New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

159 - Amity Ball

"Amity Ball?" Comforting inclined her head at the news. "And it's for us?"

Twilight gently booped the nose of her smallest student. "It's for any creature that wants to come. We'll be having a best friend contest, a potluck, and plenty of dancing. It should be good fun, and a fine time to foster friendships all around."

"Neat..." She saw Sandbar approaching Yona and turned to see what was going on. The two chatted quietly, but Yona was not a quiet creature. That she was being asked to the dance was no secret by the end of it. She said yes, and Sandbar was delighted.

"Huh..." Comforting stroked her chin. "Guess I need a date too..."

But she had a marefriend! That had been settled not too long before. Going out with somepony else would be a betrayal, so that was out. She reached out and spread her hands, forming a window. "Diamond, sorry to bother you."

Diamond jumped in her seat, at school, and quite surprised to suddenly hear Comforting. She quickly calmed herself and turned an ear, but didn't turn the rest of herself. "I'd say to give me a warning, but I don't know what that would be. What's up?" she asked in a strained whisper, perhaps to avoid being overheard by the teacher still giving their lesson.

"Bad time?" Comforting could see she had made her call at an awkward moment. "Sorry, um... Dance, we're having one, mostly teens. Wanna come?"

"Su--" She never got to finish.

Twilight had waved through the window, evaporating it into chaos mist. "Comforting," she spoke in serious tone. "No chaos magic in class, and that looked like you were disrupting two classrooms at the same time." She curled a hoof to her chin. "Points for efficiency, but please save that for after school."

Comforting adopted her most innocent appearance. "Sorry." Still, she was pretty sure that was, well, a sure. She had a date! She reached up and tapped the mail button she had grown quite used to.

Hi hi!

Amity, were you watching? I realize I've been unfair. I never asked what your language of love is. How can I express my adoration? What are you feeling? Let me know!

❤️💖💗💝

She pressed send and got back to school. It wasn't until after it that a return letter arrived, the little mail icon bouncing in her vision with the message. From Amity, she presumed? She tapped it quickly.

Dear Comforting,

You are a precious being. You bring a smile to my face without even trying, and cause such confusion in yourself. You are young, even by pony standards, barely middle aged, but you treat yourself as if you're ancient, even when you stand before something that more deserves the title. What is my language of love? Silly thing... I never knew love before. You pushed that on me, and it is a thing I have accepted. But what is my language? When I saw you working so hard to watch over the little fates of the ponies nearest you, I felt my heart swell.

I was both proud and smitten. You could make a fine watcher, and you are already such a kind one. I would bid you continue. Cast those caring eyes across the ponies you adore and do what you can to guide them towards greater things. We've talked about this. Don't solve their problems for them, but direct them towards the best future for themselves and let their own hooves carry them towards it. I think you understand this.

As for your pony girlfriend, give her a kiss for me. Love her fiercely and passionately, for the time you two have. Cherish every moment. But... Don't play favorites. If you spoil her, she won't grow to be the best pony she could be. That isn't a good gift. If you care for her, you'll avoid that.

Sent with Love,
Amity

Comforting gazed on the words only she could see, feeling a bit dizzy a moment. It was a good dizzy. "My girlfriend the goddess... May she show mercy on me." Bursting into giggles, she made her way home, opening a new window in the air as she hiked. "This a better time?"

Diamond looked up form her desk. "Comfie?" She twirled around on her chair. "Way better. Don't call at school!" She waved a reproaching hoof. "A dance, huh? What do I need to bring?"

"Yourself." Comforting grinned at her younger partner. "Oh, it's a potluck. So if you want to bring something yummy, that'd be good too." Though it hit her. "You'd probably have that made?"

"I can cook," huffed out Diamond. "But I probably wouldn't... Why, are you cooking?" she pointed a hoof through the window at Comforting's hands. "You could clap up whatever you wanted."

"I could," sang Comforting. "But I won't. I think I'll cook something the old-fashioned way. Wanna help?"

Diamond leaned in on the mirror. "We only just became a thing... But I feel like you're hoping I'll say yes." She huffed softly. "Getting all dirty with my girlfriend. What I get, asking a chaos spirit out." She stuck out her tongue. "Alright, just tell me where to be. I'm bringing Silver Spoon."

Comforting blinked at that last bit. "Oh, okay. If she wants to help, that's fine. We're all friends. But I'll do less lovey dovey stuff with witnesses."

Diamond burst into snickers. "What, you're shy? You're a spirit! What do you have to be shy of?"

Comforting considered the other two spirits she knew. "Well! So far, every spirit I met has had their own hangups. They don't technically need them, but they have them. We have personalities, which means we have our own silly hangups. Don't be too mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, dummy." Diamond swatted in the window's direction. "Just calling you out. Silver won't get in the way of any smooches you're holding back. She'll probably giggle a lot." A thought seemed to come. "But no smooches on her. We are a closed pair, got it?"

Comforting raised a finger. "About that! Did you forget about Amity? The spirit I was already with when you came asking?"

"They don't count." Diamond stomped from hoof to hoof. "Spirits doing spirit stuff. But Silver's a pony, not a spirit. One pony!" She waved her hoof up at the mirror. "One creature. That creature is me." She curled that hoof back at herself. "And I only have one." She turned the hoof to Comforting. "And they're right there!

Comforting thrust her head casually through the window and kissed Diamond on her suddenly scrunched nose, pulling her head right back out afterwards. "Silly. Okay! I want to try something, mind?"

Diamond rubbed where she had been kissed. "Try... what? Are you going to transform me again?"

"Nah." Comforting tapped the mail icon and quickly got out a letter. "I just want to see what this is like, for a pony." She hit send, eyes on Diamond curiously.

Diamond waited patiently, or impatiently. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but her face began to darken with a blush. "That... Huh... What'd you do?"

"I sent you a letter saying I love you." Comforting clasped her hands under her chin. "Did it get there?"

"I..." Diamond tapped a hoof on the ground of her room. "I just felt extra sure that you loved me. I wanted to hug you so bad right then... That was so strange!"

Comforting took note of that. Spirit letters did not arrive at ponies, at least not in word format. That perhaps explained why Amity loved sending prophetic dreams instead, or friendship map hints. Things a pony could see and react to. "Sorry if that was... Did I hurt you?"

"No, silly." Diamond reached up to tap at the window. "Can you come over though? I want you here for real, not just talking through... whatever this is."

Comforting considered. She had no school projects in need of doing... "Let me check in at home, so nobody is worrying about where I ran off to. I'll stop by after that, promise." They waved at one another and she ended the call.

She stopped by at home. "Cracked! I'm heading to Diamond's house, just so you know."

Cracked nodded down at her small alpha. "Very well. I will protect the den in your abscence."

"I doubt that'll be needed too much." Comforting lifted up to hug Cracked about her large snout. "But I'm glad you're here to do it."

Cracked nuzzled her beloved alpha. "See you when you return."

"Yup." With that settled, Comforting casually ceased to be there. She was in Diamond's room, as if she had always been there, and the universe was just remembering that fact. "Diamond!"

Diamond jumped with surprise. "I have a door!" She waved a hoof at the perfectably usable, and closed, door. "But hi... Don't scare a pony like that." She giggled as she closed in, rearing up to be on more even facing. "That didn't take long."

Comforting took up Diamond in to gently hug and nuzzle. "I just had to say hi before I ran off." She smooched Diamond's cheek. "Good spirits try not to worry the people around them."

Diamond's cheeks, kissed, were also warming. "This is new... I like it." She squeezed Comforting back gently. "Hello, girlfriend. You know, if you were a boyfriend, my parents would be having a total conniption right now, knowing you were in my bedroom, alone..."

Comforting casually hopped onto Diamond's bed and flopped into its softness. "But I'm not a boyfriend. I'm a little girlfriend and I'm way more likely to compliment you on this soft bed than do anything they'd get upset about." She made snow angel motions on the bed. "This is really soft... Do you like soft beds?"

Diamond walked to her bed, watching her girlfriend enjoy it. "You are seriously just flopping over my bed."

"It's a comfy--" She paused with the thump of Diamond arriving, sharing the bed with her. "Bed?" She rolled over and pet over Diamond's side gently. "Did you pick it?"

"Nope." Diamond stretched under the stroking. "Parents picked it out. Next one though, I plan to do the shopping myself. You did all your furniture shopping, didn't you?"

"Mmhmm." Comforting set her chin on Diamond. "Why?"

"You can help then." She tapped a hoof on Comforting's head. "Come with me. It'll be nice, knowing what I pick has both our marks of approval." She grabbed for Comforting, pressing her hooves into her curious paramour. "This is kinda nice."

"Nice is the word of the day." Comforting nuzzled her girlfriend gently. "Are you nervous about the party?"

"No! Yes... A little?" Diamond wrinkled her snout. "It sounds like it'll have older ponies... They won't make it weird, will they?"

"You met some of them before." Comforting sat up slowly. "You all got along before. Oh! Remember the pony in our class? Sandbar?"

"Yeah. What about him?" Diamond shrugged. "Is he going too?"

"He is," sang out Comforting. "And... he has a date." She waggled her brows. "You'll never guess who with."

"Hm." Diamond tapped her chin with a hoof. "Is it... that changeling?"

Comforting inclined her head. "Ocellus is a pretty nice changeling, but no. He went bigger than that."

"The hippogriff? Oh, no, the dragon!" She curled her hooves in a bad attempt to mimic claws. "I wonder what that'd be like." She burst into giggles. "Not for me."

"You guessed every creature but the one he picked." Comforting touched noses with Diamond. "Only one guess left."

"The yak? Really?! Wow..." She shook her head slowly. "I guess I have no room to judge. Here I am, playing smooch-time with a chaos spirit, and I'm pretty happy about it, so... if he likes the yak and the yak likes him, good on him!" Brought up, she stole one of those smooches. "Guess we're not the only oddball couple in Ponyville."

Author's Note:

Smooch time! Mostly cuddle time, and talk time. I've seen far less healthy relationships.

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Comments

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Comforting gets some nice cuddle time. Seems like a great idea to me.

Sandbar and Yona will be the best couple at the dance. At least if you ask Yona, that is.

[Alvsecret]

"No! Yes... A little?" Diamond wrinkled her snout. "It sounds like it'll have older ponies... They won't make it wierd, will they?"

Weird

[David Silver]

11705069
That word is spelled weird. Ah, English!

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

This is a cute chapter that really shows how unique and complex Comforting and her two girlfriends are. Nice to see Comforting continuing to take good care of Cracked, too.

[David Silver]

11706792
It's all a big, odd, family. Comforting has promised platonic romance(a crossed term I'm told since the two don't share space), but, basically, friendship++ to Diamond. One could argue super friendly sister wouldn't be entirely off. She is a sister/alpha to Cracked. She is a girlfriend/fledgling child towards Amity. She is a grown child that's left the nest but is still loved to Fluttershy, and a big sister to Screwball. But they all love each other, so as families go, not a bad one I dare say.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11706931

"Platonic romance" does seem like a useful term for Comforting's relationship with Diamond, despite seeming like a contradiction at first glance, and "friendship ++" is good for the two of them as well.

Very good job summarizing the complexities of many of Comforting's relationships in general, by the way. Agreed, an unusual family and a good one.