Silver Spoon Adopts a Naga

by Halira

Chapter 2: Parent-Teacher Conference Gone Wrong

Dinky Doo had caught them as they were leaving to brief them on Candy's situation. It was an eye-raising explanation for sure, and she knew she'd need to take some time to visit the filly soon. Right now, her focus was on Sisstet, though, as she wasn't going to be of much use to the dumbfounding situation Candy Apple was in. She thanked Dinky for the information and then left the school with Sisstet in tow.

On the way to Sisstet's house, the two of them briefly stopped by Twist's work so Silver could fulfill her promise of chocolate. Twist herself brought the treat out for him, and her snakelike student broke it in two with his claws and immediately swallowed down one of the pieces in a single gulp. Naga might be omnivores who were capable of eating almost anything organic (and had in the past attempted to put ponies on the menu), but sweets were still sweets and still delicious. Silver personally preferred peppermint sticks to chocolate, but she had a reason to be biased.

Twist laughed after Sisstet finished off the second half of the chocolate bunny in the same manner he'd swallowed the first half. "You know, you'll enjoy it more if you let it sit in your mouth for a few seconds. You barely have time to taste it if you gulp it down like that."

Sisstet coiled up slightly in embarrassment. "I don't chew very good." He then opened his mouth wide, wider than any pony possibly could, to display the inside of his mouth. Inside his maw were his two large fangs, spreading out along the gums were much smaller needle-like teeth, nothing meant for chewing. The passage into his throat seemed much larger than it should have been for a creature his size.

Silver was unperturbed by the display, but Twist took a frightened step back while staring at his fangs. Sisstet's wide-open mouth blocked his view of Twist's fright, and the candy maker had recomposed herself by the time he shut his mouth again.

Only Silver would have noticed that the smile on Twist's face was forced as Twist spoke to the young naga again. "I see… well, maybe you should just suck on the candy and let it melt in your mouth. Next time you come by, you can try one of my patented peppermint sticks. Do you have any fun plans for summer?"

"I need to do a report on changelings. I'm going to try to find a changeling," Sisstet replied.

Twist chuckled. "While I'm sure that Silver Spoon appreciates you taking her summer assignments seriously. That's not really what I had meant by fun."

"My projects can be fun," Silver protested as she crossed her legs against herself.

Twist walked over and gently touched a hoof to Silver's face. "You know what I mean. You're just as happy there's no school to worry about for three more months."

Silver smirked. "Okay, that's fair. By the way, where's my kiss?"

"I'm on the clock. There's no kissing or nuzzling on the clock. That's a rule my employees have to follow, so I have to follow it too," Twist replied as she pulled her hoof back. "I'll give you plenty of kisses later." She looked back at Sisstet. "So, what else are you doing this summer?"

Sisstet picked at one of his claws nervously. "I don't know. Female guardian had an egg. Sshe won't let anycreature near the egg. Maybe play with my toy train, somewhere away from her."

Silver's eyebrows rose. "Sythel had an egg? You never mentioned that. You're going to be a big brother then."

"Ssort of," Sisstet replied in a quiet voice. "Guardians are not really my parents, so the egg is not really my sibling. They've been acting differently since it was laid."

"Well, having a baby is a big thing. They are probably very occupied worrying about that," Twist said. "How long does it take a naga egg to hatch?"

"Not ssure, my guardians did not say. They don't act worried. They act… different. Female guardian just guards the egg and won't let me or male guardian near it. Male guardian just acts unsure and confused about many things. I don't think they know what they are supposed to do. I think they might contact kingsnakes for answers."

Silver's eyebrows shot up. "Why? I know having a baby is a big deal, but it typically isn't something you go running to your ruler with questions about. Could you imagine what would happen if Princess Twilight had every mare who got pregnant running to her asking her what to do about it?"

Sisstet quivered a little. "Naga are different. Naga don't do anything without kingsnakess' orders. Guardians are not sure of where having egg fits with their orders, so they are confused. They aren't sure if they should keep the egg, send it back to the Clutch, or send it to the Crystal Clutch."

"Uh, there's more than one Clutch?" Twist asked, looking back and forth between Silver and Sisstet for an answer.

"It's what they are calling all the young naga they sent together to the Crystal Empire," Silver explained. "Since there is a lot of them all gathered and raised together at Princess Cadance's school, the naga started referring to it as the Crystal Clutch, and calling Princess Cadance the 'kingsnake of the Crystal Clutch'."

Twist gave a quick, forced laugh. "Heh, wonder how she feels about that title. I always found it weird that it was Cadance that put them all in a boarding school and Twilight Sparkle that put them in small family units. It seems like it should have been the other way around, just thinking about the princesses."

Silver shrugged. "The kingsnakes made both Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance honorary kingsnakes when the princesses thoroughly routed them in battle. It is considered their highest show of respect; it also gives them official authority over the naga sent to live in Equestria. And yeah, I agree that I would have thought they'd have the opposite approaches for dealing with teaching the naga Equestrian ways, but here we are."

"Maybe guardianss can ask Princess Twilight for guidance, instead of other kingsnakes?" Sisstet suggested. "I've never seen the kingsnakes, but I know they're scary. Guardians say kingsnakes can eat grownup naga whole if they displeased them."

Silver reached over and laid a hoof on her student. "Hey, I'm sure that they haven't done anything to get any of you eaten. Now, let's get you home, and I can tell them about the excellent progress you've made this year. I'm sure they'll be happy to hear you're doing so well."

He nodded, but still seemed nervous.

---

Sisstet's house was on the far side of town in what some creatures called the poniless district. The term was a misleading one, as there were a few ponies that lived out this way, primarily the few thestral residents of the town who enjoyed having more privacy, and many that would visit for business. This part of town had houses that were spaced further apart from one another, a lot more trees and bushes between houses for privacy, and very few shops.

The few shops that were out this way tended to specialize in products and services that might make ponies uncomfortable but were needed for several of the species. The primary shop that came to mind that ponies, in general, might avoid was the meat market. Many creatures required varying amounts of meat in their diets, and ponies didn't always feel comfortable seeing cuts of meat being put on display. Sisstet's guardians both worked for the meat market.

However, the meat market wasn't completely avoided by ponies. As ponies sometimes needed meat for certain pets. Ponies also typically had no problem with fish being put on display for consumption, as that was what they'd previously fed many of their carnivorous pets before being offered more variety. Even with easier access to pet food for carnivores, these ponies still fished, as it had become a hobby, and now would simply sell their catches to the meat market for extra bits. There were a few farmers that kept livestock as well and would occasionally bring an animal to market (the Apples were known to bring pigs once a year). Meat that came locally was valued much more than imported meat, and ponies that provided fish and other animals were paid well. The meat market also provided gelatin to Barnyard Bargains, which had previously been a costly dessert ingredient that had to be imported from the Griffin Empire but was now much more affordable in Ponyville thanks to the local production.

She had students that came from this area, and they were her only reason to visit it. Sisstet was one student that lived out this way, Godfrey was her other current student that did. Her previous graduate class had a thestral colt that she had to visit regularly because a great deal of his schoolwork ended up being homework. She wanted to make sure he was getting the same amount of personal instruction as the rest of the students in her class (the school district had been accommodating enough to pay her extra for having to go over to his house every weekend). Her visits to her thestral student had been frequent enough that she generally knew her way around this part of town.

It didn't take long to reach Sisstet's home. His house was one of the most unique in Ponyville, more a burrow into the ground with a large entrance door than a freestanding structure. An old diamond dog had previously owned it, but he had moved away to be better cared for by other diamond dogs, and it had sat vacant for a full year before Sisstet's family had taken it over. From the outside, it looked like the entrance to a storm cellar with a mailbox. Once inside, there was a descending path that went into a long circular hallway, which was more cave than a hallway. There were a few hollowed-out alcoves of various sizes for sleeping and storage, along with a larger area near the entrance that served as a living area. It did have running water, but she was unsure exactly where it entered or where it exited.

Sisstet pulled open the entrance and announced himself. "Guardianss! I am home. Miss Silver Spoon is with me."

After he made this announcement, the young naga slithered aside so Silver could go in. She took a deep breath before going in. She'd been here a few times, but it was still unnerving each time. It was just how dark and claustrophobic the place was. There were glowing crystals embedded into the walls, seemingly at random, that provided light, but it was still hard to see more than a ponylength or two ahead of her with any clarity. It didn't get much easier walking in with additional visits.

She walked in and suppressed a shudder when Sisstet entered and shut the door behind them, making the place even dimmer.

The place was much warmer than her previous visits. On all her previous visits, this place had been slightly chilly, but now it was hot. There was also a notable increase in humidity within the burrow as well. The area felt very much like a sauna now. It even had the smell of cedar that accompanied a sauna.

Sisstet did his slither-crawl past her, going deeper inside, and she quickly lost sight of him. She took one last deep breath and then walked down the path towards the main 'room' at the bottom of the way.

The main room was somewhat bigger than a pony living room, not only in square footage but also with a much higher ceiling. It was much better lit than the rest of the burrow. Two paths exited out to the left and right of the room. On one side of the room, just to the side of the left path, was a small table that had a toy train set, complete with track, and many small figurines. Bits of roots from above could be seen poking through the ceiling, as well as several different satchels hanging out of pony reach from hooks in the ceiling. There were cedar boxes placed along the walls that weren't previously there, that she could see steam coming out from. On the other side of the room, there was another table, this one larger.

Sythel was coiled up tightly under the larger table and seemed to have made a nest of sorts with wool blankets. The adult naga had dark brown and black scales, a massive flared hood, and she was staring at Silver with pure menace. Her coils were much more extensive than Sisstet's and seemed large enough to fit a pony through them. Silver knew that if the naga brought herself to full height, she could tower over most resident dragons in stature (although she was still no match for the many century-old dragons which were rarely seen outside the Dragon Lands). There was no sign of where Sisstet had slithered off to-- probably somewhere deeper into the burrow.

Silver just froze with primitive fear under the gaze of the naga, as some part of her mind told her that she was prey, and if she just held very still, the predator wouldn't see her. It was an irrational feeling, but that didn't diminish the intensity. The spell of Sythel's gaze was broken when Sisstet's other guardian, Mishset, came slither-crawling in from the other side of the room. He was of similar size and coloration to Sythel, with a slightly smaller flared hood and a streak of dark blue that ran like a stripe through his scales. Sythel turned her menace on him as he entered, but he didn't seem nearly as bothered by it (although he too kept his distance from her).

Mishset kept his height low as he turned his attention to Silver, and began speaking in his much more hissy speech. "Welssome, teassser pony. Sisstet iss ssoing well? Make kingssnakess ssappy?"

She always had to listen carefully and repeat in her head what was said to her by Sisstet's guardians. They seemed all but incapable of saying certain letters correctly and dragged out their S's far more often. With Sisstet the extended S was much less pronounced, and almost like a nervous tick, rather than a speech impediment, and one she was working to help him overcome. His guardians were now far easier to understand than when they first came to Ponyville, but it was still a challenge at times.

"Sisstet is doing exceptionally well," she said, going into full teacher mode. This was a parent-teacher conference, and that was something she could deal with. "He is a little shy still, but he is talking more in class. He has made a few friends as well. He is starting to fit in well with Equestrian society. Your kingsnakes will be very happy."

"Good," Mishset replied, then looked over at his mate "Musst desside what to soo wis sim. Ssythel sseeing very sstuborn about egg."

Sythel tightened her coils and hissed angrily. "Mine! No, go to Clutch! Mine!"

Mishset hissed back at her. "Kingssnakess orserss not ssay two. Need to soo ssomesing."

Sythel put one of her clawed hands over her coils protectively. "Mine!"

Silver tried to figure out what the problem was but came up empty. "Um, excuse me? What is going on?"

The male naga turned his attention back to her. "Kingssnakess orserss to raisse one young. Two not orser. Shoo not have two."

"Ssen Ssisstet back to Clutch. Not mine!" Sythel hissed again, now wrapping her torso around her coils as if giving the egg underneath them all further protection.

"You can't do that!" Silver shouted. "Sisstet is doing so well. You'd take him away from all his friends and put him back in a negative environment. You'd stifle all the growth he has made. I don't mean this to be rude, but out of the three of you, he is most at home here in Equestria. He wouldn't fit into your Clutch."

The male naga crawled up near her, and she got that menacing feeling again as he stared into her eyes. "You ssay Ssistet iss better with poniess?"

She gulped but nodded. "Yes. He should stay here."

Mishtet stared at her for a few seconds, then his eyes widened. She was afraid that was a sign he was about to strike, but instead, he turned back towards his mate. "Know what to soo! Give Ssistet to teasser pony. Sen only one. Kingssnakess be sappy poniess claim sim."

Sythel seemed to brighten up, and Silver could swear she started to purr. She had no idea that naga purred. "Iss good idea! Keep mine. Ssisstet continue to make kingssnakess sappy. Give teasser pony Ssisstet to live with ser."

She took a step back in disbelief. "What?! You can't do that! You're supposed to take care of him!"

"Sake sare of one," Mishset corrected. "No two. We sake sare of new one. Ssisstet no neess uss if gooder san uss wis poniess. We give Ssisstet to you. Make kingssnakess sappy."

She shook her head, still unsure how a simple parent-teacher conference had escalated to this. Naga were crazy! "I-I need some time… time to… I just need some time."

Without another word, she turned and retreated out of the burrow. She needed advice; she needed advice now.

Comments

[Da Fennec]

Interesting chapter it makes me want to see how the boarding school idea is working as well. Though from seeing Ssisstet's 'parents' maybe that's why Candence went with a boarding school over smaller units the young Naga can have pony teachers support all the time rather than only while at school