"Making ponies better, huh?" Diamond sipped from her bubbling and colorful drink. "Interesting. Well, you haven't made me better, just stone for a while."
Comforting cringed at the memory. "It was an accident."
"I know that." Diamond wrinkled her nose. "But it's fun to tease. Still, why are you always looking at somecreature else besides me? Make a filly jealous..." She leaned forward as her hooves came in to make a landing platform. "Am I that boring?"
Comforting squeaked in dismay. "That wasn't what I meant. You're super interesting." She began thinking of what she knew of Diamond. An earth pony, rich, and a bit of a bossy filly... "I don't know you as well as maybe I should."
Diamond started. "I wasn't expecting that. What do you mean?"
"I mean..." Comforting jumped up onto the table that had been separating them. "What's your favorite color? What's your favorite game? What would a perfect day look like? What are you dreams?" She leaned in closer and closer to Diamond as she rattled off her questions. "I'd like to know about your parents. I hear your mom is... interesting. Tell me about her? Your dad's famous around here, but I don't know them either."
"Oh my Celestia!" Diamond gave Comforting a stiff shove, knocking the filly right back off the table. "You're like Pinkie with less party focus. What have I unleashed?!"
Comforting gathered herself upright in her seat. "Rude." She didn't look terribly hurt by the moment of violence. "I'm still curious. You don't have to tell me, but you're also right. I don't know about you. There I am, focusing on everypony else and not giving another friend of mine a fair shake. You deserve attention too."
Diamond took a sip of her colorful drink. "Did you just get your cutie mark? You're acting like it."
"I am?" Comforting peeked back at her cutie mark, unchanged. "It's been there a while..."
Diamond cracked a cocky smile, watching Comforting. "Doesn't matter. You're acting like you just figured out what you want to do and you're ready to share it with the world." She sighed wistfully. "I remember when I did that... Hey, you had your cenera. You're supposed to do it there!"
Comforting blinked slowly. "I am?" So many pony traditions she didn't know of! "I only just... There are levels..." She made a stepping motion with her hooves in the air. "I only knew the first step before, but I learned a second step and I'm really excited."
Diamond cocked a brow at that. "Were the Crusaders involved? They love helping ponies figure out the 'true' meaning of their marks."
"Rainbow Dash helped me." She deflated and laughed at once. "Which is a funny pony to do that."
"Her? No kidding! I would not have predicted that." Diamond rubbed at her chin thoughtfully. "Still, congratulations. So what is the 'second meaning' of that?" She pointed at Comforting's mark directly. "Share. I know you want to."
Comforting's horn glowed, even if Diamond couldn't see it. "I'm a buffer!"
Diamond inclined her head slowly. "Buffer?"
Comforting deflated, realizing she used an odd word. "I make others do their best. Magic that helps others work at their top is what will come naturally, and I like doing that."
Diamond considered that with a slow tapping of her hooves. "Hm... So if I wanted a big gold statue... Not your specialty."
"Nope." Comforting felt certain on that. "But if you wanted to make your own statue, I'd help! Or help another pony you had doing it. I'm pretty sure that's why we had that... mistake."
Diamond waved that away. "Mistakes are mistakes. As specialties go, that's not a bad one." She waved a hoof slowly at Comforting. "I've seen way worse than that. So, alright... Making ponies be at their best... And changing things from things to other things, or making the thing better at thinging..." She worked through Comforting's magic specialty. "And you love collecting spells."
Comforting bobbed her head firmly. "Yep! You got it. I'm a buffing wizard." She hesitated a moment. "Do you... like that?"
"Sounds good to me." Diamond wiped her hooves as if to clear the dust. "But I have an idea."
"What kind of idea?" Comforting's horn glowed and a book appeared, flopping between them.
"Is... that your book of spells?" Diamond laughed at the idea. "I thought only Twilight would have one of those."
"Did you mention Twilight?" With a loud pop, Starlight was there when once she was not. "What about her?"
Comforting jumped at the sudden arrival. "Starlight! Were you spying on us?"
"Yeah, I mean no! A little?" She shrugged. "So about Twilight?"
Diamond slurped half her remaining drink down. "Hey, Starlight. You work at the school, right? Same one Comforting goes to?" She pointed at Comforting with her mention. "You teach any classes with her?"
Starlight colored. "Oh! Well... I'm a guidance counselor, actually... So, no, no classes for me." She hopped up into an available seat, joining them at the table. "But I have given her a few tips. That counts."
Comforting bobbed her head. "She sure has. She's a powerful wizard, like Twilight."
"And like you," added Starlight with a wicked grin. "And look at this." She nudged the book Comforting had set on the table. "Just showing off your spells, I see."
Diamond peered at the book. "May as well be written in Old Ponish. Can you read that?"
"I sure can." Starlight turned the book towards herself, horn glowing with her magic. "Spells, to no great surprise. Jump, Enhance, Flower Sprout." She flipped through for each spell she found. "I bet you're dying to add to this collection."
Comforting perked at where Starlight was going, only to deflate. "I shouldn't! Professor Sparkle said she'd let me start the next spell later."
Starlight lifted her hooves in a shrug, smirk on her face. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."
Diamond joined Starlight in her wicked smile, but she saw Comforting's growing concern. "Nah."
Starlight jerked, facing the other filly. "Have we met?"
"Diamond. Diamond Tiara." Diamond pointed up at her tiara. "And her friend. And you're making her uncomfortable, which I'm not alright with."
Starlight blinked softly at the suddenly confrontational foal. "I was just offering exactly what I know she wants."
Diamond rolled a hoof slowly. "I get it. I want her to learn more spells. She wants to learn spells, but if she cheats, she'll feel really bad, and I don't want her to feel bad and mope around, so cut it out."
Comforting smiled gently at the save. "Diamond..."
"Hey, don't look at me like that." Diamond took a loud slurp from her drink, draining the last of it. "And go away." She glared at Starlight.
"You do know I'm about the most powerful wizard in this little town, right? You are being super rude." Starlight crossed her arms.
"Was that before or after you asked somepony to break the rules they weren't ready to break?" Diamond snorted right back at Starlight. "Shoo. We have more important things to discuss than ways to get in trouble with Twilight."
Comforting raised her hooves at Starlight. "Thank you. I know I can count on you as a magic tutor, but I really don't want to make Twilight mad... Besides, I am still a student, not of magic... I shouldn't get too distracted."
"Alright, alright." Starlight slid to the ground on her hooves. "I'm not here to force anypony, just an offer. Enjoy your chat." She trotted off without another word.
Diamond squinted, watching her go. "No... That was not right. She folded way too easily."
"Hm?" Comforting was looking more at Diamond's empty glass. "What did that taste like?"
"It was fine, but off topic." Diamond smirked at her friend. "You are so trusting. She did that for a reason. I don't know what it was, but she folded too easy... Keep an eye out for her."
"She likes magic, like me, without the specialty. She does all kinds of magic really well. I'm a support wizard."
"Support!" gusted out Diamond. "Finally, you used a word I know. I swear." She bonked Comforting gently. "You are such a character. Want to try one?" She was already waving a waitstaff pony over to make that happen. "I was a little distracted, but it's one of my favorites."
A fresh glass was set before Comforting and she clapped eagerly. "You are the star today." She took a nice big slurp of the bubbly colors. "Mmm!" It seemed easy to see why Diamond would like it. "Where's Silver Spoon, by the way?"
"Her mom got a hold of her," sighed out Diamond. "She'll be back tomorrow promise. They're taking family pictures or something stupid like that." She waved it off. "I feel bad for her, but family duties are a thing, and I couldn't avoid it if it came up either."
"Speaking of that." Comforting leaned forward past the glass. "Tell me about your mom."
Starlight popped open a fridge with her magic. "She passed."
Twilight inclined her head. "Who passed what?"
"Comforting." Starlight drew out a wrapped sandwich and got to freeing it with her magic. "I offered her a spell, promised you'd never know."
Twilight tensed at the tale. "And...?"
"And she turned me down." Starlight chomped into the bread and veggies. "And her friend got involved. It was so cute. Chased me right away, oh no..." She snorted gently. "Like I was scared of that little filly, but it was kinda cute."
Twilight nodded slowly. "I... see... Good. Good good. If we have a new wizard among us, it's better they have a strong code of morals."
Starlight hiked a brow. "You didn't say it, but I could feel that being aimed at past me."
"You've come a long way." Twilight advanced to throw a leg over Starlight's withers, drawing her close. "I am beyond proud of you, Starlight. Comforting is still my student, so I worry for her, is all... I don't remember asking you to test her."
Starlight popped out of existence, appearing a few feet away. "It was just an idea. She passed with flying colors! Rainbow would be so proud of her."
Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "Kindly resist testing her any further. She's a good filly. Now, I'm making some fritters." She pointed to the oven, on and cooking busily. "Which is why I'm here, so stop ruining your appetite!"
"Yes, mom." Starlight was not putting down her food, still chomping idly. "I hear she has a specialty now, by the way. A support wizard. She wants to focus on making other ponies do their best."
Twilight clasped her hooves together. "Aw! That sounds wonderful. How, hm, supportive of her. That seems quite fitting for a child of Fluttershy. Hm, I had been wondering if a future in biomancy was in her future, perhaps as a doctor of some variety. Medical wizards are so rare..."
Starlight shrugged. "Well, we can't decide that for her. She seems way more interested in tuning their engines rather than trying to fix broken ones. Medical wizard stay rare. Not like wizards, in general, are super common." Starlight pointed at Twilight. "I'd be happy with what I got there."
"You... have a point." Twilight willed the oven open to peek inside, grabbing a fritter free and taking a chomp. "Mmm.. Five more minutes." She closed the door. "I didn't think I'd ever tutor a wizard, and then one fell into my lap, just like that." She raised a brow at Starlight. "We just have to not mess that up, which, I suppose, includes respecting her choice of specialty. Support isn't a bad one."
"I've heard of worse." Starlight bit into her sandwich. "She could be an enchanter, enslaving ponies to her will."
Twilight snorted softly. "You..." She let that go, even if she wasn't sure how much Starlight was kidding on that one. "Magic can do many things, for good or bad. She chose a good thing, and I'm happy for that."