Fatherly instincts

Chapters

New discovery
Meeting Scramble
Coming to a conclusion
A party and magic
He’s Back
New Friend
Fever
Walking
Jobs and Daycare
Babysitting with Ember
Research
Full Family
Date Night
Hanging Out With Mama and Grandpa
The End
Frustration and Apologies

New discovery

“Bye Rarity, See you later!” Spike shouted as he flew away from the boutique. Dark clouds covered the sky. A storm would happen any minute now. He flew close to the ground to make sure that he wasn’t strike by lightning. Little drops of rain started to hit the ground. A drop hit his nose, making him sniffle at little.

Spike started to speed up, not wanting to get caught in the rain. A loud crack of thunder echoed around the town, causing him to speed up. Rain started to pour down.

“Almost there!” Spike exclaimed. A soft green glow came from a tree, causing him to slow down. He tilted his head in confusion.

“What’s that?” Spike asked to himself. He flew towards the tree and gasped at what he saw. A small green egg leaned against the tree, glowing lightly. It wasn’t a birds egg, it was too big.

“Did anyone leave an egg!?” Spike shouted. When there was no response, he touched the side of the egg. It was freezing cold. The creature inside would surely die in the storm. He scooped the egg up in his arms.

“You’re coming with me.” Spike said. He held the egg close to his chest, blocking it from the rain. Soon he approached the castle and swung the front door open. He closed the door and shook the water off of his body. He looked at the egg.

“What creature are you?” He asked to himself.

“Let’s get you warmed up first and then I can figure it out.” Spike said to the egg.

Spike looked through the library, looking for a book on creature eggs. Books were scattered all over the floor. The egg laid on Spike’s throne, huddled in blankets.

“Aha!” Spike exclaimed. He picked up a book with the title ‘Creature Eggs and How to Care for Them’. He flipped through the pages of the book until he found an egg that looked the same. On the top of the page it read ‘Changelings’.

“So it’s a changeling egg.” Spike thought outloud. He scanned through the page.

”Changeling eggs are only found in the changeling hive, which is laid by the queen. They are dangerous when they hatch and are born to follow there queen.” Spike read out loud.

“This book is outdated.” He said, putting it back on the shelf. He walked over to the egg and picked it up.

“Who laid you, the only other changeling in town is Ocellus, and someone would have known if she laid an egg.” Spike said to the egg. “Let’s get you to my room.” He said while walking towards the door. He tripped over a book and the egg stumbled out of his hands and onto the floor.

“I guess you can say that this egg is scrambled!” Spike exclaimed with a laugh. He looked around and frowned when he got no response.

“No one laughs at my jokes anymore.” Spike said with a sigh. The egg started to crack, making Spike gasp in fear.

“I BROKE IT!” Spike screamed in fear. The egg continued to crack and shake. The eggshell started to fall apart, revealing a small yellow changeling. She had an orange under belly and large floppy ears. She also a small jagged horn and had small purple wings on her back.

“Oh my Celestia...” Spike muttered to himself. He started to pace around.

“What am I going to do? I can’t take care of a baby! Twilight and Starlight are in the Crystal Empire until afternoon and there’s a storm, so I can’t go and get help. I could send a letter to the Princess, but she probably wouldn’t be able to make it due to the storm.” Spike panicked. He stopped pacing when he felt something touch his foot. He looked down to see the changeling curled up against his foot, shivering.

“You must be cold.” Spike said. He scooped the changeling up into his arms, who leaned against his chest.

“Let’s get you in a diaper first.” He said, walking down the hallway. They had a room filled with things for whenever Flurry came over. He opened the room door to reveal baby stuff everywhere. He placed her on the changing table and pulled out a diaper and some baby powder. Luckily he had changed Flurry’s diaper a few times, so he knew what he was doing. He poured some baby powder on and slipped the diaper onto her.

“All done!” Spike said. He went into a bin where Flurry’s old clothes were from when she was first born. He pulled out a pair of purple hoovsies pajamas. This should keep her warm. Spike walked back over to the changeling foal and picked her up. He slipped the sleeves over her arms and legs and pushed wings through the little holes in the back. He zipped it up and smiled.

“There, all done!” Spike said happily. The changeling cuddled into Spike and her stomach growled. She let out a whimper before crying loudly.

“How do you feed a new born baby?” Spike asked himself. He looked around the room for any type of answer. He spotted a book next to a bag of baby bottles. He quickly picked up the book and flipped through the pages. He landed on a page about feeding.

”If you aren’t able to breastfeed, use baby formula. Mix it with water and put the bottle in hot water until it is hot enough to give to the foal.” Spike read out loud. He grabbed a bottle and a container of baby formula. The changeling continued to cry in his arms.

“You’ll eat soon.”

Spike scooped some baby formula into a bottle. He then poured some water into bottle and closed it before shaking it.

“Good thing I’m a fire breathing dragon.” Spike boasted to himself. He lifted the bottle up to his lips and let a small flame shoot out. The bottle instantly heated up. Spike put the bottle into the crying foals mouth, causing her to quiet down eat. She guzzled down the bottle quickly.

“Woah, slow down.” Spike said, pulling the bottle back. Once she finished, he tossed the bottle into the sink and patted her back, causing her to burp.

“I just realized you don’t have a name yet.” Spike said to the foal. He thought for a moment, tapping his foot. “How about Scramble!” He said. Scramble yawned, nuzzling in to him.

“Scramble it is. Let’s find some books on how to take care of you.” Spike said as he left the kitchen.

Spike flew around the library, looking for some parenting books. He had found a handful of book already, which was great. He could take care of her until he found her some real parents. Scramble started to squirm around in his arm, letting out another yawn. Spike grabbed a few books and laid down on a couch that was near the window. Scramble fell asleep instantly. Spike picked up a book and started to read.

”Being a new parent can always be hard, but can be achieved properly in these 10 simple steps.” Spike already felt himself yawning at the first page. He put the book over his eyes.

“I can just close my eyes for ten minutes.” Spike muttered as his eyes dropped closed.

Meeting Scramble

Spike awoke to the sound of someone calling his name. He stirred awake to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity standing over him. He let out a yawn.

“Hey guys.” Spike muttered sleepily, almost falling back asleep. He felt something squirm across his chest, causing him to look down. Scramble wiggled happily against him with a large smile on her face. Fluttershy was playing with her hooves.

“Spike darling, if you don’t mind me asking, where did you get a baby changeling?” Rarity asked concernedly. Spike sat up and rubbed his eyes, holding Scramble in one arm, which wasn’t so hard because she was very small.

“I found a changeling egg against a tree before the storm started. I couldn’t just leave her so I brought her home. She hatched when I got here.” Spike explained. Fluttershy scooped Scramble in her arms, causing the foal to giggle.

“I think she’s adorable.” Fluttershy cooed.

“Did you name her?” Rainbow Dash asked. Spike nodded his head.

“Her name is Scramble.” Spike said. Applejack cocked her eyebrow.

“Scramble? As in the egg?” Applejack asked. Spike blushed slightly.

“I dropped her egg and instead of picking it up I made a joke about scrambled eggs.” Spike said. Everyone stared at him with a deadpan expression.

”Wow...” Rainbow Dash said in disbelief.

“I was tired, I didn’t realize at the time that dropping the egg could have killed her!” He defended. Scramble reached her arms out to be held by Spike. Spike scooped her out of Fluttershy’s arms. This was the first time he had seen her with her eyes open. Her left eye was a deep blue and the right eye was a dark purple. She had a large, gleeful smile on her face. A bang came from behind the couch and multi color confetti rained out.

“I think this calls for a ‘Newborn Foal and also New Dad’ party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily. Spikes eyes widened.

“I’m not her Dad or anything, I’m just watching her until I can find her real parents.” Spike said. Pinkies ears drooped for a second before the shot back up.

“Well I can throw a party for her new parents!” Pinkie shouted happily. Spike stood up with a stretch, accidentally kicking the parenting book from the night before. It must have fell on the floor in his sleep. Scrambles stomach growled and she let out a cry.

“It looks like someone is hungry.” Fluttershy commented. Spike let out a small hum as a response and walked out the room. His friends followed behind, watching his every move. Spike entered the kitchen and his friends stood in the doorway. He pulled the bottle out of the sink from the previous night. He put Scramble in one of his arms and took the baby formula off of the counter, which he had left there. He scooped the same amount that he had the night before and filled the bottle with water from the faucet. He shook the bottle until it became a moly like liquid. He took in a deep breath a let a small flame shoot out. The bottle heated up instantly, which was warm enough for a baby to drink. He put the bottle into the crying foals mouth, causing her to quiet down.

“Aaaaawwww.” Everyone cooed from the doorway, making large blush apeared on Spike’s face.

“You’re a natural Spikey Wikey.” Rarity complimented. All of his friends made sounds of agreement.

“Cut it out guys.” Spike said in an annoyed grunt. Scramble had finished her bottle and Spike tossed it into the sink. He patted Scramble in the back lightly, causing her to burp.

“Aaaaaaw!” The cooed louder. Spike turned around and stomped his foot, his face bright red.

“GUYS!” Spike exclaimed in embarrassment. Rainbow Dash flew over to him and ruffled up his scales, causing them to flop over.

“We’re just messing around.” She said with a laugh. Spike fixed his scales, making them stand straight up.

“You would make a mighty good Dad.” Applejack commented. His face turned a deeper shade of red. Before he could say anything else, a foul smell wafted across the room.

“I know that smell, baby Scramble needs changing.” Pinkie Pie said with a close pin holding her noise shut. Spike grimaced.

“Let’s get you changed.” Spike said while walking out the room. His friends, like before, followed close behind. Soon, they all approached the room where Spike had gotten the pajamas and other baby supplies. He entered the room and placed her on the changing table. He unzipped her hoovsie pajamas and took them off of her, placing it to the side. He went into a drawer that was under the table and pulled out a diaper, baby powder, and baby wipes.

Spike opened her diaper and nearly gagged at the smell. He quickly rolled up the diaper and tossed it into a nearby trash can. He pulled out some baby wipes and wiped her clean. He slid the diaper under her and pour some baby powder on it. He closed the diaper and picked her up.

“All done.” Spike said happily. He picked up the dirty baby wiped and threw them away. When he looked back at Scramble, he noticed that she was gnawing on her ear. That didn’t seem healthy. He opened one of the bins to find it filled to the brim with pacifiers. Twilight loved Flurry a little too much. He pulled out a green pacifier with a little smiling frog on it and put it in her mouth. Scramble sucked on it happily.

“Spike we’re back!” Twilight called from the front door. Pinkie Pie let out a squeal.

“I’m going to tell Twilight the big news!” She exclaimed happily before zipping down the hallway. Spike let out a sigh. Twilight was going to freak out.

Spike walked towards the front door to see his friends surrounding Twilight and Starlight. Twilight looked at Spike and gasped when she saw Scramble. She flew over to them and scooped Scramble up into her arms.

“She’s so adorable!” Twilight exclaimed, nuzzling into her. Scramble let out a soft giggle.

“Are you watching her for Thorax?” Twilight asked. Spike let out a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of his head.

“Well you see, the thing is that I found an abandoned changeling egg and she sorta hatched when I brought her here.” Spike explained. He watched Twilights smile slowly turn into a gasped mouth and her eyes widened.

”WHAT?!”

Coming to a conclusion

Ocellus walked into Starlights office. As usual, her office was covered in kites. Starlight sat at her desk with a serious look on her face.

“Take a seat.” Starlight said, pointing to the couch. There was tension in the room. Ocellus sat down uncomfortably, making awkward eye contact with Starlight. Starlight pulled out a few papers and looked through them. Ocellus could see that they were her friends student files.

“Is there a problem Ms. Glimmer?” Ocellus asked. Starlight levitated the files over to her.

“I’ve seen you hanging out with them a lot. Do you know them?” Starlight asked. Ocellus tilted her head.

“You’ve seen me hang out with all of them multiple times.” Ocellus said. Starlight blushed at her stupidity.

“If I’m correct, changelings can get impregnated regardless of there partners gender?” Starlight asked, raising an eyebrow. A large blush apeared in Ocellus’ face.

“That is correct.” Ocellus stated. What was Starlight getting at?

“Let’s get to the point here, did one of your friends impregnate you?” Starlight asked nonchalantly. Ocellus’ face turned bright red and she shook her head vigorously.

“No no no no, that would never happen, I’m only focused on my school work and nothing else!” Ocellus exclaimed in embarrassment. Starlight stared at her for a moment. She was definitely telling the truth.

“Dang, you can go.” Starlight muttered as she put the files back into her drawer. Ocellus tilted her head and stood up.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you need to know that?” Ocellus asked. Starlight pulled out some supplies for making kites.

“Spike found a changeling egg near the forest and your the only changeling in Ponyville, so we assumed it was yours.” Starlight explained while cutting some fabric in the shape of a heart. Ocellus let out a gasp of surprise.

“What is he going to do now?” She asked. Starlight wrapped some string around two sticks.

“He and Twilight are going to the Changeling Kingdom to see if a Thorax knows anything about this.” Starlight said as she finished her kite. She looked up to see that Ocellus was gone.

“No one appreciates my kites.” She muttered.

Spike and Twilight got off of the train. Strapped to Spikes chest, Scramble sat there with oversized red sunglasses and her frog pacifier. Luckily it wasn’t that long of a walk to get to the Changeling Kingdom. As they walked, Spike looked around. A lot had changed since he had last been there. Pretty flowers grew everywhere and little critters ran around. Twilight looked around excitedly.

“I really want to check everything out, but we’re here for you.” Twilight said, trying not to sound like a kid. Spike playfully rolled his eyes.

“You can go Twilight, I can handle this by myself.” Spike said confidentially. Twilight grinned and flew straight into the hive at full speed. She zipped pass Thorax, causing him to look around in confusion from the sudden purple blur.

“Hey Thorax!” Spike said, causing him to turn around. A large smile apeared on his face, but quickly twisted to confusion when he saw Scramble.

“Where did you get a changeling hatchling?” Thorax asked while tilting his head.

“I found her egg under a tree near the Everfree Forest. I was wondering if any changeling here lost there egg while visiting Ponyville.” Spike explained. Thorax’s smile dropped in a frown as he shook his head.

“I haven’t gotten any reports on a missing egg. But even if I did, it’s too late now.” Thorax stated. Spike cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“What do you mean?” He asked in confusion. Thorax let out a sigh.

“Let’s go discuss this somewhere else.”

Thorax sat on his throne and pulled up a chair next to it, gesturing for Spike to sit down. He turned to Pharynx.

“Go get the doctor.” He told his brother. He nodded his head and flew out of the room. He turned back to Spike.

“Whenever a changeling egg hatches, the hatchling imprints on the first one it sees. If you were to leave her here, it could physically and mentally kill her. Changeling need to be with there parents for the first few month of there life of they’ll die.” Thorax explained. Spike’s face dropped. He looked down at Scramble, who was mindlessly waving her hooves around.

”Really?” Spike asked in disbelief. Thorax somberly nodded his head. Before he could respond, the doors opened, revealing a blue changeling. Spike assumed that she was that doctor.

“Is there any trouble your majesty?” She asked with a bow. Thorax smiled and shook his head.

“There’s nothing wrong at all, I just need you to give this hatchling a checkup.” Thorax said, gesturing to Scramble. Spike took her out of her baby seat and took off her sunglasses, handing Scramble to the doctor.

“Well aren’t you just the cutest thing?” The doctor said, lifting her into the air, causing her to giggle. She placed Scramble on the floor.

“This will only take a few minutes.” The doctor stated. Spike was glad this would take a little while, he needed some time to think.

The doctor handed Scramble back to Spike with a smile on her face.

“She’s perfectly healthy and should be walking in a few days. She should be shape shifting, flying in two weeks, and using magic by next week.” The doctor said.

“Thank you, have a nice day.” Thorax thanked. He looked over to Spike who had a blank stare on his face.

“Are you okay?” Thorax asked. Spike nodded his head.

“I just need to process this.” He muttered. He put Scramble in her carrier and put her sunglasses back on.

“See you later Thorax.” Spike mumbled. He walked out the door and walked through the changeling kingdom, lost in his own thoughts.

”I can’t just let her die, I have to take care of her. I’m only twelve, I’m to young to be a dad but I have to take care of her” Spike was lost in his thoughts. He snapped out of his trance when he felt someone tap his shoulder. He turned around to see Twilight standing there with a flower necklace around her neck.

“What did Thorax say about Scramble?” Twilight asked.

“He said that she could die if I leave her.” Spike explained. Twilight let out a gasp.

“That’s terrible!” Twilight exclaimed. Spike nodded his head, his scales drooping. Twilight noticed his upset mood.

“Let’s go back to Ponyville.” Twilight said. Spike nodded his head. They walked out of the Changeling Kingdom in silence before Twilight spoke up.

“You know I was younger than you are when I adopted you. I thought adopting a kid would ruin my life. But it didn’t, it only made it better. You were my first and best friend ever. I’ve seen you grow up into a wonderful young dragon and I know you’ll be a wonderful dad too.” Twilight said with a smile. Spike thought for a moment.

“You’re right, I might not know much, but I can be a great dad!” Spike exclaimed happily. Scramble let out a small cheer at her fathers excitement. Twilight chuckled. They needed to Scramble her own things.

Spike and Twilight walked around a baby store, looking for things for Scramble. The already had a shopping cart filled with stuff like bottles, a purple blanket, baby formula, diapers, a stroller, a build it at home crib, and a few baby books Spike could read to her.

As they walked past the toy section and Scramble started to make a whining noise, stretching her hooves out. Spike and Twilight looked to see that she was trying to grab a plush raccoon.

“You want the raccoon?” Spike asked. She continued to reach out for the stuffed animal. Spike took it off of the raccoon off of the shelf and handed to her. Scramble smiled widely and cuddled into the raccoon. Maybe being a dad wouldn’t be so bad.

A party and magic

Pinkie Pie zipped around the castle, hanging up decorations. Spike stared as she fixed the castle up for the party. Scramble laid in Spikes arms, staring at the colorful pink and yellow streamers.

“Everyone should be here any minute.” Twilight stated while setting up a table. Spike nodded his head and put Scramble in her playpen. She looked at her father and pouted, wanting to be with him. Spike handed her Meeko, her stuffed raccoon. She cuddled into it and closed her eyes. The doorbell rang, catching Spikes attention. He flew over to the front door happily. He opened to see Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Flurry Heart, and Shining Armor standing there.

“Hello Spike.” Celestia said in a calming voice. He smiled and widened the door so they could walk in. Spike found no reason to close the door since other ponies would be coming at any moment. As they walked down the hallway, Shining Armor grabbed Spikes shoulder and they trailed behind the Princesses.

“So I heard you have a kid. Who’s the lucky gal?” Shining Armor asked. Spikes eyes widened and his faced turned bright red. He vigorously shook his head.

“No no no, it’s nothing like that. I found a changeling egg at the edge of the forest and took it in. I don’t even have a girlfriend.” Spike said as his face cooled down. Shining Armors ears flattened.

“I really need to listen to Cadance more often.” He said bashfully. They walked into the room where the party was being held to see all three Princesses cooing over Scramble. She smiled at the attention and clapped her hooves together, letting out a laugh. Flurry flew over to her and stared at her curiously. Scramble stared at her for a few seconds before hugging Flurry tightly. Flurry froze for a moment before hugging her back.

“Look at that, Scramble made a friend.” Twilight commented. Both babies continued hugging each other happily. Scramble looked at Spike and smiled widely. She flapped her wings to get up to him, but failed and flopped over to her side. Spike picked her up, causing her to giggle happily. Everyone ‘awed’ at the display. The Cakes walked in with a large cart of treats and the twins in a stroller. Scramble tilted her head when she saw the two babies.

“Where should we put these?” Mrs. Cake asked, gesturing to the sweets. Twilight pointed to the large decorated table that Pinkie Pie had set up. They walked over to the table and started to sort out the treats. Pumpkins horn started to glow and she unstrapped herself and Pound from the stroller. They both hopped out of the stroller and walked over to Flurry. They all started to babble to each other. Spike put Scramble down next to them, causing the twins to look at her. She gave an anxious look and wobbled towards them. Spike smiled, happy that she was making friends at an early age, unlike him, a child who had friends twice his age.

“Hey Spike!” A southern voice shouted, causing him to turn around. He saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing there, waving. Well he had a few friends his age.

“Hi guys, what’s up?” Spike asked.

“Is it true that you found a baby?!” Sweetie Belle asked excitedly. Spike nodded his head and Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“She really loves babies.” Scootaloo explained. Sweetie Belle giggled in excitement, bouncing slightly.

“Yeah, she’s right over here.” Spike said, leading them to the playpen. The girls looked inside, and there faces twisted in confusion.

“Why are there two Pumpkins?” Applebloom asked. Spike looked into the playpen to see there were two Pumpkins. One of them ran in circles around Flurry and Pound while the other one was staring at Spike. The Pumpkin that was staring at him but her hooves to be picked up. He picked her up and booped her nose softly.

“Don’t do that.” Spike said. She wiggled her nose and engulfed herself in a green flame. Scramble opened her multicolor eyes and giggled. Sweetie Belle gasped loudly.

“SHE’S SO ADORABLE!” She exclaimed, causing everyone in the room to look at her. “Can I hold her?” She asked. Spike nodded his head and handed her to Sweetie Belle.

“I’m your auntie Sweetie now.” She said while tickling Scrambles stomach. Scramble laughed loudly. She already had an aunt so that was nice. This party was going to be a blast.

Ponies stood around the castle, having a blast. Some danced and some ate. There was a table covered with gifts for Spike and Scramble. Spike was surrounded by ponies asking him questions. Scramble laid in his arms, enjoying the warmth. She sucked on her green frog pacifier. There was a flash of white light causing a few ponies to take a few steps back. Discord floated there, inches from Spikes face.

“Who is this little cutie?” Discord asked, waving his finger in front of Scrambles face. The ponies that were surrounding Spike started to walked away. Scramble huddled into Spike’s chest in fear, whimpering a little.

“Discord you’re scaring her.” Spike said. He gasped, clutching his chest dramatically.

“When have I every scared anybody?” He asked. Spike thought back to when he nearly took over Equestria and scarred some ponies for life. And a few weeks back when they played Ogres and Obliettes, and Discord made it rain literal cats and dogs. He had scratches all over his body for a week after that.

“I can think of a few times.” Spike responded. Discord rolled his eyes.

“Now that you’re a dad, I guess you won’t have the time to play Ogres and Obliettes.” Discord said. Spikes scales dropped slightly. He hadn’t really thought about that. He wouldn’t have any spare time to play with the baby and then helping out at the school.

Scramble noticed his sadness and closed her eyes. Her horn started to glow blue at the bottom and purple at the top. Without any warning, a multicolored beam shot from her horn, absorbing Discord. The light disappeared, revealing that he was gone. His blue horn laid on the floor with a crack running through it. Spike stared, his mouth hung open. Scramble giggled through the pacifier and clapped her hooves. It seemed that no one noticed what had just happened. He looked down at Scramble, who was staring back at him with big eyes.

“What’s with that look?” Twilight asked, walking over to Spike. He stared at the baby for a few moments.

“Scramble killed Discord.” Spike stated. Twilight chuckled before noticing the serious look on his face.

“Wait you’re serious?” She asked. Spike nodded his head. Before she could press anything any further, Thorax, Princess Celestia, and Mayor Mare walked over. They both had papers.

“May we both have a word with you in a quieter place?” Mayor Mare asked. Twilight and Spike exchanged glances before nodding their heads.

They all sat in the throne room with adoption papers scattered out in front of them.

“We realized that neither of you have legal adopted Scramble and she could be taken away because of that.” Mayor Mare stated. Spike’s scales dropped at the sound of that.

“The only reason that we won’t take her away is because Thorax explained what would happen if we did.” She continued.

“She’s not a legal citizen in Ponyville or Equestria.” Celestia explained. “She needs to be adopted by either you or Twilight in order for that it happen. The one who adopts her has to take care of her full time.” She finished. Thorax spoke up.

“It would be best if you adopted her Spike. She imprinted on you and has to be with you.” Thorax said. Spike stared at the adoption papers in front of him. At this moment he could legally become Scrambles father. They had already grown quite attached to each other even though it’s only been a week. Spike picked up a pen and started to sign his name. Under that it had information on the kid that was being adopted. Stuff like full name, date of birth, age, etc.

On the full name Spike wrote down “Scramble Egg”

He’s Back

Spike sat in the library, bouncing Scramble on his knee. She let out loud laughs at the movement. He read through a parenting book that he had the other day. If he was going to be a dad, he was going to be the best dad out there. He stopped bouncing his knee, causing Scramble to look at him.

“My legs getting tired.” He stated. Scramble climbed up his leg and laid on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She nuzzled into his chest and closed her eyes. Spike smiled. She wasn’t even asleep, she just enjoyed cuddling.

”There are only ten steps you need to follow to be a good parent.
Number 1. Communication. Always communicate with your child no matter the age. Even singing or humming can help.” Spike looked at Scramble who was laying on his chest. He let out a soft hum, causing Scramble to look at him. He hummed a soft tune, causing her to wiggle happily.

“You like music?” Spike asked. Scramble bounced on his chest slightly, now sitting upright. Spike picked her up and stood up from the couch he was sitting on. He held her sides and she flapped her wings, managing to stay off of the ground. Spike started to sing a little tune. Scramble babbled and giggled along.

“My tiny baby girl.” Spike sung out. Scramble blew out a happy raspberry and flapped her wings a little faster. She put her hooves on his nose. Spike let out a laugh. He heard a clicking noise and a flash of light, causing him to turn around. Twilight stood in the doorway holding a camera.

“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed in surprise. Twilight giggled.

“That was adorable.” She commented. A large blush appeared on his face. Twilight flew over to a shelf and pulled out a photo album. The cover had stickers of different types of eggs and flames. She opened it and placed the picture in a slot.

“You have a photo album of us?” Spike asked. Twilight nodded her head and flew down next to him, showing him the first page. The first picture was of him sleeping and Scramble curled up into his arms. The caption under it was ‘Nap Time’ with a bunch of “Z” stickers next to it. The next picture was of Scramble wearing her red sunglasses. Her hooves were stretched out to the camera as if she were trying to reach for it.

The picture next to it was at the party they had the week before. It was of Scramble, Flurry, Pumpkin, and Pound playing together. Another picture was of Spike reading Scramble a book. She stood up on his lap staring at the book in awe. The title of the book was ‘The Little Changeling That Could.’ The last picture was the one she just took. Scramble had her hooves on Spikes nose. Both of their eyes were closed and their mouths were open to show that they were laughing.

“Why did you start a photo album?” Spike asked.

“I realized that I barely have any baby picture of you, so I should at least have some baby pictures of Scramble.” Twilight said while gesturing to the baby. Scramble played with Spikes fingers. Before anyone could say anything else, a small spark came from the middle of the living room. The spark flickered slightly before a bright light covered the room. Spike held Scramble close to his chest, protecting her.

Spike opened his eyes to see Discord laying on the floor. His wings looked tattered and he had burn marks all over his body. He sat up and rubbed his heads. Spike noticed that one of his horns were gone.

“Discord? I thought you were dead!” Spike exclaimed in surprise. Discord let out a cough and sat up, stretching his body.

“Your child trapped me in the void.” Discord stated. Twilights eyes widened.

“What, that’s impossible shes just a baby.” Twilight said in disbelief.

“I would love to explain it to you, but I’d rather have tea with Fluttershy. The only problem is I don’t have enough magic to teleport and walking is just so far.” Discord said, leaning on the couch dramatically.

“I can bring Fluttershy here, she’s pretty sad cause everyone thought you were dead. We even have a memorial planned for later this week.” Spike said. Discord smiled. Spike carried Scramble out of the room and went to a nearby closet in the hallway. He placed Scramble on his head and pulled out a stroller.

“We haven’t got any fresh air in a few days.” Spike stated while strapping Scramble in the stroller. He walked down the hallway, pushing the stroller with him. Scramble sang loudly and happily, kicking her hooves. Well it wasn’t singing, more like screaming. Spike opened the front door to see that the sun was shining brightly.

Scramble scrunched up her nose at the brightness and blinked rapidly. Spike lifted the stroller down the stairs and placed it on the dirt ground below. He pushed the stroller down the path and through town. A lot of ponies gave him happy smiles and waves. Scramble loved all of the attention and laughed happily. Spike spotted Fluttershy standing at a cherry stand.

“Hey Fluttershy.” Spike said with a wave. Fluttershy turned around to reveal that her eyes were slightly red and she had dry tear marks on her cheeks.

“Oh, hi Spike...” She muttered. Spikes scales dropped at the sadness.

“I have good news, Discord isn’t dead.” Spike stated happily. Fluttershy’s ears perked up and she broke out into a wide grin.

“REALLY?!” She exclaimed, causing a few ponies to look at her. Spike nodded his head.

“Yeah, he’s at the castle and wants to have tea with you.” Spike explained. Fluttershy flew off into the direction of the castle excitedly. Spike chuckled and walked behind her.

Spike sat in the kitchen giving Scramble her bottle. Fluttershy leaned on Discord’s side and he held a teacup. Twilight sat across from them with a notebook and a quill.

“So tell me exactly what happened.” Twilight said.

“I was talking to Spike and Scramble sent me to the void. Normally I would be able to get out, but it seemed like she weakened my magic. I could barely float on my own. It took a week for me to get out and I still don’t have enough magic to get home.” Discord explained. Twilight jotted that down.

“You can stay with me until you get your magic back.” Fluttershy suggested. Discord smiled, wrapping his arm around her.

“That would be wonder my dear.” He responded. Spike could see that there was an obvious romantic tension that they couldn’t seem to notice.

“But that doesn’t make sense, Scramble is just a baby, she wouldn’t have magic that powerful.” Twilight said. Spike chimed in.

“Flurry Heart had really powerful magic.” He commented. Twilight shook her head.

“But Flurry is an alicorn. Her magic would be more powerful. Scramble is just a regular changeling.” Twilight stated. Spike noticed that Scramble had finished her bottle and he took it out of her mouth to put it in the sink. On the way to the sink, Spike stubbed his toe on the counter.

“Ow!” Spike exclaimed in pain. Scramble looked at the counter angrily and blasted it with her magic. The counter disappeared in an instant, only leaving a small trail of smoke behind. Everyone stared wide eyed at that moment.

“Told you.” Discord said cockily.

New Friend

Spike danced around the room with Scramble in his arms. A record player played some music from a musical. Scramble had developed a love for music over the past few weeks. She was three months old. She babbled happily with the music. Her wings flapped as Spike held her by the hooves. She was getting better at flying but still couldn’t walk. She flew into Spikes arms, nuzzling into his chest.

“I love you.” Spike stated, giving her a kiss on the head. Scramble looked up at him with a large smile on her face. She giggle and kissed Spike on the nose. She giggled louder and layed in his chest. There was a knock on the bedroom door, causing both to look at the door.

“Come in.” Spike said while adjusting Scramble in his arms. The door opened to reveal Twilight.

“Scrambles doctors appointment is in twenty minutes.” Twilight reminded. She was supposed to have appointments every other week to see how she was adapting with living with ponies and a dragon.

Spikes eyes widened and he grabbed Scrambles bag that was in the corner of the room. It was a good thing that he had packed the bag last night. It had bottles, diapers, baby formula, a blanket, and some toys. He slung is over his shoulder and held a Scramble in his left arm. He flew out of the room in a rush. The doctors office was on the other side of town.

Spike burst through the doors of the doctors office, clearly out of breath. He really needed to be more organized. The waiting room didn’t have that many chairs so the room was packed. There was only one empty seat. He sat down in one of the chairs next to a pegasus mare. She was gray with her black hair over her wings messily. Her cutiemark was ironically a sun. She glanced at Spike.

“Is that your kid?” She asked. Spike nodded his head. He noticed that she had to be about three years older than him. She had a small foal on her lap who looked about Scrambles age. He was gray like the mare but had blue hair. He look at Scramble and waved to her. She smiled and waved back.

“You’re pretty young to be a parent.” She commented.

“So are you.” Spike replied. She chuckled. She put her hoof out to shake.

“I’m Stormy Cloud and this is my son, Lightning Bolt. I’m fifteen.” Stormy Cloud introduced. Spike shook her hoof.

“I’m Spike and this is Scramble, I’m twelve.” Spike said. She looked at Scramble and looked back at Spike.

“Are you also a changeling or did you kidnap a child?” She asked jokingly. Spike shook his head.

“I found her egg near the Everfree Forest and she hatched when I brought her home. She imprinted on me when she saw me so I had to adopt her.” Spike explained. Stormy gave him a look of surprise.

“That’s tough man.” She stated. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s actually not that bad, Scramble is really well behaved and doesn’t really cry. Besides, Twilight helps out a lot, she scheduled this appointment.” Spike explained. Stormy smiled a little.

“That’s nice that you have family to support you. After I gave birth to Lightning Bolt, I’ve been on the road. Hoping I can reach Las Pegasus one day.” She said with a small smile. Spike frowned. He reached into Scrambles bag and pulled out a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote something down.

“You can stay here if you like but I’m not going to force you too.” Spike said while handing her the paper. She looked at the paper.

“Spike the Dragon.” A nurse called out. Spike stood up, picking Scramble up. She let out a whine because she was talking to her new friend. Stormy Cloud looked at the paper. There was an address on it. She looked back up to see that Spike and Scramble had left the waiting room. She would consider the option.

Spike stood in front of Scramble, holding flash cards . Each flash card had a picture and a word in bold letters. Twilight said that’s how he learned how to speak. Spike held up a flash card with a picture of an egg.

“This is an egg, can you say egg?” Spike asked. Scramble looked at card.

“Eeeee!” She exclaimed, waving her hooves. Spike chuckled and pulled out another card with a stallion on it.

“This is a dad, can you say dad?” Spike asked. Scramble looked at Spike and reached her hooves up to him.

“Daddy!” She shouted happily, giggling slightly. Spikes heart hammered at the sound of that. He picked her up and held her tightly. It never occurred to him that he was her father. Tears started to drip down his cheeks. Scramble gave him a confused look and let out a loud whine of concern.

“I’m fine Scramble, I just got something in my eyes.” Spike stated while wiping away his tears. Twilight walked into the library, holding a few books.

“Someone’s here to see you .” Twilight said. Stormy Cloud walked in with Lightning Bolt strapped to her side.

“I didn’t expect for you to come.” Spike stated. Stormy Cloud shrugged.

“I have nowhere else to be.” She said nonchalantly. She laid down onto the floor where Spike was sitting. She unzipped Lightning Bolt from her side and put him on the floor. Spike placed Scramble on the floor next to him. They looked at each other before babbling to each other. Spike smiled.

“How did you get such a nice place?” She asked, looking around the library. Spike gave her a confused look.

“I live with Princess Twilight, she let you in.” Spike stated. Stormy Cloud had the same look on her face. She looked like she was constantly spaced out.

“There’s a fourth princess?” She asked. Spike shook his head.

“There are actually five princesses. Princess Cadance had a baby last year.” Spike explained. Stormy Cloud rubbed her eyes.

“My parents kept me inside for a long time.” Stormy Cloud admitted. Twilight walked over to them.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did your parents keep you inside for so long?” Twilight asked. Stormy Cloud shrugged.

“I don’t know man, I was homeschooled and they didn’t want me to go outside. As soon as I gave birth to Lightning they kicked me out.” She explained. Twilight let out a gasp.

“That’s terrible, where do you live now?” Twilight asked. She shrugged again.

“I move around a lot, Spike said that it would be okay to stay here for a while.” Stormy said. Twilight nodded her head.

“You can stay here for as long as you need.” Twilight reassured. Stormy Cloud smiled and looked at her son who was staring at the flash cards in awe. Scramble levitated a few to surround them. Lightning Bolt clapped his hooves in excitement.

“Thank you.”

Fever

Spike laid in his bed, facing his wall. It was four in the morning and he had woken up suddenly. He closed his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep. He felt something move his arm slightly. Scramble sometimes liked to join him in bed when he was asleep. Something was different this time. She was a lot warmer than usual. Spike peeked open his eyes to see Scramble struggling to lift up his arm. She was shaking and her cheeks were red. Spike sat up and picked her up.

“You’re burning up!” Spike exclaimed. Scramble let out a cough and a small whimper. He knew for a fact that they didn’t have any medicine for babies in the castle. There was a twenty-four hour pharmacy not too far from the castle. He didn’t want to bother Twilight, she had been up for most of the night grading test. So had Starlight so he couldn’t bother her. Scramble shivered, letting out a sneeze. Spike stood up from his bed, holding Scramble in his arms. He walked over to his cabinet and pulled out a small light pink sweater. Spike placed Scramble on the bed.

Spike put Scrambles arms up and he slipped the sweater on her. Her shivering stopped and closed her eyes. Spike picked her up and walked out of his bedroom. He walked down the hallway quietly, making sure not to wake anyone up. He walked past a room to hear Stormy Cloud snoring. Spike walked over to a closet and pulled out her stroller. Scrambles stuffed raccoon, Meeko, fell from the closet, onto the floor. It must have gotten in there when he was putting away some of her toys. Spike placed Scramble in her stroller and handed her Meeko.

“Daddy...” She mumbled sleepily, cuddling into Meeko. She let out another cough and a whine. Spike gave her a sympathetic look and started to push the stroller down the hallway.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, you’ll feel better soon.”

Spike entered the bright pharmacy, making him squint. It was a sudden change from the dark night. It was pretty much empty besides him, Scramble, and two employees. He picked up a shopping basket and placed it on the back of the stroller. Spike looked at Scramble who was whimpering in her sleep. She held Meeko closely to her body. Spike wandered down the aisles until he found the medicine aisle.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” A stallion wearing a red uniform shirt asked. Spike nodded his head.

“Do you have any medicine for babies?” Spike asked. The stallion nodded his head and pointed to a small section with teething rings, ear thermometers, baby formula, bottles, diapers, and medicine.

“Thank you,” Spike said before looking at the medicines. He picked up a flavorless medicine and read the back.

” Meant for babies 3 to 6 months. Take every three hours. Only give the baby one bottle cap.” The instructions read. Spike grabbed an ear thermometer and a case of baby formula. He placed them all in the basket and made his way to the counter. Spike placed the items on the counter and the mare behind the counter rang it up. She looked very tired.

“That’ll be ten bits.” The mare stated. Spike reached into the back of the stroller and pulled out ten bits. He handed it to the mare and picked up his bag. Spike walked out of the pharmacy and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to rise and it looked beautiful. Scramble started to cry from her stroller, making Spike pick her up. She instantly calmed down and curled up into his chest, closing her eyes. Spike smiled and continued to push the stroller. He hummed softly, making Scramble smile slightly. She babbled softly to herself as if she were singing along. Hopefully she would get better soon.

Spike sat in his bedroom, holding a thermometer and a bottle filled with milk and medicine. He knew for a fact that she wouldn’t drink the medicine by itself. The thermometer read 102.5. It wasn’t too bad but she was definitely sick. Scramble let out a loud cough and leaned on Spike's chest, ready to go to sleep.

“You have to drink your milk first and then you can go to sleep okay?” Spike reassured. He put the bottle in her mouth, which he drank slowly. She should be hungry, she hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before. She let out a whine and pushed the bottle away. It was half empty, which seemed like enough. Spike patted her back and she let out a burp. He laid down and held Scramble close to his chest. She let out a loud yawn and snuggled close to him.

“Goodnight Scramble,” Spike said as he watched Scramble quickly fall asleep. Spike held her closer and felt himself drift off to sleep.

Spike awoke to a loud beeping noise. He let out a groan and hit his alarm clock. He wanted to sleep forever. Spike had set an alarm so he could give Scramble her medicine. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn. He looked out the window to see the sun was up. Scramble looked up at Spike. It was clear that she had been up for a while. Her face looked pink instead of red and she wasn’t shivering anymore.

“How long have you been awake?” Spike asked. Scramble blew a raspberry and hugged Spike. He chuckled and picked her up. He picked up the medicine bottle and poured some into the cap.

“Open wide.” Spike commanded. Scramble opened her mouth and he poured the medicine in her mouth. She surprisingly swallowed it without any trouble.

“Do you wanna go back to sleep?” Spike asked while closing the medicine. Scramble levitated Meeko and moved him around as if he were dancing. Spike smiled and picked Meeko up.

“I’m gonna eat you up!” Spike said in a deep voice. Scramble laughed loudly as he pretended to eat her. Twilight entered the room and took a picture. Spike turned around when he heard the camera snap.

“Starlight said that she saw you leave the castle with Scramble at four in the morning.” Twilight stated.

“Scramble got sick and I went out to go get medicine, she seems a lot better now.” Spike explained. Twilight gave him a look of surprise.

“You went all by yourself?” Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head as he handed Scramble the raccoon.

“Well, it seems like you’re becoming very responsible,” Twilight stated. Spike smiled. He really was.

Walking

Author's Note

Sorry for such a short chapter

Walking

Spike and Scramble sat in the library, five feet apart from each other. Scramble chewed on a teething ring, staring at Spike. He put his arms out for her to reach.

“Come on, you can take a few steps.” Spike encouraged. Scramble stood up and took half a step before falling over to her side. She let out a whimper, getting ready to cry. Spike let out a sigh and walked over to her.

“Don’t cry.” Spike said while poking her nose. She let out a soft giggle and continued to gnaw on her teething ring. Stormy Cloud walked into the room, wearing a fast food uniform.

“Hey Stormy, when did Lightning Bolt learn how to walk?” Spike asked. Stormy Cloud thought for a moment.

“He learned how to walk when he was a month old, why do you ask?” She questioned.

“Scramble can’t walk yet. She’s almost five months and still can’t walk. I’m getting worried.” Spike explained. Stormy shrugged her shoulders.

“Remember she’s a changeling, they may walk later then ponies.” Stormy stated. Spike thought to himself for a moment.

“That could be true, Twilight told me that I couldn’t walk until I was one.” Spike said. Stormy smiled and put a hat on her head.

“I’m glad that I can be a help. I need to get to work now, see you later.” Stormy Cloud said before walking out the room. Spike looked at Scramble who was cuddled into his chest, chewing on her teething ring.

“I should write a letter to Thorax to make sure.” Spike said to himself. He picked up a scroll and a pen.

”Dear Thorax, I’m very worried about Scramble. She still can’t walk and she’s going to be five months in a three days. Babies her age can walk by now. Do changelings walk later than ponies? Also how powerful are baby changelings? Scramble has sent so many things to the void. Please respond soon.

Sincerely,
Spike the Dragon.”

He put the pen down and rolled up the scroll. He blew on it, making it burst into flames and evaporate into thin air. Scramble stared in awe at the disappearing flame.

“Did you like that?” Spike asked. Scramble smiled and clapped her hooves together. He chuckled to himself. A thought popped in his head.

“I haven’t written a letter to Gabby in a while, she would probably like to know how you’re doing.” Spike said while booping Scramble’s nose. He grabbed another scroll and started to write.

”Dear Gabby, sorry that I haven’t sent you a letter in a while, I’ve been really busy with Scramble. She’s been getting big now and is learning to talk. I’m thinking about getting a job so I can support Scramble on my own without any help. I might even save up for my own house! How has your mail job been going? Making any knew friends? Write back soon!
Sincerely,
Spike The Dragon”

He rolled up the scroll and blew on it, sending it away. Scramble let out a laugh at that. He let out a burp and a letter dropped onto the floor. He picked it up and started to read.

”Dear Spike, she should definitely be walking by now. Most changeling can walk between the time they were hatched and when they are three months old. Try doing little leg exercises to build up her muscles. Try to get things that she’ll like to encourage her to walk. I hope that helps!

Yours Truly,
King Thorax :)”

Spike read out loud. He found it adorable that Thorax put smiley faces at the end of his letters. He put the letter on the table and placed Scramble on the floor, her wings touching the cold tiles. He held both of her hind legs in each and and started to move them in a motion as if she were riding a bicycle. He had seen Rarity and Rainbow Dash do this exercise a few times before. Scramble laughed and reached her front hooves in the air.

“You’re such a silly baby.” Spike said with a laugh. Scramble seemed to be enjoying this activity a lot. Her horn sparked with joy from the attention that she was getting. The loved getting attention from everyone, especially her dad. Scramble managed to flap her wings a bit, propelling herself upwards. She landed on Spikes chest and let out a giggle.

“Daddy.” Scramble said, nuzzling into his chest. Spike let out a sigh and held her up.

“Do you want to walk or not?” Spike asked. Scramble blew a raspberry and put her hoof on his cheek. Spike let out a sigh and held her close to his body.

“This is going to be hard.”

Spike sat in front of Scramble with three items sitting in front of him. They items were her stuffed raccoon, a pacifier, and a rattle with butterflies on it. They were all five feet away from Scramble. She had an anti magic ring on her horn and a small piece of yarn wrapped around her wings. It would stop her from flying or using magic front getting what she wanted.

“Okay Scramble, just get up walk over to the thing you want.” Spike said through gritted teeth. He had been trying for hours to get her to walk and he was getting frustrated. He didn’t want to yell at his own daughter, she did nothing wrong. Scramble looked at the various items and looked at Spike. The doorbell rang, making him turn around. Spike looked at Scramble. She would be fine by herself for a few seconds. He stood up and flew to the front door. He opened the door to see Derpy standing there, holding a small stack of mail.

“Thank you.” Spike said before closing the door. He walked back to the library, sorting through the mail. He beamed when he saw a letter from Gabby. He placed to rest of the mail onto a table in the library. Scramble let out a whine and put her arms up to be carried.

“Give me a second Scramble, I just need to read this.” Spike said as he opened the envelope. The whole letter written in glitter pen and perfect cursive.

”Dear Spike,
I’ve been doing great! In a few months, I’ll be coming to Ponyville every day to deliver mail from Griffonstone! I can’t wait to see you and meet Scramble for the first time. I bet she’s as sweet as you say she is! And I know you can get your own job, I can even help out! I’ll write back soon!

Sincerely,
Gabby The Griffon.”

Spike smiled at the letter. She always wrote a lot of exclamation points in her letters. It made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Spike heard small, slow hoofsteps, making him look down. Scramble wobbled over to him with tears in her eyes. She took large steps and stumbled a lot before she finally reached Spikes foot. She looked up at him, pouting.

“Daddy...” Scramble whined out. Spike grinned and picked her up.

“You did it! You took you first steps!” Spike exclaimed while hugging her closely. Scramble let out a soft sniffle and hid her face in his shoulder.

Spike was so happy.

Jobs and Daycare

Spike sat at the kitchen table, flipping through a newspaper. He held a small plastic spoon in his hand, feeding Scramble baby food at the same time. She happily ate it, kicking her hooves a bit. Twilight walked into the kitchen, holding a cookbook.

“I’ve never seen you read a newspaper before, what are you looking for?” Twilight asked. Spike looked up from the newspaper.

“I’m looking for jobs.” Spike stated before going back to the newspaper. Twilight gave him a look of surprise.

“Why do you need a job?” She asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I want to take care of Scramble by myself so I should start making my own money. I shouldn’t have to depend on anyone.” Spike stated. Twilight raised her eyebrows.

“What about Scramble, who’s gonna watch her while you’re at work? I would do it but I’m busy with the school.” Twilight reminded him. Spike dismissively waved his hand.

“I got that covered. I’m going to register her in for daycare today and she can start tomorrow. She’ll be going with Pumpkin, Pound, and Lightning Bolt, so she’ll have some friends.” Spike explained. “I just found the perfect job, gem hunting. It’s one of Filthy Rich’s businesses and I’ll make twenty bits an hour.” He stated. Scramble took the last bite of her food and licked her lips. Spike picked up a napkin and wiped the food from off of her lips. He looked at the clock in the kitchen and took Scramble out of her high chair.

“I need to go now, I made an appointment to sign Scramble up for school.” Spike explain while reaching under the table. He pulled out her bag filled with diapers and bottles from under the table and slung it over his shoulders.

“See you later Twilight.” Spike said as he walked out of the room. Twilight smiled.

“He’s being very responsible.”

Spike sat in a chair in the principles office. In front of him, a pegasus stallion sat behind a desk. He had a plaque on his desk that said “Principle Charm”. Scramble sat on Spikes lap, chewing on her teething ring.

“Before you sign any papers I need to ask you a few questions.” Principle Charm stated. Spike nodded his head as the principle pulled out some papers and started to read from.

“Does Scramble have any food allergies?” He asked. Spike shook his head.

“Not that I know of.” Spike stated. Mr. Charm read the next question.

“Can she talk, read, fly, or walk?” He asked. Spike nodded his head.

“She can walk, fly, and knows about three words, but she can’t read. She loves it when people read to her.” Spike explained. Mr. Charm wrote that down, nodding his head.

“How is her magic?” Mr. Charm asked. Spike thought for a moment.

“Her magic used to be very powerful but she hasn’t been doing anything more than levitation for the past few months.” Spike stated. Mr. Charm slid a piece of paper over to Spike.

“I just need you to fill out this form and she can start school tomorrow.” Mr. Charm explained. Spike picked up a pen and started to write onto the application. He wrote down his name under parents and Scrambles full name under student. He wrote down himself and Twilight under ‘Emergency Contacts’. He wrote down his address and Scrambles age. Once he was finished, he slid the paper back over to Mr. Charm. He stood up from his desk.

“Come with me, I want to show you where her classroom his going to be.” Mr. Charm stated. Spike got up from his seat and followed him, holding Scramble in his arms. They entered an empty classroom which was filled with toys, cribs, and high chairs.

“Today there’s a field trip so the classroom is empty for a few hours.” Mr. Charm explained.

“Look Scramble, this is your new classroom.” Spike pointed out. Scramble looked at the classroom and blew out a raspberry. Spike let out a chuckle.

“I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.” Mr. Charm stated. Spike smiled.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Spike said as he walked down the hallway. There were different classrooms for all different ages. Scramble could stay in this school until she was in Kindergarten. Spike walked outside and looked at the sun. It was only noon.

“Time to get a job.”

Spike entered Filthy Rich’s office, wearing a black suit and holding a newspaper in his hand. Twilight was watching Scramble until he got back from his interview.

“Hello Spike, what brings you here?” Filthy Rich asked happily. Spike placed the newspaper on his table.

“I heard that you’re looking for someone to mine gems.” Spike stated. Filthy Rich looked at him for a moment.

“You’re hired.” He stated. Spike gave him a look of surprise.

“Aren’t you going to interview me?” Spike asked. Filthy Rich chuckled.

“There’s no need too. I know that you help Rarity mine gems every week so you have experience. You’re a loyal kid too. You’ve helped everyone in the town multiple times so I know that you’re trustworthy.” Filthy Rich explained. He pulled out a job application. “Just sign this and you can start working tomorrow.” He stated. Spike picked up a pen from the desk and quickly filled out the application. He passed it over to Filthy Rich, who stamped it with a green stamp of approval.

“You can start tomorrow at eight in the morning. Meet me here and I’ll take you to your work spot.” Filthy Rich instructed. Spike nodded his head.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Rich.” Spike said with a wave before leaving the office. Once Filthy Rich couldn’t see him, he grinned widely. It was time to start being a responsible, working dad.

Spike stood in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. His tail wagged a bit as he got ready for work. He rinsed his mouth out and spit into the sink. He flew out of the bathroom and down the hallway, excited for his first day of work. Spike landed in the kitchen to see Scramble sitting in her high chair. Twilight had put her in there for him.

“Good morning Scramble!” Spike said happily. Scramble smiled and put her arms up for a hug. Spike kissed her on the head and opened a jar of pumpkin baby food. He scooped some up with a spoon and fed Scramble.

“Are you ready for your first day of school?” Spike asked while giving her another spoonful of food. Twilight walked up next to him, putting a bowl of cereal on the table.

“I’ll feed Scramble, you eat breakfast.” Twilight stated. Spike handed her the spoon and sat down at the table.

“Thanks Twilight.” Spike said as he took a bite of his cereal.

“Are you excited for your first day of a work?” Twilight asked.

“I’m excited. I get to take care of Scramble all by myself.” Spike stated. Twilight smiled as she fed Scramble her last bit of food. Spike finished his last bit of cereal and drank the milk from the bowl. He stood of from the table, holding his bowl in his hands. He took Scrambles spoon from Twilights grasp and put it in the sink, starting to wash it. Scramble flew out of her high chair and stood on the counter next to Spike.

“Do you wanna help?” Spike asked as he flicked a bit of water into her face. Scramble closed her eyes and shook the water off of herself. Spike turned off the water and picked Scramble up.

“Are you ready for your first day of school?” Spike asked her. Scramble smiled and bounced a bit. He pulled out a small purple backpack which had stuff like diapers, a jar of pumpkin baby food (which was Scrambles favorite) a bottle, her stuffed raccoon and a bib. He slung the bag over his shoulder and started to leave the kitchen.

“I’ll see you later Twilight.” Spike said with a wave as he walked down the hallway. Stormy Cloud had left before him to drop Lightning Bolt off at school. She had to go to work early for morning rush hour. Spike walked outside happily, looking around. A lot of ponies walked around, getting ready to go to work.

“Daddy.” Scramble said, tugging on Spikes arm a bit. He looked down at her.

“What is it?” Spike asked. Scramble started to babble to him as if she were talking. Spike smiled and let out little answers as if he were agreeing with her. After about ten minutes, they approached the school. Spike opened the glass door and walked inside. The walls had large cartoonish paintings on them. He entered one of the first rooms, which was for children Scrambles age. Pumpkin and Pound rolled a small red ball back and forth to each other. Lightning Bolt stacked some blocks happily. There were two mares in the room, caring for the other children. One of them looked at Spike and walked over to him.

“Welcome to Sunnyside daycare, are you dropping your child off?” The mare asked with a smile. Spike nodded his head and kiss Scrambles cheek.

“I’ll see you later Scramble.” Spike said as he handed her to the mare. Scramble gave him a confused look as he handed the mare the purple backpack. Spike turned around and started to walk away, making Scramble gasp.

“Daddy!” Scramble exclaimed in fear. Spike walked out of the front door and Scramble started to tear up.

“Let’s go make some new friends.” The mare said nicely to Scramble. She looked up at her teacher, her lip quivering. She let out a loud cry, hiccuping a bit.

“Aw, do you miss your daddy? He’ll be back, I promise.” The mare comforted. Scramble continued to cry as the mare dug through her backpack. She pulled out Meeko and handed him to Scramble.

”Stay here her for a bit.” The mare said as she placed Scramble in a crib. She hugged Meeko tightly and sniffled. She just wanted her daddy.

Spike stood in a large dirt field with a cart, a pickaxe and shovel. Filthy Rich stood near him, holding a small list.

“I need you to get these types of gems and put them in the cart. By the time the cart is full, come back to my office and give it to me.” Filthy Rich explained. He handed him the list and walked off. Spike looked down at the list. It contained of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

“Sapphires should be easy to get.” Spike stated. He picked up the pickaxe and looked around. There were plenty of large boulders scattered around the field. Spike approached one of the boulders and swung the pickaxe at it. The boulder started to crack a bit. After a few more swings, the rock broke into pieces. Dozens of shiny sapphires sparkled.

“Perfect.” Spike said as he grabbed a handful of gems. He placed them into the cart and picked some more up. This was going to be easy.

Spike walked into Filthy Rich’s office, pulling in a cart filled with all of the gems he had requested. Filthy Rich gave him a look of surprise.

“Done already? It’s only been seven hours, it usually takes a few days to get that many!” Filthy Rich said in disbelief. Spike smiled.

“It wasn’t that hard at all, I know where different gems are formed and what they smell like.” Spike explained. Filthy Rich smiled.

“If you keep this work up, I’ll have to give a raise.” He joked. He wrote something down.

“You can clock out for today and come back to my office tomorrow at 8.” Filthy Rich stated. Spike nodded his head and walked out of the room. He walked over to a slot with little paper slips in them. There were only two slips, since there weren’t a lot of ponies working for Filthy Rich. Only his secretary and Spike worked directly for him. All of the other gem hunters got either got fired or quit because they weren’t that good at the job. He had a lot of small businesses around town that ponies worked at. Spike clocked himself out and left the building.

“I can pick up Scramble now, she should be out of school.” Spike said. Luckily the daycare was only ten minutes away. He walked through down, humming to himself. A lot of ponies were at the town market, selling and buying things. Spike opened his wings and started to fly towards the daycare.

Spike entered the daycare, letting the cool air wash over him. I was very hot outside, even though it was almost autumn. He walked into Scrambles classroom, which had less children in it then before. There parents must have picked them up already. One of the teachers walked up to him, holding Scrambles small purple backpack under her wing.

“Mr. Spike, I’m glad you’re here on time. Scramble has been crying all day for you.” The mare stated.

“Daddy!” Scramble exclaimed before flying into Spikes arms. She nuzzled into his chest, sniffling a bit.

“Scramble I promise I won’t leave you here forever.” Spike comforted. Scramble whined a bit. She was just happy to be with her dad.

Babysitting with Ember

Spike flew around his room in a panic, picking up random objects and putting them in his small blue suitcase.

“How could I forgotten about the business trip?! It’s been the most important thing for a month!” Spike exclaimed to himself, folding up a suit and placing it in his suitcase. He zipped it shut and let out a breath of relief.

“Okay I’m completely ready, my train leaves in an hour and I have to meet Mr Rich at the train station.” Spike said to himself. It seemed like he had everything under control now. He would be going to Las Pegasus for the day trip to help Filthy Rich get extra funding for his mining business. It was his smallest business and was in risk of getting shut down.

“Daddy?” A voice asked. Spike turned around to see Scramble. She was wearing purple hoovies pajamas with Meeko in her magic grasp. She rubbed her eyes sleepily. She had just woken up from her after school nap. His face dropped and he picked his daughter up.

“How could I have forgotten about you?” Spike asked. No one could watch her while he was away. Twilight was in Canterlot for the weekend, Starlight was in the Crystal Empire visiting Sunburst, and Stormy Cloud had gone out of town to look for houses. She didn’t really like his other friends too much because she wasn’t used to being near them. Even if she was used to being near them, it wasn’t going to be any help. Pinkie was visiting Cheese Sandwich, Applejack was busy with the farm, Rarity still had her boutiques to run, Rainbow Dash had Wonderbolt practice, and Fluttershy was busy with the animal sanctuary.

The only options that he had was to either bring Scramble with him or stay home and risk losing his job. Someone pounded on the door, making Spike turn around in confusion. He flew downstairs and down the hallway to opened the front door. He was was greeted by a certain blue dragon.

“Ember!” Spike exclaimed, hugging her tightly. She uncomfortably patted one of the scales on his head.

“Are you ready for this weekends dragon training?” Ember asked, punching her hand. Spike shook his head.

“I can’t, I have to go business trip for a day.” Spike explained. Ember cringed.

“Ugh that sounds like boring pony stuff. I already took the whole weekend off so if I go back to Dragonlands, I’ll have to sit through boring meeting.” Ember said with an eye roll. An idea popped into Spikes head. Scramble was used to being around Ember.

“You don’t have to go back. What if you watched Scramble for the weekend.” Spike suggested. Ember looked at Scramble who stared back at her.

“That doesn’t seem like such a good idea. Why don’t you get Twistar Spinkle or Star Sparkle to watch her?” Ember asked. Spike chuckled at the misuse of his friends names.

“Twilight is in Canterlot and Starlight is in the Crystal Empire. I promise watching her won’t be too hard. I can show you where everything is.” Spike said. Ember let out a sigh.

“Fine, just tell me what to do.”

“And make sure to watch a movie with Scramble tonight, every Friday is movie night. I already set up the projector and the blankets.” Spike finished. Ember held a long list of things she should do. Spike kissed Scramble on the forehead.

“I love you Scramble, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Spike stated as he handed her to Ember.

“Bye Ember, I trust you with this. I’ll be back tomorrow night.” Spike stated before leaving the library. Ember listened to the front door close.

“Daddy...” Scramble whimpered out, her lip starting to quiver and her eyes filling up with tears. Ember gave a panicked look and quickly read through the list.

”Stuffed raccoon usually gets her to stop crying.” Ember read out loud. She looked around and found Meeko on the floor. She picked up the raccoon and shoved it into the babies arms. Scramble sniffled and looked up at Ember. Ember looked at the clock that was on the wall.

”It’s 5:00, Spike said she goes to bed at 8:00 so I just need to keep this up for a few hours.” Ember thought to herself. She looked at Scramble.

“What do babies do for fun?” She asked Scramble. She picked up the list and started to read through it again.

“Do you want me to read you a story?” Ember said with a forced smile. Scramble nodded her head, making Ember groan. She walked over to one of the bookshelves and looked through the books. She pulled out a wide, colorful book with big cartoonish characters on the cover. The title read ’The Very Hungry Manticore’. Ember sat down on the couch and placed Scramble on her lap. She flipped to the first page and started to read.

“In the light of the moon a little kitten lay in a nest.” Ember read out. By the first line she could feel her brain turning into mush. With every page she read she could feel herself getting softer and softer. After what felt like an eternity, she had finally finished the book. She tossed it across the room and shuddered.

“Well that’s enough soft things for me today, how about we get you something to eat.” Ember suggested. She picked up the list and read through it as she got up and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. She dropped the list to the ground and placed Scramble in her highchair. Ember walked over to the fridge and pulled out a jar of baby food.

“So baby changelings eat baby food? Weird. Baby dragons eat rocks and bugs.” Ember stayed as she inspected a jar of banana baby food. Ember opened the jar and placed it in front of Scramble. She stared at the jar for a few moments before sticking her hoof in it. She took her hoof out and licked it clean. Ember looked at the clock to see only 30 minutes had passed since Spike had left.

“Why is there a clock in every room? Do ponies have to know the time constantly?” Ember asked herself. She looked at Scramble who was still sticking her hoof in a jar and licking the food off. “Spike did say it was movie night. We can watch some movies until it’s time for bed.” Ember thought out loud to herself.

“Done!” Scramble exclaimed, getting Embers attention. Ember took her out of the highchair. She tucked Scramble under her arm and marched out of the room, leaving the list on the kitchen floor.

“We’re going to watch a movie!” Ember exclaimed to get Scramble excited. She let out a cheer and clapped her hooves together. Ember entered the room with the projectors and movies. She placed Scramble onto a pillow and looked at all of the movies that Spike had laid out. ’The Little Seapony, Snow Grey, The Princess and the Dragon.’

“This are all soft movies. We need to find you something tough and action packed!” Ember exclaimed as she went threw a bin of movies. She pulled out a handful of violent movies. “Now these are cool movies!” Ember exclaimed. She popped on into the projector and sat down next to Scramble. The screen went black for a second before heavy metal started to play. Big red letters appeared on the screen saying ’City Of Death.’ Scramble tilted her head in confusion. The first scene showed up and a ponies head got chopped off. Ember cheered and Scramble let out a gasp. She stared at the screen, not able to tear her eyes away from the violence. She slowly walked over to Ember and laid on her lap, still staring at the screen. This was going to be an interesting night.

Ember slowly opened her eyes, blinking slowly. She glanced out the window to see that it was sunny outside and well into the afternoon. She was laying on a very soft surface, which was odd because she didn’t have a bed in her cave. Well she did, but it was just made of rocks. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t have a window in her cave either. Her eyes snapped open and she jumped up from where she was laying and looked around the room in a panic. Scramble wasn’t anywhere in the room.

“Oh no...” Ember said in a panic. She had fallen asleep after the fourth movie and left Scramble all alone. Ember heard a childish laugh come from the kitchen. She flew down the hallway in a panic and entered the kitchen. Scramble stood on top of the table, levitating three very sharp knives. She let out a loud laugh and shot them at a nearby wall. Ember quickly scooped Scramble up into her arms in a panic. Not even baby dragons should play with knives.

“Why don’t we do something safer.” Ember said with a nervous laugh. Scramble let out an angry scream and bit down onto her arm.

“No!” Scramble exclaimed, kicking her legs. A yellow flame engulfed Scramble and she quickly turned into a squirrel, slipping out of Embers arms. She changed back to her normal self and flew out of the room, laughing to herself.

“Hey get back here!” Ember shouted. She flew after her. Scramble turned into a ladybug and flew under the crack of Spikes room door. Ember kicked the door open to see Scramble sitting on his bed, staring at her. Ember picked her up, holding her in a tighter grasp this time.

“You like fighting, huh?” Ember asked. Scramble grunted, straining her body for a bit. A large colorful beam of magic shot out of her horn, making a hole in the ceiling. Ember stared in shock.

“I have something that we can do.”

Spike walked into the castle wearing his fancy suit.

“Ember, Scramble, I’m back!” Spike shouted. When there was no answer, he started to walk around. He followed the sound of distant yelling until he reached a large empty room. The castle had a lot of spare rooms. He looked in to see Ember holding a training dummy and Scramble standing in front of it.

“Pummel it like it’s your worst enemy!” Ember shouted. Scramble charged at the dummy, screaming loudly the whole time. She impaled the dummy with her horn, still screaming.

“What are you two doing?” Spike asked. Scramble looked up from the dummy with a grin on her face. She flew towards Spike and landed in his arms.

“Dude, Scramble is super powerful for a baby. I’m training her to become a warrior.” Ember stated. Spike chuckled.

“She does have strong magic. Her parents must be strong changelings.” Spike said. He to himself thought for a moment.

”Are changelings this powerful?”

Author's Note

Thank you for your input on the last chapter. Shortly after Mlp ends, I’ll end this story and make a sequel about Spike, Scramble, Gabby, and two more kids. And sorry if this chapter seems rushed

Research

Author's Note

Sorry that this is so short

Research

Spike flew around the library, picking up books on magic, alicorn magic, alicorn history, and changeling history. Scramble sat in her playpen, staring at her father.

“Read?” Scramble asked as Spike landed next to the playpen, holding a large stack of books. He shook his head and sat down next to her.

“No raspberry, I’m researching something important.” Spike explained. He had gave the nickname Raspberry to her because she always blew raspberries at him. Ironically enough, she hated the taste of raspberries. The taste made her feel sick. He took her out of her playpen and placed her on his lap. Scramble smiled and curled up into his lap.

Spike opened the book on magic and flipped to the page on babies.

“Why are you so powerful?” Spike asked himself. Scramble let out a little babble as an answer. Spike started to read the page on baby magic.

”Baby unicorns have very uncontrollable magic. This can lead to them levitating random objects and themselves.” Spike read to himself. He picked up a piece of paper and wrote that down.

“That still doesn’t explain blasting through walls and teleporting.” Spike thought out loud. Pinkie Pie had told him that the first time she watched the Cake Twins, Pumpkin had used magic to walk through her playpen and levitate herself. Spike tossed that book to the side and picked up the book on changeling history. It was a very large book and would take hours to read.

“This is gonna be a long day.” Spike muttered to himself.

Spike paced around the library, books scattered all over the floor. He had heavy bags under his eyes and was shaking a bit. He had drank at three cups of coffee to keep himself awake. He had been researching for eight hours. The only breaks he took were to feed and change Scramble. In front of him there was a chalkboard covered with writing and pictures. All of the pictures were of advanced spells, changelings, and alicorns.

“None of this makes sense, not even adult changelings are this powerful.” Spike said to himself. He looked back at Scramble who was laying on the floor, looking quite bored. Spike stopped pacing and drew out a long, slow breath. He walked over to his daughter and picked her up. They both needed a break at that moment.

“Do you want to play a game?” Spike asked. Scramble smiled and nodded her head. Spike walked out of the library and down the hallway, heading to Scrambles play room. He had set up one of the many empty rooms so Scramble could run around and climb on things. She surprisingly loved to climb on random objects and jump off of them. Spike entered the play room, which had soft colorful pads laid out on the floor. He put her down on the floor and Scramble immediately started to run.

“Wow you really wanted to move.” Spike said with a chuckle. He sat down on the soft padded floor and watch his child run around. Soon, he got lost in his own thoughts.

”Why is Scramble so powerful? Why couldn’t I find anything? Why-“ Spikes thoughts got cut off when he heard someone call him.

“Daddy!” Scramble exclaimed excitedly. Spike looked up to see that Scramble was on the wall. She was on there firmly and giggling to herself. She walked across the wall with no issue and seemed to be enjoying herself. Spike quickly stood up and rushed over to her.

“How are you doing that?” Spike asked in disbelief. A sudden realization hit Spike.

“You’re the changeling queen.” Spike muttered to himself. He had read about it but glossed over it because only Queen Chrysalis could lay another queen egg. She had been gone for months so it couldn’t have been her that laid Scramble. The queen could walk on walls, have very powerful magic, and learned faster than other changelings. Scramble could almost speak in full sentences and she was only six months. She seemed to understand everything Spike said to her too, unlike most babies.

“I need to write a letter to Thorax.” Spike thought out loud. She took Scramble off of the wall. She let out a loud whine, wanting to play some more.

“You can keep playing when I’m done writing this letter, I promise.” Spike reassured. He flew out of the room, now eager to write this letter. He landed in the library and quickly picked up a scroll and quill, placing Scramble on the floor.

”Dear Thorax, I just found out some big news. After doing some research, I found out that Scramble is the changeling queen. She can walk on walls and has very powerful magic like a queen does. Please write back soon.

-Spike” Spike placed the numerous amount of notes he had taken inside of the scroll and rolled it up. He blew a gust of fire at it and it disappeared. Spike looked around the messy library.

“I promised we could play, but let me clean up first.” Spike stated. Scramble pouted and closed her eyes, straining a bit. Her horn started to glow and in an instant, all of the book were put back in there rightful places. Spike gave her a look of surprise.

“Fine, I guess it’s playtime then.”

Scramble ran around in her playroom, knocking over block towers. Spike chuckled as he watched his daughter have fun. There was a knock from the window, making Spike turn around. He looked to see Thorax and two other changelings flying in front of the window. Spike flew up to the window and opened it, letting everyone in.

“Hey Thorax, why didn’t you use the front door?” Spike asked. Thorax quickly closed the window and put curtains over it. That seemed unnecessary because it was dark outside.

“I can’t let anyone know that I’m here. If what you told me is correct, we have a tiny problem.” Thorax said in a worrisome voice. One of the changelings, who Spike recognized as the doctor that gave Scramble her first check up. She picked up a flashlight with her teeth and shined it into Scrambles eyes. The other changeling flipped through a book and compared Scramble to a regular changeling baby.

“What’s going on?” Spike asked. Thorax looked around the room to see if anyone was somehow hiding somewhere.

“Well if Scrambles a Queen, then she’ll be very dangerous. Every time a new queen takes over, a changeling tries to kill her to take the throne.” Thorax said in a distressed voice. Spike raised an eyebrow.

“He was right, she’s a queen.” The doctor stated. Thorax let out a gasp of shock.

“If the word gets out, Scramble will be in great danger!” Thorax exclaimed. Spike glanced at the two other changelings.

“I doubt that another changeling is going to try to kill her. Remember Thorax, all of the changelings have changed, I don’t think they’ll try to kill someone who isn’t a threat.” Spike stated. Thorax thought for a moment.

“I guess you’re right about that. When Scramble gets older I can teach her how to be royalty so she can take the throne.” He stated. Spike smiled and looked at his daughter, who was now sitting on a pile of foam blocks.

“I think she’ll like that.”

Full Family

Author's Note

This contains spoilers for season 9 episode 19

Full Family

Spike walked through town, pushing Scramble in her stroller. She looked around excitedly, wondering where she and her father were going. Spikes job had shutdown for a few weeks due to a termite infestation. He would be getting paid days off. There was no point of putting Scramble in school if he wasn’t at work.

“Aren’t you excited to meet Gabby?” Spike asked. Scramble let out a loud happy yell and clapped her hooves together. She loved meeting new people. Spike entered the post office and stood close to the wall. He took Scramble out of her stroller and held her in his arms.

“You’re adorable.” Spike said as he booped Scramble on the nose. Scramble grabbed onto his finger and giggled.

“Spike!” A voice exclaimed from behind him, making him turn around. Gabby flew towards him with a large grin on her face. Spike smiled and waved to her.

“Hi Gabby, it’s nice to see you again!” Spike said, pulling her into a hug. Gabby hugged him back tightly and looked at the baby in his arms.

“Is this Scramble? She’s adorable just like you said!” Gabby said as she took Scramble out of Spikes arms. Scramble let out a laugh and put her tiny hooves on Gabby’s beak.

“Can I hold her during my route? She’s just soo adorable!” Gabby asked. Spike chuckled.

“She seems to like you so sure! She loves people but doesn’t really like being held by anyone but me, she must really like you.” Spike stated. Gabby played with Scrambles hooves before holding her in one of her arms.

“Let’s go, I don’t have that many letters to deliver. When I’m done we can hang out until sunset.” Gabby stated as she started to fly out of the post office. Spike followed her, pushing the stroller. Scramble babbled to Gabby, already liking her. Gabby approached Gallus and reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a letter.

“Here you go, Grandpa Gruff wanted me to give this to you.” Gabby said as she handed a wrinkled envelope with stains on it to him.

“Gee thanks.” Gallus said sarcastically as he held the envelope. Gabby rummaged through her saddlebag and pulled out a camera.

“Can you take a picture of us?” Gabby asked. Gallus nodded and held the camera up to his eye. Spike stood next to Gabby and they both smiled. Scramble threw her hooves up into the air happily. Gallus snapped the picture, handed Gabby the camera and walked away. A picture came out of the bottom and Gabby picked it up.

“I want to started a photo album and this is the perfect start!” Gabby said happily, slipping the photo into her bag. She pulled out two envelopes.

“Now all I have to do is send these letters to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie and we can go do something together.” Gabby said with a smile. Spike thought for a moment.

“How about we go get ice cream from the ice cream parlor, I can feed Scramble there.” Spike suggested. Gabby nodded her head.

“That sounds good, there isn’t any good ice cream in Griffonstone. It’ll be nice to get some that’s good.” Gabby stated. Spike smiled.

“Perfect.”

Spike and Gabby entered the ice cream parlor and sat at a table near a window in the back of the store. The store was almost empty besides Lyra and Bon Bon sitting in the front of the store.

It had taken them longer than they expected to deliver those letters because Gabby insisted on chasing down Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie to give them their letters. It would’ve been easier to just put the letters in the mailbox. It had taken them at least four hours to slow them down. The good news was that Scramble loved being carried by Gabby all day.

“I’ll go get Scramble a high chair.” Gabby said as she put Scramble into Spike’s arms. As Gabby started to walk away, Scramble let out a whimper.

“Mama!” Scramble exclaimed in a panic. Spike and Gabby froze in shock at what they heard. Scramble flew out of Spikes arms and cuddled Gabby’s arm.

“Mama.” She said with a smile. Gabby grabbed a high chair and placed it next to the table before sitting down, still in shock.

“She’s never called anyone that before. She doesn’t really have a mother figure so I guess she thinks your her mom. You give her more affection than any other girl she knows.” Spike explained, breaking the silence. Gabby let out a laugh.

“I’m fine with being her mom, she seems to like me.” Gabby said as she placed Scramble in her high chair. Spike smiled and pulled out a small container of strawberry baby food and a small pink spoon.

“I’ll feed her, you can go get us ice cream.” Gabby said as she took the container from his hands. Spike hopped out of his seat and walked up to the front counter. Gabby looked at Scramble, who was smiling happily at her mother.

“Open wide!” Gabby said in a singsong voice as she put a spoonful of food into Scrambles mouth. She chewed loudly, smacking her lips. Gabby never told anyone but she had developed a small crush on Spike when they became pen pals. She wanted to get closer to him and Scramble was a perfect opportunity to do that.

“Here you go.” Spike said as he handed her a mint chocolate cone. Spike had a chocolate cone.

“Thanks.” Gabby said before she took a lick of her ice cream. Scramble finished off her food by herself, happily enjoying the presents of both of her parents. She happily danced in her seat and looked over to Spike.

“Daddy play?” Scramble asked. Spike looked at Scramble with a smile on his face.

“We can go to the playground when we’re finished with our ice cream.” Spike said. Scramble pouted and gave her father puppy dog eyes.

“We can go now, just look at her face.” Gabby pointed out. Scramble continued to pout, kicking her hooves a bit. Spike chuckled.

“Okay let’s go.” Spike said as he unstrapped Scramble from her high chair. Scramble let out a loud cheer of excitement as she got sat down in her stroller. Gabby laughed and walked behind the stroller.

“I’ll push it, your arms seem tired from pushing it all day.” Gabby said. Spike nodded his head.

“Yeah, they’re tired cause I was digging wholes and swinging a pickaxe all last week.” Spike explained. Gabby looked at his arms to see that he had a bit of muscle showing up. Spike looked at her, making Gabby turn away quickly.

“Let’s go!” Gabby exclaimed excitedly before pushing the stroller out of the ice cream parlor. Spike flew close behind, realizing that he was the only one who knew his way to the playground.

Spike, Gabby, and Scramble entered a completely empty playground. It was still school hours so all of the children were still in school.

“What do you wanna do raspberry?” Spike asked, crouching down in front of the stroller.

“Swing!” Scramble exclaimed, throwing her hooves up into the air. Spike let out a laugh and took her out of the stroller. He placed her in the swing and started to push it, making her, making Scramble laugh happily. Gabby chuckled at the display and pulled out her camera, snapping a picture.

“Mama swing!” Scramble commanded. Gabby walked over to the swing and started to push Scramble. Spike grinned happily. It felt so nice to see Scramble have a mother figure in her life. Gabby was perfect for that job too. She was sweet, kind, caring, tender, and beautiful! Spike could feel his cheeks go red at that last part.

“You’re so adorable!” Gabby gushed as she continued to push Scramble on the swing. Scramble let out a mix of a yawn and a laugh. Gabby stopped pushing the swing and looked at Scramble.

“The swing always makes her sleepy.” Spike explained. He walked over to the swing and picked Scramble up, holding her close to his chest. She closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep after her long day.

“The sun is about to set, I need to go.” Gabby said before hugging Spike.

“Before you go, I need to ask you something.” Spike said. Gabby tilted her head.

“What is it?” She asked. Spike exhaled shakily and twiddled his fingers a bit.

“Do you wanna go out sometime, just the two of us?” Spike asked nervously. Gabby broke out into a grin.

“I would love to.”

Date Night

Author's Note

This chapter has a mention of blood and wings ripping off of bodies

Date Night

Spike stood in the mirror, fixing his blue bow tie. He wore a black tuxedo top, a white shirt, and a green bow tie. He picked up a bouquet of blue, yellow, and pink flowers that were laying on his bed and looked at himself in the mirror.

“Everything will be fine, this is fine.” Spike said with a nervous laugh. Scramble stared at him in confusion, wondering what he was doing.

“Play?” Scramble asked. Spike shook his head.

“No raspberry, you’ll be playing with Auntie Twily. I’m going out for a few hours with mama.” Spike explained. He picked Scramble up and peppered her face with kisses. She let out a giggled as Spike walked out the room. He entered the library to see Twilight reading a book.

“Thanks again for watching Scramble tonight.” Spike thanked. Twilight smiled.

“It no problem. Besides, you need a girlfriend, you’re almost thirteen.” Twilight stated. Spikes scales flattened and a small blush appeared on his face.

“At least I haven’t been single for twenty seven years.” Spike responded, putting his hands on his hips. Twilight gave him a look of surprise.

“That was uncalled for.” Twilight said. Spike frowned and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sorry Twilight, I’m just a little nervous. I really like Gabby and I don’t wanna mess this up.” He admitted. Twilight stood up from the spot she was laying and walked over to him, putting her hoof on his shoulder.

“You’ll do great tonight, I promise. Gabby likes you for who you are.” Twilight reassured. Spike smiled nervously.

“Thanks Twilight, I needed that.” Spike thanked. He kissed Scramble on the cheek and handed her to Twilight.

“Today is going to be so much fun! Are you ready to spend time with your. Best. Aunt. Ever?!” Twilight exclaimed, lifting Scramble into the air. Scramble let out a loud shout of excitement. Spike chuckled and waved goodbye.

“Bye, I’ll be back in a few hours.” Spike said as he walked out of the library. He looked at the bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“I can do this.”

Spike entered the nearly empty park, clutching the bouquet of flowers in his hands. The sun was setting and ponies were getting ready to go home. He hands were shaking a bit and he looked around.

“Spike!” A familiar voice shouted. Spike turned around to see Gabby flying towards him with a large grin on her face. She wore a blue skirt that matched her eyes and a white button up shirt. A small purple bow stuck out of her feathers. She looked stunning.

“Hi Spike are you ready for our date?” Gabby asked, barely containing her excitement. Spike was left speechless, staring at his date. He felt his cheeks grow warm.

“Your....face...nice.” Spike said, his face getting darker and his scales flattening against his head. Gabby let out a chuckle that made Spikes heart flutter. He held the flowers up to her face.

“This are for you!” Spike shouted, smiling nervously. The flowers brushed up against Gabby’s nose, making her tense up. She let out a loud sneeze and the flowers blew off of there stems, falling into pieces. They both stared at the flower petals that were now strewn across the ground.

“Sorry, those looked really pretty.” Gabby apologized. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s fine, they’re just flowers.” Spike reassured. Gabby let out a sigh of relief and pulled out two movie tickets from her shirt pocket.

“I got us tickets to see ’The Mare in the Mirror’, I heard it’s a romance!” Gabby said happily. Spike smiled. He loved romance movies and this was a good opportunity to get closer to Gabby.

“Let’s go then, we don’t wanna miss the movie.” Spike said as he flew off of the ground. Gabby held his hand tightly and they both flew towards the movie theater.

Spike and Gabby sat down in there soft cushioned seats, getting comfortable. Spike held a large tub of popcorn for him and Gabby to share. They had made it just in time to see the movie but missed the previews.

“I can’t believe we made it on time.” Spike whispered. Gabby nodded her head and took a handful of popcorn. The lights dimmed and a title card appeared on the screen. ’Mare in the Mirror’ the screen read out in blood red letters and chilling music played in the background. That seemed rather odd for a romance movie but Spike just brushed it off as an odd movie style.

A grey mare with long black hair walked across an old creepy house, the floor creaking under her hooves. Her eyes darted back and forth as she heard something from behind her.

Spike suddenly felt on edge and leaned over to Gabby. “I don’t think this is a romance movie.” He whispered to her. Gabby didn’t seem to hear him, her eyes glued onto the screen. Spike swallowed nervously and looked back at the screen.

The mare approached the mirror curiously and stuck her hoof out. A green slimy hoof shot out of the mirror and grabbed the mare by the neck, strangling her. The mare let out a bloodcurdling scream as she got dragged in the mirror.

Spikes breaths became quick and his scales fell flat. His heart raced at sight of it.

“Gabby we should really go.” Spike whispered in a slightly louder tone, starting to panic. He couldn’t handle scary movies, he would get nightmares for days and be paranoid for months.

The mare screamed as she got dragged into the mirror, gripping onto the ground with her dear life. The slimy creature creature grabbed ahold of the mares wings, ripping them clean from her body. The mare screamed in pain, blood starting to shoot out.

Spike gripped onto Gabby’s arm, shaking like a leaf. He had dropped the tub of popcorn and started to tear up a bit. Gabby looked at her date and leaned over to him.

“Let’s go.” Gabby whispered, grabbing Spikes hand. They both stood up from their seats and made there way out the theater. Spike and Gabby walked out of the theater, into the bright hallway. It was rather noisy because there were a few games there to play.

“Are you okay?” Gabby asked in concern. Spike let out a few slow steady breaths and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Yeah, I just really hate scary movies, they give me nightmares.” Spike explained. He was still shaking a bit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that this was a scary movie. I thought the R in rated R meant romance.” Gabby stated. Spike gave her a confused look.

“Gabby rated R means it’s not for kids.” Spike said. Gabby slowly nodded her head in understanding. She looked at her date who still looked rather distressed.

“Let’s go on a walk, it’ll be relaxing.” Gabby suggested. Spike nodded his head.

“That’s a good idea.”

Spike and Gabby walked through town, hand in hand. There was a cool breeze and it smelled like rain. Everything was so quiet and peaceful.

“You were right, this is relaxing.” Spike said with a sigh. Gabby smiled and looked up at the sky. Millions of stars littered the sky, twinkling brightly.

“The skies so pretty.” Gabby commented with a smile. Spike looked at Gabby and a small blush appeared on his cheeks.

“Not as pretty as you.” Spike said. His eyes widened at what he said and his cheeks grew darker. Gabby looked at him and a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

“Aw that’s so sweet.” Gabby said with a grin. Spike slowly started to smile with her.

“You know, I really like hanging out with you. I’ve had a crush on you for a while and I hope we can be together for a while.” Gabby stated, looking Spike in the eyes. Spike grinned happily.

“I hope we can stay together for a while too. Scramble seems to really like you and she would love to see you more often.” Spike said. Gabby stared at him for a few moments before breaking out into a grin and giggling happily. Spike started to giggle along with her.

“Do you wanna come over to the castle and watch a movie? I’m pretty sure Scramble would like to see you.” Spike asked. Gabby eagerly nodded her head.

“I would love that.”

Spike and Gabby walked in the library to see Twilight laying on a pile of books, sound asleep. Scramble laid under her wing, ruffling her feathers.

“Hi Scramble.” Spike greeted. Scramble quickly flew over to Spike and landed in his arms.

“Daddy!” She exclaimed happily. Spike chuckled. Scramble turned her head to see Gabby smiling at her. “Mama!” She exclaimed flying out of her fathers arms and into her mothers.

“I missed you so much!” Gabby exclaimed, hugging her daughter tightly.

“Follow me to the movie room, it’s always set up so all we have to do is choose a movie to watch.” Spike stated as he started to walk out of the room. Gabby followed close behind, baby-talking Scramble the whole way there. Soon, they entered the movie room that had pillows and blankets all over the floor.

“This all looks so comfy.” Gabby commented as she sat down onto the soft blanketed floor. Spike turned on the projector and placed a movie inside.

“Scramble loves this movie.” Spike stated before sitting down next to Gabby. As soon as the movie started to play, Scramble snapped her attention to it. A small smile crept onto her face. Gabby scooted closer to Spike and opened her wing, wrapping it around his shoulder. Spike froze for a moment before leaning into her soft feathers.

This was a perfect way to end a date.

Hanging Out With Mama and Grandpa

Author's Note

Contains Spoilers for Season 9 Episode 23

Also this story is going to end very soon but the sequel will be released

Hanging Out With Mama and Grandpa

Spike walked up a hill in Sweet Apple Acres. He held Scramble in his arms, who was sleeping peacefully. She let out soft snores and nuzzled into his chest. Big Mac had asked him to come there to show him something important. He approached the top of the hill to see Big Mac sitting there.

“Hey Big Mac, what’s up?” Spike asked. Big
Mac gave a large smile.

“So you know that me and Sugar Belle have been dating for a while now, but I’m ready to take it to the next step.” Big Mac said, pulling a small velvet box out from the inside of his yolk. He popped open the box to reveal a ring with a large shiny diamond on the top. Spike let out a gasp.

“It’s beautiful!” Spike exclaimed. He stared at the diamond, his mouth starting to water. Big Mac looked at Spike and back at the diamond before quickly closing the box and jerking it away.

“Nope!” He exclaimed. Spikes brows furrowed.

“I’m not gonna eat it!” He exclaimed. Scramble shifted a bit at the loud noise but quickly drifted back to sleep. There was a flash of bright light and a poof noise.

“Eat what? What is it! I want to see!” Discord said as he peaked over Big Mac’s shoulder. He hid the small box in his hooves.

“Nope!” He said, shaking his head. Discord gave an offended look.

“Why not?” Discord asked with a pout. Spike rolled his eyes.

“Cause you have a big mouth.” Spike stated. Discord let out a loud over the top gasp.

“Me?! I keep tons of secrets! Like Fluttershy's secret fear of clowns. Or that time I caught Twilight sleep-trotting through town. Oh! And did you know that Octavia went on a date with Bulk Biceps? Talk about an odd couple. I heard that-“ Discord cut himself off when he saw Big Mac and Spike glaring at him. He let out a chuckle.

“Oh. All right. Point taken. But we're pals, right? Comrades. Amigos. Come on!” Discord said as he summoned sombreros on top of there heads. A tiny sombrero appeared on Scrambles head. Big Mac let out a sigh and showed him the ring. Discord let out a gasp.

”BIG MAC IS GOING TO PROPOSE TO SUGAR BELLE?” Discord shouted, his voice echoing around town. Scramble opened her eyes and let out a cry.

“Sh, sh it’s okay.” Spike comforted, rocking Scramble a bit. She continued to cry, only getting louder.

“I’ll be back.” Spike said as he started to walk down the hill. Scramble sobbed, covering her ears.

“I know, I know, Discord’s a loud man.” Spike sympathized. He walked around Sweet Apple Acres, trying to calm her down.

“Oh Spike, I’ve been looking for you!” A voice said from overhead. Spike looked up to see his girlfriend, Gabby.

“Hey Gabby.” Spike said with a small wave. She landed next to Spike and took Scramble out of his arms.

“Mama.” She whimpered out, burying face into her mother’s feathers. Spike let out a sigh.

“I have to help Big Mac propose to Sugar Belle and I feel like Scramble is gonna find that boring.” Spike said. Gabby thought for a moment.

“I can watch her until tomorrow, I need to go back to Griffonstone and I already finished my route. And after you help Big Mac propose, you can have some time for yourself, ” Gabby stated. Spike thought for a moment. Gabby was responsible and Scramble really liked her.

“Okay fine, there’s just a few rules you need to follow.” Spike stated. Gabby beamed.

This was gonna be so much fun.

Gabby walked off of the train, pushing Scramble in a stroller. A large bag was on her back. Spike had filled it with stuff Scramble needed but Gabby felt as if he was being a little over the top. She didn’t really need 18 packs of diapers for one night. Gabby walked through Griffonstone, humming to herself happily. Scramble sang along loudly, making griffons glare at her. Gabby had forgotten about the no singing rule. She started to speed up a bit, ready to get home.

“Yo Gabby, is that a kid?” A voice asked. She turned around to see Gilda approaching her.

“I’m watching her for the night, Spike has something important to do and needs to concentrate.” Gabby explained. Gilda grimaced.

“You know that Grandpa Gruff doesn’t like babies.” Gilda stated. Gabby frowned. She had completely forgotten about Grandpa Gruff. She and Gilda lived with him and he would get mad if one of them coughed too loudly. He would hate it if a baby interrupted his naps.

“Well maybe he won’t mind this one time.” Gabby said with a nervous laugh, continuing to walk towards the house. Gilda flew after her, ready to take charge of anything bad happened. Gabby approached the house and creaked the door open. She looked around to see that the house didn’t have anyone else in it. Gabby took Scramble out of her stroller and kissed her on the cheek. Scramble happily laughed and leaned into Gabby’s chest. Her ears perked up when she heard the sound of the floorboards creaking.

“Gabriella, is that you?” Grandpa Gruff asked, walking down the hallway. He walked into the living room and his eyes widened when he saw Gabby holding a baby.

“Where the heck did you get that thing?!” He asked, pointing at Scramble. Gabby gave a nervous smile.

“This is Scramble, I’m watching her for the night.” Gabby explained. Grandpa Gruff scowled in disgust.

“Get it out of here or I’ll kick you out.” Grandpa Gruff commanded. Scramble wiggled out of her mother’s arms and flew over to Grandpa Gruff.

“Hi.” She said, waving her tiny hoof. Grandpa Gruff stared at her. He picked her up and hugged her.

“This is my new grandchild and I’d die for her.” He said, hugging Scramble. She let out a giggle, hugging her grandfather back. Gabby and Gilda stared in surprise at this quick turnaround.

“That was weird.” Gilda whispered to Gabby. She nodded her head in agreement.

“Okay Grandpa Gruff, it’s time for Scramble to eat.” Gabby said, reaching out to grab her daughter.

“NO!” Grandpa Gruff shouted, making Gabby jump back. She turned back to look at Gilda, who shrugged her shoulders. Every time Gabby got too close, Grandpa Gruff would glare at her. This was going to be hard.

Gabby peaked her head into the kitchen to see Grandpa Gruff fed Scramble. This was all so odd, Grandpa Gruff hated being around babies but now he was so loving and caring. He hated being around anyone for that matter. Scramble looked at Gabby and smiled, waving.

“Hi mama!” She greeted happily. Grandpa Gruff whipped around to stare Gabby down. Gabby froze in feat, staring back at him.

“Where did you get a baby?” Grandpa Gruff asked. Gabby entered the kitchen, maiming sure he wouldn’t hit her with a broom again.

“My boyfriend Spike adopted her when she first hatched. I’m watching her until tomorrow morning so he can get a break.” Gabby explained. Grandpa Gruff nodded his head and gave Scramble another spoonful of food.

“You know, I used to have a daughter.” Grandpa Gruff stated. Gabby’s ears perked up at the sound of that. He had never told her anything about his past before.

“She was just like Scramble, tiny and very kind. She grew up to be magnificent. As soon as she got the opportunity, she left and never contacted me. That was twenty years ago and I still miss her.” Grandpa Gruff said. He looked at Gabby, who was tearing up.

“Stop being such a baby about it, it’s not that big of a deal.” He said with an eye roll. Gabby hugged him tightly, making him let out a wheeze. “Get off of me!” He shouted, pushing Gabby away. “All I want is do you to bring Scramble over more often.” He stated, taking Scramble out of her chair. She let out a yawn and closed her eyes, nuzzling into his chest. Gabby smiled.

“I can do that.”

The End

Spike sat next to Twilight on a small throne next to her new one. Scramble sat on her fathers lap, playing with some measuring tape.

“So, you freakin' out yet?” Spike asked with a smile. Twilight tilted her head and raised her eyebrow in confusion.

“About what?” Twilight asked. Spike chuckled.

“Oh, I don't know. It's not every day the princesses that have ruled Equestria for hundreds of moons retire and pass all their responsibilities on to your and your friends.” Spike stated, throwing his hands into the air. Scramble mimicked him, throwing her hooves into the air.

“Oh, that. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good. We've all faced so much and come out okay. I know we're up to the challenge of keeping Equestria safe and happy. There's nothing we can't handle together. Which reminds me...” Twilight said, levitating a box. Spike tilted his head in confusion. She handed it to him and he opened to see a medal with Twilights cutie mark on it.

“Royal Advisor? What’s that?” Spike asked as he looked at the medal and put it around his neck.

“A new position I created for you. You've been at my side for every step of this journey. Knowing I had you to count on gave me the strength I needed to grow and succeed. I wouldn't be here without you.” Twilight said with a wide smile. Spike started to tear up and hugged her tightly. Scramble let out a whine of concern as she watched her father cry. She hugged him tightly, making sure everything was alright. Spike chuckled.

“It’s okay Scramble, I’m fine.” Spike reassured, kissing her on the cheek.

“Thanks, Twilight. You know I'll always be your right-hoof dragon.” Spike said with a wink. Twilight and Spike turned there heads when they heard the throne room door open. Gabby walked into the room and waved.

“Mama!” Scramble shouted excitedly, reaching her hooves out towards her.

“Hey Spike, can we go get donuts before the coronation?” Gabby asked with a smile. Spike looked at Twilight, who chuckled.

“You’ve worked hard enough, you can take a break.” Twilight said. Spike smiled and flew off of the throne.

“Thanks Twilight, I’ll see you later!” Spike exclaimed as he flew out the door with Gabby. This was going to be a nice relaxing day.

Spike and Gabby sat in Donut Joe’s shop, eating donuts and drinking hot coco. Scramble sat on her mother’s lap, trying to get a bite of her donut.

“You can’t eat any.” Gabby said as she moved the donut away from the baby. Scrambles brows furrowed and she teleported away.

“Oh no, not again.” Spike stated in a panicked tone. This wasn’t the first time Scramble had teleported away. It had taken him hours to find her. Scramble appeared next to Gabby’s hand and took large a bite of her donut. Gabby and Spike let out sighs of relief, happy that she didn’t disappear. Spike picked up Scramble and held her in his arms. They enjoyed there donuts in silence when suddenly they heard a loud bang from the kitchen. Donut Joe walked out with a snarl on his face.

“You three, get out!” He shouted. Spike gave a look of surprise. That was odd. Donut Joe never closed his shop early unless it was an emergency.

“Is everything okay Joe?” Spike asked in concern. Donut Joe scowled.

“Don’t call me Joe like we’re friends you dragon!” Donut Joe shouted, levitating a broom. He swung it around, trying to hit Gabby and Spike. They both flew outside in a panic, making sure not to get hit. Once they made it far enough from the shop, the landed onto the ground and gave each other confused looks.

“What was that about?” Gabby asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“Donut Joe is usually super nice. Sometimes he would give me free donuts when I was sad.” Spike stated. A chill ran up his spine. Something was off. Everything was way too quiet. Spike looked around to see that the city was completely empty. That was completely odd because Canterlot was really big.

“Where is everyone?” Spike asked in confusion. Gabby shrugged.

“Maybe the all went inside.” Gabby suggested. Spike shook his head.

“Canterlot is never this empty unless something bad is happening. Spike pointed out. Scramble ears perked up when she heard a nearby noise.

“Dissy!” Scramble shouted, pointing to a very sweaty Discord.

“My aching metatarsals! You know, you forget how convenient snap-travel is.” Discord whined out as he rubbed his goat leg. Spike tilted his head.

“Wait. Did you just walk here?” He asked in confusion. It was unlike Discord to not use magic at all. Discord grimaced as if he had done something bad.

“Yes, actually. And I have a confession to make. You see, I might have made the teeeeeniest boo-boo. All very well-intentioned and noble on my part, of course, but-“ Discord rambled on. Spike rolled his eyes.

“What is it?” Spike asked, wanting him to get to the point.

“So I might’ve tried to reform Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek and they’re coming here to kill Twilight.” Discord admitted.

“WHAT!” Spike shouted. Discord smiled nervously.

“That’s not the worst part. I let it slip the Scramble is going to be the new queen so Chrysalis is going to try to kill her.” Discord finished. Spikes heart sank.

“Discord you IDIOT!” Spike shouted, stomping his foot onto the ground. Discord gave a look of surprise, Spike was never the type to get angry.

“You put my friends lives and my daughters life in danger because you wanted to reform someone!” Spike shouted angrily. He let out a sigh and kissed Scramble on the cheek.

“Take her somewhere safe.” Spike ordered as he handed her to Gabby.

“I will, I’ll see you later.” Gabby said as she flew up into the air. Gabby flew across Canterlot, making her way to the train station. Everything was so quiet. No ponies walked around the streets. All of the stores were boarded shut. Gabby landed in front of the ticket booth at the train station.

“One ticket to Griffonstone please.” Gabby said with a smile. The pink pegasus peaked over the booth and gave her a frightened look.

“All of the trains are shut down, the conductors left.” He said. Gabby tilted her head.

“Why? What happened?” Gabby asked. The unicorn looked around to make sure no one was listening and leaning in closely.

“The kirin are stealing and hoarding food and the unicorns are planning an attack.” He explained. The pegasus eyes widened in fear.

“I said too much, I need to go!” He exclaimed, quickly locking up the booth and hiding on the floor. Gabby looked down at Scramble and let out a sigh. She looked up at her mother curiously, not knowing what was going on.

“Mama?” Scramble asked in confusion. Gabby reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a scarf, wrapping Scramble in it.

“I need to fly to Griffonstone now. You need to be quiet so Queen Chrysalis doesn’t know you’re here.” Gabby whispered, holding Scramble close to her chest. She swallowed nervously. She hoped everything would end up alright.

Spike flew towards the Canterlot Castle in a hurry. Discord ran after him on all fours, panting heavily.

“Slow down!” Discord shouted, struggling to keep up. Spike shook his head and sped up. He didn’t even want to talk to Discord at this moment. Not only did he put his friends lives in danger, but he put his daughter in danger too. Spike looked up to see part of the Canterlot Castle explode.

“They’re here.” Spike said in a panic. He was too late. He wanted to warn his friends before they had gotten there. He sped up, pumping his wings. He could still try to stop Chrysalis from getting near Scramble. Without any warning, he was slammed into the side of a building. He opened his eyes to see Chrysalis inches from his face. She looked different. Her eyes were glowing green and her horn was longer.

“Well well well, look what we have here. The father of the queen.” She taunted. Spike struggled in her magic grasp, trying to get out.

“I won’t let you hurt her!” Spike shouted, kicking his legs. Discord tried to run away but Chrysalis hit him with a beam of magic, knocking him unconscious. Chrysalis turned back to Spike, squeezing his throat tightly.

“I’ll give you one chance to tell me where she is before I kill you.” Chrysalis threatened. Spike let out a strained wheeze, his face turning red.

“N-no.” Spike wheezed out, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t care if he died, he just wanted Scramble to be okay. Chrysalis’s ears perked up when she heard hoofsteps behind her. She whipped around to see A pink pegasus trying to fly away. She threw a food cart in front of him, making him cower back.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Chrysalis asked with a smirk. The pegasus quivered in fear, his eyes darting around. He wanted to make it out alive.

“I know where the Changeling Queen is!” He shouted. Chrysalis’s eyes widened and she got closer to the pegasus.

“Where?!” She asked, getting inches from the stallions face.

“She went to Griffonstone with a grey griffon.” The pegasus said. Spike scowled, feeling himself get light headed. Chrysalis turned her head to look at Spike with a wide smile. The pegasus quickly flew off, just wanting to hide.

“Don’t hurt her.” Spike wheezes out. Chrysalis smiled, showing her sharp fangs.

“Night night little dragon.” Chrysalis said, slamming Spikes head into the side of the building. Everything went dark and Spike went limp.

Gabby entered Griffonstone to see that everything was in utter chaos. Griffons we’re flying around, hiding in there houses. A few of them were arguing with each other, fighting over food. Gabby held Scramble closer to her body and quickly rushed inside, slamming the door shut.

“Gabriella, where have you been?” Grandpa Gruff asked.

“I was in Canterlot with Spike, what’s going on?” Gabby asked. Scramble wiggled out of her mother’s grasp and flew over to her grandfather, hugging him.

“The ponies betrayed us! The earth ponies have been hoarding food!” Grandpa Gruff shouted angrily. Gabby gave a confused look.

“We don’t even need take food from the earth ponies, we grow our own food!” Gabby stated. Grandpa Gruff opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it.

“Well it’s still not right.” He said, holding Scramble tightly. Gabby let out a sigh.

“Scramble is in danger, Queen Chrysalis is out to kill her.” Gabby stated. Grandpa Gruff scowled and pulled out a sword from under his old worn down couch.

“She has to get through me first!” Grandpa Gruff shouted, pointing the sword up to the sky. Gabby blinked in surprise.

“Where did you get that?” She asked.

“I’ve fought plenty of wars in my time, I’ve hidden weapons all over this house.” Grandpa Gruff explained, pulling out another sword from under the couch. Gabby’s ears perked up when she heard a voice from outside the house.

“Come out come out wherever you are little queen.” A familiar voice said. Gabby peaked out of the window and let out a gasp. Queen Chrysalis walked around town, checking high and low for Scramble.

“How did she find us?” Gabby asked. Grandpa Gruff picked up his sword, getting ready to attack.

“Wait, I have an idea.” Gabby said. She walked over to Scramble and gave her a kiss on the head.

“If anything happens to me or Spike, please take care of her.” Gabby said. Grandpa Gruff looked down as his sleeping granddaughter and nodded his head. He knew how much Gabby loved Scramble. Gabby let out an uneasy breath and picked up the scarf that Scramble was in. She picked up a small yellow pillow off of the couch and wrapped the scarf around it. She walked outside and closed the door behind her, looking around for Queen Chrysalis. She could see Chrysalis lifting up a cart, looking under it.

“Hey Chrysalis!” Gabby shouted. Queen Chrysalis whipped around to look at her with a sneer on her face.

“That’s Queen Chrysalis to you.” She sneered. Gabby held up the pillow up to her. It looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket.

“I have the future queen.” Gabby said in a mocking tone. Chrysalis’s eyes widened and she charged at Gabby.

“Give it here!” She shouted, blasting magic at Gabby. Gabby quickly flew up into the air, zipping away. Chrysalis let out a yell and followed Gabby. All she had to do is lead her far away from Scramble. This plan was working like a charm.

Spike groggily awoke, his head pounding. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a slimy jail cell.

“My head hurts.” Spike muttered to himself. His friends looked at him in concern.

“Spike darling, you’re finally awake!” Rarity exclaimed, hugging him. Spike rubbed his head and looked around.

“Where are we?” Spike asked.

“We’re under the castle. Discord pretended to be Grogar so he could reform Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek. They got Grogars bell and took Discord, Princess Celestias, and Princess Luna’s magic. Tirek ate the pillars magic. Cozy Glow is an alicorn. Starlight just got out from her cell.“ Pinkie Pie explained. Spike nodded his head in understanding, slowly processing what she said.

“I think I have a concussion.” Spike stated. He looked outside of the cell to see Tirek and Cozy Glow chasing Starlight around, who teleported place to place. Starlight teased Cozy Glow, making her scowl.

“Get back here!” Cozy Glow shouted as a beam of magic shot out of her horn. Starlight teleported away and appeared in front of there cell.

“Get Twilight!” Applejack shouted at Starlight. She shook her head.

“No way! She's always needed you guys!” Starlight said. She closed her eyes and let her horn glow. There was a loud boom and the crystals on top of there cells shattered. The slime on the cells fell off, releasing everyone. Starlight got hit on the back with a beam of magic, making her fall to the ground. Princess Celestia stood in front of Starlight, protecting her.

“Find Twilight! We may not have our magic, but we aren't completely helpless! We'll hold them off as long as we can!” Celestia ordered, kicking Cozy Glow to her side. Fluttershy picked Spike up and placed him on her back. It was time to find Twilight.

Grandpa Gruff looked out of the window to see windigos circling the sky. He looked down at Scramble who was shivering in his arms, still sound asleep.

“Those darn windigos are making this place too cold.” He said grumpily, cuddling Scramble to warm her up. He stared at the chaos. Everything was ending up terribly. Everyone had divided themselves by race. Grandpa Gruff looked at Scramble and let out a sigh. He knew that he wouldn’t live long enough to raise Scramble on his own. Even if he did live long enough, she needed her parents in her life. He had to do something. Scramble yawned and opened her eyes, rubbing them a bit.

“Hi!” She greeted happily, waving to her grandfather. He smiled.

“Let’s go Scramble, we’re going to get your parents back.” Grandpa Gruff stated as he stood up. He opened the front door and walked outside, holding his sword firmly in his hand.

Gabby fell to the ground, gripping the pillow tightly in her arms. She had let Chrysalis to the outskirts of Canterlot before she had gotten taken down. Gabby’s leg burned because it had gotten shot with a beam of magic. She felt so cold and was shivering. Was she dying? Gabby looked up to see windigos flying in circles, making snow clouds appear all over Equestria.

“Finally, I got the one who I will rule over!” Chrysalis exclaimed, taking the scarf from Gabby’s arms. She unraveled it and her face dropped.

“This is just a tacky throw pillow! Where’s the queen!” Chrysalis shouted, stomping her hoof onto the ground. Gabby shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know anything about any queen.” Gabby stated, sticking her tongue out. Chrysalis wrapped her magic around Gabby and pulled her close to her, crushing her body.

“Where’s the Queen!” She shouted, squeezing Gabby tighter. She let out a scream of pain.

“Stay away from her!” A voice shouted. They both turned around to see Grandpa Gruff holding a sword in his hands. On his back, Scramble laid there in a baby carrier with a small red helmet.

“Hi mama!” Scramble said happily with a wave. Chrysalis scowled.

“The Queen!” She shouted. She dropped Gabby to the ground and charged at Gruff, knowing that this fight would be easy. Grandpa Gruff swing the sword towards her, cutting the side of her face.

“You put up quite a fight old man.” Chrysalis state’s, rubbing her bloody wound.

“I’m just getting started old lady.” Grandpa Gruff retorted. He punched Chrysalis in the face, making her stumble back. Chrysalis let out a growl and lunged at him horn first. Grandpa Gruff grabbed her horn and pulled her down, flipping over her head. He sat on her back and gripped onto her horn as she tried to shake him off. He pulled Scramble out of the baby carrier and placed her on the ground. Scramble flew to her mother, hugging her.

“Take her somewhere safe, I’ll handed Chrysalis.” Grandpa Gruff ordered. Gabby nodded her head a flew off, staying close to the ground. She had to make sure Tirek and Cozy Glow didn’t see her. Scramble closed her eyes tightly, gripping onto her mother.

“Spike?” Gabby asked as she saw a familiar dragon in the distance. He was floating in the air along with the pillars and the student six. Twilight flew above the groups, she seemed to be the one controlling all of the magic. Tirek and Cozy Glow quivered only fear, not being able to move from there spots. Different creatures stood on a hill behind them, supporting there actions.

“Daddy!” Scramble exclaimed excitedly when she saw Spike in the distance. Gabby stared in awe as a rainbow shot into the air and landed on top of both villains. They shrank back to their regular sizes and cowered in fear. Twilight put a magical bubble around Cozy Glow and Tirek, trapping them. Gabby flew towards them, now just wanting to hug Spike.

“Spike!” Gabby exclaimed happily, flying into his arms. Spike hugged her back, relieved to see that she was okay.

“Daddy.” Scramble said, climbing into Spike arms. He hugged Scramble tightly, giving her a kiss on the head.

“I’m glad that you’re both okay.” Spike said with a sigh of relief. Twilight looked around.

“Where’s Chrysalis? We need her magic so we can give it back to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Discord.” Twilight stated. Grandpa Gruff walked over, holding a rope in his mouth. Chrysalis was tied to the end of it, completely unconscious. He shoved the unconscious queen towards Twilight.

“I took her down myself.” Grandpa Gruff said grumpily. Everyone gave him a look of surprise. “What, just because I’m old doesn’t mean I can’t beat someone up!” He defended. Discord picked up Grogar’s bell and rang it. It quickly sucked up Chrysalis’s magic, making her shrink back to normal size. Discord rang the bell again, giving himself his magic back. He snapped his fingers, making dancing pineapples appear out of thin air. Princess Celestia and Luna rang the bell, absorbing there magic.

“What should we do with these three?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the three defeated villains. Cozy Glow cowered in fear and Tirek punched the magical bubble, trying to get out. Discord whispered into Luna and Celestia’s ears, making them smile and look at each other.

“Oh. That does seem fitting.” Princess Luna said with a smirk, using her magic to untie Chrysalis.

“May I help? Please?” Discord said excitedly. Celestia nodded her head and raised her hoof, making Twilight drop the magic bubble. Queen Chrysalis stirred awake, rubbing her head. Celestia, Luna, and Discord shut their eyes, channeling there magic. Chrysalis looked at Scramble who sat in Spikes arms. She jumped forward letting out a hiss. Spike took a few steps back, closing his eyes and holding Scramble tightly. When he didn’t feel any impact, he peaked open his eyes to see Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek had been turned to stone. Spike let out a breath of relief and looked at Scramble. She gave him a wide smile, just happy to be with her father.

“Everything is okay.”

Spike sat on the balcony of his new bedroom, looking up the stars. This was the last night Princess Luna The events of today had really had him thinking. Was he really the best for Scramble? Was moving to Canterlot the best for Scramble? He turned around to see Gabby and Scramble cuddling on his bed, both sound asleep. He smiled and stood up, his body aching. He had to talk to Twilight about something. He tiptoed out of the room, making sure not to wake up his daughter or girlfriend. He managed to walk outside of his room without any trouble.

“Twilight?” Spike asked, looking around. He heard a rustling sound from down the hallway. He followed the noise, walking down the hallway. Soon, he entered the library to see Twilight reading happily to herself. She looked up and smiled when she saw him.

“Hi Spike, is there something wrong?” Twilight asked. Spike let in a deep breath.

“I can’t move with you to Canterlot.” Spike stated. Twilights eyes widened.

“What why?” Twilight asked. Spike rubbed the back of his neck.

“I have to have a life of my own. I don’t think Scramble would like it here. Everyone here is too harsh and Scramble wouldn’t like growing up here. I don’t think Iwould like it here. I’ll be Royal Advisor from Ponyville I promise but I just can’t stay here.” Spike explained. Twilight stood up and hugged Spike tightly.

“I’m glad you were honest with me, I don’t want you to feel upset. You can do whatever makes you happy.” Twilight said with a smile. Spike smiled, feeling very happy.

He didn’t know where he was going next with his life but all he knew was the he was going to be happy with his family.

Author's Note

Thank you so much for giving me so much support on this story! I’m afraid that this is the end but don’t worry, here’s the sequel
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/446629/a-happy-family

Frustration and Apologies

Spike stood in the shower with his head pressed up against the wall. He watched the water swirl down the drain. He had been working nonstop for two weeks with barely any break.

As soon as he got off of work, he would have to pick Scramble up from daycare and calm her down because she had been crying all day. Then he would help clean up the school when the day was over. His back and shoulders were sore from swinging around a pickaxe and shovel for hours without a break. To top it all off, Scramble had been extra clingy and would barely do anything without him. It was exhausting. Spike turned off the shower and stepped out, rubbing his eyes a bit.

“Daddy!” Scramble shouted from the other side of the bathroom door, banging her tiny hooves on the door. Spike let out a groan. She must have noticed that he left the room. He set up a pretty good distraction that should’ve kept her busy for a while. He loved his daughter but she had been becoming too clingy for him to handle. Spike quickly dried himself off and opened the bathroom door, revealing Scramble. She stared at him with her big multicolored eyes and put her arms up to be carried. Spike let out a sigh and picked her up, bouncing her a bit.

“Are you ready to go back to daycare?” Spike asked. Scrambled eyes widened and she shook her head. Spike walked down the hallway as Scramble tried to wiggle from his grasp, not wanting to go to daycare. He carried her in one arm as she kicked her legs around. She let out a loud yell and bit onto his arm. She barely had teeth and Spike had hard scales, so it didn’t hurt. He poked her on the nose.

“Don’t bite people, that’s mean.” Spike stated. Scramble looked up at him, pouting a bit. Spike walked into the kitchen and placed her into her high chair, strapping the buckles around her stomach so she couldn’t escape. He put a green bib across her neck and pulled out a container of mushed peas baby food from the fridge and opened it. He got a spoon full and held it up to her mouth.

“Open wide.” Spike said in a sing song voice. Scramble crossed her arms and stuck her nose up into the air.

“No.” Scramble stated with a huff. Spike let out a soft groan, his grip tightening on the small pink plastic spoon.

“Scramble I don’t have time for this, just eat your food.” Spike said, trying not to yell. He had been so frustrated lately with all of the work he has been doing without any break. Scramble stuck her tongue out, refusing to eat. Spike let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He closed the container of baby food and took her out of the high chair.

“Okay, I guess you’re not hungry then.” Spike stated while picking up her backpack. Scramble gave him a confused look as they walked out the kitchen. She was always fed before she left for school. Scramble tugged on his arm and pointed towards the kitchen.

“Scramble you chose not to eat so this is what happens.” Spike stated in an angry tone. Scramble let out a whimper. He had never gotten angry at her before. Today was going to be a terrible day.

Spike stood in a large field, cracking open a rock with a pickaxe. His mind was blank as the rock broke into pieces. He picked up the sapphires that were inside the rock and placed them in the cart. His mind wandered back to that morning.

He had been a little mean that morning. He didn’t give Scramble kisses like he usually did or said that he loved her before dropping her off at school. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t been giving Scramble the affection that she needed for the past week. Changelings needed affection more than any other creatures. He dropped the pickaxe and let out a gasp.

“That’s why she’s been so clingy!” Spike exclaimed in the empty field to himself. Guilt dropped to the pit of his stomach. He almost yelled at her for being stubborn, which is was babies do. He sat down on the ground and buried his head in his hands. He said he could do this all by himself with no help and he was failing.

“I’m a terrible dad.” Spike muttered to himself. He felt himself tearing up. How long has he been neglecting her? He had been working so hard that he had forgotten what was important. He looked back at the cart which was half full. He stood up and wiped his eyes, sniffling a bit.

“I’ll just finish my work for the day and then make sure Scramble feels loved.” Spike said as he picked up the pickaxe. He swung the pickaxe at another rock. Time to be the best dad ever.

Spike entered Scrambles classroom, only for something to ram into his chest. He looked down to see Scramble hugging him tightly.

“I know I’m a little late but were you just standing by the door?” Spike asked with a small chuckle. Hugged her back and waved to one of the teachers, making sure they knew that he was leaving with Scramble. She had tried to escape a few times so he didn’t want them to panic. He took her backpack out of a cubbie and walked down the hallway. Scrambles stomach growled and she looked up at her father. Spikes scales flattened. She must have not eaten lunch because she was crying. That made him feel even more guilty than before.

“When we get home, you can eat as much as you want, okay?” Spike reassured. Scramble looked at him and nodded her heads, leaning into his chest. Spike let out a sigh.

Spike placed Scramble in her high chair and pulled out a container of baby food.

“Look, I got your favorite.” Spike said with a smile. It was honeysuckle and nectar baby food, which was a common favorite with changelings. Scramble smiled widely and opened her mouth, ready to get a bite.

“I didn’t even open it yet.” Spike said with a chuckle. He opened the container and picked up a small spoonful of food. Scramble ate it in one bite, wiggling happily at the taste. She opened her mouth again, ready for another spoonful. He gave her another spoonful. In less than five minutes the whole container was empty. Spike tossed the glass container in the trash, which isn’t safe at all.

“Do you wanna watch your favorite movie?” Spike asked. Scramble grinned and clapped her hooves together. Spike smiled and took her out of her chair. Her favorite movie was ‘The Little Seapony’, which Spike likes watching too so it was a fun family moment. He had already set up the projector after work so everything would be ready. He walked down the hallway and Spike looked at Scramble who was grinning happily in his arms.

“I know I haven’t been the best lately but I’ll try extra hard from now on. Every week we can watch your favorite movies and I’ll kiss and cuddle you every and make sure to always love you.” Spike said, tearing up a bit. Scramble stared at him for a few moments.

“Kiss?” She asked. Tears dripped down Spikes cheeks and he nodded his head with a smile. He gave her a soft peck on the forehead, making her giggle. Spike looked around to notice that he was in the room with the projector and screen. There were pillows and blankets all over the floor to make a large soft nest. Spike pressed play on the projector and sat down into the nest. Music from the movie started to play, making Scramble squeal in excitement. Spike smiled.

“I love you Scramble.”

Author's Note

How would you guys feel if I gave Spike two more kids in a future chapter? It’ll take place when he’s an adult. I’m not sure if I should make it apart of this story, or a story without Scramble. Also sorry if this chapter seemed rushed