New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

162 - Dark Movements

Comforting stepped out of her house, stretching for the sky high above, but not actually reaching for it. She felt certain she could high five a passing fluffy cloud, but it was doing its job quite well without her interference. "Let's see," she murmured to herself, tossing her mind free of her little form.

She felt over the town as a whole in a quick scanning, searching for what felt out of place, and what had the potential to be out of place, in a good way. There was a pony about to be on time to work, but if they just slowed down, they might meet who could become a great friend, or better. Comforting casually misplaced their hat with an unheard giggle. It would annoy the pony, but they'd run into the other, and that'd be nice.

Chaotic harmony... Comforting opened her eyes, back inside her form. She looked in the mirror she hadn't been holding a moment before, making sure she was presentable. "Still looking cute." She beamed at her reflection, content with the audacious and fantastical shape she had taken. She tossed the mirror away, knowing it's be gone long before any thought of littering would even be relevant.

"I do love the smell of chaos in the morning." Wait, that wasn't Comforting. Discord was standing there, adjusting the jacket he didn't need. "You are positively glowing today. What have you been up to?"

Comforting looked Discord over in kind. There was something... A shimmer? "Are you up to things too?"

"Like father, like daughter, they say." He leanead in, looming over her with a grin. "But the main show hasn't even started yet. Big plans! Big!" He clapped his hands. "And they say I'm no good at executing actual plans."

Comforting patted her chaotic father. "You just need the proper motivation."

"Exactly!" He burst into delighted giggles. "I had a feeling you'd understand, even if you do have an unhealthy obsession with harmony." He cocked a brow as he got to that. "That's going to fall apart eventually, just to warn."

"Everything will," countered Comforting. "Not a good reason to avoid trying something in the first place."

"Points for a delightfully chaotic answer." He let the sandcastle that had appeared just for sake of the visual joke fall apart. "Nothing lasts forever. Well, except incarnations of the concept of chaos. We're baked into the universe itself. It's hard to get rid of us!"

Comforting stroked her chin. "About that! You are Chaos itself. What am I? We can't both be the same... thing... can we?"

Discord put his hands on his hips. "I didn't think about it, truth be told. Listen, kiddo." He put his hands together. "Chaos, as a thing, is big. Bigger than either of us, shameful as it is to admit." He rubbed his hands slowly. "There's more chaos between these hands than a pony could even properly imagine." He threw his hands wide. "And there's a lot more space than just that." He crouched down in front of her. "Look, I'm just saying, there is enough for the two of us in this town." He adjusted her cowboy hat. "Partner."

Comforting grabbed the hat, tongue extended. "Silly, but thanks..." She hugged the hat, looking over her spirit father. "So Amity is just 'a' spirit of harmony?"

"Actually..." He danced a finger in the air. "She is the spirit of pony harmony. More specific, but she got the whole thing. Therein lies the rub. We are little echoes of the universe's entire chaos, and there's more chaos than even just ponies. We attached our hooks onto a much larger concept. It would be difficult for Amity to find a little helper."

Comforting hiked a thumb at herself, several lit signs popping into being to help point at her.

"Well, yes. I suppose she did find one." Discord ruffled the top of Comforting's head. "But you can't hide in her shadow forever. When are you going to get up to grand plans and mischief?"

"I have an agent." Comforting looked quite proud of that, smug expression worn. "Right at the top, waiting for word from me."

Discord sneered at that. "Don't get overconfident, kid. I have three, and they're already busy..." He burst into sudden giggles. "It'll be fun seeing how this turns out." The conversation was over. His vanishing made that quite clear.

"Hm." That made Comforting think of talking with hers. She casually ceased to be there, or anyway, at least physically. She was in the world of dreams, standing before the ornate gates of a particular pony's inner thoughts. "May I come in," she called through the gates, not touching them.

With a swirl of darkness, an alicorn manifested. "You are polite to ask and not to press in. I just went to sleep. Do I not deserve my rest?"

"Of course you do, Luna." Comforting smiled up at her great assistant of the night. "But I have an idea of what might be going on, and wanted to pass it on for you to do with as you see proper."

Luna waved, the gates to her mind opening with her consent. "Come in and speak of them." She led Comforting to a collection of pillows. "It is a curious thing, dealing with somecreature else as able to move in the dreamworld as I am."

"I'm cheating." Comforting hopped onto one of the pillows with a soft thump, getting cozy. "You're way more skilled at this. Okay! Agents are lining up. I don't know what they'll do, but there are three of them, and they will make trouble." She lowered the three fingers she had raised. "I would doublecheck your safeties and securities."

Luna considered Comforting a moment. "That is very... vague."

"I did warn about that." Comforting shrugged. "I'll pass on more info if I get any, but this is what I have, and I trust you'll see it done."

Luna rubbed her chin with soft hums. "Security, hm. Yes. I have a few ideas. Mine sister was considering it, but her ideas are inane, softened by years of peace. I will outdo her, and help fortify ourselves."

Comforting clapped with a big smile. "Great! That sounds fun, and productive. I knew I picked the right pony for this job." She zipped in for a Luna hug. "Goodnight."

"Good morning, you mean." Luna yawned widely. "But it is my night, I suppose..." She waved as Comforting left, her dream realm closing itself for her rest.

Comforting emerged in the waking world to find it was soft, furry, and moving. Cracked was scrambling to her feet, ground shaking beneath her in her sudden motion. "Alpha! Where did you come from?" Her surprise was melting to joy, seeing who it was that had surprised her. She went in for a nuzzle and a big full-body lick with her great tongue. "Good morning."

"Good morning," laughed out Comforting in return, batting helplessly at the friendly tongue. "I was just taking care of some business. What are your plans for today?"

"I had very few." She rose to her considerable feet, scratching the ground with her massive canine paws of her hindlegs. "I would like to help you. Make me part of your plans."

"Hm." How to incorporate her big dogpony friend into things... "What can you smell, besides tasty snacks?"

Cracked inclined her head a little. "A curious question." She pointed a hoof at her own nose. "My sense of smell is very sharp. Not as precise as vision, but just as detailed. I can smell your father visited. I can smell a pony on you that I don't recognize. The smell... of power, and mystery. They smell... of dreams? I never smelled that before, but it is the impression I get."

"Right on the nose." Comforting poked that big wet nose for emphasis. "Clever thing... Can you sniff out troublemakers?"

"Troublemakers come in many kinds." Cracked sat up fully. "I can't smell them all. We would have avoided many questions if I could."

"True... True." Comforting hopped back a step. "That is a bit vague." Even for a chaos spirit, she decided. "So, instead." She raised a finger. "I want you to do something for you."

Cracked's ears went up. "For me? I want to work for you. I want to help your plans."

"You will." Comforting spread her hands both at Cracked. "I want another one of you. Find one, or be fairly sure there are none to find. I'll take either. Hopefully you can find one, maybe more? Find them."

Cracked wagged her tail with cautious optimism. "I will try... How long should I look, before I return?"

"Good question." Comforting soared up and around, coming down on Cracked's neck to hug them. "Let's try a week. Your keen sniffer, and having the task, I bet you can find them, but I won't be mad at you if you don't, so come back when the week's over, found or not."

Cracked let out a canine bark, tail wagging with increased energy. "Successful or not, I will not abandon you." She lowered her head. "But you should get off, unless you mean to accompany me?"

Comforting slid to the ground. "I should do other things. You do yours. I'll do mine."

"Yes." Cracked rose to her full height. "The hunt begins." She took off at a canine gallop, leaving great pawprints and hoofprints behind her in a combination to confuse any would-be naturalists to find later.

Patting her mismatched hands together with satisfaction, Comforting turned back to her house, just to keep turning. "I should be getting something done..." But what? She'd scouted the town. She'd sent Cracked and Luna on missions. "Ah!" There was a pony she had poked her nose into but hadn't visited in a little while.

That pony opened the door a moment later. "Hell.. Oh. Hello?" Prickle inclined her head at Comforting. "I don't get spirit visitors often... How do you say hi?"

"Hi." Comforting reached out and wasn't fought on giving a gentle headruffle. "That's it. Nothing fancy. How are you doing?"

Prickle dared a cautious smile. "I'm doing well. Maybe you can help."

Comforting perked at that. "Oh, did I have good timing?"

"Yes." Prickle made a motion as if lifting something heavy. "Bulk Biceps heard I was strong... I didn't tell him... Now he wants to challenge me to a lifting contest. I don't want to, but I don't want to hurt his feelings either."

Comforting tapped at her cheek. "Hm. You can... lift whatever you want, right?"

"I haven't run into something I couldn't lift... so far..." She colored with shame. "I don't want to make him feel bad. He works very hard to be strong. I don't... It's not fair... He deserves to be strong, not shown up by some little filly..."

"You are not 'some filly'." Comforting hugged her upset friend. "But! Why not lie?"

Prickle inclined her head sharply. "Lie? Mom said I shouldn't do that... That would be bad."

Comforting barely held back her gushing. Such a pure and innocent filly! "Your mother is right. Lying about things isn't a good habit. But, in this case... Just pretend you're having a hard time and let him win."

Prickle grabbed Comforting. Her kinetic telekinesis was quite firm, holding Comforting with the flats of her hooves without any measurable effort. "Like... this?" She lifted Comforting slowly, making noises of effort, but it was so smooth. She was just picking up Comforting slowly, not actually showing the effort.

"You are amazing." Comforting kicked her feet in lazy swiming motions from the air. "But you're not selling that you're trying hard. Let me down."

Prickle rapidly set Comforting down, watching her intently..

Comforting shook out her arms until both were thin noodles. "There, very not strong." She looked around and dashed to a rock. "Watch me, closely. See how I move, sound, everything. This is what being weak is like." She grabbed the rock and tried to lift it. Her noodle arms were very much not up to the task.

At least she could show off what it was like.

Author's Note:

Prickle's still here. Who ratted her out to Bulk Biceps?!

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Comments

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Comforting is giving information about her dad's plans to Princess Luna. But doing some chaos of her own. But yet she's also working on spreading harmony.

What a delightfully chaotic combination.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

Interesting to see Comforting talking philosophy with her dad. And conversing with Luna. And speaking of Luna, it's interesting that Cracked can apparently smell what dreams smell like.

Also an interesting surprise to see Prickle back, with a reminder for us about how uncommonly strong she is.

I foresee more surprises in future chapters, as much as a contradiction "foreseeing surprises" is.

[David Silver]

11714814
Every year, many of us foresee surprises on gift-giving holidays. We hope for it even, that will be a good surprise.

[Theresa hall]

11714332
Yeah she prefers to keep trouble on the down low usually but she will give small trouble now and then. But villain levels of trouble aren't her thing. Of course I would have bet that she tattle to fluttershy about his attempt to cause trouble in a big way and when discord does big things he does really big even when he doesn't attempt to. I was hoping that he would talked out of it Considering that he already was stupid the last time. One villain isn't enough for him.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11714997

An excellent, and accurate observation.

🎂

[David Silver]

11754878
Oops, typos?! What chaos is this...

[Alvsecret]

"Good question." Comforting soared up and around, coming down on Cracked's neck to hug them. "Let's try a week. Your keen sniffer, and having the task, I bet you can find them, but I won't be mad at you if you don't, so come back when the week's over, found or not."

Your > You're a

"Good morning," laughed out Comforting in return, batting helplessly at the friendly tongue. "I was just taking care of some business. What are you plans for today?"

you > your

[David Silver]

11754882
Why is 'your keen sniffer', as in the keen sniffer that you have, possessive, wrong?