Narico was sleeping soundly on the couch. That is, until he was nudged awake by Fang. "Fang?" Narico asked as he rubbed his eyes. "What's going on? Why're you waking me up so early?"
"Because you have to go to school Narico." Fang answered. "You might not be a regular human, but you're still a kid. And that means you need to go to school."
Narico tilted his head in curiosity. "Huh. So they have that here too?" He then looked over to Fang. "But what are you going to do Fang?"
"I'm going to get a job." Fang answered. "Food doesn't come by freely, and I've gotta keep our fridge stocked. By the way, what do you eat?"
Narcio scratched his head in thought. "Well, back at the hive, everyone at love." Hearing this made Fang tilt his head in confusion. "But for some reason, I never felt hungry. Though my stomach would always grumble. What do humans eat?"
"I'll. . . fix you up something quick." Fang replied as he got working cooking some eggs and toast. "Hey, Narico? You said you're a changeling, right? Just how can you change?"
"Oh. Right. Hold on a sec." Narico shut his eyes, and was consumed in a flash of green fire! When the green fire faded, Narico had human eyes and was minus his wings and horn. But his teal hair still remained. "I can shape shift. And since I can't use the excuse of wearing a costume, maybe it's better if I go around like this. I don't think Unityville's ready to see a changeling buzzing about. So what kind of job are you trying to get?"
Fang scratched his head. "Well, I was wondering what the pay for being a member of the Elements of Heroism is. But I'm still not certain I want to join. So I guess I'll be searching for any help wanted signs in town today after I drop you off. But before any of that, breakfast." The two of them set to devouring their breakfast, and Fang dropped Narico off at school. "Try not to get into trouble, okay? I'll pick you up when school's out."
"Okay." Narico said with a hug before giving Fang a big hug. "See you then big brother!" And with that, Narico rushed inside the schoolhouse. Ms. Cherilee introduced him to the class, and Narico waved politely before going to his desk. Right next to him was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. "Hi! Nice to meet you!"
Apple Bloom smiled. "Hi there! Narico, right? Ah'm Apple Bloom. And these are my friends. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo." Apple Bloom was about to continue when Diamond Tiara rudely interrupted.
"Oh please! Like the new kid wants to waste time with losers like you!" Diamond Tiara said with a sneer. "You don't even have your talent crests yet!"
Narico saw how upset Diamond Tiara was making the girls, so he decided to do something about. "Hey. Wanna see something cool?" Diamond Tiara shrugged. "Alright then. Close your eyes." Narico disguised his shape shifting as standard magic, and assumed his changeling form. "Open them up!" As soon as Diamond Tiara opened her eyes. "Hi." Narico greeted. And Diamond Tiara screamed! Narico was quite pleased with himself. That is, until Cherilee walked over to his desk with a cross expression on her face. Narico shrunk back into his seat. "Am. . . I in trouble?"
"No Narico." Cherilee said with a sigh. "You were right to teach Diamond Tiara a lesson. But next time, I'd prefer it if you just came to me and told me about the problem. You're new, so I'll let you off with a warning this time. Now then, I believe we should get started."
Narico nodded, and picked up his pencil. I wonder what Fang's up to?
Meanwhile, Fang had lucked out in finding a job. It turned out that Shadow Thunder's cosplay shop was in need of an extra hand or two. "Thanks for hiring me Shadow. I could really use the work."
"No problem!" Shadow said with a smile as he and Fang took care of moving some boxes full of new costume supplies. "I'm always down to help a friend out when they need it. Plus, running this shop on my own can be pretty difficult. So having some extra help on-hand is always appreciated. But I didn't think you'd be staying here after the festival. What changed your mind?"
Fang stumbled a little at Shadow's questioning. "Oh. Well, I've got this little brother of mine. He's. . . adopted. And he sort of tagged along with me when I decided to come here to Unityville. He wound up liking it here, so I decided to rent a house for us to stay at. I was a bit strapped for cash since I had only planned on a one-person lifestyle. So, here I am."
"So you've got a sibling too, huh?" Shadow asked with a smile. "Join the club. I'm the baby of my family too. The youngest out of my brothers. So when did your family adopt your little brother?"
Fang's ears twitched at being asked this. "Well, I kinda took him in myself. He was all alone, and I couldn't just leave him. So I kinda just made him part of my family. At least until his own comes looking for him."
"Well, family's not defined by blood." Shadow said as he and Fang set the box down. "It's the people you're close to that makes you family. Right now? I'd say your Narico's family. Kind of like me and the other Elements of Heroism are family. Heck, I guess you could say that the Elements of Harmony are like sisters to some of us!"
Fang smiled and wagged his tail. "You guys are that close, huh?"
"Yup! And you're part of that family too!" Shadow said with a nod. "You might not have joined our team, but that doesn't mean you're not getting closer to us."
Fang took a deep breath. "Thanks Shadow." Fang's day soon ended, and he headed to the schoolhouse to pick up Narico. "Hey there little bro. How was your first day?"
"It was pretty good." Narico said with a smile. "I scared a bully using my magic! The Ms. Cherilee was little upset about it, but I didn't get into too much trouble!"
Fang chuckled. "As long as it was just a warning, you should be fine. Just be careful though. We can't have anyone finding out your secret. Come on. Let's grab some ice cream." Fang took Narico to Sugar Cube Corner, and he couldn't help but smile as he saw Narico go crazy on his sundae. Not a bad first day. Not bad at all.