Never mind the fact that they already saw each other as family in season 2 but then again this show isn’t exactly known for consistency so ill give em a pass. Maybe they just forgor lmao

Not that complicated. Little bro living and helping his big sis with her job.

Well, Fluttershy did say that sibling dynamics are hard.

@Background Pony #9013  
or  
DID SHE?

@Frustration in Excelsis  
If it’s like you said and Spikes comment in Fathers knows best is more emotional then wouldnt that make the comment in Winter wrap up hold more weight? Spike wasn’t in a stressful situation then and said it calmly, were as his comment in Fathers knows Best was out of anger and not really how he felt, not to mention the Father knows best statement was only vaguely implying the connection.

@MadVillain  
True enough, but that was a casual comment by a half-asleep Spike in a situation where Twilight likely wasn’t paying much attention, there was little reason to be emotionally invested in that thing specifically and the precise nature of their relationship was likely the last thing on her mind.
 
In “Father Knows Beast”, by contrast, Spike’s was a pointed, direct and deliberate comment at the end of a highly emotionally involved situation that had already been calling Twilight and Spike’s bond into question for several days – at that point, Twilight would have had a good while to ruminate over her perceived inability to be a proper parental figure and to let the implications of Spike finding a new parent sink in.
 
Spike’s comment in “Father Knows Beast” carried far more weight that the one in “Winter Wrap Up” did, and was said during a much sensitive situation as well.

@Background Pony #9013  
As far as we know

@Background Pony #56B1  
Except that AJ didn’t hatch AB ;-)

They’re like Aj and Apple Bloom, the eldest sibling takes the role of a parental figure. It’s common in siblings whose parents are dead/away

“I love you sister-mom!” They’re aristocracy, this is quite common.

@Fibriel  
And yet there’s Father knows Beast scene that implies she’s a parent, too and both VA and Miller confirming she’s both, so…I think it’s a fair compromise?

@Background Pony Number 17  
I completely agree.

@Background Pony Number 17  
that’s how I see Rarity and Sweetie Belle’s relationship too

Twilight Sparkle’s relationship with Spike is somewhat like Applejack’s relationship with Apple Bloom. De jure, they’re siblings, but de facto, the older sister is acting as the parent.

@AC97  
What does being out of frame matter when she’s right downstairs? Like I said she heard everything else he said then so that doesn’t really make sense to me.

@MadVillain
 
Uh, there wasn’t really an argument going on in that case, and it was said when he was half-asleep?
 
Plus, I just rewatched the scene in question, and Twilight notably zips out of frame just after she says “Winter-Wrap-Up,” and in the instant after he says “you’re not mommy,” Twilight is shown to be downstairs, instead of upstairs with Spike after the perspective shift, having went to turn the lights on.
 
I don’t think she did hear him say that, because she didn’t stick around.
 
Oh, and there might be a bit of a joke in there in hindsight, now that Twilight Velvet has had a speaking role in later episodes, and she’s also voiced by Tara Strong.

@AC97  
Like I said, she heard everything else he said. But How was the context different?

@MadVillain
 
He was muttering to himself there, after Twilight got out of his face, plus y’know, there’s the thing about the context being drastically different in that case.

@MadVillain  
well she was twilighting so maybe she didn’t hear him say that plus he was mumbling when he said that

@neo4812  
What makes you think she didn’t hear that? She heard everything else he said.
 
 
@Darth Shy  
Winter wrap up.

@neo4812  
What episode was that?

@MadVillain  
yeah but she left offscreen and didn’t hear him say that

Good interpretation

status: “We can’t decide what their family dynamic is but it’s something cute”

She wasn’t upset when he said he wasn’t her mother in season 1.