New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

161 - My Turn

With a chime only she could hear, a message arrived for Comforting. She glanced about to see if she was being watched specifically. Nope. She tapped the button.

Dearest Comforting,

You handled that quite well. While you enjoyed your romance, you sent some towards me, and I cannot express fully how happy I am. Was that intentional? Were you sharing your romance with me? Or was it just by 'luck'? Watcher, I know better. Thank you.

Seeing Yona and Sandbar express their feelings for one another, on my branches! I couldn't have asked for a better evening. It was truly a wonderful moment, to see ponies and yaks not only set aside their differences in this small way, but to celebrate them, for each to see the wonderful potentials and grand glory that lived in the other. Their love was pure and filled with awe, without any hint of jealousy.

May their love fully flourish and be long lasting, to gaze at one another for as long as their eyes have light. Love is not an emotion I understand as well as comaraderie. Friendship. They have honed me over the years to respond to friendship. The companionship in battle and the closeness of neighbors and the tight bonds of family. Love, romantic love, remains as yet a mystery, but one I can feel the radiant warmth of.

These two have it. I hope they keep it. Will you help to see this through? I feel foalish even asking. Of course you will. You are their friend. I needn't have even asked, but you did ask me, to ask you, so I am asking. Please. I can feel it, dimly. There will be threats to their new union. Forces will conspire to tear them apart. Maybe they will fight it off on their own. Maybe not.

A little nudge, a tiny push. A comforting presence, perhaps? You have learned when to push, and when not to, my dear young peer. Keep them in your sights.

"Comfie! Comfie!" Diamond shook her unresponsive date. "You alright?"

Comforting squeaked, waving away the image only she could see. "Sorry! Got distracted."

"I can see that." Diamond looked her chaotic friend over. "Need a drink? A sit down? You were just... staring. Everything okay?"

Comforting opted for the plain truth. "Spirits can send each other letters." She made a gesture as if holding one of those fancy scrolls. "No actual letter, but we can read it anyway. I was reading one of those."

"Oh! Neat? Good news?" Diamond rubbed at her cheek. "Or should I be really worried? Tell me the truth."

"Good news." Comforting touched noses with Diamond. "Sounds like Yona and Sandbar had a nice ending to the trouble. I bet they're coming back."

"Ah, that's good." The tension fled Diamond with the announcement that the world wasn't ending. "So... The dance is cooling off. Are we done? Did we finish?"

Comforting cupped Diamond's cheeks. "I think we're done dancing, but that looks like they're announcing something."

Twilight was giving out awards for various best ofs. A pony that was none of them got best dancer. Another got the best potluck pot award for the dish they brought. "Youngest couple." A light shone down on Diamond and Comforting. "Goes to this adorable couple!" The room filled with clops and stomps as everycreature there cheered for the two. "And, while we're here." She presented a smaller trophy to Comforting specifically. "For most improved dancing over the evening."

"It was a close one. We had so many great friendships here tonight." Twilight clopped her hooves with a big smile. "But the ultimate winner goes to Yona and Sandbar! They truly set examples for friendship." The cheers redoubled as they gave them their trophy, one of the larger ones.

Other ponies pressed in, asking Yona to show them a proper yak dance, a request she was all too happy to oblige. The room was soon full of yak stomping, and everycreature was having a good time of it.

Diamond waved it away. "Let them keep it. We're not friends."

"We're not?" Comforting quirked an ear. "I thought we were."

"Ugh, sure, yes. We're friends, like parents are friends and married ponies are 'friends'. Sure we're friends, but we're also past friends. I refuse to be jealous of ponies still at step one." She swatted at Comforting. "We're a couple. That's at least a step, if not three, past 'friends'. Now... they coulda not brought attention to being the smallest creatures here though..."

Comforting hugged Diamond from above, straddling her as if ready to ride her to victory. "We are young. But we're also winners. They liked us." She squeezed her thighs in on Diamond's sides. "And none of them made fun of us, not even once."

Diamond grew a wicked smirk. "As if they'd dare that. When's the last time Discord got made fun of to his face?"

Comforting considered that, tapping her chin. "Mmmm... Usually very quietly... But they didn't even do that with us. They like us. They like that we're small even."

Diamond swerved an ear back at Comforting. "But I don't like being small. That is not an invitation to hurry it along. I know you could do that... I'll grow the old fashioned way, and show the world how great I'll be, in time... That doesn't stop me from complaining about it."

"It does not." She nosed right in the middle of Diamond's tiara. "But tell me if you get serious. I'm here to help." Or give lessons. That was helping too, right? "Enjoy your time while you have it. You don't get to go back to being young." Usually? Comforting was proof that her own statement wasn't always true, and she knew it, striking her quiet for a moment.

"You in there?" Diamond curled on herself to look at Comforting easily. "I think this party's done. It was fun, but time to go. Wanna head to my place?"

Comforting hopped to Diamond's side. "Hm! What about mine?" She flashed a brilliant smile. "100% less parents, now with extra loving big wolfponies."

Diamond snickered at that invitation. "Sure. Do you... pony?"

"Have you not met Cracked?" Comforting gave Diamond's leg a little pull, getting her started. "She can't wait to meet you and she doesn't even know you're coming."

So they left the party and headed instead to Comforting's house. There, Cracked was watching the door sharply. When it opened, she lifted her head up and wagged her tail excitedly. "Alpha, you've returned. With a friend?" She snuffled at Diamond as the filly entered. "No, your mate."

Diamond blinked at the enormous wolfpony. "You can tell that by... smelling me? We haven't done much that'd... do that..."

Cracked inclined her head. "She has mentioned she has taken a mate. You smell of her." Cracked directed a hoof at Comforting. "You are either a very close friend, or her mate. Which is it?"

"Technically both," sang out Comforting, throwing out her hands so one pointed to either of them. "Cracked, this is Diamond Tiara. Diamond Tiara is my girlfriend. Cracked is my roomate and pack member. I hope you two get along."

Diamond offered up a comically tiny hoof to the large creature. "Hi... So... What are you?"

Cracked wrinkled her nose. "The last, perhaps. We still have to figure that out. But I am happy here. I have a packmate that is powerful and loving in equal measures. I am treated well." Cracked snuffled at Diamond. "I hunt well, and I raise little hunters, even if they share no blood with me."

Diamond craned her neck to behold all of Cracked. "Wow... Two of you would be... a lot."

"It would." Cracked sat up. "That is why I asked her if she wanted two of me. A mated couple would need space, and a family could result, which needs more space."

Comforting lifted up to give Cracked a scratch right by her ear where she liked it best. "Yes. I still want that, if you want that. Don't do it for me, but I'm not in the way. I will keep on loving you, and, I hope, any partner of yours is someone I'll learn to love too." She snorted, floating there. "Your kids get a free pass. I can't imagine not loving them."

Diamond laughed tensely. "Wow, yeah, wow... Any foal--"

"Pup."

"Pup of yours." Diamond nodded, correcting herself without a pause. "They'd still be pretty big. This is what I get! You don't get to date a chaos spirit and get all creeped out because their dog is a bit odd..." She dusted herself off, tossing her concerns aside. "No. I signed up for it. Hello, Cracked." She offered a hoof one more time, holding it there until Cracked came in for a little snout rubbing. "Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure." Cracked angled an ear forward. "Mate of my alpha, by most measures, you are above me in the family hierarchy. Your needs outweigh mine. Clever... I had considered, but she shows not a hint of interest, so I dared not risk her anger."

Diamond blinked at those words. "Are you..." She turned to the floating Comforting. "Did you hear that? Cracked would have..." She sank to her haunches with amazement. "Really?!"

"Why is this surprising?" Cracked angled her head at Comforting. "She is more powerful than I can measure. If she wanted, I could be her mate. If she wanted, we both could. If she wanted, the entire town would be helpless to stop her. That she doesn't is only a measure of her bottomless kindness, not any strength on our part."

Comforting colored at the direction things were going. "I'm not like that!"

"I said that." Cracked nodded, sure of her logic. "You don't because you don't want to, not because you couldn't. If you did want to, we would have to accept it."

Comforting held up her hands as she drifted towards the ground. "Okay, first, that's not... entirely true. If I did start that, the girls, Twilight and her friends, would super zap me, and I'd deserve it. I'd then be a statue, or blown apart, or maybe it'd just knock the sense back into me and I'd beg to be forgiven."

Cracked inclined her head slowly. "I can't imagine that. You could stop them, if you wanted."

"Which I don't!" Comforting stomped a foot down. "They're good ponies. I don't want to hurt any of them."

Diamond patted Comforting's side. "Easy. I think you two are arguing about agreeing really loudly."

Comforting forced her fur and feathers down. "But I would never..."

"Cracked said that, silly." She reared up to hug Comforting, calming them with the soft embrace. "We both know that. You wouldn't ever. She was just saying, if this was a different Comforting, who did want to... we'd be pretty helpless to do much about it."

Cracked nodded at Diamond in little motions. "Yes. You have chosen your mate well. She understands. I look forward to knowing her better. Do you like meat? Most ponies do not."

Diamond fell back to all fours. "Pardon? Is it a good cut?"

Cracked perked up at that, sitting up with surprise. "I did not expect that question."

Diamond waved a hoof. "If it's a good cut, prepared properly, sure. You don't make good impressions as a pony of means if you don't know how to eat fancy food, and enjoy it."

Cracked thumped her tail down in a rapid tapping. "I like her. You are invited to our next roast. Bring some meat of your own, if you have any."

Diamond perked an ear at that. "Please. Once you taste what I have, you'll see how much you've been missing." She brought her hooves together with a calculating smile. "You've been warned."

Comforting looked between the two. "You're going to have Randolph make it?"

"Duh." Diamond rolled her eyes at what should have been obvious.

Author's Note:

Diamond and Cracked have their first nice chat, and the two seem to approve of the other... for now?

Happy endings and future food plans, yay!

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Comments

[Poparakelis]

What an adorable puppy

[readsponies]

I really like Cracked. She sees things as they are.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

The conversation that Diamond and Comforting and Cracked had makes a good point. A being like Comforting is really only bound by her own morals. It's a very good thing that she is nice.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Lots of surprises this chapter, Amity's cute letter, Cracked being able to tell Diamond was dating Comforting by smell, Cracked talking with the two of them about how she had thought about being Comforting's mate in the past, and a lengthy discussion of Comforting's power and what she will and won't do with it.

Looking forward to more.

[David Silver]

11711343
Cracked is a pragmatic hunter. Taking Comforting would be a shortcut to a lot of things. But, she saw, perhaps rightly, that that would probably not be a winning move. So she kept it to friendship. And it worked out!

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11711442

Very good points. It's a good thing Cracked is a careful sort.