//------------------------------// // My New Family // Story: Who Are You, And What Have You Done With Diamond Tiara? // by Bucking Nonsense //------------------------------// "So, are you ready?" Stinkbug looked up in surprise. Mister Rightaway, the representative from the Bureau of Changeling Affairs, was standing in the doorway of the hotel room, smiling. Twilight Sparkle had introduced the two right after school had ended, and the green earth pony (he was the first pony that Stink had ever seen who shave both his hair AND his tail) had, with surprising care and concern, listened to the youngster explain what he'd been doing for the last year. It had not been an easy time: a child, alone and in hostile territory, has to make do with what he could find. Since he knew practically nothing about ponies in general, and with almost no training whatsoever in the art of acting, he'd had to go with the simplest possible expedient: pretending to be a dumb animal. It had worked, more or less. After all, who doesn't love a friendly stray dog? He'd seriously considered letting himself be 'adopted' by one of the families in town, once he'd mastered long-term transformation maintenance, but since he lacked a teacher to show him how, it was slow going... Still, it had been a good day, yesterday, in spite of the total panic from earlier on. After hearing the full story, Rightaway had said that he'd see about finding someone to look after him from now on, and would make certain that a changeling would be by before nightfall to share enough love to keep Stink going for at least a week, if not longer. Given a hotel room to spend the night in, Stink was able to sleep in a bed for the first time... ever. True to the representative's word, a changeling by the name of Popillia Japonica (an aristocrat, surprisingly, but she'd seemed much nicer than the aristos that he'd met before) dropped by, and had given him love... A whole, whole lot of love. He was currently carrying enough to keep him going for the next five years! He wasn't sure if it was just because she was nice, or because she didn't realize that a commoner was less likely to burn through that much love on accident, but either way, he could breathe easy for the first time in a year. He was no longer in immediate risk of running out... Grinning, Stinkbug nodded, and said, "I'm ready. Let's go." --------------------- As the earth pony and the changeling walked down the street, Rightaway said, "Before we start looking for a family to take you in, I need to drop by and check on Orlando and Spicebush Swallowtail. They're moving in this morning, and I want to make sure there's nothing they need. After I finish, we'll check with a few ponies I know. I can't make a promise that somepony here will be able to take you in, but I think the odds are pretty good." Stinkbug nodded and said, "I understand. I've got plenty of time on my clock now, so it's not a super-huge rush like it would have been before." Chuckling, the earth pony said, "Yeah, Miss Japonica told me she gave you a good deal more than a week's worth. She figured that you'd earned it, after going through so much on your own." Looking at a street sign, Rightaway nodded, and said, "We're almost there. It's right over this way." There was suddenly a tremendous noise, the sort that was not simply heard, but felt, throughout the entire body. It took a moment for Stinkbug to realize that what he was hearing was actually singing, from an incredibly deep and powerful voice. "Largo al factotum della città. Largo! La la la, la la la, la la la, LAAAA! Presto a bottega che l'alba e già. Presto! La la la, la la la, la la la, LAAAA!" "Ah," Rightaway said, chuckling, "I forgot to tell you: Orlando sings opera, and he's got a bit of a voice to him." The earth pony and the changeling came into view of a quaint looking house with a cart stuffed with boxes out front. A slender changeling wearing a light blue dress was deftly flying back and forth between the cart and the house, taking small boxes inside. However, what immediately drew Stink's attention was a massive, red-eyed, jet-black griffin, who was currently carrying a grand piano with what seemed no effort whatsoever, while he continued to cheerfully sing. "Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere, per un barbiere... di qualità, di qualità!" The hovering changeling noticed the two approaching, and turned to the griffon. After floating down to where she was level with the griffin, she whispered something. Nodding, the griffin stopped singing and, with almost impossible ease, set the piano down gently, and turned towards the pair. With a massive, booming voice, the griffon said, "Ah! Rightaway, my friend, it is so good to see you again!" Looking down at the young changeling, he continued, "And you have brought with you a guest! Molto bene! Very good!" Extending a clawed foreleg, the griffin said, "My name is Orlando Furioso! It is good to meet you!" Orlando's voice was the type that would add an exclamation point to the end of every sentence he spoke, even his questions. It wasn't the volume, so much as the energy he put into every word. The fact that his voice was so deep only added to the effect, making it so that when he spoke, the overall impression was of a talking earthquake. "I'm Stinkbug," the changeling said, extending his foreleg with a smile, which was immediately enveloped by the griffin's talons. The grip was surprisingly light: as massive as he was, it seemed that Orlando did, in fact, know his own strength. Giggling, the hovering changeling curtsied, then said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Spicebush Swallowtail. You can just call me Spice. Everyone does." Her voice was sweet and soft, in contrast to her husband. Of course, an enraged minotaur with a megaphone would be soft, compared to Orlando. "So, what brings you two here so early?" "Well," Rightaway said, "I wanted to check in with you both, and make sure that you were settling in alright. I was going to see about finding this kid a home afterwards, so I thought I'd go ahead and bring him along. I hope you don't mind." With a big laugh, Orlando said, "Not at all, my friend! The more, the merrier! Come inside, come inside! I was due for a break, and we just finished getting the kitchen unpacked! I can have something cooked up, and we can have a nice chat over breakfast!" With another soft giggle, Spice said, "Well, I'm not hungry, obviously, but I imagine that Stinkbug would enjoy a chance to speak with another changeling?" At the youngster's energetic nod, she smiled brightly, and said, "Then come on in. Please excuse the mess." ------------------------- While Orlando and Rightaway settled into the kitchen, Spice asked Stinkbug if he'd mind joining her upstairs. There were a few things that she wanted to check on, fragile items she wanted to make sure were not broken during the trip over. The room they entered was plain and undecorated, but filled with boxes. While she opened the first box, she gave little laugh and said, "I know exactly what Rightaway is planning. He didn't just 'decide' to bring you by on your way to someplace else: he wanted to give us the opportunity to adopt you before anypony else did." Surprised, Stink asked, "You really think so?" Nodding, as she held up a plate for inspection, the older changeling said, "Definitely. If I know anything about my husband, it's that he's very passionate about... well, just about everything. It's one of the things I love most about him. He can be very easily swayed by a sob story, and from what Rightaway told me about you yesterday, you've had a harder time than most other changelings this last year. I mean, spending an entire year as a stray dog?" With a shrug, the youngster admitted, "I really couldn't think of anything else. Pretending to be a pony is really, really hard, but being a dog is simple: Woof, woof, wag your tail, remember to sniff stuff, and you're good to go. I'd sometimes get dog biscuits, which I'd give to other dogs, who'd be incredibly grateful. Those were good days." Nodding, Spice, still inspecting the other items in the box, said, "Well, at least you were able to work something out. I've heard a lot of stories about changelings who were taken advantage of by some terribly cruel ponies. Not all of those stories had happy endings, I'm sorry to say. Ah, but returning to the original subject, Rightaway is probably telling Orlando the entire story now. If I know my hubby, he'll come in here, tears in his eyes, and declare that he would be more than willing to take you in. I honestly wouldn't have any problem taking in a cute kid like you, myself," she admitting, rubbing the top of Stink's head, eliciting a laugh from the youngster. "But this isn't about what my hubby wants, or what I want." Closing the box of fragile items and setting it to one side, she said, "This is about what you want. Would you like to stay here, with us?" Smiling, Stinkbug nodded and said, "Yes. Yes, I would." Smiling radiantly, Spice said, "Good. Now, brace yourself. You're going to get a gigantic hug in about fifteen seconds." Almost immediately, there was a series of loud thumps, as of someone running up the stairs. A moment later, Orlando appeared in the doorway, tears pouring down his face. With a single motion, he swept Stink up and gave him a tremendous hug, exclaiming, "Povero ragazzo! Poor boy! Rightaway told me the entire tale! Tremendo! Orrendo! Terribile! My heart, it goes out to you! Please, feel free to stay here with us, as long as you like! La mia casa è la tua casa! My home is your home!" Laughing, Spice said, "Sweetheart, we were just discussing that very topic. I had just asked him if he'd like to stay with us, and he said yes.' The griffin, now suddenly joyous, exclaimed, "Magnifico! Superbo! Splendido! Welcome to our home, ragazzo!" Rightaway walked in, smiling. After a moment, he said, "Well then, that makes my day a little easier. I'll be by this afternoon with some forms to fill out, and we'll make it all formal and official. Welcome to your new home, Stinkbug."