//------------------------------// // Family Matters // Story: Love is Blind // by RaijingtheClockworkPony //------------------------------// Spike was bouncing on the heels of his feet as he followed the purple mare beside him down the Canterlot streets, grinning from ear to ear. The pair made their way through the busy streets of the city, the hustle and bustle of daily life going on around them. "Do you think she will call me Uncle Spike or Cousin Spike?" Twilight chuckled as she looked at the small dragon’s smile. "I think Uncle Spike has a nicer ring to it." The dragon nodded in agreement and looked up the street to the castle. "This is gonna be so cool! Do you think we can visit often? I'd love to help Cadence and Shining." He gasped and looked at Twilight. "Can I foalsit Rose for them?" "Only if they agree to pay for the travel fare." The unicorn giggled and smiled. "And you might have to compete with me to sit for them. Shining wouldn't stop talking about how cute she was the other day, so... I'm sorta excited but also really nervous." "I know the feeling." Spike grinned. "Maybe we should have brought gifts, you know, to spoil her a little." Twilight giggled then shook her head. "I don't think it would be right to spoil her. Besides, Cadence and Shining wouldn't be happy with that." She smirked. “At least, we should wait a little bit before we begin spoiling her.” Spike chuckled and rubbed his claws together. "Well... fine, we can spoil her when she is older." The pair shared a giggled and continued on the road until they reached the gates of the castle, and after a brief talk with the guards, they were let into the palace grounds. Spike took a moment to look at the gardens they were passing and smiled as the thought of a filly changeling playing in the flowers passed through his mind. "Do you think she will be able to go outside?" He looked over to the unicorn next to him. Twilight stopped after a moment and bit her lip then sighed with a small frown. "I... honestly don't know. Maybe one day the changelings won't be feared by ponies, but... it's too soon for that." Spike nodded and sighed as well. "I hope she will be able to play in the garden someday then." The pair fell silent as they both looked at the peaceful garden and then each other. Twilight made a small motion with her hoof for them to continue walking. They entered the castle, and moved through the hallways and up several stairwells until they reached the residential portion of the castle. Twilight smiled and looked to the dragon next to her. "You know, she will have a massive library to use." Spike nodded. "She could learn a lot from all the books, like a purple mare I know." Twilight nodded and nuzzled the dragon. "I hope she learns how to be a perfect friend like a certain dragon I know." He smiled with pride. "I am pretty awesome at this job." The mare giggled and nuzzled him again. "You are. So, one more floor then we get to meet Rose... well, you get to meet her, and I get to meet her again and not yell at her." Together they climbed another staircase and made it to the royal level of the tower. Twilight led the way and soon they stood before the door and the mare found herself hesitating. She looked at it for a moment then sighed. "Spike... do you think she will like me?" The dragon stopped walking then turned to see the pinned ears and fallen expression of his friend. He nodded and hugged her tightly. "I know she will. You're smart, kind, and most importantly, you can fix mistakes you make." He smiled up to the deep violet eyes of the mare above. "You can fix the mistake of being a bad aunt, and become a great aunt for Rose." The unicorn smiled and nodded. "Thank you Spike. Let's go be her family then." They knocked on the door and after a moment, it opened, revealing the pink form of the goddess of love. The alicorn smiled and looked to the pair. "Great to see you two again." She beamed at them and hugged Twilight then Spike. "Thank you so much for giving her another chance." Twilight nodded. "I'm sorry for what I said and did... but I hope I can be a good aunt." Cadence nodded and smiled to her friend. "I know you can be a great aunt for Rose. Please come in." As the trio began to walk in, the tiny voice of Rose came from behind the goddess. "Cadenze... hungry..." Rose walked into view, and her eyes moved from the pink alicorn to the small dragon then settled on the purple unicorn. Her eyes widened in fear and her ears pinned to her head. She crouched low and scuttled behind the goddess and hugged her leg. Twilight shuffled and rubbed her neck and looked to the goddess. "So... um... she is learning equestrian pretty quickly." The goddess nodded as the filly peaked out from behind her leg. "She is. Come inside please." The duo moved into the apartment and into the living room. Cadence closed the door, and then gently picked up her daughter and placed Rose on her back. She could feel the changeling shaking slightly as the filly looked from Twilight to the goddess. "It's okay Rose..." The mare gave a reassuring smile. "Twilight is not going to be mean." The filly cuddled closer to the mare holding her, and tried her best to hide behind the wing between the unicorn and herself. Cadence sighed and walked over to join the duo and sat down on the chair across the couch from them. She cuddled up to Rose then smiled to her guests. "She's quickly learning basic Equestrian. I'm really proud of her." The goddess nuzzled the filly and beamed at her. "She's really coming along well." Spike nodded and gave the changeling a small wave. "Her eyes are pretty... but I thought they had blue eyes." The goddess nodded. "Apparently eye color and the color of their chitin is a way to tell what their purpose for the hive is." As the dragon nodded he spotted the little changeling giving him a curious look. "She's cute, which is a huge plus." The changeling smiled at the word cute, and felt a wave of affection rushing towards her from the dragon as she returned the wave with her hoof. Spike smiled and looked to Twilight. "Maybe you should show her you are friendly?" The unicorn nodded. "I'm starting to think the gift idea should have been a part of this visit..." She looked over to the red eyed filly then gave her best friendly smile. Rose shuffled closer to Cadence and avoided looking at Twilight for a moment. The unicorn shuffled and rubbed her shoulder as she looked around the room. Spike took advantage of the silence to get up and walk over to Cadence and Rose. The changeling looked out from under the wing of the goddess and gave the small dragon a curious look. "Her eyes are really pretty. Is that why you named her Rose?" He asked as he leaned on the chair. He gave a friendly smile to the filly. "It is." Cadence smiled and nuzzled the dragon. "She is also like a rose in that she is beautiful, but has her thorns." "What's her thorn?" The dragon smiled to the filly as she shuffled closer to him slowly. Her head tilted slightly and she blinked as the dragon moved closer as well. "Well Spike, for one, she enjoys splashing in the bath, and sometimes she gets messy when she eats." The goddess giggled and gave a fond smiled to the filly. Rose looked at Cadence for a moment. "Cadenze..." She then looked to the dragon and her voice buzzed out. "Zpike." The trio around the filly all dropped their jaws as the filly smiled at the dragon and scoot towards him. After a moment, Spike regained composure and smiled. "She said my name! That's awesome and adorable!" At the world adorable, the tiny filly felt a rush of the warmth and she gently nuzzled the cheek of the dragon. Spike blushed slightly then returned the nuzzle with a hug. The pair chuckled and the filly’s wings buzzed. "Aww..." "Aww..." The mares in unison giggled at the sight before them, and the dragon gave the filly a hug. Rose smiled as felt warmth rushing her from all three of the creatures around her, and she then looked to the purple mare and tilted her head as she felt a small wash of warmth from the mare. She looked to the alicorn next to her then to the unicorn, and back again. Twilight asked. "What is she doing?" "I think..." Cadence smiled. "I think she wants your name, so she can say it like Spike's." The changeling looked back to the unicorn, and the alicorn spoke softly. "Aunty Twilight." Rose glanced over to Cadence and spoke softly. "Auny... Twi... light?" The goddess nodded. "Twilight." The purple unicorn smiled as Rose looked at her and spoke a little louder. "Auny Twilight." Twilight smiled and nodded. "Aunty Twilight." The filly looked to Spike and nuzzled him again. "Zpike nice!" Once more the trio's mouths fell open and the goddess was the first to make noise, and it came in the form of a loud, and proud squee. She hugged the filly and smiled. "This is amazing!" Twilight nodded. "She's learning very quickly... that's really impressive." Spike smiled and hopped up on the couch and hugged the filly. "And she knows my name and thinks I'm nice!" The trio laughed and the filly smiled at them all. After a few moments she nuzzled the dragon and felt warmth come from him at the action. She smiled and cuddled up to him as the alicorn smiled at her. "So, I think she likes you Spike. You made a friend." Spike chuckled and hugged the filly. "We both did." "So, how about lunch? Spike and I haven't eaten much today." Twilight got up from her spot on the couch and motioned for the alicorn to join her. As the unicorn got up the eyes of the filly snapped to her and watched her with a worried gaze. Twilight noticed and did her best not to frown. "I know Spike gets grumpy if he doesn't eat." "Not that grumpy..." Spike gave a small whine. "Besides, you get grumpy too." Twilight giggled and nodded. "I do get grumpy I suppose. Still, we should eat." The two mares made their way into the kitchen and Cadence moved to the refrigerator and began grabbing ingredients. Twilight moved to the oven and turned it on as sounds of Cadence rummaging through the fridge reached her. "So... do you think she will like me?" Cadence looked up from the butter and milk she was grabbing with her magic to the mare near her. "What?" "Do you think she will like me?" She asked again. The alicorn nodded and gave the mare a reassuring smile. "I think so. It won't happen overnight, but eventually she will love you as family." Twilight looked over and shuffled. "Even after what I did?" Cadence nodded and moved over to the younger mare and hugged her. "I know she will forgive you in time. Just be as nice as you can, and be the friendly filly I foalsat for." The unicorn smiled and nodded. The pair set about making a meal for the four of them and Cadence took a moment to check in on Rose and Spike, and spotted them cuddling and giggling as the filly attempted to tickle the dragon. She smiled fondly and she knew that Twilight made the right choice coming to visit, and to give the filly a second chance. Those two are adorable together. She turned to Twilight and saw her friend getting a tray for cupcakes. Might as well make something sweet for them and Shining. Shining walked into his home and sighed in relief as he undid the clasps on his armor. He gently placed the armor on the table and he grinned as he spotted a familiar form walking towards him. "Hi Rose." Shining spoke softly as he gently nuzzled the filly. "Zhining." Rose nuzzled him back with a big grin on her face. "Zhining... home for night?" The stallion nodded and picked her up. "I am." He began walking towards the kitchen then stopped after a few steps. "Wait... did you say a full sentence?" The filly nodded and nuzzled him again. Shining chuckled and gave her a fond smile. Cadence said she would develop quickly, but this... she's talking. They reached the kitchen and Shining spotted a small cupcake sitting on the table with a small note next to it. He picked up the small piece of paper and read it. Dear Shiny, your sister will be spending the night here in our guest room, along with Spike. We left you a cupcake and some fruit punch we made earlier. Also some leftovers from dinner are in the fridge for your lunch tomorrow. Love you, Cadence. The captain smiled fondly at the hoof writing of his wife and placed the note down. He glanced to the filly on his back and gave her a warm grin. "Did you and mommy make this for me?" "Yez!" The filly chimed and nuzzled him. The stallion nuzzled back and took a bite, and found the sweetness to be a very welcome taste. He took a small piece of it and gave it to the little filly on his back and he smiled as she devoured it happily. He carried her to the couch in the living room, and he settled down with the cupcake and he smiled as she nestled beside him. I could get used to this. He nuzzled her and offered another piece of the cupcake. Rose devoured it with a grin then cuddled up to the stallion. She is so cute when she cuddles. He chuckled and watched as she looked from him, to the door to their guest room. "Zpike... can cuddle?" She asked quietly and shuffled on the cushion. Shining looked to the door then back to his daughter. "You... want to cuddle with Spike?" She nodded she smiled. "Pleaze?" Shining shuffled and sighed. "Dear, he is asleep; it would be rude to—" He stopped when he spotted a yawning baby dragon walking by and go into the hallway bathroom, and close the door. A moment later he noticed the light turn on from under the door, and he cracked a small smile. Talk about great timing. Spike you have a nice cuddle coming your way. Rose nuzzled him and she looked to the bathroom door with a smile. "Zpike cuddle!" They waited in silence until the sound of flushing water reached them, and the sound of a sink being used followed shortly by the dragon walking out of the bathroom with a yawn. He rubbed his eyes then looked over and spotted Rose and Shining smiling at him. "Did... I walk in on something?" He yawned. "No, but you can help Rose with something." Shining replied as he patted the couch and levitated some pillows and a blanket over. The young dragon's eyes lit up slightly as he walked over. "Sure... what can I do?' The stallion smiled and got up from the couch and motioned for him to take his spot. "Rose needs a cuddle, but I need to go to Cadence and cuddle her." He smiled. "I can only survive so much cuddles in a day, so I need you to take my place with Rose, okay?" The dragon nodded and smiled as he moved onto the couch. "I can do that for you." Rose smiled and quickly nuzzled Spike and cuddled up to him. The pair got comfy on the couch and Shining placed a blanket over them and smiled. "Have a good night you two." He nuzzled the filly and gave them a smile. He used his magic to turn off the lights and carefully made his way to his room. The stallion walked into the bedroom where his wife lay asleep, and silently crept up to his half of the bed and moved under the covers. He got comfortable for a moment then felt a soft hoof wrap around his chest as a silky whisper reached his ear. "Did you find the cupcake?" The goddess asked as she pulled the stallion close. "I did. Rose met me at the door." He kissed his wife and smiled. "She and Spike are cuddling on the couch now." Cadence grinned and nuzzled her lover. "That sounds adorable." "Extremely." She placed her head on his chest and let out a content sigh. "I love you... and I love Rose." He nodded and nuzzled her back. "I love you both." Both couples, in the bedroom and on the couch, drifted off to very comfortable sleep.