Amber Starts, Comforting Endings

by David Silver

5 - A Splash of Color

Comforting and Amber sat side by side in chairs made for pony haunches. Comforting was ahead in hers, so her legs could dangle down in a more bipedal fashion. "This... is nice."

Pipp was busily painting Comforting's nails as Amber's hooves were worked on. "Every time you walk into this salon, you will be pampered, primped, and made to look fantastic while you're at it." She dashed some purple on Comforting. "I feel like I'm totally working on a famous canvas. It's amazing." She snapped a quick picture of the event, sending it to her followers to see.

Comforting did her best to keep her hands still for the work. "Don't think of me like that. I'm just a friend."

"I doubt that." Pipp sat back, appraising her artistic work. "You're not a pony, and I don't mean that in a 'specific critter' kind of way. You..." She pointed at Comforting. "Are something special. I can feel it. Now, Amber, how are you doing?"

Amber held up her hooves, each painted with a bright flower on the front. "It's so cute!"

"Fabulous." Pipp clapped at the hooficure and picture. "Today's a good day! Most are." She laughed as she resumed her attack on Comforting's nails. "You give me a lot less space to work on each, but you have so many of them!"

Comforting flexed her claws gingerly as Pipp finished up, not wanting to smear the intricate swirls and glittering accents. "My word, this is such artistry! None of my old friends ever fussed so over the fine details of appearance."

She wiggled her yak cloven toes happily. "But I must say, a bit of pampering is a delight after eons of wandering wild places. You have elevated nails to a whole new realm of creative expression!"

Twisting to check her reflection in a nearby mirror, Comforting ran her paws over her neatly brushed fur. "A fine polish and a little attention truly bring out one's inner radiance. Why, I feel glamorous enough to attend one of Princess Celestia's grand galas!"

She reached out to draw Amber and Pipp into an effusive hug. "You are miracle worker. Such skilled attention on these old appendages...I may just shed a tear of joy!"

With a wave of her paw, Comforting was draped in a sparkling pastel gown embroidered with rainbows and butterflies. "There, that's more fitting for a spa day among friends!"

Amber slid down to her hooves. "Don't forget, we have to go to Hitch first. He said we could go over what we need for that library, and we both want that."

Pipp followed the two curiously. "Why are you two looking for a library? Oh! Touch your phone to this." She held out her own phone. A musical chime that happened to be the staring few notes of her series played with each touch. "There we go, all paid. Now tell me!"

Comforting gently ruffled the top of Amber's head. "For her, she wants to collect books, and help other ponies get those books too. A lovely notion. For me, I'll be living there, and helping her."

Amber bobbed her head at that. "It'll be great! But we have to get the library first... So, to Hitch?"

"To Hitch!" Comforting waved at Pipp on the way out and they hurried, floating and trotting, towards Hitch's station.

A few ponies shied away from the strange-looking Comforting, but they didn't scream at least.

Hitch, on the other hoof, tilted his hats at the visitors. "Howdy there. Me and Sparky were waiting for you."

Sparky waved with an excited babble from atop a desk. Comforting grabbed him and they whirled around with mutual delight.

Amber left them to the devices. "Alright, what do we have to do?"

"It's not big deal, but we do have to do it." He slapped down a small stack of papers. "Do you already know where you plan to set up the library?"

Amber considered the paperwork dubiously, then looked to Comforting. "Did you have a locale in mind for our bookish venture? I'm still rather new in town, I fear."

Comforting ceased her impromptu dragon dance with Sparky, giving his scaly head an affectionate pat. "Why, I think I shall leave that decision to you, my dear! This is to be your domain."

She gestured expansively, as if envisioning grand library halls already. "Simply lead the way once we've dotted every official 'T' for our persnickety paperwork pal here." Comforting winked at Hitch. "Somewhere central and spacious to accommodate your collection's inevitable growth, I'd imagine!"

Turning back to Amber encouragingly, she clasped the unicorn's shoulders. "Now don't fret, this isn't nearly as daunting as it appears. Why, soon you'll look back and laugh at how anxious a few forms made you! Hitch will guide us through. And just picture all the books that shall one day fill your own beautiful library!"

Amber took a deep breath, steadying herself with that hopeful image firmly in mind. This was the first big step towards making it real. She wouldn't let some paper stand in her way for long!

"You're absolutely right, Comfortin." Twirling her horn, Amber neatly arranged the documents before her. "Alright Hitch, let's get started! Tell me what facts and signatures we'll need. The sooner we get through these properly, the sooner books can line my shelves instead!"

Hitch was watching Sparky wander about the map of Maretime Bay. "Are you sure you trust him... for this? I mean, he's wonderful, but I'm..." Sparky fell down with an oof, his butt firmly on a vacant lot. "Well... Sparky has spoken. Do you like the spot?"

Amber tilted her head, tracing the vacant lot Sparky now occupied on the map. "Hmm, it does seem ideally situated - near the town square, open sites on either side for future growth."

She tapped a hoof thoughtfully. "Only potential issue may be foot traffic. Will ponies wander far enough down this lane unless given a specific reason?"

Comforting glided over to peer at their draconic guide sprawled comfortably across the prospective real estate. "Oh I shouldn't worry about that, my dear! Now that your curiosity shop is established and Pipp's salon draws fashionistas, visitors trickle this way steadily."

She winked down at Sparky, giving his head an affectionate scritch. "And dragons make wonderful PR mascots! Why, ponies will flock eagerly just to catch a glimpse of this handsome fellow blessing your library with his presence."

Laughing, Comforting lifted the cooing baby dragon into her forelimbs. "There now, no harm done. Back to Sheriff Hitch you go!" She deposited Sparky safely in his daddy's custody once more.

Turning hopefully back to Amber, she asked, "Well, does our scaly site specialist's selection meet your approval? If you'd prefer to continue reviewing options, I'm happy to scout about. But something about this vacant corner calls to me!"

Amber hummed. "It's really a nice spot, really... Not far from here..." She leaned in over the map. "Can I really have it?" She looked up at Hitch. "It's in a nice place..." She worried her hooves. "And city ponies are so... picky about that, aren't they? It's not like Bridlewood."

"No." He inclined his head a bit, considering. "There is a fee."

Comforting considered throwing bits at the problem, but that felt wrong. Good spirits did not fix things with fat stacks of cash... "How much are we talking?"

Hitch rushed off to start nosing through other papers. "And... carry the... Don't forget..." He kept mumbling to himself as he worked at a calculator busily. "This." He twirled the calculator around with Sparky giving a cry of joy. There was a number. It was not small, but it wasn't huge. It was still a very significant number.

Comforting huffed at it. Her number was larger than that. Still... Still... "Ah! Hitch, does Maretime Bay do home and property loans?" Ponyville had not, but Comforting knew of them, from a world behind that. "Please say--"

"--Yeah." Hitch inclined his head. "Most ponies don't have these kinds of bits laying around. Why? You need one? I can only point you at the right pony for that. I'm a sheriff, after all, not a banker pony."

"Excellent! A loan it shall be." Comforting turned to Amber eagerly. "What do you think, my dear? Shall we make this corner officially ours?"

Amber bit her lip, staring down at the map. "It's a big step. But I suppose the only way forwards..."

She met Comforting's gaze. "As long as we do this properly, no shortcuts. I don't just want you waving that fabulous magic to handle everything."

Comforting laughed. "Perish the thought! We'll have quite enough paperwork as it is." She squeezed Amber's shoulder reassuringly. "Consider this our joint effort - you handle design and book curation while I deal with the finances." Her brows waggled. "And a dash of magic."

"Well, alright." Amber smiled slowly. "Together then." She levitated the stack of forms. "Hitch, let's proceed."

Hitch nodded. "Right. Now the main thing you'll need is an initial deposit. The bank will want to see you're serious about this. Uh, you'll want to talk to them about that." He pointed out of his office. "There's one about three blocks that way."

Comforting tapped her chin thoughtfully. "No trouble. I can access funds presently. We'd better go ask them how much they want to start, and then." She faced Amber with a serious expression. "It'll be up to you to make those payments. But!" She hiked a thumb at herself. "You'll have a paying tenant! Wouldn't be fair if I didn't chip in for where I'm living. Really, so rude, even thinking about it."

Amber clapped excitedly. "That makes this a lot easier." One could imagine numbers floating through her own mind. "Let's get to that bank and get this rolling. I am so excited right now. Thanks, Hitch." She went for a hug, just to hesitate.

"Bring it in." He grabbed her in a warm embrace. "Now, good luck out there!"

Sparky squealed in support, waving goodbye to the two as they headed out.

Comforting had to restrain herself from simply swooping Amber up and zipping them both towards the bank in her enthusiasm. But she knew her grounded unicorn friend preferred to canter places in her own time.

So, Comforting settled for an eager hovering hop-skip as they set off down the road side by side. "Oh, I'm tingling with anticipation myself!" Comforting did a quick midair spin. "Your wonderful library shall soon be on the horizon. We're making it real, my friend!"

Glowing with optimism, she held the bank door for Amber. "I have utmost confidence they'll see our drive and dedication shining through. This is but the first step of many - onward and upwards, my friend!"

Amber walked past Comforting to join the line ahead of her. There were only a few other ponies with financial needs. Soon she trotted up to the teller. "Hello! I want to buy some land, to build a library."

The teller inclined her head. "Have you already worked out the price of the land, and the building you want to build?"

"Um." Amber pulled out the number she had written down. "This covers the land. Who would tell me what the library would cost?"

The teller examined the number. "More of a start than most ponies with dreams like that. Now, lucky for you, the bank has some fantastic contacts. If you can meet the down payment, we'll happily help you get the rest of the way." She clapped her hooves and turned her own calculator around. "Just this much."

Amber paled. That was a smaller number, but still more bits than she had ever held at one time. "Wow..."

Comforting held out her phone. "I'm covering that. That's my first month's rent."

The teller blinked with surprise. "I see." She peered suspiciously at Comforting's phone. "Well..." She directed to an electronic pad on the desk. "If you have that?"

Comforting held her phone over the pad and it made that friendly jingle. Her number decreased.

Amazed, the teller got to work, writing busily with her hooves. "I'll put you in contact with good ponies that know how to get things built. They know the local codes, so Hitch won't get on you for missing any of them." She winked at that. "Have no fear! You're one of our customers now, and we'll treat you right."

Author's Note:

Library get! Well, library on the way. The wheels are turning. Comforting used some money, but hopefully in a responsible way. What do you think?

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Comments

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Books are coming, yay!

It seems that Comforting remembers that Chaos powers don't make for lasting physical things, such as a whole library building. Surely she can help with some orderly chaos inside it once it's finished being built?

[David Silver]

11810429
It also doesn't encourage the lovely mortals around you to grow to their best, hence leaving Amber with a mortgage payment, but also becoming the first (maybe only?) tenant.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Amber getting flowers painted on her hooves was cute, especially since it kinda reminded me of those crown hooves that Pipp wore for a while.

The entire Mane Melody scene was really cute, especially since Comforting got to relax and be pampered, and because Pipp saw Comforting as a living work of art.

It was a neat little detail when Pipp noted that Comforting's nails gave her less surface area to work with than pony hooves, but also got excited that there were so *many* of them.

Working out plans for the libary with Hitch and the bank teller reminded me of something, and after some thinking, I realized what it was...the complex, but comfy process made me think of the process of buying a house in an Animal Crossing game.

Hopefully the townsponies will get more used to creatures like Comforting and Sparky over time. On that note, it's great that Comforting and Sparky get along so well.

I like the idea of Amber and Comforting potentially living in the library together with Sparky being something of a "mascot baby."

[David Silver]

11810782
Sparky has a home with a daddy he likes very much. He might be a happy visitor, but moving to the library feels a bit unlikely.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11810790

Understandable. Hitch does treat Sparky very well.

[redmar]

At least Comforting is helping Amber with some of the monetary difficulties.

[Alvsecret]

G5 is a slightly shallow story, some of the lore doesn't make sense or anticlimactic. Hope you can make the best off of it, and not ruin the past or something. If ruining the past means it can be a good story, sure. I hope you can give more character to these characters, like delve into their characteristic and characterize them more into better characters with better character arcs, because recently in MYM, some of these characters act incredibly stupid.. Hope this works out and can't wait for the next chapter!

[David Silver]

11811010
Define ruin the past?

[Alvsecret]

11811016
Because in MYM Twilight was like, "Oh, there is an evil villain out there that can absorb magic from anything but is like 10x worse than Starlight or Cozy Glow at it and I will have to absorb all the magic in Equestria and the Dragondlands into gems to prevent that, oh no!!". Twilight went backwards on her lessons that not everything can be solved with magic, perhaps her friends had passed and she starts to forget, but still, it's shallow of Twilight and ruins the character building and all the other things Twilight had went through.

Another example is Opaline, the villain. She says that she knows of Celestia and Luna personally as a filly alicorn, which brings up why was she absent in G4? Was she a cast out member of the controversial alicorn civilization? But that was disproved by Celestia saying alicorns aren't birthed.. But then later on in the series she said that she became an alicorn because she absorbed some sort of flame I guess? I don't know, but the point is she became an alicorn after Twilight became princess, which doesn't make sense if she knew of Celestia and Luna as a filly, such a contradiction..

Another one is of dragons, now there dragons seems to have 'shimmers' and require some sort of dragonstone as a source of magic and they have a lot more abilities with their flame breath, manipulation, transmutation, etc, I guess that makes sense with spike being able to teleport things, or is it the parchment that's enchanted? And then there is also Sparky being able to hatch without the ritual from G4 where they heat up the eggs? Breaking down more world building.

There is also weird Deus Ex Magicka stuff in G5, like the lantern being able to turn a bunch of scraps into a flying car, or cutie marks glowing to amplify sounds or suddenly change someones mind, magical storms that forces ponies to be nice to each other even though, as was mentioned, every problem can't be solved with magic, if they fear fights can cause magical storms, people that hate each other just won't talk and grow more spiteful of eachother even though just by talking some problems can be resolved even with a little bit of a rough start. Even Sparky the dragon with breaths able to switch cutie marks, like, what?? Starlight took years to study that and a sneeze from a dragon does the same thing? Stuff like those that ruins the past, you know.

Recent ones also do too, like Sprout suddenly going missing in MYM, Sunny being so dumb about Opaline pretending to be her 'inner thoughts', or Hitch not being bothered by the fact that they were trespassing and claiming a factory that isn't even theirs. In the movie Hitch was all about the law. In here he doesn't care.. More things like that. So I hope you can come up with a story to fix all those plotholes and hopefully not follow the trend of the odd lores.