Creating A Hive

by Authora97

The Family Business

Thorax was finishing up the meal for the night. It was taking longer than expected. Given the events they knew were coming, it’s no surprise he was anxious. Tonight the Stardust House was gaining another male creature.

The girls had been moved into their new rooms. Killjoy was most excited for her murder house (no matter how much Raspberry warned that’s not what it was!) to be all for herself.

“What’d you make?” Raspberry asked. She turned a page over in the file she was reviewing. As foster parents, they were allowed to know what they were bringing into their home. Granted a few select items had been marked off for the safety of Dark Justice’s parents along with the colt himself.

He put down a finished dish, kept warm under a lid. “It’s lasagna! One that’s safe for ponies, one for meat eaters still in the oven. There are added sides of corn and peas.”

Raspberry winked at him.

“Yeah I know. You married the best.” Thorax boasted with a giddy smile. Thorax paused it though. A look of thoughtful confusion took its place. “What was the drink...?”

“Water?” Raspberry prompted. She was still reading it. She’d done it multiple times since the news had been delivered, alongside her recent magical remodel of the house. It was studying facts for her, something that anyone that knew her knew calmed her down.

Thorax clicked his hoof on the countertop. “Apple juice!” He went to grab it from the fridge. “Anything new to add?”

Raspberry blew out a breath. “No. It’s all the same as what Star Petunia told us. Parents last seen headed south. Dark Justice alone for a long time- well long for a kid.”

“Which is?”

“Six months.” Thorax winced. “Yeah...it’s not great. Bright side: he’s Dynamite’s age!”

“Great. Two kids that can cause trouble, raising an army of kids that will cause trouble.”

“Watch it, honey, I can still divorce you!”

“You would last two days before the insanity kicked in.”

“Damn I hate when you’re logical.”

“Cause it turns you on?”

“Finish the dinner, house spouse.”

==CAH==

Dark Justice arrived to a house with a cooling meal and a packed table. It had been served warm, just in the turning point of being cool. Dark Justice-a small-for-his-age colt with a dark blue coat, scraggly mane of bright green and blue, eyes a matching bright green, and no cutiemark, and Swift Wind- a white coated earth pony, two blue shades colors for the professionally cut mane, and a cutiemark of a briefcase on wings- had arrived late, as had Thorax’s dinner preparations.

When they arrived, Raspberry invited them in. Thorax offered food. Swift Wind declined the generous offer. It seemed that the Princesses of Canterlot- Raspberry immediately blaming Celestia as Luna would’ve given warning- had found out about the recent foster foal. They had set it up so a pegasus drawn chariot would bring social worker and foal to Ponyville. Swift Wind was anxious to have it returned. Apparently, it was converting from train to chariot that made them late.

Another reason for Celestia. Luna would never do something to Raspberry’s schedule by making others late. Raspberry would be annoyed.

Also to note: all of Dark Justice’s belongings fit on the back of the chariot.

Unperturbed by the turned down invite, Thorax set up a plate for Dark Justice. The foal was obviously staying- some food would be good to help him settle down. Swift Wind left with a goodbye, along with promises to write should anything change or need to change. To Swift Wind, there were worse places to be left.

It had been a smooth transition.

Honestly, that was the first sign to Raspberry and Killjoy that it would go south.

Dynamite and Cookie kept on with their dinner. Their new brother hadn’t said anything when asked questions, so clearly nothing to be had there. Lilac picked at her plate while focusing more on the adults and the newest addition. The colt glared at his plate when he was seated, as if he were the one who could spit fire.

If the adults noticed they gave it no attention.

“So. Settle in okay?” Raspberry asked her sister.

Killjoy grinned. “Yep. All my weapons out in the open, no kids around to touch them. Life is good.”

“Remember-”

“It’s not a murder house on penalty of death.” Killjoy recited with an annoyed groan. She added an eye roll for flavor. Dynamite and Cookie giggled.

Dark Justice kept on fire-glaring.

Lilac sat up in her seat. “Mom, Dad, Auntie, is there any time this week we can meet to talk about...to talk?”

The three adults watched Lilac as she spoke then went back to themselves. Raspberry and Thorax were giving a look of ‘why not?’ Killjoy seemed to be annoyed, but going along.

“Well...I have to help at Sweet Apple Acres later this week. Thorax volunteered too so he won’t let me back out.” Raspberry explained. She tapped her fork to her plate. “And I have to help Dark Justice settle into town.”

“The morning of?” Thorax offered.

Raspberry hummed, thoughtful. “That sounds good.”

Killjoy leaned to her side, where her niece sat. “Whatever they pick, I’ll show. Just don’t make it stupid.”

Lilac smiled, relieved but still tense in nerves.

“Yeah okay. End of the week, before we head to Sweet Apple Acres. If Applebloom asked you to help, feel free. But if not, there’s plenty it town to do. You can show Dark Justice around if he feels up-”

“I don’t want to.” Dark Justice spoke for the first time since arriving.

It caught the attention of the whole table.

Raspberry was suspended by her previous sentence. So she decided to finish it “-Lilac you’ve got until the weekend to get whatever you need for your argument. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am.” Lilac nodded her head. She was actually excited. Nervous as all hell, but excited. If she got what she was asking for, it would be a big step. She hoped they’d think she was ready for it.

Raspberry nodded. She turned back to Dark Justice in a ‘now you’ kinda way. “So you don’t want to look?”

Dark Justice said nothing.

“That’s okay.” Raspberry stated, keeping up in a calm rational manner. Thorax followed along, giving a half nervous nod. “You can settle into you room-”

“No.” Dark Justice stated.

“Okay.” Raspberry nodded.

Dark Justice slammed his hooves on the table. Everyone tensed. “I don’t want to settle. I want to go home.”

Raspberry and Killjoy shared a subtle glance. Clearly planning a strategy for things escalated.

Dark Justice threw his plate at the wall.

The girls just stared at the mark it left on the wall. One by one, they turned to the parents.

Killjoy was grinning widely. Though the girls knew that Killjoy loved seeing Raspberry deal with problems. This time, even Killjoy seemed tense. Not an anxious tense, more a ‘I remember what happens next and I don’t like it’. It did nothing to ease the growing tension.

Thorax seemed to be mourning the food itself. The raging child did nothing to disturb him. Perhaps that was because he grew up in the Hive, with a lot of crazy foals running around. Perhaps it was because he had already decided things would go wrong, that his wife would handle it, so he didn’t stress over it.

Then came to the matriarch. Raspberry. She was tapping the tip of her hoof on the table, a thoughtful look on her face.

All the while, Dark Justice was screaming. “I hate this! I hate this stupid house and this stupid food and this stupid town! I want to go home!”

Raspberry held up her hoof. It silenced the replies before they could even start. When the girls and fellow adults calmed enough, Raspberry’s bracelet came back to visibility to glow yellow.

The mark on the wall vanished. The food ended up in the trash. The broken plate had been fixed, then over to the sink. Not a sign of any rage to be seen.

Raspberry turned to Dark Justice. The colt was still raging on.

“Dark Justice.” Raspberry stated, her voice matronly stern. She was trying to break through the rage cloud no doubt in his head.

The colt ignored her. Instead, he ran to the repaired wall.

“Dark Justice.”

With a roar of rage, Dark Justice kicked the wall.

Cookie yelped, latching onto the sister closest to her. Lilac wrapped a claw around Cookie’s back, trying not to show off how the claw was trembling. Dynamite was tense, her wings fidgeting. Killjoy’s wings were too- anyone could tell

Raspberry’s wrist glowed blue.

The girls all vanished in a matching blue, Dynamite giving a disappointed groan. They had been moved into their respective rooms. Killjoy vanished also. Raspberry clearly wasn’t going to risk anything.

Thorax was left to his own devices. He stood up from his seat, horns glowing blue. He lifted up the remaining plates and dishes, moving them back to the kitchen. He went out to make sure everything was put away properly. Tupperware didn’t exist for nothing.

Raspberry came out of her seat, walking over towards the colt.

Dark Justice hadn’t stopped kicking the wall. He kicked and kicked and kicked the wall- denting it worse than the plate did. He was rage-screaming too. Those were getting weaker as he stopped for air, getting less air with each forceful kick. Though he had the energy of any colt, it had been an emotional day. Chances were this wasn’t going to go on for too long.

She watched silently. She hopped from her seat, walking towards the end of the table. She glanced at the hole being created in her wall. Dark Justice spotted her, kicking harder. Raspberry sat down on her haunches. Her expression was calm while watching, not a speck of glee or grief to be seen. She said nothing to encourage him, nor discourage him.

Before long, after more hefty kicks that tore the hole bigger in her wall, Dark Justice slumped to the floor. Once down, Dark Justice began to shake as another emotion decided to take control.

Raspberry scooted over to him. She used her wing to drape over his back, holding him to her side. The colt didn’t move- didn’t push her away- he was too busy hiding his sobs in his forehooves. She let him cry it all out, keeping a gentle hold on his back.

As they sat there, Thorax poked his head out. He glanced between the colt then Raspberry. He pointed at his own chest. An offer of help, or something of equal nature.

After a moment’s hesitation, Raspberry nodded.

The changeling settled on the other side of the colt. Thorax kept his wings to himself, offering his side merely as a warm body. He even shifted himself just enough that his sides were warmer than normal. Like a warm blanket heated up by a fire.

Dark Justice’s crying tapered off after ten minutes. The quiet shuddering sobs that came next lasted another ten minutes. When those faded too, a thick silence filled the dining room.

Raspberry used her regular magic to bring over a napkin. She placed in on Dark Justice’s hoof, waiting for his cue. Thorax brought over a few more- just in case.

Dark Justice gave a weak fight. He was nothing compared to the nurturing hugs both experienced parents gave. He ended up taking The tissue though- under protest. He sniffled as he roughly wiped the tears off his face. He tried to ignore the fact he cried in front of the stupid ponies.

“It’s been a long day.” Raspberry noted. She glanced to her husband. “Let’s go to bed, talk again in the morning?”

Thorax nodded.

“Good.” Raspberry turned to Dark Justice. “You can go up to your room. We put your name on it.” She held her wing tighter to his side. “We won’t keep you forever. When your parents come back, and everything is okay, we’ll let you go home.”

“I don’t want to stay.” Dark Justice grumbled. He grabbed the tissues from Thorax. “It’s stupid.”

“Yes, you said that.” Raspberry nodded. “Still it’s up to me and this one to watch you. You’re parents would want you someplace safe, where you only concerns are homework and them.”

Dark Justice stopped. Everypony has been telling him not to worry about his parents. They told him to focus on his school, or making friends. Nopony had said it was okay to worry about them too. They all wanted him to forget his parents.

“Yeah! Think about all the cool school stuff you can show them when they get back!” Thorax cheered. He gawked. “All the stuff they can put on the fridge.”

Raspberry smiled at him.

Dark Justice had to admit, in the solitude of his own mind. It wasn’t a bad idea...to get cool stuff to show his parents when they came back from the south.

“But not forever.” Dark Justice reminded.

Raspberry shook her head. “Not forever. It could be a week, or a month, or a year. We’ll watch you until you can go home. Not a day sooner, or a day later.” She promised.

Dark Justice sniffled again. “I want a bed.”

“Course!” Thorax used his magic to lift up the colt. He was lowered on Thorax’s back. With pep in his step, Thorax carried the foal off to his room. “It’s not all decked out yet. We didn’t know what you liked, so it’s all basic. You can tell us if you want other colors. Oh! Books! Starry put a bunch of books in there. Those are an easy like for kids!”

Raspberry rolled her eyes fondly. She followed after him, keeping herself from walking too close. An early night for everyone was best.

==CAH==

That night, Thorax and Raspberry settled into their room.

“Wow.” Thorax whistled as he slid into bed.

“I know.” Raspberry replied plainly. She was reading over her Plan for this upcoming episode, adding notes for Lilac’s meeting and help with Dark Justice.

“Wow.” Thorax repeated.

“Honey, I know.” She reminded him.

His cheeks- and most it his body, unfortunate trait- “Just- I’ve never seen an Equestrian foal get mad like that.” Thorax admitted. Raspberry said nothing. “Did...did you know kids like that? Beside Killjoy.”

Raspberry smiled at the remark. It turned down as she recalled the past. “A few. They...they were always waiting for their parents, but sometimes they seemed to realize they’d never come back. It was always a coin flip to if they got depressed or-” She nodded her head vaguely in the direction of the dining room.

Thorax sat in bed, thoughtful. “You grew up around that?”

“My sister did.” Raspberry corrected. “I was just along for the ride...Author I hated that I wasn’t an adult there. We were in a lot of houses- foster or girl’s homes...it hit hard, you know?”

Thorax couldn’t even begin to understand what it was like. He could read Raspberry’s emotions, but he couldn’t feel them. Not as she did from experience. It was genuine emotions like those that were hard to replicate. “Are you coming to bed?” He said, as it was the only thing one could say.

Raspberry nodded. She made a few more ticks and notes on the Plan, walking over to the bed. “We always have tomorrow.”

“...when the sun comes out-”

“Divorce.” Raspberry jokingly warned.

Thorax only grinned.