New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

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Comforting skipped down the hallway, mismatched feet tapping at the apex of each hop as she whistled in a cheerful tone. It was a pity this happy moment was disrupted with crystal shards exploding out of the door ahead of her. She darted forward, not bothering to land. "Is everyone alright?!" The inside of the classroom was eerily quiet.

It wasn't that the class was empty, far from it. Rows of ponies stood perfectly still, eyes glazed under some power. "Guys?" They didn't look towards her. They just marched past Comforting, ignoring her as if she didn't even exist. "Hello?"

A message arrived, the icon blinking in her view. She swatted it quickly.

Emergency. Please come here.

Comforting felt her blood run cold. That was missing all of Amity's usual niceties and mannerisms. At least she had said please? "Coming," she said and typed at once, and took a step to the left, arriving just in front of Amity's tree. "What's going on?!"

"We are called to watch." Amity waved Comforting closer. "We are called to witness."

"W-wait. This is the time to act, not watch!" Amity waved all the firmly, despite not moving any faster. "We are watchers. We are spirits. When change comes, we can reward, but we cannot be the actors." A sprout bloomed next to them, forming a small table, like a miniature cutie mark map. "This will show us."

Comforting sank behind Amity, pulling the filly-herself close. "But they need our help."

"We gave it." She inclined an ear back at Comforting. "We gave it before now. Now they use it. Trust them, or we already failed."

Comforting squeezed Amity with a shudder. "I trust them..."

"Then we watch." Amity waved at the table and an image appeared. Ponies across Equestria were being attacked and enslaved. "He has arrived. I have different names for such creatures. Antagonist, Inciter, Tester, Problem..." She pressed and scrolled with motions of her hooves, urging the view around the map of Equestria. "They are what we prepare our ponies for. They rise, or they fall."

"I don't want to watch ponies, or any creature, get hurt." She reached past Amity, directing the view around in broad sweeps. "Who's 'he'? We should be focusing on him."

"Why?" There was little emotion there, as if she was just asking why the sun would ever be cold.

The question, so short, stunned Comforting a moment. "Why? To stop him!"

"That is their job." Amity brought up images of ponies, from the mane six to others that may move in defense of Equestria. "That is not the job of a spirit, of order or of chaos."

"Then what do you plan? They're our friends!" Her voice raised into a shrill squeak and she blushed, hearing herself. "They are... We should be helping them..." She clutched tighter to Amity with one arm. "What's the point of being a god if we can't even keep them safe?"

"We protect them by guiding them." Amity leaned back against Comforting. "By setting good examples, and directing them to grow. So when this happens, we know they will not only survive... but grow further. We are called to witness."

"Who? Who made up this rule?" Comforting scowled at the map and its many images of suffering ponies. "What if I just went and helped anyway, what then?"

"Then you harm them." Amity slipped free of Comforting's grip. "And the next time, they will be less ready. They will expect you to save them. And you will. And they will expect it." She cycled her little hooves in the air. "And they will become weaker. They will shrivel instead of growing. Don't do that, Friend Comforting."

Comforting stomped from one foot to a big yak hoof. "Not fair! Not... fair... This is scary!" She found her student friends, staring blankly as they marched, slaves to 'him'. "How can they even fight this?"

"They will, or we already failed." Amity rose to her hooves. "We are called to watch. Should they fail... I will die."

"What?!"

"Not the way you just imagined." Amity turned to Comforting. "But I will be lost for a time. I will slumber and wait for when next ponies rise to where they can hear me. A new generation of ponies that I can try to do better with... The old me will be gone. I could only hope the new me would do it better. This is my job. This is my duty."

"How..." Comforting cycled her hands wildly a moment. "Has this already happened?! How many... what... cycles? How many times have you reset?"

"How could I know, Friend Comforting? The old me is gone. Only the new one remains. Ponies are certainly more than one generation in age... I watched them grow from disparate and squabbling tribes to this great nation... But even when I first stirred, there were ponies. I just wasn't there, but I was. There was an older me. I never met them. There can only be one of me at a time, Friend Comforting."

Comforting huffed and fumed, filled with rage with no clear target. "But... What about... Chaos? I'm not tied to them like that. Discord or me could tell you about past yous, couldn't we?"

"Aren't you?" Amity inclined her head. "Chaos was a new thing... It has visited ponies before, but never as a friend. I am proud to have ushered that... Even if now it has created a terrible new test for them. I remain proud... But will he last past the generation? I couldn't say, Friend Comforting."

Comforting waved at herself, motions becoming sharper as panic drew around her tensely. "What about me, then?"

"You are a pony," reminded Amity. "More than one, but still one, dear Friend Comforting. Even your princess denied that, but I know the truth of it. Once human, once pony, you will never be rid of either. You are tied to them with a certainty." Amity circled the little table. "And, as a pony, you watch the others. You cry... to see your fellow ponies suffer." She stopped and crashed to her haunches. "As do I."

"But..." She could see no spilling tears. But she could see something else, a lack. Amity's gaze was distant, back to not focusing. She was in full orderly spirit mode. A protective measure? "I'm sorry." Comforting sank behind Amity and drew her into a tight hug. "Sorry...That was selfish. You're hurting too, and I'm not being a good friend right now."

"We hurt, in different ways." Amity wriggled about to face Comforting. "A date."

"A date?"

Amity nodded. "We discussed it, but never did it. Comforting, will you go on a date with me? You know what I am. You know who I am. Will you date that?"

"Wait, who is he? Do you know?" Comforting didn't let Amity go. "Telling me that won't hurt."

"I suppose not." Amity sent the image flying to view a dark place where ponies with terrible masks marched. A figure cackled, cloak billowing behind him. "He doesn't even remember what he fought for, but that was not part of what I paid attention to. Perhaps I should have?" The image pulled in tighter, showing his flaring shadow-magic eyes. "Sombra, previous and current ruler of the Crystal Empire. He marches on Canterlot. This is an older image of him."

Comforting closed her mouth, her complaint about it showing the crystal empire answered before she could say it. "Sombra?" She knew that one... "Can't they use--" The image jumped, showing the crystal heart captured, along with the royals of Cadance, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart, all bound tightly. "Oh... Shoot." She bid the screen move around the crystal empire, taking in the bleak scene of the subjugated nation. There was no resistance, only servitude. "Well... that's bad..."

"Very bad." Amity hopped up onto the map. "This is a Test. The capital T was intentional." She paced around the edges of the map. "Such Tests do not come often, thankfully... Twilight faced the last several. Perhaps, she will rise against this one? Perhaps Celestia? She had wanted..." She trailed off, moving the image to find Celestia landing with Luna, facing a challenge by the Everfree, not at Canterlot. "Oh..."

Comforting waved a hoof wildly. "That's headed for my house!" Thorny vines, creeping in all directions from the Everfree. "Mom!" She could see Fluttershy, fighting bravely against the thorny menace. And it was gone. "What was that for?!"

"You must calm yourself." Amity hopped to the ground. "We are watchers."

"I can cheer for my side as I watch..." Comforting bid the image return. "I get it, not going anywhere... Not fair. That's my house, and my mom. Where's Screwball?!" She slid the image to find Screwball cowering with other foals. She seemed to be trying to cheer them up with animated words, too animated. She was rambling so quickly she was tripping, but she was trying her absolute best to improve the situation. "Screwie..." Comforting wanted to tackle her sister and assure her it'd be alright, but she couldn't... "This is so unfair..."

"It is." No real agreement or argument with its fairness. It just was. "We are watchers." She turned the images onwards to other parts of the ongoing emergency. "Do you wish me to call your father?"

"No. Wait." She scrunched at the idea. "He might have caused this!"

"Do you want me to?" Calmly stated, as if either was an alright answer.

"Better than just... watching." Ugh, being a watcher was kind of hard. "Dad!"

A zipper appeared in the air, unfurling to allow Discord free. "Yes?"

Comforting pointed to where Sombra cackled from atop the throne in Canterlot. "You did this."

"Me? How unkind." He puffed a cigar of bubbles. "Where's your proof, investigator?"

Comforting clapped her hands, conjuring an image of Discord cheerfully announcing he'd already started a plan. "That? You said you'd do something big. This counts!"

"You're too kind." He pinched her unhappy face. "Don't look like that. This is barely the preview. They'll tan his hide, I'm sure. Do you think he'll explode... again?"

"It is possible." Amity turned her head at Discord, but her eyes never focused on him. "Since you are here, will you tell us what the next step is?"

"Nope." He crossed his arms. "That'd be cheating! And I know you'd act on it, promises or not. That's one step too far." He pulled out some popcorn and offered it to Amity, then Comforting and one last for himself. "But, for now, we should watch. Then I have to get back."

"Back?" Comforting lifted a tufted ear. "To?"

"What, you think I don't do anything, Miss Busypants?" She was wearing pants then, because he said so. "You're not the only spirit with a day full of things to do!"

She yanked the pants off and tossed them aside. "Dad! These are all of my favorite things, living and not, and you're really making them scared. I don't like it, to put it as mildly as possible."

"You're not the one being tested." He tapped her on the nose. "But, come to think, you are. You're the one that signed the dotted line to join the Watcher club, so... welcome to it!" Confetti burst in all directions. "It isn't all fun. I mean... technically..."

"Technically?" She arched a doubting brow. "I doubt I'll like that, but go on?"

"Technically! A watcher could just go off, claim their own world, and just make it a perfect example of... whatever they like." Discord shrugged at the idea. "Sounds perfectly boring, if you asked me... Which you did. Can't recommend it."

"It wouldn't have the things I want..." Comforting sat next to Amity. "My friends wouldn't be there."

"One reason on a long list I wouldn't recommend it. So! If we're striking that idea out, we're left with working with the world we have... Which has ups." He lifted a hand high. "And downs." He put it to the ground. "And all the parts in the middle. So, buckle in, dear child. It only gets better."

Author's Note:

There were some heavy feelings in that, or so it felt to me..

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Comments

[Poparakelis]

Finally realizing what she agreed to hmn? And it feels like Amity is scared, asking for that date felt like she wanted to spend as much time as she could with Comforting in case something happens.

[Theresa]

I hope she does a lot of chewing out in public when everything calms down.

[Theresa]

11640575
I figured she make the world a brighter place for everyone and other villains would darken it and discord would find harmless ways to drive everyone nuts.

[drFraud]

Amity and Discord are watchers but they aren't as passive as Comforting thinks. Amity has already stated it: they prepare them for 'the test they must take'.
Comfy is only seeing one side of it right now. A scary side, yes, but payoff is week worth it. Seeing your student/pupil succeed as a mentor is a wonderful thing. A who says you cannot prepare your student for it? A mystical artefact here, a magical macguffin there... And then you sit down with popcorn and hope that plan a to z works at some point.

[midnight arrow]

great chapter

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Watching without being able to help is the worst.

[David Silver]

11640875
Comforting strongly agrees and would like to speak with the manager about this. So unfair.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. Things were so calm for a while that it was easy to forget that more danger was on the horizon.

[redmar]

It's clearly hard for Comforting to not interfere but Amity does have a point. Discord less so since he caused this problem he can't talk about not interfering. Hopefully for Comforting she can find a loophole.

[Theresa]

11641115
And I when it's over he gets majorly chewed out before everyone.

[David Silver]

11640694
Nobody said being a god was actually an easy thing.