//------------------------------//
// 79 - Even New Status Quos Can be Broken 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
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Comforting started awake in the dark. It wasn't like she was asleep, but she was abruptly not idle anymore. A sharp pain had run through her... everything. Something was wrong, and she had no idea what it could be. That pain had been intense, but also quite brief, already gone, fading away.

There was Screwball, curled and dozing, floating in the air peacefully. It hadn't bothered her. Perking an ear, Comforting heard nothing from the rest of the house. Fluttershy hadn't been woken up. Good, she had just gotten back from something. She hadn't said the specifics, but she finished with that. Waking her up felt like an awful thing to do.

Who could she ask? What could she check?

Well, mother was tired and snoozing. But what about father? She reached out and brushed aside some beads, at least she brushed aside where some beads could have been, parting the scene to slip through with only the quiet tinkle of them brushing back against one another with her passed form.

She was in front of Discord's house. "I'm getting the hang of this." Being a chaos spirit was kinda fun... "Dad? You awake?" She zipped to the front door and knocked on it directly. "It's me, Comforting."

Discord opened the door from the inside. "Hey, shortstack. Did you come here on your own? You're getting the hang of things."

Comforting beamed at the praise. "Yeah... But something happened, and I don't know what. Could you help?"

"No, see... the trick there." He wagged a finger at his adopted daughter. "Asking chaos spirits for help can be a chancy thing. Are you sure you want to try?"

Comforting blinked at the idea. "You're my dad, and I'm a chaos spirit and love helping people."

"Bad habit, you'll get over it." He waved that off. "Either way, what's got you down?"

Comforting took hold of her long tufted tail with her dragon hand, the other gesturing in the air. "I was 'sleeping' when suddenly it was like I was being electrocuted all over, but for like a second? Any ideas?"

"Tons of them," calmly retorted Discord. "But most of them are probably just bad attempts at humor, if we're being honest. More seriously, that sounds like something important to you was messed with, and you noticed. Good job, by the way. So, I'd check the important things." He turned his fingers on himself. "I'm safe! So it's not me."

"Good!" She hugged him firmly, the two quiet a moment in a soon returned embrace. "I'd better check other important things."

"Good luck." He waved as she unzippered the air and vanished through the opening she made. "A real natural..." He frowned a little in thought. "Going to have to account for that..."





She knew Screwball was alright, so she appeared with a quiet pop above Fluttershy to be sure. Yep, there was a pegasus, sleeping peacefully. Part of her wanted to zoom up and give a big hug, but doing that to a sleeping pony was kinda rude. So she hovered there a moment, just watching Fluttershy breathe softly. Sometimes it was the little things... With a smile, Comforting pressed between the wall and the door, popping out somewhere else.

Another sleeping form, but much larger. Yona was sleeping in her own way, taking up much more of her room, as yaks did. Comforting was in the dorms of the school, which meant a quick spinning twirl was enough to reveal the other students were there, and alright.

She was running out of things to check. Oh! She slipped under their door and popped up on the other side of a different door, inside Diamond Tiara's room. It smelled... ornate. Was ornate a smell? Like fine incenses lit just right, layered meticulously to please the nose.

"What... are you doing here?" And there was Diamond Tiara, looking sleepy as she roused from her slumber. "Comforting? This is kinda sudden, don't you think?"

Comforting stiffened. Caught! "Sorry! I was just checking on you."

Diamond slipped to the ground, stretching as she went. "Checking for what?" She looked over herself for anything wrong, but there was nothing there.

"Anything, really... Sorry, not trying to bother you... I was going to check Silver Spoon next." She pointed off in no particular direction. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Why wouldn't I be? Dummy." She booped Comforting gently. "Still, since you're here, maybe you can do a little chaos for me?"

Comforting blinked softly. "What kind of chaos?"

"The fun kind." Diamond waved at her door. "It's too late to get anything. I'd just get yelled at if I wandered out there, but here you are, my little wonderful meal ticket."

"Oh." That didn't sound hard. She casually reached through everything, sifting around in Diamond's fridge. "What am I looking for?"

Diamond blinked at the sight, Comforting's arm just casually stopping about halfway up, the other half somewhere else. "Where are you... looking?"

"Feels cold. How about this!" She closed her fingers around a smooth round thing and yanked free a bottle of milk. "Ta da!"

Diamond clapped appreciatively. "Nice, you must be in the fridge. Put that back and feel around for something in a metal square." She pantomimed a square with her hooves as best she could. "That should have a cake."

Comforting stuffed the milk back where it had come from and patted around in the space she couldn't see. "Metal... square... metal square..." Plastic, plastic, glass. Wax paper? Metal, round... There, metal and square, at the same time! She grabbed it firmly and yanked it through.

"That isnt the cake." Diamond was smiling though. "Good enough." It was some kind of dish, cheese, pasta-like? Like a lasagne of sorts, or a casserole. It was cold, coming from the fridge. "Can you heat it without burning the house down? I'd get grounded for that."

Comforting quickly imagined a lot more than just a grounding would happen if their daughter burned the house down. "I don't want that... Oh, easy." She slapped the thing into a microwave and started pressing buttons. She was reaching for the start when she brought herself short. "Ooops!" She quickly removed the food from its metal pan. "Don't microwave metal."

"Don't what metal?" Diamond had no idea what a microwave was, watching Comforting curiously.

With a triumphant final beeping tone, the microwave was finished. Comforting reached in and discovered that hot food was strangely hot. "Ow!" She waved her hands wildly before she tried again, with oven mitts. "There we go..." She got the plate out and quickly put it down in front of Diamond. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Mmm..." Diamond licked her lips appreciatively. "You're the best, Comforting. Now, you wanted to check Silver? Let me know she's alright, since you brought it up."

"Will do." Comforting just popped, leaving little fragments of herself, but she was gone.

She reformed  in a new, dark, room. It was hard to see what she was looking at. She drew out some large nightvision goggles and popped them on her head, revealing it all in ghostly greens. There was a slumbering form of a filly on a large and soft bed. All was peaceful.

Comforting poked just her head back into Diamond's room. "She's alright!" And she pulled herself out of both of their rooms to be in the town square instead. "Who's left...?" The teachers? They were pretty alright at protecting themselves. They were experienced adventurers!

Harmony? She was a little godling. What could hurt her? She waved off the very idea, but her hand slowed, not finishing the motion. Harmony had said she would die, sort of... "Harmony!" She vanished with a big exclamation point that fell to the ground with a dusty thump.

"W-what...?" It was her turn to be shocked to confused silence. Where once there was a  grand tree of glittering orderly wonder, there were bits and pieces. Fragments of wood and jagged rocks were all that was left. "Harmony..." They hadn't even had a chance to try that whole dating thing...

Comforting waved that thought away with a snort. It wasn't time for that. "Harmony!" She rushed forward. The pressure. She could feel it. It wasn't nearly as strong as it had been. But she felt it. That meant Harmony was still there, right? "Harmony? Are you..." Alright? Clearly she wasn't that... "There? It's me... Say something, please."

With a flicker, a form appeared of the far-sighted Twilight, looking on with a little smile. "I had been working to build energy."

Comforting wheeled to face them. "Harmony! Energy for what? What happened?!" She waved at the scattered bits of her friend. 

"Evil. Chaos. I felt both. I said my wood would be gone. I did not think it would be this quickly, but I knew it was coming... Energy, to call the students here. You are here." Twilight advanced on Comforting. "Can I ask a favor, chaos friend?"

"Of course. How can I help? You... I keep wanting to say alright, but... You said you'd... be..." She sagged. "You'd still be here. Does it hurt?"

"It hurt. It does not hurt now. I have nothing to hurt. I am a spirit." She inclined her head. "Like you."

Comforting's tail curled and lashed. "What?! I have a body." She poked herself as if to prove this fact.

"Mutable, uncertain... You are a chaos spirit. I am an orderly one. Chaos friend, a favor?"

Comforting reached to pat Harmony, but her hand went through the space, not solid... "You're hurt."

"I am hurt." Harmony inclined her head. "Chaos friend, bring word to the others. Have them come here. Let them do as they wish. This is a part of their growth. This is a part of my growth. Chaos friend, do not stop them. Help them. Help them be as they should, where they should."

Comforting went in for a hug, shadow hugging the immaterial orderly spirit. "I'll do my best, promise."

"You usually do." Harmony stood back. "I must go. Chaos friend, do not tell them this, but be not sad... I already told you." She vanished away, nothing left but a ruined tree to enjoy the solitude of the quiet cave.

Comforting took a shuddering breath, her hands falling to her side. "Alright... Alright." She fell backwards and landed in her own bed, thumping into its softness. "Alright..." She rolled onto her side for a peek out the window, but a face was in her way. "Wah!" She jumped back in surprise, and Screwball came in with her.

"Morning!" cried the excitable fillly. "Where were you? I woke up and you weren't there and I was worried, but you got back, yay!" She clapped with the joy of that event. "Where'd you go? Naughty. The school isn't even open yet." She wagged a hoof at Comforting reprimandingly. "And you didn't take me to the hospital yet."

Comforting relaxed, realizing who was there. "Morning, Screwie. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. Very well." She stretched hard enough to pop her back. "One perk of floating is the bed is always so soft." She pedeled her hooves through the air as if walking, but it had no effect. "What about you?"

"The first part was good... but I woke up early and got a job." She rubbed her chin softly. "Which I should get to. As soon as you get breakfast, off to the hospital and I have to get to work."

"You have a job?" Screwball floated in closer. "When did that happen? Can I get a job? I'll do my best, promise!"

Comforting could remember giving that promise herself shortly before. "I bet you would... We can try that after you're done with the classes at the hospital." She touched nose to nose with her sister. "But first, breakfast."

"Breakfast!" That Screwball could agree was a priority. "Let's go!" She zoomed out of the room with a babbling cheer.

Comforting could hear Fluttershy greeting Screwball. The day was properly starting. She had things to do.