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// Chapter 2: In Need of a Name 
// Story: Tales from the Second Age of Magic 
// by VeganSpyro97 
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“So, have you decided on a name yet?” Static looked up at Twilight in surprise. They’d met up for lunch with the girls, and Twilight’s question had come completely out of left field, leaving Static and Fluttershy confused.
“Uh, a name? I thought I already told you that-”
“You’re going by Static Thunder, now, we know.” Rarity nodded, flipping her expertly coiffed mane with a flick if her head. “We meant for the little one! You can’t just keep calling her ‘the Nymph’, forever now, can you, darling?”
Fluttershy blushed at the embarrassment of being called out on the subject, and let her mane slip over her face, so she could hide from-
“Whoa whoa, where do you think you’re hiding that face, Shy?” Rainbow grinned, reaching across the table and lifting Shy’s mane back out of the way with her hoof. Dash accidentally smeared some of the remains of their hayburger meal across her belly in doing so, which Rarity immediately took umbrage at. 
“Rainbow! Manners, please! You’ve gone and painted yourself in ketchup!”
“Bite me.” Rainbow grinned. “Shy’s not hiding under her mane this time! Tell us! You gotta have some ideas!”
“Oh- uh, well- I- we….”
“Rainbow! Pipe down and stop forcin’ her!” Applejack chided her pegasus friend. “Landsakes girl! You know she’s still shy! Just cuz she’s more confident don’t mean y’all can act as if she’s like you!”
“Yes, Dash. Please stop harrassing my marefriend.” Static chimed in. “It’s making me nervous.”
Rainbow grinned, leering across at Static. “Why? Scared I’ll steal her from you?”
Static returned her grin. “Nah. I’m worried she’ll break your spine when giving you a massage.”
Rainbow flinched. They all knew what Fluttershy could do to a bear who needed a massage. The same strength would break every bone in whichever pony it was used against. Their friends all laughed a little at Dash’s expense, before returning to the main topic.
“So, you do have a few ideas, right?” Twilight asked. “I can do a bit of research on popular filly names, if you’d like?”
“Yes. Let’s research names in the library- again!” Rainbow said, doing her best impression of Twilight, before she broke off and groaned. “You’d already started looking into new names for Static and Katie before Static told us she’d already chosen one! Don’t go disappearing on us again, Twi! You keep diving into all these projects and we barely see you as it is!”
Twilight winced at the implications, and offered a weak smile. “Sorry girls, but I’ve been heavily involved in the study of the portals since day one. I can’t just back out now! I’m the best researcher this side of-”
“Equestria?” Static asked, cheekily.
“Minos?” Rarity chipped in, a sly smile on her face as she referenced the nation of industrious Minotaurs. 
“Griffonstone?” Dash added her two bits in, leaning back heavily in her chair, hind hooves propped up on the table. 
“The moon?” Pinkie chirped, slurping noisily on her milkshake. Everyone sans Static looked at her incredulously.”Whaaaat?”
“Come off it, girls.” Static smiled. “It happened on Earth almost fifty years ago. With magic, it’s only a matter of time before Luna starts getting visitors.”
Twilight shrugged. “True. We do have a lot of advantages.”
“Probably why no one’s thought of it yet. We only went because there was competition. You don’t have that problem.”
“Also true.” Twilight conceded. “But you still keep avoiding the issue.”
Static and Shy cocked their heads to one side. “Huh?”
“A name for the Nymph.”
The two blanked for a moment, before Static actually whimpered. “We don’t know what to pick….”
Dash groaned. “Ugh, just pick a name, and get it over with!”
“This is an important decision that will affect her for the rest of her life! A stupid name might get her bullied in school!” Fluttershy protested, ruffling her wings and shifting awkwardly on the spot. 
“Or called a weirdo.” Static muttered. “Not that having a trans mother wouldn’t do that anyway.”
Twilight frowned. “Give Equestrians some credit, Static. We’re not as bad as humans.”
“I beg to differ.” Static shot. 
“Those bullies in flight school were mean to me, even after Dash came along.” Fluttershy murmured. Pinkie quickly handed her a cupcake with a smiley face drawn in icing on the top. Nopony questioned where it had come from. 
“And Dash is still called Rainbow Crash by her fellow Wonderbolts.” Static wildly pointed a hoof in Dash’s direction, knocking over her drink in the process. “If that’s not insensitive, I don’t know what is!”
“And the Crusaders were mocked by Diamond Tiara for ages, just for not having their Cutie Marks yet!!!” Fluttershy was nearly hyperventilating now. “If we choose the wrong name, we could make her life so much harder than she deserves!”
“Equestrians are no less capable of cruelty than humans!” Static practically yelled, thumping the table with her hoof. She then sat back down, lowering her voice to almost a contralto in tone. “And I want her to have every advantage she can get. Even something as simple as the right name could change everything.”
The six other mares were silent then. Static wasn’t taking her responsibilities lightly. 
“Okay. So she needs a good, strong name.” Rarity stated, breaking the silence and drawing all attention to her. “Let’s brainstorm together. We’ll find her a good one.”
Static smiled, turning to Shy. “What do you think? Good idea?”
“Great idea.” Shy nodded. “Let’s do it.”


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“So! We have six- no, sorry, seven potential candidates, one from each of us!” Twilight stated, looking at the slips of paper before her. They’d eventually settled on giving a suggestion each, and, being as they were all technically the Nymph’s caretakers, given the promise they’d made, they would vote, though Static and Shy had the last word.
Twilight picked up the first slip of paper and unfolded it. “We have, Dragonfly, suggested by Rainbow.”
“It sounds kinda cool.” Rainbow offered as an explanation. 
“We have Elusive, suggested by Rarity.” 
“It does suit a Changeling, darlings.” 
“Next up is….” Twilight turned to look at Pinkie. “Buggy Princess of Doom the Third…..Why Pinkie, why?”
Pinkie looked Twilight straight in the eyes and gave her the most sincere answer she could. “Fun.” 
Twilight stared at the fuschia maned pony with flat eyes before she turned away from her. “Okay, moving on! We have, Crystal, suggested by Applejack...that doesn’t sound like a name you’d suggest, AJ….”
“Ah think the little one should have a name that reminds her of her mother.” Applejack stated, firmly. As the others voices of protest rose, she in turn, raised her own hooves. “Now hear me out, y’all. No matter who gave birth to her, she should know her mother. Ah know Ah’d hate not knowing. And a tribute to her mother would be a fitting name for a filly, whether she's a nymph or foal.”
Static stared at Applejack for a long time, before looking back to Twilight. “What other names are there?”
“Um… we’ve done Dash, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack, all that’s left now, are my suggestion, yours, and Fluttershy’s.” 
“Oh, um….can we do mine next?” Shy asked.
“Sure!” Twilight picked up the little slip of paper Shy had given her, and opened it. “Primrose? As in the plant?”
Shy nodded. “I, um, read somewhere that it means eternal love….”
“Awwww…..” Rarity cooed. “Darling, that’s so sweet…”
“Yeugh, sappy.” Rainbow gagged, earning Rarity and Applejack’s glares.
“I had similar thoughts to Fluttershy, actually.” Twilight admitted, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “Though, I went with Aster. It’s supposed to mean love, daintiness, trust…..And what about you, Static? What did you think of?”
Static smiled. “Rose. I picked Rose.”
“So...what now? What names grab ya?” Applejack asked.
“Crystal does, actually.” Fluttershy replied, thinking carefully. “I don’t think we should keep the truth from her anyway, so why not?”
Static nodded. “What about a second name? Single named ponies are rare, after all. Even Rarity has a surname.”
“If you are referring to Belle-" Rarity started, only to be interrupted by Twilight. 
“Maybe we can use Rose?” Twilight suggested. “Or Primrose? Gives her a name of strength and beauty, right? Hard as crystal, but as gorgeous as a Primrose? Or, you know, a Rose?”
“I think Aster, actually.” Static conceded. “Crystal Aster is a pretty good name. And it sounds unique enough to stand out, too. Not to mention that either one could be used as a human name, if we ever decide to go for a visit.”
“I like it.” Shy nodded. “And maybe we can ask Katie what she thinks about some of these names. She still needs one as well.”
Twilight grinned. “Is that it, then? Do we have a name?”
Static and Shy nodded to one another first, before they turned to Twilight. “Go on then, Princess. Make it official.”
Twilight pumped her hoof in celebration, before hopping about a bit in joy. The others had no objections. When she finally calmed down enough, she flashed her horn, conjuring up a piece of officious looking paper, before also producing a quill and ink in the same way. She scribbled down a few things, before she straightened up. “Static Thunder, and Fluttershy. I now declare you to be the guardians of Crystal Aster, until such a time as she comes of age.”
Static and Fluttershy cheered, happily, before throwing their arms around each other in a great big hug, while their friends crowded around them, all saying their own congratulations. 



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