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// 168 - Visiting Ponies 
// Story: New Endings, Old Starts 
// by David Silver 
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Comforting appeared with a pop and dropped onto the soft bed. The owner of that bed was not there, but the soft scents she left behind remained. Diamond Tiara was a pampered filly, and her room made that clear, in scent, sight, and even sound. Comforting spotted the sound of it, a little statue of a rocky formation that had water trickling down it in a burbling celebration of the tranquility of water. "Neat..."

But there was no Diamond. "At school?" The odds were good. While teenaged school was out, little foal school was still going. Popping in on that felt rude. Unless she wanted to attend? No... She was in the teen school, and she owned a house, and a big big dog pony... And was trying to save the world. No, she couldn't pretend to be a little filly all the way like that...

Comforting hopped from the bed to her feet. The door clicked open. There was Randolph, looking at her with muted curiosity. "Ma'am?" He stepped inside. "The lady Tiara is at school."

Well, that answered that... "I was coming to visit." Comforting rubbed her arm, feeling guilty before the elderly butler. "I'll come back later."

"Very good." He nodded at Comforting, not at all phased by the visit by a chaos spirit. "She should be home in a few hours, ma'am."

"Awesome!" That answered another question. "I'll be back." She flipped herself inside out, vanishing away.

"Hm." He went about cleaning, not minding the brief visit.





Comforting pondered where to go next after leaving Diamond's empty home. She considered checking in with the Young Six to see if they'd made any progress on the Lily situation, but hesitated - she wanted to give them space to handle things themselves.

Who else could she visit while waiting for Diamond to finish school? Cracked was probably occupied with her own daily activities. The CMC often had crusading missions after class let out.

"Maybe I'll go see if mom's home," Comforting mused to herself. It had been a little while since she spent quality time with Fluttershy.

With an excited grin, the young spirit popped over to Fluttershy's cottage on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Sure enough, the pegasus was just tidying up inside after a busy morning of animal care.

"Comforting! What a delightful surprise," Fluttershy said warmly as her daughter appeared.

Comforting hugged her adoptive mother happily. "Hi mom! I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by to see you."

The two settled in at the table, catching up over tea and baked goods. Comforting enthusiastically told Fluttershy all about the dance, chatted briefly about her new relationship with Diamond Tiara, and the quest to free Lily.

Fluttershy listened attentively, offering gentle wisdom and encouragement throughout. She was always glad to lend an ear when Comforting needed one. "I've had to, um... save things before." Fluttershy worked her hooves together slowly. "It can be a little scary. Though, it sounds like you won't be doing the scary things yourself, how lucky for you."

Comforting rubbed at her chin. "Not sure how lucky it feels. It means I can't do things. I can't make it work... Just hope and trust the people I gave the mission to do it, and don't get hurt." She flopped against the table. "Ever have to do that?"

"No..." admitted Fluttershy with a little sigh. "Afraid I haven't. But I can imagine, at least. That would be a little scary... Still... You helped mentor them. You helped them be ready. Are you confident in them?"

"Yes!" Comforting hopped up to her feet on the chair. "They're awesome! I just wish I could help... But I can't do that easily without cheating all over it all."

"Why not?"

Comforting blinked at the question. "Because I'm a spirit?"

"Have you tried, um... Not doing spirit things?"

Comforting blinked all the harder at her mother. That was an option?! Well... "Of course that's an option..." She didn't spirit her way past all the problems in the day. "I'm being dumb... But... Even if I don't directly reach out and do spirit things, I still know more than they'd have a chance of knowing. Just being there, talking, could be cheating."

"Maybe." Fluttershy smiled impishly. "So think of how Discord would handle it. He never tells us anything he doesn't want to, even when he's involved. He can be right next to when big things are happening without solving it for us, even if we ask him to very nicely." She rolled her eyes. "We've tried, I promise."

Comforting burst into giggles, easily imagining Discord stubbornly refusing and changing the topic quickly to something else rather than even discuss saying what he didn't want to say. "Dad does know how to get certain things done... Maybe you're right. I should channel my inner Discord and just not say what doesn't need to be said."

"And then." Fluttershy rested a hoof on Comforting's head. "You can go with them and see what happens, even if you don't give them the answers or do it for them."

"You are a genius." Comforting darted in past Fluttershy's arm to grab her in a big hug. "I love you so much I don't even have words." The two squeezed each other with equal love. "I'm going to go see what they... No..." She dropped from her flight, aborting it. "I told Randolph I'd visit Diamond today. She'll be super sad if I don't show up."

Fluttershy smiled warmly as Comforting caught herself, putting Diamond's feelings first. "That's very thoughtful of you. I'm sure she'll appreciate you stopping by."

Comforting nodded, though she still glanced out the window with a hint of restless energy.

Fluttershy placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "I know you want to check on your other friends, too. Why don't you visit with Diamond first, then see if you can meet up with the others? The day is still young."

Comforting's eyes lit up. "Hey yeah, I can visit Diamond, then pop in on the others after! You're the best, mom."

She hugged Fluttershy tightly once more. "Thank you for the advice - and the snacks!"

Comforting vanished the empty plates with a wave before heading for the door. "I'll let you know how things go with the Lily situation soon!"

Fluttershy smiled as she watched her daughter zip off into the afternoon sun. She was proud of the kindness and patience Comforting showed while waiting for her friends to take action.

With higher spirits, the young spirit set off to visit her special somepony. She would check on the Young Six's progress soon enough. But first, it was time for some well-deserved quality time with Diamond Tiara. She went in the front door that time. She even knocked.

Randolph answered with a nod. "Welcome back, ma'am. The missus would like to speak to you first."

"Missus?" Comforting got the idea Randolph didn't mean Diamond. "Spoiled?"

"This way." Randolph walked away, leading towards a small room not too far inside. "In here." He opened a door and waved inside. "Have a pleasant visit."

Comforting nodded at the elder butler pony and walked past him into the room. She saw Spoiled Rich nibbling a cookie somewhat impatiently. "Hello."

"Hello," echoed Spoiled, one brow raising. "I have a few questions for you. Diamond seems serious about you... You seem serious about your relationship with her, but you are a chaos spirit, to put it bluntly. She is not. She is a filly. You are not."

"Hey."

Spoiled leaned forward. "Let's not mince words. You are a spirit, not a pony. You cannot be a filly. Now, as I was saying, Diamond is quite sincere in her affection towards you. I don't want to make that create another rift between us... But I am worried. I know... It may feel otherwise, but I am her mother.  I do care..." She took a slow breath. "You frighten me."

Comforting inclined her head. "I appreciate the honesty. I thought we talked though."

"We did, and we did not." Spoiled pushed a bottle of soda towards Comforting. "I'm still worried. You represent an existential threat to her, to me, to everything I know and love. I've seen your power, and felt it. You could probably snap your fingers and just make me forget I was ever worried... Thank you for not doing that."

Comforting's ears drooped slightly at Spoiled's candid words. She understood the pony's concerns - to an outsider, her abilities could seem frightening and dangerous.

"I know spirits like me aren't always easy to trust," Comforting began slowly. "Especially when we can do things normal ponies can't. But I promise, I'd never use my powers to control or endanger anycreature against their will."

She met Spoiled's gaze earnestly. "I care about Diamond a lot. I'd never intentionally hurt her or take away her freedom of choice. And I'm still learning how to be responsible with my magic - that's why I have mentor keeping me in check."

Comforting smiled hopefully. "I don't expect you to stop worrying completely. But I hope over time I can prove myself trustworthy by my actions. All I want is for everycreature to be safe and happy."  

She slid the soda back towards Spoiled. "You're a good mom looking out for your daughter. I understand your concerns, and I'll work hard to earn your trust. Even us spirits have a lot of growing up to do."

Spoiled studied Comforting thoughtfully, seeming to weigh her words. "Even a spirit can show humility," she finally conceded. "Perhaps you do mean well. I can think of one way you could show me."

Comforting perked at that. "How?!"

Spoiled leaned forward and directed a hoof at  her head. "One horn. A little thing."

Comforting blinked at that spot, where Spoiled did not have a horn. She was an earth pony, who did not have horns. "You're not a unicorn..."

"But I could be one, and I think you could make that happen. One little horn, and so many barriers would crumble to so much dust before me." She blew on that imagined ashen wall, knocking it over, at least in her mind. "So many of the highest social barriers in Equestria stand tallest before earth ponies, you understand. Princess Celestia preaches solidarity, along with Twilight, but it falls on many deaf ears, especially among the ponies that count."

Comforting cringed at that, wringing her hands. She was positive just turning Spoiled into a unicorn on command would count as a misuse of her powers. Doing it for fun, or to show a lesson? She could probably get away with that, especially temporarily... But just like Spoiled was asking? "It's not that simple."

"It never is," sighed out Spoiled. "It never is... Tell me then, what stands in the way? You could do anything, that must is fairly clear."

Well, yes... "In order to be a spirit you can trust, I have to accept that while I could, I shouldn't, and especially, won't." She counted on her fingers as she went. "You are an earth pony. If you want me to look into how you could change that, if you really want, I could dig around, but you'd have to do it, not me, for you."

Spoiled considered Comforting's words, looking thoughtful. "I see. There are rules, even for one such as yourself." She sighed. "Perhaps that was too brazen a request. You have made it clear you intend no ill towards my daughter, and that is what matters most."

Spoiled met Comforting's gaze. "Very well. I shall take you at your word, for now. But know I will be keeping a close eye on your relationship." Her expression softened slightly. "Truthfully, I cannot recall Diamond being this happy before. Whatever mystical force has brought you two together...it seems to have been a positive one thus far."

Comforting smiled, relieved that Spoiled seemed willing to give her a chance. "I really care about her. All I want is for Diamond to be able to follow her heart and find joy." She hopped down from her seat. "Anyway, I should let you get back to your day. I know you're just looking out for Diamond's wellbeing. Thanks for hearing me out."

Spoiled nodded. As Comforting turned to leave, the pony spoke up once more. "One more thing..."

Comforting paused, looking back curiously.

"While I may never fully understand your ways, I can at least tell you this..." Spoiled almost smiled. "Take good care of my daughter."

Comforting beamed. "I will. You have my word."

With the air cleared between them, Comforting went off to finally spend time with Diamond, her steps a little lighter.