Forgive

by NotARealPonydotcom

When Daughter Knows Best

"I'm not trying to blame you for anything—"

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Are you sure?"

"Rarity, can we not do this right now? It's so late..."

"Oh, of course! You must be sleepy, after such a filling meal!"

"Rarity, please—"

"Don't you 'Rarity, please,' me!"

Spike let out a frustrated sigh and brought a claw up to his face. Rubbing the bridge of his snout, he leaned back and sat on his haunches. Across the room from him, Rarity turned her chin up the slightest bit and let out a tiny harrumph.

"Look," she said, "if you're not going to own up to your mistakes—"

"I already did, though!" he groaned. "I told you what happened and I apologized to you, but you—!"

"Don't you try and turn this around on me! I'm not the one at fault here!"

"Nopony has to be 'at fault' here! There's barely a 'fault' to be at!"

"Barely a—" Rarity gave her husband an incredulous look. "Have I not told you what those gems were meant for?"

"Yes, you have, repeatedly, but—"

"And what exactly did you hear, to call this situation we're in 'barely a fault?'"

He groaned again and held a claw to his forehead. Giving his wife an incredulous look, he said, "This isn't a situation—"

"Up-up-up!" she interrupted. "What did I tell you?"

Letting another sigh out, Spike recited, "Those gems were part of a very important line of dresses from a very important client."

"Important and wealthy, Spike."

"Yeah, fine, but like I said—"

Rarity held up a hoof to stop him and said, "In a moment, darling. Now tell me, when did he want the line finished?"

"Friday."

"And when is this Friday I told you about?"

"After Thursday, dear."

"Don't you dare get sarcastic with me. When are these dresses due?"

Another sigh. "In a couple of days."

Rarity nodded. "In a couple of days, that's right. A couple of days, as in only two!" She shouted the last phrase, and stomped a hoof against the floor twice to accent it. "A literal couple of days, Spike!"

"Yes, I understand what the number two is—"

"Don't sass me," she threatened, pausing to let her words sink in. She continued, "You knew that these dresses were due soon."

"Yeah, but—"

"You knew that I'd stayed up countless nights working on them."

"Of course, but I—"

"And you knew how important it was that I finish them on time."

"How could I not?" he exploded, throwing his front legs out to his sides. "How could I not notice you frantically rushing around with fabric swatches stuck in your mane, or all the nights where I went to bed alone and woke up the same way?"

"Oh, you poor darling," Rarity hissed. "Having to go to bed and get a good night's sleep all on your own, while your wife worked herself into the ground each night."

"Wait, I'm not allowed to be sarcastic, but you can just—"

She seemed not to have heard him, continuing without hesitation: "All I wanted was to finish that order ahead of time, so that I might be able to put myself back together by the time my client walked in on Friday to pick it up. I'd completed all of the bare fabric dresses just an hour ago, and I needed only to set in the gemstones I'd so painstakingly selected and shaped for them before I could consider my work finished."

Spike tried to intervene: "Rarity, I know how hard you worked—"

"Let me finish, dear," she warned, holding a hoof up again. "I decided I deserved a short break. Just a little reward for myself, for working so hard and so well. I chose to have a nice, warm bath, something to relax me and clear my mind. So I went up to do just that, and what should I hear as I'm running the tap but my dearest, most wonderful husband coming home from yet another long day at work—"

"Oh, so you do notice when I come home late—"

"Do not criticize me, Spike!" Rarity began to trot over to her dragon, continuing in a falsely sweet tone, "After all that time spent cutting and sewing and such, I could think of nothing I'd have rather done than catch up on some long overdue one-on-one time with my favorite gentledrake. So down the stairs I went, ready to greet you with open forelegs, and what do I see when I find you?"

She stopped in front of Spike and sat, folding her forelegs across her chest. She looked up at him with pursed lips, and he glared back.

"Well?"

Through gritted teeth, Spike responded, "An empty bowl."

She nodded again. "That's right. Of all the gems we have in this house, you chose to simply pick up the first bowl you found and chow down."

He shouted, "You put the bowl on the kitchen table, Rarity! I thought you'd set it out as dinner for me—"

"—because you're clearly not capable of fixing your own dinner!"

"That's not the point! I didn't know they were for the dresses—"

"But you just told me you knew that I needed to finish them—"

"I thought you'd have enough sense to put the gems for your dresses in your workroom, instead of where I eat!" he roared. "Why is it such a tragedy that I ate them, anyway? You know that we can get more, heck, I can even take work off tomorrow to go get some from the fields for you!"

Rarity tsked and shook her head at him. "So typical of you, to just shrug it off like it was nothing."

"Excuse me?"

"Those gems were perfectly sculpted for those dresses, Spike! I spent an entire week working with each one separately, repairing flaws and fixing them to grow a certain way with my magic. They were absolutely perfect, and now they're crushed-up shards sitting in that bottomless pit of a stomach you have!"

"Stop being melodramatic! Those stones could easily be replaced! Take it from a dragon, there was nothing special about them."

Rarity gasped and covered her mouth. Spike could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"How could you say that about my work?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. You know I don't—"

"You're supposed to be supportive of me!" she snarled, smacking a hoof against the purple drake's chest. "That's what a good husband does!"

Spike winced, not because of Rarity's smack, but because of her words. He stared down at her in awe and said, "A-Are you calling me... a bad husband?"

Rarity violently wiped at her eyes and yelled, "Maybe I am!"

A growl that had been building up in his chest for some time bubbled up his throat. With it came a stream of smoke that poured from his nostrils, and his fangs flashed as he spoke through gritted teeth: "You know that's not true."

"Do I?" Rarity folded her forelegs and turned her chin up again. "I'm not so sure anymore."

"Stop lying!" he roared. "You know I'm not a bad husband!"

"Well, you're certainly not being a good one right now! A good husband doesn't eat his wife's materials!"

"But he does offer to replace them if that accidentally happens!"

"But he shouldn't have to replace them, because he wouldn't just start eating gems without asking his wife if they were hers to use first!"

During this exchange, Spike had lowered himself onto all four legs and leaned down. Now he was at eye level with his wife, and he met her furious gaze with his own.

"Is that so?" he growled, his claws digging into the carpet.

Rarity leaned in until their noses were mere inches apart.

"It is," she spat, and nodded fiercely.

For a split second, something in his stomach rumbled. Then he stood at his full height, more than twice that of his significant other, and put on a mask of cold fury.

"Well then," he hissed, "maybe I'll just take a break from it."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. If I'm so bad at being your husband, I can just go and stay somewhere else for a while."

The full impact of what he'd just said hit him only a moment after it hit Rarity. Even as her jaw dropped, he felt a sickening chunk of ice settle in his stomach. He continued to glare at her, and she at him, but both of them looked at each other now with a new, sadder blend of emotions. Fresh tears welled in Rarity's eyes, and she shut her mouth and twisted it into a quivering frown. Spike's snarl became a grimace of disgust, not at his wife but at himself, because what he had just said was the worst possible thing he could ever have said to her. He wanted, no, needed to fix it, but he didn't know how. Rarity sniffled and opened her mouth to speak when another, much smaller voice came from the bottom of the second floor staircase.

"You can stay in my room, Daddy."

Both husband and wife turned their heads towards the sound. Spike heard Rarity whimper, "No..." as he turned his head. He almost joined her, once his eyes had confirmed that what he'd heard had been real: standing at the foot of the stairs was their daughter, Crystal Clarity.

"You don't have to leave," she mumbled, rubbing her eye with a hoof. "My bed'll fit us both, I think." Violet claws extended from her hooves and scratched at her pale purple coat as she yawned.

Spike wanted to answer, but he found that his throat had dried up. The ice chunk in his stomach was making him nauseous, too. Fortunately, Rarity was still capable of speaking, and voiced the question that was eating at both their minds:

"Clarity, darling, how long have you been up?"

The little dragon-pony shrugged and said, "You stomp loud, Mommy." She looked over at her father. "You can still be my Daddy without being Mommy's husband, right?"

Spike realized his mouth had been open for some time now. He shut it and cleared his throat, thinking hard and fast.

"I could," he finally answered, in what he hoped was not a croak, "but I'm not going to stop being your mother's husband."

"Then why'd you say you would?"

The parents exchanged regretful looks.

"I got a little too angry, I think," Spike said. He turned back to his daughter. "Grown-ups tend to say stupid stuff when they get angry."

"Oh."

"Clarity, why don't you head back up to bed?" Rarity asked. "I promise we'll be quieter down here."

Clarity shook her head and said, "Nuh-uh."

"Why not?"

"You'll just start fighting again, and then Daddy'll leave."

"No, no!" Rarity put on her best reassuring grin. "We're all done, sweetie, I swear."

The young filly shook her head again, messing her already-bed-head-stricken mane up even further.

"Nuh-uh. You're still mad at each other."

Rarity began to object again, but stopped mid-sentence. Looking her daughter in the eye, she could see that there was no convincing the filly by word alone.

"Claire," Spike said, "we're done fighting. Really."

Clarity crossed her forelegs and huffed, "I don't believe you."

"Why not?" Spike asked.

"Because Mommy's still mad you ate her gems, and you're still mad because she's mad!"

Spike glanced at Rarity again. His wife was looking down at her hooves, lost in thought. He sighed, and looked back at Clarity.

"Do you really want me to sleep in your bed tonight?"

"You have to," Clarity replied, "or else Mommy'll make you leave."

"I'm not going to make him leave, Clarity," Rarity said.

"And we aren't mad at each other anymore," Spike added.

Clarity frowned and squinted at her parents, who gave her reassuring smiles in return. She scrunched her face at them.

"Prove it," she said, still squinting.

"I'm sorry?" Rarity asked.

"I said, 'Prove it!'"

For the third time that night, Rarity and Spike exchanged looks.

"And how do we do that?" Spike asked.

"Kiss and make up!"

Simultaneously they asked, "What?"

"Kiss and say 'Sorry' and mean it, and I'll believe you're not mad anymore and you still love each other."

The parents looked at each other, then at Clarity, then back at each other. Rarity gave Spike a look as if to say Do we have any choice? He responded with a shrug, and leaned in to carry out his daughter's orders.

"M'sorry," he muttered, and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Sorry," Rarity whispered back, blushing ever so slightly as she mimicked his gesture. The two pulled away from each other and looked back at Clarity. To their surprise, the dragon-pony was shaking her head at them.

"No, no, no!" she yelled. "That's not right at all!"

"What do you mean, 'That's not right?'" Spike asked.

"You didn't mean any of that!" Clarity shouted. "You just did that 'cuz you think I'm too dumb to know the difference!"

"We don't think you're dumb, Clarity," said Rarity.

"Do it again!" the filly ordered. "And this time, you gotta kiss that way you do that's super gross and romantic like Mommy always reads about in her trendy-stories!"

Spike's face scrunched up in confusion. He turned to his wife, who now had on a perfectly scarlet blush.

"You're reading Trenderhoof again?" he asked.

"Right! Apologies!" Rarity blurted before Spike could say anything else. She turned to him and put her forelegs around his trunk-like neck as best as she could. Pulling him in close, she stared into his eyes and forced her blush down. She cleared her throat and dictated, in a loud, clear, and surprisingly genuine voice, "I am sorry, my love, for acting the way I did. It was rather... unladylike."

Suppressing a laugh, Spike brought a claw up and cupped his wife's cheek. He smiled when he saw some of her blush return, and stroked the spot where it formed.

"And I'm sorry, my lady, for so foolishly eating your gems without asking whether you needed them or not first."

His other front leg wrapped around her waist and pulled her in without any warning. Rarity had time to utter a small "Eep!" before finding her muzzle mashed against her husband's. She struggled a moment, but melted into the embrace when his claw drifted to the back of her neck. Sighing, she tilted her head and pressed happily against his lips, and each second she spent that way made their argument seem sillier and sillier: how could she ever fight with such a magnificent creature, especially one with lips like his, or muscles like his, or a tongue like his—

"Ugh, okay, I believe you!"

Spike pulled away, and Rarity found herself sliding back into reality, where everything wasn't Spike and Spike's mouth, and where she still had a whole line of dresses that needed encrusting in the next two days. Her dreamy grin faded, and as it did, she felt Spike bring his head close to hers again.

"I'll help you find the gems you need tomorrow," he mumbled. "Promise."

A fresh smile appeared, and she whispered her thanks as he pulled his head away. She looked to the stairs, where her daughter was grimacing and rubbing her face with a hoof.

"Good enough for you, eh?" Spike called, prompting a growl from the little filly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," Clarity muttered. She started up the stairs. "Come on, Daddy. You still have to sleep in my bed tonight."

Spike let out a fake sigh. "Aw," he whined. "Do I have to?"

"Yes," Clarity said, not looking in his direction. She vanished up the stairwell, leaving her parents alone for a moment.

Spike chuckled. Turning to Rarity, his expression became more serious, and he leaned in and gave the white unicorn a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"I really am sorry," he mumbled. "I should've asked."

Rarity giggled and pulled him into a hug (or at least as close to a hug as she could manage, with her forelegs wrapped once more around his large neck).

"I'll put them in my workroom next time," she said, smiling into his neck.

They parted, and Spike said, "It's a shame I've got different sleeping arrangements tonight. Seems right when you've finally got some time to relax..." He made a snatching motion. "Poof! I'm gone!"

"I don't hear any approaching footsteps!" Clarity called from somewhere on the second floor.

The two looked over at the staircase and shared a laugh.

"She is so your daughter," Spike said, starting over to the stairs.

"Our daughter," Rarity corrected. "Don't you ever forget that."

"Don't think that's possible, my lady." With that, he waved his farewell, blew her a kiss, and went up to the second floor.

Crystal Clarity was waiting for him at the top of the stairs. She had on an impatient look and was tapping her hoof on the ground. Spike grinned at her as he approached.

"Did I keep you waiting?" he asked.

"If I'm grumpy in the morning, it's your fault," she replied. She turned and started down the hall, towards her room. Her father walked beside her, keeping his gaze fixed on her.

"Y'know, none of this would've happened if you weren't so obsessed with gems," Clarity said.

"Hey, I left that incident back down on the first floor. You don't have to bring it back up here."

They reached Clarity's room, and when they entered she examined her bed closely.

"Hmm." She ran a claw under her chin. "This might not hold us."

"Welp, only one way to know for sure," Spike said, and snatched up the small purple dragon-pony in his arms. Clarity let out a playful shriek as her father roared and leaped into the air. The two landed hard on the bed, rattling everything in the room and possibly everything in the house. It took a few seconds for everything to settle, and when it did Spike unrolled on the bed and let his daughter slide off his chest.

"Is it broken?" she giggled.

"Mmmm..." Spike moaned, rolling about on the bed. He glanced over the side of it and muttered, "Nope. Guess I'm lighter than I thought." He looked back at Clarity. "Or maybe your bed's just very very strong."

"It probably is," she replied. "You're pretty fat."

"Hey!" Spike held out a front leg and flexed it. "You see this? That's all muscle."

Clarity rolled her eyes. "Suure." She giggled again, then yawned.

"That," Spike said, pointing at her, "means it's time to finally get to sleep."

"Mm-hmm."

Spike laid on his stomach and curved his body into a crescent shape. Clarity sat in the middle, and he patted the spot on the bed directly next to his chest.

"Come on. You can use me as a pillow."

"That's stupid," Clarity grumbled. "A pillow's softer."

"Trust me. You did this all the time when you were a little hatchling. Your mother even joined in some times."

Clarity stumbled over to where her father gestured, mumbling, "Auntie Twilight said I'm not a hatchling because I didn't come from an egg."

"Did she?" Spike asked, wondering briefly what else "Auntie Twilight" might have said. "Well, egg or not, you'll always be my little hatchling."

"I know." The small dragon-pony snuggled into her father's chest. "You were right, Daddy. This is really warm."

"Told you so." Spike let his head rest on the bedspread, his neck curled around to look at his daughter. He smiled at her and whispered, "Good night, Crystal Clarity."

The little filly smiled sleepily and mumbled, "Good night, Daddy." Then she shut her eyes.

Soon, the soft sound of little snores echoed through the room. A minute later, another, much lower set of snores joined them.