Silver had never understood exactly how the physics of the Castle of Friendship worked. Nothing about the floor plan made the least bit of sense. A creature could walk around the entire outside of the castle and never see a window on ground, aside from two in the front, but once inside they could find many stained glass windows letting in daylight within the tree trunk section of the castle. In addition to this the floor plan for the first floor had no way of physically fitting in the circumference of the tree.
She'd never personally gone outside the first floor, since the main library and town meeting hall were on the first floor and those were all that she ever needed to visit. She had a student years ago that had wandered off to the other floors. Silver had been frantic that she had lost one of her students, even more so because that was when she was in her final year of teacher apprenticeship and had just recently taken full control of the class. The guards had not let her go searching, and after a long hour of waiting had finally brought the missing colt back. He had explained there were seemingly endless strings of doors, hallways, and staircases. Foals could exaggerate things, but she didn't doubt he could easily have gotten lost in a maze of corridors that defied logic.
Now she was getting ready to venture into the great unknown of the upper floors of the Castle of Friendship.
Sisstet took more time dealing with the front steps of the castle than Silver, as stairs weren't exactly slither friendly, and she had to wait for him after quickly climbing the few steps. Once he had scaled them they moved at a slow pace by a number of other ponies through the giant front doors of the castle. As soon as they were in the main lobby Silver was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Hey, Silver! Over here!"
She turned and saw Diamond Tiara wearing some saddlebags while standing by one of the guard's desks, waving to her as the unicorn guard behind the desk fished out a badge from somewhere. Silver walked over to her lifelong friend while triple checking along the way that she wasn't losing Sisstet in the crowd.
When they reached Diamond the other mare gave her a brief hug in greeting before stepping back. "Silver, I heard you came by the store yesterday to find me. I was going to come visit you later on today to see what was up. Is everything alright?"
Silver gave a shake of her head, and gestured to Sisstet. "I'm taking custody of one of my students, or at least trying to." She looked down at her charge. "Sisstet, say hi to my friend, Diamond Tiara."
Sisstet meekly waved a claw at her at Diamond. "Hi, Miss Diamond Tiara."
Diamond did a double-take as she looked at Sisstet, but then gave him a comforting smile. "Nice to meet you, Sisstet. You don't have to call me Miss though. Only my employees call me that. You can just call me Diamond, or Diamond Tiara if you really don't feel comfortable yet speaking in a familiar manner with me."
"Okay, Diamond," he replied with a shy grin, before huddling up closer to Silver.
Diamond turned back to Silver without the smile. "Taking custody? That's serious. I'd ask more questions, but I'm assuming you need to talk to Cozy Glow."
Silver blinked. "How did you know?"
Diamond waved a hoof and chuckled. "If you're adopting a somecreature that wasn't born to Equestria you have to go through her, so it isn't hard to figure out. You're in luck. I was just about to go see her myself about some imports that I'm trying to get into the shop that aren't currently covered by her import-export lists. We can go up and see her together." She turned to guard. "Hey Gleam, can you fetch two more of those badges for my friends here?"
The stallion nodded as two more badges with lanyards floated out. "I was listening and am already on it. I just have to add them to the visitors list; Silver Spoon and Sisstet, correct?"
"That's correct," Silver confirmed.
He floated the lanyards with badges around each of their necks while scribbling a notation in a nearby book using a quill. "You're all good to go. If you're going up with Diamond Tiara you don't need to wait for us to provide an escort, since I'm sure she knows the way by this point. Please keep your badges on while on the upper floors, as their removal will cause the defensive spells to mark you as an intruder rather than a guest, and remember to return these badges when leaving."
Diamond gave the guard an appreciative smile. "Thank you very much, Gleam. It's always a pleasure seeing you." She turned back to Silver and Sisstet. "Just follow me and I'll have you up there in no time."
The businessmare started trotting off to a door on the side and they followed quickly after. Once they all arrived at the door Diamond held her badge up to it and it clicked open.
"These things work with doors that you need to open to get where you're going, but don't work with other doors," Diamond explained. "If you ever get lost you can always just keep trying these at random doors. If it opens you know you're going the right way, if it doesn't you know that was the wrong way to go. You can also take them off and guards will come running to get you- in most places, anyway. There are a few places that you'll have other stuff happen, and you really don't want to be in those places with your badge off."
Silver raised an eyebrow. "Speaking from experience?"
Diamond pushed open the door, revealing a stairwell. "Experience with the guards coming. The other cases I've just heard stories, everything from animated statues attacking, stun beams suddenly firing, to being turned to stone on the spot. There's some places in here they don't want uninvited guests just wandering around in. One of those places is near Cozy Glow's office, so keep these on at all times."
Silver watched as Sisstet gripped his badge tightly against his chest area. She could empathize; getting attacked by an animated statue or being turned into one herself were definitely not things she wanted to happen. They didn't play around with security here, even if it was the Castle of Friendship.
Diamond led them into the stairwell which looped up in what looked like an endless spiral going upwards. Silver took one look at the stairs then looked at Sisstet.
She bent down. "Come, hop on and hold on. I'm not going to make you try to crawl up all those stairs."
He didn't need any further prompting. He slithered up onto her back, grabbing part of her mane in his claws and coiling part of his body around her torso. It wasn't really tight, but she still hoped that nothing frightened him too much while he was on her like that. If he constricted too much she might have some problems breathing.
Diamond watched the two of them with interest. "You really have a lot of trust in each other. That's good." She then frowned. "Before we head up, I need to ask something."
Silver braced herself for it. "If this is about whether I'm qualified to raise-"
Her friend shook her head. "No! If anycreature is qualified, it would be you. I've seen you with kids before. No, I need to know what exactly my mother is about to get in trouble for. I want to hear it from you before she tries to spin it."
"Excuse me?" Silver replied in confusion. "Why would your mother be getting in trouble for something and why would I be the one to know about it? Is this something to do with Candy Apple?"
Diamond shook her head. "No, it's about the naga. My mother was supposed to be keeping an eye on them, but you wouldn't be here trying to take custody of Sisstet if everything was going well with them. I know Cozy is going to come down hard on my mother for it, so I prefer to hear the story from you first hoof."
Silver's eyes narrowed and she once again felt rage build up. "Your mother?! The Spoiled B-" She paused and caught herself. "How and why did she even get that position?"
"She's had it since they first came to town," Diamond explained. "Cozy's predecessor gave her the job. She originally wanted it to find an excuse to get them kicked out of Ponyville, but as years went on and she didn't find any excuses she just kind of got bored and lazy with it. She actually has one of the maids write up her monthly reports about them for her."
Silver gaped. "What?"
"I slip the maid a few extra bits every month to make sure she writes up a nice report. She pretty much just makes things up," Diamond continued.
"What?!"
Diamond flinched. "I thought I was helping! I love my mother, since she's my mother, but you know what she's like. She'll go to great lengths to just put others down. I figured it was better that she wasn't actually making an effort. I own the meat market, so I get the adult nagas' performance reviews. They aren't the friendliest creatures, but they show up to work on time every day and do a good job without causing trouble; they're upstanding workers. I also figured if their son was any problem you'd have mentioned it to me a long time ago. I didn't want them to get unfairly treated just because they're different."
Silver facehoofed. She could sadly see the logic behind what Diamond had been doing, but it wasn't okay. "I appreciate what you were trying to do, Di, but you may have caused more damage in the long run. The issue isn't what they do, it is what they don't do. The issue is parental neglect."
Her friend looked downcast. "I'm sorry, Silv. I thought I was doing the right thing."
"You could have just reported that your mom wasn't doing her job and asked them to appoint somecreature else to do it. You could have been asked to be kept anonymous if you were concerned about setting off a fight with your mom."
"Hindsight is twenty-twenty," Diamond replied. "I'm sorry."
Silver shook her head some more. "Just lead the way, and don't talk to me for a few minutes. I need to calm down. I'll probably forgive you, since your heart was in the right place, but I'm extremely angry at you right now."
Diamond gave a disheartened nod, and began leading them up the stairs.
The trip upwards took several minutes, and it seemed at times as if the stairwell would never end. There were doors at regular intervals along the stairwell, all marked with various labels which Silver couldn't really tell the meaning of; things like Sundrop Five, and Crystal Nine, with no seeming rhyme or reason in the numbering or naming convention. She was sure it made some sort of sense to somecreature, but it didn't make a lick of sense to her. They eventually stopped at a door labeled Statue Four and Diamond held the badge up to the door before opening it.
They exited out into a hallway of the same blue crystal that formed most of the castle. There were three paths, one that went straight forward towards a single door, and one each going off to the left and right that had several doors along them. A red carpet with a gold trim ran along each hallway, and there were potted plants placed every few pony lengths. Diamond led them straight forward down the hall with the single door, then gave it a few quick knocks.
"You may enter!" Somecreature called out in a feminine voice. Diamond held her badge up to this final door then they all shuffled in slowly to the room within.
The room was decked out with expensive looking couches, tables, statues, paintings, and tapestries. In the center of the room there was a pegasus mare reclining on an armless couch, head propped up on a throw pillow, with an unrolled parchment suspended in front of her face by the magic of a nearby unicorn servant. Even though Silver's only time ever seeing Cozy Glow was years before when the pony had tried to take it over Equestria it was easy enough to recognize this mare as her. Cozy Glow still had close to the exact same mane style she had as a filly, aside from a long braid that now trailed down her neck and over her shoulder. She was slightly plump, but not really fat. She wore some expensive looking gold earrings and a very elaborate necklace that matched. Each of her hooves were shoed with silver, and her fur and wings looked like they were fresh from a very expensive spa treatment. Several unicorns stood at attention that were clearly all servants, and they kept themselves with a complete lack of expression that was common in veteran servants.
"I'll be with you in just a moment. I need to finish reading this report, and determine a reply," Cozy Glow said without taking her eyes off the parchment floating in front of her face. "Tea Time, can you please move the parchment along so I can read the bottom better?"
The parchment shifted position so the mare was now reading more closely to the bottom. She reached down with a hoof and snatched up a small cherry from a plate beside her and popped it in her mouth. She chewed slowly for a few seconds before swallowing. "Thank you. You may roll that scroll up and set it aside to be scanned into the database. Quick Note! I need you to transcribe my reply to the griffin ambassador. Starting now.
"Ambassador Graffle, I have read your proposal concerning opening a griffin fishery on the coast of the North Luna Ocean near Tall Tale. From a trade perspective I can find no fault in your proposal, and think that it could bring a great deal of profit to both our nations. However, since your request requires the lease of land and a potential impact on Equestria's wildlife I alone cannot approve this. I will bring the matter to the princess's attention, with my endorsement, and she shall consult with her appropriate advisors about the above named issues. I promise that this should be taken care of within a moon, and you should hear a final answer before two moons have passed. If there is found to be a problem with the proposed fishery we will make you aware of our concerns and present a counterproposal. In the name of Princess Twilight Sparkle, may her reign be long and just, Cozy Glow, Minister of International Commerce and Immigration. Make sure that letter is properly edited and sent off promptly, and make sure my viewing crystal is prepared within an hour for me to contact the princess- actually, make that two hours."
"Yes, Minister," the unicorn who had been writing the reply said with a bow, before hurrying around Silver and the others, and then out of the room.
Cozy Glow stretched all her limbs and then sat up. "Golly! Diamond Tiara you have brought such an unusual entourage with you today. I'm used to you coming alone. What can I help you with?"
Diamond gave a big smile. "I'm here on separate business than them. We just happened to arrive together. I have some requests involving imports of several types of canned meats, but I feel that my friend Silver Spoon's business is a bit more urgent and will wait until her business is taken care of."
Cozy Glow raised an eyebrow and looked at Silver. "Silver Spoon? I can't say I recall ever meeting you, but I believe that naga is Sisstet, our local naga foal, correct?"
Silver gave a brief bow of her head, unsure what formalities she was supposed to follow in this case. "That is correct. I teach at Ponyville Elementary; Sisstet is one of my students. We're here for two reasons your… I apologize, I don't know the proper greeting."
Cozy Glow smirked. "Your grace is technically correct, but you can just call me Cozy. I like to consider everycreature who comes to my office my friend. Please, continue."
Silver nodded again. "First and foremost I need to report that I have found that Sisstet's guardians are severely neglecting several of his needs, and have now put him out of their home into my care. The second matter is that I wish to take formal custody of him with the purpose of adoption."
Cozy Glow's eyes flashed briefly with anger, so briefly that Silver thought she might have imagined it, then went wide. "Golly! That is a very serious charge. I admit, I'm a little surprised by it. I read all the reports about all the naga living in Equestria and I haven't heard any indication of any such neglect towards Sisstet before this point. Are you sure this isn't simply something caused by a recent stressful event or something else that is preoccupying his guardians?"
Diamond stepped forward. "Cozy, I need to bring it to your attention that my mother, Spoiled Rich, has been sending you fictitious reports and has not in fact been checking in on the naga as she was supposed to be."
Cozy Glow's expression darkened. "And you can confirm this?"
Diamond bowed her head. "Yes, ma'am."
The two-time arch villain's expression stayed stormy, but she nodded in turn. "Very well. I'll deal with Spoiled Rich later. Thank you for bringing her dereliction of duty to my attention." She then turned her face back to Silver. "And I assume that you have ample evidence that neglect has been ongoing and damaging?"
"Yes, Cozy," Silver replied.
Cozy Glow finally got up off her couch and gently massaged her head with the ends of her wings. "I don't think there is a need to bring the princess directly into this, although I'll be alerting her about the situation and advising her I'm dealing with it. I'll consider your request for full adoption. I need you to prove that you can properly care for him, and I'm giving you a month to make sure of that before I personally inspect you. I'd advise you to make at least one or two trips to the school in the Crystal Empire to get advice. I've already dealt with one pony who couldn't do their job, don't make yourself the second. You won't be happy if I'm unhappy."
Silver gulped. "Understood."
The pegasus turned her attention to Sisstet. "Since I can assume nothing from my reports about you is true, how about you tell me about yourself, Sisstet. I want to be your friend."
Sisstet trembled behind Silver's legs. "I learned about you in s-sschool. You were a very bad pony."
That made Cozy Glow chuckle. "I prefer to think I was an overly ambitious and misguided filly who would have been unhappy as ruler of Equestria. The princess recognized what I truly desired, and that I had a specific skill set that could serve Equestria. She found a way for me to work for the common good while satisfying what I really wanted. There's a place in Equestria for everycreature, including ponies like me. There's a place in Equestria for you as well. What are your needs?"
Sisstet looked up at Silver, and Silver tried giving him a reassuring smile, even if Cozy Glow made her extremely nervous. The mare might have been 'reformed' but it seemed reformation only went so far.
"I just want creaturess to like me, treat me nice, and not be scared of me," Sisstet answered.
"Golly! Such humble goals! Yet, I suppose for a naga they are highly admirable ones that may at times seem so daunting," Cozy replied. She then walked over to a glass vase filled with what looked like many different colored candies, and reached a wing in and pulled one out. "Would you like a candy? And then you can tell me about your guardians and your home life."
Sisstet looked at the vase and licked his lips. "Can I have a blue one?"
Cozy's demeanor suddenly changed, stiffening up. What was wrong with his choice? A forced smile plastered on her face. "Can you do me a favor? Can you come point at a blue one for me?"
Sisstet looked up at Silver again and she just shrugged and urged him on. Cozy Glow might not be the nicest pony, but she was one they needed on their side. Sisstet slithered and made his way over to the vase, then pointed at a round blue candy.
Cozy's eyes narrowed. "Now, can you point to a red one?" Sisstet seemed confused by the request for a second, but then did as instructed.
"Now point to a yellow one?" Cozy continued, seeming even stiffer. What was this about? This was strange.
Sisstet did as instructed and looked up to the pegasus for approval. Cozy's face was unreadable as she responded. "You can see in full color, can't you?"
"Um, yesss?" Sisstet answered in confusion.
Cozy began rubbing her head again and made her way back to the couch, and flopped on it. She raised a wing high in the air and began giving orders. "I'm going to need the meeting with the princess moved back up to thirty minutes from now, and tell her that it is urgent! Somecreature find me an expert on naga etiquette who can advise me on how to write a letter properly to a kingsnake- actually, scratch that, I'm letting the princess deal with that. I want somecreature to find me Spoiled Rich and bring her here. Make it very clear that I'm not happy."
Silver couldn't figure out what had suddenly changed, but she was determined to find out. "What's going on? What's wrong with Sisstet seeing in color?"
The pegasus raised her head and looked back at Sisstet. "Most naga are color blind, there is only one group of naga that aren't, and it was part of my agents' jobs to report to me if they came across a naga that could see in color. Since he can see in color, and it has gone unnoticed so long, we might have an international incident to deal with. If I could throw Spoiled Rich in a dungeon I would, because this is going to look very bad for me to have not brought it to the princess's attention earlier."
Silver's heart moved up to my throat as I asked the question she already guessed the answer to it. "What type of naga aren't colorblind?"
Cozy looked back at Sisstet. "Kingsnakes, and that means you might not be able to keep him."