With a smack of the door, Amber hurried back inside the library, the early evening air giving her a brisk greeting. "Comforting?"
Comforting flowed from a shadowed corner. "Hello, Amber. Shouldn't you be heading home now? Your shift's done. Did you forget something?"
Amber took a moment to catch her breath, walking with Comforting. "Not exactly. It's been weeks, and I have good news. I have my full alphabet down now. Every single letter, practiced all day, and I'm certain I know it." She spun in place before Comforting.
Comforting clapped with a big smile. "That's great news." She tapped Amber gently on the snout. "But you're not getting any other spells. Practice the one you have. Speaking of that, how have you been using it?"
Amber fidgeted a bit. "Oh, you know, just as you suggested." She tried to look innocent. "I have had fun with it, but I want more than just playing with one spell."
Comforting ruffled Amber's cheeks, enjoying the feel of their full roundness, and a little of the gentle control in holding Amber like that. "I need to see you using it, well. What's been the most significant use you've found so far?"
Amber shrugged. "I got caught out in the rain once. That helped a lot. It kept me dry." She peered closer at Comforting. "How do you want me to be using it?"
Comforting wagged a finger. "This is a pony test." She drew her other hand away, a little smile on her face. It had been so long since the last time she got to give a test. Hers was far gentler, she figured, than the one Together was doing. "I need to see what you think of, not my ideas. If you only use the spell for the one thing I showed you, that is a result." She pulled Amber close for a hug. "I want to see you go beyond."
Amber squirmed. "Well, I do have an idea that goes a bit further."
Comforting let Amber go, beaming. "Do share." She floated backwards, eyes on Amber intently.
"It's a bit silly, but I love taking walks at the park. I usually bring a friend. And you know, it started raining, right when we were together. The sky got dark, the thunder roared, and it all started coming down, hard."
Comforting inclined her head. "Are you about to make another umbrella?" she asked, hoping it was not the case.
"No." Amber giggled as if thinking of that was funny. "I was panicking, but I had this new magic and I started casting the spell. It was a struggle. The lightning flashed, and my friend was there, looking scared, and I knew I had to help her. The first time I summoned up an umbrella, but that just got ruined by the rain. She looked at me and I realized I couldn't just give her the same. She deserved something unique. Something I didn't get, not right away."
Comforting drifted closer as she listened to that, hovering upside down and then sideways as the story progressed. "Did you fail again?"
"I did." Amber laughed it off, happy despite her failure. "The second time, I cast the spell, I pictured one thing, and it didn't come out right. I thought it would be fine if I changed the image, so I tried, and the magic collapsed. But I hadn't lost the magic I spent before, and that reminded me of what I'd done with the little umbrellas. I used it again, and then a third time, and a fourth.
Comforting began to clap along with every attempt being recorded. "But you didn't give up," she sang, watching with fascination. "Then what happened?"
"Well, the fifth time was the charm. I knew what I wanted. I held it all in my heart. I cast the spell, and she got her present, perfect and true. I summoned a flower, and it was the best umbrella I had ever given." Amber's horn lit with magic, and then, a little yellow flower was in her grip. "It was the best umbrella I had ever made, but it was also just a flower, because I didn't know any other way to put all my feelings into an object."
Comforting reached for the flower to study. "It was another umbrella, but in a curious shape." She turned the flower about slowly in her hand, sniffing it, even licking it for taste. "And it stood up where the little plastic one kept failing, so I have to give points for getting the job done." She tickled the end of Amber's snout. "But it's still an umbrella. Is magic just umbrellas to you, beloved but silly mare?"
Amber giggled at that, pushing the flower out of the way. "That's what I was hoping to ask about. What other spells are out there? What sort of things can I do?"
Comforting tucked the flower beside her ear. "The spell I taught you can do so many things. It's a spell that has only the limits of the caster's imagination. It can summon almost anything, if you have the imagination and power to see it through, and it isn't too large. Really, considering how small it's limited to, umbrellas aren't even that good of a use." She held a hand to her heart, sighing softly. "My first student, and I still have to help her. I'm just not worthy."
Amber groaned and pushed Comforting's hands aside. She went in for a hug, the two pressing into a warm exchange. "Don't feel like that. I'll try harder!"
"It's not about trying harder." She nuzzled into Amber's neck. "It's about letting go a little actually. Be creative. Think outside the box you started in."
"I will try my best." Amber squeezed her friend. "I don't want to let you down."
"I know." Comforting felt that emotion from Amber, warm and real. "You are a twinkling new star. You just don't know how to do it just yet." She plucked Amber up suddenly, lifting her up over her head. "But I can feel it. I know you can shine, so I'm not giving up on you."
Amber hovered there, suspended from Comforting's hands. "Are you talking about the spell or, uh, me?"
"Both. This spell is in your head." She poked Amber's snout before nuzzling the same spot, rubbing noses warmly. "But there's no point teaching you a new spell if you aren't really using the first one I gave you."
Amber smiled at that. "So, if I figure out something new, something crazy with the umbrella spell, you'll let me learn a new one?"
Comforting gently set Amber down. "It's not an umbrella spell. It's a creation spell. You can create almost anything about this big." She moved her hands to pantomime a small box that one could easily carry, width and depth wise. "You just have to imagine what you want as you cast the spell."
Amber huffed at that. "But I have to imagine the thing I'm creating." She tapped her chin, looking away. "Which I suppose means there is a lot of leeway, but it also sounds tricky." She looked back to Comforting. "For example, it seems like you wouldn't be able to make an actual umbrella, but you could make a waterproof cloth."
Comforting shrugged. "There's ways, but sure. What if I were to tell you that this is the wrong direction to be going? Umbrellas are a start, but they don't open the doors of magic. They're a way to hide from the elements." She rolled her shoulders back, standing proud. "If you want to really be a wizard, you have to go beyond silly tricks like that. It's time to unleash your imagination." She spread her hands with a visual explosion of colors around her own head. "Free your mind. I'm sure there are many things that big, or smaller, you might want to have besides tiny umbrellas."
Amber pouted at that. "I have been trying to think of other uses. I just keep going back to wanting to use my magic to make others happy, or at least better off than they are right now." She suddenly perked. "Oh, what about--" She frowned with concentration, horn glowing as she played the magical song across it. With a little pop, several candies appeared in the air, each brightly striped. They fell a moment later, just to be caught in her magic with a squeak.
Comforting reached for one curiously. "This is new. May I?" She waited for permission, which came in the form of Amber releasing them to her. "They look edible. I can smell that." She popped one into her mouth, sucking on it thoughtfully. "Tastes alright too. Knowing it came from you makes them even better." She swished it from one side of her mouth to the other, long tail swaying with delight behind her in lazy swirls. "Very nice."
Amber grinned, blushing. "Thank you. It's not much, but I thought if I could make sweets, I could make whatever my friends needed or wanted. I'd never run out." She blinked with a new thought. "You said when I make a new thing, the old thing goes away. What happens if the old thing was already eaten?!"
Comforting rolled a hand with a grin. "Do you want the technical answer, or the good enough and easier one?"
Amber hung her head. "Good enough. Please."
"It doesn't happen." She flicked her fingers. "Like I said, this magic recycles itself, so whatever you made was already gone when the pony ate what you gave them. Their energetic insides tore it apart and let the magic out." She belched, releasing a colorful burst of mist in a dramatic display of the effect, overdone for the fun of it. "So you can cast it again, after it's been eaten, and nopony will be hurt."
"That's a relief. And also," she flicked Comforting on the snout, "stop being silly."
Comforting rubbed her nose. "Ow. But yes. Magic can do so much, and I haven't even begun to teach you. Well, besides that one spell, which you're still learning the limits of." She wriggled her recovered snout. "I want to see what you do when you get past this little bump."
"I'll show you." Amber leaned into Comforting's body, resting her cheek against the taller creature. "I just need a little more time, to really think it over."
"That's all I ask." Comforting returned the cuddle with a grin. "You are--"
"Uh, what exactly is this?"
Amber turned quickly, with a bright smile. "Oh, hey, Crystal! I'm just hanging out with my good friend, Comforting."
Crystal tipped her head, looking from Amber to Comforting. "The head librarian?" Her gaze fixed on Comforting. "I was just going to say that you forgot to lock the front door."
Comforting clapped her hands in front of her. "Aww. You heard about me, but I'm not the head librarian. That's Amber's position. What have you heard, by the way?" She floated back and forth in front of Crystal, who leaned back away. "Nothing bad I hope."
Crystal stepped around Comforting and towards Amber, eyes darting between the two. "You're good friends?"
"Sure are!" Comforting floated in behind Crystal and threw her arms around the pony. "Best of friends! Best of best of best!"
Crystal blushed hard, leaning back into the hug. "Uh, you're kinda touchy feely, ma'am."
Amber snorted at the image. "She is, and it gets worse if you tell her you like that. But she'll stop if you say you don't."
Comforting rested her chin on Crystal's shoulder. "You do, I can feel it. I can read a creature in seconds and I can see your heart."
"Wow." Crystal turned redder than her coat. "Um, I don't hate it? But, you know, we just met." She gently wriggled free of the grasp. "Hello, I'm Crystal. Nice to meet you, but I should get a trotting."
"Go ahead." Comforting stepped back to allow her access. "Amber's doing very well here. I can tell she likes this job. Thanks for asking."
Crystal blinked rapidly at that. "I hadn't asked, but good to know. It's nice having a library so close at hoof." She stepped towards the door. "Remember to lock it this time." She left with a final wave.
Amber shook her head at the sight. "You are such a flirt, you know that?"
"I do!" She stuck a tongue out at Amber. "Hugging ponies feels nice, not going to argue that. You're all so soft and squishy and lovely."
Amber took a few steps towards the door, waving towards it. "You get hugs from everyone who visits, that you put your eyes on. They come for knowledge, but they get you."
Comforting hopped to land beside her, arm over her back. "I don't go around hugging ponies for no reason." She smirked softly at the thought. "But she was looking especially huggable, and I think she needed one good hug."
"Did she?" Amber trotted out the door, Comforting stepping after her. "Why do you think that?"
She sighed and shrugged. "I was raised by a pony who had a special sense for these things. Some creatures have emotions that flow off of them, and it was a specialty of theirs. They could just feel the pain in ponies, and how much they wanted a friendly touch, a shoulder to cry on, or even just someone to share their joy with." She smiled warmly. "I miss her." She shook herself out. "But there I go, looking backwards."
Amber softly ran a hoof down Comforting's side. "It's alright to feel things. I'm here for you." She suddenly paused. "And, um, are you saying I was hurting? That's why you hugged me that first time?"
"No!" Comforting slapped herself on the forehead. "No, you weren't suffering at all. You get hugs, a lot of them, just because we're friends." She smooched Amber on either cheek. "And it will continue for as long as you enjoy them, and me. Don't worry." She glanced away, searching the shadows. "But she wasn't in distress, no. Just lonely, a little lost, but a pony on the right track. The sort of pony that comes in, asks for something, and then finds their heart in the library." Comforting hummed softly. "If we had still been open, I would have invited her to stay."
Reaching the door, Amber made to slip through it. "Lock up behind me, okay?"
"Of course." Comforting flicked the lock with a heavy internal thunk of the metal involved. The library was in all ways closed for the evening.