Teacher-Parent Meeting
Kuno was sitting at the front door of the little cottage when the carriage arrived carrying Swarm home from school. The young part-changeling stepped down out of the carriage, followed immediately by Sparkling Acumen.
Swarm scurried uncomfortably towards Kuno, sliding in behind her, her nose peeking out from behind tail and hindleg.
Sparkling Acumen narrowed her eyes slowly at Kuno, and then turned to the carriage driver, exchanging a hushed conversation, before the carriage jolted and started down the driveway again.
Cautiously, the older mare stepped up closer to the two ponies. “You are Kuno, yes?”
Kuno gave a short nod.
“I am Sparkling Acumen, and I am responsible for your daughter’s schooling. Is Warden around? I need to talk to both of you.” The elder mare looking around carefully, as though she might spy the pegasus lurking in some dark shadowy corner of the yard.
“No, he’s tending to his plants at the moment, but he should be home soon... why don’t you come in and sit down? What’s this about?” Kuno asked, stepping backwards and pushing the door to the cottage open with a hoof, motioning for Sparkling Acumen to go in first.
Sparkling Acumen took a single step forwards before pausing nervously. “I’ll... ah... after you,” she said with a weak smile.
Kuno rolled her eyes at that, giving a long-suffering sigh. “Close the door after yourself,” she said, as she turned and started into the building. “Swarm, go clean yourself up.”
Swarm nodded once, bolting inside and towards the bathroom, casting a single furtive look towards Sparkling Acumen as she went.
Kuno stepped into the hallway, and then walked down it to the kitchen, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table, crossing her hooves and laying her chin on them.
Sparkling Acumen nervously made her way down the hallway, and paused in the doorway. “May I sit down?”
“Sure,” Kuno said, pulling out a chair for the elderly mare.
Sparkling Acumen settled for a chair across the table from Kuno, frowning slightly and looking the other pony up and down slowly. “I am to understand that you are the changeling?”
“A changeling,” Kuno corrected, with an airy wave of a hoof. “The changeling gives the impression that there’s only one.”
“The school board was briefed that there was a part-changeling child that would be attending school this year, but we were given no information on which child it was,” Sparkling Acumen said candidly. “This was obviously to prevent any kind of preferential treatment.”
“You mean bias, bullying, and persecution,” Kuno responded bluntly.
“Yes, well, that too,” Sparkling Acumen admitted with a sliver of a smile. “I will admit, the horn and the wings were a strong indication.”
“What’s wrong with my horn and wings?” Swarm piped up from the doorway, pouting. “Why am I the only foal with both?”
Kuno looked towards her daughter, motioning for her to come closer.
Swarm pressed close to her mother, crawling up between her forelegs and resting her chin on the table, peering across it at her teacher.
“I guess because you’re part-changeling,” Kuno admitted, stroking a hoof gently through her daughter’s mane.
Swarm gave a faint huff at that. “Well I don’t want to be part changeling any more.”
Kuno gave the softest of giggles. “I’m afraid you’re stuck, little one.”
Swarm gave a soft whine at that. “Not fair. I don’t want to be different.”
“You’re going to be different, no matter what happens,” Sparkling Acumen stated bluntly, peering at both of them. “Excuse my bluntness, Kuno... but I would like to see your... er...”
“True form?” Kuno offered, arching a brow.
“Yes, that,” Sparkling Acumen responded, pursing her lips.
Kuno shrugged slightly, before she shivered. A flash of green flames engulfed her, and when they faded, Kuno the changeling was sitting in the chair.
Swarm hummed faintly, leaning up to nuzzle her mother’s chest happily, resting her chin on the cool chitin.
Sparkling Acumen leaned forwards, peering closely at the changeling. “How very... interesting.”
“So, small talk aside, why are you here?” Kuno queried.
Sparkling Acumen looked from Kuno, to Swarm, and then back again, giving a long sigh. “I wanted both you and Warden to be here for this conversation, but... your daughter revealed to me that she views the princess as ‘evil’. I thought this something that needed to be discussed with both you, her, and her father, before she reveals it to the entire class.”
Kuno pursed her lips, tilting her head to peer down at Swarm.
Swarm looked up at her, giving a bright, but fake smile.
Kuno shook her head slowly, giving a faint smile. “The cute face won’t work on me, Swarm. Now tell me, why do you think the princess is evil?”
Swarm wrinkled her nose, peering up at her mother. “Because she is!”
“Who told you that she’s evil?” Kuno asked, mystified.
Swarm blinked once. “Nobody told me that she’s evil.”
“Then... why do you assume that she’s evil?” Kuno asked curiously, peering down at her daughter.
Swarm shifted uncomfortably, her wings rustling slightly as they twitched. “Well... she did lots of evil things. Like... she imprisoned all the changelings! Even though you all just wanted love, she made war with you all!”
Kuno bit her bottom lip at that, frowning deeply.
“And she let people like Daggertail do bad things to daddy,” Swarm added, frowning deeply.
Kuno stiffened slightly. “How do you know about that?” she asked quietly.
Swarm huffed softly, “Because I heard you and daddy talking about it. I couldn’t sleep.”
“That wasn’t Celestia’s fault,” Kuno said uneasily.
“She’s the protector of all Equestria, isn’t she?” Swarm asked adamantly.
“Well, yes,” Kuno started, “But-”
“-And she’s really really strong and knows heaps, right?” Swarm interjected.
“In a manner of speaking,” Kuno responded.
“Then she’s evil because she knew about Daggertail and didn’t stop him from hurting daddy! And they caught you and did mean things to you and you’re not even a bad changeling!”
Kuno sighed faintly, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. “Swarm... this is a little bit more complex than that. Celestia just wants to keep her subjects happy. She isn’t omnipotent.”
“Olliepatient?” Swarm asked, blinked, confused.
Sparkling Acumen cut in, “It means ‘all powerful’, or ‘all knowing’.”
Swarm looked up at her teacher, wrinkling her nose and rubbing her cheek against her mother’s foreleg. “Well... I still don’t care! She should have known about Daggertail and stopped him from hurting daddy so that he can fly and do whatever he likes instead of...” Swarm bit her bottom lip, looking away. “I can feel it when it hurts daddy... and it hurts daddy all the time, and it makes me want to cry. And it makes me want to hurt Daggertail. I want to make him hurt like he makes daddy hurt.”
“I already hurt him,” Kuno murmured softly, rubbing her nose through her daughter’s mane.
Sparkling Acumen stared between them, aghast.
“Swarm, hun, go to your room and play, Sparkling Acumen and I need to have a grown-up talk.”
Swarm looked up at her mother, pouting. Kuno’s resolute responding stare silenced her, and she meekly lowered her head, slipping off the chair and slinking quietly towards her room.
Sparkling Acumen waited until she was certain that Swarm was in her room, before she stared at Kuno, shaking her head. “You... killed Daggertail?”
Kuno gave a slow, mute nod.
“And you admit it? Have you no shame?!” Sparkling Acumen almost shrieked.
“Daggertail was a criminal, a thief, an extortionist, and a blight on Equestria. I did every pony from Canterlot to Ponyville a favour when I murdered that filth,” Kuno said, a surprisingly strong note of vehemence in her tone.
“Daggertail was an upstanding member of the community!” Sparkling Acumen responded, venom in her voice. “How can you so callously make such claims? I have half a mind to call the guard!”
Kuno gave a slow, eerie smile. “Feel free, Sparkling Acumen. Many of the guard are aware of my actions. They have no proof, and they seek to find none.”
“P-Princess Celestia will hear of this,” Sparkling Acumen said quietly, slipping off her chair and circling around the table, giving the changeling a wide berth. “I was willing to take a chance that a changeling could be... a pony. That you could be somehow normal. But I see now that you’re just... just a murderer.”
Kuno looked up at the elderly mare, her eyes narrowing, before she leaned forwards slightly and snapped her jaws at the air in her vague direction.
Sparkling Acumen shrieked in dismay, flailing her forehooves and as she tried to escape from the ‘attack’, falling onto her rump and then scrabbling away, rising to her hooves and bounding towards the front door as fast as her legs could carry her.
Kuno gave a thin-lipped smile as she heard the mare crying out in dismay as she ran down the length of the driveway, no doubt fearing that the changeling was following her.
Warden heaved a heavy sigh as he pushed open the front door to the cottage, groaning faintly and placing his bucket down on the floor, stretching his hoof outwards in front of him. He gave a soft whimper, biting his tongue, before he straightened up and walked as casually as he could into the kitchen.
Kuno was sitting at the table, eating some fresh banana cake she had baked, idly stuffing it between her fangs. Swarm was nowhere to be seen. Kuno looked up, breaking off a large chunk of banana cake, offering it to Warden. “I added cinnamon. It’s really nice.”
Warden accepted the piece of cake, munching on it thoughtfully, looking between Kuno and the kitchen table. “Did I miss something?”
“Just me messing up as a mother again,” Kuno said quietly.
Warden frowned deeply, licking a hoof to clean up some cinnamon crumbs, before wrapping his good hoof around his wife, hugging her reassuringly. “What happened?”
“Swarm called the princess evil,” Kuno admitted with a deep frown, leaning against Warden’s shoulder with a weary sigh.
“How is that... even a problem?” Warden asked, confused.
“Because it’s what she believes,” Kuno said, cradling her head in her hooves, leaning heavily against her husband. “She thinks that Celestia should have stopped Daggertail from hurting you... and... and she says that she can feel your pain.”
“Feel it?” Warden asked blankly.
“It’s a changeling trait... We’re... well, highly empathic,” Kuno explained, nosing into Warden’s neck, seeking warmth and reassurance. “It’s how we feel love... but when we’re young, we can feel everything. Love, hate, pain... Part of the reason I left while you were still in hospital is that... I was so in tune with you, and I was in love with you. But... your pain, it was transmitting across our ‘bond’, our ‘link’, like a fiery white pain. There are very good reasons why I don’t like to see you in pain.”
Warden frowned at that, his face falling slightly. “Well... I’m sorry that my pain affected you so acutely. We have a ‘bond’?”
Kuno nodded once. “The longer I spend with you, the more ‘in tune’ I get with your emotions. It’s not a coincidence that we feel the same emotions at the same time. You must have noticed it?”
“We always seem to be pretty in tune,” Warden admitted with a faint smile.
“Your emotions ‘bleed’ over, and I can’t help but let them affect me in turn,” Kuno explained.
Warden gave a deep frown at that, his face falling, his expression turning dark. “Kuno... you understand the implications of what you just said to me?”
Kuno blinked once, tilting her head to the left. “That your emotions affect me? Yes.”
“But... what if...” Warden trailed off, biting his bottom lip. “What if the only reason you love me is because I was in love with you and it was ‘bleeding’ over?”
Kuno paused at that, looking thoughtful, before she shrugged. “I never thought of that. Perhaps it’s true? I can’t say I was ever truly attracted to any of those I ‘fed’ upon before you... but I never spent so long with them, either.”
Warden frowned deeply, scratching at the floor with a hoof. “Doesn’t that... bother you?”
Kuno raised a brow. “Nope.”
Warden blinked once, peering at his wife for a long moment. “Are you sure?”
“Warden, I love you,” Kuno said, wrapping her hooves around his neck and hugging him tightly. “And if it’s because of my own heart, or simply because you love me, there are far worse reasons to be in love with somepony. And I’m happy.”
“But it could all be a lie,” Warden protested, his ears splayed back fully.
Kuno gave the softest of giggles, shaking her head and rubbing her nose against Warden’s slowly. “I’m happy, Warden. I have a foal with you. I chose you, even after I was away for a year. After an entire year, I was still in love with you.”
Warden gave a relieved sigh, wrapping his hooves around his wife and squeezing her tightly.
“But still... Swarm can sense it. And she said that she... well, she wants to hurt Daggertail,” Kuno said, biting her bottom lip.
Warden frowned at that. “How does she know about Daggertail?”
“She heard us talking about him, sometime... we’ve never been exactly... secretive about that information,” Kuno admitted, heaving a heavy sigh.
“Did you tell that Daggertail is gone?” Warden asked quietly.
“I told her that I hurt Daggertail plenty for what he did to you. Sparkling Acumen didn’t take that too well,” Kuno said with a faint laugh.
“Sparkling Acumen? Isn’t that Swarm’s teacher?”
“Correct.”
Warden gave Kuno a long stare. “What was she doing here?”
“Swarm told her that Celestia was evil,” Kuno explained.
Warden winced. “Oh, that must have gone over well.”
“Not as well as when I told her that I murdered Daggertail,” Kuno stated, her tone carrying a note of vicious triumph.
Warden frowned deeply at that. “Didn’t take it well?”
“I think they were romantically engaged. She seemed to think that he was a ‘good pony’, and I was a terrible monster for murdering that filth,” Kuno stated, growling and grinding her teeth together. “Threatened to call the guard on me.”
“You didn’t... antagonize her, did you?” Warden asked carefully.
“I may have snapped my jaws at her and sent her barreling down the drive towards Canterlot,” Kuno said airily.
Warden winced again. “That might not have been the best course of action.”
Kuno opened her mouth to respond, but there was a sharp knock at the door, strong and authoritative. “By royal decree, open up!”
Warden sighed, rubbing a hoof against his face helplessly. “Great, now we have to deal with the royal guard, too.” With a heavy sigh, Warden slid off the seat and moved to the front door, tugging it open and peering out. He blinked slowly.
A total of six royal guard pegasi stood, spears at the ready, flanking a large, open-top carriage which Princess Celestia herself was stepping down from.
“P-Princess?!” Warden spluttered.
Kuno leaned sideways in her chair to stare down the hallway and at the large, vivid white princess, the changeling’s eyes widening.
Swarm poked her nose out from her room, and then frowned deeply, before fixing a challenging stare at her mother. “If Celestia isn’t evil then why are you so scared of her?”
Stats
Page generated in 0.022 seconds
Total duration
960 users online
1,476,178 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
There's two mistakes here
2805851 I only see an absence of a comma, between the two 'her's
from behind her tail and hindleg.
Or is that bit just me.
Oh...
The fan has hit the shitter...
...
I did that on purpose...
Oh snap!
Oh snap. Shit's getting real!
Gotta give Kuno credit. She's so awesome! \o/
huh...that could have gone better...or not. you never really know now do you.
Lets see Kuno deal with this...
no obvious errors and well paced. good job.
2805863 Too many 'her's at that point.
Brain asplodes.
Dat cliffhanger...
I am absolutely loving Swarm. And the reason they are scared is because of Daggertail.
Kuno, Warden, do you want me to take her for an ice cream or something whilst you have a chat with Celestia. Oh, and I can have a......'chat' with her teacher if you want.
Cliffhanger? Again? I demand faster updating!
Dang...
This surely won't end well.
2805877 Don't worry we've all done it at one point
Also
for dat ending.
This is gonna get awkward
Oh their in deep DEEP $h!t now!!!
I like this. I like this a lot.
this is what i love about the filly characters in the show and in fanfic's, they're always so blunt it becomes funny
Oh man. The next update cannot come soon enough.
2805893 Dude, you are not someone in any sort of position to lecture anybody on that sorta shit.
I would've shut the door. Then I could be the one person in Equestria to have slammed the door on a Demigoddess.
How long was Warden working in the garden? Kuno told Sparkling Acumen he would be home soon, but if that's so, then Sparkling managed to get to Canterlot and inform the royal guard rather quickly... unless they're there for a different reason.
On the other note, why did Warden and Kuno sign Swarm to school in Canterlot? Weren't they living somewhere close to Ponyville? You know, this very friendly town and what not? I maybe should ask here as well how come the mane 6 doesn't make cameos in this story, but since this is third volume, it's kinda too late for that question...
Wait a sec, doesn't the princess already know what Kuno did? I mean, if her guards know, then she must know too, right?
2805938 What did I do?
Oh.......shit.
Aaaaaaand another great one liner from a child. Gotta love how simple they always see everything.
Oh please, everyone's freaking out because the Princess showed up an hour or two after Acumen ran off like a headless chicken.
Well. Ok, maybe that is a bit ominous... but recall he is the only pony in the country that's allowed to legally grow Aurora. And he's married to the only known changeling in the country. And he also has a foal from said changeling. (Yeesh, that is a lot) So that naturally puts him on a short list of ponies to keep a close eye on.
I see them all having a nice spot of tea while they talk over whatever Acumen blabbed about and maybe helping poor Swarm get over her silly notion that Princess Celestia is evil. She's not evil. Playfully mischievous, yes. Possibly a pervert in the bedroom? No mortal pony alive can attest to that.
The Guard knows Kuno did them a favor taking out Daggertail. I'm positive Celestia will, reluctantly, agree, but never ever admit it publicly.
Kuno bragging about the killing of Daggertail was so stupid that it looked almost out of character. She's supposed to be good at sneakiness and subterfuge. Wouldn't she know better?
2805951 I believe the reason is due to the plants Warden is growing. They just can't grow anywhere and Ponyville really isn't that close.
2806060 She's not trying to keep a character any more. She's being herself. And Kuno herself sees absolutely no problem with killing Daggertail.
well...
images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=A0PDoV1YwtFR12cAv1KJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTBlMTQ4cGxyBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1n?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dshitstorm%26fr%3Dw3i%26fr2%3Dpiv-web%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D159&w=200&h=296&imgurl=i1.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fmasonry%2F000%2F404%2F387%2F2f8.png&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fknowyourmeme.com%2Fmemes%2Fshitstorm%2Fphotos&size=288.1KB&name=%3Cb%3EShitstorm%3C%2Fb%3E%3A+Image+Gallery+|+Know+Your+Meme&p=shitstorm&oid=1e4d18857607995b6602e41f04e8bb50&fr2=piv-web&fr=w3i&tt=%3Cb%3EShitstorm%3C%2Fb%3E%3A+Image+Gallery+|+Know+Your+Meme&b=151&ni=128&no=159&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11el76u0k&sigb=12unjqhu7&sigi=11okf69he&.crumb=d.BlL1ZDT5k&fr=w3i
2806089
i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/masonry/000/404/387/2f8.png You mean
that's new
Well, shit.
2806064
I don't see a problem with killing Daggertail, either. I see a problem with talking about it. The guard already knew but it was all off the record. Now that there's someone very willing to raise an official stink, it might not be possible to turn a blind eye anymore. This obviously depends on how the government of your Equestria actually works. For all I know, princess Celestia can simply decree that no one is to talk about it and anyone who objects goes to the moon.
But if I'm right in my guesses and the entire matter can't be swept under the rug after Sparkling Acumen makes official accusations, then I'm surprised that Kuno hasn't thought of that and kept her mouth shut.
2806064
Yeah but she also understands the Equestrian Justice system. That's why she kept it a secret for so long.
It seems like you had her drop it to create artificial conflict. Swarms issues with the Princess would have been enough, now the Princess is going to be forced to arrest Kuno.
That moment when you get to the line and you yourself just dropped the brick.
i.qkme.me/3p0jx1.jpg
2806179>>2806185
Ahhh, you both assume that Celestia will be playing the role of the bad guy.
Hahaha love the end.
well shit. Swarm got you there Kuno.
2805938>>2805959
La Barata, I think he's fine to say whatever he needs to say. I listen to my readers a lot because they're the ones reading my story, thus can see if there are any problems with it. Too many 'hers' is a bad thing in a sentence. It causes repetition, you you're going to want variety in a story.
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/569/497/6f2.gif
2806208 I didn't even say anything wrong, I just pointed out what I thought was a mistake, he sees it, I say it's not a problem and then La Barata slams me. Why? That's what I wanna know.
2806249
I think he's just judging you because he's comparing the amount of followers you have with Anonymous Pegasus, which is absurd.
The bluntness has been a major factor in me not being able to breathe for five minutes. xD
Swarm at the end, laughed my head off
2806313 I thought it was to do with my history of him.
2806361
Really? You knew him before?
2806380 Indeed I kinda did, but for the wrong reasons, to say the least .
2806408
I see.
2806429