Silver Spoon Adopts a Naga

by Halira

Chapter 33: Ninjas and Pirates, Tigers and Gators

The sun was shining brightly as Silver and Sisstet made their way back to the main street of Ponyville. This part of town had mostly gotten used to seeing Sisstet, so few expressed any shock at seeing him, aside from one couple who were obviously tourists seeing what else the town had to offer than the giant crystal tree castle.

She’d put off talking long enough. “Sisstet, I owe you an apology. When I’m around my parents, I tend to get very defensive and easily angered. You shouldn’t have to see that. I do have issues with things they say, but I should talk to you about those things in private, not get into yelling matches with my parents.”

“I undersstand,” Sisstet replied.

She smiled at him. “Of course you do; you’re a smart colt. Let’s hurry over and see Twist. She’s going to be shocked at how fast things are going.”

“Is Madam Glass a pirate?” Sisstet asked.

She paused in her tracks, unsure if she had heard that correctly. “Is Madam Glass a what?”

Sisstet coiled slightly and quickly flicked his tongue. “Iss Madam Glass a pirate?”

Okay, she did hear him correctly. “No, she’s not, nor do I think she ever was. Why are you asking?”

Sisstet pointed back the way they came. “The other ponies at the big house were scared of her, and she talks sorta like a pirate, so I wondered if she was a pirate.”

It was always surprising what made sense to foals. They had the wildest imaginations and came to the most bizarre conclusions. “The other servants get a little jumpy and unnerved around her because she moves very silently and very quickly, and she always takes them by surprise. She can be standing right behind you or walk right past you without you noticing because she's so quiet—sometimes, she can even be right in front of you, and you won't notice her till she speaks. She's very proud that she can come or go with nopony noticing; she believes any good servant should be able to do that, but none come close to matching her. Instead of a pirate, I’d have thought you might think she was a ninja since she’s so stealthy.”

“Is she a ninja?” Sisstet asked.

She shook her head and chuckled. “No, she’s not a ninja. She’s just a sweet old mare who has been perfecting her craft since before I was even born. Come along…actually…” She bent down. “Get on. I’ll give you a ride.”

He slithered across the grass and climbed up her side onto her back. It stung a little as he climbed. Were his claws getting sharper? They weren't sharp enough to penetrate her, at least not with her fur, but he also wasn't trying to. If he lashed out at anycreature, he could possibly do some serious harm. Should she trim his claws? Would that hurt him? Did he need them to be sharp? Would it impair his climbing abilities if she trimmed them? Would it impair him if she didn't trim them? It would be nice if she could ask him, but he barely knew more than she did about his species. She made a mental note to read up on naga claws as soon as she could.

She frowned as she felt something odd about how he felt against her back. “Sisstet, is everything okay?”

“Ssskin almosst ready to come off,” Sisstet replied. “Got loossser after Madam Glasssss ssscrubbed it.”

“No need to be nervous,” she assured him. “Are you hurting?”

“No, hurts less since it is all loose, but feels icky. Don't like it,” Sisstet answered.

“Well, I'll re-read the section about that tonight, and we'll see if we can get it off…or do we need to do it sooner?” she asked. “You've gone through this before; you tell me.”

“Guardiansss used to make little cut down my back so I could squeezzze out,” Sisstet answered.

Hmm, she wasn't sure she could do that. It seemed like something that had to be done with a great deal of precision; otherwise, she might end up cutting into more than the dead skin, and her experience cutting vegetables typically ended with lopsided cuts that didn't bode well for a job like this. Twist might be able to manage it. The issue they'd both face was the idea of cutting into Sisstet. They wouldn't actually be cutting him, but it would feel like it to them. Somepony else might have to do it. Who would be willing to do it and be able to do it without accidentally knicking Sisstet in the process? Should she try going to his old guardians and see if they'd be willing to do it? If she did, she could at least observe the process to know what to do in the future. Would they even be willing to? They had just dumped him like yesterday's garbage. Her blood still boiled just thinking about it.

“I'll see if I can find somecreature who can help you out of your skin,” she told him. Okay, that was one of the oddest things she had ever had to say.

“Miss Spoon! It's getting to be a common sight to see you with a naga on your back. How are you doing today?”

She turned to see one of her former students, an orange earth pony mare named Tiger Lily.

She smiled at the younger mare. “You don't have to call me Miss Spoon like I'm still your teacher, Tiger. How is the flower business going?”

She giggled. “Business is good, but my aunts are as easily spooked as ever, and some of my cousins are just as bad. You might want to avoid walking by the stall with that little guy on your back. They'd be on the ground in five seconds flat. The horror! The horror! Hehe.”

Silver had to force herself not to scowl. Tiger wasn't the problem or even guilty of anything other than reminding her how poorly some ponies might still react to Sisstet. The flower ponies might be overexcitable and dramatic, but it was easy to picture many ponies reacting that way. Sisstet and the other naga may have lived in Ponyville for years, but they'd kept primarily to themselves and only traveled to a few places in town. Now that Sisstet was being seen more often, ponies would slowly start to get used to him. She had faith in her hometown to adapt and become welcoming, but she still feared that there would be hiccups along the way that would hurt his feelings. He was only a foal; he would have difficulty understanding that they just needed to get used to him. Then there were the tourists; they'd always be questionable about how'd they react.

She forced a smile. “Well, I'm glad you don't react that way, and I hope your family can adjust to seeing Sisstet.”

Tiger Lily giggled. “I'm sure they will, as long as they aren't all together. They rile each other up. They aren't so bad individually. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Have a good day!”

Hmm, was there a way to get Sisstet one-on-one time with each of the flower ponies? They were potentially the worst Ponyville had to offer in terms of a bad reaction. Getting them to be comfortable with Sisstet would help prevent them from causing an uproar that spread to others.

She waved goodbye to Tiger Lily and turned to look at Sisset. “Everything okay back there? Talk about those ponies didn't upset you, did it?”

He shivered. “Am I really that ssscary?”

“You're unfamiliar, and some creatures are afraid of what's unfamiliar. Don't worry. As they get used to seeing you, you'll become more familiar, and they'll stop being afraid. Don't worry about those flower ponies. I once saw them faint because they didn't have the proper change to give to a customer who overpaid. They are the queens of being overdramatic.”

“THE HORROR!! THE HORROR!!”

She turned to watch ponies scattering in fear. They weren't reacting to Sisstet since several of them ran very close by them without any concern about being near the little naga. Something else had spooked them. Was this a monster attack? Did she need to get Sisstet to safety?

She blinked as a raccoon ran by, dragging a ribbon attached to a platter with a cake. It seemed to be running in terror.

”ROAAARRR!!!”

Gummy, in all his titanic gator glory, came charging down the street, chasing after the raccoon and dropping pieces of luggage that had been bound to his back as he went. A second later, Cheese Sandwich came running behind.

“Sorry, folks! Gummy is just a little agitated about a thief! No need for alarm!! We'll throw a big party for you afterward to make up for this!!” Cheese Sandwich yelled as he hurried after the gator. The first of his foals followed breathlessly after him, and the last trotted along behind, seeming completely unconcerned and uninterested in anything other than picking up the fallen luggage.

“At least there's less crowds now; that's a positive,” the second Pie foal said in bored fashion as they continued after their father, sibling, and pet.

She sighed and shook her head. “Never a dull moment with that family. I guess they're back from their trip. Pinkie and Cheese Slice should be happy.”

“That cake wasss for Cheesse Ssliice,” Sisstet said, flicking his tongue as he spoke.

She gave him a quizzical look. “How do you know?”

“Cheesecake,” Sisstet answered.

He could tell that at a distance? “Wow, I couldn't tell what kind of cake it was from this far away. You have better eyes than me.”

Sisstet shook his head and flicked his tongue. “Can smell and taste in the air. Can't now. I think it is too far away.”

So, that's what those little tongue flicks did. His tongue must help with his smell and taste receptors to gather information….that was actually a little creepy. That meant he wasn't just smelling everycreature when he did that; he was tasting them. By this point, he had to know her taste well.

She shook her head, refusing to let herself be disturbed by what was something that was natural to Sisstet. It was just a different way Sisstet gathered information about the world, not something to be horrified by.

She watched Tiger Lilly run by, screaming in terror. It turns out that Tiger had at least some of the flower pony fright in her. It just took something bigger to trigger it. A giant gator running through the streets roaring was apparently a bigger deal than a pint-sized naga riding a pony's back. Silver was familiar enough with the Pie family pet to ignore whatever Gummy was doing. Gummy was the least dangerous reptile she had ever met. Even Sisstet was more threatening than the domesticated gator.

“I hope he doesssn't eat the raccoon. The raccoon was just trying to get food. It might have babies,” Sisstet said.

“I'm sure he won't,” she assured him. “Fluttershy would have a conniption if that happened. They don't want to upset her. She's calm and quiet most of the time, but when she does get angry, she's one of the scariest ponies you'll ever meet.”

“She was angry at that pegasus filly and didn't seem scary,” Sisstet disagreed.

She chuckled. “No, she got annoyed at that filly. Getting annoyed might lead to getting angry, but it isn't angry yet. You get annoyed without getting angry. You were annoyed about your skin shed, right?”

“But I sssnaped a few times,” Sisstet said with a whimper.

“Yes, because somepony did something that made you hurt, and you reacted without meaning to. That isn't even being angry; it is just protecting yourself,” she reminded him.

”STOP CHASING THAT RACCOON!!!!!”

Silver flattened her ears against the noise. “And it seems Fluttershy took notice, and she's angry.”

Sisstet shivered. “I don't want to make her mad.”

“I'm sure Gummy stopped,” Silver replied. “Anyway, let's hurry to go see Twist.”

Comments

[kelpler427]

Glad to see this update! This chapter was a fun look into just the walk home, but it's exciting to get another update after so long . As an aside, is this just a one-off chapter that you hadn't posted before or is the story coming off of hiatus?

[Halira]

11900753
I'm going to try to bring it back. I'm working six days a week at my job and have multiple stories going, so I'm not sure how often the updates are coming, but it won't be another wait as long as this one again.

[Sidetrack]

Yum yum. Tasty fluff. Thank you, sir.