Silver Spoon sat on one of her parents' overstuffed chairs, worriedly tapping her hoof on the silver gilded rest. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. Well, she knew why but didn't know why she couldn't dismiss it as being silly. This was good news, and it was a chance to escape her parents' mansion with Sisstet for a few days, even if her parents would be in tow. Sisstet would be the one she could imagine being nervous, even if he shouldn't be.
Cozy Glow took another sip of wine from her silver tankard, lifting it gently to her lips with a single wing. She then set the tankard down. "You have provided acceptable hospitality, and I look forward to continuing our business relationship. However, I need to see a certain shy yellow pegasus concerning some additional matters involving Sisstet. I expect you have no objections to Fluttershy taking over the duties formerly held by Spoiled Rich?"
Silver Spoon's ears perked. "None at all. I look forward to regular visits from her, and I'm sure Sisstet will also. I know she has nothing but Sisstet's best interests at heart, and if she has any feedback about his care, it is given out of concern for him."
The former foal tyrant shrugged. "I doubt there will be many issues with you raising him. The only thing that could have been seriously problematic has already come to light, and we're dealing with it. The necessary renovations are underway, so that is taken care of. Sadly, I doubt the naga back at the Clutch will appreciate or understand the change in the level of care. At this point, even Spoiled Rich could get away with doing the job with the same level of effort she put into it before, but she embarrassed me, and an example must be made."
Silver Spoon chewed on her lip. She couldn't believe the words that were about to exit her mouth. "You aren't going to make too much of an example out of her, are you? I understand she deserves to be humbled, but she's also Diamond Tiara's mother, and Diamond is my friend, my oldest friend. Diamond might find her mother as difficult to deal with as the rest of town, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love her mother. She'd be upset if her mother were punished too harshly."
Cozy Glow pursed her lips and got a sly look in her eye. "That is true…I sometimes forget how much others will do for their family since my mother was even a less stellar example of parental care than Spoiled Rich, and I never even met my father– probably somepony wasting everycreatures' air by breathing like my mom. I will have to have a talk with Miss Tiara about some matters. Thank you, that reminder was beneficial."
Did I just open Diamond up to some sort of blackmail? Silver thought worriedly. What should she do? She should say or do something, but she couldn't even be sure what Cozy Glow would do, and Cozy Glow was on a whole other level of influence than Spoiled Rich. Confronting the pegasus wouldn't do much good. Maybe she could say something to Princess Twilight or Princess Flurry Heart…on second thought, not Flurry Heart. The younger alicorn tended to be more than a bit rash, and she could only imagine what kind of fiasco might happen if Flurry Heart decided to play the hero in the ways she seemed most inclined to do.
"I shall escort you out, Minister Glow."
They all looked up to see Madam Glass standing at the door with Sisstet close behind her. The old mare was amazing at anticipating these things. Silver wished she had the same intuition about where she needed to be at any given time. Sometimes she wondered if Madam Glass had some magic dedicated to that.
Cozy Glow smiled. "You have such an attentive servant. It is so hard to find help that can anticipate where they are needed. Tell me, how much are the Silvers paying you? I'm sure I could double your salary to come work for me."
Silver's father's eyes widened. "Minister Glow, I say! It is quite unseemly to try to poach your associates' employees directly in front of them."
"Unorthodox and, I dare say, rude," Silver Sheet said with a sniff.
Cozy Glow waved a wing dismissively. "Why not do it in the open? Isn't it duplicitous to try to do it behind your back? That isn't a very honorable thing to do. I'm affirming the quality of your hiring selections. Shouldn't everycreature in a professional setting seek the best workforce? It is just business."
"Sir and Madam, if I may, I can speak for myself," Madam Glass said in her most formal tone. She gave Cozy Glow a quick bow of her head, and her features relaxed. "Let meh say less stiff-like that aye do feel delighted at yer offer, but mah place is with this here house. The Master and the Misses see to all that aye want and need, so glittery bits don' make ol' Madam Glass bat an eye. Thank you for complimenting, but this pony ain't on the market."
Cozy Glow smirked. "And she can switch and maintain different speech patterns in an instant. Mode switching is an underappreciated but valuable talent that is so hard to find among ponies. Oh-well, I tried. Pity it didn't work out. Anyway, that will be all. I hope you all enjoy your visit to the Crystal Empire. I shall remain in touch. You may escort me out, Madam Glass."
Madam Glass gestured, and Minister Cozy Glow walked to the front door without further conversation. That mare gave Silver the chills. She might be reformed, but reformed into what. Cozy Glow might work for Equestria's best interests, as well as Sisstet's, but only because it kept her accommodations from the princess and her influence strong and growing. In theory, everycreature wins in that arrangement, but Cozy Glow still felt like a bad apple. What she did to Spoiled Rich back at the castle still unnerved Silver. It wasn't teaching a lesson; it was making sure somepony felt small and helpless. Spoiled Rich was guilty of the same offenses, but two wrongs were still two wrongs, not a right.
"The nerve!" Silver's mother exclaimed in her most insulted tone after she was sure Cozy Glow was out of earshot.
"Now, now, Madam Glass said her peace and shut the offer down," Silver's father placated. "Still, perhaps we should insist on giving her a raise or insist on her having a better room for herself."
Silver's mother waved it off. "We can make the offer, but she'd turn it down again. I wish she wouldn't, as all creatures should be paid their worth, it sets a bad precedent to not and reflects upon us, but the mare has made her position clear. At least Madam Glass doesn't discuss her meager compensation with others, at least, not to my knowledge. We'd never get any creature to work for us again if they knew how poorly she is compensated in comparison to the exceptional work she does! If she weren't so loyal, I would have her fired for rejecting a salary increase!"
"Wouldn't that spread through the gossip mills of the board rooms," Silver's father mused. "But I would not allow her dismissal. There is something to be said about the loyalty an employer owes to an employee who has given them a lifetime of hard work. Plus, she is practically family."
More than practically. She wiped your bottom and comforted you on your bad days, just like she did me growing up. If you fired her, I would probably stop talking to you. Silver thought to herself.
She glanced at Sisstet, who seemed unsure what to do with Madam Glass no longer present, and with a smile, she put the entire incident with Cozy Glow out of her mind for the time being. "Come on over, Sisstet. I have some good news. You can curl up next to me if you feel comfortable doing so."
He slithered over to her in a rush and up beside her, coiling up tightly beside her. She resisted the urge to lay a comforting hoof on him. She knew he was still sore and itchy, which meant he set the boundaries on how he was to be touched. It wasn't what she would have preferred, but this was part of what came with parenting a naga.
Her parents sat silent, respecting that it was her who should give the news. She was thankful for that.
"We are going to be cutting our visit here short because we're all going to go visit the Crystal Empire and let you meet the other naga foals there. You are going to get to meet other foals just like you!" she said excitedly, hoping her visible enthusiasm would be contagious, despite being secretly nervous about this.
He raised his head out of his tight coil and flicked his tongue a little. "Oh. That'ssss nissss."
Ponyfeathers, he was nervous, very nervous, if the amount of trill said anything. He was trying to hide it but doing a worse job than her. Was he worried about the same things she was?
She took a deep breath. "I know it can be scary meeting new creatures, especially ones you see as your peers. These naga have grown up under very different circumstances than you, and you don't need to compare yourself with them."
He lowered his head. "Princessss Flurry Heart ssssaid they don't talk like me. They'll think I'm weird or ssstupid."
She held his gaze and focused on speaking both firmly and caringly. "You are a very bright and intelligent young foal. You are also doing much better with your speech. You only fall back into this pattern when you're nervous, and that's okay. It's alright to be nervous. If it happens when you meet these other naga, be honest and tell them the truth. Remember, they'll be nervous about meeting a naga foal from outside their group too. The only naga they've known are each other. Knowing that you're as nervous as them can help ease their anxieties and yours."
"You think sso?" he asked, head raising a bit more and with a little bit of optimism in his voice.
She wanted to nuzzle him so badly, but she resisted. "Think about it. These foals have spent their entire lives in a nursery together, with only limited exposure to the outside. Ponies raise them instead of naga, so they behave more like ponies, but most of what they know about the outside world is what they read in books and what their caretakers tell them. You've lived your life outside. You see the things they only read about, including color. That you're a kingsnake must make them very nervous about meeting you. It's up to you to let them know you're just another foal like them, and you aren't scary."
Silver Spoon's father cleared his throat. "We'll be with you on this excursion, and the minister thought it might be an excellent idea for you to invite your friends along. They provide additional support and show these common naga how they can be friends with ponies too."
"DAD!" Silver shouted. "I do not want you to get Sisstet thinking of the other naga as common naga!"
"Well, dear, what would you have us call them?" her mother asked with a raised eyebrow. "They aren't kingsnakes like Sisstet; therefore, they are common. Would you prefer the term regular? Perhaps the term base or vanilla? As you yourself pointed out, they will see themselves as different, and all share the same vision disability."
She was ready to snarl. "It isn't a disability!"
"Really?" her mother asked in a calm yet condescending tone. "If they are doing a job where recognizing a color is important, they are at a decided disadvantage, are they not? I would call that a disability."
"You might as well say we are disabled because we can't fly like pegasi or easily cast spells like a unicorn," Silver asserted. "Why not push it all the way, and say all ponies but alicorns are disabled?"
Her mother shook her head. "Now you're just being ridiculous."
Her father raised a hoof. "We aren't saying that they don't have many upstanding qualities, and we are sure they are competent and intelligent foals. Perhaps focusing on the vision issue was a mistake. My understanding of their sense of taste leads me to believe they far surpass us in that sense, which makes up for colorblindness. This is not the only area in which they differ. They shall never reach the size or age Sisstet will. He needs to understand he walks…slithers a much different long-term path than these other naga. He can see them as peers from now till his early adulthood, but eventually, a time will come when they cannot be viewed as the same."
She leveled a hard look. "Four steps forward and eight steps back. We are going to drop this subject before I say something I regret."
Silver saw that Sisstet had curled into a tight ball again, and her stomach twisted. He didn't like conflict, and he especially didn't like conflict revolving around him. While he did need to learn to cope with conflict, he was still at the stage where he needed to feel safe and secure. Her quarreling with her parents in front of him did not promote feelings of security. Still, some things needed to be said before other things became too problematic.
"Sisstet and I are going out for a while, but we will be back," she announced as she carefully left her seat. "We need to go by my wife's job and let her know the Crystal Empire trip is happening sooner rather than later. I doubt she'll be able to take time off for it on such short notice, especially right after taking time off on short notice not long ago. Summer is a hectic season for her. We also need to check with the Apples, Pinkie Pie, and Autumn Blaze to see if they will allow their foals to come along."
"We understan-" her father began.
"I'm not done," she said sternly as she cut him off. "In the meantime, let me remind you that Twist and I are the ones seeking to adopt Sisstet, and we intend to raise him a certain way. You need to take time to think about how you can respect that better, so visiting you doesn't have to be something I dread every time it comes up. Are you going to be his grandparents that he loves, or are you going to be some ponies I have to tell him not to listen to? I'd rather you be part of the family than our nemesis. Think about it."
They stared at her, looking dumbfounded. She was perfectly content with them being at a loss for words.
"Come on, Sisstet. I'll buy you a treat when we get to Twist's shop. We can talk about things along the way."