//------------------------------//
// 152 - Exploring 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

"Wow." Smolder punched at Comforting's shoulder. "I thought you didn't care about that. Gonna be honest, I'm really not sure where you fall."

Comforting rubbed the punched spot. "Fall how?"

Smolder shrugged. "You're sized like a little pony." She held a hand up just as tall as Comforting had been when they first met. "You sound like one too. So, is this the part where I giggle at little kid crushes that probably won't go anywhere? So cute and all that."

Yona perked from her bed. "Not smash kid."

Smolder blinked softly. "Did I just get told not to smash, by Yona of all creatures?" She waved her hands in negation. "A crush is when a creature falls in love with somecreature else."

"Oh." Yona hopped down from her bed with a heavy thump of her frame. "Comforting have crush? Who?"

Ocellus buzzed her wings. "Really? Um... If you want to share..."

Comforting darkened, the entire room becoming interested in her little mess. "Um..." They were, at least, very much old enough to start considering such. "It's complicated. I'm complicated!" She threw her hands up. "I think I have it mostly worked out."

Gallus shrugged. "Hey, you've watched out for me. We're here for you, if you want it. Or just tell us to take a hike."

"Aw." Comforting smiled at the griffon brightly. "That was a very nice thing. I just have to work through it. Nothing's happened that needs an intervention."

Sandbar inclined his head. "This is Diamond Tiara we're talking about, right? She'll get bored."

Silverstream gasped in shock. "That's not very nice."

"Neither is she?" Sandbar shrugged at that. "No offense, but she goes through things she 'loves' pretty fast. I bet she was really surprised when you didn't just say yes."

Comforting gave Sandbar a glare, but it faded about as quickly. "I don't think it's like that... But also doesn't matter. That's not what's got me thinking." She laughed nervously. "And I feel strange talking about it!"

Smolder lifted her hands in a grand shrug. "Hey, we're friends. Talking about love troubles? Part of the package. In fact... I'm totally putting in for extra credit with Twilight. This better count!"

Gallus snickered at Smolder's objection. "Sign me up for that." He directed a thumbs up at Comforting. "Seriously, if you like her, and she likes you, who cares?"

"I like her like a wonderful friend." Comforting rocked on her feet. "I like her like someone I want to see grow into their best self. I want to play, and talk, and enjoy life, and..."

Yona shrugged with a soft grunt. "Sometimes, that enough."

"Huh?"

Yona inclined her sizable head at Comforting. "Know some yaks, just like being near. Talk, enjoy close. Nothing more. All need. Still love."

Smolder snapped her fingers. "Yeah. Not every love has to have sloppy kisses." She made a face as if she was not particularly hunting for such kisses. "If you want to be Gal Pals with her, do that. Not like a BFF is a bad thing."

"No. No, of course not." Comforting bounced a few steps back. "We were already that! I like that... She wants more."

Gallus wagged a finger. "If I'm getting what the others are putting down, she wants 'different', not more. And if you don't wanna, well, she can accept that, or take a hike." He waggled his brows. "'Cause, just sayin', I'm rating you as higher priority between you two. I barely know she exists, and mostly because you hang out with her."

"Comforting." Twilight emerged from the back. "I was hoping to ask a favor, if you have time. I think you'll like it."

Comforting twirled, not bothering to land. "What's up? Need me to watch?"

"Basically, but I'd like you to have fun, too." Twilight went to a nearby window and pointed out of it. "They have an ice-skating rink. We have enough time in the day to enjoy that, and I think--" The room filled with cheers. "--they will like that. Are you up to taking responsibility?"

Comforting inclined a tufted ear at that. "You are putting a lot of trust in me."

"I am..." Twilight curled a hoof to her chin. "I apologize for that. If this sounds like too much, I understand. Applejack... found other things to do." She buried her face in that same hoof. "Or I'd ask her to do it."

"Not to be rude, professor, but what are you doing?" Comforting leveled a finger at Twilight. "You're here."

"I am." Twilight smiled thinly. "But I need to make sure we go to the right place at the right time to see this play. I'm only just now finding out additional steps... The minotaurs are very particular about 'visitors' concerning this holiday, and I want to make sure it goes smoothly. I thought I had this all..." She sighed defeatedly. "Not the first time my plans fell apart... I'll take care of that, but, if it's just up to me, you all wait here tonight. I trust you, if you trust you, to handle this. I know they're a little stir-crazy staying inside."

"Ooo, yeah..." Comforting nodded, imagining snooty minotaurs and reams of red tape. "They didn't make it obvious, huh?" She looked to her friends, turning mid-air. "You all want to go skating?" They were all nodding and pumping fists and hooves. "Okay... Okay!" She rubbed her hands with a grin. "Get dressed."

The prompt had been given, the students scurried off to get ready. Most of them didn't get much in the way of actual clothing, though Sandbar and Ocellus had scarves to keep away the chill. Comforting fixed her gaze on Smolder. "Don't want one too? I know dragons don't mind fire."

"Eh. It wasn't that cold." Smolder shrugged. "Let's get to it."

"Onwards!" Comforting landed and took off at a light jog to the door. "All of you, after me. We'll head over there and have fun. None of you leave my sight." She pointed at one of her eyes.

Gallus ribbed Comforting on the way past. "The smallest, maybe youngest, is in charge? Crazy."

Yona shook her head, next past. "She is not normal foal."

Smolder fired fingerguns along the way. "I, for one, celebrate our new chaotic overlord."

"Stop that!" Comforting zipped out after them all and closed the door behind them. "One thing." She looked over her crowd of students. "Silly thing, maybe, but where is the rest of the school?"

Gallus tossed his head back towards the room they were leaving behind. "It cost enough just getting us here, and it was our idea. Next year, they'll take another class, or so I heard."

Yona nodded firmly. "Best class go first." She thudded alongside the other students and members of 'best class'. "Yak good skate. All know how?"

Ocellus raised a hoof. "I don't. Um, show me?"

"Yes!" Yona threw an arm over Ocellus, swearing to protect the changeling without saying as much. "Fun."

Silverstream giggled. "I never skated either, but it looks super fun! I can't wait to mess it up."

Smolder raised a brow. "Don't most creatures want to not mess it up?"

"You have to mess up to get good at something, duh." Silverstream rolled her eyes with giggles bubbling out. "So, can't wait!"

"Good attitude." Comforting waved them forward. "Let's mess up and get better!"

With a communal cry, they hurried out onto the sidewalk outside of the hotel, just for a wall to snap up in front of them. "Stop!" All the students turned to Comforting. "Remember those things they ride?" She banished the wall with a clap. "They're fast and dangerous." She pointed to a crosswalk. "This way."

So she showed them how to cross safely, a skill that was easy to miss if one never spent a lot of time in a big city. They reached the other side of the street and Comforting sped up, waving them along towards the dividing rope that seperated the rest of the world from that frozen lake. "There." She spotted a spot where creatures were filtering inside. "Let's get in line."

Most of the creatures on that line were minotaurs, to no great surprise. "Woah," gasped out a little minotaur bull calf. "Where are you all from?"

Smolder snickered, pointing back the hotel. "We're visiting to see that big play you're doing."

"Neat!"

Comforting smiled, letting them chit-chat. It was nice seeing them get along with the locals. "Excuse me. Sorry to bother, but is there a fee for getting to the lake?" She pointed to the frozen water.

"Nope." The calf looked so proud of knowing that. "Unless you need to get skates. That isn't free."

As one, all the students looked down to their feet and hooves, with no skates in sight. Well, except one pair. Comforting had some, because she thought of them in that moment. "I'll cover that." She clapped her hands, summoning a floating eye with sparkly lines coming from it. "This is me. Stay where it can see you." She hurried off towards what looked like a stand where one could address that problem.

She didn't 'see' through the eye. Seeing in two places was still a prompt for a headache. That sensor, in theory, would just tell her if something sudden or unexpected happened. Comforting landed at the end of the short line heading to the counter. It seemed most of the minotaurs came with their own supplies and didn't need it. Tourists, on the other hand or hoof... "Hello." She skipped up at her turn. "I'd like a few sets, please."

"A few." The minotaur cow leaned over to look Comforting over. "I only see one of you."

Comforting pointed off to the crowd, still safe so far as she could see. "It's for me and my friends." She pulled out a paper and slapped it down. "Here are their foot or hoof sizes." She didn't know their sizes, but that didn't stop her from making that paper. Ah, chaos... "How much?"

The cow slid the paper closer and looked them over with thoughtful mumbles. "It's twice for the ones that need two pairs," she noted. "We charge by the pair."

"Fair enough." Comforting gave her best smile. "Please."

The cow hiked a thumb at a sign that had the price per pair in big bold letters and numbers. "Good for two hours."

"That sounds fine." Comforting tapped her fingers, doing mental math. "So..." She dug out some bits and slapped them down. "Here we go!"

The cow raised a doubting brow. "Sorry. We don't take Equestrian currency." She showed a different type of money, paper. "Got any of these?"

Well. She didn't, but then she did, offering up a stack of them. "Is that enough?"

She coughed at the sight of it and pushed it back. "Too much! Just one of those."

Comforting seperated one from the rest and held it out, soon getting change back, and a pile of skates she hung over herself. "Thank you!"

That made her think of something. She clicked the mail icon.



Hi dad! I'm off on an education, as I mentioned before. Question! When we make money, does the money... How does that work? Are we making trouble? I don't want them to get fired because of me.



Not that she was returning the skates, instead surrendering them to the students and reclaiming her floating eye to tuck away. "Good job, staying out of trouble."

Gallus snorted at that. "We're not kids. We can manage a few minutes."

Smolder threw an arm around Comforting. "Nice." She worked a skate on with her free hand. "Now, one thing. No cheating. You fall down with the rest of us."

Yona nodded at that as she stepped into her skates, her weight pushing them into place swiftly. "Yes, learn for real. No magic."

Ocellus flared with a burst of heat, wearing skates when it was done. "Only magic I'll use, promise!"

Comforting snickered at her insectoid friend and ward. "I think we're alright with that one." It was their turn and they stepped out onto the ice. To their credit, only half of them immediately fell over.