"Are you sure?" Diamond was watching Comforting with a mix of curiosity and apprehension.
"Mostly." Comforting's horn glowed, brightly in her own view. "I want you to focus on doing what comes naturally to you, and I will focus on what comes naturally to me, which is making you do what you do."
"And that will..." Diamond rolled a hoof slowly. "Make me a better boss?"
"If that's your talent!" Comforting had no proof that'd work. It sure wasn't a spell. She was trying something new and untested. "It's alright if you don't want to."
"I'm... a little curious." Diamond flashed a magnificent smile. "But let's try somewhere better. How about..." She bounced a hoof from building to building. "There." She pointed to Bon Bon's store. "If it works, we'll get a sweet reward."
"Or the bitter taste of defeat." But Comforting was already walking there. "Let's try!" When Diamond was standing in front of the store, Comforting directed her horn at her rich friend. "If it, hurts, tell me. I'll stop right away."
Diamond tensed. "It might hurt?" But it wasn't hurting so far. She was just being stared at intently by a concentrating Comforting. She could not see magic. She couldn't see the rainbow of colors bursting from Comforting's horn. But she could feel the warmth spreading through her body. "Woah, that feels funny." It started at her core and exploded out to her extremities; hooves, tail, and ears tingling as the rainbows, visible only to Comforting, sparkled around her. "Wow, I feel ready. Let's give this a try."
Diamond practically kicked open the door to the shop with a grin wider than her face. "I have a hunger!"
Bon Bon nodded from behind her counter. "You've come to the right place, if that hunger is for something sweet or sour." She leaned forward onto her counter. "Come on in, Diamond. How can I sweeten up your day?"
"Hm... Not a bad selection." Diamond looked from one jar to the next. There were so many to choose from. "Which do you think really suits me?"
Comforting could see the rainbow aura around Diamond sparkle with a sudden intensity, but it faded away, the whole effect vanishing. Had it done something? Had it failed?
"Suits you? Suits you..." Bon Bon trotted over and snatched a jar off the wall. "This is your perfect candy. And since you asked for my advice, I'll let you have one." She dug out one wrapped little treat and offered it towards Diamond. "You'll like it enough to come back for more."
Diamond accepted the candy. "You are the best." She quickly unwrapped it and popped it into her mouth, just to pucker just as quickly. "Sour!"
"Bare with it just a moment," Bon Bon urged.
That look of horror faded slowly, turning into a pleased expression. "Oh... not bad... The sour's hiding a really nice cherry flavor under it."
"Exactly." Bon Bon nodded firmly. "Just like you. Sour on the outside, but so sweet in the middle. Worth the trip to find it, hm?"
Diamond hiked a brow at Bon Bon. "Not sure how to take that... But the candy's good. I might come back for more." She turned for the door. "Later."
"See you later." Bon Bon waved as Diamond departed. "You can come in."
Comforting squeaked. She'd been seen? Called out, she emerged from around the corner. "Hello..."
"Hello to you too." Bon Bon set the jar she had taken from back on the shelf. "I saw you watching. Can I get you something?"
"Oh, um... I was..."
"Casting a spell on your friend." Bon Bon walked back towards her counter. "What sort was that?"
Comforting went rigid. How did Bon Bon know?! "How?"
"Hm? Oh... Tricky adults that practice can notice when magic's ahoof." She wagged a hoof at Comforting. "You felt like magic enough to be noticed through a wall, whatever that was... Now..." She folded her arms on her counter. "Gonna tell me what that was?"
Comforting remembered what Twilight had said. 'Feeling' magic was all most ponies had, since most couldn't see it like she could. Bon Bon clearly could feel it. The brilliant rainbows was a powerful sensation of something. "I was... enhancing Diamond's cutie mark."
"Were you now?" Bon Bon seemed cool and calm. "She has a very... commanding cutie mark. If she came in here and asked for half my store and I gave it, would that make you happy?"
Comforting went rigid at the thought. "No! I would yell at her if she did something like that..."
"I'm glad to hear that. Brainwashing a pony like that would be stealing... with extra steps." She leaned forward, tail wagging slowly behind her. "And very naughty... I would hate to think you're a naughty little filly. I've only heard nice things about you so far."
Comforting could feel sweat building. How did Bon Bon see through her little trick so completely. "I'm sorry," she got out in a harsh whisper. "I wasn't trying to hurt--"
"--Then you should be careful. I hear you're a practicing wizard. Being a wizard means you're walking around with dynamite. A wrong move and somepony could get blown up, or you could save the day." She moved her hooves up and down like two weights. "Only you get to decide which of those two it's going to be."
"Yes... ma'am." She considered Bon Bon, trying to think back. There was something about her... But Comforting couldn't recall it. "May... I ask. Why does an earth pony candy maker know how to feel magic?"
Bon Bon started back, a flinch really. "You never know when certain things come in handy..."
"Excuse me." Lyra stepped right over Comforting. "Bonnie!" She rushed up to the confectioner with a silly smile. "How's my favorite mare doing?"
Bon Bon colored, with indignation or embarrassment was hard to tell apart. "I'm working..." She tossed her head past Lyra. "And I was just talking with the filly you stepped over. That's very rude."
Lyra curled to look back at Comforting. "Oh, yeah, wow, sorry. I was just so eager to see Bon Bon."
Comforting smiled at that. "I don't want to be in the way of that. You two must be close friends."
"The closest." Lyra waggled her brows at Bon Bon in some meaningful way. "Doesn't get much closer as friends go."
Bon Bon's cheeks were on fire. "Lyra! She's a filly! Don't go implying things."
Implying things? Oh! Oh... Comforting's adult mind was able to take the threads and attach them properly. Oh... "Ponies do that?"
Lyra inclined her head. "Ponies do what?"
Comforting waved a hoof between the two. "Two mares?"
Lyra patted the filly gently on the head. "Why not? If they like each other. Same as a mare and a stallion, but foals are trickier."
"Lyra," groaned out Bon Bon. "Fluttershy is going to kill us both."
"She wouldn't! She's way too nice of a pony, and we didn't do anything wrong." She leaned in, smiling at Comforting. "Did we?"
"No! No... There's nothing wrong with that." Comforting reared up, hooves clasped. "It's nice that you two found a special somepony."
Lyra ruffled the mane of the filly. "You hear that? She's just as nice as her mom. You better give her a candy."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes dramatically. "I owe her nothing, but thanks. Comforting, was it?" Comforting nodded quickly. "Nice to meet you. Now, did you notice when your spell went away?"
Comforting fell to fours. "Yes... Did you?"
"I did, that much magic all balled up... Do you know why it failed?"
Comforting thought really hard about that, but... "No."
"Because she asked for something I was going to give, anyway. She got what she wanted, which still counted." Bon Bon shook her head. "A waste of that spell. Probably for the best. We wouldn't want you to have to come in here and yell at your friend if she started doing something extra naughty, now would we?" Her eyes were half lid, watching Comforting with a knowing stare.
"No! No definitely not... I didn't... I wasn't..." She felt so foalish in the literal term. As an adult, it should have been really obvious that was a bad idea for bad ponies to do. "Sorry!"
"So let's not do that again." She inclined her head at Lyra. "I am curious. If you can enhance cutie marks, what would happen there?"
Lyra blinked, suddenly relevant. "Wait, she can boost cutie marks? Awesome! Try it." She turned to present her rump and its lyre. "I wanna see this."
Comforting smiled suddenly as the topic shifted. As silly as she had been, ponies still liked her enhancing, and that was nice! "Alright. To be honest, this is not an official 'spell'. I just... kinda tried it, and it worked."
Bon Bon's eyes widened. "Get out."
"No, that's how--" Comforting didn't get to finish.
"--I mean get out." She pointed to the door. "Have a nice day!"
Comforting took a stiff step back. What had changed?! "O-oh... See you... later?"
"Another time." Bon Bon was smiling gently, but the order to leave remained in effect. "Have a safe trip home."
Comforting left, confused. Bon Bon turned to Lyra. "We have a problem."
Lyra blinked at her girlfriend. "You just scared off a nice little filly?"
"That is not the problem." Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "She just went over a line. Comforting did something she may never do again, or this may be the start of a worrying habit." She ducked down and came up with a notebook. "Either way, she's way too young to be considering new spells, but she just... did."
Lyra rubbed behind her head. "I wanted to see that new spell."
Bon Bon huffed softly. "Lyra, you attended a very elite school of magic use, did you not?"
"Celestia's! Good times, good times." She nodded, mind full of old memories. "What about it?"
"How many spells did you invent?" Bon Bon flipped open the book, making notes within. "How many spells did your schoolmates invent, before, during, or after?"
Lyra considered that with thoughtful noises. "Well, she...No... Oh, Twilight!" She flashed a brilliant smile. "She invented a whole new kind of magic."
"She sure did." Bon Bon closed the book with finality. "It was such an achievement we ended up with a new princess. Comforting is not ready for that. She doesn't even deserve it, if we're being honest. She's still learning how to be a pony, let alone being lauded for pushing the envelope." Bon Bon crossed her arms, eyes on Lyra.
Lyra reared up, hooves on her hips. "Bonnie, love you, but you're super overplaying this."
"Right. Explain your logic," calmly invited Bon Bon. "Show my mistake."
"Well, let's start with the basics. Twilight." Her horn glowed, throwing up an image of Twilight's cutie mark. "She invented a new magic idea. Friendship is magic. It's an idea, a big idea. That's what got her the princess title. Not any one new spell." She burst into giggles. "Go Twilight!"
"Go Twilight," echoed Bon Bon with far less energy. "Hm. So you're saying it's not the same because she didn't have a... larger theory behind it?"
"Yeah basically." Lyra shrugged. "She discovered one new, but very specific, spell. That's way smaller." She brought her hooves together. "Not Twilight level at all. No tiara for Comforting, even if I bet she'd look really cute! Bow to our smallest princess!"
"Yeah... no..." Bon Bon raised a brow. "It's enough to warrant monitoring her. She seems comfortable enough with you."
"Was that a pun? It was a good one. But she's Comfortable around everypony, really." Lyra looked way too pleased at her wordplay.
Bon Bon squinted at Lyra. "You know that's not what I meant... Get to know her, and keep an eye on her. That's a mission."
Lyra stiffened. "Officially? Well... If Secret Agent Sweetie Drops is asking, then I have to answer." She saluted properly. "I'm on the case."