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// 14 - Night on the Town 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
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Comforting walked alongside Ocellus with a big smile. "I don't think I've seen your house."

"The dorms?" Ocellus seemed to consider that. "I don't think you have. You don't live at the school like we do." She leaned in. "It's alright, none of the ponies do."

"Even Sandbar?" Comforting hopped up on a small stone and started following the column alongside the road.

"He doesn't have to... But he does. I think he just enjoys being with us." Ocellus burst into giggles at the idea. "It's nice, really."

On one hoof, Comforting considered the idea. She could be with the other students all the time! But, on the other hoof, she would be far away from Fluttershy... No. No, that wouldn't do at all. "Are you mad I don't live there?"

"Of course not! You're happy where you are, and we get to see you every day already." Ocellus nodded with confidence in the opinion. "Whenever I want to get my taste of Comforting goodness, I just have to go to class, and there you are."

"There I am!" Comforting did a little cycle in the air, hooves flailing before she hit the ground at a scamper, giggling all the while. Ocellus caught up with her easily, the two hastening to a rapid trot through the town. "Well, I'll get to visit it today, right?"

"I don't see why not." Ocellus pointed ahead to the distant form of the school. "There it is."

"Hey." There was Diamond Tiara perched on a seat right next to Silver Spoon. The two had a dinner set before them on fine china with forks looking used already. The forks had clips on them to attach to earth pony hooves, but were not in use at that moment. "Hey, Comforting!" She was waving for Comforting's attention with a little smile. "Where are you going so late in the day?"

"We're, like, eating." Silver pointed between her and Diamond's portions before them. "It's really tasty."

Ocellus slowed to a stop along with Comforting. "Hello!" She waved at the two earth pony fillies, even if she was a little confused. "Are you friends with Comforting?"

"They are." Comforting returned the wave with a smile. "I was walking Ocellus back to her dormitory."

Diamond leaned over the rope barrier between her and the new foals. "Well, when you're done with that, come back and try some." She clipped a hoof into the waiting fork and got some of the pasta-like stuff into her waiting mouth. "Mmm, it really is good. I wouldn't mind sharing."

Ocellus quickly pointed back to where they had just come from. "Fluttershy just fed us, so we're both pretty full."

Comforting nodded rapidly. "Yeah, pretty full here." She set a hoof at her belly, rubbing the full little thing. "Oh! I learned a new trick, wanna see?"

"Magic?" Diamond took a fresh bite of her clearly pleasing food. "Please do."

Ocellus danced away with a snicker, a hoof raised to hide her little giggles. "You're going to like this."

"Red, green, and blue!" sang out Comforting as her eyes shifted to match right alongside each spoken word. "And some others too!" Her eyes swirled to other colors, her iris' unshackled by the usual limitations most had. "Ta Da!"

Silver blinked with obvious confusion. "Is that a unicorn trick?"

"Duh, of course it has to be. What other kind of trick could it be?" Diamond waved a hoof as if to dismiss such silly ideas.

Comforting giggled at their confusion. "No unicorn magic used here, promise!"

"It's closer to this." With a rush of flames, Ocellus became an unremarkable pony, then a donkey, a cow, and lastly back to herself. "Ta Dah!" That she used Comforting's words was likely entirely intentional on her part.

Diamond hiked a brow at the two. "Are you...--"

"--part changeling?" finished Silver Spoon. "Cool, but weird. Like, I'd be alright with being able to change my eyes whenever I wanted." She placed her hooves next to her eyes and sighed with thoughts of such color changing powers.

Comforting was all smiles. "It's how I changed the color of my magic and made you glow the right shade. It just took me a while to figure out." She pointed to Ocellus. "She's helping me!"

"Just lending a hoof. We should get going." She pointed the way forward and took a step.

Comforting waved to the two. "I'll stop by on the way back!" She hurried after Ocellus, the two scampering to the school with nothing else standing in their way.

"This way." Ocellus pointed the way as she turned off the main hallway of the school and started down a smaller hallway. "This is where all the dorms are, including ours." One more door and the rest of the Young Six came into view.

Yona was the first to wave. "Welcome back! Knew you'd be safe. But where go?"

Gallus nudged against Yona with a derisive snort. "She doesn't have to tell us if she doesn't want to. Not like it's our business where she spends a few hours." He hiked a thumb at Comforting. "Besides, she's here. I doubt they got into any serious trouble."

Smolder considered the two of them. "Yeah... Odds are low on that. What do you think they did, have snacks before bedtime?" She noticed Comforting blushing brightly. "Wow... they did that."

Ocellus quickly hopped onto her bed and curled on her comforter with her eyes on Comforting. "I was helping her get better at her eyes."

"I can change them now!" Comforting was quick to show off with bright red and greens and blues in the primaries. "See? Ocellus said magic will be easier with this, so I did this first."

Yona nodded at the pleased filly. "Good work. Can do yak brown?" She pointed to the center of her snout.

Comforting considered Yona's pelt. "I can try. It's not that far from my usual color." She willed her eyes to turn a softer, brighter yellow, then a deep earthen brown in both directions from her normal. It was only with measured steps she ratcheted it up to a yak brown. "How is that? I can't check without a mirror!"

Yona applauded in a loud stomp as she came down. "Very good! Ocellus, become all yak, you match yak colors. Very good." She looked quite pleased with how things had gone. "Not as good as whole yak, but close." High praise, coming from Yona.

Ocellus stood up as she became a small female yak to join the fun. "Yak is very strong!" They still had their voice, if trying to duplicate Yona's speech pattern.

Yona peered at the changed Ocellus. "You stop that now." Ocellus sheepishly returned to normal as Yona turned to Comforting. "Have a question. Small." She put two hooves close together. "Have lots to learn, about ponies, about unicorn. Why do that here? School for past that. School to learn about outside self."

Sandbar nodded quickly. "That's what I was thinking. You're just a little filly." He put two hooves close together. "No offense or anything, but shouldn't you focus on learning how to be a filly before you rush off on how to adult?"

Comforting shrank back a step. "I... I'm a little greedy... I want to know both things." She cocked her head faintly to the side. "Besides, I know a lot of adult stuff."

Smolder rolled a hand. "This I got to see. What 'adult' stuff do you know, little filly?"

"Yak have more want than be strong." Yona approached Comforting, looming easily with her size. "What you think yaks want?"

Comforting blinked in thought. "To be honest, I know little about yaks. Would you like to show me?"

"No." To Comforting's obvious surprise. "Not until you finish learning how to be a unicorn." She pointed at the small horn protruding up from Comforting's head. "Why learn another creature if not know self? Learn that, then Yona tells you all about yaks, not before."

Smolder rolled a scaled hand. "So about that adult stuff, you know?"

"Right!" Comforting eyed the gathering of... teens? Unquestionably teens. What could she say? Most of the immediately obvious things made her blush at the thought of, and maybe they were wrong in that magical world, anyway. Surely she had something. "I know... in order to get things done, sometimes you have to do a lot of boring things that feel unrelated, but you have to! Only after you do them can you seriously start on what you wanted. You may want to open a pizzeria, but before you do that, you need a building. To have a building, you probably need permission to have a pizzeria there, and then you need supplies." She counted the steps with steps of her hooves. "And you probably want help, but you have no bits, so you'll probably have to work alone to start, so you'll be working really hard and long to make that dream come true--"

Gallus raised a hand. "Cutting you off there. Alright, you got that part of adulting down at least." He snorted in an aborted chuckle of sorts. 

Smolder crossed her arms. "I'm kind of impressed. Most fillies your age aren't thinking about things that many steps out. How do you even start anything if you're always worried about the next five steps, anyway?"

"I'm not." Comforting shrank on herself in an awkward shuffle. "I just know that extensive projects have a lot of steps in them, so you shouldn't... get surprised if that happens." She pointed at her horn upwards in a wave of her hoof. "I wanted to learn magic! I thought it would be easy, but steps, more steps... Like a million steps." She sighed at the thought of all the steps that hopped in front of her. "But that's life."

Sandbar gave a soft huh of a sound. "That, right there? That was pretty adult." He nodded as he sat up on his bed. "I don't think she's lying."

"Not lie." Yona nodded at the little filly. "Not seem like lying pony. Very honest, just confused." She leaned in and down, face close to Comforting. "Find good friends?"

"Found best friends." Comforting offered a hoof and soon got an entire yak's face. She hugged to Yona as best she could, giggling as they easily lifted her right off the ground and made to use Yona as a riding mount, if one rid things by straddling their face.

Fortunately, Yona set Comforting down near the door. "Good to see, but should sleep."

Smolder nodded as she flopped onto her back. "Yeah, sleep is good. See you tomorrow?"

Sandbar blew out the candle near to his resting place. "Tomorrow! Sleep well."

Comforting had a chance to see everyone, and Ocellus was home safely. She had no good reason to stay. "Sleep well." She trotted out into the quiet hallway towards the exit with a smile. "That went well." There was only herself to hear, and that was plenty.

"What did?" Oops. Another pony stepped out, watching Comforting intently. "Isn't it late for you to be here?"

Who was that pony? She tickled at Comforting's memory... Somewhere... "Even?"

Starlight's snout went pale at the word chosen. "Not a word I'd use! Hello, I'm Starlight Glimmer. You are Comforting... Shade was it?"

"That is it." She sat to look at the large adult pony. Large compared to her, at least. "How can I help you?"

"Such a mature answer." Starlight inclined her head down the main hallway. "I was hoping to ask you a question or two, and you happen to be here... Let's talk."

Comforting waved a hoof through the dim light. "It's late and dark."

"My office has plenty of light." Starlight was circling Comforting. "And I have some nice warm cocoa to go with a little chat. I work for Twilight, you know."

"You do?" Some of her guarded nature ebbed a little. "What did she say?"

"She goes on and on about this magic student she has." Starlight led the way. "I'll tell you all about it."