It's a common saying that when the parents are away, the foals will play, however, it's never said that the opposite can be equally true. Such is the case at times in the nexus household.
For example, the couple currently lounging on the sofa in the living room. White stone legs idly kick at the air as a red hoof slowly moves in the space between them, eliciting a sigh of bliss.
Hydro chuckles as he continues. "You really like your stomach rubbed, huh?"
Dior smiles at him softly, caressing his cheek with her tail. "Only by you."
"Well, it's not like I don't get something out of it too." He nuzzles her tail, his muzzle getting a good whiff of her.
"You mean the good look under my tail since you started?" She pulls his head against her belly with her tail, chuckling quietly.
"That's one perk." He replies, muffled against her belly as he slowly nuzzles it. "There's a couple more I can feel, and a few mental ones as well."
"Pervert." She chuckles, rubbing his head with a hoof. "My pervert, though."
They hear a loud cry come from upstairs, which causes the small nymph to cling to his muzzle briefly.
She huffs, nuzzling his head. "...wish Selena would stop that..."
He plants a few kisses on her pale stomach. "Why does she do that, anyway?
"I don't know..." She hums softly, her tail lazily swaying behind her. "...could be false starts... she is due any day now..." Her ear twitches at another yowl. "...we should go check on her."
"We should, but I'm surprised you want to move." He moves his head up to nuzzle hers.
"I don't. But we can't take the chance, you know?" She hugs his neck, hanging on like a pendant. "Let's go."
Chuckling, he stands, trusting her to hang on as he heads towards the noises. "You're probably the prettiest piece of jewelry I've worn."
"You say that to everyone who hugs you?" She sticks out her tongue teasingly.
"Only you." He echoes her earlier statement.
She smiles and pulls him into a gentle kiss as they stop outside the door.
He returns it, adding a small hug to it before ending it. "We should get in there."
"Yea." She nods and lets go of him, turning and opening the door.
Inside, they see the nest area the pets have made for themselves, having taken over a bit of the room over time. Piles of blankets, select pillows, and toys make up the structure. It appears to be a small den-like hollow with a nest in the center.
They see Selena laying on her side in said nest area, paws wrapped around a certain squirrel as her breathing grows rapid and shallow.
Specter chitters softly to the cat, nuzzling her while the pony and changeling come in.
Dior stares quietly for a moment, ears twitching quietly. "...should we call for Rhino?"
Hydro mulls this over. "He is a vet, so it would definitely help. Shouldn't they be coming back though? How would we contact them before that?"
She promptly deflates at this. "I was hoping you'd know..."
"Not really, the reason I can usually contact Rhino is because he doesn't go that many places." He looks at the pets. "We probably just have to wait for them to come back."
"...should we stay here until then?" She carefully reaches down and pets the two.
He nods. "I think it'd be better than leaving them alone."
Dior nods and moves onto the bed, watching the pets as Selena starts to weakly groom the black squirrel.
He curls against her in response, licking her cheek soothingly and making no moves to leave her.
"At least pet birth doesn't usually need help, just clean up." Hydro offers.
Somehow, Dior's marble manages to turn a slight green. "...good to know..."
He pats her head. "It's not that bad, we just need a towel if it happens, if I'm remembering what Rhino's said right."
"Still a little gross..." She shakes herself, hugging him tight and missing the indignant huff Selena gives.
Hydro chuckles, nuzzling her. "Is this the weakness of my changeling general? Gross things?"
"Only if it involves afterbirth." She gags and shakes her head, visibly trembling.
He shivers as well now, imagining it. "Okay yeah, that is gross."
Specter chitters at the two of them briefly before going back to attending Selena.
There's an awkward silence in the air as Selena lays there, continuing to embrace him, and Dior rocks on the bed.
"...how do we know she's about to give birth, anyways?"
Hydro blinks. "Do you not know? I've just been guessing."
She awkwardly scratches her cheek. "I'll be honest, I tend to not pay much attention to anything but what leads up to it, in regards to pregnancy."
"And... yet you had a daughter?" He asks, giving her a look.
"...I might've passed out when it came time..."
"Oh... well, hopefully you stay awake for the next one." He gives her a light squeeze.
She blushes softly, turning to him with a spark of hope in her eyes. "...the next one?"
"...you know what, yes. I meant both of those version of what I said." He smiles at her.
She grins, jumping on him and kissing him deeply.
As the two start to roll on the bed, Selena groans. 'I can't believe they're doing that on mom's bed... while we're in the room...'
'At least they stopped saying you're gross.' Specter replies, licking her cheek.
'I guess.' She peeks an eye open to look at them. '...how is that supposed to work, anyways? Isn't she too small?'
'I would think so...' He shrugs. 'I don't really know how they would do it considering Mom goes on about Dad being big and he's not that much larger than her.'
'True...' She trails off and they both look at the scene before them for a moment. '...yea, he's too big.'
'They'll figure it out eventually. It'll probably be funny.' He laughs in his chittering way.
'I guess.' She smiles and hugs him tight once more, nuzzling him as affectionately as her current condition allows.
As he snuggles her, he asks. 'Are you feeling any better?'
'Still cramping a bit.' She snickers as Dior falls off the bed. 'These two are a good distraction, though.'
'Yeah...' His tail rubs over her belly. 'I'm excited for when it's really time.'
'So am I.' She quietly huffs. 'I wish I knew when it would happen, though... the suspense is almost hurting me...'
He looks worried at that, checking all over her. 'Where? Can I help?'
'I don't know. I can't tell if it was just an expression or not...' She meows pitifully, hugging his tail and nuzzling it for comfort.
He plants licks all over her as noises increase from the other couple in the room. 'Do you need anything?'
'...can you get me my bowl?' She visibly blushes at her own words. 'I forgot to eat...'
He salutes, nuzzling her after. 'I'll be right back.' With that said, he bounces over to the corner of the room and comes back with her full bowl. 'See? Back already.'
She smiles gratefully, giving him one last lick before digging in.
Taking up the position he has had for about the last week, the squirrel sits by her side, scanning the rest of the room protectively.
A few minutes, and a few failed attempts by the other couple, later, he feels her grip tighten and a bite on his tail.
'Hmm?' He looks back at her questioningly.
He promptly notices a patch of dampness on the pillow that makes her nest.
As he notices her stomach clenching, the squirrel swallows. 'Uh oh.'
As things inside escalate, three forms arrive eventually arrive outside the Nexus household.
"So... you're not going to hide this from them, right?" Mane asks the fox on her back.
"Why would I?" He huffs quietly, moving to nuzzle behind her ear. "They'd find out as soon as I opened my mouth, wouldn't they?"
"Can you just talk to animals anymore? Manila sks from behind.
He thinks for a moment before opening his mouth. "Bark?"
The younger sister almost immediately has to hold back giggles. "Nope, that's not going to work!"
He promptly snickers, sticking out his tongue and licking her nose.
Mane laughs lightly at the two of them. "Well, let's just make sure we get inside before things go crazy from this." With that said, she knocks on the door.
A frazzled nymph opens it up soon after, and her eyes widen as she sees who it is. She immediately grabs both the earth ponies by the foreleg and rushes up the stairs with them in tow and her words flowing out like a faucet. "Thank goodness you're here I was scared I'd have to do this!"
"Do what?!" Manila asks as she tries not to trip.
"Help with the delivery!"
"Oh." Mane's single word is all else that is said until they get into the room.
Dior slams the door open and shoves them in, startling Selena into giving an upset yowl.
Specter immediately starts soothing her, giving the rest of them a glare.
Mane walks in calmly, looking over both. "And the protective dad is here, too. That will help her." Turning to the nymph, she bark out. "Get me a warm wet towel and some twine, please."
She swiftly salutes and rushes off, leaving everyone else alone for the moment.
"...is it too late to ask if I can be the godfather?" Mercury gives the two smaller animals a winning grin.
As Specter responds with exasperation, Hydro looks tot he vet. "Did that fox just talk?"
"We can deal with that after." She answers, waving him off. "You're on Dior duty. She seems panicky."
"She always gets like this during a birth." Manila whispers to Mercury.
"Yea, I figured." He shrugs, curling up on her back and smiling at Hydro. "Hi, grandpa."
Even though he raises a hoof and waves, Hydro mutters. "I have so many questions."
'Stop antagonizing our granddad.' Selena mews, clearly having difficulty breathing.
Hearing the cat, Mane walks over, smiling at her. "Easy there." She gently rubs her back with a hoof, but not for too long. "Just let it happen. Nature knows how to get them out."
'But it hurts...' She whimpers quietly, burying her face in the fluff of Specter's tail.
As he hugs her, the vet checks under her tail. "Looks like it should be pretty soon."
Dior, now in the doorway, starts turning green once more. "...please keep how you know that to yourself..."
Selena quietly huffs. 'Pussy.'
Mane gets the items from her while Manila guides the nymph to the bed. The younger sisters, whispers to her and Hydro. "You might not want to look, it gets kind of gross."
Dior promptly collapses against the red stallion. It's all Mercury can do not to make a comment.
It doesn't stop him from snickering, though.
Hydro picks up the nymph. "Well, so much for being awake."
"Maybe she'll stay awake next time." The fox smirks at him, then yelps as a strand of stone mane smacks his nose.
"Or maybe she's just closing her eyes." Hydro continues with a chuckle.
"...Hydro. I want you to be honest." She grips his barrel tight. "Who did I just smack?"
"Mercury, who, for some reason, can now talk." He answers bluntly.
"...I have so many questions."
"You and me both." He nods as Mane straightens up.
"Here we go. Squeeze, Selena!"
Dior groans, hugging Hydro hard enough to take his breath away. "Tell me when they're done..."
To her senses, the following minutes are a mess of yowling, grunting, squishing, and various other unpleasant sounds all while a squirrel and vet try to help.
Finally, mane makes the awaited announcement. "And... there, all done."
Dior whimpers, slowly relaxing her hold on the stallion. "...I'm still scared to look..."
"They're pretty cute, you might want to look." He replies, stroking her mane.
"I'll go put the towel in the laundry." Manila says, hopping off the bed and out of the room.
She bites her lip and peeks open one pure silver orb.
Attached to the cat's teats are two... creatures, one grey, one white. Each have a combination of features from their parents: the lithe body of a squirrel, cat paws, cat ears, and initially bushy tails that come to points so that it almost looks like their torsos are longer than they are.
The nymph blinks, looking at them in confusion. "...so... the first of a kind, I guess?" She turns to look at Hydro as Selena licks her kittens. "What are they called?"
He shrugs. "I have no idea. How do you name a species? Maybe they're Squits, or... Cirrels..."
"...Ferrels?" Mercury wilts under their stares. "What? Felines and squirrels. Makes sense to me..."
Manila pats his back. "Maybe... Squilines, or... Cirelts?"
"...you know what, kittens is fine." Dior shakes her head and looks to the two newborns. "So... they're healthy, right?"
Mane nods. "They're perfectly healthy, though the male one worried me for a second when I was checking his eyes. They're all good, though, so is momma."
"Wait, what?" She looks at her in confusion, missing the licks that the fox is giving the doctor's cheeks. "Why were you worried?"
"There's a certain combination of colors that usually is a sign of blindness in kitten, but he can see fine. His eyes are a different shade." She nuzzles the fox, giggling.
Her gaze drifts to the kittens as the one in question yawns, bumping his sister as he squirms around. "...I'll be honest, it's the first I've heard about that sort of thing."
"It's rare, so it's not something we advertise." She smiles as the female kitten rears up and slumps over her brother as she goes back to nursing. "Daww..."
Mercury immediately moves in front of her, whining softly as his ears fold back against his head.
She scoops him up, nuzzling him. "Now now, don't be jealous. They're new babies and everypony is going to fawn over them. It doesn't mean we love you less."
His ears perk up and his tails wag at this, his full attention on her. "You love me? Really?"
Dior snickers quietly before her eyes are drawn to the motion. "...what?"
As Mane hugs the fox, her sister pokes the nymph. "Yeah... that was the reason we came over here. Are Rhino and Gel around? They need to know, too."
"They... went off to visit Twilight..." Her eyes narrow slightly. "...I swear I almost..."
Hydro picks her up and gives her a squeeze. "Almost didn't pass out?"
She blushes softly, kicking her legs in the air. "...I'm never living that down, am I?"
Manilla titters as Hydro responds. "I won't tease too much, but you'll have another shot eventually."
"I sure hope so..." The little changeling sighs, leaning against him as she nuzzles his neck.
As the others calm down as well, Specter is busy snuggling his kittens between himself and Selena. 'How are you feeling?'
'Somewhat pained. But better.' She smiles softly at him. '...when do you think we can roll around and chase each other again? And can the kittens join us?'
'Well, they're out of your stomach, so as soon as you feel up to it, I think we can. I'd love for them to join. They seem to know some of the rules already.' He licks her cheek and looks towards the two babies in their pile.
He's just in time for the grey one to land on his muzzle. The other climbs on top of both of them, mewing softly.
Chittering softly, he nuzzles them. 'Hey, I think they like me.'
'Or they like to roughhouse.' Her paw rubs along his side. 'He pushed her onto you.'
'Oh, well, as long as it's not too rough.' He leans against the cat, his paw coming up to stroke the babies.
The white kitten promptly falls onto his back, pinned there between his parents.
Not quite about to help, Selena nuzzles his side as she speaks to Specter. 'Do you have names picked out? Or is that for mom to figure out?'
'Hmm... I really didn't think of names.' He admits, keeping an eye on the grey girl.
'Then I guess mom and dad are naming them.' The new mother shrugs and licks the top of his head, smiling at the squeaky mew this gets from their daughter.
She actually reaches out a tiny paw, touching the cat's muzzle and mewing once more.
Selena smiles softly, nuzzling the paw. 'Somehow I knew they'd be adorable...' She smirks at Specter. 'They must've gotten it from their father.'
"Get a room, you two." Mercury sticks out his tongue, then turns back to nuzzling Mane's mane.
'This is our room! Well, we share it.' He stick his tongue out a the fox. 'Besides, you're getting cozy, too.'
"...this is different."
Selena stares skeptically at him. 'How so?'
"Because be quiet." He huffs, resting his head on the good doctor's back.
"So, this is one side of an animal conversation..." Mane looks interested as she looks between all the pets.
She promptly gets a long lick up the face when she faces Mercury.
As Mane wipes her face and pets the fox, Manila pipes up. "Well... I guess Rhino and Gel will have plenty of surprises when they get home."
"Yep." The fox swiftly turns and licks Manila in exactly the same way, using his tails to make sure she can't get away.
"You know she's married right?"
He gives the stone changeling a confused glance. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Umm..." Manila holds up a hoof. "Not quite married yet, close though."
"See? It's fine to do this!" Mercury licks her again before curling up against Mane's side, content.
"Well... I guess now we keep an eye on the newborns and wait." Mane says simply, shrugging.
There's silence for a few moments, everyone either sitting around awkwardly or cuddling up with others. Mostly the latter.
Then Dior speaks up. "Anyone wanna play some board games?"
Unaware of the excitement at home, the couple heading there instead reflects on the events of their own trip.
Rhino looks to his wife. "So, is Ruby's cheer up treatment working?"
The blue nymph is quiet, rubbing the filly's head soothingly as they walk. "...working for her, or for me?"
"Both." He answers honestly, leaning over and nuzzling her cheek.
She sighs a bit, shaking her head. "I don't know... what's worse is that I couldn't even get a good read on them, much less a good look."
He hums. "Was it because of how fast they were moving or was there something blocking you?"
"I really don't know." She huffs, leaning against him. "I can't think of anything short of water that would stop our empathetic sense... and I don't think their cloak could hold a body of water safely."
Ruby, within reach of both of them, places her hooves on their cheeks and tries to tug them closer.
Rhino smiles, leaning close and kissing the foal in her sling. "You have an idea, Ruby?"
She giggles brightly and tries to do the same, only barely reaching his chin.
Gel looks up at the sky, frowning a bit. "Maybe mom knows something about this..."
"Maybe. Did you see any sing of magic or a horn on them when they disappeared in front of you?" He peeks up at her.
The nymph simply shakes her head.
"Anything notable about the cloak?"
"It was black. Nothing else really noticeable from the back." She shrugs helplessly.
"It's alright, you did what you could, and only scared me a little." He kisses her cheek.
"...wish I'd thrown some fire at them..." Despite how she tries to be quiet, he clearly hears her muttering.
Lifting his head up a bit, he nuzzles her neck now, his voice soft. "I'm sure that would have felt nice and given us an identifier, but it might have come back to bite us."
"I fail to see how." She quietly huffs, looking down at their now-confused daughter.
"They could... press charges for assault or something. That could get messy." He smiles down at the pink foal despite the serious topic.
"...I guess I wouldn't be able to claim self-defense..." She snickers when Ruby latches onto a bit of Rhino's mane and starts chewing. "...and apparently, you taste delicious."
He chuckles. "She's been gnawing on me a lot today, mostly my horn."
The filly smiles around the lock between her teeth, reaching up and booping his nose with a small pink hoof.
He crosses his eyes and sticks out his tongue in response.
Ruby lets out a laugh at this, clear and bright, and taps his nose again to see if he'll do it again.
He does so, laughing with her as they get nearer to home.
Gel smiles and nuzzles his cheek, pausing at the front steps for just a moment so she can open the door.
As they head in, the stallion looks around. "Huh... it's quieter than usual. I guess not much happened."
The nymph glances up the stairs, tilting her head to one side. "There's a lot of excitement upstairs... should we check it out?"
"Excitement? Well, I think we have to." He smiles at her. "I wonder if Hydro and Dior are involved..."
"No, there isn't any lust in it." She sighs, muttering under her breath, "Thank goodness..."
"Well, shall we?" He offers her his tail.
She smiles and, instead of taking his tail, she climbs up onto his back, putting Ruby safely on his head so she can nibble on his horn some more. "Let's go, love."
He bursts out in a chuckle, heading up the stairs. "Right away, my queen and princess."
"Thank you." She gently pecks his cheek, hugging him tight as they ascend. "Do you think Selena is doing alright?"
He hums in thought. "Well, she's not going to be having fun until they come out, but I think it'll be worth it. I'll give her another look before bed. Maybe I can see how much longer she has."
"I hope it's soon." She shakes her head. "She looks so sad she can't chase Specter around..."
"She'll be back at it soon after she gives birth." He reminds her. "Give it a few days and she'll be back how she was, she'll just have a bit less energy before then."
Ruby takes this moment to tap his forehead. "Daddy?"
"Yes, Ruby?" He asks up to her.
"Me'cwy?" She points at some shed fur on the steps.
"Hmm..." He lights up his horn, picking up the fur. "Yeah, this does look like his. I guess he's back from his little wander."
"Something must've startled him for that much to have come off at once." Gel frowns, then pats his side with a hoof. "Let's hurry."
Nodding he steps quicker, ears flicking as he gets upstairs. "Which way?"
"Our room." She points in the direction, Ruby trying to do the same but instead hugging his head tighter.
He nods gently, mindful of what's on his head as he heads for the room and opens the door.
Every eye turns to them, though Specter is soon piled on by the kittens since he got distracted.
"Welcome home!" Manilla says with a cheery wave.
"I... see we missed a lot." Rhino says, stunned.
Mercury nods, turning to nuzzle Mane once more, his tails tickling her sister's face.
Dior chuckles, gently tugging on Hydro's mane. "You have no idea..."
The red stallion, looks to the nymph questioningly before looking at the newly arrived couple. "Where should we start?"
"How about why there's a wet spot underneath you two?" Gel points at said spot that is only partially hidden by the stallion's body.
As other eyes turn to them, Hydro clears his throat. "We may have lain down for a bit while we were watching the pets and drooled."
The navy nymph narrows her eyes suspiciously at them, then sighs. "...clean up your drool, please."
"Right umm... we should change the blanket." He directs that statement at Dior.
"Right." She nods, but makes no move to get off his back.
He grunts as he gets up, everyone else just watching as he takes the blanket off the bed and leaves the room, commenting quietly to the nymph on his back. "You know most of this is you?"
She stays quiet, but her ashamed blush says everything for her.
Rhino clears his throat. "Okay, next mystery?"
Manilla raises her hooves in the air. "Babies!"
Selena mews softly, drawing their attention and getting the filly to reach out towards them.
"Daww..." Rhino walks over and crouches down, leaning the filly towards the family. "Remember to be gentle, Ruby. They're babies."
She rolls off his head and onto the pillows, crawling across the soft surfaces so she can look at the cute creatures. Babbling happily, the pink pony hugs Specter, dislodging the kittens with tiny mews of protest.
The squirrel makes sure they land on his tail, sighing in relief.
"They're a perfectly healthy set of twins." Mane comments to them all.
"Good, I was a little worried." Rhino admits while the grey girl crawls over to Ruby and sniffs her.
She stops nuzzling the squirrel to look at the smaller creature, wings popping out so she can pet her without letting the former go.
The newborn squeaks, getting rolled onto her back and pawing at the feathered appendages.
Ruby giggles brightly, doing her best to tickle the newborn with her plumage.
Mercury smiles softly at the scene. "So cute..."
"Yea..." Gel grins, though it soon falters as she glances around, confused. "...who said that?"
"Another surprise!" Manilla says from her position on her back. "We're getting them all out!"
The blue changeling glances from the fox to the other nurse and back, baffled. "...did you learn ventriloquism?"
Manilla shakes her head, playing with Mercury's tails. "Nope."
Rhino seems not to have noticed, keeping an eye on the babies.
The fox frowns, looking at Mane with a sullen expression. "...dad's not paying attention to me..."
"I told you they would be distracting." She gives him a nuzzle before nudging him towards the stallion. "Go talk to him."
He gives her muzzle one last lick before he darts forward, landing on Gel's back and tickling both their noses with one of his tails.
Rhino tries to avoid the tail as he laughs, following it back to the source and blinking when he sees there's another. "What... is this because of a spell?"
Mercury blinks, thinking a bit before shrugging. "I honestly don't know."
The stallion tilts his head. "I don't really feel spell saturation on you... do you feel okay? It's a bit odd expecting a direct answer to questions now instead of actions."
He gets a tongue sticking out at him in response.
"I'm going to take that as a 'yes'," Gel mutters, snuggling a bit more against her husband's body. She glances down and immediately tenses. "...where did they go?"
Rhino instantly snaps his head back down to where the babies were, seeing only Selena and the white kitten now. "What the... did they?" He check the door, sighing in relief when he sees it's still closed.
The fox rolls his eyes and pokes his cheek. "Look underneath you, dad."
"Dad?" Looking a bit surprised at that address, he nonetheless checks under himself. He immediately notices a blanket with a moving lump. Chuckling, he leans down and touches the lump with his muzzle. It squeaks and scurries along faster, giggling all the while.
Smiling proudly, he looks around before spotting the edge of a blanket. Setting his head down before it, he lifts it up ever so slightly.
Now, normally this would've been timed perfectly to see what was under the lump, but this wasn't what happened. Not because of bad timing, but because he couldn't see the cause of the lump.
Blinking, he double checks where the lump is and confirms he should be able to see it. "... I really hope this isn't a sign of tiny ghosts."
He suddenly feels tiny legs wrap around one of his hooves. "Daddy hugs."
As a quiet mew also sounds out, Rhino hums. His horn lights up, feeling a little cocoon of foal magic. "Well now, you're just all over with magic today, huh Ruby?" Still, he leans down and kisses approximately where she is.
She giggles, giving invisible kisses in return.
"You two want in on this?" He asks up at Gel and Mercury.
"The hug or the kiss?" Mercury snickers at his own words as the nymph rolls her eyes.
"Kiss?"
Everyone tenses a little bit as the words come from Rhino's hidden passenger.
"Well…" He sighs. "She was going to learn that work eventually." He adds in a whisper to the foal. "Go for hugs more, kisses are special."
There's silence for a moment, then she responds, "Daddy kiss?"
The fox leaps on the bed with the others, wanting to see what appears to be a pantomime act.
"Of course." He pecks her head once more, narrowly avoid a horn up the nose.
She giggles, kissing him back once more. There's silence where Mercury licks Mane's face once more, and Ruby opts to comment on this. "Me'cwy kiss Mae?"
Mane blushes while her sister chimes in. "Yep! He gives those to her all the time!"
The filly and kitten finally reappear, looking up at her father for confirmation.
He shrugs. "It does seem like a form of kiss to me."
"...is it such a bad thing if it is?" The fox huffs, curling up against Mane's side. "She's nice. I like her."
"We all see that." Manilla teases with a smirk while her sister pets him. He quietly huffs, leaning into the mare's touch.
Mane speaks up. "It's actually because of Mercury we're here. With his new tail and voice, I thought it might be best for him to be observed overnight to make sure nothing else happens."
"What else could happen?" The fox smirks. "I get super strength? Breathe ice? Shoot lasers out of my eyes?"
She laughs lightly, rubbing his head. "I think you can do plenty with super powers."
"Only if I get the right one." He sticks his tongue out at her. "What if I had the power to eat anything? Not much I can do with that."
"Meh, you'd just be part dragon." She shrugs and blows a raspberry at him.
"Eh, I'd rather not take that from Spike." He smiles warmly, then curls up tightly against her side.
"So, anyway... can we crash on your couch?" Manilla asks.
"...won't your fiancé be concerned?" Gel frowns softly, hugging her own stallion a little tighter.
She shakes her head. "He expected me to sleep over at Mane's today, so this isn't much of a change of plans."
"If you're sure..." She nuzzles Rhino. "Shall we show her to the couch?"
"...I'm seriously tempted to say no." He answers with a straight face, gently petting the kittens. "I'm hypnotized by cute things."
Mercury gives him a skeptical stare. "...why can't you take them with you?"
"Because they need to bond with their parents and they'll probably want to nurse again." He answers with a soft smile. "They'll probably fall asleep after that. It's what babies do."
"...the ashy one is sucking on your leg's fur."
"Daww..." He gently picks the kitten up, getting a gentle nibble before he sets her down against her mother. "There you go." She mews at him, squirming on the blanket.
Ruby stumbles over, flopping down beside the light gray kitten with a smile. "Ash!" She giggles, nosing at her belly playfully.
Mercury can only look at the scene with a blank expression. "...did she just name her after a description?"
"Well, it is appropriate." Rhino says simply while the kitten latches onto her muzzle with her paw pads. "And they did need names."
"Then what are you going to name him?" He points at the little nest area. "Snow?"
"...snow idea where he is." Gel grimaces, looking around the room for the missing pet.
That's when something latches onto Manila's tail. She gives a squeak of surprise, turning to look at her tail to see what is it. She sees the white kitten, claws extended into the hairs and eyes wide in fear at suddenly being lifted.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" She quickly and softly sets his down on the bed. "You spooked me, little guy."
"Both of them seem to be little explorers." Mane observes.
The little guy looks between the two of them, quietly chittering and gripping the tail tighter.
Specter bounds up onto the bed, chittering back to his son to as he comes to the rescue.
The squirrel is promptly hugged, and the kitten gives Manila an unsure look.
"Aww... come on, don't be mad at me..." The younger sister rolls onto her belly and gives the kitten a pleading look. "I'm really nice!"
A white paw promptly bops her on the nose.
Mercury blinks. "...I'm sure that was an entirely friendly gesture."
Specter nuzzles his kitten as Manilla pouts.
"...kiss him on the head." Gel shrugs, looking to Ruby and Ash curled up together. "You might make a new friend."
"Well... I guess he is clean now." Crawling forward, she leans down and gently plants a kiss on his head.
He surprisingly doesn't do anything in return, just stare at her with wide eyes. Then he turns and dives beneath his father, peeking back out at her afterwards.
"Daww... he's shy." Mane says, smiling.
Specter leans down and nuzzles the kitten as Manila sighs. "Well, I guess that works for now. I hope that couch of yours is comfortable, because it's been an exciting evening."
"He says it's magical." Gel sticks her tongue out at Rhino before sliding off, picking up Manila, and walking out the door.
Mane smiles at this. "Well, I'd better join them. Thank you for giving us shelter for the night."
"Not a problem." Rhino smiles back at her. "Thank you for being here during the birth."
Mercury starts whispering into the mare's ear, moving onto her back.
Nodding, she looks to the stallion while Specter brings Snow back to the nest. "Could we use the couch in your basement?"
Rhino pauses to think about this. "Okay, but don't go touching any of my lab things just in case, okay?"
"Of course."
Mercury raises a paw. "Does that include the thermostat?"
"That's fine... though I never knew you knew how to use it." The stallion looks thoughtfully at the fox.
"I don't." He pats Mane on the head. "I was going to ask her to change it, if needed. How about the gems?"
"Those are what I'm worried about, so please don't," he quickly responds.
"...the squiggly line books?"
Rhino sighs a little, nuzzling Ruby and the kittens. "Just... limit yourself to the couch and couch accessories."
"I'll keep an eye on him." Mane winks. The fox just pouts quietly.
Spotting this, Rhino stands up and pets the fox. "Hey, I just don't want you hurting yourself, okay?"
"It's not like I can use magic..." He huffs, though he does smile a bit when Ruby copies her father.
"I think there's still a few of their toys down there if that helps." Rhino nuzzles him, Mane doing the same from the other side.
"...I guess." He shrugs, then flinches as a white paw bats both his and Mane's noses.
"Looks like he's meeting his uncle." Mane giggles.
He looks at her, an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his lips. "Would that make you his aunt?" He licks her muzzle before jumping off the bed and out the door.
She snorts with a smile. "Cheeky little..." With a nod to Rhino she heads after him, leaving the stallion with the other pets and Ruby.
Looking at the kittens, one with his father and the other with her mother, Rhino smiles. "Well, I guess that was a good way to show you some of the things that happen here. Welcome to the family."
There's silence for a moment. Then he gets bopped by a paw, too.