Silver Spoon Adopts a Naga

The young naga raised themselves higher on their coils as Flurry Heart entered, their excitement evident in their movement.

"Princess Flurry Heart is back!"

"Why were you gone so long!"

Several of them noticed Sisstet trying to stay behind the others, and their attention shifted.

"Princess Flurry Heart, there's a kingsnake here!"

"He isn't really big."

"He seems nice, not like big kingsnakes."

"Guess kids will be kids, no matter what species," Luster Dawn observed as she came in behind Flurry Heart.

"And I will pulverize you if you try to take their blood for your dark magics," Flurry said menacingly to Luster.

Luster leaned her head back and groaned. "When are we going to get past this? I take a few blood samples for research, not for dark magic! You know a lot about medicine; this should be a concept you understand! I thought I had gotten that through to you, you big overpowered brute!"

"Just making sure you know these naga are under my protection," Flurry stated.

"Yes, of course," Luster said in an exasperated tone. "Let me find my notebook so I can start taking notes about naga group dynamics."

"Flurry... dear... you haven't gone and tried blasting Luster Dawn to smithereens again, have you?" Cadance asked.

Flurry blinked. "No, isn't that obvious? Do you think I'd let the demon get away again?"

"This friendship lesson is still a work in progress, but it has been mostly violent free," Luster Dawn said.

"Mostly? What do you mean—" Cadance stopped and shook her head. "I don't want the details. Just tell me nothing was destroyed, and I'm not going to be reading about any rampages in the papers."

"Nothing was destroyed and you won't be reading about any rampages in the papers," Flurry Heart assured her mother. Luster Dawn gave a small nod as she pulled a notebook and pen from her saddlebag.

"They bulldozed my front door, but they fixed it immediately," Silver explained.

"I didn't want the details," Cadance reiterated.

Flurry Heart moved closer to where Sisstet was trying to stay hidden behind the other naga. "There he is! How do you like the Crystal Clutch? These little guys... and gals... are my buddies."

"Awww, you already knew!"

"Did you really destroy the pony's door? Did it explode? I bet it exploded. I wish I saw it!"

The young naga were all raising themselves up eagerly to get closer to the princess—all except Sisstet, whose coils remained tight and low.

"The clutch isss nice," Sisstet said softly.

Sentie's hood flared slightly. "He's a scaredy-scale."

Flurry Heart frowned. "That's not very nice. You shouldn't call creatures names."

"She doesn't even realize the irony. I wonder if it is narcissism or if she's autistic," Luster Dawn muttered.

"Aut-what?" Flurry Heart asked, glancing back at her companion.

"Does Equestria not have the concept of autism?" Luster Dawn asked in shock.

"I don't think so…." Flurry Heart answered.

The pink unicorn made some notes. "Interesting."

Flurry Heart shook her head. "Ignore the interdimensional demon masquerading as a pony. She's strange. I'll protect you if she tries anything."

"I am fine with being ignored," Luster said as she made more notes. "And can we drop the demon thing, please? I'm not a demon. At home, I'm human, not a demon."

"Potato-potato," Flurry Heart replied dismissively.

"Literally no one pronounces it that way," Luster replied.

"Well, you two seem to be getting along," Princess Cadance said, giving both a long look. "How are the preparations for the kingsnake visit going?"

"The kingsnake is right there!" Syx bounced excitedly on his tail, pointing at Sisstet.

"The BIG kingsnake visit," Princess Cadance amended.

"Oh," Syx said, lowering his hand. His eyes widened. "Wait! BIG kingsnake visit!? I can see a big kingsnake?!"

"I prefer you not," Cadance answered briskly.

Syx's posture drooped. "Awww!"

"It's going fine," Flurry Heart assured her. "The HUMAN wants to take some notes about naga group dynamics and interview the adults here to get a better idea about social protocols and whatnot."

"I'm only a human back home. I'm a unicorn when I'm here, and I plan on staying here, aside from an occasional visit to go see my parents, so refer to me as a unicorn," Luster flatly corrected. "And yes, I do want to do some interviews."

"She writes more things down than Aunt Twilly," Flurry Heart said. "Whatever keeps her occupied and not stealing creatures' blood."

"Princess Twilight is my mentor, but if thinking that I need to be occupied in order not to perform dark deeds, then sure, let's go with that," Luster said in exasperation.

Flurry snorted and looked to Sentie. "You know, when I was little, my Aunt Twilly yelled at me for doing something bad, and I got scared. Even nowadays, I can see she's mad at me sometimes because I messed up at something, and I get scared. I get scared because I know I disappointed her. It isn't like disappointing my mom. My mom will forgive me for anything. With Aunt Twilly, I know she cares about me, but she isn't my mom, and there's always this thought in the back of my mind that maybe this time she won't get over whatever it is that I did. Maybe that kind of thing scares Sisstet too, only all of you are his Aunt Twilly."

"I don't get it," Sentie replied.

"I'm not your Aunt Twilly. I'm Saba," Saba protested.

Luster Dawn made some notes. "Is poor abstract thinking characteristic of naga?"

"It is typical of eight-year-olds. Their ability to think abstractly is still developing," Silver sternly informed the odd unicorn. "As you already mentioned, kids are kids, regardless of species. Maybe you shouldn't paint broad pictures of a species by a few quick interactions."

"So, your assessment is they follow developmental patterns in common with ponies?" Luster asked, still making notes.

"From what I have seen, yes," Silver replied. "I could be wrong. I'm not an expert on naga. Maybe you should be talking to San over there. She probably knows everything there is to know about naga development."

"They will learn to think abstractly," San confirmed, her tongue flicking steadily. "Don't know pony young, so cannot compare. Can generally do it by time they are fending for themselves."

Luster Dawn did a short hum and made some more notes.

Flurry tried to sneak a peek at the notes, but Luster hid them from her, which made Flurry lay her ears back. "Always taking notes," Flurry muttered in frustration.

"Some of us like to be thorough in our research instead of just doing things," Luster replied.

"You do just ask for blood samples," Flurry countered.

Luster lowered her pen. "I'm sorry. I was overexcited to see a natural-born alicorn and let it get the better of me as I thought of all the research potential. When are you going to let it go?"

"Why won't you let me see your notes then?" Flurry Heart asked.

Luster looked down at her notebook, giving it a long look, closed her eyes, and sighed. "Because my hoofwriting stinks, and I'm embarrassed to let anyone see it."

"It can't be that bad," Flurry said.

Luster shook her head. "I have to stare at it sometimes for minutes to figure out what I even wrote."

Syx suddenly bolted close to Luster and stuck his head right in the notebook. "Ohhh! Pony is right. Writing very very bad. Not sure it is actual writing. Is it writing? Hard to say."

Luster pulled her notebook away. "Thanks. I didn't really need the confirmation. Shoo!"

Syx quickly retreated back to the rest of the naga. "It was really bad, makes Sheffe's writing look really good. I tried to read it, but I couldn't.”

Sheffe, who Silver just noticed had fully come out from his hiding spot to see the young princess, looked doubtful about this claim. He did look different than the others. While the others had relatively short claws, Sheffe instead had claws that were nearly three times the length and thick. He had brown stripes going down his primarily black scales, and absolutely no hood at all. He was also bigger than most, about the same size as Sentie. Between his coloring, size of his claws, and comparable size to Sentie, he was actually more intimidating to look at than the enforcer. His lack of hood when all the others had them actually somehow added to the intimidation factor instead of subtracted. No creature who just saw him for the first time without witnessing his timid and gentle nature would believe him anything but dangerous, but Silver had witnessed his nature and knew better.

Sisstet was actually not too far from Sheffe, but didn't seem to react to the very different naga. He still seemed more intimidated by Flurry Heart, despite having encountered her more than once. Flurry was probably the most intimidating presence at the moment. Even the adult male nagas weren't a threat to her. Cadance had said something about one of them having been hospitalized after getting struck by her. That was a very intimidating level of strength. How would he hold up when he finally had to face an adult kingsnake if he was cowering around Flurry Heart? Still, this had been a lot back to back for him.

Silver walked over to Sisstet, carefully navigating around the various naga. She bent down as she reached him.

"Hey, you're looking a little overwhelmed. Do you want to take a short breather?" she asked him.

Flurry looked at them. "Something wrong?"

"Just nerves," Silver answered. She kept her focus on Sisstet. "Want to take five minutes outside the clutch to settle? I know you've been doing your best to be brave. I think you are doing a good job. There's no shame in needing a few minutes to settle."

"Five minutess would be good," Sisstet agreed.

"Five minutes it is," she agreed. "Do you want a ride?"

"Yesss, pleasse," Sisstet said, nodding.

"Get on," she said, lowering herself even further. He quickly complied.

"Is the kingsnake leaving?" Syx asked in distress.

Silver stood up as Sisstet coiled tightly around her. "Only for a few minutes, and, please, refer to him by name. You wouldn't like the others going around calling you the scout, would you?"

Syx looked at the adult males. "They do."

"Well, does that bother you?" Silver asked.

Syx's tongue flickered a few times. "I will call him Sisstet."

Silver spared the three adult males—enforcers—a look. "And the three of you should call the kids by their names too."

"If they live to be full-grown, then we will," one of them answered. "Namess are for those who live.”

Silver felt her stomach tighten and hurried back towards the door.

Her thoughts were chaotic as she opened the door. Did the males intend violence? No... Cadance would never allow it to happen, and San certainly seemed protective of Sentie and would alert Cadance if such a thing was a threat. That meant high child mortality. They'd mentioned predators, and with all the focus on food there might have been a scarcity—meaning starvation. They also seemed to make them fend for themselves after they reached teenaged years, which could lead to any number of things—predators, accidents, starvation, angering an older naga and having that naga strike them down or take a bite out of them, displeasing a kingsnake with poor performance. The idea of what naga young might endure in the main clutch was horrifying. It was a fight for survival, and those that survived to adulthood didn't allow themselves to even acknowledge young until they made it through the gauntlet of horror to adulthood. Sisstet would have survived if he had been hatched in the main clutch, protected by his type, but how many of these others would never have made it to adulthood if they'd been hatched there? She didn't want to think about it.

"You're mad," Sisstet said as she shut the door. "I did sssomething wrong."

"I'm not mad at you," she assured him. "I'm not even mad. I'm just... you didn't do anything wrong. There's just a lot on my mind. I figured there's a lot on your mind too—different than mine. Want to talk about it?"

Sisstet coiled tighter and she grunted. He instantly relaxed his coils.

"Sssorry," he said.

"It's okay," she replied. "So, let's talk.”

"Don't know what to ssay," he replied, clearly embarrassed.

She smiled as she considered how to ease his tension. "Stella seems pretty."

"I guesss sso," Sisstet replied. "Sshe got mad when I was throwing sstuff."

"And she said it was okay. She just needed you to stop. She didn't try to claw or bite at you like she does when she gets mad at Syx, and she seems to get along with Syx... most of the time. Why were you throwing things?"

"Jussst wanted to find knitting," Sisstet answered.

"You wanted to impress them by earning the team points," Silver said.

"Yesss," Sisstet quietly acknowledged.

"It's alright. I understand, but you don't need to worry so much about impressing them. They are probably just as worried about impressing you."

"They are?" Sisstet asked.

"Didn't you notice Stella and Sheffe hiding at first, or hear Stella say she was worried you would think she was ugly?" Silver asked. "Sentie might be a little rude, but you've dealt with worse. He's nowhere near as bad as Mint back home. You might not be best friends with all of them, but you can be friends with some of them, just like back at Ponyville Elementary. I can tell Stella wants to be friends, and Sheffe looks like he could use some friends—I think he thinks he is big and scary, but he seems like a big softie. More of them could be friendly too."

"Sheffe isn't that scary," Sisstet replied.

"And neither is Flurry Heart," Silver said, pushing forward now that he responded calmly. "She clearly loves all those naga, and would do anything for them. She is working hard with Luster to make sure everything goes well for you. I know she can be a little loud at times, but she's just... passionate. You've been around her. You should know she would sooner cut one of her own wings off than hurt you."

"I don't want her to cut off one of her wingsss," Sisstet whined.

"She won't, because she isn't going to hurt you," Silver said soothingly. "Do you believe you can be friends with some of the naga?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Cadance was suggesting letting Syx and Stella come visit Ponyville, just for a day or two. How do you feel about that?" she asked.

"Maybe," Sisstet said cautiously. "Candy and Cheese would like them, I think."

Silver had to agree. Sweet Apple Acres might actually be a good place for them to stay. She'd have to speak with Ma Apple about it.

"And what about San coming with them?" Silver asked carefully.

"Sshee'ss sscary," Sisstet said.

"Perhaps she is," Silver conceded. "She is a full-grown naga, and I wouldn't call her nice, but she is something else important—caring."

"But you just said she's not nice," Sisstet said in confusion.

How to explain this?

"Not everycreature that cares is nice. Sometimes they're kinda mean. There's different types of caring. San is harsh, but it is because she worries. You know how you sometimes bite when you get scared? San gets harsh, but that isn't because she doesn't care—it is because she cares a lot and is scared. She didn't grow up with lots of affection, like ponies typically do, like you will, so she doesn't know how to be gentle or nice, but she does know how to care about young naga, especially her son."

"Why'ss sshe sscared?" Sisstet asked. "She's big. Nothing can hurt her."

That remained to be seen, but she wouldn't mention that.

"She's scared that these naga aren't going to do well enough, and the kingsnakes are going to punish them for not being good enough. I suspect that some of the kids in there worry about the same thing, but aren't saying it. They need you to be brave and tell them they're good enough. I think it would make them feel better hearing it from you."

"Why me?" Sisstet asked.

"Well, for starters, you're a kingsnake. That part shouldn't matter, but to other naga, it does, and we have to accept that and try to do good with it. I don't want to ever hear or see you lord that fact over other naga, but we have to recognize that they take it seriously. On top of that, you've been out socializing with ponies. You've got experience they don't have, and they know it. Your opinion matters."

"I don't undersstand," Sisstet replied.

Silver sighed. Sisstet was smart, but he was still only eight. Perhaps she should simplify things.

"That's alright. The main things you need to understand is that even though you might not believe it, your opinion matters to those foals, so you should try to be encouraging. As for San, she doesn't know how to show she cares the same way you and I would, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care. If she didn't care, she wouldn't pay so much attention or say so much."

"I sstill don't think the naga will listen to me," Sisstet said. "Sentie calls me a sscardey-sscale."

Silver thought Sentie might be trying to compensate for his fears a bit by mocking others, but she doubted Sisstet could fully understand that. She needed to give him examples to focus on.

"You remember how excited some of them were to see you while some others were scared to see you?" Silver asked.

"Becausse I'm a kingssnake and that'ss sscary," Sisstet said bitterly.

"Stella wasn't scared of the big scary kingsnake things," Silver reminded him. "Do you remember what she was scared of?"

Sisstet sat still, thinking for a few seconds. "She was scared I would think she wasn't pretty."

"Yes! She wasn't scared of you gobbling her up. She was scared of your opinion of her. She wants you to think she is pretty," Silver asserted.

"Sshe iss pretty," Sisstet asserted.

"And I know it means the world to her that you told her so. Your opinion matters to them," Silver explained. "I know their opinion of you matters to you too, but you need to realize they're just like you. They met a new naga and they want that naga to like them. Your fear of what they may think of you can get in the way of that. What would have happened if Stella stayed so scared you might think she is ugly that she never came out from under that blanket?"

"I wouldn't have seen how pretty she is," Sisstet answered.

"Do you understand now?" Silver asked.

"I think so," Sisstet answered.

"Want to go back in there and give this another try?" Silver asked.

"Okay."

As Silver reached for the door handle, dread coiled in her stomach. The upcoming kingsnake visit... She'd been trying not to think about it, but the thoughts slithered back. Refusing to allow Sisstet back into the main clutch would be one thing, but what if they saw him as too dangerous to even let live? True, the alicorns would be there to protect him, but she'd heard whispers about full-grown kingsnakes—how even alicorns treated them with caution. Her hoof trembled slightly on the handle. How far would a kingsnake go to eliminate what they saw as a threat?

"What'ss wrong?" Sisstet asked worriedly.

She shook her head. "Just a little shiver. I guess the cold climate is getting to me. Let's go back inside where it is warm."

"Okay."