be able to protect you as effectively which could make Shining doubt making me your guard captain and this sentence just wont stop which is ok it’s ok I think I’m fine finefinefinefinemmph…” 
Twilight leaned in and captured his lips in a soft kiss.
Mmmmmm…Ok, I feel better now. 
Slightly.
“Flash, you WILL be fine. I promise, my family is going to love you,” Twilight said once she broke the kiss, nuzzling him affectionately. “My brother put you in charge of my guard in the first place, so he won’t be nearly as overprotective as you think. And remember, you were able to face down a rage-shifting Bull Horn, something that I’m sure my family has all heard about by now. Plus, this won’t be nearly so bad OR potentially dangerous.”
“You’re going to jinx us, I hope you know that,” Flash said, prompting a giggle and an eye roll from his marefriend. “How do we know Shining won’t insist on a spar as an excuse to show me what will happen if I break your heart? Or what if CADENCE insists on that? I heard from the other guards that she LOVES extreme roller-skating derbies, and that she sometimes participates! What if she challenges me to a match!?”
“Flash, relax,” Twilight said, a bit more sternly. “My brother would never do something like that! And Cadence wouldn’t be that mean to you even if she weren’t pregnant. Especially seeing as you can’t roller-skate anyway,” she added, giggling. 
“And you can’t ice skate,” Flash said with a playful ‘humph’, sticking his tongue out teasingly as Twilight just let out her own adorable ‘humph’ of fake annoyance as she turned away. Though a quick nuzzle made her turn that frown upside-down.
Turn that frown upside-down…I think I’ve been hanging out with Pinkie too much this last week. 
“Now arriving, Canterlot Station!” the conductor announced, drawing Flash’s attention back to his surroundings. The two of them were currently in the Friendship Express’s passenger car, along with two guards from the Twilight Guard.
Thankfully, most of the other passengers were ponies who lived in Ponyville, meaning that almost everypony surrounding them was already used to Flash being next to Twilight ninety percent of the time anyway. As such, they had gone through the trip without any wide-eyed stares or ponies coming over for Twilight’s autograph, which was nice, but Flash somehow did not find the surprising privacy at all soothing.
The train came to a gentle stop just outside Canterlot Station, allowing the beautiful craftsmanship of the city to come into clear view. From the window, Flash could see one Lunar Guard and one Solar Guard standing at attention. 
Right, they were in the city, so they were here waiting to reinforce their Twilight Guard counterparts. This was the standard procedure for whenever Twilight came to Canterlot. There was a higher density of ponies, so more guards were needed to ensure nothing would happen. So why was Flash’s pulse starting to spike again?
Was it because he was already stressed, and seeing more protection show up was making him think that something bad WOULD happen? After all, you don’t get reinforcements unless things were about to go wrong, right? Why send more hooves to help if everything was perfectly ok?
Flash good a deep, slow breath to try and calm down. His stress about to night was just making things seem worse than they actually were. This was a normal procedure, and everything would be FINE. Thought, now that he actually thought about it, having the guards waiting for you at the train platform was actually a pretty big give away as to which train Twilight was on, assuming any potential evil doers were looking for her. And the small size of the station the Ponyville train always arrived at likely made them pretty conspicuous.
“I think we need a better system,” Flash muttered to himself as the other passengers began to retrieve their luggage, if they had any.
“Huh?” Twilight asked, looking at him in confusion.
“Sorry, just thinking about the Solar and Lunar Guards outside. Having them stand there before we even get off is kind of a giveaway as to what train you’re on, especially since there’s only the one train platform. I feel that there should be a better system for helping keep you safe.”
“What, like them standing on the roof to stay out of sight?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
Flash opened his mouth to respond, but paused. “You know, maybe…” he said, humming in thought. “It would make them harder to spot, and it would give them a good vantage to see incoming threats in a large crowd. I may need to bring this up at the next meeting with the Captain of the Royal Guard.”
“You can do that later. I’m sure it’s fine for tonight,” Twilight said, smiling. Flash tried to smile back, only for his mind to immediately jump to all the things that COULD go wrong tonight. Most of them were clearly ridiculous, but, they still made his heart start pounding like there was no tomorrow.
Oh Luna, please let there be no trouble tonight. No changelings, no ancient evils, no Discord shenanigans. PLEASE let the only thing I need to deal with be Twilight’s family. That is MORE than enough stress for one night. I know it’s Tuesday, but PLEASE just give me this one day.
Twilight gave Flash a gently tug on the leg, snapping him out of his internal monologue. Taking a deep breath, Flash hopped down from the seat and raised a wing. Twilight gladly accepted the invitation and immediately snuggled into what had become her favorite spot by his side as the two left the train together, their guards not far behind. 
The Solar and Luna guards outside saluted and fell into step with the rest of their party as Flash and Twilight continued on. After about a minute or two, they emerged into the moderately crowded street of Canterlot proper and set off for their destination. All around them, the golden orange light of the sunset illuminated the path and worked to enhance the already stunning architecture of Canterlot. 
Flash never got tired of seeing the city at this time of day, and it did wonders for his nerves. 
Now that they were out of Ponyville, ponies passing by on the street stopped to look at them before turning away to whisper excitedly with one another. Flash had no idea if it was because Princess Twilight was visiting Canterlot or because Flash was holding her under his wing in a blatant form of affection. Or both. Either way, everypony was smiling, so Flash couldn’t help but smile too.
Though regardless of why everyone around them was so excited, Flash couldn’t help but think back to Discord. True to his word, the draqueous had given Celestia and Luna images of Flash protecting Twilight from Bull Horn and had even given his own interview as part of the Crown’s official statement. The information and photo evidence had immediately discredited Bull Horn’s family name and had given Flash a huge popularity and name recognition boost. There had even been a few calls for him to be awarded a medal in various papers across Equestria, though Flash really didn’t think he deserved one.
After all, he was only doing his job. 
THANKFULLY, Discord and the Crown had NOT revealed that Twilight and Flash were actually DATING. Which was good, as the last thing Flash wanted was to be swarmed by journalists and tabloid writers looking for every little detail of their still-young relationship only a few days after their first date. Actually, Ponyville had helped them keep it quiet so far due to the small size of the town, the respect the ponies had for Twilight’s privacy, and the fact that not much gossip or news spread out from the town in general due to it being out of the way. 
Granted, Flash knew they wouldn’t be able to hide it forever, especially given that he and Twilight had already been voted as the ‘Most Likely to End Up Together by the End of the Year’ by one of Rarity’s silly magazines (which was thankfully only circulated in Vanhoover and not Canterlot), but that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy the quiet while it lasted. And it certainly wouldn’t stop Flash from showering Twilight with affection. 
Even if that affection was something as simple as hugging her with his wing like he was doing right now. 
Besides, according to Fancy Pants, many of the nobles bristled at even the mention of Twilight dating someone like him yet were afraid to act after what had happened to Bull Horn. So if holding Twilight under his wing just made the obnoxious ones grind their teeth together, all the better. 
Besides, they’re probably just jealous. Twilight’s fur is so soooooooooft…It’s like she’s part teddy bear or plushy or something! I bet the nobles are just jealous they can’t hug her.
“Well, here we are,” Twilight said, prompting Flash to blink and look up. In front of them was a cozy two-story house with a small yard and white picket fence. The house was a light blue with a purple door that had an emblem of a gleaming star embezzled on the front, a symbol that identified the house as a part of the royal family. 
It still looked new, despite the fact that it had likely been there since Shining’s wedding.
Oh, hello there, panic, my old not-friend. Welcome back. I didn’t miss you. 
At all. 
Flash couldn’t help but gulp as he lifted his wing off of Twilight. This was it. The building that would either spell his doom or his eternal happiness. 
(Sure, he TECHNICALLY could stay with Twilight even if her family disapproved, but there was no way in hell he was going to make her choose between him and her loved ones.)
As such, this fortress of fear would be the greatest challenge he had ever faced. EVER.
I really wish my brain would stop being so dramatic. It’s really not helpin—YIPE!
Flash just managed to keep from yelling as Twilight literally shoved him forward. He caught his balance and turned to give his marefriend a deadpan frown, only to see the deep impressions in the ground, right at the threshold of the gate.
He must have frozen dead at some point in his panicking.
Whoops.
Well, that would explain why the guards were smothering their chuckles behind him.
“We'll be ok from here and will be staying over, so please feel free to take the night off!” Twilight called back at them, giving Flash a small zap with her horn, finally jumpstarting his legs just as they reached front steps.
“Yes, Princess,” one of the guards said, though Flash couldn’t tell which one because his eyes were still locked on the Doorway to Doom. “We will keep a guard posted nearby just in case you need anything. We’ll meet you back here in the morning. Have a nice night.”
Is that even possible? Twilight might have a nice night, but me?
No, pull it together, Flash. You can do this. You can do this.
For Twilight.
And with that final thought, they reached the top of the three steps and Twilight gave a few sharp knocks with her hoof. 
For Twilight.
For ten agonizing seconds, there was nothing. Then, the door quickly opened, and Twilight was practically swept off her hooves as Twilight Velvet pulled her into a hug.
“Twilight!” Velvet exclaimed happily, squeezing the purple mare so tightly that Flash was certain he heard her squeak. “Ohhhh, I’ve missed you. I know you’re a princess and all, but you REALLY should write us more!”
“Mom, I write you and dad at least once a week!” Twilight said, struggling to free her front hooves from her mom's death grip. “Usually more!”
"Oh, I know, but your letters have been so short recently! The last time they were so compact was when you were distracted by your final exams at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns! And they’ve been that way for almost three months now!”
Well, I doubt that’s a coincidence, Flash thought to himself as he slowly crossed into the threshold himself. I guess I’m as distracting to Twilight as a final exam…Should I be taking that as a compliment? 
He took a moment to look around. The walls were painted a subtle shade of green with various pictures of Shining Armor and Twilight hanging along the hallway. There was a big one above the end table of a tiny Twilight proudly showing off her cutie mark, and Flash smiled at how adorable it was. Off to the left was the family room with two big blue couches, a coffee table covered in snacks, and two red fancy chairs. To the right was a small office area with books and star charts stacked everywhere and hung on every single wall. 
Further down the hall was a staircase leading up to the second floor and more of the hallway, which was where the rest of the family was currently galloping down to join Velvet. 
Night Light, Shining Armor, a slightly pregnant Princess Cadence. Yep, the whole family’s here. Yay…
No, bad heart. Stay calm. Just, stay calm. We can panic when they are actually paying attention to you and not Twilight.
“Be sure to let her breathe, mom,” Shining said, chuckling as he reached the three of them. Velvet glared at him, but did relent her grip on Twilight slightly. Which was good, as she looked as though she was starting to turn a little blue. 
“You could have waited for the rest of us, honey,” Night Light joked, pausing to nuzzle his wife before joining her in hugging his daughter. “But she is right, Twilight. You letters have been pretty short for quite a while now. I miss the detailed stories you would send us about your latest adventures.”
“Sorry,” Twilight mumbled, finally getting her hooves free so she could return the hug. “I’ve been…distracted.” She cast a small glance at Flash, who couldn’t help but smile back briefly.
“By new books Luna has been sending you?” Cadence asked with a knowing tone, only to blink in surprise as Twilight shook her head.
“No, actually. Not books.”
“Well, that has to be a first,” Shining joked, earning a pointed angry-little-sister-glare from Twilight. Though everypony, Flash included, couldn’t help but chuckle at Twilight’s reaction. 
“Oh, hello there,” Velvet said, apparently just noticing Flash. “You must be Flash Sentry, Twilight’s guard captain, correct? She’s been mentioning you in her letters for almost a year now. And weren’t you in the paper recently? I seem to remember seeing you on the front page a few months ago.”
Well, hopefully that gives me a small advantage in winning them over, Flash thought as he gulped and gave a shaky nod. All eyes were on him now, and he had to stop his left hind leg from twitching nervously. Great, they’ve all noticed me now. Is this how Fluttershy feels every day? I think I understand her much better now if it is.
“Flash, good to see you again soldier,” Shining said, giving him a firm nod and a smile. “You don’t need to guard Twilight tonight. She’ll be fine here.”
Oh boy. How do I—
“Actually Shining…he’s not here to guard me,” Twilight said, finally breaking the hug with her parents and walking back over to Flash and closing the still-open door behind him. “I…invited him for dinner with us.”
“He’s not?” Shining asked, confusion clearly displayed on his face as well as the others present. 
Here it comes…
Twilight, please hold me. I’m scared.
“Mom, Dad, Shining, Cadence, Flash isn’t just my guard captain anymore. As of the Grand Galloping Gala, he is now my coltfriend.”
…
…
…
…
…
Am I dead yet?
No, he wasn’t, but that didn’t make Flash feel any better. 
No pony was talking. No pony was BLINKING. It was as if time itself had frozen and reality itself had ceased to function as Twilight’s family stood there, eyes wide in shock. The tension was so thick, and Flash was certain that any sudden movements would shatter the universe as he kne—
“YOU HAVE A COLTFRIEND!?!?!?!?!?!?”
GAH!!!
Flash and Twilight both leapt backwards in shock as Cadence and Velvet instantly appeared only inches away from Twilight’s face. Flash had just enough time to notice both of them balancing on their fore-hooves before both mares squealed excitedly and very loudly. 
Can EVERYPONY in this family teleport!? was the only thought Flash could think before he found himself, Shining, and Night Light all floating in mid-air. What the—
“You boys get to know one another as we GET ALL THE DETAILS!” Cadence yelled, practically crushing Twilight in a hug as she took to the air. “Enjoy the food, we’ll be back once we get the ENTIRE STORY!”
“EEEEEEEEEE! FINALLY! Do you know how long I have WAITED FOR YOU TO SAY THOSE WORDS!?!?” Velvet squealed, joining Cadence in hugging the now struggling Twilight Sparkle. Flash didn’t have time to think of a way to help her as suddenly he and the rest of the males present were unceremoniously dumped in the family room as Twilight was dragged upstairs by two very excited females.
“Hey, wait a—Twilight!” Flash called, getting back to his hooves and racing for the stairs, only to be stopped by a hoof on his shoulder. 
“Flash, it’s ok,” Shining said, trying to reassure him and only slightly succeeding.
“B-But they just FOALNAPPED TWILIGHT!”
“She’ll be fine,” Shining assured him, smirking. “Besides, I don’t think you could get her back until they were done anyway. Not even a dragon would risk getting in the way of them and Twilight right now.”
“I—they—Twilight—” Flash stuttered, looking back and fourth between Twilight’s father and brother and the stairs that his marefriend had been dragged up against her will. He couldn’t decide which fate was worse: fighting off two crazy mares to save Twilight, or sitting in a room with his old, highly protective captain and Twilight’s father and explaining to them why he was dating their sister/daughter and why he was a good stallion for her, all without Twilight there to support his claims and make sure he didn’t make a fool of himself in front of half her family. 
BOTH were terrifying prospects.
Then again, it had been at least a full minute since she left and he was still alive, so maybe that was a good sign. Or maybe they were just waiting for him to mess up before they attacked!
Oh Luna, why is this so much more nerve wracking than anything Ponyville has thrown at me?! IT SHOULDN’T BE THIS SCARY BUT IT IS!
“Breathe, son. Breathe,” Night Light said, pulling Flash out of his internal panic attack and back to the real world. Though it seemed that he managed to bring the panic with him given how he COULDN’T breathe until Night Light gave him a solid smack on the back. Flash gasped, oxygen finally starting to find his brain again.
Great, I can’t even BREATHE right now. WHY IS THIS SO STRESSFUL!? Just say something, ANYTHING! Just make sure it’s a real word and you’ll be maybe ok.
“S-Sorry sir,” Flash said, realizing distantly that he was probably shouting. Yet Night Light was actually chuckling. 
“Flash, relax. And just call me Night Light,” he said with a chuckle as he moved to sit down on one of the chairs. “I won’t bite, and I can already say you’re doing better than the first time I met Velvet’s parents.”
I am? I’m panicking and stuttering yet I’m doing better than he did? I find that hard to believe. 
“Really?” Flash asked nervously.
“Yep. First time I met her father, I was so nervous that I fainted straight away,” Night Light chuckled. “And according to Celestia, Shining was only moderately better when Cadence introduced him to her, and only because he didn’t faint until AFTER she had left the room.” 
Shining Armor, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, previous leader of the Solar Guard and now leader of the Crystal Guard, blushed as red as Pinkie’s face after she had eaten five cupcakes covered in hot sauce and inhaled about two balloon’s worth of helium. “DAD!!!”
Somewhere, deep inside his brain, something went ‘BOOOOOING BOING BOING’ and Flash simply sat down heavily on the floor. For as long as he has know Shining Armor, almost nothing had ever seemed to faze him. He always seemed to be confident and in control, ready to take on any challenge Canterlot or the Crystal Empire threw his way. The only exception that came to mind immediately was when the changelings had messed with his mind. The idea of SHINING ARMOR fainting the first time he met the princess countered almost everything else Flash knew about him. 
Then again, we mostly interacted when we were both on duty, and I never really saw how well Shining controlled his emotions during his time off. And…oh yea, this would have been years ago, long before he became the captain of the guard. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he WOULD be panicked enough to faint because he hadn’t perfected his epic staying-cool-under-pressure skills yet. Yes? 
Ugh, my brain hurts…Given my experience with Pinkie breaking reality, this REALLY shouldn’t be so difficult to wrap my head around.
“Besides,” Night Light said, using his magic to rummage through a basket he had pulled out from behind the couch, “everything Twilight and Shining have said about you has been positive. Not to mention Shining was willing to trust you with our daughter’s safety and thought you were competent enough to lead her guard force. Between that and this newspaper article, I’d say you’ve already managed to make a good impression.” 
He finally pulled out a newspaper and levitated it to Flash.
“PFFFFFFFFFF,” Flash sputtered, trying (and failing) not to laugh at the front cover. The image showed him, Twilight, and Bull Horn together in the castle gardens the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. In it, Flash was photographed mid-punch, his hoof connecting solidly with the side of the still-on-fire Bull Horn’s face. The noble was cross-eyed as he was clearly being knocked off his hooves.
I don’t even care how Discord got this photo. If he can get me images like this, we should ask if he would be willing to capture all the silly faces those obnoxious nobles make on film and share them with us. 
And maybe all the silly and adorable ones Twilight’s makes too. Hehehe.
“Not to mention you haven’t started bragging yet,” Night Light added, drawing Flash’s eyes away from the picture and causing him to blink in confusion.
“Bragging?”
“Lots of the worst nobles wanted to get close to Twilight after she was inducted into Celestia’s school,” Shining said with a grimace. “Plenty of them came here bragging about how great their children were and how she should be introduced to them. There were even a few that wanted arranged marriages, with either her or me.” Shining said, glaring at nothing in particular.
“Oh…wait,” Flash said, raising an eyebrow. “Arranged marriages are illegal now unless the child is sixteen and consents in pony with Celestia or Luna to allow their guardians to arrange the union.” 
“That didn’t stop them,” Night Light said, shaking his head. “Thankfully, Celestia stepped in rather quickly and made it painfully obvious that she would not tolerate that kind of nonsense after a noble mare tried to blackmail us by threatening to get Shining kicked out of the guard academy. Though that lady didn’t even come close to carrying out said threat given that a few of Celestia’s guards stationed near our house overheard her making the threat. She was stripped of her title, and that we were never blackmailed again.”
“Some nobles never change,” Flash said, facehoofing. 
Part of me wants to be surprised, but I’m not. 
	“But what does that have to do with me again?”
“You’re nervous,” Night Light said with a warm smile. “It gives me the sense that you care about Twilight’s family liking you, and that you’re afraid of messing things up. You’re not overconfident, or boasting about your achievements or money or what have you. And you’re also not bragging about saving my daughter from Bull Horn.”
“I was just doing my job,” Flash said simply, blushing slightly. “Though I will admit I would have done it even if Twilight weren’t a princess or under my protection.”
“She is quite special, isn’t she?” Shining said, smiling as he grabbed a slice of cheese off the coffee table and sitting on the couch. He patted the cushion next to him, inviting Flash to take a seat somewhere that wasn’t the floor. “Though how exactly did you two decide to go to the Gala together? I don’t think the paper mentioned anything about that.”
“I wouldn’t expect it to,” Flash said, taking a seat and grabbing a baked-spinach-and-tomato cup. “Thought, ironically, it was all because of Bull Horn that I went with her at all.”
“Really?” Night Light said curiously as Shining nearly choked on his cheese. “Now this sounds like a good story.”
And thus Flash spent the next hour or so recounting his experience from three months prior. Shining and Night Light were particularly angry when they first heard of Bull Horn’s insane demand that Twilight should take Money Bags to the Gala as her date, but both also became immediately proud when they found out how Twilight had booted him out of the castle (and into the fountain, which Flash personally liked to believe was strategically placed outside just so obnoxious nobles would land in it).
Once that story was done, Shining had asked why Flash had resorted to punching Bull Horn in the face, so Flash gave them a rundown of the events of the Gala leading up to the image Discord had taken. He made sure to include his first run in with Bull Horn and him humiliating Money Bag’s right in the middle of the Gala as well, just for context.
When he had explained that Bull Horn thought he would become the next prince of Equestria, both Shining and Night Light gave equal looks of exasperation at the idea. When he finally gotten to what was happening in the paper’s picture, Night Light had given him a solid hug for protecting his daughter and Shining had given him a friendly congratulatory smack on the back that actually sent him off the couch. 
All the while, the three of them snacked on the appetizers while making sure to save plenty for Twilight and Cadence, both of whom had bottomless pits for stomachs. They would need to stop the story at times so Night Light could head to the kitchen and make sure the food was still cooking without issue, but for the most part there were no interruptions.
And, surprisingly enough, Flash genuinely enjoyed himself. Both Night Light and Shining were patient, friendly, and not nearly as overly protective of Twilight as he thought they’d be. It wasn’t nearly the interrogation he expected it to be, and by the time he was halfway through his story, any tension of his had practically evaporated. 
And thus, Twilight is right once again. But seeing how Shining was always so protective of Twilight whenever he mentioned her, I still think my initial expectation of his reactions was perfectly reasonable, no matter how wonderfully wrong I was. 
Night Light…Yeah, not so much. Twilight talked about how understanding and friendly he was, but I guess my fear of Shining’s reaction may have colored my view of how he would react too. But it’s still nice to see that everything is working out just fine. 
Though maybe I should have been more worried about Twilight. Seriously, what is taking them so long up there? If they don’t come down soon, I might need to stage a rescue after all. Hopefully Shining can back me up though. I do not envy trying to get between Twilight and her overly excited mom and sister-in-law…
> Chapter 3: Meeting the Sparkles Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Enough already! That is LITERALLY EVERYTHING that has happened! There is NOTHING ELSE, and I NEED some food!” the frustrated voice of a purple angel called out just as Flash finished describing the moonlight dance on the night of the Gala. 
Speak of the Twilight, and she will appear…
“I think that’s our cue to initiate a rescue mission,” he said with a slight smirk, earning a chuckle from the other stallions in the room. Hopping up from the couch, he quickly grabbed a few baked-spinach-and-tomato cups, a hoofful of cheese and crackers, and some mini-carrot dogs and threw them onto a paper plate. Balancing the plate on his wing, he led the other stallions back into the entranceway. 
“That can’t be all of it!” Cadance’s voice called out. Just as the boys entered the entranceway, an aggravated Twilight appeared at the top of the stairs. Flash didn’t even have a chance to say anything before Twilight’s mother and Cadance appeared not far behind her. “Surely you’ve had more than ten dates by now! And there must be more that I can help you with! Do you need advice for kissing? I can teach you how to hold a make-out kiss for more that three minutes! Or maybe—’
“Oh Celestia, please just stop! Please!” Twilight cried, her face becoming cherry red as she hurried down the stairs as fast as her legs would take her. “I don't need any more advice!” 
Her mother just laughed. “It never hurts to have a little more advice, dear,” she said, winking at Twilight before looking over the railing at the would-be rescuers. “Ah, hello there, boys. So, what are your first impressions of Twilight’s coltfriend? She had quite a lot of good things to say about him to us!”
“He’s a good stallion,” Night Light said with a nod. “With everything I've seen and heard tonight, I say he’s got my approval.”
Flash couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh. “You have no idea how reassuring it is to hear you say that out loud,” he said with a grin. Any lingering panic that may have been lying in wait to try and ambush him was finally extinguished. “And did somepony request food?” he added, holding out the plate of food to Twilight as she reached the bottom of the stairs. 
Twilight went wide-eyed as her stomach growled angrily. She bounced forward, gave him a big happy kiss that made him smile like an idiot, and dug into the food with a happy purr. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Flash said, laughing.
“Mmmmm…” was Twilight’s only response as the mini-carrot dogs vanished. 
“Don’t eat too much, or you’ll spoil your appetite for dinner,” Twilight Velvet scolded gently as she and Cadance reached the bottom of the stairs. Twilight gave a muffled reply that was either ‘Don’t care. Too hungry,’ or ‘Plaid mare. Rubber ducky,’ before she wrapped a wing around Flash and began leading him back towards the family room (And the food, if Flash was guessing correctly). 
Sure enough, the moment they crossed the threshold, Twilight’s horn lit up and she grabbed a several more appetizers from the coffee table. 
“Your mom might be right, even if you are hungry,” Flash said, somewhat jokingly. Twilight just gave him light bat on the head with her wing and continued eating, dragging him over to the couch as the rest of the family trickled into the room. 
"She's a growing alicorn. I think she’ll still be plenty hungry when by the time dinner is ready,” Cadance said with a knowing look, right before her own stomach growled loudly. “I know from experience,” she added, going for the food herself. 
“And I’m sure the baby helps you with that,” Shining said with a smile. “Though I am curious how you managed to last so long without coming down for food yourself.”
“I was so excited that Twilight FINALLY got a coltfriend that I actually forgot about food!” Cadance cheered. “It was nice not to worry about it for a while.”
Ah, yes. She’s the Princess of Love, so talking about love or somepony’s love life is probably just as distracting to her as talking about friendship or books is to Twilight. That actually explained a lot.
“Either way, you two, I’d still try to save your appetites, especially you Twilight,” Night Light said with a smirk. “Your mother is making daisy, carrot, and apple stew. Your favorite.” 
Ok, that sounded amazing, and if Twilight’s wide eyes and slightly wagging tail was any indication, it was probably even better than what he was imagining. “It should be ready pretty soon too, given how it tasted last time I checked.”
“I’ll go see how it looks,” Velvet said, walking towards the kitchen. “You all just relax here and don’t let Twilight or Cadance eat all the appetizers.” 
Twilight grumbled something unintelligible, her cheeks reddening again. Flash just smiled and gave her a reassuring nuzzle, earning a happy hum from his marefriend followed by another quick kiss before she returned to her food. Some small, paranoid part of his brain warned him that Shining Armor was still in the room, but Flash ignored it. He loved to do this back in Ponyville, and if Shining and Night Light approved of him, then it should be perfectly to do it here as well. 
“Your assuming they’d be able or willing to stop us,” Cadance called teasingly as she levitated over a plate stacked high with appetizers. She even stole one of the last mini-carrot dogs off Shining’s plate before quickly paying him back with a kiss. “And if the baby says it’s time for food, then it’s time for food.”
“The Crystal Chefs know that pretty well,” Shining said with a small smirk. “Especially when Crystal Berry caught you trying to sneak a fifth slice of cake the night before we left.” That earned him a playful glare from Cadance that was drastically undercut by the mass of food currently stuffed into her mouth. 
“Good news, the stew is almost ready!” Twilight Velvet called out.
“Thanks, honey!” Night Light called out as Twilight and Cadance practically inhaled the rest of their appetizers at a somewhat terrifying pace. Why they couldn’t just bring them to the table with them, Flash had no idea, but he shrugged it off and followed Shining and Night Light as everypony made their way to the dining room. 
The room itself was painted a pleasant grassy green color, had a rather nice chandelier hanging above the long table, and had a large glass cabinet containing a set of fancy plates, cups, and other beautiful dishes. To the right of the entranceway was a large set of three windows that opened to show the rather sizable backyard contained within a white picket fence. 
It was hard to make out many more details, given how the sun had already set, but Flash was certain that it was a wonderful view during the day. 
Turning his attention back to the table, Flash quickly grabbed a seat next to Twilight, although he didn’t think she noticed given how her head was glued to the archway that led to the kitchen. Given how good the food smelled, Flash couldn’t quite blame her. Meanwhile, Cadance and Shining took seats on the opposite side of the table while Nightlight sat down on Twilight’s other side. 
Less than ten seconds later, Twilight Velvet appeared. She was levitating six large steaming bowls in her magic, along with two baskets of rolls, a plate with cranberry jelly on it, silverware for everyone, six small side plates, and six glasses of water. Despite how many different objects she was focusing on and the combined weight of those objects AND how carefully everything had to be balanced so nothing spilled, Twilight Velvet made it look easy. Wow. If she had that amount of magical power and concentration, Flash could definitely see where Twilight had gotten some of her talent from. 
“Dinner is served!” Velvet said, placing everything down perfectly and seating herself on Cadance’s opposite side.
Flash thanked her, took a bite of the stew, and he was pretty sure his tongue actually started singing.
Oh my Luna. I think I understand why Twilight was so excited about this. It tastes incredible! Does Twilight know the recipe? If not, I need to ask her mom for it before we go! 
Flash’s internal thoughts were cut off as a basket of rolls levitated past his nose, held in a familiar purple aura. He turned to watch as Twilight took three rolls, dunked all of them into her bowl, and devoured them almost at once. Then he realized her bowl was already half empty!
How did she eat that so fast? At this rate, will there even be any left when I go back for seconds?
“Twilight, I know you’re hungry, but please slow down,” Night Light called out. “And remember; only five rolls per pony.”
Twilight gave something that Flash thought was an acknowledgement of what her father said, but he couldn’t be sure given how she still had a roll in her mouth. 
For the next few minutes, everypony was mostly quiet as they ate. Flash made sure to grab some of the cranberry jelly and a few rolls, and even tried Twilight’s tactic of dipping them in the stew. It turned out to be a fantastic idea, offering an even better flavor that just the roll or stew alone. 
“So, Flash,” Twilight Velvet said as Twilight went to get a refill on stew. “What can you tell us about yourself? I heard quite a bit about you when Twilight was sharing her stories, but I would like to hear what you have to say as well.”
“Was there anything specific you wanted to know?” Flash asked. “I’m sure Twilight did a superb job explaining what we've done since we started dating, but I can try to clarify anything if you want me to.”
“How about how you ended up guarding my little filly? Or, better question, do you know why my little Shiny chose you over everypony else?” Twilight Velvet said with a smile as Twilight returned to the dining room. Shining blushed a bit at the nickname. “Not every pony becomes a guard captain after all.”
“We’d probably need to ask him about that,” Flash said, looking towards his former captain. “I’m not actually sure why I was the one chosen, and will admit I am a little interested myself.”
“It was actually a combination of a few factors,” Shining said. “For starters, you had a significant amount of experience serving in the guard from your time in both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire. You weren’t the most senior of guards we could have chosen, but you were at the point where we felt that you had enough experience to lead others while still being able to problem-solve outside of standard procedures. Ponies that have been in the guard for a long period of time tend to become more adverse to breaking procedure, so when picking captains we try to look for ponies that balance experience and the ability to adapt and solve problems in unique ways.
“This was something you and the other ponies who accompanied me to the Crystal Empire showed in spades while you were there.”
“Why's that, son?” Night Light asked.
“Because of what happened to the old Crystal Guard,” Shining said. “When we arrived at the Crystal Empire, we basically had to rebuild their guard from the ground up. This was both because of how much time had passed for the Crystal Ponies and because Sombra had done all he could to dismantle the guard when he took power. We also had to essentially add a whole new section to the Guard Hoof Book covering the Frozen North and the traditions of the Crystal Empire Guards, and Flash and the other Equestrian Guards that volunteered to travel to the Crystal Empire played a major part in both creating these sections and in training the Crystal Guard back up to full strength.
“It was this experience in creating a whole new guard unit, along with your years of experience, that made you the front runner for being chosen as Twilight’s new guard, at least to me. The other ponies being considered were either too inflexible, or weren’t ponies I thought would be a good match for Twilight. Having seen you in action and your interactions with the rest of the Crystal Guard, I knew you would not only care about Twilight’s safety, but also have the patience and caring attitude to help her on an emotional level should the stress of being a princess start to get to her.
“I also gave you my personal approval to both Celestia and Luna, and mentioned how I thought your personality would be a good fit for Twilight’s. Though I didn’t think it would actually lead the two of you to start dating. Not that I’m complaining of course, seeing as Twilight is clearly happy with the results,’ Shining smirked. Twilight just stuck her tongue out at him before giving Flash another quick kiss on the cheek.
“Glad to hear I had such a ringing endorsement, even if I didn’t even know I was being considered," Flash said with a wide grin. 
“I’m just happy to see you exceed my expectations,” Shining said, returning the smile.
To think, I’m the pony, out of everypony in the guard, that Shining Armor thought was the best pony to protect his sister. And not only that, I actually managed to exceed his expectations! That means a lot coming from someone as skilled and protective as him. I am sooooo tempted to bounce around like Twilight when she’s just gotten a new one-of-a-kind-book! 
	Focus Flash. You can bounce later when your not going to make a fool of yourself in front of Twilight’s parents. 
“Thought now I'm curious; what made you decide to join the guard?” Shining asked, pulling Flash back to the real world. 
“Oh that’s just what I was thinking!” Twilight Velvet squealed. “Let’s hear about that!”
“All right then,” Flash said, taking one last bite of stew. “I was born here in Canterlot, and grew up with my parents, who were both pegesi. My mom was a high-ranking guard before she retired, a First Lieutenant if I recall correctly, and was a specialized scout pegasus. She didn’t do much guarding of the palace, but instead was frequently sent to help patrol Canterlot or to scout the surrounding mountain range if there were reports of missing ponies or thieves or avalanches or what-have-you. If there was some kind of accident or disaster, she would always be first on the scene. 
“I always looked up to her as a foal and loved hearing stories about every little adventure she experienced in the guard. I especially loved how she would make these grand sweeping gestures or pull me through the air as she recounted every little story she had from that day, even if it was something as simple as chasing a pegasus who thought they could steal a box of donuts. Even though the schedule was a bit less stable than that of the palace guards, she loved being able to fly around the city helping others.
“When I turned twenty, I was working in the weather business, which I’d been doing since I was a teenager, but it wasn’t really ‘clicking’ with me, if that makes any sense. I wanted something a bit more…fulfilling, maybe. Something that made me feel like I was making an on the world around me. So, after thinking on it a bit, I decided sign up for the Royal Guard. I originally thought about applying for a scout unit like my mom, but in the end I decided to start with the normal guard for the mandatory three years to gain some experience and learn what other paths were available. That way I could get in shape, make some connections, and transfer to another portion of the guard if I found something that interested me.
“Within the first three months, I knew being a guard was what I wanted to do. Any boring parts, such as standing for eight hours guarding the throne room, was greatly outweighed by the exciting parts, even if it was just something as simple as helping a young filly find her missing dog. 
“It was just what I wanted, and it was also surprisingly eventful despite how calm Canterlot is most of the time. Though I will say my brief time in Ponyville has been far more exciting than my time in Canterlot or the Crystal Empire was, but I think Twilight and all the supervillains she helped beat may have played a roll in that,” Flash added, winking at his marefriend, who just rolled her eyes and shoveled more food into her mouth. “Heck, just last week when I had to help save a couple from a pony-size loaf of bread that wanted to cover them is honey and jam. THAT was quite the weird day, let me tell you. Still, no matter where I have worked I always feel like I am making a difference.
“I was still serving in Canterlot when the Crystal Empire reappeared and, as Shining briefly mentioned, they were in immediate need of volunteers to help recreate the Crystal Guard. I was one of the first ponies who volunteered to be sent there so I could help get the Crystal Guard back up to fighting strength and train all the new guards there on the tactics they had missed out on over the last millennium. It was different, sometimes very cold, but it really felt like I was helping them prepare to defend themselves should anything crazy happen again. 
“Then, a few months ago, I was made aware that Twilight would be receiving her own guard unit, though I wasn’t told that this was without her knowledge because of how stubborn she was being about not wanting any protectors,” Flash joked, earning a quick wing smack from Twilight and a laugh from Night Light.
“That would be from Velvet’s side of the family,” the older stallion said playfully. “You should have seen how stubborn her mother could be. Always insisting that she can do anything on her own and that she doesn’t need somepony to watch her back, thank you very much and good day.” 
That earned him a glare from Twilight Velvet, though a smile was clearly trying to work its way through her angry mask. 
“Still,” Night Light continued, worry seeping into his tone, “I’m glad they decided to give her some real protection. There hasn’t been much…real danger, has there?” 
“Not much since her guard was formed, no,” Flash said quickly. “Most of it is just weird or annoying things, like a bunny stampede or Discord causing chaos with Pinkie or Rainbow Dash. Anything more threatening usually remains in the Everfree Forest, and when something dangerous does venture out, our lookouts always spot it and sound the alert before it gets anywhere close to town. In my time serving her, Bull Horn was likely the most dangerous thing to directly threaten her since I became Twilight’s guard.” 
“That’s good to hear,” Night Light sighed with a faint smile. “I know firsthoof how strong my daughter is, but knowing that there will always be skilled ponies there to help watch her back helps put any fears I had to rest.”
“Just doing my job,” Flash nodded. “But backtracking a bit in my story though, shortly after I learned of this new guard unit being formed, I was informed that I had been selected to lead said unit, and that most of the soldiers with me would be Royal Guards that had been relocated the Crystal Empire when it had reappeared. I thought originally that it may have been both a way to give Twilight some experienced guards while also removing some of the extra ones from the Crystal Empire, seeing as the Crystal Guard’s numbers had reached a surplus of needed guards, but I never actually asked if that was the case.”
“You’re mostly right,” Shining answered. “It was also a way to show the Crystal Guards that we thought they were ready to stand on their own again, and that they didn’t need Equestria’s help for the day-to-day running of the empire. The Royal Guards, including you, would have been sent back to Canterlot if not for Twilight needing her own guard force.”
“That makes sense. Still, it was nice to go somewhere warm again, even if something crazy happens every Tuesday, and it was nice to be closer to my family again.”
“Something crazy happens every Tuesday?” Night Light asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Yes,” Flash said at the exact same moment Twilight said “no.” 
Flash gave her a playful glare, but Twilight merely swallowed a spoonful of stew and said, “There’s nothing different about Tuesdays compared to any other day of the week.”
“My running count of crazy events says otherwise,” Flash said, grinning as Twilight just stuck her tongue out. Twilight Velvet giggled. 
“You two are so adorable together,” Cadance squealed as she passed through the kitchen doorway with her third refill after getting her third refill. Or at least Flash thought it was her third. He had only noticed her leave the table twice so far, but he’d been so caught up in his story that there was a good chance she might have left and come back once or twice and he just didn’t notice. 
“Ponyville is closer than the Crystal Empire to Canterlot, so I can definitely see it being easier to see your family. How often do you go see them?” Velvet asked.
“I’ve tried to visit them at least one a month since I’ve moved to Ponyville, even if it’s just a quick fly up to Canterlot on my day off,” Flash said. “Unfortunately, neither of my parents really had many opportunities to visit me in the Crystal Empire during the two years I spent there. The trip was just too far for a short visit, and my mom has a distinct hatred of train rides.”
“Why does that sound so familiar?” Twilight Velvet muttered, putting a hoof to her chin in thought.
“What’s your mother’s name?” Night Light asked.
“Swift Strike—”
“WHAT!?” 
Twilight Velvet’s outburst was so loud that everypony nearly flipped the table over in shock. Poor Shining even accidentally sent his (thankfully empty) spoon flying into the ceiling, but Velvet ignored it and just stared at Flash with her mouth wide open.
“You’re Swifty’s colt!?”
Flash opened his mouth to say yes, before a more important and surprising question popped into his mind. 
“You know my mom?” 
Velvet nodded eagerly, her smile widening. “You bet I do! We’re part of the same bungee jumping club! We see each other at least once a month.”
I got one question answered, but now I have so many more…
“Bungee-jumping? But, why…How…What?” Flash was certain his train of thought had just crashed so hard it had skipped an entire zip code in the process. 
“Oh, she just makes sure to bind her wings before each jump, and we have a safety net below us just in case,” Twilight Velvet said casually.
“That wasn’t my main question,” Flash said, his brain crashing again. “WHY is she bungee jumping at all?! Why are YOU bungee jumping?!”
“Because it’s fun!” Twilight Velvet said with a grin that Flash swore matched her daughter’s whenever Twilight got really invested in a science project. “The feeling of falling, the wind in your mane, then bouncing back up and down as you swing from side to side…It’s AWESOME! Oh, oh, oh, you and Twilight should totally join us next time! We can bring Night Light and Shining and make it a family outing!”
“Now now, honey!” Night Light interjected before Flash could even begin to respond. “I'm sure there are other, less adrenaline-pumping ways that we can have a family outing. As he said, Ponyville can be quite exciting, and I’m sure both of them would appreciate some time to relax.” 
Shining was nodding his head enthusiastically in agreement, though Flash noticed that both stallions were now quite a bit paler than they were a minute ago. Cadence was just stifling a giggle while Twilight was giving both stallions a knowing eye-roll. 
I guess Night Light and Shining don't find adrenaline-heavy activities to be nearly as fun as Velvet does. 
“I think I’ll need to agree with Night Light this time,” Flash said, struggling not to chuckle himself when the other stallions let out sighs of relief. “Ponyville can get pretty chaotic at times, especially if Discord is visiting Fluttershy for tea. And even if Discord isn’t visiting, there’s usually at least one day a week where things get hectic, even if a fifth of those incidents are accidentally caused by Twilight,” he added, earning another wing-smack to the back of the head and a laugh from the other occupants of the table. “So if it’s all the same, I think I’ll pass,” He finished with a nod. 
Luna only knows how much adrenaline I get in Ponyville, especially when the Cutie Mark Crusaders are on the prowl.
Velvet laughed. “Oh, believe me, you should have seen the trouble she got up to when she was a filly!”
“Mooom,” Twilight groaned, turning red again. 
“I’m just being honest, dear. And, Flash, that the offer to come bungee-jumping will always stand,” Velvet said with a happy grin. “And do tell your mother hi for me next time you see her, won’t you?”
From there, the conversation moved on to other, more down-to-earth topics. What it was like guarding Twilight all day, how Cadance was doing and how the pregnancy was treating her, any exciting news out of Canterlot, Ponyville, or the Crystal Empire, what new books had come out (though that one was mostly between Twilight and her father). Flash lost any idea of what the father and daughter were talking about within the first two minutes, so he took the chance to go and get more stew. 
I need to know if Twilight knows this recipe, or if her mom can give it to me. This stuff is superb!
Eventually, everypony had finished eating and, after depositing their dishes in the sink, had moved back to the family room. From there, the conversation continued for another good half an hour, flowing easily from one light topic to the next. And through it all, Flash smiled. 
He had only just met the Sparkles, but they had all welcomed him in with open hooves, eagerly learning about his young relationship with their daughter and sister, and had given their approval. It made Flash feel rather warm inside, like a small light glowed in his heart. 
They made him feel as though he was part of the family already, and that made him treasure every moment.
Wait…Where did Twilight Velvet go? Did I zone out again?
“I’m baaaack,” Velvet called out, coming into the room carrying a large blue book in her magic. Before Flash could even open his mouth to ask, Twilight jumped up and made a dive for the book with her wings, her horn glowing brightly. 
Only she didn’t get very far as Shining’s magic clamped down on her tail, halting her about halfway across the room before she fell to the floor with a grunt, her magic winking out.
“Uhhh…” Flash said, thoroughly confused as to what was happening. All he could see was that Shining had this evil grin on his face, Twilight Velvet and Night Light both looked amused, Cadance was trying not to laugh, and Twilight was still desperately trying to go for the book.
“Now now, LSBFF,” Shining said in what was probably the best evil-big-brother-voice Flash had ever heard. “You know what comes next. I had to live though it and your teasing, so it’s only fair that you do too.”
“Please no! Anything but that!” Twilight cried in real panic. 
What could be so bad about that book? Was it her diary or something? No, no, it couldn’t be that. No mom was THAT evil, especially given that Flash had only met the family a few hours ago.
“Anything but what?” Flash asked, raising an eyebrow as Twilight redoubled her struggles as Shining and Night Light combined their magic to pick the purple alicorn up and plop her back on the crouch. 
“Baby photos!” Twilight Velvet and Cadance cheered as one, the former prancing over and plopping down between Flash and Twilight, the latter of whom had gone pale. 
Ohhhhh. Now I see why Twilight is so panicked. Actually, I’ll probably need to go through this too when I introduce Twilight to my mom and dad. Luna knows how much Mom loves my old baby photos.
“Flash, please don’t look!” Twilight begged, turning her best puppy dog stare on him. The big eyes, the pout, everything that would make his heart melt and his resistance crumble. 
But as tempted as he was to listen to his marefriend, and he was VERY tempted, he also REALLY wanted to see what an adorable baby Twilight looked like. 
Plus…
“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Flash said, knowing deep down that he kinda wasn’t. “But I guarantee that my mom will insist on showing you MY baby photos no matter how much I tell her not to. So it’s only fair that I get to see yours too. Plus, I am kind of curious to see how adorable you were so many years ago.”
Velvet let out a squeal of happiness even as Twilight’s face morphed into one of pure horror and she buried her face in her wings. Shining and Cadance just laughed before they and Night Light got up and joined the rest of the family on the couch, essentially trapping Twilight and him in place.
“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad honey,” Twilight Velvet said with a wink in Flash’s direction. “And besides, it’s tradition! I saw your father’s baby photos, he saw mine, and Cadance saw Shining’s. It’s only fair that Flash sees yours and you see his.”
“She has a point,” Flash said, chuckling as Twilight let out a helpless groan. “If it makes you feel any better, I promise that I’ll still find you just as beautiful and amazing once this is all over. And I can buy you that new ‘Legends of Equestria’ book when we get back to Ponyville,” he added.
THAT made Twilight’s ear to perk up. 
If there’s one thing Twilight loves, it’s new books.
“Fine,” Twilight muttered as she lowered her wings, at least partly. “Let’s just get this over with,” she sighed. Her mother beamed and immediately opened the book on her lap.
“Awwww…” Flash said as his eyes caught sight of the first photo. A small baby Twilight was sleeping in her mother’s forelegs, a little tuff of mane sticking out of the blanket she was wrapped in. 
“Here’s Twilight right after she was born…” Velvet began, prompting Twilight to bury her face in her wings again. 
The next image was just as cute, and showed a tiny Twilight chewing happily on a plush star that was roughly as big as she was. Then her in the bathtub giving the camera a horrified look that just screamed ‘How could you do this to me?’ Then one of her staring in wide-eyed awe as Night Light levitated a bottle towards Twilight, her eyes focused directly on his horn with all the intensity of a six-month-old.
Then came Twilight dressed as a little pumpkin on her first Nightmare Night, followed by her bundled up and sleeping in Shining’s legs as snow gently fell around them. Then, of course, an image of the tiny little Twilight trying to eat a nearby snowflake. 
Flash had to fight back a laugh when he saw the next one, which showed that Shining’s colors had been changed from white and blue to green and pink while baby Twilight was giggling and clapping excitedly. Flash guessed that little Twilight had experienced a magic surge and poor Shining had bore the brunt of it. 
Causing untold magical silliness since she was less than a year old. Yep, that’s Twilight, all right. 
Also, seeing the younger version of his guard commander pouting was PRICELESS. 
Maybe I can convince Twilight to make me a copy of that one, he thought as he watched the real-life Shining give an epic double face-hoof. Definitely would be a good pick-me-up the next time the nobles are driving me nuts.
Soon Flash caught sight of Twilight’s first birthday party. What made this photo both adorable and silly was that Twilight appeared to be trying to blow out a single candle on a small cake, yet instead it looked as though she was only blowing her mane off her face. Velvet said that it had taken her almost three minutes to finally get the candle, and Twilight let out an even more long-suffering moan.
“Somepony please let this end,” Twilight muttered behind her wings.
“We’re not even close, LSBFF,” Shining teased, earning an embarrassed-slash-angry little sister glare.
“Oh, this one is one of my favorites,” Twilight Velvet said, pointing to a photo of a maybe-two-year-old Twilight dumping the remains of a melted bowl of ice-cream on her head as she tried to lick up the last bits of sweet sugary goodness. In the background, Shining was laughing his head off and nearly falling out of his chair. “Twilight sure did have quite the sweet tooth when she was younger.”
“Oh, why?” Twilight groaned, her blush reaching the tips of her ears as the family laughed. 
“She still does that actually, given the right circumstances,” Flash joked. “Though given how good Super Sundae’s ice cream sundaes can be, I don’t blame her.”
Twilight gave him an epic glare on that one, but Flash just stuck his tongue out at her.
Sorry, sweetie. Actually, no. I’m not. I might as well enjoy this while I can. But don’t worry. You’ll get your revenge soon enough, trust me. 
The pictures began to space out a little bit more now in terms of age, but they were all still adorable. 
There was a small Twilight protecting a book fort with Mr. Smarty Pants dressed as a fellow guard. There was one of Twilight doing the Sunshine dance with Cadance, both of them frozen mid-prance. Adorably, there was one of a seven-year-old Twilight actually levitating a mistletoe above a teenage Shining and Cadance, the former looking up in shock and the latter trying desperately not to laugh. Then there was one of Cadance basically sprawled on top of Twilight, with Twilight reaching for the camera in a desperate plea to be saved from the large pink monster currently trying to crush her. 
There was one of Shining apparently chasing Twilight with a quesadilla for some reason, while the next photo had Twilight running after him with a bag of broccoli. That one was so ridiculous Flash didn’t try to understand how that even happened. Then, of course, there were pictures of Twilight reading various books. For most of them, Flash wasn’t sure what made somepony pick up the camera, but he had to admit, Twilight looked so…RIGHT when she was reading. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And then there were a few where Twilight was in either a really silly position with a book or had this adorable look of concentration as she tried to make her horn do something. There was also one of her sleeping on Velvet’s back with a book still clutched in her hooves, which was just too cute. 
Though Flash had to admit that his favorite one was probably the one taken right after Twilight had gotten her cutie mark. Unlike the one in the hallway where Twilight was proudly showing it off, this photo showed Twilight bouncing happily around the room while Princess Celestia watched her with a smile. Just the pure joy and happiness that the photo displayed was infectious. 
It was the way Twilight should always be. Happy, energetic, and believing that she could accomplish anything. When she was like that, it meant that everything was right with the world.  
From there, Spike began to enter quite a few of the pictures. There was Twilight playing with him, Spike trying to eat a plate for some reason, Spike drawing on the walls, a young Twilight levitating a plush pony doll above his head (much to his enjoyment). They were all adorable. Though his favorite image involving Spike showed the baby dragon sleeping while curled on an open book. Nearby, Twilight was looking like she couldn’t decide if she should be annoyed that she could not read her book or happy at how adorable little Spike was. 
All in all, the entire book was wonderfully entertaining, despite Twilight’s persistent groans and grumbles trying to say otherwise. It took them nearly an hour to go through it, at which point Velvet exclaimed that it was now time for dessert. Twilight thanked Celestia out loud, at which point Flash just had to ask if Velvet had another book. 
Twilight’s response was a resounding ‘NONONONO! No more baby photos!’ while swatting him with her wings repeatedly. 
Dessert, as it turned out, was a wonderfully crafted set of three chocolate cakes. One was mixed with strawberries, one with peaches, and one with white chocolate. Even with his massive dinner, Flash couldn’t help but try a slice of each cake. Of course, all of them were incredible. It left him VERY full, but also very, VERY satisfied. 
“That was the best dessert of my life,” Flash muttered to no pony in particular as he leaned back on the sofa. “I might be about to enter a food coma, but it was worth it.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Velvet said, smiling as she walked by, grabbing his empty plate in her magic before trotting back towards the kitchen. By now, everypony had finished their food and Cadance and Shining had excused themselves to go to bed a bit early. Flash knew from Twilight that the happy couple came all the way from the Crystal Empire in a straight shot, so it was no surprise that they were going to bed early. Hay, Flash hadn’t even travelled half that distance and he was still pretty wiped.
He blamed his panic. And the food. But mostly panic.
“By the way, when do you plan on introducing my daughter to your parents?” Velvet called out. “I bet Swift Strike will be through the roof when you tell her!”
“The plan was to do it in two weeks,” Twilight said, and unless Flash was very much mistaken, she sounded a little bit nervous. 
Just like I was.
“Not this week?” Night Light asked, an eyebrow raising. “You’re already here in Canterlot, so why wait? From what your mom has told me about Swift Strike, I think she’ll really like you, dear, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“They’re out of town right now,” Flash said, extending a wing to brush Twilight reassuringly. “They left for their third honeymoon last week and wont be back for another week and a half at the least. So we’ll be visiting them a few days after they get back. And I agree with you, they will LOVE Twilight, that much I can guarantee.”
“Easy for you to say,” Twilight muttered. 
“Yes, it is, just like YOU were telling me the entire train ride up here that your family would love me. And you were right. So now it’s my turn to be right!” 
“I don’t think that’s how being right works,” Twilight said with a deadpan stare, though Flash could see a little smile peeking its way through her grumpy face. 
“That’s how it does in my family!”
“Then I think your trip will be interesting to say the least,” Night Light laughed. “I look forward to hearing all the details when we see you next…”
> 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.”
> Chapter 5: Meeting the Sentrys Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Our story begins way back in our sophomore year of high school in Cloudsdale,” Aaron began.
“You were such a handsome nerd back then,” Swifty said with a yawn. 
“I’m still handsome, thank you very much! But back on topic, by this point I had already found my cutie mark, which meant I could apply for the talent specialization program the school offered. Essentially, the classes before noon would be the core classes, such as history, math, and the like, while the second half of the day would have elective classes that ponies could take based on their talents and interest. If a pony had yet to find their cutie mark, they would take a few core activities in the afternoon and have a few electives that they could take that would rotate on a monthly basis. Because my talent fell outside the normal curriculum of electives available in a cloud city, I was able to set up a mentorship program with somepony who could teach me how to harness my talent. This pony would then sign off that I was doing my work to grant me the credits I needed to graduate.
“Given how my talent involved growing plants, I spent most of my afternoons on the ground helping my mentor and family friend Tulip grow flowers. I loved it so much, I usually got so into it that I only stopped when she told me it was time for dinner. I always made sure to bring some flowers home so my parents could see and taste my work too.”
“Wasn’t there one time when she had to drag you out of the garden by your ear?” Swifty asked, prompting a small chuckle from Twilight. Aaron laughed.
“That happened WAY more than once. On one such late night, as I was flying home with my bags full of flowers, I flew past the school’s cloud stadium and noticed an unusual sight. Despite the sun having already set and only a couple of the lights being on, somepony still using the hoofball training equipment on the field. My curiosity got the better of me, so I flew over into the darkened stands near the endzone so I could watch. 
“The pony on the field wasn’t one of the hoofball players, but instead was a small mare that looked like she should still be back in middle school. It was pretty hard to make out any details from so far away, but she landed for a minute nearby and I was able to get a look at her. Surprise surprise, she was the ball of fluff that I’m currently snuggling with.” He gave Swifty a small kiss, and she giggled. “Even back then she was a ball of fluff with some damn strong legs, something I could see immediately since she was wearing the heaviest leg bands that the school owned. And given how they were normally reserved for the hoofball players at least twice her size, I could easily guess that her wings were likely very strong too.”
“Those weights were too light,” Swifty muttered. “Nothing more than an annoyance than full challenge. Stupid cheap school.”  
“Yes, and your stories of the hoofball players struggling to fly with them was just them being lazy,” Aaron said with a smirk.
“Exactly!”
Flash suddenly felt the urge to facehoof, but at least Twilight seemed to be enjoying this, given her giggle. 
So even back then, Mom used weights that barely anypony else could use and felt that they just weren’t heavy enough. I feel like I should be surprised, but I’m not. 
“Regardless, I had seen the hoofball players wearing similar weights before and seeing her flying with them with so little difficulty impressed me a lot,” Aaron continued. “Just using them at all told me that she was serious about her workout and that she was a very tough pony. But as I watched her, I noticed that she had landed near a school bag that she had placed near the goalpost. I was close enough to see her take a drink, look at the bag with an almost pained expression, shake her head, and began to fly laps, still wearing the weights.
“Once again, my curiosity got the better of me, so while she was looking away, I flew over to her bag to see what was there. I think Swifty still has that bag somewhere too. The blue one, with all the stickers of the solar guards?” 
“I think it’s in the attic,” Swifty said with a small, tired sigh as she snuggled deeper into Aaron’s chest. “It was a fun little memento of our first meeting.”
Wasn’t that the same bag Mom gave me for my first day of school? The one that she said was full of awesomeness and could suplex away bad luck? I had almost forgotten that it was mom’s originally.
“That it was. Anyway, she’d left it open that night, and I could see that all she had was a large bottle of water and a small, half-full bag of peanuts. It took me a moment, but I realized that, given how hard the mare was exercising, she must have been starving.
“I was, once again, really impressed that she could keep undergoing such an intense workout with so little food available. Her stamina and dedication to her training was clear as the moon in the sky. And yet, I was also a bit concerned. She clearly wasn’t eating the only food she had, and I was a bit worried that she might not be able to make it home once she was done with her routine. And if she was to push too hard, I was worried something might happen to her and no pony would be around to see.
“I thought about leaving her some money, but I realized that wouldn’t be helpful if she was too weak to get to a store or restaurant, assuming anywhere was open when she was finished given how I had no idea if she would be out there for another hour or three. Plus, given how deserted the school was, there was no guarantee that somepony would find her quickly if she happened to overwork herself. And…” His face turned red, and he bashfully rubbed his free wing against the back of his neck “I just couldn’t stand the thought of somepony who was clearly very dedicated to what she was doing get hurt when I had the ability to help.”
“You wanted to help a complete stranger,” Swifty said, so soft and warm that Flash almost blushed. Some part of him wanted to turn away and give the two of them some privacy to be cute. “My big knight covered in flower petals and dirt.” 
“And you’re my little fluffy knight with the strength of a grizzly bear,” Aaron said in the same loving tone, stealing a quick kiss.
“That’s so adorable,” Twilight whispered to Flash, barely audibly, like she was trying not to disturb the tender moment in front of her. Flash just grinned and nodded, leaning over to give Twilight a quick nuzzle, earning a happy little purr. 
“Luckily for her, I had stopped at the grocery store on my way home to pick up some food for my parents,” Aaron continued after a minute or so. “So, while she was still training, I quickly pulled out two slices of bread, some of my best flowers, and some honey and spices. Once I made a sandwich, I pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote a quick note, listing the ingredients in case she was allergic to anything and explaining why I was leaving her some food. I set it next to her bag and, hoping that she hadn’t seen me, I retreated back to the stands where she couldn’t see me, but where I could still remain close just in case something happened.”
“Why didn’t you just stay out and talk to her?” Twilight asked, tilting her head adorably. “Wouldn’t it have just been easier to talk to her rather than hide and wait?”
“I was, well…nervous,” Aaron said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I had a few friends who were mares, but they were mares I’d known for years or mares who tried to talk to me first and were able to put up with me being more tongue-tied than Flash trying to explain why he was home an hour after curfew.”
“That was one time!” Flash protested, trying desperately not to blush as Twilight snickered. 
“And you spend five minutes stammering ‘um,’ ‘ah,’ and ‘I, well’ and that’s it,” Aaron said with a small chuckle. “I was just as bad at that when it came to talking to new ponies I had never met in high school. I always just got this, feeling of butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of meeting somepony new. A general sense of anxiety that made it hard to focus or keep still. And with somepony who was as serious, impressive, and dedicated to boot about her workout…It just…made me nervous. You’re right, I probably could have waited for her, but I was just too afraid to make a fool of myself, soooo…I hid.”
“Don’t let his little stunt from earlier fool you, Twilight,” Swifty said around another yawn. “My big knight here used to be quite bad at meeting new ponies. It’s only his years of running his flower shop and having me as his wing-pony that made him into the social butterfly and chatterbox that he is today. Back in highschool, he was at best a social caterpillar.”
“You’ll never let me forget that one Nightmare Night costume, will you?” Aaron playfully asked, earning a playful raspberry from Swifty. “And you’re probably just as much as of a chatterbox as I am!”
“It’s a miracle the house is ever quiet with the two of you around then, isn’t it?” Flash said, earning a laugh from all the other ponies in the room.
“Yep!” Swifty crowed. 
“Anyway,” Aaron continued, swallowing the last of his laughter. “The next time she landed, I watched her find the note and the sandwich and she immediately shrugged out of the weights and glaring suspiciously around the stadium. Despite her size, she looked quite intimidating with that glare, convincing me to stay right where I was. When she didn’t see me, she turned back to her bag and picked up the note. I couldn’t quite see her reaction to the note, but eventually she put it down and picked up the sandwich. She spent a minute examining the sandwich, sniffing it, pulling it open to check it, before finally taking a very small bite of one of the corners.”
“She ate a sandwich that a stranger just left her?” Twilight asked in surprise. “That…seems like a bad idea.”
“I was hungryyyy,” Swifty whined, nuzzling deeper into Aaron’s wings as her face became bright red. “It was past dinnertime and I hadn’t had anything since lunch! I just planned to take a small bite of the corner when I didn’t find anything suspicious! That way I could wait and make sure it wasn’t going to affect me!” 
“Only you didn’t,” Aaron laughed. “Instead, it took her less than five seconds to completely demolish the sandwich. And immediately after she finished, she collapsed on her side.”
“It was sooooo goooooooooood,” Swifty moaned. “The moment I tasted it I couldn’t stop myself! Even if I wasn’t running on fumes I would have devoured that glorious bundle of flowers and spices.”
“I know, dear. I know,” Aaron said, planting a small kiss on her forehead. “Now naturally I was pretty concerned when I saw that. I was worried that her body had given out because of how hard she worked, or that the sudden intake of carbs had caused a medical problem, so I quickly left my hiding place and flew over. But before I could get to her, she managed to stagger back to her hooves almost drunkenly and loudly proclaimed ‘That was the best sandwich I have ever eaten. Ever. Of all time! THANK YOU MYSTERY SANDWICH PONY!!!’ At which point I naturally replied, ‘You're welcome.’”
“You were so afraid of talking to her, but then you did THAT?” Twilight gasped in surprise. “Rainbow once did that to me when I was in my lab and ended up suck to a wall when one of my experiments exploded!”
“It was purely on instinct! I didn’t MEAN to startle her!” Aaron protested, unable to hide his smile as Swifty huffed. “Though I will say, her reaction was priceless! She let out the highest pitched scream I have ever heard and she launched herself straight up into the air, ending up balanced on one of the goal posts with her fur all puffed up! All I could do was yell an awkward ‘sorry!’ at her as I landed by her stuff.’
“Now if only I could scare HIM like that!” Swifty grunted. “I’ve tried for years to get a similar reaction out of him as payback, but he never reacts the same way! He barely even jumps!”
“Come on now, give yourself some credit. You’ve have managed to scare me plenty of times, especially on Nightmare Night!” Aaron said in a consoling tone. “Just because I don’t jump doesn’t mean I’m not scared. I just tend to freeze up instead of launching the way you and Flash do.”
“I know,” Swifty winced. “I still remember the incident with Flash that one Nightmare night.”
Oh dear Luna, I had forgotten about that. Flash thought with similar wince. Sometimes you’re just to good at being scary, Dad.
“What incident?” Twilight asked innocently, prompting a smile from Aaron. 
“Despite Swifty being more practiced as scaring ponies due to her role as a guard instructor, I tend to get more…let’s say extreme reactions. One year for Nightmare Night, Flash had dressed up as a Royal Guard—”
“And he was so cuuuuuuute!” Swifty squealed. “I even managed to convince a friend of mine to temporarily shrink my armor so Flashie could wear it as his costume!”
“Minus the sword,” Aaron added with a small snort. 
Ah, yes. The sword. THAT I definitely remember… 
“That tone indicates that there is definitely a story there but that we will not be getting into it any further due to an argument that had happened WAY too many times in the past,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. 
Flash just blinked at her.
“That was oddly specific,” he said, raising his own eyebrow. 
“My brother and I use a similar tone when discussing the tinfoil crown we used to compete over as foals,” Twilight said, and Flash knew enough about HER tone to know he was NOT getting any more details about it, at least not tonight.
Note to self, ask Spike about a tinfoil crown and what it has to do with Shining Armor, Flash thought. And maybe bring popcorn. 
“You would be right,” Aaron said, winking at her. “Anyway, because he was wearing Swifty’s armor, he wanted me to tell him the scariest story I could think of, saying that Royal Guards weren’t scared of anything.”
“He didn’t, of course,” Flash chuckled, “but he did tell me one that he, at the time, thought was a little bit scarier than what I was used to. And to further set the mood, the only light on was a flashlight he held below his chin, making him look like just a spooky floating head.”
“A head you just couldn’t keep your eyes off of if I remember correctly,” Aaron said with a nod. 
“Ohhh yeah. I was HOOKED!” Flash agreed. “I was very, very into the story. I did my best to remain calm, tried to tell myself that royal guards like Mom could handle anything even as the armor clanked at every little shiver I made. Even as I could feel the straps becoming wet from my panicked sweat, I told myself I could do this.”
“He did very well for a nine-year-old colt,” Swifty agreed. “He was such a tough little soldier.”
“I still am a touch soldier, thank you very much. And I am certainly not a little soldier anymore,” Flash said with a playful huff. His mom just smiled.
“You’ll always be my little soldier Flashie, even if you ever get to be as tall as Aaron.” 
“However, when I got near the end of the story,” Aaron picked up, “I turned off my flashlight right at the final moment, leapt into the air, and landed behind him with a solid THUD! Flash screamed, and when I turned the light back on, he was gone. Any guesses as to where he ended up?”
“Behind the couch?” Twilight guessed.
I wish I had ended up there, Flash thought. 
“Nope!” Swifty laughed. “My goofball of a husband had scared Flashie so bad that he had jumped straight up, punched a hole in the ceiling, and ended up in the upstairs bathroom!” 
Twilight’s jaw dropped, and her eyes immediately scanned over everypony’s faces, looking for some sign of deceit. 
“Good thing my costume was actual armor that year, huh?” Flash said, laughing a little as he saw the dawning realization in Twilight’s eyes that he was being serious. “I was perfectly fine, thanks to all the protection wards on my mom’s armor, just a little shaken up from the story. My mom spent the rest of the night cuddling me and saying how impressed she was at my lightning reflexes, saying that all guards need great reflexes. She also assured me that it was ok that I did get scared, and that she wasn’t mad at me for my little act of accidental property damage.”
“And thus, I learned only to tell Flash scary stories outside,” Aaron said with a wink. “Thank goodness one of my friends helps build houses and could fix the damage relatively quickly.”
“That’s crazy,” Twilight breathed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Welcome to the family!” Swifty said with a wild grin, before yawning.
Yep, welcome to the family, Twilight, Flash thought. While we may look normal from a distance, when things get crazy, we go the extra mile. Though given how often the same thing happens to you back in Ponyville, I’m sure you’ll be just fine. 
“Anyway, back to my story,” Aaron laughed. “Once Swifty realized what had happened, she flew back down and started scolding me for scaring her half to death. And let me tell you, even at that age, she had all the aura of a drill instructor. I felt like I was a brand-new recruit! I couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, though that was probably because my brain was so overwhelmed that there was a cute, dedicated, impressive-as-hay MARE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME that it kinda broke for a moment. I don’t even remember most of what she said, but I specifically remember her screaming ‘Give me one good reason I shouldn’t suplex you through this cloud!’
“At which point, completely at a loss for words, I replied with the first thing that came into my head: ‘Because I can make you more sandwiches?’ Her stomach growled so loudly at the mention of more food that she couldn’t help but blush and mutter adorably to herself. Something about the way she went from loud and in charge to embarrassed and shy just made me smile, and so I pulled out the ingredients.”
“And thus, my mom was forever in love with his sandwiches,” Flash added. “Sure, she loves all his food, but those sandwiches are the thing she ask for the most.”
“By most, he means daily,” Aaron said.
“If he didn’t want to make them all the time, then he shouldn’t make them so delicious,” Swifty said with a small huff.
“But if I DIDN’T, you would know something was wrong or I was replaced by a changeling or something!” Aaron teased, waggling an eyebrow at her.
“Hmmmmmm…True.” Swifty conceded, deciding to snuggle more into her husband’s chest. Aaron just continued stroking her with his wing. 
“After that, it became a daily routine for me to fly by the stadium on my way home and pay her a visit, bringing at least two sandwiches for her to snack on. Thankfully, my parents were understanding about me coming home later than normal once I explained that I was helping a friend with her workout routine, and once they met Swifty one night when I was flying her home, they were more than willing to let us hang out. So, I started to spend more and more time at the field after school. Sometimes I would just watch her, sometimes I would hold the tackling dummies still for her, and sometimes I would playfully race her as some extra motivation for her to keep going. And on our breaks, we would just talk.”
“You were such a good listener,” Swifty said with another yawn.
“And as we have already established, you were a chatterbox,” Aaron teased. “Sometimes I felt like the only time I could talk was when you were eating or you were too busy trying to get your breath back after a particularly hard set,” he added, earning him a quick playful nip on his wing.
That hasn’t changed, Flash thought as Twilight giggled and grabbed a few more appetizers. Mom still talks so much when she isn’t so tired, and Dad is perfectly happy to just let her go on and on because he knows he can stop her anytime with a quick kiss.  
“I learned what her hobbies were, that we were in the same grade, and why she never brought much food with her,” Aaron continued. “See, she had known for a few years at that point that she wanted to become a guard. She wasn’t set on the scout division yet, but she knew she would have time to work on that once she was in. Her parents, however, didn’t really like the idea and thought her interest in the guard was just a phase. As such, they hadn’t signed off on the paperwork allowing her to take the guard classes at school.”
“Why didn’t they like the idea?” Twilight asked. 
“They were worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the stress, and that trying to focus on becoming a guard would negatively affect the grades that would help me get into other professions,” Swifty said with a small yawn. “I…never was great with handling stress back then, and still struggle sometimes even now. So, they were worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle the combination of physical exercise, mental training, and potentially dangerous situations if I was assigned somewhere more dangerous like an outpost bordering the Everfree.
“Plus, due to the food and housing being provided, guards start off with a lower paycheck than other specialized professions, and I think my parents were also worried that I wouldn’t make enough money to support myself or my future family. At the time, while I appreciated the concern, I still felt like it was still my decision to make. Now that I’m older I know I didn’t understand all the little nuances and impacts of my choice, but I still think I made the right choice back then regardless.”
“But her decision or not, she still couldn’t take the class without their permission,” Aaron said, “And from what I remember, they weren’t willing to budge on this issue. However, Swifty wasn’t about to let something like that stop her, and so had a friend in the guard class share his notes with her so she could learn the guard protocols while she practiced the physical training on her own. She didn’t bring more food partly because she didn’t want to alert her parents to the fact that she was working out rather than studying, and partly because she didn’t have enough money to buy extra food every single day either, especially not enough to cover the severe amount of calories she was burning through her exercise. 
“See, Swifty’s family was pretty poor compared to my family, with most of their money being saved up to ensure Swifty and her siblings could afford to go to whatever college or trade school they wanted. And because she was putting so much time into ensuring that she was physically ready to join the guard, Swifty couldn’t make any time to work a part-time job either.”
“Couldn’t she work at a job that was physically demanding? Like helping ponies move? And wouldn’t your parents have noticed how tired you were after school and how much muscle you were putting on?” Twilight asked, her head tilting a little bit to the left in the classic Twilight-is-adorkably-curious way. 
“None of those jobs were good enough,” Swifty said with a sigh. “I tried a few different jobs, and while they had SOME level of physical demand, it was never enough to push me to my limits. Only working out on my own let me get stronger.”
It’s not a workout if you’re not barely able to stand afterwards, right, Mom? Flash thought with a chuckle. That’s what you always yelled at us during your training course, after all. 
“And my parents were usually really busy working in the weather factory to provide for me and my siblings,” Swifty continued. “I also had always been fairly muscular and had a decent workout schedule even before I started training to become a guard, especially once puberty hit, so when they did notice the increases, I just said it was likely because of puberty mixed with my normal routines. They didn’t really question it beyond that for quite a while.”
“I was still surprised it took them so long to notice that you were now capable of suplexing a fully stocked refrigerator,” Aaron said with a wink, earning a small playful smack from one of Swifty’s wings. 
“I didn’t go around suplexing things at HOME, you goof. I just tried to keep it under wraps while at home, and I purposely let my fur grow out so it would be harder for them to notice when they weren’t home really late.”
“Fair enough. Anyway, luckily for me, my talent helped me grow so many flowers that I always had spares ready to be picked, and so I had no trouble bringing her some,” Aaron continued. “Tulip had no problem with me picking more, though I think she guessed that I was developing a crush on Swifty before even I knew it was a crush. Especially when she started showing me how to make bouquets. The knowing looks she gave me made so much sense when Swifty finally offered to take me out to dinner one night. 
“Well, ‘offered’ might not be the right word. She all but said ‘You have brought me dinner so many nights that now it’s time for me to treat you. NO BUTS!’ The most aggressive way to say ‘let me do something nice for you’ I have ever heard, but I still appreciated the effort she was making.”
“That is such a Mom way of asking you on a date,” Flash agreed, earning a small huff from Swifty and a cackle from Aaron.
“Cheeky colt,” she muttered.
“And I will never forget that night either,” Aarons said with a happy sigh. “It turns out she had a crush on me as well, as once we had finished dinner and she had refused to let me help pay the bill, she gave me a passionate kiss before speeding off faster than I had ever seen her fly. I was so stunned as my own feelings finally clicked and made sense to me that I just kind of hovered there above the restaurant for a good five minutes before a staff member snapped me out of my stupor. When I finally got home, my parents asked me why I had this cute dumbstruck look on my face, and I could only reply, ‘I think I have a marefriend now.’”
“One who spent all night panicking about the kiss and could barely focus at all the next day,” Swifty said, blushing slightly as she nuzzled Aaron lovingly. 
“One who had no reason to worry as I was more than happy to start dating such a wonderful, if occasionally very shouty, pony,” Aaron beamed, earning a quick kiss from Swifty. 
I wonder if Twilight and I will ever be that romantic with one another, Flash thought, pulling Twilight a little closer with his wing. Twilight giggled at his parent’s display and gave a quick nuzzle to Flash.
“So what happened the next day?” Twilight asked, leaning forward a bit in her seat in excitement. Aaron grinned at her enthusiasm.
“Once I told Tulip what had happened and how I needed help making something for Swifty, we spent the next five hours working on floral arrangements specifically made of her favorite flowers,” Aaron continued. “In the end I made two; one for her to eat that night and one as a gift that she would probably end up eating later anyway. When I showed up at the stadium, Swifty was there anxiously pacing near the goal zone of the stadium. The moment she saw me, she practically tackled me and started apologizing and saying how she didn’t mean to kiss me like that and didn’t want to upset me and on and on and on.
“I couldn’t get a word in, so I just halted her rambling with another kiss.”
“I was so shocked I was afraid I might pass out,” Swifty said with a giggle. “And it was more than just a kiss. He literally swept me up in his wings and cuddled me for a few minutes even after we broke apart.”
“At which point I asked, ‘so, I guess we’re dating now, right?’, and Swifty just nodded and proceeded to nuzzle me happily.”
“I just didn’t think words would do it,” Swifty admitted. “And we just stayed like that until I fell asleep in his hooves. After spending all night and day panicking, it was nice to get some rest…”
“Were you together ever since that day? Or did you take any breaks?” Twilight asked, her eyes shining at the prospect of hearing more of the story. 
Dang, she looks so freaking CUTE when she’s so excited like this, Flash thought. Maybe I should tell her stories more often.
  Assuming tonight’s rendezvous with the baby albums doesn’t turn me off of the idea entirely.
“We spent the rest of our high school career together,” Aaron continued, giving Swifty a playful boop on the nose. “We went with one another to our junior and senior proms, though the senior one was especially interesting when Swifty ended up suplexing the prom king.”
“Is it bad that I am not in any way surprised? Like, at all?” Flash asked as his mom just deadpanned at him.
“Cheeky colt,” Swifty muttered as she rolled her eyes and burrowed deeper under Aaron’s wing.
“Why would she do that? And is suplexing things…normal, for her?” Twilight asked, her voice doing little to hide her mix of surprise and concern. Aaron just laughed.
“Ah, right! It’s been SO long since I’ve met a pony who DIDN’T know about Swifty’s love of all things suplex! That’s a great story too, but we’ll let her explain that little adventure later, I promise,” he said with a wink. “For now, let’s just say that, yes, Swifty loves her suplexing and, yes, it is very normal for her to at least mention suplexing things, even if she doesn’t always do it. 
“Now, as for the reason she suplexed the prom king, if I remember correctly, I think he was trying to steal Swifty away from me and was failing horribly, but I had personally never met him. You knew him though, right, honey? He was an…old friend? Past boyfriend? Something along those lines?” 
“A friend from elementary school who I dated for a few months in middle school,” Swifty begrudgingly said, pouting adorably. “He was a good guy for a long time, and we mutually agreed to stop dating and just stay friends, but when we got to high school, he joined the hoofball team. He was a talented player, and this changed him from a decent guy to a butt-hat with a head so big it was a miracle he could fit through a standard doorway.”
“Ah, I remember now,” Aaron agreed with a sagely nod. “He was ‘John Dork,’ as you nicknamed him, and before we started dating he was trying to get back together with you. You had quite a few angry rants about him back in the day.”
“Yes, I did, and that suplex I gave him was years in the making! Dumb butt-hat even tried once to say he could help ‘make sure I’m not as poor as my folks once he becomes a sports star,’” Swifty muttered angrily, her tail lashing aggressively. “Nearly punched him right there…”
I probably would have too, Flash thought, remembering Bull Horn’s similarly jerkish and stupid rant during the Gala. Heck, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t. Was he smart and said this nearby the principal’s office or something? Somewhere you would get spotted by a teacher? Or did you just not think he was worth the trouble?
“Now now, no more thinking about what Mister Butt-Hat said,” Aaron said, giving Swifty a few comforting nuzzles.  “He’s not here anymore, and you suplexed him. You taught him a lesson he would never forget, and that’s all that matters.” 
Swifty grumbled a bit more, but did happily return her husband’s nuzzles.
“What exactly did this, um, John Dork actually do at the prom though?” Twilight asked, looking both curious, concerned, and a bit touched by the display of affection before her.
He did quite a lot Twilight, quite a lot. Trust me, my mom could rant for days about John Dork and how annoying he could get. Just be glad it’s only one incident, otherwise we’d be here all night, Flash thought with an internal chuckle. 
“Well, now that I remember him, I think he was trying to make his date jealous by flirting with Swifty,” Aaron said, receiving a hum of approval from Swifty. “I don’t think his date wasn’t quite as impressed with him as he wanted her to be. But regardless, when I did what any good coltfriend would do and stepped in to stop him, he decided the best course of action was to punch me. It was actually a pretty pathetic punch, all things considered. It didn’t even hurt, which was even more pathetic given how he was a star athlete. But Swifty was having none of that and, well, angry-protective-suplex happened.”
“Nopony touches my Aaron,” Swifty growled, wiggling around on Aaron’s chest and fluffing her feathers about angrily, making the larger stallion giggle a bit.
“She actually earned quite a few cheers for that little stunt from the rest of the crowd,” Aaron continued once Swifty stopped moving around. “She was a bit worn out though given how big John Dork was, so we spent a while just relaxing with her happily held in my wings. A few kisses and a promise of a few extra dances helped her get back her energy though.”
“How does promising extra dances help somepony who is already exhausted feel less tired?” Twilight asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. 
“Simple. If you were tired, but Flash offered to dance with you, wouldn’t you dig down and try to find the energy to have fun with him?” Swifty asked with a wink. Twilight blinked, Flash practically able to see the gears turning behind her eyes as she hummed in thought. 
I know I would find the strength to dance all night long if Twilight was dancing with me, Flash thought. Though given Twilight’s penchant for late night study sessions, something tells me I would be the one to pass out first.  
“Remind me if I’m wrong, but didn’t that incident also play a role in your guard scholarship?” Aaron asked, raising an eyebrow. 
Swifty nodded, beaming widely. “It did, surprisingly. One of the ponies who was responsible for the scholarship was a chaperone at the prom because his son was in our grade. When he saw my reaction time, protective instincts, and strength, he took notice. Despite the housing and food being covered, the guard also offers scholarships for students and new recruits as a way to incentivize them to stick with the guard past the first two years. I only found out later that HE was the one who recommended me for the scholarship when I applied for the guard formally, but it was still nice to know that my teaching Sir-Dorks-A-Lot a lesson had some good consequences outside catharsis.”
“How long did it take you to join the guard after you graduated? And did Aaron stay with you as you went through the guard, or did he live somewhere else for a time?” Twilight asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Careful, Twilight. At this rate we might just get their entire life story, Flash thought with an internal laugh. Still, I’m glad to see you’re having so much fun learning about my parents. Even if I’ve heard a lot of this before, just seeing your excited reactions makes this worth hearing again. 
“I’d say, twenty hours?” Swifty said with a playful smile and a small yawn.
“Sounds about right,” Aaron agreed. “Once high school was done, Swifty immediately applied the next day to join the royal guard in Canterlot. Her parents had eventually discovered what she had been doing her senior year with regards to her training, and while they had still been hesitant, Swifty’s determination to keep pursuing this path and various ponies vouching for her mental fortitude, including the guidance counselor, helped change their minds. 
“From then on, they were very supportive of her decision to join the guard, though it was still too late for Swifty to take any of the classes. Thankfully, after the prom, the chaperone agreed to cover the cost of her taking the Guard’s advanced placement test, which helped her demonstrate her skills even without the credits the guard classes would have given her. The look on her face when she got the test results. I swear, I thought she might just explode from excitement.”
“So like me after I joined the guard?” Flash asked with a grin. 
“Yes, exactly like that,” Aaron agreed, while Swifty just gave Flash a look that screamed ‘cheeky colt.’
“Anyway, back on topic,” Aaron continued. “We had discussed her joining the Canterlot Guard for a while before graduation, and I assured her that since being a guard was her dream, I would have no problems with her moving wherever she wanted and would be sure to keep in contact as I continued to improve my own flower-growing skills. Once she was accepted into the guard, Swifty moved to Canterlot as planned, and we kept in touch via letter for a good year or so. In the meantime, I continued to train with Tulip full-time and began building up my credibility as a florist around different towns.”
“And you would always send me a bundle of flowers every month,” Swifty said with a happy smile. “You kept them fresh thanks to a preservation spell one of Tulip’s friends knew. They were so tasty and were the perfect motivation to keep me going through my training.” 
“If they were anything like these flowers, I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly,” Twilight said, grabbing a few more appetizers from the table. “So how did you end up in Canterlot, Aaron?”
If you were anypony else, Twilight, I would be worried about you spoiling your dinner, Flash thought with a playful eyeroll as he grabbed one more appetizer. He knew more than enough about his dad’s cooking habits to avoid overstuffing before they even got to the dining room, even if the appetizers were REALLLLLY good.
“Swifty had always said that working with the Royal Guard in Canterlot was her ultimate goal, even if she had to start somewhere else,” Aaron continued, leaning forward so one of his wings could grab some appetizers for himself and Swifty. “So, as she trained in Canterlot, I worked to improve my skills enough so I would stand a chance in the rather exacting culture of the capital. Even if I didn’t become good enough to make it in Canterlot, I agreed that I would at least move somewhere close by so that we could see each other more frequently once my own training was completed and I had saved enough to move. 
“Though luck seemed to be on my side, as one day while manning my traveling flower cart, I ran into a noble by the name of Fleur de Lis. She was visiting Ponyville that day and was very impressed with my flower arrangements. She was hosting a party soon and needed both decorations and edible arrangements, and she was looking for something new as many of the flower shops in Canterlot were just copying each other at the time.
“She offered me a chance, and I took it. I spend the next two weeks working my tail off to create the best flower products I could, and they were so successful at the party that Fleur actually offered to give me a low-interest loan to open a store in Canterlot. I gladly accepted, and then chose a location close enough to the main city that it would get plenty of traffic but not so much that less wealthy ponies might steer clear. Fleur was curious about my decision, but when I explained that I wanted to sell to both nobles and common ponies alike, she understood and complimented my business sense.
“I should mention, however, that I never told Swifty about the loan or the store in my letters,” Aaron said. His eyebrows wiggled playfully and Swifty just playfully rolled her eyes. “I told her about Fleur and how I had made a reputation at the party, but I didn’t let her know that I was essentially moving to Canterlot too. This was, of course, so I could surprise her by moving in a few months earlier than we planned to begin discussing my moving options. And what do you know, the first week after opening my store, I see two guards patrolling the street, one of whom is a small, fluffy pegasus. So I wait inside until she passed the store, at which point I leaned out the front door and yelled ‘HI, SWIFTY!’”
“And moments like that are the reason I will never stop trying to scare you,” Swifty grumbled, though she couldn’t hide the wide grin on her face. “Honestly, did you learn NOTHING from our first meeting?” 
Aaron just laughed. “Oh, I learned plenty, but this was a surprise that I just couldn’t resist! Swifty jumped nearly ten feet in the air! And when she turned and saw me in a store with the name ‘Aaron’s Flowers’ painted on the sign, her first words were, ‘WHEN DID YOU BUY A FLOWER SHOP!?!?!?’ I simply replied, ‘Recently.’ Her glare could melt stone, let me tell you, but thankfully a kiss, a pre-made flower sandwich, and an explanation about what happened to make it so I could afford the shop made her quickly forgive me. Once she was done with her shift and my shop was closed for the night, I took her to the best restaurant I knew of and we had quite the two-pony-party. 
“From there, things fell into a new normal. I was able to buy a house using the extra money from Fleur’s loan and the money I was making from the flower shop, and Swifty helped contribute using her pay and the scholarship money she had earned. Both Fleur and Swifty helped to promote my shop, so it wasn’t hard to raise the money I needed to pay off the loan and the house quickly. Swifty and I saw each other every day and she took up patrols in my section of the city if she could. We went on dates a few times a week and would frequently spend our days off together exploring Canterlot and the surrounding countryside.”
“That sounds like a wonderful time,” Twilight said, licking her lips as she went for even more appetizers. “These are so good! What happened next? Did anything else exciting happen before you eventually got married?” 
“Not…TOO much happened,” Aaron said, but his voice took on a slightly less energetic tone and his eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. “Though, there was one major event during that time that, well, if things had gone differently, me and Swifty likely would have had to move out of Canterlot.”
Oooh, I think I remember this story. Or at least part of it. It’s been years since I last heard it, Flash thought. Even now I can’t even imagine not growing up in Canterlot. Especially as I would have never met Uncle Spoon, or got to learn how to cook pizzas from him. Even if I did end up hitting myself with the bread when I was still learning how to toss it, he thought with an internal chuckle. 
Flash could practically see the questions waiting to spill out of Twilight’s mouth as she leaned forward in interest. Though he respected her restraint as she let Aaron continue. “There was a flower shop in the upper city that tried to sue my shop. It was a pretty big store run by a pair of nobles named Prim and Proper, and they tried claiming I was stealing their designs and arrangements.”
“They were a word that I dare not say for respect of everypony with a horn,” Swifty growled, and Flash blink as he immediately remembered the slur Bull Horn had used in Twilight’s castle.
“They were that bad?” Flash asked. I’ve never heard my mom even reference that word before, let alone say anypony should be CALLED it. They must have been real pieces of work.
“Unfortunately, yes, they were,” Aaron said, letting loose a snort of contempt. “Not only did they file the suit when my store was at its busiest to try and distract me and cost me more money, but they even had a few ponies give fake testimonies to counter my own witnesses. And with the amount of bits they wanted as damages alongside the court cost, if they had won…I would have had to go into debt. I likely wouldn’t have even been able to afford to keep our house in Canterlot.” 
His voice had been building up anger and sadness, but before Flash or Twilight could say anything, Swifty gently nuzzled at the crook of his neck and the tension began to retreat.
“They were that steep?” Twilight asked in shock, taking some time to find her voice. “I know these cases can be expensive, but I never imagined it would be that bad!”
“That’s partly because they were asking for more than I would make in a year,” Aaron grunted, returning Swifty’s nuzzle. “And I think part of that was because the two sleazy snakes wanted me to try and settle. Before the trial, they offered to drop the charges if I settled for the flower shop becoming theirs alongside a massive sum of bits I would pay to them. And no, making that kind of offer as a settlement isn’t illegal—”
“Unfortunately, given how I was right there next to him when they said that,” Swifty snarled, and Flash could practically feel the molten lava in her tone. “And we could both tell from their smug smiles that they thought he would give in.” She smiled proudly. “But despite being nervous, and trust me, I knew he was nervous beyond belief, he didn’t let it show. He remained as steely as Tartus and flatly rejected their offer. He didn’t let them get him down or make him cave and was the strongest stallion in the room that day.” She snuggled into his chest, and Aaron grinned and gave her a small kiss on the head. 
“I didn’t think I was THAT impressive, but who am I to argue with her?” he asked playfully. “Either way, Prim and Proper didn’t seem to care, saying how it would be my own fault when I had nothing left. They even walked away laughing.”
“Well, I’ve never even heard of them, and you’re still living here, so I think it’s safe to assume you not only proved them wrong, but likely won so handily that they lost a lot of their influence,” Twilight said with a small grin. “Is it ok if you tell me what happened during the court case? How did you win? I know we might be getting a bit off track, but this just sounds so interesting! Have you ever considered writing a book about this?”
Flash couldn’t help but snort and roll his eyes playfully. If I had a bit for every time you mentioned a book, Twilight, I’d be rich enough to open my own flower shop. What would my dad even title his book? How to Win a Better Court Case: Garden Goof Edition?
“Down, Twilight. We can worry about expanding the realms of literature later,” he playfully chided, earning a blushing, spluttering reply from Twilight as Aaron laughed uproariously. 
“An avid fan of books I see! I might just consider that idea, Twilight! But to answer your question, I don’t mind at all telling you about the case. And even if we are getting off topic, this has been a fun experience to relive! As for how we won, that mainly comes down to arrogance. Prim and Proper might have been wealthier than us, but they underestimated not only me, but the ponies supporting me.
“Not only did Fleur help get me one of the best lawyers in Canterlot, but she helped me hire new ponies to cover the store while I was at trial and even offered to help cover the extra cost. Swifty and numerous other guards who patrolled the city verified that I had made the designs first, several confirming that they lived near the accusing store and that they had seen my designs pop up in the other store a few weeks after I had first put them out.”
“It also helped that a lot of my friends had gotten to know Aaron pretty well since they knew we were together and would frequently visit his shop on their days off,” Swifty said with a proud nod. “Sure, they might tease me a bit about how much I loved Aaron’s sandwiches, but they all got along with Aaron really well, and so were more than willing to help defend him.”
“That’s true, and I’m pretty sure they loved my cooking too,” Aaron said, smiling shyly. “I personally remember Ivory saying the only thanks or payment she wanted for her help was some of my seed-stuffed tulips, please and thank you very much and good day.”
Flash snorted so hard that he almost choked on a carrot and was only saved from turning his coat even more orange by Twilight patting him on the back with her wing. I remember Ivory! She used to come over for dinner sometimes. Oh my Luna, she used to have such huge puppy dog eyes whenever dad was responsible for cooking dinner, and would always beg him for some of those tulips of his. I didn’t realize it went all the way back to the court case though! She’s almost as bad as mom!
“That sounds like Ivory, all right!” Swifty laughed.
“As for the trial, when the accusers pointed to their own witnesses to try and counter my own, my lawyer always found a way to poke holes in their stories. When it became clear that a number of these witnesses worked for the store that was suing me and that they didn’t even know my store’s location or name, it made it much harder for their testimony to be taken seriously.
“Plus, Tulip had told me I should always take pictures of my designs and date them when I first create them, just in case somepony tries to claim ownership for one of my designs. It wasn’t ironclad on its own, but the guards were able to confirm a number of the dates I had listed in their own testimonies. For instance, Steely Comet remembered seeing a new tulip display in my shop and was able to remember the exact day it had first appeared because a parade had happened outside the shop that same day. Additionally, Sky Chaser remembered hearing an argument about the new rose display I had created and had even stopped by my store later to buy one for himself. 
“Both of them were able to verify that the dates I had listed on the pictures of each display matched the date they had first seen my displays in question. This was enough to convince the jury that at least some of my designs had been stolen by the other shop, lending them even less credibility.”
“Then came the big turning point,” Swifty said with an almost vicious smirk. Twilight leaned forward in anticipation, her tail swishing from side to side excitedly. 
She is so cute when she’s invested in a story. 
“Ah yes, can’t forget that,” Aaron agreed with a grin. “One of the guards, while testifying, said that he had seen one of the prosecution’s witnesses taking pictures of my shop several times. At first, he thought it was just a tourist to Canterlot, but after seeing him a few times, including now at the trial, he suspected something else was going on. Swifty, who was sitting with me on the defense side, realized that she recognized the pony from somewhere. Taking a few minutes to think on it, she realized that she had arrested that pony before, and that they were using a different name than they had in the past.”
“But isn’t using a fake name illegal?” Twilight asked, her attention solely on the story. “And wouldn’t they have caught that before the trial began?”
“Using a fake name is illegal, but this pony had actually changed his name legally,” Aaron said. “But now that Swifty recognized him, she was able to connect the dots on who they were. He was a pony who worked for Prim and Proper and had once been arrested as part of a money laundering scheme, with Swifty having arrested him personally. Prim and Proper had denied any wrongdoing in that case, and the pony in question had been found to be unaware of the scheme in court. But he was definitely not just some random pony they had called to testify.”
“He was someone Prim and Proper knew, and who had worked for them in the past! And if they had assisted him in escaping prosecution, then he would have a vested interest in trying to help them win!” Twilight said, connecting the dots herself. “And with all the other inconsistencies in the prosecutions testimony…He might have been willing to lie under oath!” 
She’s so beautiful when she’s just solved a problem, Flash thought, unable to hide a giggle at Twilight’s enthusiasm.
“Exactly,” Aaron said with a smirk. “So, after a quick talk with my lawyer, she convinced him to call the previous witness back to the stand and to make it very clear that we thought he was lying under oath.  He tried to say that he didn’t know what we were talking about, but when my lawyer spelled out all the inconsistencies in his testimony, all evidence corroborating the guard’s testimony versus his own, and revealed that Swifty knew he worked for Prim and Proper in the past, he grew visibly nervous. And when our lawyer used his old name, he couldn’t keep up the charade and confessed.”
“The look on his face when he spilled the beans,” Swifty said, smiling almost blissfully. “Pure. Gold.”
“As it turns out,” Aaron said, his mouth turning up into an almost vicious smile. “That particular witness had been the one responsible for taking pictures of my displays and then helping the other store copy my designs. His testimony caused all the other witness who lied to retract their statements and accept the minor fines compared to the full fines and potential jail time they were going to receive otherwise. They also turned on Prim and Proper, meaning I now had so much evidence against them that I was able to file a countersuit. 
“Not only did they lose, but they were also forced to pay off the court cost, pay me the damages they had owed me as well as numerous other legal fines, and were sentenced to a few months in jail for trying to pay others to submit false testimony. And in the end, not only did I manage to pay off the rest of my store and house loan with the bits I won from that case, but the store that sued me closed its doors not even a year later.”
“Guess no pony wants to buy from a pair of lying snakes,” Swifty said, grinning madly herself. 
“That’s incredible,” Twilight breathed, her eyes wide as she clapped excitedly. “Not only that they tried to get away with, but that if they had won…you might not have stayed in Canterlot. And that would mean that Flash might not have grown up there! His life could have been completely different, and we might never have even met!”
“Well then, let’s be sure to thank Fleur for helping my dad the next time we see her,” Flash said with a smile, squeezing Twilight with his wing. “After all, I can’t imagine my life if I had never had a chance to meet you.”
“So cuuuute!” Swifty squealed before yawning extra loudly. “Remind me to hug them later, honey.”
“I don’t think you’ll forget, dear,” Aaron winked playfully. “Anyway, this court case was right near the end my first two years in Canterlot after opening my store, and going through such an intense ordeal made me realize something. Swifty had been there for me the entire time, talking and planning with me as we figured out what do due about the suit, helping me de-stress when I was feeling overwhelmed, and even working in the store in her off time to supervise the temporary workers Fleur helped me hire. 
“And it was at that moment, when were standing there hugging and crying when the case was decided in our favor, that I realized that I wanted to marry her. She had been with me through all of it, and she had stuck with me just like a true partner would, doing everything she could to help my dream remain alive. 
“And I…I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“And I felt the same way,” Swifty said, looking up at Aaron lovingly. Aaron just leaned down and kissed her, the two sharing a lovely moment as Twilight softly squealed adorably next to Flash.
I have such amazing parents, Flash thought as Twilight hugged him excitedly. I hope that, if Twilight and I ever do go that far, that our relationship will be just as compassionate and warm as my parents’. 
“So, I went out and used some of the money the court had awarded us to buy a ring,” Aaron continued. “Swifty graduated into the Scout Unit of the guard only two weeks later, and the entire class went out to their favorite bar to celebrate both the graduation and us winning the court case. I proposed to her right before the party truly kicked off, causing all of her friends’ jaws to drop in shock as she stammered and blushed in surprise.”
“You and your sense of dramatic timing,” Swifty said with another huge yawn. “When my brain finally started working again, I all but screamed yes and tackled him in excitement. It was still one of the best days of my life. Number three, in fact, only coming in behind our wedding day at number two and Flash’s birth at number one.” 
“It certainly made the party afterwards even more exciting,” Aaron chuckled. “I think all of your friends congratulated us at least three times each. Except Steel Lily – she was at least twenty.” 
Swifty hummed in agreement, her eyes drifting closed as she cuddled into Aaron’s chest even more. 
“Twenty, huh?” Flash laughed.
“She was very excited! I think if she had one more drink, she would have started planning the wedding right there!”
Note to self – maybe don’t leave Lily and Pinkie alone in a room together. That sounds like a recipe for lots of screaming, cake, and pogo sticks.
“Once our relationship was at the next level, things carried on,” Aaron continued, gently rubbing the back of Swifty’s head with a free hoof. “After a few months of planning, I married the most beautiful bride in Cloudsdale with all of our friends and family, we went to Germaney for our honeymoon, settled down here in Canterlot, and before we knew it, we were the parents of a little bundle of joy who you are currently cuddling with. So, the rest is, as they say, history.” He concluded. 
And what a good cuddler she is, Flash thought, nuzzling Twilight just because he loved to do so. 
And she nuzzled him back, because clearly SHE loved to do so too. Which was lucky for him, because she was still SUPER soft, and warm…
Focus, Flash, focus…
“Mmmm, in 607 post-discord, the pancakes and waffles…” his mom murmured, before letting off a small snore. 
Well, that works.
“Did…did she fall asleep?” Twilight asked, blinking and looking as surprised as an owl who just grabbed a cat toy rather than an actual mouse.  
“Oh! Yes, I guess she did,” Aaron said, chuckling softly. Swift Strike bounced a little bit against his chest but didn’t so much as stir. “Swifty is a master when it comes to power-napping. She didn’t get that much sleep last night given how worried she was about your visit. Between that and the long story, I guess she just wore herself out. I’m sorry about that, Twilight. I can wake her up.”
“No, no, that’s ok, let her sleep,” Twilight quickly said, waving her hooves quickly. “I understand. I also get anxious too, so I know how exhausting it can be. It will only be a few minutes, right? She clearly needs her rest, and I don’t mind letter her recover.” Aaron blinked, before smiling.
“Thank you, Twilight,” he said. “Though don’t worry, I guarantee she’ll be back up and ready to go before dinner is ready. So, while we wait, did you enjoy the story, Twilight?”
“Yes, very much so!” Twilight said, making sure to keep her voice quiet so as not to wake Swifty. That did nothing to stop her from eagerly nodding in a way that would make Pinkie proud. “It was wonderful to hear about how you two met and some of the big events you two went through together. I’m sorry if it prevented you from asking about Flash and I,” she added, chuckling nervously. 
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” Aaron said, waving a hoof. “Your mom gave us a very detailed rundown of what’s happened with you two so far, and we have all of dinner and the time after to talk about you two. Plus, unless Flash proposed to you in the last two weeks, I doubt THAT much has changed between you two since then.” 
I, that, what? Flash thought, his eyes wide in surprise. Where did that come from?! Please tell me Cadence or Twilight Velvet isn’t already talking about marriage. Aaron just laughed at Flash’s reaction even as Twilight blushed heavily. Actually, Flash realized he was blushing quite a bit too. Focus, Flash. Focus on the now, not the future when you have plenty of time to worry about a ring later. 
“Twilight, didn’t you want to learn more about my mom’s preference for suplexing things?” he quickly asked, hoping to pull the conversation back to something, ANYTHING less about his potential proposal years in the future. Though Twilight in a wedding dress…
FOCUS!!!
“Y-YES! I…I mean, yes,” Twilight agreed hastily, her wings fluffing up in surprise. “I would like to know more about that. Has she really been able to suplex since high school? And she taught herself, right, since she couldn’t take any guard classes? That’s amazing! How was she able to perfect it so well? I know she was super strong, even then, but it must have taken a lot of skill to be able to suplex somepony that much bigger than her!”
Flash was pleased to see that her sudden burst of tension was dying away as quickly as it had appeared. Now her eyes were shining again with what he had come to learn was her I-am-so-excited-to-learn-new-things-about-learning look and somehow the fact that SUPLEXING of all things was bringing that out of her was WAY more amusing to him than it really should be.
“It was impressive, but who ever said anything about being self-taught?” Aaron said with a cheeky grin. “In fact…She’s been able to suplex since elementary school!”
“Surprise!” Flash cheered.
Twilight’ jaw dropped open like a door without hinges and it was such an adorkably cute confused face that he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Since ELEMENTRY SCHOOL!?” she exclaimed, only to quickly cover her mouth. Thankfully, Swifty didn’t even stir, her left ear barely even flicking at the noise. 
“Don’t worry, Mom is a pretty heavy sleeper,” Flash reassured her with a gentle pat on the hoof.
“O-Ok, sorry. But still, she was THAT YOUNG when she learned to suplex?” Twilight asked. “Who in the world thought teaching her that kind of move would be ok?”
“Now THAT will require a bit of background,” Aaron said, carefully adjusting himself a bit in his chair so Swifty remained undisturbed by his motions. “Though I will warn you that some of the details of this story may not be completely accurate. Swifty was only a foal at the time, so between the amount of time that has passed and her tendency to…enthusiastically over-exaggerate for better storytelling, she admits that her own account isn’t exactly perfect. But seeing as I know most of what happened and I would rather not wake her up just to tell another story, I’m sure she won’t mind if I tell it.”
Swift Strike let out a snore that somehow managed to sound offended at his mention of her overly enthusiastic storytelling, but Aaron just gave her a quick kiss on the head, prompting more happy murmurs. 
"So, let’s see,” he began. “Back in elementary school, Swifty was still really short, and as such was the most frequent target for the main school bully, Thunder Head, and his gang. He did all the typically bully stuff: steal lunch money, tease others, get rough and pin down smaller foals just to torment them, etcetera. 
“On the last day of the school year when she was ten, he used a rather nasty prank involving some gum. Swifty did tell me exactly what happened, but she asked that I not talk about it to anypony else as it’s still a sensitive memory for her. I can say that she lost a good portion of her mane and tail in that incident. It was also the primary reason that Swifty’s mother sent her to live in Las Pegasus during that summer.”
“Why Las Pegasus?” Twilight asked. “I can understand sending her somewhere where she could feel safe from bullies, but that’s pretty far away from Cloudsdale. Especially for a young foal.”
“If I remember correctly, it was because that’s where my great aunt lives,” Flash said, smiling at the memory of his great aunt pouncing on him in greeting every time he went to visit her. Even at such an old age his great aunt still had a sense of boundless energy about her.
I wonder if that’s where Mom gets her energy from. Given how the two of them are always testing out new moves against one another during their sparring matches, that wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest. 
“Right you are,” Aaron said with a small laugh, pulling Flash out of his thoughts. “See, Swifty’s aunt Barrel Basher lived out in Las Pegasus and was a professional wrestler and a part-time self-defense trainer. So Swifty’s mom thought the summer would give Barrel Basher a chance to help boost Swifty’s confidence. 
“And that’s mostly what it did. Rather than let Swifty remain upset, Barrel quickly started teaching her a few exercises that could help her get stronger as well as personal tips to deal with bullies. She taught her to always tackle problems head-on and to give it her all, and by the end of the summer, Swifty was actually strong enough to pick up Barrel thanks to all the exercise. Though, Barrel did underestimate Swifty in one key area. 
“Swifty always learns best when she can clearly see exactly how something is done directly, and she’s a fast learner to boot. Especially with anything related to bodily movements, whether it be flying, fighting, or even dancing. Just seeing her dance is a form of art all its own.”
His eyes drifted towards the ceiling as he smiled a big, goofy smile.
Focus, Dad. Daydream about Mom on the dance floor later, Flash thought with a grin. Though Twilight was pretty alluring dancing at the Gala…
Focus, Flash…
Man, I really DO get that from him, don’t I?
“So she is somepony who excels at observational learning?” Twilight asked, pulling Aaron back to the real world and making him blush a little bit. 
“Yes, yes, that’s it,” he agreed sheepishly. “Sorry, got lost a second there thinking about our wedding. Anyway, Barrel Basher also let Swifty sit in and watch her with her adult class and some of the wrestling matches she participated in that summer. As a result, Swifty picked up on all of Barrel’s moves, including a number of moves that Barrel had never intended to teach Swifty. This included, of course, suplexing.”
“And Swifty was only ten at the time?” Twilight asked, her eyes going wide. “She was able to copy a move that intense when she was only TEN!?” 
Yep, that sounds like Mom all right, Flash thought with a chuckle as he rubbed Twilight’s back with a wing. Welcome to the family, Twilight. You can do dishes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I promise not to wake you up unless you’re going to be late for a meeting. 
“Yep,” Aaron laughed, causing Swifty to bounce up and down on his chest, but she still slept on. “Nothing says ‘Oops, I didn’t mean to teach her that!’ like seeing a ten-year-old suplex a training dummy. When Barrel saw said near-perfect suplex, she realized what had happened and spent time teaching Swifty the moves properly to ensure that Swifty wouldn’t accidentally hurt anypony, including herself. She taught her how to make the opponent land in a way that wouldn’t hurt them, how to lift without overstraining any of her muscles, and how to judge the weight of an opponent so she wouldn’t try to suplex somepony too heavy for her to lift safely. She also made Swifty promise to not suplex unless she was in real danger.”
Well, THAT message clearly didn’t stick very well, now, did it? Flash thought with a mental eyeroll. She’d probably have tried to suplex Queen Chrysalis if she had managed to get to her during the Changeling invasion. Miss Bug Queen should be thankful my mom was busy defending Dad’s flower shop given all the ponies that were sheltering there. 
“So what happened when the summer was over?” Twilight asked, her curiosity evident her tone of voice.
“The summer ended and Swifty went back home with a newfound confidence,” Aaron continued. “On the first day back to school, Thunder Head immediately went around trying to steal lunch money from the other foals, including Swifty. She, in her own words, told him to ‘shove a lightning bolt up his nose,’ only she didn’t actually say ‘nose,’” Aaron said with a wink. Twilight’s muzzle scrunched up adorably and Flash could practically SEE the moment her brain identified what bodily orifice his mother had said.
Really, Dad? NOW is when you decide to censor yourself for silly dramatics? NOW?
“Thunder Head, predictably, did not like that. He immediately tried to buck her, but she dodged and parried his attacks like Barrel showed her. When the other foals started to cheer her on, however, Thunder Head lost it. That blasted colt said he was going to break Swifty’s wings as punishment for disobeying him. That this was his school and he could do whatever he wanted,” Aaron said as his smile dropped and he let out a low but angry snort. “It was serious enough that Swifty judged she was in real danger, and when he charged, she stopped holding back.
“With a threat like that, I can see why,” Twilight agreed, her wings twitching uncomfortably. “So, what happened?” 
“I’ll leave out the play-by-play commentary on how exactly she kicked his butt up and down the playground, but I will say that the colt ended up with a dislocated leg, a black eye, and that Swifty, in the heat of the moment, channeled all of the pain and suffering he had caused her into her attack and managed to lift him into the air and suplex in front of the entire class. And as he lay there on the ground groaning, she promptly landed on his head and screamed ‘WHO ELSE WANT TO BE A BULLY!? HUH? HUH? HUH?!’” 
Damn, Flash thought, his impressions are really getting better! That sounded almost exactly like Mom!
Swifty, meanwhile, simply rolled over on his chest, giving what sounded like a happy little snort of approval.  
“The rest of the bullies immediately dropped their stolen bits and fled screaming back towards the school,” Aaron said proudly. “With them gone, Swifty returned the stolen bits, and, according to her, was being thrown into the air to the cheers of her classmates by the time the teachers arrived. 
“Despite what she did, Swifty was not expelled from the school. While they were waiting for the superintendent to return from a trip, Swifty’s mom went to visit the parents of every foal in Swifty’s grade and compiled a book’s worth of incidents involving Thunder Head bullying others. When she presented that evidence to the superintendent, it became apparent he had never been informed of any of these incidents, even though many of them had been reported as complaints by the parents. So somepony had been keeping this a secret from him and had basically let things get so bad that a fight was inevitable.”
“They kept the incidents a secret? Who in the world would do that!? And WHY?” Twilight asked.
“Surprisingly, it turns out the principal had been trying to make it look as though the school was running perfectly so that he would be promoted,” Aaron said. “As such, he was actively preventing any of the incidents from being reported to higher-ups in the school system. Not a very good plan, especially as the secretary knew where all of these complaints were stored and was able to blow the final whistle on everything. Not to mention Thunder Head’s parents were furious that these behavioral problems had never been brought to their attention, to the point where they sued the principal and those involved in the cover up.
“In the end, the principle and those helping him hid the complaints were fired, Thunder Head was properly punished—”
And hospitalized, I’m sure, Flash thought.
“—with his parents doing what they could to address his behavior, and Swifty was temporarily suspended but allowed to come back,” Aaron continued. “She says that Thunder Head actually became fairly decent in the following years, and while they did apologize to one another, he still remained a bit wary of Swifty after everything. 
“And yet despite the many years that have passed since then and the plethora of techniques she has learned, Swifty still prefers to use suplexing the most out of any of her fighting moves. It’s been her signature move for as long as I’ve known and loved her, and I doubt she will stop using it anytime soon.”
“Something I’m sure the ponies in her classes are sorry to hear,” Flash said with a knowing smile. It wouldn’t be one of my mom’s classes if she wasn’t suplexing everypony at least once during the first meeting. 
“Her class?” Twilight asked, tilting her head adorably in confusion. However, any questions she was going to ask were interrupted by a buzzing sound from the kitchen. Aaron blinked, looked over at the clock, and his eyes went wide. Flash looked too, and saw that nearly two hours had passed!
We’ve been here for that long?! 
“Wow, it’s that late already!?” Aaron asked in surprise. “No wonder Swifty fell asleep! I completely lost track of time! I’ll let Flash explain Swifty’s class.” In a practiced move, the large stallion gently removed his wings from Swift Strike’s back, then slid them under his wife. Keeping the sleeping mare level, Aaron hoisted himself up, turned around, and expertly laid Swifty back down on the chair. “I need to go check on dinner and make sure nothing’s burned while we’ve been talking, but I’ll be right in the other room if you need anything.” He gave a hearty laugh. “Hehehe, who knew that a simple story about how me and Swifty met would expand to cover so much more of our lives?”
“Oh, before you go,” Flash said quickly, “what’s Mom’s new nickname?”
Aaron chuckled. “She is now the ‘Fluffy Cloud of Doom,’ if I remember correctly,” he said with a wink, before quietly walking through the door leading towards the kitchen. 
“The Fluffy Cloud of Doom?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow raising incredulously. Flash just laughed. 
“My mom teaches a class for the royal guard here in Canterlot, and about halfway through every class she has them create a new nickname for her. It’s a way to highlight the trust that she and her students built up between them and helps them strengthen that trust during the second half, and usually the students give her nicknames like that as a bit of a joke to signify just how terrifying she can be when she wants to be.”
“I thought you said she was retired?” 
“She is. But she started teaching the class years ago, and even though she isn’t technically part of the guard anymore, she has remained an independent contractor for the crown, given how effective she is at teaching the course material.” Flash chuckled, “And personally, I think she loves seeing the new ponies go from trembling in fear to a mare half their size to becoming confident and sure of themselves no matter what challenge she throws at them.”
“Ok, you answered my question, but now I have so many more,” Twilight said curiously, her head tilting in it typical adorkable way. “Why would they be terrified of her at all? I know from Shiny that most guard training has a military instructor acting tough and shouting a lot, but full-on terror?”
“It’s actually the entire purpose of the class; she terrifies the students to see how they react when faced with a threat they can’t hope to beat, and then helps them learn to remain professional in the face of that terror,” Flash clarified. “If a terrifying situation crops up and a pony freezes up, or panics and leaves themselves open to attack, or just turns tail and runs away, that’s a big problem if that pony is a guard responsible for protecting other ponies’ lives. And while the guards’ training program is good for helping to develop a number of skills and techniques, it’s hard for them to simulate a situation where a pony would experience the level of panic that can come from a real battle. 
“My mom got permission to create a class that would let her see how the guards would react to such a situation, and then teach them to overcome their weaknesses. If they freeze up, she teaches them to keep moving and fight back. If they panic, she teaches them to focus on what they can control and keep a cool head. If they turn and run, she teaches them how to do a defensive retreat and call for reinforcements without leaving themselves vulnerable. If they lash out, she teaches them to control their impulse and to strike without leaving themselves vulnerable.”
“But the only way for her to know how they react,” Twilight began, the light in her eyes showing Flash that the gears were turning inside her beautiful big brain…
Focus…
“Is to terrify them,’ Flash confirmed, nodding. “She spends the first class almost exclusively sparring with each student and acting as terrifying as possible so she can see how they react when they’re afraid. It also helps that her fighting style is fairly unusual by guard standards and that there is usually at least one pony among the newcomers that doesn’t take her seriously given her appearance.” He shook his head and chuckled. I can still remember the look on that stallion’s face when my mom suplexed him. 
Maybe I should take Twilight to see one of her classes one day. It is pretty awesome to watch. Intense, but awesome. Giving an example will have to do for now, though.
“In fact, in my first class, there was a large unicorn stallion who loved to brag about his heritage and the long line of guards that had served Princess Celestia. He wasn’t really mean or anything, but his ego was pretty big and he had a history of annoying the instructors with his ‘I’m destined to succeed because I’m so great’ attitude. So when my mom showed up and started giving her introduction speech, he literally asked her ‘Is this some sort of joke?’”
“I can’t imagine that went well,” Twilight said, frowning. “I know Shiny would never stand for that either. He’d probably have them run laps for the next few hours.”
“He probably wished he could have run laps instead,” Flash said, trying to keep from smirking and failing utterly miserably. He knew he shouldn’t find it nearly as amusing as he did, but oh, that haughty stallion got quite the slice of humble pie THAT day. “Instead, Mom told him flat out that if he beat her in a fight with no magic, he could skip the rest of the classes. He smugly agreed and walked out into the sparring ring, only for my mom to pounce and deliver a flying kick to the back of his armored head without warning. 
“He actually tried to immediately complain that she had broken the rules, only to receive a punch to the jaw as Mom screamed ‘THERE ARE NO RULES ON THE BATTLEFIELD!’ At which point, the poor pony panicked completely, to the point where he didn’t even try to use his magic. My mom spent the next three minutes making an example out of him, saying – or screaming, rather – how the enemy won’t show mercy, won’t just let you retreat, has no problems ambushing you when you least expect it, and won’t let up just because you need a cup of tea and a nap.  
“And, of course, she ended the fight by suplexing him. He whinnied like a little foal when she did that, and it showed everypony that she was NOT to be messed with given how he was three times her size. And as he lay there on the ground moaning, she stood on his head and yelled at the rest of us ‘ANYPONY ELSE WANT TO QUESTION MY STATUS AS THE INSTRUCTOR OF THIS CLASS!?’ No pony could even say a word, but everypony just nodded.
“And even thought I knew it was coming, it still sent shivers down my spine at the time. She’s a completely different mare when she’s teaching that first class.”
“I can see why,” Twilight agreed. “You mentioned there was always at least one pony who doubted her ability to teach the class. Does she suplex that pony in particular, or everypony in the class?”
“Everypony,” Flash said with a small chuckle. “It’s usually how she ends every fight in that first class.”
“I feel like I should be surprised, but given everything you’ve told me, I’m not,” Twilight said with a deadpan stare. Flash just gave her a quick kiss, prompting a little giggle. 
“It DOES work pretty darn well for her. And once she knows how everypony reacts, she then shows her more compassionate side as she demonstrates why their current behavior could be problematic. Then she starts teaching them how they can start to control and channel their fear. 
“She’ll break them down into subgroups based on their reactions and go over the basics. Once they have mastered that, she brings them back together for combined drills so she can teach them how to spot if a comrade is close to losing their cool. The later classes are much less intense than the first one, but she still maintains a small bit of the terrifying persona to ensure the students don’t become complacent.”
“It sounds like a really interesting class,” Twilight said thoughtfully. 
“Furthermore, if anypony’s struggling significantly, she’ll give individual sessions to help. I even met a few of them when they would come over to the house for some personal training, and would sometimes even sit outside the training room to watch Mom help them. Truthfully, my mom always loved working with the struggling students the most. She said that they were the ponies whose path will be more challenging, but the fact that they were willing to stick with the class and keep working to reach their goals spoke a lot more to their dedication and drive than those who were naturally talented.”
“When do ponies take the class?” Twilight asked. “That sounds a little bit intense for someone just joining the guard.” As she spoke, she quickly scooped up the last of the appetizers from the table. 
“It’s only offered to those who have passed basic training and have served a minimum of two years,” Flash responded. “And it’s required for a pony to begin moving up to the higher ranks and officer positions, though Mom only teaches the Canterlot class. Similar classes have been incorporated in other areas based on her format so a pony doesn’t need to come all the way to Canterlot, but I doubt any can match her level of intensity. I do know however that her class was the first of its kind.”
“Wait,” Twilight said, her nose scrunching up adorably. “Does that mean Shining Armor had to take her class?” 
Flash did know when Shining had joined the guard, and when his mom had begun teaching the class, so he was certain that he did know if Shining had taken the class before. However, before Flash could begin doing the mental calculation to determine if the years matched up, his mom interrupted him.
"Shining Armor, I remember Shining Armor,” the soft, sleepy voice of Swift Strike called. Looking over, Flash saw that his mom was awake again and was currently stretching out like a cat. “I suplexed him,” she said proudly. 
Twilight just blinked while Flash rolled his eyes. “Mom, you’ve suplexed everypony who has ever taken one of your classes, including me,” he said. Twilight blinked again and looked between the two of them with an expression that couldn’t decide if it was shocked or not surprised in the slightest. It was frankly, adorable, and Flash struggled not to lose his focus. “You need to be a little more specific than that — ACK HEY!” 
His mom leapt off the chair and pulled Flash into a friendly headlock before he could react.
“Oh shush, you cheeky little colt,” Swift Strike laughed, grinding her hoof into his mane playfully. “Or do you need some remedial classes, HMMMMMM?” 
“ACK, no, no, I’m good!” Flash exclaimed, squirming in his mother’s somehow gentle yet iron grip. Twilight just looked on in mild amusement. 
“Good boy,” Swifty said, releasing his head. But Flash barely had time to blink before his mom pulled him and Twilight into her chest for a fluffy hug. “And now I can finally hug you two! Oohhhh, you make such a cute couple! I can’t wait to see how things go! If you ever need any advice or support, just let me know and I’ll be there faster than a speeding alicorn! And I do mean ANYTHING! Especially if you’re having problems with the nobles. Just send a letter and I’ll suplex them so hard they won’t even remember why their bothering you in the first place!”
“Honey! No threatening to suplex the snobby nobles and give them brain damage!” Aaron called from the kitchen. 
“Could I at least threaten to suplex them into unconsciousness?”
“No, honey, we’ve talked about this. Concussions are still considered brain damage. You know the rules,” Aaron yelled back, and Flash could practically hear the smirk on his dad’s lips even around the fluff of his mom’s fur.
“Fiiiiiiiiine,” Swifty groaned, releasing her grip enough so that Flash could turn his head in time to see her pouting playfully. “Such a spoilsport. What’s wrong with suplexing ponies that only want to insult other ponies because they don’t have titles, flash their wealth at every opportunity just because they can, or waste the princesses’ time with unreasonable demands that no sane pony would consider approving? It’s not like I’d be suplexing Fleur or Fancy Pants. THEY know how to be nice to everypony!” 
I ask myself that question all the time, Flash thought to himself, though I’m more of the let’s-just-ban-them-from-the-castle-and-any-other-place-we-may-be mindset or a let’s-set-up-a-teleport-circle-to-dump-them-in-the-fountain mindset rather than the why-can’t-we-just-suplex-them mindset. Especially since Twilight is too nice to approve of suplexing them, which is one of many reasons I love her so much.
  Focus…
“Ummm…” Twilight piped up, her face still firmly held to Swifty’s fluffy chest. 
“OH, yes, sorry about that dear,” Swift said, opening her wing and allowing Twilight to sit up shyly. “I’m just SO EXCITED to finally meet a pony who managed to catch my little Flashie’s eye! My adorable little fluffball finally has a special somepony to snuggle with! I can already see he’s found something special in you that makes him happy!” 
Well, she’s not wrong, Flash thought, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. 
“We just started dating,” Twilight muttered sheepishly. “And I’m not that special…am I?”
“Oh, you are. Trust me, a mom knows these things.” Swifty said with a little chuckle and wink. “I'm just happy my little Flashie finally found a marefirend! Do try to keep him out of trouble if you can, won’t you, dear?” she asked, sticking her tongue out playfully. Twilight gave a quiet giggle, and some of the tension left her shoulders. 
“I agree that Twilight is pretty special,” Flash agreed, prompting a little blush from said purple pony princess. “Also, I’m pretty sure that’s my job, Mom. My ACTUAL job,” he said, rolling his eyes, but he couldn’t help smiling himself. 
“Then you can keep her out of trouble when you’re on duty and she can keep you out of trouble all the time! It’s the perfect solution!” Swift Strike said, smiling broadly. 
Flash just double-face-hoofed and laughed while Twilight giggled more. 
“Going back a bit,” she said when she quieted down, “You said you taught my brother? And…suplexed him?” Her eyes were getting that gears-turning look again, and Flash knew that she was trying to imagine her big brother being lifted into the air by a tiny mare, probably by using math.
Begone, foul math! Let my marefriend think in peace! 
“I did indeed!” Swift Strike exclaimed, her fluffy tail wagging in a way that Flash knew meant it was time for more stories. “But he was special from the moment I fought him. Of all the ponies I’ve taught, he was one of the few that didn’t panic in my initial session, even when I suplexed him! In fact, he was actually cool-headed enough to try and go with the momentum to roll back to his hooves! He did overbalance and end up flat on his back and asked ‘what just happened?’ in an adorably confused voice, but he was really close!”
“I knew from that moment on that he would go far in the guard! Granted, I didn’t know he would end up being the prince of a long-lost empire in the frozen north, but I had a feeling he might become captain if he put the work in.”
“You knew that early on?” Twilight asked in surprise, fully enraptured in Swift Strike’s story. 
You know, that makes some sense, Flash thought. Mom was always pretty good at recommending ponies for promotions and predicting who would be able to make the cut, though she rarely tells them out loud so they can make their own decisions with their careers without her words hanging over them. I wonder if she thought I had the potential to become a captain one day. I certainly didn’t think I would get this far, though she always encouraged me and my classmates to do our best because ‘a captain is nothing without their squad.’
“You better believe it, young filly. Not only did he not panic during my suplex or the fight before, but even three classes in I still hadn’t managed to find out how he reacted when he was afraid. He nearly had me stumped, until I saw him and Princess Cadance share a quick kiss.”
“As she was hiding in the rafters spying on Shining to try and find a weakness of his,” Aaron called again from the kitchen.
“QUIET, YOU! THIS IS MY STORY!” Swift Strike shouted.
“Sorry! I can’t hear you over my baking!” Aaron yelled back, earning an annoyed whinny from Swift Strike. 
“ANYWAY, the point is I saw him and Princess Cadance together, which I thought could be just the key I needed. So I approached Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance with a plan. The two were a bit hesitant at first—”
“Cadance thought the plan was insane!”
“AARON! STOP PLAGUING MY STORY WITH INCIDENTAL SASSY COMMENTARY!”
“Would you prefer it if I went and got my trombone?"
“NO, THAT’S EVEN WORSE!”
“Your dad plays the trombone?” Twilight whispered quietly as Flash’s parents continued to playfully argue.
“Yeah. He was in the marching band in school, and now plays a bit with a jazz group in Canterlot. I’ll have to take you to see them sometime. They’re pretty good,” Flash whispered back with a smile.
I should remember to tell her about the time my dad accidentally created a theme song for my mom while trying to distract some thieves. THAT was quite the story.  
“ANYWAY,” Swift Strike exclaimed exasperatedly, pulling their attention back to the small mare. “Despite Princess Cadance’s hesitance with the plan, she and Princess Celestia agreed to it once I explained that Shining had the potential to become captain with enough effort but that he would never make it if he didn’t know how to keep his fear under control.
“So during the next class, Princess Cadance came to watch under the guise of it being a routine inspection. We had moved on to using training weapons for this session, which were blunted and enchanted to stop once they made contact with a living creature. I also made sure that I would spar with Shining Armor about halfway through the class. Once we were in the middle of the fight, however, I abandoned my attack and yelled ‘HEY, PRINCESS! CATCH!’ and threw my sword at her.”
Twilight’s mouth dropped open, and Flash could feel his own brain skip like a record for a second.
Suplex-loving-mother did WHAT NOW!?
“You THREW YOUR SWORD AT CADANCE?!” Twilight all but screamed.
“How have you never told me this story?” Flash asked. “That has go to be the craziest thing you have ever done!”
“Fifth craziest, actually,” Swift Strike said with a wink, causing Flash’s brain to skip again.
Fifth cra—ARE YOU ACTUALLY KEEPING A LIST? Like, seriously, Mother, do you actually have a list of all the crazy nonsense you had done over the course of your life? Because right now that is what it sounds like you are saying and I am both not at all surprised and can’t even begin to think of what things you’ve done that somehow rank higher than throwing a freaking sword at the Princess of Love. 
Seriously, what on Equis did you do that was crazier than that?  
“And yes, yes I did, Twilight,” Swifty continued, unaware of Flash’s brain breaking slightly. “But she wasn’t actually in any danger. She had two guards next to her that would have stopped the sword, the sword itself was a training sword, and an enchanted one at that, and I purposely missed, throwing the sword way too far to the right.
“Shining, however, didn’t know this, and for the first time in the class he actually panicked! It was perfect! He immediately forgot about the match and surrounded Cadance and her guards with his shield spell, only to blink in pure confusion when the sword missed it entirely. Of course, given how he completely abandoned his own defense, I immediately taught him what happens when you let your guard down around a superior opponent.”
“By suplexing him, of course,” Aaron called out. 
“AAAAAARRROOOONNNNN!!!!”
“What? I’m not wrong!” 
“Just let me tell the story! Anyway, yes, I suplexed him, and then took a break so Princess Cadance and I could explain what happened and so I could tell him what I saw. See, when your brother panicked, Twilight, he not only completely abandoned his own defenses to protect others, but he also expended far more magic than would normally be necessary and so much of his own magic that he needed to take some time to recover after the match.
“So once I knew this, I was able to teach him how to limit his magic use when he was terrified, how to maintain his own safety while protecting others, how to throw up his strongest shields without hurting himself or exceeding his limits, and how to increase his tolerance and magic pool so he could cast such strong shields for longer times without risk of running out of magic. And without my training, I bet you he would have never gotten as far as he did!”
“As humble as ever, sweetie!” Aaron called out. 
“Aaron, I am warning you! Don’t make me come in there!”
“But how will you get dinner if you don’t come in here? Which is ready, by the way.” He poked his head back into the living room, grinning widely. “I made baked ziti with flowers, and even put together a few small flower sandwiches,” he sang before he ducked away again.
Swift Strike’s eyes widened to the size of Pinkie Pie’s special birthday cupcakes. 
“YOU’RE FORGIVEN!” she cheered, leaping over Twilight’s head, much to Twilight’s surprise, and went flying into the kitchen like a bird of prey chasing after a mouse. Along the way, she nearly knocked over a small table near the door as she used it as a springboard.
“Sorry about that, Twilight,” Flash chuckled as he stood up, “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, and that ziti sounds really good,” Twilight said, giggling a little and standing up as well. “Does that happen often?”
“Not as much as you might think, actually,” Flash said. “She usually is more patient, especially when I am home, but then again we have been talking for almost two and a half hours at this point.” He offered his leg to Twilight, who happily accepted. “So, are you enjoying your visit so far?”
“Absolutely,” Twilight said as Flash led the way towards the kitchen. “You’re parents are really fun, and it’s so interesting to learn about them, and more about you too.”
“Then just you wait,” Flash said. “The night is still young, and I’m sure you’ll learn quite a bit more about me by the time we’re done…”
> Chapter 6: Meeting the Sentrys Part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Flash and Twilight entered the kitchen, Flash took a moment to take in the familiar sight. The room was still painted a bright and cheery yellow with the familiar dark wooden cabinets, granite countertop, and a moderately sized oak table just where he remembered them. The table and six chairs still sat near the wall, right next to a large window where everypony could see the ocean of flowers that were spilling out across the yard. The sun was low and casted the kitchen in a wonderful orange glow, reminding Flash of so many evenings he had shared with his parents in this very room. 
And, of course, there were a number of flowerpots and hanging planters that contained even more flowers spread throughout the kitchen, some of which had picked stems indicating that they had played a role in tonight’s meal. 
It’s a good thing no pony we know has allergies. I still remember that one time a construction worker was here to work on the kitchen and just couldn’t stop sneezing. It wasn’t until Dad moved all the flowers upstairs that the poor stallion could focus on his work. 
“Hurry up, you two!” Swift Strike called out, waving excitedly from her seat at the table. “The sooner we all sit the sooner I can eat these sandwiches! Come on, move those legs!” 
“You can always start without them, Swifty,” Aaron chuckled as he sat down next to her with a thud, the extra large chair shuddering slightly. 
“I WOULD, but we both know that we should let them get a few pieces because once I start, I won’t stop!” Swift Strike said, her mouth watering as she looked at the plate of sandwiches in front of her. “And I can’t deny my son’s marefriend a chance to enjoy the best food in existence!” 
“I don’t know, Pinkie Pie makes some pretty tasty cupcakes,” Flash said with a grin as he pulled out a chair for Twilight.
“BLASPHEMY!” Swift Strike cried in mock horror, pointing a hoof at him in accusation, only to be buried in Aaron’s wing as he wrapped it around her. “Honey, not now! I’m trying to defend your incredibly culinary skills that would make Luna sing your praises!” she exclaimed as she struggled to escape. 
“There’s nothing wrong with a little competition, dear,” Aaron said playfully, winking at Flash as he and Twilight sat down. “And I’m sure Princess Luna can sing songs about more than just one chef.” 
“Everything smells amazing,” Twilight said, grabbing three sandwiches and a roll as Aaron scooped her out a large blob of ziti, holding the spoon in his free wing with practiced ease. “Thank you for taking the time to make all this.”
“It was my pleasure, Twilight,” Aaron said with a happy nod as he passed Flash the spoon. “I always enjoy cooking and baking for new friends, just so long as Flash doesn’t try and help with the actual baking part, of course.” 
Flash nearly dropped the spoon, his face flushing red.
Why, Dad? Why would you bring that up now? Just…why?!
“Huh?” Twilight asked in confusion, looking at Flash. 
“I…um,” Flash began, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. “I can’t bake. I can use a cooktop, microwave, or anything else without problem, but any time I try to bake…”
“The kitchen is filled with smoke,” Swift Strike said, finally freeing herself from Aaron’s wing and grabbing a few sandwiches for herself. “He’s been banned from using the oven after he set a tray of cookies on fire!”
“You what?” Twilight asked in surprise. “I know ovens can be dangerous, but wouldn’t you have noticed they were burning long before they caught fire? How did that even happen?”
“I don’t KNOW,” Flash groaned, burying his face in his hooves, “I followed the recipe exactly, and even set the oven to a lower temperature than the recipe called for just in case, but somehow they caught fire five minutes after I put them in the oven! It makes no sense!”
At least they were better than the ones where I misread the recipe and didn’t add enough flour. Those ones MELTED in the oven and we had to scrub out the charred slime. 
“He gets it from his mom,” Aaron said with a laugh, taking the spoon back from Flash and scooping some ziti for himself and Swift Strike. “She’s just as bad at baking, though her problem is that she always bakes things at too high a temperature to try and make them faster. It never ends well.” 
Swift Strike’s feathers and chest fluffed up in annoyance, but Aaron gave her a quick kiss just as she opened her mouth, cutting off whatever retort she was about to make. Though that didn’t stop her from grumbling, “I am not THAT bad…” once Aaron had broken away. 
Aaron gave her a small, warm smile and another quick kiss on the forehead.  
Twilight giggled and gave Flash a reassuring pat on the back with a wing.   
Thanks, Twilight. I promise not to set your castle on fire if I ever try to bake you a patented Pinkie Pie Thank You Cake™. In fact, I may just enlist Pinkie to help with the actual baking portion of that little endeavor. That way I can still say I made most of it, and the risk of fire or smoke is reduced by one hundred…make that ninety-five percent!  
“Now then, why don’t we all dig in?” Aaron asked, and before he’d even finished speaking, Swift Strike had already shoved an entire sandwich into her mouth faster than Flash could see. She let out a happy moan as she slowly chewed, savoring every ounce of flavor. Twilight, watching Swift Strike’s reaction curiously, picked up her own sandwich and took a small bite. 
“Whoa,” she muttered, her eyes going wide before she dug into the sandwich with gusto. “This is amazing!”
“I told you!” Swift Strike said in the split second she had before she started devouring her second sandwich. Her wings reached out to grab two more without her mouth missing a beat. Twilight did one better, grabbing three in her magic and adding them to her plate as she devoured her current one.
Something tells me my dad might have two ponies addicted to his sandwiches now, Flash thought, quickly grabbing one for himself before they were all gone. Aaron, meanwhile, just smiled in satisfaction as he calmly ate his own food. 
They continued in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the meal. After finishing a second sandwich, Twilight took a bite of the ziti, and, given how she quickly scooped herself some more, Flash could safely assume that she found it to be just as good. 
“By the way, honey,” Aaron began as they continued to eat. “I could have sworn I heard the sound of hooves on a table before you entered the kitchen. Seeing as there was no screaming or crashing, I’m assuming that nothing’s broken this time?” 
Swift Strike took a moment to pause in her eating and glare at him. A glare that lasted all of three seconds before he made a silly face and she burst into giggles. Satisfied with that response, Aaron grinned playfully and winked at Flash. 
“That was one time and you know it!” Swifty said, playfully punching Aaron on the shoulder. “And we both know I hardly ever break things, Mister I’m-going-to-stick-my-head-in-the-washing-machine-and-get-so-stuck-we-need-to-take-it-apart-just-to-get-you-out.” 
“Just making sure,” Aaron said with a deep chuckle. “And in my defense, I did manage to put the washer back together again. It even worked better than it did before you had to take it apart! Somehow.”
I really don’t think that’s the point here, Dad, Flash thought with an internal eye roll and a smile. You ARE the one who tends to break things around the house, which is surprising given Mom’s…well, everything. 
“I feel like there’s another story coming,” Twilight said between bites, her eyebrow raising in curiosity. 
“My turn, then, though this story is pretty short,” Flash said with a grin, ignoring his mother’s small snort of amusement. “About two weeks before I was supposed to start taking her class, something that my mom was EXTRA excited for, she asked me if we could do a special combat exercise. As I said, the class starts with my mom finding out how everypony reacts when they’re afraid. Normally, she also has a graduate student attend the class to spar with her to demonstrate what the class will teach over the next few weeks. However, as a way to supplement the lesson, she wanted to see if I would be willing to spar with her before the first official class so that she could show everypony how even just knowing your fear can help you be better prepared.”
“I was a…little hesitant at first,” Flash said, remembering his mom’s excited, if mildly terrifying, smile when he had said yes. “But in the end, I figured it would be better to get a head start on this ‘fear training,’ as Mom calls it, and agreed to spar with her. We set it up so that at some point between that day and the start of class, she would ‘attack’ me when I wasn’t expecting it. We even had a codeword that I could yell if the test was becoming too intense for me.”
“The codeword was ‘codeword,’” Aaron chuckled. “The perfect way not to forget the codeword. At least, in theory,” he added with a wink. Flash tried not to groan.
I know, Dad. I know. I’ll get to there soon. And hopefully Twilight won’t laugh too much. Even if she does have a beautiful laugh…
  Focus…
“My dad also contacted a friend of his who helped him move a lot of the more delicate items upstairs before the sparing session began so we had most of the lower floor to practice without rick of breaking things like picture frames or vases,” Flash continued. 
“The kitchen was the only place that was off limits,” Aaron said with a nod. “Afterall, somepony had to make sure his little warriors would have a nice hearty meal when they were done chasing each other in circles.”
“And what a good meal it was. Almost as good as this one!” Swifty exclaimed with a happy nod before another sandwich vanished into her mouth.
“Anyway,” Flash continued. “A few days before I was supposed to take my mom’s class, I had just gotten home from a patrol shift. I hadn’t had a chance to take off my armor yet, but suddenly I hear my mom scream ‘SURPRISE ATTACK!’ and pounced at me from the upper level. She was wearing her full armor as well, and I barely managed to dodge her ambush.”
“You got lucky, my dear,” Swifty said with a wide grin. “One second later and I would have had you!”
“I know, Mom,” Flash said with a playful eyeroll. “I’m just surprised you announced your attack at all. So many of your stories of your time in the scout unit involved you being a master of stealth.”
“She can be if she wants to be,” Aaron said with a laugh. “But if her cover’s been blown or she can’t use stealth due to the situation or the terrain, then she’s about as stealthy as a marching band falling down a flight of stairs. And trust me, I know how loud that can be.” He winked at Swifty, who puffed her cheeks out in indignation. 
“In Mom’s defense, though, intimidation through sound is a real tactic,” Flash said, earning a grin from Swifty. “But in this case, she didn’t catch me right then thanks to her little shout, and so she started chasing me through the house. But even though I knew it was a training exercise and that I had agreed to this, I still felt pretty scared at the time, especially as Mom was going all out to try and catch me. She was running along the walls, kicking off of any surface she could to try and grab me, performing turns so tight I thought she had a missed career as a Wonderbolt. In short, I didn’t stand a chance against her, and I quickly realized what happened when I was afraid.”
“What?” Twilight asked innocently. 
“He forgets,” Aaron cut in. “If he doesn’t have a combat move down to muscle memory, he forgets it. If he has a new tool or a new weapon that he hasn’t practiced with, he forgets about it. If he has a codeword he can use to end the exercise…”
“You forgot the codeword?!” Twilight asked in shock, her mouth falling open. “But it was just ‘codeword!’” 
Flash couldn’t help but blush a little as he nodded in shame. “Yes, I did forget. I tried to keep up with her at first, but soon I was so busy just trying to dodge her pursuit that by the time I realized I wanted to end the exercise, I couldn’t think of what I was supposed to say! And because I wasn’t using the codeword, Mom didn’t stop! She just kept coming and didn’t realize that I had forgotten how to end the exercise. She also just kept yelling about how she needed to learn about my fear and to stop playing around. It was…pretty intense. Definitely not my scariest fight, but it was quite the introduction to her class.”
“That was the point, and you became one of my best students!” Swift Strike exclaimed proudly. “At the time, I thought you didn’t feel scared enough yet, which is why you weren’t using the codeword, or saying anything at all! So I was trying to slowly ramp it up.”
“Slowly. Right. That same slowly that led to you literally bucking the coffee table in half when I tried to use it as a shield,” Flash deadpanned. Twilight gasped in shock, and Aaron burst out laughing. “By that point, I had given up trying to remember what the codeword was and just tried to stay out of range of your attacks as I called for reinforcements!”
I had never been so happy to see a stallion a head taller than me tackle a guard half my size as I was the moment he showed up, Flash thought. Granted, it’s the only time it happened, but still!
“I believe his exact words were ‘DAD! HELP! MOM JUST BROKE THE COFFEE TABLE IN HALF AND SHE’S STILL COMING! I CAN’T REMEMBER HOW TO MAKE HER STOP!’” Aaron chuckled, earning a pout/glare from his wife. “I could tell from the panic in his voice that Flash had indeed forgotten the codeword in the middle of it. So when I heard that, I simply came into the room to try and help sort out the problem. However, once I saw what a mess had been made of the family room, I decided to calm Swifty down directly before something else got broken, rather than just yell ‘codeword.’”
“You ran into the room and tackled me from behind!” Swift Strike yelled. “And I had just pulled off this super cool turn too! The moment Flash yelled that out, I realized something was wrong and veered off from my attack and began to lose speed. The tackle was unnecessary.”
“Maybe, but given the mess you made, I wanted to make sure you didn’t crash into anything while trying to slow down. Or make yourself sick given how tight of a circle you would need to make to burn off all that speed in such a small room,” Aaron said, nuzzling the top of Swifty’s head. “Plus, it served as a clear indicator to Flash that the exercise was over and that he could start to calm down too.”
“Fair,” Swifty said. “The cuddle session you gave me after the tackle did help me calm down a bit as well. I just wish the start of it wasn’t so rough.”
“Says little miss I’m-going-to-tackle-my-husband-because-I-love-him-so-much-and-missed-him-these-past-few-days-while-on-deployment,” Aaron said with a low rumbling chuckle. Swifty just blew a raspberry at him. 
“What happened after Aaron stopped the match?” Twilight asked, helpfully bringing the conversation back on track. 
“Well, after we took a minute to make sure Flashie wasn’t injured, which he wasn’t, Swifty and I hugged him – a little awkwardly, in Swifty’s case - and then sent him to the kitchen to get some water for himself and his mom. I also told him to take a few minutes to take some deep breaths while I snuggled his sparing partner to help her calm down,” Aaron said. “Then, when he came back, I let Swifty up so she could debrief Flash.
“It’s a standard procedure that takes place after the more intense lessons in the guard,” Swifty said. “I basically went over the events that happened during the match, praised his successes like his stamina and ability to avoid my attacks, made sure he was aware of his mistakes and what he could do to improve, and helped him understand what how his mind reacted to his fear.”
“It turns out that not only do I forget things when I’m afraid, but that I also tend to become hyper-focused on those things I’m forgetting, which can impact my ability to adapt if I’m not careful,” Flash said. “The reason it took me so long to call for Dad’s help or for mom to stop attacking was because I was so focused on dodging and trying to remember what the codeword was that it just never occurred to me to try and end the exercise some other way.”
“We managed to work out that issue during his time in the class, thankfully,” Swifty said with a proud nod. “But back on topic, once I had finished the debriefing, Flashie was feeling better and I could already see his mind working on how to address his weakness. I knew from the look in his eyes that he would be a pony who got a lot out of my classes. 
“But then the mood was COMPLETELY ruined by my goofball of a husband who decided that he would grab me again and spend the next hour laying on top of me!” she exclaimed, giving Aaron a very playful glare. The larger stallion just laughed. 
“I could tell Swifty was still a little bit jittery from the fight even after the debriefing, and so I thought what better way to calm her down then to spend some more time being pinned under some soft, warm pressure?” Aaron said with a wink. 
“So you just randomly decided to become my own personal weighted blanket?” Swifty snarked, playfully batting him with her wing.
“If you didn’t like it, why didn’t you just tickle yourself out?” Aaron bantered back with a cheeky grin. “You’ve escaped from similar positions before. Rather easily, I might add. At the time, I just wanted to be completely sure that there wouldn’t be any more broken furniture given how buzzy you still were.”
“More like you just wanted to be a cheeky husband who playfully pushed my buttons while simultaneously comforting me so I didn’t feel bad about breaking the table,” Swifty said, flying out of her chair slightly so she could reach up and boop Aaron on the nose.
“And, if I remember correctly, once you had managed to lay on her, you asked me for one of the magazines that had been on the table before Mom smashed it,” Flash said. Swift Strike blinked, then nearly burst out laughing as she facehoofed. 
“Oh sweet Luna, I forgot about that,” Swifty exclaimed.
“Of course I did! After all, I knew Swifty could get out if she wanted to, and that a nice warm press would help prevent her from feeling too sore the next day. Plus, I had been falling behind in my reading of ‘Equestrian Flower’s Monthly,’” Aaron said casually. “So why not plant two seeds in one hole?”
“Mom spent the first few minutes snarking at my dad to let her up, but eventually just decided to wait it out. So she and I talked some more about the exercise, at which point I was able to compliment her on that veer move she pulled off, which was pretty cool. But eventually, she fell asleep under my dad, which I have to say is probably the silliest place she had ever fallen asleep,” Flash joked, only for Swift Strike to punch a roll and send it flying into his mouth. 
I can’t tell if I should be upset she just muted me or happy given how delicious this roll is, Flash thought, chewing the warm buttery goodness in his mouth. I still wish I knew how she was able to do that so perfectly. It would be a good tactic if Twilight ever gets too excited about a science problem she’s researching. Even if she is pretty cute when she’s ranting.
  Focus…
“Cheeky colt,” Swift Strike huffed. “It was very nice, even if I still would have preferred to just snuggle on the couch. Still, I am glad that we went through with the exercise, coffee table aside. This kind of fear is usually one that I only find after my second or third class, so I was glad that I was able to discover it earlier and get to work helping you sooner. Plus, it was so wonderful to see you improve right before my eyes and to hear you say how much my work helped you become a better guard.”
“And it was wonderful to see how happy you were to hear that from me,” Flash agreed, swallowing the last of the roll. “And you put so much effort into helping me overcome that weakness. You spent hours teaching me so many different moves, making sure I was moving correctly, fixing little mistakes, and helping me practice until I could do a maneuver without even thinking. It helped me feel more prepared to handle numerous situations and reduced the risk of me fear-blanking.” 
He smiled at the memory of him and his mom practicing in the training room until Flash had a move memorized. Of her staying up with him late into the night, helping him perfect one move or another that he was struggling with. Of them finally stopping and sharing a granola bar to recover. He could still remember thanking her that one night they had stayed up until almost one in the morning, and her hugging him and saying ‘anytime.’
She would do anything to make sure I could be the best Royal Guard I could be. 
“Honestly, it has helped me in multiple situations back in the Crystal Empire and Ponyville,” Flash said. “I’ve even helped train a few of the crystal guards that were suffering from a similar fear reaction. Though I didn’t have a chance to teach them suplexing before being reassigned. Hey, remember when we tried the exercise again a few years later and I panic-suplexed you?” 
Swifty let out a loud happy laugh. “THAT was so amazing! You completely forgot everything you were doing, but you had memorized suplexing so well you just did it on instinct!” she exclaimed, sounding almost as proud as the day Flash had graduated from the guard academy. “You wouldn’t mind doing that training exercise again, would you, Flashie?” She gave a very excited Momma-isn’t-messing-around-grin at the prospect, prompting Flash to roll his eyes. 
It wouldn’t be a family visit if Mom wasn’t asking me to do her test or spar at least once. Though I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. The last thing I need it for Twilight to see me panic-attacking my own mother because she decided to ambush me from inside a closet. 
“Swifty, stop teasing him,” Aaron said, bending over and giving Swift Strike a gentle tug on the ear. “We both know what his answer is going to be. And besides, if we took time to do your little test, then we might not have a time for your family tradition: the baby photos.” 
You know, I had almost forgotten about that, Flash groaned internally, even as Twilight’s ears perked up in interest. Almost. I would ask if we can skip the baby photos, but I know that Mom would never let that happen. Plus, I did tell Twilight my mom would share my baby photos, so it wouldn’t be fair if I’m the only one to be embarrassed by them. 
“Fine, fine. But are you sure I can’t spar with him? Just once? It’s been years since the last time we spared and I want to see how much better he’s gotten! And if he’s learned any new moves I can use in my lessons! Especially since we barely got to see him while he was stationed in the Crystal Empire! Well, we did spend a few days in Ponyville after he transferred to see him when he was free, but he declined a chance to spar then too!”
“Not tonight, dear. You can spar with him when we go to visit him in Ponyville again if he wants. But no Super-Swifty-Surprise-Suplexing.”
“Awwwww…” Swift Strike exclaimed with an obviously exaggerated moan, followed by some very clearly fake pouting. Flash just shook his head and let out a small chuckle.
Never changes, Mom. Never change. Unless you’re going to not suplex things anymore. At which point, change only that one thing and nothing else.
“Is there a reason you weren’t able to see him once he moved to the Crystal Empire?” Twilight asked, tilting her head curiously. “I’m sure Cadance would have given him some time off when you came to visit.”
“That wasn’t really the problem,” Aaron said, a happy smile crossing his muzzle. “The problem was getting Swifty to the Empire at all, given how her two biggest weaknesses were standing in the way.” He gave Swift Strike a small kiss on the nose as she rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him.
“Her two biggest weaknesses?” Twilight asked.
“Trains and snow,” Flash said, nodding. “Despite how fluffy Mom is, she has almost no tolerance for cold weather. At all. Even with just a light sprinkling of snow and she needs to bundle up in a sweatshirt, a super fluffy jacket, boots, and a thick scarf to feel comfortable. Even when she used to work as a guard in the winter she would always wear three layers of warmth under her armor.”
“And more than once, Flash acted as her little portable space heater when he was a foal,” Aaron laughed, nuzzling Swift Strike as she blushed. “I still remember the time our heat went out in the middle of winter. She spent almost the entire time wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and was still complaining about the cold. It wasn’t until Flash crawled under the covers with her that she finally felt comfortable, and she spent most of the night aggressively cuddling a six-year-old Flash as he happily slept away in her legs.”
I still remember that, Flash thought, giggling a little at the memory. Even when I woke up the next morning she was still hugging me, and I had to spend ten minutes squirming out of her sleepy grip so I could go to the bathroom.
“I didn’t think Flash would be that warm,” Twilight said, looking at Flash curiously. “I mean, his fur isn’t really that long, and whenever we hug, he doesn’t feel that warm. My friend Rainbow Dash usually feels warmer than he does.”
“That’s because he cuts his coat every other week,” Swift Strike said, her eyes gleaming with a playfulness that only a mother could have. 
Oh dear. Why, Mom? Why did you need to mention that?
“Really?” Twilight asked in surprise. Flash just blushed and nodded a bit. 
“I…kinda got whatever gene my mom has that makes my fur grow a lot faster than other ponies. If I don’t cut it regularly, I become really fluffy. Not as much as my mom, but enough that it gets pretty distracting.”
“Distracting how?” Twilight asked, tilting her head VERY adorably.
Focus…
“Well,” Flash began, thinking of the downsides he had experienced with his longer coat. “When I work out, my sweat stays in my fur a lot more, which weighs me down. It also just feels weird having that much fur between the straps of my armor. And there’s the knots that can form in it, which can be a real pain to get out. Plus, unlike my mom, I don’t do too well in the summer with such a long coat, especially when I’m wearing my armor.” 
“I’m sure you could probably grow it out a little bit more without running into any problems,” Aaron said with a wink. “After all, mares love a stallion who’s fluffy and huggable. Why do you think I used to wait so long before cutting my coat? Any downsides are greatly outweighed by getting more hugs from my lovable wife!”
“I actually always thought you did that so Mom didn’t feel so weird being a giant ball of fur,” Flash said, earning a giggle from Twilight. “And I think I’ll keep cutting mine.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight teased, brushing his side with a wing. 
EEEP! Twilight! What?
“I will admit, after feeling how soft your mom’s coat is, I’m actually a bit curious how much better our hugs would be if your coat was a bit fluffier,” Twilight said playfully, causing Flash’s wings to spring out in surprise as he blushed madly. “I certainly won’t force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, but would you be willing to grow your fur out a little bit?”
Daaaaa…Focus Flash, focus! I actually feel pretty torn now. On the one hoof, I’ve always found long fur to be more annoying, especially back in elementary school. And it’s been so long since I’ve let it grow out that it might be even more uncomfortable than I remember. On the other hoof, more hugs from Twilight would certainly be very nice. And if she likes hugging me, then it could help both of us feel just a little bit more relaxed if we have a rough day. Who knows, maybe she would even know of some sort of cooling spell to help me in the summer? 
 …I suppose just trying it out wouldn’t be too bad. And if it is too much of a problem, I can always go back to cutting it shorter.  
Flash sighed. “I suppose I can let it grow a little bit and see how you like it, Twilight.”
“Aww, thank you, Flash” Twilight said, pulling him into a massive kiss that left him grinning like a goofball. “If it does turn out to be too much on an inconvenience for you, you can go back to cutting it however you want, but thank you for at least giving it a try.”
“Hahaha! With a reaction like that, all you need to do is give him more kisses and he’ll keep it long for as long as you—MMMPH!” Swift Strike called between laughs, only for Aaron to sweep her right out of her chair and into a huge kiss of her own. 
Nice to see Dad reminding her that she’s just as vulnerable to kisses as I am. Actually, I wonder if I could kiss Twilight in such a way that it would help her calm down if she was ever super stressed? Or maybe a kiss to pull her out of one of her sciencey moods where she gets too wrapped up in an experiment and doesn’t listen to anypony until after the science is done even if it might be dangerous? I still remember that time she flooded the castle basement with blue foam. 
  Focus…Worry about developing a Princess-Pacifying-Kiss later…
“Going back a bit, you mentioned that your mom didn’t like trains?” Twilight asked once Aaron had released the now very happy Swift Strike from their shared kiss. “Is it a phobia, or…”
“No, no, nothing that bad,” Swift Strike said as she got back into her own seat. “I just get…hyper when I’m on a train. And motion sick. I don’t like being in a metal box that moves when flying is a perfectly fine alternative. I’d rather be in control of my movements rather than sitting still while some machine moves me around, especially when those movements make me taste my breakfast.”
“She doesn’t mind balloons, blimps, or air carriages because she can easily just jump off and go for a quick fly if she starts to get too much pent-up energy,” Aaron said. “But half an hour on a train? She’ll be crawling up the walls unless she’s asleep, and it’s rare her nausea lets her do that. And even if we have the window open for fresh air to try and help, her pent-up energy makes it difficult for her to stay still and lie down. Which, in turn, just serves to aggravate her nausea even more. It’s not a fun time for anypony.”
“Have you tried a sleep medication?” Twilight asked. “I hear they make those for ponies who have trouble flying in airships or balloons. Or maybe some motion sickness medication?”
“The sleeping medicines just make the motion sickness even worse, to the point where I usually just throw them up,” Swift Strike said, sighing dejectedly. “And the motion sickness ones just make me feel nauseous constantly, even when I’m not ON the train! As far as my doctor can tell, there must be certain chemicals in those types of medications that my body just doesn’t agree with. We still don’t know WHICH one, but regardless I have yet to find a medication that works for me.”
You know, I wonder if Twilight or Zecora could try to mix something up for her, Flash thought. Zecora especially has a lot of knowledge about medicine and herbs, so maybe she would know something more natural for my mom to take. It might be worth a try. That way we could all go on vacation somewhere and we wouldn’t need to worry about Mom carrying most of the luggage in the wagon we have in the attic. 
“And because of all the snow around the Crystal Empire, my mom can’t fly there,” Flash said, pulling himself back to the real world. “The amount of gear she would need to feel comfortable in the cold temperatures would be too heavy for her to fly for long periods, something I know because she and my dad actually tried to fly to the Crystal Empire once, but he ended up having to carry her most of the way.”
“A good workout, but not one you want to do frequently,” Aaron said. 
“I am still sorry about that,” Swift Strike said.
“Don’t be, honey. I was happy to help. And you massaged the knots out of my muscles like a true pro!”
Swift Strike giggled and Aaron gave her another quick kiss.
“So between those two factors, the two of us only visited the Crystal Empire three times while Flash was stationed there, with him coming home the rest of the times we saw him. We relied on letters otherwise.”
“Which is actually how we noticed that something might be going on with our little Flashie these last few months,” Swift Strike said with a grin. “He kept sending us letters, but they were typically shorter and a bit light on details. To think he would have found a marefriend after punching a noble and that he WOULDN’T TELL ME AFTER THREE AND A HALMMPH—!” 
Her angry rant was cut short by Aaron and a well-placed sandwich right in her mouth. She hummed in bliss and Aaron just winked. 
I wonder if that would work on Twilight now that she’s tried Dad’s sandwiches? Or if a hayburger would have the same effect. Twilight certainly loves hayburgers enough to stop working and eat. Not to mention how adorable she is with that blissful look on her face whenever we go get some…
Focus…
“The reason I didn’t tell you was because I wasn’t really sure how to put it into words,” Flash said. “Dating Twilight was such a new and exciting experience that I just couldn’t find a way to get my thoughts out onto paper. It’s why, once I realized I hadn’t been writing for a few weeks, I simply wrote that I had some great news to tell you, and that we should meet up once your second honeymoon was over.”
“Fair enough, I suppose,” Swifty said with a forgiving nod, grabbing another sandwich. “But you better not wait that long for any future exciting news, young stallion!” She pointed the sandwich in Flash’s direction like it was the world’s tastiest weapon.
“I promise,” he said, trying not to laugh too hard at the sight.
“Good,” Swifty said, and took another hearty bite of the sandwich like nothing had happened. Flash quickly lost his battle and laughed, and his mom winked at him and made exaggerated big eyes as she chewed.
It does feel good to finally tell them, he thought as he ate a little more of his own food. And it feels even better that they like Twilight so much! 
“So all in all, Swifty can’t handle snow or trains, Flash gets fluffy if he doesn’t cut his coat, and we didn’t get to see Flash very often save for when he came home himself. Because we couldn’t see him often, Swifty hasn’t had much of a chance to spar with him, and we didn’t get to see him since you started dating because of our trip,” Aaron summed up as he grabbed a bit more food. “Oh, and Swifty can be pacified by an emergency sandwich in many instances. Any questions?”
“Yes, several, I think,” Twilight said, a bemused but genuine smile on her face, “but I’m not quite sure how to word them, so they can wait for now.” She grabbed more of the ziti and dove back into her meal. 
“Now there’s something you don’t see every day. The mare with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge not asking any more questions. We may just have broken her, Dad,” Flash said in a mock-serious voice, earning a small swat from Twilight’s wing. 
“We are quite an unusual family,” Aaron said with a shrug. “Nothing wrong with taking some time to digest what she’s heard.”
“I can’t tell if you’re trying to make a pun or not,” Swift Strike chimed in now that she had finished her latest sandwich, narrowing her gaze at her husband. 
“Yes,” Aaron replied. 
“Yes, you are making a pun because we’re eating, or yes, you’re not making a pun?”
“Yes.”
Swift Strike’s mouth flattened to a straight line in deadpan annoyance, so Aaron just bent over and gave her another quick kiss on the nose. 
“Kissing me only gets you out of so much trouble, mister.”
“But making you sandwiches gets me all the way out!”
“…You’re so lucky they are the best sandwiches in existence.”
“No, I’m so lucky that I was able to meet a mare just as amazing as you, and even more so that I get to spend my life with you too.”
I wonder it me and Twilight will ever be that cheesy? Flash thought, grinning as his mom burst into bashful giggles and stole a quick kiss before going back to her meal. I should remember that line if Twilight’s ever in a bad mood. He stole a quick glance at his marefriend. 
She had paused to watch his parent’s little interaction and was smiling softly at the display. Flash’s heart fluttered a bit at the sight, though he wasn’t sure why. He’d have time to figure it out later, and so long as Twilight was happy, then he was happy.
The rest of dinner was rather uneventful. Aaron and Swift Strike recounted some of the fun they had on their trip, including nature walks, ziplining, and a scuba diving tour they had taken. Swift Strike had especially enjoyed diving, chatting animatedly about how she swam around with the fish and how a few had tried to hide in her mane under the water. She even had a baby clownfish swimming with her for quite a while who she had decided to name Nemo. 
Twilight also spoke a bit about some of her adventures in Ponyville, including the time Cerberus ran into town only to be calmed down by Fluttershy and the time that Applejack had accidentally run a stampede of bunnies into town while sleep-deprived. Flash tried to point out that ‘almost all of these crazy events seem to happen on Tuesdays,’ but Twilight still insisted that ‘it was just a coincidence, Flash, don’t exaggerate.’ 
Though Aaron sided with Flash, saying ‘there is just something weird about Tuesdays,’ much to Twilight’s playful annoyance and Swifty’s loud laughter.
Once dinner was complete, the family retired to the family room to rest and digest – well, everypony save for Swift Strike, who had dashed off to, of course, go and get the photo album. 
Here it comes. Time for the silly baby pictures. Please let this be over quickly—wait a second…
“Am I imagining things, or is the photo album bigger than last time?” Flash asked in mild concern as his mom skipped back into the family room with a large album balanced on her head, grinning like a little filly. 
“It’s bigger,” Aaron confirmed with a chuckle. He was sitting next to Flash, with his wing draped over him and Twilight like a blanket, gently covering the two of them and the spot in the middle of the sofa that was being saved for Swift Strike. “She was going through all our old photos boxes and found a good chunk of photos that we had almost forgotten about. She loved them so much that she decided to add a few more pages to the book so they were all in one place rather than scattered throughout a number of boxes.”
“Oh, joy,” Flash groaned. Twilight giggled, and not even Flash’s please-don’t-encourage-them-please-please-please look made her lose her smile. 
This is going to be a LONG trip down memory lane. Hopefully Twilight falls asleep and forgets a little bit of the embarrassing photos. 
“Yep!” Swift Strike said with so much cheer that Flash thought she might just give Pinkie a run for her element. “I had to! I have so many cute photos of you as a foal! I couldn’t even fit them all in one book! I’ve already started organizing a second book, and don’t give me that look, you cheeky colt!” she added as Flash opened his mouth. “I started long before I knew you were dating!” 
“She did,” Aaron confirmed.
“And at the rate I’m going, I should have it ready in time for your next visit!”
“Please no,” Flash pleaded. 
“Please yes,” Twilight countered. “You wanted to see all of my baby photos, so it’s only fair that I get to see some of yours too!”
“But I only saw one book!” Flash protested, secretly hoping Twilight forgot about him asking for the second book.
“Only because I insisted we not go get another one!” Twilight countered, clearly having NOT forgotten about that.
“But I was joking about the second one! Kinda. Sorta. But I only saw one, and isn’t one book enough?” Flash asked desperately. He knew it was a losing battle, but he had to try right? His mom did say to never give up!
“Too late! My dad showed Aaron all of mine, so the story continues! Because unlike his silly ‘boop’ tradition, THIS is actually fun!” Swift Strike cheered, sinking Flash’s last fleeting hope. 
It could be worse, Flash thought as Swifty hopped over the coffee table and landed flawlessly between him and Twilight, the book falling perfectly into her lap. After all, if Mom shows Twilight a second book of baby photos, then maybe I can see more of Twilight’s baby photos. She WAS really cute in some of them. 
“EEEEEE! This is gonna be great!” Swifty cheered, opening the book with a flourish. 
“Awww, he’s so cute!” Twilight squealed in delight. Flash could see she was looking at the photo of him right after he was born. He was wrapped in a blanket, cradled in Swift Strike’s hooves, gazing at the camera in complete wonder. His parents watched him, gentle smiles on their faces. Despite his embarrassment over Twilight’s rapt attention, he did feel a spark of happiness in his chest as he gazed into the photo.
I wonder what it would be like to remember that day? To experience everything for the first time?
“Don’t let that cute face fool you,” Swift Strike said with an impish grin, completely spoiling Flash’s moment. “This little goofball was quite the troublemaker when he was first born. Silly little foal would eat a little bit, fall asleep, then cry again a half an hour later because he was still hungry. He was quite the notorious snacker unless we were constantly giving him attention!”
“Moooom,” Flash whined, silently wishing for the plot to demand Pinkie.
Alas, no such luck. 
Yeah, I thought that would be a far shot. CURSE YOU MR. UNIVERSE AND YOUR LOVE OF MESSING WITH ME!
The universe just sat there, doing nothing and waiting for its next moment to strike. 
Most of the photos on the first page focused on Flash in the hospital, but there was one of the day he finally went home for the first time, his eyes filled with wonder as he sat atop Aaron’s back, staring at everything around him. Though Swifty’s favorite was the image of her in the hospital room, happily watching from a cloud as a tiny Flash waddling his way towards her on a padded carpet as Aaron kept close watch. 
Despite wishing to sink into the couch and never return, Flash did grin a little at the photos. Each one showed his parents as well as himself, and Flash could practically see their love in each of them. Their warm smiles, their excited eyes, their sunny body language. They always loved him and it showed. 
Now if only they could show that love without pointing out every little thing I did as a foal. I know I’m exaggerating, but if Mom really does bring out a second book at our next visit, then it won’t be by much. 
“He was so cute when he first learned to trot,” Swifty said, pointing at the picture. “I knew from how much of a kicker he was in my belly that he would be walking all over the place in no time. Good thing the nurses kept the door closed, otherwise he would have waddled right out the door to go explore the hospital!” She nuzzled Flash’s chin happily. Flash returned it, trying his darndest to ignore the heat slowly flooding his cheeks. 
“He was quite excitable, too,” Aaron chimed in, making Twilight giggle. “Always wanting to be held or played with, and it could take him so long to settle down for a nap, even in the middle of the night.”
“Hopefully it won’t BE the middle of the night by the time this all ends,” Flash muttered to nopony in particular, though everypony else was too busy looking over the next page to listen. 
Please don’t let this last all night. Not even Twilight’s baby photos were than long! I know they were cute, but even I had my limit. Half-joking about a second book aside…
Focus…
The next page was dedicated to his first baths. Why his mom had added an ENTIRE PAGE dedicated to Flash in the tub he would never know, but there was no escaping it now. Even if seeing his rubber duck Sergent Quackers in the photos did bring a small smile to his lips. The first image showed him happily chewing on said ducky as his dad gently poured water over his short mane. In fact, the ducky was in every photo on this page, even one where Flash was asleep as Swifty washed his tiny hooves, and Aaron confirmed that yes, out of all his toys, Flash’s favorite managed to be a little rubber duck. 
“He was a very nice duck,” Flash admitted, silently praying to Harmony that Twilight would never discover that he still had said duck in his bathroom in the castle. 
Don’t you even think about it, Mister Universe! Flash thought, seeing the universe innocently taking notes. Well, with as innocently as a non-physical entity that loved to mess with him could actually muster.
The next page showed a combination of Flash happily running around the house, ducking between Aaron’s legs as Swift Strike playfully chased him, and him sleeping in various places. Twilight’s favorite was the one of him sucking on his hoof as he slept in Swift Strike’s legs, if her squeals of how cute he was were anything to go by. That one wasn’t too embarrassing, though Flash still felt his heart beat faster as Twilight continued to fawn over the photos.
“Flash was either awake and energetic, or fast asleep,” Swifty said with a grin. “He had no middle ground those first few months. Either we could relax, or we needed to be hyper-aware and make sure he didn’t fly out a window!” She pointed to a picture of Flash trying to fly away out of the kitchen, only for Aaron to casually hold his son’s tail between his teeth to keep Flash in place as he washed some dishes with his free hooves. 
Flash remembered that one. Shortly after that picture was taken, his dad had started sending soap bubbles up into the air. Flash had been so amazed by the bubbles that he had spent the next half an hour chasing them around his dad’s head, much to Aaron’s delight. And when Flash had finally tired himself out, he curled up and went to sleep right on his dad’s head.
You know, I wonder who I preferred to sleep on the most when I was a baby. My first thought is that it would be mom given how fluffy she is, but I’m not sure. 
“Don’t forget how he would try to hide on top of the cabinets, only to stare in surprise when he would realize we could fly up to get him,” Aaron agreed, earning a laugh from Twilight as Flash just facehooved. 
Apparently, object permanence also applied to the fact that my parents could fly as well, Flash sighed internally. This was already embarrassing enough without that little tidbit, Dad. 
“If I remember correctly, pegasi foal magic surges tend to show up as burst of flight and energy. I take it that explains a lot of this?” Twilight asked, curious yet playful. 
“Definitely,” Swift Strike said with an enthusiastic nod. “I knew he would be a great flier from the moment he started buzzing around the house, especially once he started escaping his enclosed playpen! Even if we did need to add safety latches to all the upper cabinets after we found him sleeping next to the flour.”
“Don’t forget when he kept trying to explore the spice cabinet,” Aaron chimed in, making Twilight and Swifty laugh as Flash tried to will himself out of existence for a few minutes. Alas, he could not escape this situation or the strange mix of wanting to be anywhere else and the bit of laughter bubbling up from inside him at how silly his younger self had been.  
Funny or not though, if Mom really has a story for every picture, this embarrassment is never going to end. Flash sighed to himself. Though if she DOES create a second book of baby photos, I wonder if I can convince Twilight Velvet to show me more of Twilight’s. She was even cuter than I was and I can’t believe I just thought that…
  Focus…
After what seemed like way too long, Swifty flipped the page, and Twilight immediately squealed. 
“Oh my Celestia, he’s so fluffy!” she gushed, causing Flash’s face to become almost entirely red as he saw the photo she was looking at. Said photo, titled ‘Flash: Five Months Old,’ showed Flash sitting half-covered by a blanket with a pacifier in his mouth. By this point, Flash’s mane and coat were starting to take on his mother’s characteristics, becoming fluffier and longer than most foals at that age, at least according to his parents. 
And that’s not even close to the fluffiest I can get. This was just when that trait was starting to make itself known.
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet, sweetie,” Swift Strike said with a grin. “By this point, he was just a little ball of fluff, and he just kept getting fluffier! You should have seen how many of my friends wanted to hold him and how many thought he was just the most huggable colt of all time!”
And Mom is reading my mind again. Super. Now that she’s seen me so fluffy, something tells me that now Twilight is really going to love my longer coat.
  Although Twilight will probably give me more hugs once it grows out. And happy Twilight hugs are always a good thing…
  Focus on the photos for now, Flash. Worry about inevitable hugs from your marefriend later.
The next photo showed a still-very-fluffy Flash hidden among a small patch of clouds above their home’s entryway. Only the top of his head and his tail were showing, but the latter was clearly flicking back and forth excitedly as he prepared to pounce on Swift Strike. His mom, on the other hoof was giving the camera a look the screamed ‘I know what he’s trying to do, and it won’t work.’
“Flash loved to hide around the house to try and surprise us,” Aaron said, pointing out the picture with a feather. “But he wasn’t really very good at hiding his tail.”
“Or keeping his giggling under control,” Swift Strike said with a nod. “He was never a stealthy colt.”
“Let the record show that I’ve gotten MUCH better,” Flash chuckled. He had to admit, these pictures always made him laugh. “Though yes, I was pretty terrible at stealth back then.” He pointed to the next photo, where his mom was lying on top of him and his expression just screamed ‘How did she see me coming?’. “However, I do think there was one time I managed to surprise Mom by jumping out of the laundry basket.”
“I heard her squeal of shock from across the house,” Aaron agreed, laughing as Swifty turned to give Flash a look that was the personification of her ‘cheeky colt.’ He stuck his tongue out at her and raspberried. 
Another photo showed Flash running through Aaron’s flower fields, his dad hovering over him and trying to get a grip on the cheerful colt without causing any more damage to the plants than Flash’s game of tag was already causing. This was followed immediately by a picture of a relieved Aaron holding a now very dirty and still excited Flash in his hooves, a path of destruction clearly evident in the flower field behind them. 
“Swifty was absolutely no help in keeping Flash out of my garden,” Aaron said, prompting Swift Strike to playfully nudge him with her wing. 
“I helped when he got too close to the area you used to grow your special flowers or the ones you used for custom orders. Besides, between here and the greenhouse you have at the shop, you have more than enough flowers to fill your shop, experiment with all the designs you could ever dream up, and make all the sandwiches I could ever eat,” she teased. “And I DID warn you that this would happen if you didn’t give Flash enough room to run around in the yard.” 
Flash smirked a little bit at that. He always did love running around in the flowers as a foal. The bright colors, the plethora of places he could hide during a game of hide and seek, the ability to get a snack anytime he wanted. Was it any wonder that he had caused so much trouble even when he began flying after his magic surges had died down? 
And yet Dad’s flowers dominated the yard, though he did invest in some high fences until I was older. And he DID clear a larger patch for my play area and grew a whole patch of flowers just for me to run around in, all to myself. I still remember that one year it was almost entirely filled with dandelions and I got completely covered in those fluffy seeds. 
That was fun.
Then, of course, there was the one photo where Flash was covered in spaghetti sauce, with just as much pasta on his head as there was in his mouth. Aaron wasn’t much better, with his face partly covered and his hair swept back into a ridiculous position. Meanwhile, the bowl was empty on the kitchen table behind Aaron and little bits of cloud were floating innocently around them. 
Ah yes, I remember this one. One of the many, many instances where my magic surge led to something other than me flying around the room. Mom always kept a page of photos documenting all of the silly things that happened when I surged. I also seem to recall one where both of my parents covered in bubbles from a bath gone wrong. I wonder why that one wasn’t on the page of all the bath pictures.
I probably shouldn’t give her any more ideas. 
“I’m still surprised Swifty managed to stop laughing long enough to snap that photo,” Aaron said with a playful eyeroll. “Flash’s magic surges were quite unpredictable when he was a foal, and all of them seemed tailor-made to cause as much chaos as possible.”
“I was the same way when I was foal,” Swift Strike said with a wink. “And don’t even get me started on all his weather-related mishaps. Like the time he accidentally filled his room with snow!”
“Moooom,” Flash whined as that painfully embarrassing memory came to mind. He tried to forget about that particular surge, as well as to ignore Twilight’s constant giggling. His mom just beamed up at him.
Eventually the photos began to show moments that Flash could actually remember happening himself. The first one Flash could remember with perfect clarity was him boldly standing on the coffee table with his mom’s helmet lopsidedly placed on his head. His mom was saluting him as though he was the best guard captain in the world, something that had made him beam with all the intensity of a four-year-old. He could also vaguely recall demanding that dinner would be made of cake and candy that night. 
Of course, that never happened, and the next photo showed his mom now lying on top of him with her helmet rightfully reclaimed. He was pleading with the camera, and by extension his dad, to get the insubordinate mommy off of him so he could go back to being a captain. Even if he had completely mispronounced ‘insubordinate’ because for whatever reason, he wasn’t able to pronounce that word correctly until he was about eight. His mom had found the entire thing adorable, though, and had said that he would make a wonderful guard when he got older. 
Flash, meanwhile, had insisted that he was NOT adorable and that she would be court marshaled. Though he was pretty sure he actually said ‘court mashed potatoes,’ something that just made his mom double down on the adorable argument.
She was right about the guard though, surprisingly enough. I did eventually become captain. Still glad she didn’t lay on me when I took her helmet in the future though. After the first time, she made a rule that I was allowed to play with the helmet so long as I was careful with it and didn’t throw it or bang it into things, and when she needed it back she would just hug me for a few minutes. She also used to jokingly say I was going to fluffy jail for theft of royal property whenever she caught me, but she always let me out of her jail-hug if I asked her to.  
Next came a photo that made Flash chuckle at the memory. In it, his mom’s mane and coat were even poofier than normal thanks to a little thundercloud Flash had used to zap her. The lightning was no worse than being zapped by static electricity, and she even praised him for figuring out how to do that at such a young age, but that didn’t stop her from getting her own brand of harmless payback. In return for that little prank, his mom held him tight and energetically tousled his mane, transferring some of the soft static from her coat to his as he struggled to escape her iron grip.
By the end of that little tussle, both of them were just giant balls of fluff, and his dad had decided to enjoy the occasion by scooping them both up with his wings and carrying them around while he made lunch, much to both Flash’s and Swift Strike’s protests. But they never stopped smiling that entire time, and every picture of this little adventure showed them with big, silly grins on their faces. Flash felt a warmth in his chest as he still remembered how fun that all had been.
Wait…If Dad is holding us, who took that last photo? Flash wondered to himself. Maybe it was Jeffrey? His dad had pulled a massive Fluttershy and actually befriended a squirrel that frequented the back yard when Flash was a foal. Not only that, but he had even taught the little guy how to operate a camera for occasions such as this. 
Flash could remember the first time he saw Jeffrey holding the device – which was almost as big as he was, by the way – and thought he had smacked his head on something and was hallucinating. But Aaron had insisted Jeffrey was a very smart squirrel and never gave up trying to teach him, and Flash had to admit, if Jeffrey DID capture this picture, all that time was well spent after all.
“These two always get into trouble,” Aaron said, pulling Flash out of his rodent-related detour. “Sometimes the two of them would have their own little prank wars until I got involved. The number of messes I walked in on, I swear.”
“Oh, stop exaggerating,” Swift Strike defended playfully. “They were never that bad.”
“Says the mare who at one point ended up half covered in chocolate and peanut butter while my son was completely buried in several bags’ worth of marshmallows,” Aaron said, winking at Twilight, who was trying desperately not to giggle. Flash was not so restrained and fully laughed out loud.
“I remember that! We were trying to make s’mores with peanut butter in the oven and somehow things just got out of hoof! Why did we even have that many bags of marshmallows, anyway?” 
“A friend of ours had a bunch of leftover ones from a s’more cookout they did at their restaurant and thought that you might like them,” Swifty said as she turned the page. “He just didn’t know how quickly things would escalate when YOU, little mister, started throwing marshmallows at me. Honestly, I was cleaning out your ears for days after that little incident.”
Twilight snorted.   
The next picture showed Flash asleep on his father’s back as the latter continued to tend to his flowers undeterred. This was a pretty innocent photo, but Flash couldn’t help but blush at the next image where it showed that his dad had made him a flower crown out of bright pink flowers and placed it on Flash’s head while he had slept. Flash had been so mad when he had woken up, and his mom’s teasing about how adorable he looked didn’t help.
Especially since Flash, after several color-themed discussions with Rarity that he still didn’t know how he got into in the first place, now knew just how badly that shade of pink went with the orange and blue of his coat and mane. Still, he was just glad that photo had never been shown to anypony outside the family, though he did wish Twilight would stop laughing so hard. 
At least there isn’t a picture of that time I feel asleep and woke up with flowers braided into my mane and tail by my mom. That is soooooooo much worse than just a little crown.
Then there was the photo of his first day of school. His mom was squishing him with her forelegs and wings and giving him all the kisses she could manage as he struggled in vain to escape the safety of the school building. The only saving grace was that all the other foals were so excited for school that they didn’t pay any attention to him dying of embarrassment. His dad had been of absolutely no help either, snapping a few pictures ‘to capture the moment, Flash! This is a historic occasion!’ 
At least his dad had held his mom back by her tail once Flash did manage to pry his way free. Though that didn’t stop his mom from scooping him up like an eagle catching a mouse once his school day was over and repeating the process all over again. At least she had found a cloud to perch on and snuggle him rather than do it right in front of everypony. But she did that EVERY school year, so Flash was probably the only pony in high school that tried to get into the building EARLY to escape his mom’s crushing grasp. 
Yet no matter how early he woke up, he could never fully escape his mother and her ‘Have a great first day, my little foal,’ hugs. Even when he woke up at five in the morning that one year, she was already awake and waiting. She hadn’t even needed an alarm!
But Flash had to admit that, despite his embarrassment, he was enjoying this a lot more than he thought he would. Maybe it was the joy Twilight and his parents were getting from seeing the captured memories, or maybe it was seeing just how he used to be so many years ago. 
Maybe Mom showing a second book wouldn’t be TOOOOOO what am I thinking? Of course it would be just as bad! Some of the worst photos aren’t in this book, which means Mom must be saving them! Please let them not be in the next book!  
Abandoning that train of thought as quickly as possible, Flash focused back on the current (and hopefully ONLY) book. They had moved onto the Nightmare Night pictures, including the one from the year his mom had somehow convinced his dad to go as Princess Celestia while she and Flash had gone as royal guards. Twilight was completely flabbergasted at that one, and even Aaron blushed a little as Swifty pointed out that photo.
That was probably one of my favorite Nightmare Nights, Flash thought with a smile. Dad really got into it. He was greeting everypony as ‘my subjects,’ acting regal and majestic when he walked, thanking his ‘royal guards’ for protecting him. I got SO much candy that year, with so many adults thanking me for protecting ‘the princess all night long.’ 
“This was the best Nightmare Night ever! He even won the costume contest that year!” Swifty laughed as Aaron just turned redder. Flash gave him a reassuring pat on the leg, severely hoping that the universe wouldn’t take notes on THAT picture and have something similar happen to him at some point. 
Though knowing the universe, it’s very likely that something like this WILL happen if I think it won’t, he thought resignedly. Still, I can hope. 
The next few pages were full of small family moments – some sweet, like him and his mom cuddling on the couch on near the fireplace on a cold night or his dad teaching him about gardening, and, of course, some embarrassing, like when he had first tried baking something only to end up covered in flour and soot or when he had tried to pull a prank on his mom only to end up covered in whipped cream when it backfired on him. Though he did have to laugh at the follow-up picture where his mom was covered in sprinkles, curtesy of his dad.
There were also plenty of photos of him during his older childhood and early teens. One showed him next to his mom on the day he was finally taller than her, much to his excitement. Another showed him getting stuck behind the couch when he was no longer small enough to explore behind it (his mom had been SO amused by that). Then there was the one of Aaron showing Flash how to make flower soup, with a follow-up pic of his mom eagerly enjoying his first solo attempt.
I can use the cooktop and the microwave ok. But the oven? Not a chance. At least the soup didn’t burn! It was actually pretty good, too! 
Towards the end, it even started to show a few photos of him from high school and his early days in the guard. One showed him in a nice tuxedo the night of his senior prom, next to the small group of mares and stallions that had all collectively decided to go as friends. Twilight squealed once again at how nice he looked all dressed up and Flash grinned. He hadn’t gotten nearly so fancy since the Gala, but maybe it would be worth it to wear something a little nice on their next date if she liked it so much.
All hecticness aside, the Gala WAS pretty fun. And so was this night! Leaf Splitter’s parents let us all come over for a pizza slumber party afterwards, and Dad had even dropped off some orange blossom cookies!
There were also photos of him wearing his first set of armor after applying to the guard while Swifty happily bounced behind him, a picture of him and his mom training together with one of him caught mid-my-mom-is-suplexing-me-send-help, and two of them running laps around the castle. There was even a picture of the smashed-up coffee table behind Aaron as he lay on Swift Strike and read a magazine. Given how Flash was also in the shot, sprawled out across the sofa in exhaustion, he was pretty sure Jeffrey had taken this photo too. 
He wasn’t sure why this photo was even IN the book in the first place as it didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the photos on the page. Although, Aaron DID grin like a loon and Swift Strike DID give Aaron one of her best death glare when Twilight pointed out the photo. 
Father, nothing needs to be said, but somehow I know you’re responsible for that… 
The last couple of pages were full of photos from the day he graduated from basic training, including the ceremony, him being tackled by his mom in excitement, and a group photo of some of the friends he had made at the academy. He still recognized a few of his friends from the photo, including Jet Stream, Honey Badger, and Noah. He still saw them occasionally when he came to Canterlot, but he hadn’t seen many of the others after his transfer to the Crystal Empire. 
Maybe he should write to them and see how they were doing? It would be fun to catch up with them after so long, and he knew Twilight would love to meet them. 
Flash couldn’t help but smile as he listened to his parents fill Twilight in on the last couple of photos. It felt to Flash as though he was sharing a part of himself with Twilight. Showing her his past in far more detail that words could ever hope to describe. Despite the embarrassment, it felt nice to share his life with his marefriend and all the fun memories he had made over the years, both good and bad. 
Though that still didn’t make him any less grateful once they closed the album and Aaron helped Flash convince Swift Strike to not show Twilight the beginnings of the second book. The photo showing a three-month-old Flash mistaking an overly fluffy coat in the closet for his mom had not made an appearance tonight and he would prefer it if Twilight never learned about that. 
Once the book was safely put away, Aaron invited everyone back into the kitchen before unveiling a triple-decker chocolate fruitcake, with each level containing a different fruit that was mixed in the perfect ration to enhance the chocolate taste without overpowering it. It had strawberries in one level, raspberries in another, and peaches in the top layer.
“These peaches are so gooood,” Twilight moaned, happily devouring her second slice of cake. “Where did you get them?”
“My old mate Hurricane gave them to me,” Aaron replied, as he took another bite of the raspberry. “He had a whole box of peaches from his most recent trip overseas as part of his weather service duties and gave them to me as a thank you for watching his garden a few months ago.”
“You have your flowers; he has his fruit,” Swifty giggled, devouring her third piece of strawberry. 
“And you have your suplexing,” Flash joked, smiling as he continued with his own piece of the raspberry layer. 
Wow, this is good. I think Nightlight might have some steep competition when it comes to the best dessert I’ve even had. Dad really pulled out all the stops.
“Cheeky colt,” Swifty said, glaring playfully at Flash for a few seconds before turning back to Twilight. “So, dear, did you have a good time tonight?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Twilight said with a happy nod. “It was wonderful to meet both of you and to learn more about you and Flash. If you are ever in Ponyville, please feel free to drop by. I would love to spend more time with you both!”
“Good to hear,” Aaron agreed. “I have been meaning to head back to Ponyville to look for new flowers and inspiration for new designs, and to see Flash of course, but I haven’t really had the time. I’m sure I’ll be able to make some room on my schedule now that I have another reason to go.”
“And because it’s just an hour or two’s flight away, Mom can visit without needing to worry about the train,” Flash joked. “EEP! HEY!”
“Cheeky colt,” Swifty grumbled again as her wing reached over and gave Flash’s ear a quick tug. “But I do think that coming to visit you again would be a great idea. We can even invite Velvet and Nightlight. OH OH OH! Maybe we could even swap picture books! I know Velvet would LOVE to see how cute Flashie was as a colt!”
“Please no,” Flash and Twilight groaned at the same time. 
“Let’s not do that for now,” Aaron suggested, chuckling deeply as Swifty pouted a bit. “I’m sure the two of them have had enough embarrassment for the rest of the year at least.”
“Fine, fine,” Swifty said, playfully rolling her eyes. “But don’t think I’ll forget about this idea.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” Flash said, silently praying to the universe that maybe, just maybe it would take pity on him this once and actually make his mom forget after all. He didn’t exactly have much faith in the idea, but hey, one could hope. “But I do think meeting up with Twilight’s family could make for a fun time. As long as it’s not on a Tuesday.”
“You and the Tuesdays, I swear to Celestia,” Twilight groaned. “Why is it always the Tuesdays?”
“Because they’re crazy and chaotic most of the time?”
“Not any more than any other day!”
“I don’t know, I did meet Swifty on a Tuesday,” Aaron said thoughtfully, causing Twilight to blink in surprise. 
“And we had our first official date on a Tuesday too,” Swifty said, humming. “You know, now that you mention it, a lot of crazy things do tend to happen on Tuesdays, even on the weeks when I don’t have a class that day.”
Twilight just let out a defeated sigh as Flash laughed and gently placed a wing over her back in reassurance. Chaotic Tuesdays or not, tonight, at least, had been a wonderful success, and he just knew that more wonderful memories would be awaiting them as time moved ever onwards.