I love you, Mom.

Trixie and Starlight woke up to find their mistress was, for once, not absent from their bed. They sighed in contented bliss and cuddled up to their mistress, careful not to wake her. Their peaceful moment came to an abrupt end when the door was thrown open, yanking Twilight from her sleep and startling all three mares.

"Morning, Twilight. What's been going on while I was with Rarity?" Spike asked. Rubbing is eyes with his claws and blissfully unaware he’d just woken his surrogate mother up. As he looked into the room, he suddenly noticed the two mares in bed with Twilight.

"O-Oh. I uh...I'll just wait outside." He said sheepishly, his cheeks red with embarrassment. As the young dragon hurried out of the room, Twilight chuckled at her surrogate son's reaction.

"Well you two, I suppose it's time to get up." Twilight said, causing both unicorns to whimper slightly, before complying. Once the three mares were out of bed, Twilight cast a quick spell, magically cleaning them of all evidence of the previous night’s activities.

"Thank you for yesterday, Mistress." Trixie said. As Starlight nodded in agreement with her fellow pet, Twilight smiled at the pair of them.

"Well, let's go explain the situation to Spike." Twilight said as she began to move. Instantly her duo of pets fell in beside her as they left the bedroom. Spike was waiting just outside, blush still clearly visible on his cheeks. When he heard the three mares exit the bedroom, he looked up to greet his caretaker, only then to realize who the two ponies that clung to his surrogate mom's sides were. Or more specifically, who the blue Unicorn on her right was.

"Uh, Twilight? What is she doing here?" Spike asked, his eyes narrowed at the former showpony.

Trixie looked down at the ground in shame at this. Normally, with how protective Twilight had grown towards Trixie, this would have caused her to snap at whoever dared to hurt her precious pet's feelings, but seeing as it was Spike, the dragon she’d hatched from an egg, she let it slide.

"Trixie has become my pet Spike. As such, she’ll be living in this castle twenty-four/seven." Twilight said, not really offering any explanation.

"Uh, do you mind clarifying how this came to be exactly?" Spike asked incredulously.

"I'll explain as we walk, Spike." Twilight answered.

***

"Wow. I never looked at it from that perspective." Spike said as Twilight finished explaining the entire situation, including Trixie's side of the events that transpired in Ponyville. She’d obviously left out the stuff that was to...adult for Spike to hear. The purple dragon hugged the former showpony in apology.

"I'm sorry for being so rude to you Trixie. I had no idea what you had been through." Spike apologized.

Trixie wrapped a foreleg around the young dragon.

"It's quite alright, Spike. You were just defending you mothers honor, something Trixie certainly can't be mad about." Trixie said.

Spike sputtered as the blue mare called Twilight his mother, separating himself from their embrace. "M-Mother?! I don't know what you-"

Spike started, before all three mares started laughing at his flustered outburst.

"Oh, come now Spike. It's obvious how much you two care for each other and Mistress has told me on more than one occasion that she views you as not just her little brother, but also as her surrogate son!" Trixie insisted.

Spike looked up to Twilight at Trixie’s words, hope clear in his eyes. "R-Really?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Twilight said with a smile.

Spike jumped into Twilight’s open hooves with a loving hug. "Oh thank Celestia! I've always viewed you as a mother, Twilight! I was just worried that you wouldn't approve of me thinking of you like that." Spike confessed.

Twilight openly gaped at her surrogate son's confession.

"Why in Equestria would you think that Spike? I certainly love you like a mother would!!" Twilight said exasperated.

"It's nothing, just a stupid worry I've had for no reason, Mom." Spike said.

Twilight practically beamed with glee when her baby dragon called her 'Mom'. Trixie and Starlight both squeed at how adorable the scene in front of them was.

"I don't want you to think our relationship is strange in anyway. Anypony who says otherwise is just ignorant." Twilight said plainly.

"Ok, Mom." Spike said cheerfully, then he hesitated. "It's not weird calling you Mom, is it?"

"If you want call me 'Mom', Spike, you are very welcome to." Twilight answered.

As Spike smiled up at his mother, he felt happy that he was finally able to openly admit what he’d viewed her as for so long.

"Thank you, Mom."

"You are very welcome, my son." As Twilight replied, she reciprocated with a smile of her own.

"Awwww, So cute!!!", Trixie and Starlight squealed in unison.

As the duo of son and daughter blushed and parted, the group started to make their way to the dining hall for breakfast. Spike was really the only one who ended up eating anything, as Trixie and Starlight got much more nutritional meals from, other sources. And Twilight, being an alicorn, didn't really need to eat at all. While Spike was eating, the three ponies struck up conversation, pausing when they heard the telltale clip clop of a pony's gait. Sunbeam Crush entered the room, levitating a daffodil sandwich to the side as she buried her muzzle in a binder of propositions and proposals. The usual stuff. Really, she was already quite busy, even though it was only her second day as the princess’s secretary.

"Oh, good morning, Sunbeam!" Twilight greeted. The mare in question ‘eeped’ when she heard her princess's voice and looked up from the binder.

"Oh, Goodness! I'm sorry, Princess Twilight. I didn't realize you were in the dining hall. I can come back later." The timid pony stated, turning to leave.

"Nonsense! Come, sit with us." Twilight told her new secretary. The orange unicorn did as she was told, taking a seat next to the mare who was both her boss and her princess.

"So, how have you been enjoying your new Job, Sunbeam?" Twilight asked her new secretary.

"Oh, it has been great! For the first time, I've actually been able to enjoy doing my job!" Sunbeam said with a smile on her muzzle. "It certainly helps when your boss is an extremely kind princess, rather than a bunch of sexist stallions."

"I'm glad you like your new job, my friend” Twilight said, before looking curiously at the binder the orange unicorn was levitating. “Tell me, what have you put together there?"

"Oh, it's um...a binder I put together, made up of proposals and requests from nobles and dignitaries. I had no idea that so many ponies want your approval for things."

"I know, right?! You would think they would go to Celestia for their requests. I guess they felt that, since I’m new to the role of princess, they would have an easier time getting my approval for their ridiculous requests."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, what are some of their proposals, Sunbeam?" Trixie asked, wondering what sort of thing ponies would be ask her mistress’s approval for.

"Well, you see, most of them are just suitors offering to marry Princess Twilight." Sunbeam said, her face scrunched up as she recalled some of the more vulgar offers.

The air around Trixie and Starlight seemed to grow cold.

"What?" Trixie asked with barely hidden disdain in her voice. Both pets glared daggers at the orange mare.

Twilight wrapped her wings around both her pets in a hug as she reassured them. "Now, Now, girls. It's quite alright, let's not get angry at our new friend, alright?"

"Sorry, Mistress." They both said together, nuzzling their owner in a show of affection.

"Sunbeam, decline all offers from my...suitors." Twilight ordered her secretary.

"Oh, you don't need to tell me, princess. I have already done that. Though there is one that concerns me a little." Sunbeam said.

"Oh? Who sent the proposal?"

"It was from Blueblood." Sunbeam said.

"Go ahead and burn it, dear." Twilight said dismissively.

"Oh, o-ok. Yes Ma'am." Sunbeam complied, ripping out the page that held Blueblood's offer of suitor-ship, then setting it ablaze with a burst of magic, completely incinerating it. Only then did Spike then look up from his gem encrusted pancakes and notice that there was a pony he had never seen before talking to Twilight.

"Mom, who’s this?" Spike inquired.

"Oh, this is my new secretary, Sunbeam Crush. She will also be living in the castle from now." Twilight answered her surrogate son.

"M-Mom?!" Sunbeam blanched.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Spike asked irritably.

Sunbeam shook her head in a dismissive manner.

"No no, I was just a little surprised. I apologize if I offended you at all, Mr. Spike." Sunbeam hastily replied.

Spike's mood did an instant one-eighty when he was referred to as 'Mr. Spike'.

"Well I suppose I can overlook that just this once." Spike said, trying his best look intimidating, an effort that failed miserably. As the four mares snickered at his attempt, Spike quickly became quite flustered.

"Anyways, are there any proposals that aren't from suitors?" Twilight asked her secretary.

"Sadly, no, not really. There were a few, but they were even more ridiculous than the suitors." Sunbeam informed her princess.

"Well how many offers and requests have you declined and how many have you accepted?" Twilight inquired.

"I have declined literally all of the proposal as about ninety-nine percent of them were suitors and the other one percent were those few ridiculous non-suitor proposals. I haven't yet gotten to the requests, I was planning on waiting to do those until later today." Sunbeam answered.

"Were all of the suitors unreasonable or did you just decline them because of my pets?" Twilight asked.

"It was about fifty-fifty, Princess."

Twilight let out a hmm of affirmation and paused for a moment before continuing idly. “Were they all stallions again today?”

Sunbeam nodded and Twilight continued.

"I will never accept a stallion as a suitor for any reason, even if I didn't have my pets to love. I like mares, obviously."

Spike had been listening to the mares' conversation intently for a few minutes, and stopped only when it became clear Starlight wanted his attention.

"Spike your pancakes are going to get cold."

Alarmed, he hurried back to his plate and resumed eating his breakfast. The four mares continued their conversation while he ate, but his gem encrusted pancakes had succeeded in fully recapturing his attention. When he finally finished off the last in the, rather insane, pile he had stacked on his plate, he left the dining hall, along with the four mares.

"Well, I should get back to work. There’s far more paperwork for me to do today than what’s in this binder." Sunbeam said, before rushing off to her bedroom cum office. The remaining three mares and dragon made their way to front gate of the castle. They were about to open said gate when somepony knocked softly on it. When Twilight opened the door, and was greeted with the sight of Fluttershy standing just outside.

"Oh, um hi Twilight, Starlight. I wasn't expecting you to have company already." Fluttershy said timidly when she noticed the unfamiliar blue unicorn beside her friends.

"Good morning, Fluttershy! How are you today!" Starlight said. Trixie's ear perked up when she heard the name of one of the two friends of her mistress whom she hadn't yet met. Trixie moved a little closer to the shy pegasus, hoping she wouldn’t freak out when she told her who she was.

"Hello! Your Fluttershy, right? I'm Trixie! Pleased to meet you!" Trixie offered happily as she greeted the pegasus.

Fluttershy's body twitched when she heard the pony's name. "T-Trixie? The evil lying cheating no good mare Trixie?"

Twilight gaped in shock at the fact that her kind friend had just insulted Trixie. Starlight had to hold herself back from reflexively trying to hurt the yellow mare who had insulted her fellow pet. Trixie's ears folded down as she felt her heart wither at what Fluttershy had called her. She began to cry as she collapsed onto the ground. The yellow mare quickly hugged the obviously hurt unicorn as she realized what she’d just said that out loud.

"Oh goodness! I didn't mean that. It's just what my friend called you whenever you were brought up in conversation. I assumed it was true because Applejack was the one who told me about you." Fluttershy explained.

"You d-don’t hate me?" Trixie asked.

"Goodness no! I couldn't hold it in my heart to hate anypony." Fluttershy answered. Trixie returned the yellow pegasus's hug.

"Th-That's good. Mistress told me what a kind pony you are, Fluttershy. I thought for a moment that even the kindest pony in Equestria hated me for a ridiculous reason." Trixie clarified.

Fluttershy's ears twitched at the word 'Mistress'. Pulling herself off of the blue mare once she was certain she’d calmed down, Fluttershy looked down for a moment, before, with a small stutter, she asked “M-Mistress?”

"Yes, I'm Twilight's pet, along with Starlight." Trixie beamed, showing off her collar with pride.

"Aww, Lucky! I would love to be somepony's pet for a change." Fluttershy joked, not daring to admit how much she actually meant those words.

Twilight let out a breath of relief that the two ponies seem to have worked out the small problem themselves. Starlight then fully processed what Fluttershy told Trixie.

"Did Applejack really say that about Trixie?" The OP unicorn asked, looking towards the yellow pegasus expectantly.

Twilight realized what her mauve pet was getting at and her face took on the same expectant look.

"Um Y-Yes. In fact, she said it so many times that Dashie told her 'Stop it. It’s getting old AJ'." Fluttershy said, doing her best to mimic Rainbow Dash. Her efforts caused the trio to giggle, before Twilight’s expression turned serious.

"I certainly hope Applejack doesn't hold a grudge against my pet here. Cause if she does, and starts a fight over it, I'm going to side with Trixie." Twilight stated. She was expecting Fluttershy to gasp and try to convince her that she should always side with her friends, so it came as a pleasant surprise when Fluttershy nodded in agreement with her.

"Pets should always come first, no matter what." Fluttershy said seriously. 'Aw ponyfeathers. I hope I can get to be Twilight's pet too someday.' The yellow pegasus added silently to herself.

"Thank you for your support, Fluttershy. I was half expecting you to tell me that I should always side with my friends." Twilight said.

"Well, Twilight. You're my friend and I will always side with you. Plus, it’s clear to me now that Applejack was being unfair in her judgement of Trixie." Fluttershy said. Confident with her words although a little of her timidness was returning.

"Oh, that's right! I came to see if you wanted to go with Pinkie, Rarity, and I on a picnic! Starlight, Trixie and Spike are welcome come to of course." Fluttershy asked.

"We'd be happy to go! I don't have any plans for today. You two don't mind, do you?" Twilight asked her pets.

"Of course not, Mistress!" The two unicorns in question chorused. Twilight nodded in affirmation.

"Spike, do you want to come?" Twilight asked her son.

"I would love to come with, Mom!" Spike answered excitedly. Fluttershy gasped as she heard how the young dragon referred to Twilight.

"Oh my gosh! Spike finally told you about his feelings! HA! Dashie owes me ten bits." Fluttershy exclaimed. Twilight giggled at her friend's antics.

"Well, we better get to that picnic!" Twilight said. Four mares and one young dragon began to make their way to the clearing on the outskirts of Ponyville, where Rarity and Pinkie Pie were waiting for them.

Author's Notes:

Just now realized that the scene at the beginning with Spike might seem like it came out of nowhere.... I really liked that scene and hope it isn't to 'out there' for anyone because I don't want to change it. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! let me know what you thought about it! Until next time!

A HUGE thanks to rooks_fanfiction for All the help with proofreading this and slight edits! For those that are interested in this topic, My friend is going to proofread and edit all the chapters I release and all the ones I have already released so my work shouldn't have as many errors now! This may cause me to take longer to post chapters but I hope you can stand the little longer wait!