//------------------------------// // The Argument // Story: Creating A Hive // by Authora97 //------------------------------// Lilac had everything ready. She had arguments for her point, along with counters for whatever argument her mom would have. Her mom would have plenty of those, Lilac could only hope she had enough solutions for it. She set up her presentation in front of the fireplace in the living room. She had a display board- a sandwich board that she had seen humans use for science fairs- along with notes. She had a pointer stick for emphasis gifted to her by Princess Twilight Sparkle. The bookish princess had aided Lilac in her research. Her parents arrived first, just before the set gathering time. Lilac waited for them to sit down before handing over drinks. Hot cocoa for her mom- complete with cream, apple juice for her dad- no ice, just frozen juice cubes, he didn’t like it watered down with ice. They accepted the drinks with grateful sighs. Both of her parents had argued with Dark Justice the night before. He hadn’t wanted to personalize his room beyond ‘hotel room chic’. Her parents had wanted it to feel more like a home than it was. Neither side went to bed easy.  Thought as she finished a sip, Raspberry stared at her daughter with a calculating gaze. “Bribes? Smart.” Thorax paused in his drinking. His eyes widened as he stared at his wife. She nodded, letting him finish. Lilac nodded. “Learned from the best.” She complimented. “Compliments won’t give you anything.” Raspberry cautioned. Her daughter accepted the criticism. Killjoy strolled in just after the deadline. Lilac held up a cup as her aunt settled into a cushioned chair. “I want to point out, I made this from a bottle that she left behind when she moved.” Lilac warned. She showed her aunt the cup. Killjoy took it, sipping at it. Her eyes widened. “You took my beer?” “I already said I didn’t have any.” Lilac excused, when her parents gawked at her. Killjoy barked out a laugh. “Bribes! I like it. Must be something bad if you gotta bribe us first.” Lilac said nothing. Raspberry narrowed her eyes. “Mom. Dad. Auntie.” Lilac began. She grabbed her sandwich board, pressing a button she’d set up on the back. It played a familiar tune to the adults. “I have done the research. I know where you’re going. After this presentation, I hope you will be on my side.” Raspberry sat up, understanding. “That’s the Avengers theme.” “Yeah!” Killjoy yelled, sitting up too.  Lilac opened the board. It had pictures from the film glued on, along with documents to back her up. On the middle, presented as the title in purple letters was ‘I want to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative’. References would give her bonus points. “No.” Raspberry argued, crossing her hooves over her chest. “Mom-” Lilac reminded. “No. You can’t come.” Raspberry declined. “You promised you would hear me out. Are you going to break a promise to me?” Lilac reminded. Raspberry gawked. Her brain had blue screened. Lilac was correct, which annoyed her deeply. What could she say in argument to that? She couldn’t break a promise to her child- it just wasn’t done. The only reason Killjoy hesitated clapping for her niece was because she didn’t want to break her sister from the blue-screen curse she was under. Thorax just drank his apple juice.  Lilac pushed the button to turn off the theme song so she could begin her presentation.  ==CAH== “Are you even listening?” Raspberry turned to Twilight. “Huh?” Twilight grunted in annoyance. “What do you think about the vampire fruit bats?” “Whatever Fluttershy wants.” Raspberry brushed off. “What?!” Applejack ranted. “She’s an animal expert. If she has an idea, it’s good.” Raspberry told them. “But the bats-” “I heard the song!” Raspberry dismissed angrily. “Quit trying to mess with-” Thorax wrapped his wing over her back. “I...think that’s enough for now.” He pulled her a step back. “Sorry girls.” “Is everything alright, Morgan?” Fluttershy asked. “You seem tense?” Raspberry grimaced her face into a snarl. She turned away. “Lilac asked to join us to where we go next.” Thorax revealed. “Starry’s worries because it’s the Marvel universe. Things can go very wrong there.” “You told Lilac, didn’t you?” Raspberry realized, glaring at Twilight. Twilight blanched. “She asked! I thought she already knew, so it wouldn’t be an issue if I helped!” “She’s always been crafty...just not like this.” Raspberry noted. “That don’t matter!” Applejack shouted at them. “These vampire bats will ruin the farm!” Raspberry huffed, stretching it out to an annoyed groan. Thorax patted her on the head in sympathy.  ==CAH== “So?” Lilac asked. Thorax looked to the adults, then said “I think you made a good case. Personally I think you can do it. If your mom thinks you’re ready, then I will too.” Raspberry grimaced in distaste. Lilac moved on to the next adult. Killjoy shrugged. “We’ve trained you for a while. It’s a start. You’ll need to do a lot more to be ready for the human world alone. If you can beat that, I’ll say yes.” All of them turned to Raspberry. The leader of the team. The driver/owner of this magic school bus.  She took a big calming breath. Sitting up, she gave Lilac a hard stare. Severus Snape would be proud of it. “Killjoy is right. You’ll need to train.” Lilac stared. “Hand to hand, and weapons training.” Raspberry explained. “I’ve shown you before how I was trained. You’ll know it too.” “Yes Mom.” Lilac replied. “I want you to learn to live on your own.” Raspberry commanded. Lilac gawked, along with Killjoy and Thorax. “Your aunt knew how by your age, and so did I. Your father- despite appearances- knows too. You’ve seen us in those circumstances. You’ll learn it yourself. You’ll father your own funds, use them to have a form of residence that would be accepted on a job application. Yes I want you to gain a job too. In that world, there’s a chance I won’t be able to watch over you like I do here. I want to know that if that happens, you can manage.” “Yes Mom.” Lilac gave a nod. A hopeful feeling beginning to come over her. “Next week, Thorax is going to Manehatten to run a conference for Changelings to adapt to Equestria in time for the Equestria Games. You’ll go with him with one bag of provisions- it would be cheating to give you my own, so I will just have to make one for you. One much smaller for a challenge. For the rest of our time in Equestria, you’re on your own.” Lilac nodded, accepting the tasks. They were reasonable to her, given what she’d asked. “Once a week, your aunt will come to you for weapons training. She’s not going to give you care packages, so don’t expect anything.” Raspberry informed. “I will come every two weeks for hand to hand. When you have a home, I’ll equip it with a training room where you can use the skills we’ve been teaching you. Your father is going to come once a month to be sure you’re not dead. Anytime you need to give in, either tell him on those days or send him a letter. But he warned, you give in that’s it. You’re not coming, not until you’re eighteen. No arguments.” Lilac nodded. She took in all her mom said, committing it to memory. It was a lot- to be fair, Lilac was asking a lot. She asked early- early enough that her mom couldn’t have anything ironed down for the Plan. Lilac’s training would be enough. “Okay Mom.” “Understood?” Raspberry asked one more time. “It’s 3 months alone. Only minimal visits to family, and written letters to your friends.” Lilac nodded. She’d told the Crusaders about it already- saying she was joining her mom for a trip to get a chance at finding her special talent. They all knew about her Mom’s powers- as well as the rule that Mom wouldn’t bring along the Crusaders. Because them coming? Needed parental permission. No chance of that happening.  “We’ll have to tell Celestia and Luna to keep Services off our back.” Thorax notes to his wife. Raspberry agreed. She turned once more to Lilac. “You have one week to get your affairs in order. Then? You’re on your own until Rainbow Rocks.” Lilac nodded again. ==CAH== “Did you say yes because you think she’s ready, or because you don’t want her in town when he comes?” Thorax asked. Raspberry gave no reply.