//------------------------------//
// 21 - Setting Limits 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
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"I am glad you came." Comforting was facing the other her, the one with the distant look as if all the action were behind her. "Though I am surprised and delighted that you arrived so quickly."

"You desired to speak to me." Harmony leaned forward slightly. "You are somewhat agitated. I have learned from watching you."

Comforting considered those words for a moment. "Not untrue. I wanted to talk to you, but was I really agitated?" She waved it away. "Nevermind, sorry. This is about you, not me."

"What about me?" Harmony smiled, imitating Comforting's smile exactly. "Did you have a question?"

"Countless!" Comforting threw her hooves up. "But that isn't what I wanted you here for. Harmony, you scared those creatures. You're interested in them, obviously, and they'll be harder to talk to if they're scared of you."

"Creatures? These?" Without moving, the images of the young six appeared around Harmony. Each was smiling and playing in their own way. "They are well on the way. They will serve as fine agents in time."

Comforting slapped a hoof on her face. "They are more than agents. They have wishes and needs and can be scared, which is what you did. I'm not an agent, right?"

"Of course you are." Harmony sounded mildly confused at the very idea. "You said you were a willing captive. You will help me keep things harmonious and avoid unharmonious things. Your body is immature, so I have not sent you on any—"

"Stop!" Comforting waved her hooves wildly. "Stop! If I can help, I will. You just have to ask me, like a friend, which I am." She smiled at the neighborhood god. "We've had delightful conversations, so why wouldn't you talk to me? You sound like you'd just... order me."

Harmony sank to her little haunches, still borrowing Comforting's form. "But you might say no."

"I might... But friends, A, usually don't, and B, you respect they might say no. As your friend, I would give an appropriate answer why I would say no." Comforting dared more of a smile at how the conversation was going. "I like you, so I probably wouldn't say no unless there was a substantial reason."

Harmony considered Comforting quietly a moment. "But you might say no."

Comforting's brows came down in a flat look at Harmony. "Would that be the end of the world?"

"It might." Harmony rose and circled around Comforting. "I ask because there is a great need. Sometimes the need is greater, or lesser, but always a need. If there is no need, I do not act. Twilight understands this. She would not even consider saying no. Why do you? I thought you liked me."

"I do!" Comforting went to grab Harmony, only to end up on the other side as if space just worked that way. In a dream, perhaps that was the case. "Really. But being friends means accepting a no. It doesn't mean you can't explain your case. If it's that important, I'd probably say yes! But friends accept a no. That goes both ways." She gestured between herself and Harmony in a frantic flail of sorts.

Harmony turned towards Comforting's new direction. "But you might say no."

Comforting set a hoof against the side of her head at the simple stubbornness being given. "I might."

"Then what do I do?" Harmony worked her hooves slowly. "I pick a specific creature able to resolve a problem. None other is equally suited to the problem. They can fix it. Others may not."

"Others didn't say no." Comforting nodded with confidence at that. "Which makes them more suitable than the first, even if the first is the best match. As your friend, I want to be asked, not told. Then when I say yes, I do it because I want to say yes and because I like you and what you're doing enough to say yes, even if I'd rather not."

"This is frightening." Harmony had little reason to hide that. "You are asking that I accept the possibility of outright failure? How can I manage a world that is so uncertain?"

Comforting went in slowly for a nose touch with her double. "The world is always uncertain. We do our part to make it better."

Harmony smiled gently against the contact. "I will consider this. You should awaken."

"I shou—" She woke up without finishing the thought.





Comforting fell from her bed with a thump, a strange tickling itch overtaking her rump from both sides. She squeaked and reached for it, but rubbing would not calm it down.

"Are you alright?" The door swung open in the darkness, admitting Fluttershy with a worried look in her eyes.

"There." Comforting pointing at her back end as it began to glow brightly, spilling an almost magical glow over the area. "I don't cast spells with my butt." Oh, wait. The reason for that came to Comforting, or at least one of the possible reasons.

As if her realization were enough, the glow faded away, leaving her sitting there with her new cutie mark for all to see. It was a heart with a set of hooves wrapped around the center. "Huh..." Comforting was squinting at it curiously. "What does it... mean?"

Fluttershy sat beside her ward. "Congratulations. Getting your cutie mark means that you've made some realization as to what you like to do, or are good at doing. Hopefully, that's the same thing." She pointed to her own rump and its butterflies. "I'm gentle, like a butterfly, and enjoy the presence of animals... like butterflies." She giggled at her own joke. "What were you doing or thinking when it happened?"

Comforting considered with a hoof to her chin. "I was talking to Harmony, that force of nature. I'm not sure she understood what I was saying, but she promised to at least think about it."

Fluttershy reached out a wing to hold Comforting gently. "My first talks with Discord were much like that. That he may not always get his way was very confusing to him... I suppose that's something that all forces of nature are not very used to. But they understood, at least a little? Good. You may have to repeat that a few times." A wry smile spread on her face. "Forces of nature are not always the fastest learners."

Comforting burst into giggles. "Not the fastest, but worth talking to." She rose and pointed back at her rump. "But what about that?"

"Well..." Fluttershy considered the hugged heart. "Maybe being in that situation is where you fit in?" She leaned off as if to consider the mark from a new angle. "You like getting involved whenever you think it can ease the hurting of somecreature else."

Comforting recoiled with a gasp. "Wow... Um, yeah..." She felt so very seen in that moment. "I really kinda do..." Her plans to help Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon came to mind, even putting Harmony aside. "That is something I enjoy doing. Sorry, if I scared you. I was scared too, waking up like that."

Fluttershy set a hoof on Comforting's head. "Waking me up for that is entirely understandable. Now, you could save yourself a lot of trouble and just tell Pinkie what happened..."

Comforting looked confused at first, but it came to her. "Oh! She's going to want to throw a party, isn't she? Is there a normal thing for this?" She pointed at her adorned rump. "What do ponies usually do when it happens?"

Fluttershy inclined her head in the dark. "That's a good question. Some don't do anything. They're just happier and show off what mark they got to those around them and go on with things... But you know Pinkie Pie and she knows you and that isn't likely to be the answer she'll be happy with." The two giggled in agreement with that.

"Some ponies have a Cute-ceañera, which is basically a party about it." Fluttershy smirked softly. "This is likely to be Pinkie's pick, if you let her. Candy, games, and all that." She cycled her hooves with each thing that could appear. "It's very nice, but also loud. It's a good chance to meet other foals your age... but I'm not sure if you want that."

Comforting clopped her hooves. "Ah ha! I should ask them! I bet Diamond and Silver know about it, and would know exactly what to do. Besides, I'd want them to be involved. This is probably their kind of thing."

Fluttershy's smirk turned into a gentle smile. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. Now, it's still late. Are you feeling calm enough to go back to bed?"

So it was that they sent Comforting to bed, and the house calmed gently with all the creatures in it quietening down.





"Look." Comforting turned to display her new cutie mark. "That feels weird." There she was, showing off her butt. But that was the pony way. "Isn't it neat?"

Diamond considered the heart. "What does it mean?"

Silver burst into giggles. "Well, it's, like, a heart. So it has to be nice. You're nice, so that makes sense." Life made sense in Silver's head, clearly. "Congrats!" she practically sang out.

"Yeah, congratulations." Diamond nodded appraisingly. "But you look like you want something. What's up?"

"Is it that obvious?" Comforting had been trying to be subtle, to no avail. "I was told there's a party for this." She pointed at her mark. "So I thought I'd talk to two of my most with-it friends about it. They'd know all about it, and I want them there too."

Diamond's guard fell into a big smile. "Aw! I've never been invited to plan a little pony's cute-ceañera before. This is exciting." She clapped a bit more excitedly than she usually showed. "Silver, let's make this the best."

Silver joined in the clapping. "Yes! We will make it great! Oh, um, do you... Do you want the entire town invited?"

Diamond hiked a brow. "They invited the entire town when I had mine, remember? We had ours together." She and Silver thumped their rumps together in solidarity. Or was that in memory? 

Just because that was how it happened for them didn't mean Comforting wanted that. She appreciated that Silver was looking to her for that answer. "Can we invite mostly school kids?" She pointed to the School of Friendship. "And you, of course."

Diamond snorted softly. "Of course! We're the ones putting this together." Her brows went up suddenly. "Wait a second. Is this a plan? I like it! Get us to do this to show how mature we are and how ready we are to hang out with them." She rubbed her hooves together with an almost malign grin. "That'll show them."

Silver curled on herself and drew out a pad. "I'm going to need a list of, like, all your faves!" She began eagerly collecting all of Comforting's wants and desires for the perfect party. "Now, you know, we are going to have to talk to Pinkie."

Diamond rolled her eyes. "Ugh, yes. You ever trying to throw a party with her not involved? It's impossible, and even if you managed it, you'd end up with a really annoyed Pinkie and nopony wants that!" She threw a hoof wide. "So we're going to tell her."

"And use her." Silver flashed a big smile. "She knows where to get party supplies, so we'll send her after the harder stuff for us. That's, like, using your head!" The two fillies giggled together.

Comforting smiled at the two of them. "Sounds like you two have it ready, then. Do you need anything else from me besides being there?"

Diamond patted the smaller filly gently. "Just be there and put on something fancy." She could see Comforting's blank look. "Alright, so... we're getting you a nice dress to wear to this party."

Silver burst into giggles. "This is going to be so much fun! Prepare to be bedazzled in a whole new way. Just leave it to us."