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// 77 - Generational Bias 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
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"You may." Harmony inclined her head. "But I have a condition."

"Alright... but what are you giving me permission to do?" They had skipped that part entirely. Comforting folded her arms. "You can skip a lot, but not that part."

"You started it," calmly retorted Harmony. "You may use your chaos for and on the students, but condition. You may not permanently change them. Their perspectives may change, but their bodies may not, barring time."

Comforting rocked on her mismatched feet, considering that. "What if one of them really wants to... not be what they are? I'd feel bad not even trying to help with that."

"You speak from personal experience, I can hear it, but I don't know your past." Harmony's horn glowed as she plucked at Comforting gently. "One day you may share it, though it will not help me here. A matter entirely of curiosity."

Comforting swatted gently, though she had little hope of just swatting at formless magic, at least not without trying harder. "But, still... if?"

Harmony let out a long sigh. "Chaos friend, you test me, in the way that chaos friends must. If you make a change that must not be, it will be eroded. You have seen this, things you make and change not persisting. The universe has requirements, and makes them silently but undeniably. They are the final arbiter, not me."

Comforting's eyes swirled slowly with colors, more like a loading wheel than anything else. "Were you giving me that condition for me then?"

"For you?" Harmony was quiet a moment. "That will do."

Comforting awoke. "Morning!" Screwball was floating elsewhere in the room, ordering her toys, though what order that was...harder to tell at a glance. "Did you sleep good?"

Comforting made idle note that, while being visited, she was distracted and didn't notice things going on around her. "Morning, Screwie!" She hopped up into the air to float beside her already hovering sister. "What are you doing?"

Screwball made quite the dramatic wave at the toys, board games and plushes and other things. "I helped!"

Comforting inclined her head slowly. "What order were you going for?"

Screwball pointed to the left and slowly on to the right. "It's in order you got them in."

Comforting's eyes widened. They were in that order! She had entirely missed that. "Wow, neat. How... did you know what order that is?"

"Lucky guess?" suggested the chaotic filly. Unlike Comforting, her perspective was badly skewed. "Like it?"

"It's lovely, but I'd like 'types' of toys to be closer together." She pointed at the various stuffed creatures. "Like these things. I want them together so I can look at the huggable things."

"Ohhh," let out Screwball, seeming to grasp that. "Okay." Not that she resumed ordering things, instead focused entirely on Comforting. "Breakfast time?"

"Breakfast time." Comforting smooched Screwball's cheek and zipped with her out into the kitchen where Fluttershy was making said breakfast. "Morning!"

"Good morning you two." Fluttershy set down a plate with her wings on the table. "It's good to see you two getting along so well, even first thing in the morning."

Screwball hovered just over a chair, as close as she was gonna get to sitting in it. "I like my sister all day long, and night long, and the times between."

Comforting chomped her food gratefully. "Thanks, mom! I'll take Screwball in."

Screwball pouted. "After school, I wanna meet your friends."

Comforting considered that before she snapped her draconic fingers. "You got it. I'll see which of them is around today." Screwball needed to meet more and hang out with more than just herself, Comforting decided quietly. "See you later!" She waved at Fluttershy, heading out with Screwball.

The two made a rapid flight to the hospital. The town was still waking up, but there were ponies up and about, some noticing the two chaos touched ones. Fortunately, they were known, and not in a bad way. They got a few waves on the way past.

Comforting came in for a landing. "Be good. Are you learning things?"

Screwball hovered before Comforting. "They keep telling me how to... act. They aren't teaching me... things. You teach me more things. Better things. All kinds of things!" She clapped her hooves, starting to get excited. "I want more things. Things things things." Too excited, her babble returning to her.

Comforting gently pet her excited sister. "Calm down. You need to learn how to act so you can learn more. Discord wasn't helping with that. But we are, promise."

"Promise?"

Comforting thrust out a pinkie. "Promise."

Screwball blinked softly, the offer going right over her head. "Uh..."

She also didn't have a pinkie to do it back with, Comforting realized sheepishly. "Sorry, it means I'm making a serious promise."

"Oh!" Screwball bounced in place with a big smile. "Okay! I'll listen. Listen real good." She hurried inside with a swooshing sound effect she gladly made herself with her mouth.

Comforting cracked her knuckles. Learning time! She jogged instead of flying. There was a feeling in actually using one's legs, and she took a little time to enjoy it as she fled to school.

Later, Twilight smiled at the class. "Rarity has informed me that the trip to Manehattan is nearly prepared." The class erupted into cheers. "But I do need one thing." She held up a hoof. "Please send a letter to your parents and get permission. They agreed to your coming to this school, but that doesn't mean we can take you to anyplace in Equestria."

Grumbles replaced the cheers. Gallus threw a paper at Comforting, making her squeak. She unfurled the paper quickly.



I doubt your mom's gonna be a problem.



Comforting nodded. She doubted Fluttershy would stop her from visiting the city, but... She flipped the paper over and scrawled a reply, "Will you have any problems?"

Gallus caught it when she tossed it. He smoothed it out to read it and quickly scribbled a reply, "He'll take his sweet time answering if he bothers at all... Sucks."

The paper didn't make it back to Comforting, caught by Twilight's glowing magic. "Please don't exchange notes." Still, she put it down on Comforting's desk. "Last message, hm? Now, as we were covering..."

Comforting read, but didn't try to reply. She wasn't a problem student! Or she hoped, and she paid attention for the rest of the class.

But when Twilight dismissed the class, she was quick to get to Gallus' side. "Boo!" she emphatically blurted at him. "We have to be able to do something."

"It took a lot of arm wrenching to get in here at all." Gallus shrugged at that. "It's not that big a deal... we're gonna meet that bank pony right here, remember?"

"Yeah... But..." Comforting crossed her arms. "It's not fair you being left out because your caretakers aren't doing their job..."

"Thanks for caring, kiddo." He ruffled the chaotic filly's head, undisturbed by her potentially vast power. "But unless you can magic up a signed permission slip?"

She could! Maybe? Possibly? Even if she could... "It wouldn't be right..."

Yona informed them of her presence by speaking loudly as if she had been part of the conversation the entire time, "Why not take him there?"

Comforting blinked quickly. "Oh. Oh! Yona! You're brilliant!"

Yona beamed with pride. Gallus looked on with doubt at his large friend being 'brilliant'. "Can you do that?"

"I think I can. Will he sign the paper if you're there in person to ask?" Comforting began rubbing her hands together with a calculating smile. "Then we can get it done without breaking any rules." A few rules of physics, but those barely counted!

"Maybe..." Gallus clucked his tongue against his beak. "Better odds than some random letter. Seriously, you can... do that? Do you even know where I live?"

"No idea! And that won't stop me. I've teleported before, and it worked." She offered a hippogriff hand towards Gallus. "And if it gets you a trip with us, I want to help."

Gallus took her hand in his, shaking with the smaller child, even if she could do things he could not. "Alrighty then.  If it's as easy as that, let's hop over there after school."

That was when Comforting remembered... "I promised Screwball, first to pick her up, and second to maybe introduce her to you all?" She looked between Gallus and Yona. "If you're up for it?"

Yona nodded easily. "Sure. Meet pony. Sister now? I take care of sister. You take care Gallus."

Comforting jumped in place. "You are the best yak!"

Yona's smile could light the room. Best yak? Best of the best? She liked that idea. "After school."

"After school," quickly agreed Comforting, looking to Gallus.

"See you two then." Gallus walked off towards his next class without any more fancy of a goodbye.

Just as Comforting was ready to flee for the day, Twilight intercepted her. "How is your rune work coming along?"

"Okay, I think?"

Twilight smiled at her changed student. "Why don't you show me, a quick alphabet."

"Hmm..." She focused on her changeling horn, playing the notes of magic faithfully. 

"Higher," gently advised Twilight. "Lower... There you are..." It became a quick little lesson in pitches and timbres as she went. "Much better. Keep practicing. I think, soon, you will be able to cast a spell. I think... once you do that, the rest should come swiftly. Then you may, if you wish, resume your lessons as a wizard."

Comforting flashed a big thumbs up. "I gotta go!" But her attempt to flee was barred by a hoof. "Hm?"

"Sorry. I admit, I'm used to you being more...focused. You've been through a lot, but I want you to know I'm still here for you. Don't hesitate to ask--"

"--Do you have any advice on convincing griffons of things?" Comforting waved off at where her friends were waiting for her presumably.

Twilight inclined her head. "They can be... headstrong. Don't approach them as if you know better than they do, especially about personal things to them."

"Thanks!" Comforting looked genuinely pleased as she lifted up and darted away, leaving Twilight behind.

"You're welcome?" offered Twilight to the space that once held a student. "Good luck." Why did she need to know about griffons? They denied Twilight knowing for the time.

Comforting rushed out to find Gallus and Yona waiting for her. "Sorry, quick magic lesson." She tapped at her smaller horn. "Getting better. Not as good at smashing."

"Changeling horn alright. Yak horn better." Easy conclusion for Yona. "Get sister."

As one unit they marched on the hospital. "Comfie!" hollored Screwball from the second story. She jumped clear of it, plummeting just to bounce gently, the ground refusing her presence. "And friends? Hi! Hi hi hi." She frantically flailed her hooves with undisguised excitement. "I can't--" She frowned, fishing for words. "Can't..."

Yona inclined her head at somecreature that competed with her for word use. "Wait?"

"Don't wanna wait!" cried Screwball. "Hi! Screwball." She pointed at herself, then at Yona.

"Yona." She pointed to Gallus. "Gallus. Nice meet."

Gallus nodded at the strange filly. "Hey. Gonna borrow your sister."

Comforting waved at Yona. "Yona wants to meet you and play some games. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Ooooo." Screwball floated about Yona, orbiting the larger being. "Play. Let's play. Where are you going?" She had spotted Comforting trying to slip away. "Wanna come!"

Comforting put up her hands. "I need to help Gallus with homework. Boring school stuff. I'll be back as soon as possible. Yona got her work done early. Yaks are good at that."

"Yaks best at homework," she agreed. "So time to play."

"Yay!" The offer of play dissolved her worry, the two wandering off to do that.

Gallus chuckled softly. "We owe her one for saving the day. Alright, how do we get from here to there?"

Comforting considered the ways she'd seen Discord do it, and how she had done it. "We just need... a scene transition."

"A what now?" Gallus did not comprehend the reality he lived in.