Silver Spoon Adopts a Naga

by Halira

Chapter 27: Legacy of Gilted Silver

Silver Spoon tried to stop herself from pacing as she waited in the sitting room. All the opulence and silver-gilt everywhere had once been something that she felt as normal and her right by birth when she was a filly. Now it made her feel like she was in the home of some tyrant who would execute a creature for looking at them wrong.

She knew this was unfair. Her parents were actually very considerate of their employees—insisting on making sure no employee overworked themselves, that they were paid well, and taking safety concerns within the family mines extremely seriously. Of course, this was because her parents believed this to be a good business practice. You had a harder time maintaining a workforce if your workers were overworked, injured, or left for better-paying jobs. Her parents even oversaw the franchisees of Twist and Bon Bon's business, and they included as part of the franchise contract equally strong concerns about employee welfare. Diamond Tiara had even studied the Silvers' policies and adapted them to her own business not long after taking full control of it. The Silvers were model employers.

However, they were still want-to-be nobles who thought of themselves as inherently better than the average creature, and that was one major thing that separated them from her. It would also be her challenge to keep them from transferring those ideas onto Sisstet.

Her pacing abruptly stopped as she heard the door to the next room open, and she turned just in time to see Silver Wright and Silver Sheet enter. Her parents did a brief glance around the room, perhaps trying to find Sisstet or Madam Glass. When neither was found, they settled their eyes on her and went to take seats.

"Spoon, might I inquire, where is our prospective grandfoal and Madame Glass?" her mother asked as she settled into an overplump velvet cushion on the floor.

"Yes, it is odd, finding you here, by yourself, without even having attention from the help," her father said as he took up a seat on a separate cushion, separated from his wife by a sitting table. It was a little odd, seeing her parents sit in those places. Normally, they took seats on the couches so they would be elevated higher than their guests.

It didn't take long for her to figure out their choice of seating. That particular table they were next to had four cushions surrounding it, one of each of them, and one each for her and Sisstet. A small silver bell that could be tapped to summon a servant had already been set out for it.

"May I sit?" she asked as she gestured to one of the unoccupied cushions.

Her mother inclined her head. "By all means. This is a family visit, not a formal one. You need not ask for such simple courtesies, nor should Silver Scale. We still await your answer, Spoon. Where is our prospective heir, and why is Madam Glass not attending you?"

"Yes. It is improper for you to be sitting both unannounced and unattended. I would never believe it of Madam Glass if I were not seeing it at this very moment," her father said, spreading his disapproving frown about the room.

She walked over and pulled one cushion back slightly so she could sit and see both her parents' faces at once instead of having to turn back and forth between them. They waited patiently as she took her seat.

"Sisstet is going through a period of skin shedding," she explained after settling on the cushion. "This makes him very itchy, and I thought it might be good for Madam Glass to give him an oatmeal scrub to help alleviate some of his discomfort."

"Aw! Very good. Now we understand," her father said with a nod as his frown disappeared.

Her mother nodded as well. "Indeed. A good first impression can only be made once. While a poor showing can be overcome, it is best never to have to be put in a position where you are forced to do so. It is an important life lesson and one I am glad to see you imparting."

"Yes," her father continued. "While we had been briefed about the certain biological differences in naga, we, as it stands, are not yet practiced in viewing them. Thank you for briefing us on his current condition. We shall endeavor not to hold Silver Scale guilty of matters of nature that are beyond his control."

Silver held a hoof up in objection. "Until Sisstet approves of you doing so, I would prefer you not use that name. You can discuss it with him if you want, but he decides what he is comfortable being addressed as."

Her parents looked at one another then back at her.

"We shall agree to this," her mother announced. "However, when he is not present, we shall discuss him by his new family name. The name Sisstet we shall use more familiarly. Familiar names are of acceptable use in casual settings."

That was about as much as Silver could hope for, but hey had mentioned something else that had caught her ear.

"You said you were briefed about biological differences on naga; who briefed you?" she inquired.

"Oh! We had an enlightening discussion just the other day with Minister Cozy Glow over tea. We host her often to discuss trade arrangements for unrefined ore," her mother explained. "The minister showed great enthusiasm at the prospect of Silver Scale becoming the heir to the Silver mining empire. The minister assured us of her support in this endeavor as well as the crown's. She also supplied us with a copious amount of reading material about nagas and kingsnakes in particular."

Her father leaned forward with an eager gleam in his eyes. "The minister also hinted that the princess may be considering a reshuffling of the nobility. While the crown would never be so short-sighted to cause outrage by stripping the existing nobility of titles, there can be a reorganization of what lands are held by what house."

Her mother gave an evil grin. "Equestria holds much more territory than when many of these houses were established. Much of that territory is lightly populated or not populated at all. There are some, shall we say, freeloading nobles, who do not properly attend their duties that may find themselves in possession of lands that are more fitting to the level of attention they have displayed. This opens up opportunities for families who have displayed their worth and service to the crown to be rewarded with the titles they so deserve."

"Most of our most valuable mines are territorially close together and the most profitable ventures in their regions," her father continued. "The noble who currently supervises our lands makes an incredible amount in taxes off our work and only gives a portion of that to the crown—with little public improvement to his lands to show for it. If that noble were to be reassigned elsewhere, and our family elevated to its dutifully earned place, we could pay higher taxes to the crown than it now receives and still come out paying less than we are currently beholden to give."

"The Silver Dutchy does have a nice ring to it," her mother said wistfully. "Silver Scale could easily become the first non-pony Duke, and with some careful guidance, lead our newly claimed lands to be the most profitable and fastest-growing parts of Equestria."

"It is what our family deserves for generations of diligent care of Equestria's silver," her father said with a haughty sniff."And kingsnakes can live for centuries. That ensures we have no fear of our line suddenly dying out or him being forced to selects an unideal heir simply because there is no one else to choose."

"That's how you end up with cretins like Blueblood heading a family," her mother sniffed. "It's a shame he has sired a list of bastards. It would have been nice to see the decayed line of Platinum die out at last, but there is always another bastard in that line—literally and figuratively."

Silver was not so enthusiastic. "Becoming nobles, another reason for you to look down your noses at my friends."

Her father sat up and stiffened his back. "You mistake us, daughter. For what they were born into, your friends are quite capable ponies."

"But nobility is not the worth of a single individual," her mother said with a nod. "It is the staying power of a family's value to the nation, showing its continued worth over many generations. That is why we are worthy while so many of the current nobles are not. Many of your friends have proven themselves as individuals—the Cutie Mark Crusaders are notable examples of this, two of whom have sisters who have also proven their worth."

"But what of their foals, future grandfoals, and great grandfoals?" her father asked with a raised eyebrow. "Will the trend continues, or will they fade into the background? This has yet to be seen, and until it does, their families are lesser than ours. Those of us sitting here may never see the final result, but we can hope that in the coming centuries they will continue to show their worth and Silver Scale will be there to advocate for their family's rightful elevation if they have demonstrated it. Until then, they are individuals who are worth holding good business relations with but not to be seen as equals. Their families haven't earned it yet."

Her mother sighed. "That's the problem with new money, like the Rich family. They get so above themselves. While we can hope that your friend, Diamond Tiara, can right the ship, there are already cracks showing in the family's capabilities and worth by way of Spoiled Rich. The minister hinted that Silver Scale's poor conditions may have been a result of Spoiled's neglect, and the minister hinted that equal neglect or outright incompetence elsewhere may lay at her hooves. This is what comes from ponies trying to believe they are better than they are, others having to suffer. She is unworthy of her husband, unworthy of her daughter, and unworthy of the station which she aspires to."

"And things are not looking promising for Diamond Tiara," her father said grimly. "If she wishes to serve as the matriarch of her family, it is her obligation...no… her duty to assert a higher degree of control over embarrassing elements such as her mother. Her continued failure to properly do so reflects poorly on her."

"Although your friend has yet to marry, so the point may be moot. The Rich line may pass with her if that doesn't change soon. In a few years she will be too old to be having babies," her mother added in and then gave an exaggerated sigh. For a moment, her stiff upper-class composure dropped and it was just an old mare sitting on the cushion. "It makes me feel quite ancient, thinking of ponies of my daughter's generation getting too old to be having foals. I am glad you are adopting. I was becoming worried."

Silver scowled. "So which reason do you detest Twist more? The fact she can't get me pregnant or because she is beneath me?"

Her mom blinked. "I will not ask the indecent question that goes along with that. To address your question. We were primarily concerned with our family line and business continuing. If we are going to be transparent, if Twist were a stallion who could get you pregnant, or if she had an interest in the family business, we would have warmed much more quickly to her."

Her father coughed. "Yes, but that is in the past now. There is now a possible heir and that changes everything. Your wife shows excellent dedication to her craft, and her business should prove to maintain profits for years to come. Her presentation to us while she was courting you showed she has a good head for business and that is partially why we were willing to invest the money into expanding her brand name. We still wish she had an interest in the silver industry, but this sweet shop of hers will prove to be a decent minor side venture for the family. When her partner decides to retire and gives sole ownership of the business to Twist, we shall transfer ownership of our franchises to you and your wife. They may not be our preferred sources of income, but we intend to keep them Silver family-owned and that should always mean something. We are confident your wife will run them well. We shall hold out hope Silver Scale will take over the primary business and find competent help to supervise your wife's pet interest whenever she retires."

"And if he decides he would rather follow your wife's example, very well," her mom said with a sigh. "Focusing on candies and cookies rather than silver ore will decline our family's prestige, but the family will survive. That is what is most important."

Silver bit her lip and tried to hold her anger in check. She knew she should be happy that her parents were willing to sacrifice some prestige to accommodate the fact that they might not find anypony… anycreature now… who would continue their precious silver mining legacy and the power that came with that. Still, that was the problem. It was always the family's power and prestige that came first. Every member of the family was but a tool for the family name. That was how they saw Twist's passion for making candy and that was how they would saw Sisstet. Love was never in the picture, only how useful to the family someone was. They probably judged her as a useless disappointment who only salvaged some usefulness by marrying somepony who could maintain some economic power for the family—if in a reduced form.

It made her sick to her stomach that she ever aspired to be like her parents.

Showing anger wouldn't help Sisstet, and Sisstet needed her parents on his side. That meant she couldn't afford an angry outburst at her parents.

"We'll discuss that at a later date. For right now, Sisstet's welfare is what is important," Silver said, at last, refusing to refer to him as Silver Scale.

"Indeed," her father agreed. "I'm assuming you have some demands for us?"

She nodded. "I already told you about the name thing. I'm telling you now not to expect him to have perfect manners or speech. He is a kid, and he is often nervous and scared. His former guardians showed him no signs of love or compassion, and that has only negatively impacted him. I don't know if you two have it in you to feel those things for him, but I expect you to at least try to fake it. Do you want a component and capable heir? Well, to get that you need an heir who feels loved and wanted. Love for a kid is not something that a kid should have to earn."

"I don't see where—" her mom began, but Silver held up a hoof to cut her off.

"You say you have respect for a pony that exercises their craft well?" Silver asked with firm determination. "I am a teacher. That is my craft, and I like to think I put my whole heart into it and do a good job. I don't claim to have all the answers to everything, but I think you will agree that I have a professional qualification for saying what foals need. More than anything else, foals need compassion, love, and understanding. They need a family that makes them feel there is no condition for their love. If there are conditions for love that means there is a chance of never being good enough. A foal who never feels they are good enough can never truly be happy or learn to show proper love to others."

Her parents both stared at her with wide-eyed shock, mouths open in disbelief.

It was her mother who was the first to try to find her words. "Spoon… you don't honestly believe that we don't…"

Her father was not so kind in his response once he found his words. "You ungrateful hypocrite! I think of all the things we do for you, and still, you feel like you can lecture us about freely giving love when it is you who are never satisfied with u—"

"The young master is ready!" Madam Glass announced loudly, far more loudly than she normally would, as she entered the room. Her eyes quickly passed over each of the ponies in the room, and the meaning in her gaze was clear. She knew what we were talking about, and we would stow away that conversation for the moment so Sisstet wouldn't hear. The old maid had acted as stand-in mother to both me and father, and despite being a servant of the family, held powerful sway over both of us. A sway that so powerful that neither of us would risk disapproval in her gaze.

All three of them straightened and put smiles on our faces like there hadn't been a fight getting ready to break out.

"Very good. Send him in if you would, Madam Glass," my father said with a beaming smile.

So, my first week in Tartarus begins. I will endure it for Sisstet. Silver thought to herself.

Comments

[PrincessEnchanteDream]

I'm not sure you're aware of this, or you might be, but "Naga" is the Hindi word for snake.

10/10 cleverness, gotta give it to ya!

[Maulet Paya]

This is the reason guillotines exist