167 - Easy Paths
A flashing alert icon appeared in Comforting's field of view. She reached up to tap it, summoning the mail it warned of.
Naughty child,
While my affection for you is large, my displeasure is not inconsiderable. Please come see me. Put Cracked somewhere safe. Do not move Lily.
Yours,
Amity
Comforting blinked at the hovering letters. "What is she mad about?" Was she watching even then? There was a decent odd of it. "Sorry?" But she wasn't sure what she was apologizing for.
Still, a command had been made. "Cracked, we have to go."
Cracked inclined her head left and right. "With Lily?"
"No." Comforting wriggled uncomfortably. "Lily, sorry. Wait for us?"
Lily gave a wry smile. "Waiting is something I have grown much used to. Strange small alpha, I will wait longer still."
Comforting hefted up Cracked as if she were many times smaller and they were gone, slipping sideways back to their home. She put Cracked, dazed, back to the ground. "I'll be back."
"Wait!" Cracked wheeled on Comforting. "What was that? Alpha, please... Tell me. Did I do something wrong? Why did you leave her?"
Comforting cringed back a step. "No! You didn't do anything. Maybe I did? I don't know. Let me go find out, please."
Cracked sat up, calming. "Go. If you must, then you should go. Sorry for standing in your way."
Comforting gently pet one of the legs of her great roomie. "Be right back." And she was gone, whisked away to Amity's tree. "Amity?" she called out. "I'm here."
"I see that." Amity circled around her tree self. She wore the form of young Comforting, expression blank, gaze ten miles distant. "You don't know what you did." She stepped closer on silent little hooves. "I will tell you. Lily was not trapped by a simple ravine. If she were, she would be dead, life claimed by the passage of time. Her people are not that long-lived."
Comforting inclined her head. "But Cracked found her. If she isn't hidden behind a canyon, what is she hidden by?"
"Cracked found her." Amity smiled up at Comforting. "But she didn't know what she found. She smelled Lily, but never actually saw her. She was fooled, but you were making it real, without thought, without pause." Amity cycled her hooves in the air. "You were granting her wish, and stepping over every line. Even Discord would blush at how brazenly you were violating those rules. Perhaps, he is proud, to have such a chaotic child... To undo things without even considering, without even being aware."
Comforting pinned ear and feather tuft back. "But... What about Lily then? How is she trapped?"
"I had forgotten her." Amity let out a distant smile, eyes still so far away in their focus. "She was captured long ago. When her kind used to be a nightmare to ponies, one brave unicorn and his friends stood up to them. They defeated them, one by one." Amity clopped her hooves with slow finality, each ponywolf crushed under the pony defenses. "Ponies earned peace, for a time. It was not a peaceful era... These warriors yet live, against most odds."
Comforting frowned with thought. "So... Lily was trapped in a pony magic prison... Which..." It clicked and Comforting started. "I helped Cracked reach her. We were in my magic."
Amity nodded with a growing smile, her eyes focusing sharply on Comforting. "Now you see. Little chaos spirit, the world is as you make it out to be. There was no ravine, but you did carry Cracked across it. You pierced the barrier that held Lily, thinking it very little. Cracked was baffled by the magic, and never would have made it."
"I cheated."
"You cheated." Amity tapped Comforting gently. "But this can be fixed."
Comforting perked. "It can?! How? Do you even want me to? You sounded kinda upset..."
"Only because you overplayed your hand..." Amity offered a hoof. "Lily is no threat, not to modern ponies. But you cannot be the one to throw off her shackles. You cannot do that. You, watcher, have assembled fine agents. Have you considered using them?"
Comforting clapped her hands with rebounding joy. "Yes, agents, yes... Okay!" She smooched Amity on her little nose. "You are wonderful. Sorry for breaking rules... I'll free her, but not directly. I know some agents that could use a field trip." She rubbed her hands with schemes building. "But first, I have to tell Cracked what's going on. poor thing must be so worried."
Amity raised a hoof. "In part. Our secrets remain our secrets. Tell her what can be told and no more than that. Friend Comforting, I am trusting you with the safety of Equestria."
Comforting took the chance for one last hug. "Alright." She vanished with a loud bubble pop, moisture exploding in a fine mist.
Amity landed on the ground lightly. "Good luck, chaotic harmony. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds."
Comforting arrived back home in a splash, finding Cracked anxiously awaiting her return.
"Alpha! You have returned." Cracked rushed over, sniffing Comforting for any signs of injury or distress. "Are you well? Is everything alright?"
Comforting smiled reassuringly, giving Cracked a pat. "I'm just fine. Sorry for worrying you." She sighed, gathering her thoughts on how to explain. "So, about Lily...it turns out the situation is more complicated than I realized. There's old magic keeping her trapped that I can't undo directly."
Cracked's ears drooped. "Old magic? But you are so powerful, surely you could free her?"
"I wish it were that easy." Comforting took Cracked's large paw. "But this magic was cast long ago for serious reasons. It's not my place to tamper with it alone." She gave Cracked a hopeful smile. "But don't worry - I have a plan to get Lily free, with help from some wise friends. It will just take a little time and cooperation to do it right."
Cracked still seemed confused, but visibly relaxed at Comforting's reassuring confidence. "If you believe your friends can help her, then I trust your judgment, Alpha."
Comforting playfully ruffled Cracked's fur. "Thanks for understanding. I know it's not quite the happy ending you were hoping for yet. But working together, we'll make sure Lily gets treated fairly soon."
Bolstered by Cracked's faith in her, Comforting set off once more, ready to enlist her allies' aid in undoing an unjust imprisonment - the right way that time.
She zipped from one sentence to the next, landing just in front of Yona. Yona recoiled in surprise. "Comfort! Where you come from?" She reached out for the little chaos spirit, patting her. "Not sad to see, just surprise."
"A good surprise, I hope." Comforting spread her arms in an invitation for a hug. "It's time for your first mission."
Yona pressed her snout between those arms, nosing Comforting in a thud of affection. "Mission? What mission?"
Comforting smiled so brightly. "You are one of my agents, so are the others. I--" She pointed to herself. "Am a spirit. We get things done through agents. Chaotic spirits, also like me, sometimes reach our hands in directly, but it's still better when an agent or three is involved. This world is for the creatures that live in it." She pointed at Yona. "Like you. Not like me."
Yona blinked, sitting up slowly. "Oh... Comforting..." She looked overwhelmingly sad. There were no tears, or sniffles, just that her entire demeanor was downturned, as if considering the gravest of news. "Sorry..."
Comforting hopped back a step. "What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything."
"You died. When you got in accident. You died. Yona sad for that. Yona sad she didn't notice." She shook her head vigorously. "Not blame Yona. You good at hiding it."
Comforting blinked softly. "Technically? I mean, technically... But I'm still here." She twirled in place. "I died and became a spirit." It was as if she was just noticing that herself. "That's the natural order, yeah. Now I'm haunting Equestria, but I'm a very nice spirit, so don't be scared."
"Yona not scared of friend," she declared. "Don't be sad either. You here now, that what matters."
She set Comforting down and nodded firmly. "Yona ready for mission. What need doing?"
Yona listened closely as Comforting explained the need to help Lily break free of her magical imprisonment.
"Yona ready for mission!" the yak declared when Comforting finished. "What first step?"
Comforting hesitated. "Well, the most important thing is that all of you discuss it together and decide what needs to happen. I can't be the one to actually free Lily."
She met Yona's eyes. "But if the Young Six use their wisdom and harmony, I'm sure you can find an answer. Will you gather the others so I can explain?"
Yona nodded eagerly. "Yona get everyone! Meet back here."
The yak rushed off, and Comforting smiled. She had to place her trust in her friends now, resisting the urge to intervene directly.
Soon Yona returned with the students in tow. Comforting quickly summarized the situation for them.
"So in summary - Lily needs help, but it's not my place to be the one who frees her," she concluded. "I'm leaving that decision in your capable hooves...and claws, and talons."
The students exchanged thoughtful looks.
"We'll need to do some looking around first to understand what magic trapped her and why," Gallus said decisively. "But together, we'll figure something out."
Comforting smiled proudly. She had assembled the right team for this mission. Now it was up to them to uncover the path to true harmony. "I'm counting on you." She gave a sharp clap and casually banished herself back home. "They're on the case," she announced proudly to the anxious Cracked. "Hopefully, soon, we'll have Lily."
Cracked inclined her head. "We need to talk with her. She is from my past. She is from a different time. I had to learn. She will have to learn. Seeing ponies and not eating them is a new idea to her."
Comforting recalled when she first met Cracked, in that dirty building, as a frightening ghost of a thing. "At least she's in one piece..."
Cracked winced at the memory. "Don't remind me of that... This is a kind world. It has changed, a lot, but... In good ways, I think... I will be her mentor. I will show her the goods and bads and, hopefully, we can celebrate these better times, together. But, Alpha, we have a question, between us."
Comforting perked at that. "We do? I'm here. What's on your mind?"
Cracked nodded at her smaller superior. "If we free her, and she grows used to things, do you want her here?" Cracked directed a hoof at their shared house. "It will be cramped. There is not enough room for us all... Where else would she go?"
Comforting blinked as she realized Cracked raised a good point - their current home wasn't built to accommodate multiple large wolf-ponies.
She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, you're right, with three of you it would get pretty cozy in here."
Comforting snapped her fingers. "Ooh, I know! I could use my chaos powers to expand the house. Add some new bedrooms, expand the main areas...I bet I could double the space without it looking too crazy from the outside."
She hesitated. "But I probably shouldn't just warp the house without asking first. We're friends with our neighbors after all."
Comforting smiled at Cracked. "How about this - while we wait for Lily's situation to get resolved, you and I will talk to our pony friends about the idea of expanding. And we'll make sure Lily knows she has a place here with us, if she wants it."
Cracked's tail wagged at the solution. "Yes, Alpha, that is wise. Always better to include the pack in big choices."
She nuzzled Comforting affectionately. "However this unfolds, I am glad to have you guiding us. Your patience and care for all creatures is a shining example to follow."
Comforting blushed at the praise. "Aw, thanks Cracked. Now let's go spread the word about potentially supersizing our home!"
Now, it aught be mentioned, Comforting leaning in close to the page. "I'm not expanding the house from the outside. That'd be silly. But I will doublecheck that I'm not breaking any rules. I don't want Amity cross with me, again. Uh, since I'm here, any other things I'm missing? You all seem to be clever people."
We haven't had one of these in a while. Comforting has her face pressed against the fourth wall and is eagerly soliciting your advice. I will respond to comments below for her.
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What if you expand the house underground?
For goodness sake next time put up a sign if you don't want someone trying to help the prisoner in a magic prison that looks like a canyon.
11728579
Amity forgot it was even there. She did admit that.
11728576
Comforting inclines her head at that. "Not a bad idea. I'll see if Cracked and Lily like the idea of an underground den. Maybe they're into that!"
11728581
And if she forgot about it how is comforting supposed to know. She is a kid compare to the rest of the spirits and believes what her senses tell discord didn't train her in sensing magic just everything else.
11728586
Comforting claps her hand at the barrier between one world and the next. "She chastised me. She didn't punish me. I'm not even mad. We messed up. We should try to not do that again."
11728588
I just saying yelling at you for not knowing how sense the magic of the cage and believing what your senses tell could have been anyone. To complain about a mistake that anyone could have made even cracked was fooled and she didn't mention magic either. If cracked and you don't realize it is a prison then why should get grief over what anyone would have tried to do. Cracked would have done it expect for the canyon kept her from doing so. Trying to the right thing is never bad. If ponies and spirits don't want someone coming across it and trying to help what appears to be a trapped person then they need to leave a sign!
11728594
Comforting humms with thought. "But if she doesn't tell me I did something wrong, how can I learn not to do that." She wags a finger at the unseen voice before her. "I have to learn to not make those mistakes. Now I'll know what to look for, next time. I'm not angry at her. She's not angry at me. She was just sad something got almost messed up. I'm a kid! In more ways than one... We make mistakes. We get yelled at, we learn and we don't do it again... um... hopefully?"
11728596
Yes but a prison that doesn't look like just a person trapped is going to have people who see it try to rescue the person inside and if you don't put up a sign who fault is it someone tries to do the right thing for the trapped person. Next time she sees you headed to a magic prison maybe she should tell you before you try to save them. Plus you should be warned before you try save someone like cozy.
Maybe you should politely ask Amy to try and remember more things that she has currently forgotten about that you really should be told about.
And it might not be a bad idea to also ask Discord Dad the same thing. (Who knows, that might distract him at least a tiny bit from whatever bad chaos he is planning?)
I'm going to be honest here. This sounds like an ass pull from Amity. She should have warned comforting ahead of time as she had more than enough time to do so. The fault lies completely with Amity, not comforting. There was no way Comforting could have known that she was overstepping a boundary and no attempt from Amity to make her aware of that ahead of time. I would even go so far as to say that Amity's response is a blatant attempt at shifting the blame.
Not to mention that she made the situation worse by interfering after contact was already made. At this point she is making it look like Comforting is the one throwing up obstacles for completely arbitrary reasons. The very least she could do is allow Comforting to tell Lily that it was never her place to interfere directly and that she overstepped her bounds as a spirit. Instead of forcing Comforting to leave pretty much everyone in the dark.
11728583
I imagine you can make it look and feel like it isn't underground with a helping bit of chaos magic, if need be.
11728600
11728606
"She should, but, remember." Comforting waves to a suddenly forming window. "I'm the one that broke her sight." There was Comforting becoming the new, chaotic, Comforting. "If I'd not done that, she would have probably remembered. I was the one that messed that up. How can I be mad at her for something I made happen?" She huffs, both hands at her hips. "I kinda broke things... Now, about dad... Well, pretty sure he's having a good time... Ugh, maybe I should be paying more attention to that instead of Lily and the wolfponies..."
11728610
Did you or did sombra when he broke her body. That would mess anyone up even if you fix the body.
Much in the way there is the harmony map for harmony related crisises, there should be a chaotic Harmony map or even just a chaos map for when Discord or Comforting need to break up a harmful routine or stagnant aspect of society.
Chaos isn’t inherantly evil, just as order isn’t inherantly good. It is change, abd sometimes if a system isn’t working it needs the injection of a little chaos to spur on growth and evolution. A map for her to send her agents to inject some chaos would open up new avenues and doors for stories and such.
There's a particular pony often seen around Ponyville who knows a thing or two about structures being bigger on the inside, often seen with a certain gray pegasus or one of the flower sisters. Maybe he could help.
11728612
"I'm doing my best." Comforting sways side to side in a little wiggle. "I don't think I want to do dreams or maps or things. I like the personal touch, so I just went and told them, face to face. Is that bad?"
11728628
"Which pony, oh! Oh! You mean the one with the hourglass mark?" Comforting bounces in place. "I never talked to him."
11728628
Also there is one blue and white unicorn from Canterlot that can know too.
Asking Pinkie can work too. She knows EVERYTHING.
11728754
Comforting lets out an 'eh'. "You're not wrong... But understanding of it can be a challenge." She leans in towards the unknown void. "Have you tried getting a straight answer out of Pinkie? I mean, besides how to make a pony smile. She's tops for that and parties."
Maybe you should ask Twilight and Starlight for advice. They may not know everything, but they've been good teachers to you.
11728733
Yup, it's the two with the hourglass mark.
Huh never thought of it like that.
My advice is to remember you have more Agents than just the Young Six and Cracked. Perhaps Princess Luna or Twilight might have some insight on the magic keeping Lily imprisoned or even why it exists in the first place?
11728607
Exactly. There is no way this is comforting fault considering a prison that doesn't look like one is going have anyone who comes across it trying to recuse the prisoner from what appears to be a bad situation. She can't detect magic like discord or hasn't learned yet that trick and to complain about her trying to the right thing because you waited to almost the last minute to stop her even though you had to know what going to happen. A reasonable person with tons of power would upon hearing about someone trapped in a canyon would want to get them out the same way anyone would. You don't need to see the future to guess that. Plus the author has her blaming herself for something that anyone in her shoes would have done. Talk about gaslighting comforting!
11729318
Comforting claps at the idea. "Always a solid idea! Such good teachers."
11729906
"Guys!" Comforting awkwardly shuffles in place. "Why are you more mad than any of us? Amity doesn't want us to just decide Lily is free. That's not what we should do. We're spirits. We're supposed to, at best, send other people hints so they go and take care of it. If they don't, or can't, than... maybe it wasn't meant to be..." She kicks at the dirt. "Which I hope doesn't happen. Lily's so cute... I hope they rescue her... But it's not up to me to rescue her. That's it. Nobody's mad. Stop being angry for us."
11729436
"Twilight is kinda busy." Comforting taps at her chin. "She's got double duties, being an agent of mine but also Amity's. I don't want to overwhelm her, or Celestia, even if they're both super nice ponies. Luna though... maybe..."
11729966
Comforting the reason we are mad because it wrong to get mad people bad luck or things that aren't their fault. Harmony waited until you were about to free someone to speak up and yell at you for doing something that anyone would so. In the relationship you 2 have she is the adult you are the child and yelling at child for something that could have happened to anyone isn't nice or good behavior. Do remember the gabby gums episode? The cmcs made one silly story then all the adults told them with actions and words that spreading gossip was okay but it wasn't okay and the adults didn't accept any responsibility for teaching the girls the wrong thing and acting like little children throwing a tantrum when they were hurt by the stories. If Harmony wants to interact with people she has accept responsibility for the fact that you were trying to the right thing and waiting until the last minute to complain about something anyone would done isn't okay. Don't excuse bad behavior even if they didn't mean any harm. You want promote happiness well that means teaching others including your girlfriend who a tree house understand her role in the mess and not put it on you for doing your best with the information you had.
11729976
"But she isn't mad, and she never got mad. She just said I was doing something wrong. She didn't raise her voice or say I was a bad person, just that I was doing something wrong. She called the moment she could, right in the middle of things." She chuckles a bit tensely. "That was awkward..."
11729919
Glad it sounds like a good idea.
Good luck to you. 
11728610
I thought that your ascending to a Chaos Spirit just broke her Sight from that point forward? It doesn't seem like it should have affected her memories at all?
By the way, since you brought up the breaking of Amity's Sight, what ever happened to the special glasses that you gave her that even she admitted helped with that a great deal?
11730411
"That's a good question." Comforting frowns with thought. "I haven't seen her wearing them very often... Do you think she doesn't like them? Maybe looking through chaos gives her a headache? Should I ask?! I don't want to make it odd..."
11730421
Just ask and offer an apology if upset her . What the worst that can happen? She remembers someone who needs a little help getting on the right path in life that you can't directly save.