New Endings, Old Starts

by David Silver

187 - Test Grades

Amity turned away from Comforting. "The test is complete."

"It is?"

"It is." She pointed off. "Go. You have a test of your own. Only you can take it."

Comforting frowned with thoughts of what test awaited her. "Let's see what this is." She hopped between places, arriving at a grand meeting of... just about everycreature! It also looked like a pitched battlefield, but the smoke was clearing, and they looked happy overall.

The battle was over, and they had won.

Discord was speaking with Princess Celestia and the others. That felt important, so Comforting zoomed over to pop up among them. "Turn them into statues," was suggesting Discord. "That'll teach them. Why, look how well it worked for me!"

Comforting looked past them to who they were discussing, where a frumpy bunch of sore losers awaited their punishment. "Is that Cozy Glow? Wasn't she sent to Tartarus?"

"Comfie!" Discord grabbed his wayward daughter. "Just in time. You wouldn't beleive it. Some crazed fool let her out."

Twilight coughed into a hoof. "Aren't you that crazed fool?"

"And she helped make all this mess!" Discord waved around at the battlefield around them. "Quite a thing... Thankfully, friendship prevailed!" He took on quite the dynamic pose. "Ah, to be on Team Good this time."

"Dad." Comforting crossed her arms, griffon tail lashing. "Dad! You let her out, now you're telling them to hurl the biggest book they have at her?! She's a little kid! A... troubled one... But a kid! There are steps you try before you go there!"

Celestia smiled gently at Comforting. "Though I had forgotten doing so for quite the time, I feel certain now that it was I that brought you gently into this world, and now you come around to dispense wisdom in kind. Comforting Shade, shadow of my dream, shadow of my perception... What do you think of the others?" She angled her head left. "Queen Chrysalis. She has been offered mercy before, and declined it, thoroughly. She has attempted to hurt, possible murder, before... It is difficult to offer kindness towards that one."

Comforting stopped with her father, giving Chrysalis a proper examination. "I can't stop you from... doing whatever you want with her. She made her bed in this case. If a stoney jail is really what's called for in this situation, then yeah... That other one. Tirek was his name right?"

"That's my name," grunted Tirek, getting to his emaciated legs. "And you are?"

"Comforting Shade." Comforting zipped over to the dreamed centaur. "Can I ask you a question?"

"I am a captive audience." He rolled his eyes. "Go ahead."

Comforting clapped her hands, and they were alone. Tirek was seated on a couch long enough to luxuriously stretch his equine lower half. "Cookie?" She offered a steaming tray. "I'm here to grant a wish! One use only, no asking for extra ones. What would that wish be, and why? Both are important."

Tirek sighed softly. "I... Seriously?"

"I try to be serious." Comforting crossed her arms. "I want to know what you want."

"What I want? Ha. I want power!" He flexed an arm that had no muscles to show off. "I want the world to see it. I want... my father to... know... I'm not a failure."

Comforting could hear the vulnerable pain there. "Oh, I'm sorry... Have you tried talking to him?"

"The last time didn't go well." Tirek scowled at her.

"How long ago was that?"

Tirek pondered it, "Hm... a few tens of hundreds of moons ago? I hadn't returned. I figured there was no point until I could show him, prove... That he was wrong... That I wasn't..." He slumped. "But I did... I failed... He was right..."

"Sorry." She snapped her fingers, and he was back among the three, and she, back with the others that would serve as judges and executioner. "He needs therapy, really badly... He's in such a bad spot. I feel awful for him."

Luna curled one ear back. "He is hardly alone for having suffered barbs in our past. Why should he be--"

Comforting poked the night princess in the nose. "Because even ugly brutes deserve a chance, and not just super cute moon ponies."

Luna colored at that. "Hmmph."

Discord sniffed gently. "My daughter, everypony. I raised her so well." He blew into a handkerchief. "It does me so proud..."

"Dad." She glared anew at him. "And how were you involved in all this, really?" She dragged him away to hear his side of the story, and how the final season of the show had fun, outside the reach of her comforting hands. "Dad! Seriously... Dad... They should be talking about turning you back into a lawn ornament, not the rest of them!"

"Hey now, that's just mean spirited." He folded his arms. "You should know we chaos spirits don't like the idea of being locked up like that."

"I haven't been a statue before." Not that she was aiming to fix that. "Go to your corner."

"But--" She pointed all the more firmly, sending Discord to stand a short distance away. "If Chrysalis is really that bad, I won't stand in your way. Cozy Glow and Tirek need caring, but firm, psychologists to untangle whatever they have going on. And Cozy Glow I have some skin in this game." She tapped one arm with the opposing hand. "She really messed up the school with me in it... and the world I was in at the time... I'd still rather see her fixed."

Twilight waved Comforting closer, just to grab her in a sudden hug. "I am so proud of you."

Comforting flashed a brilliant smile at that, that unexpected hug she was actually alright with. "Thank you."

"I agree." Twilight nodded. "Chrysalis should be dealt with in the most severe fashion we have available. The others given one more chance." She emphasized each of the last three syllables. "Comforting, you have an interest in this, but... arguably more importantly in this case, you are uniquely posed to make sure those two don't escape before you declare them ready to try entering society anew."

Celestia brought down a wing gently upon Comforting. "Do not feel pressured. You have already been so brave, bringing us this far. How do you feel?"

"I feel." Comforting put her hands at her hips. "Like the doctor is in."

---

So it was the Professor Twilight Sparkle became Princess Twilight Sparkle, not of friendship, but of all of Equestria. She took Spike as her advisor, but he wasn't alone, for he also had a friendly chaos spirit that came with the softest call, or just when she was bored. Chaos spirits were like that.

"Why am I here?" Discord was rocking one leg impatiently in the small classroom. "They didn't put me in here."

"I put you in here." Comforting slapped the greenboard with a pointer. "You were all naughty, in different ways You all have lessons to learn. You don't want to end up like Chrysalis."

All three of them cringed, remembering how that went. "I thought not. Cozy!"

"Ma'am?" Cozy hopped up onto her seat. "What's up?"

Comforting floated a golden star to press into one of Cozy's wings. "Star for being attentive and ready. But sucking up won't pass the class, so! I want to know more about you. You're such a mystery. A box with who knows what inside. I hear none of them had time for you during all that, but, lucky you, I do." She leaned in closer. "So, today is Cozy day. Let's learn all about her."

Cozy's eyes widened. "R-really? You're not just... messing with me?"

"Go on. Start with your name, your real name, and where you're from. Who was your dad? Your mom? Got any siblings? Tell us!" Comforting gladly waved for Cozy to go on. "Every bit of it."

"Well... Since you asked." Discord and Tirek groaned, but neither had power in that classroom. "It all started..."

It would take quite a while for Cozy to get through her personal story. When she did, she was huffing for breath, but sitting back down. "T-there... All of it, um, except the part where I lost and you were there for that part... Um... Okay?"

Comforting offered a tall glass of water. "You did very good. Thank you for sharing, and extra star for not commenting badly on the others while you did it. I expected that..." She floated a new star to adorn the other wing. "How do you feel?"

"Teach, I have a question." Cozy rubbed at her chin softly. "I hear... you like having friends."

"Love it!"

"Cool! Me too." Cozy batted her lashes. "Golly, but I don't have any... Wherever could I find my first one?"

Comforting poked Cozy on her nose. "You're being manipulative. One star." She plucked off one of the wing stars. "If you want to be friends, just ask, directly."

"Aw..." Cozy watched her star drift away, clearly saddened. "So... wanna be friends?"

"You wouldn't even be the first powerhungry filly friend I've had." Comforting adopted a wry smirk. "Diamond would chew you up and spit you out."

Cozy sat up sharply, ears tucked back. "Golly! She sounds... I kinda want to meet her..."

Comforting hopped away. "I'll tell her, maybe she'll stop by one of these days. Or, you can finish here and then you can meet her almost whenever. Now, next course! Taking 'no' gracefully." She whirled on her dad. "No!"

Discord flopped over his desk. "I didn't even ask anything yet!"

"You were thinking it." She wagged her finger at him, and he remained melted, knowing that he was, in fact, thinking of many things that needed a good 'no' in response to. "As caring members of this society, sometimes we'll get yesses, and sometimes we'll get a no, and we have to accept either answer. It goes both ways. Sometimes you'll say yes, and sometimes you'll say no. Knowing you can, and that others can, and you'll take it, and so will they, is how we all get along, even though we all want different things."

Tirek took a few notes with an uncertain noise.

Comforting lifted up and backwards. "I know! It feels like a big thing, a scary thing... You're not alone. That's the point of all this. You're not alone."

She felt ready to take all the time it'd take to get the job done with those three.

She had forever, in theory. Surely it'd take some amount of time less than that. Right?

Author's Note:

The story is over! Wait, no, Comforting is whispering something. Ah, she wants me to note that her adventures will continue! Just not in this book. It's heavy and swimming through them is making her arms tired. She looks forward to seeing you in the next one!

Join the special community of folks who like my stories and/or get your own here at atreon!

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Comments

[FurryBrony]

11796512
Sadly, there just aren't enough wolfponies left in the world to return to a stable population, even if they consented to being smaller. There are just some things magic can't fix, and extinction is one of them.

[Theresa hall]

Well at least he is being punished. Going to school to learn how not to recklessly use his powers probably is no fun for him and therefore it makes a good punishment.

[Sugar Spoon]

Yippee time to check this one out!

[Numinos]

'tis was a comfy story with some chaotic twists. Well done, have a star : )

[David Silver]

11796819
(happy horse noise).

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

"I agree." Twilight nodded. "Chrysalis should be dealt with in the most severe fashion we have available. The others given one more more chance." She emphasized each of the last three syllables. "Comforting, you have an interest in this, but... arguably more importantly in this case, you are uniquely posed to make sure those two don't escape before you declare them ready to try entering society anew."

Should be
one more chance

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

Comforting teaching a class that has, but includes more than, friendship is a good ending. And, thanks to Amity, she knows not to use her Chaos powers to get her points across.

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

It's surreal, in a way, to see this story come to an end after so long. But I'll be looking forward to the sequel that is apparently happening.

My apologies for how most of my comments in later chapters weren't really the meaty analysis that I would often write at the beginning. The change wasn't due a decline in the quality of the writing at all. I simply wasn't as able to predict what was going to happen as often (perhaps appropriate after Comforting became a Chaos spirit). I was enjoying the ride, I just couldn't really see the direction the boat was drifting.

With that being said, I'll try to be more analytical now that the story has ended, and I'll probably try to be more insightful and talkative whenever that new book that Comforting was whispering about comes along.

It's very nice for Celestia to callback to retrieving Comforting's soul after the passing of Comforting's human self, way back at the beginning of things.

It's also nice for Comforting to get told by her long time mentor, Twilight, that the latter is proud of her.

I don't know if it was intentional, but Luna specifically taking issue with Tirek kind of works as mythology gag of sorts. Given that the G1 version of Tirek and Nightmare Moon both did the "eternal night" thing.

I think this final chapter, perhaps more than all the others, shows that Comforting is a child of both her father and mother. She shares her father's creativity, but it's tempered by her mother's empathy.

Speaking of Discord, he genuinely does seem to want to help people, but the results in this case were...questionable.

Which brings me to why this ending is fitting for Comforting.

I never saw all of Season 9, but I did see a lot of confused and upset internet posts around the time it was new, because of the whole "why did the good guys turn the evil trio into statues, thing."

Comforting's presence in this timeline has given this version of Friendship is Magic a more hopeful ending. It may not be possible(for now), to figure out what made Chrysalis the way she is, but taking the time to try and help redeem Tirek and Cozy is a big achievement on her part.

And...well, maybe over time, she can help her dad make "good intentions" into "good results" more often.

Discord may not be having the best time, but the fact that he's there in the first place shows a lot of trust in his daughter.

Lastly, it was a neat little thing for Comforting to note that Diamond, her girlfriend, is actually similar to Cozy in some respects.

I think that's about it. This book is closed, but I'll be looking forward to the next one, especially with how Comforting has already changed Equestria's future.

[David Silver]

11797338

It's very nice for Celestia to callback to retrieving Comforting's soul after the passing of Comforting's human self, way back at the beginning of things.

It's also nice for Comforting to get told by her long time mentor, Twilight, that the latter is proud of her.

We came full circle here, with our studious Comforting now the gentle teacher she idolized. Pay attention, class, there are things to learn.

I never saw all of Season 9, but I did see a lot of confused and upset internet posts around the time it was new, because of the whole "why did the good guys turn the evil trio into statues, thing."

An answer is given. Discord is a bad influence, naughty thing.

Comforting rolled up and gave her own influence in kind. At least 2/3 were spared.

And...well, maybe over time, she can help her dad make "good intentions" into "good results" more often.

Discord may not be having the best time, but the fact that he's there in the first place shows a lot of trust in his daughter.

He has things to learn, but he's willing to learn them. It helps that he loves the chaos spirit he had a hand in making.

Lastly, it was a neat little thing for Comforting to note that Diamond, her girlfriend, is actually similar to Cozy in some respects.

I think that's about it. This book is closed, but I'll be looking forward to the next one, especially with how Comforting has already changed Equestria's future.

Diamond and Cozy are both manipulative and strong-willed little dominant fillies. There are differences, but perhaps there's enough there for a first, true, friendship?

Comforting's hoping so.

I'll look forward to seeing you, a generation from now.

[Alvsecret]

Hope the sequel comes out soon!

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11797484

We came full circle here, with our studious Comforting now the gentle teacher she idolized. Pay attention, class, there are things to learn.

It really is amazing how she's come a long way.

An answer is given. Discord is a bad influence, naughty thing.

Comforting rolled up and gave her own influence in kind. At least 2/3 were spared.

A subtle but welcome and important change to things.

He has things to learn, but he's willing to learn them. It helps that he loves the chaos spirit he had a hand in making.

That familial connection really is a great thing.

Diamond and Cozy are both manipulative and strong-willed little dominant fillies. There are differences, but perhaps there's enough there for a first, true, friendship?

Comforting's hoping so.

Excellent points. I really hope Comforting is right.

I'll look forward to seeing you, a generation from now.

That's some nice foreshadowing. See you "soon", for whatever given value of the term works.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

11797521
The sequel is out.

[Alvsecret]

11799317
Oh yeah? Nice!

[David Silver]

11799351

TAmber Starts, Comforting Endings

• MLP: FiM
• MLP Gen 5
• Slice of Life

With books in her eyes, a chipper unicorn comes to the big city of earth ponies, certain that they would be more open to the idea of a grand library than the superstitious unicorns she was leaving behind.

• OC
• Mane 5
• Misty
• Tree of Harmony

David Silver · 61k words  ·  40  11 · 494 views

Sequel arrives!

[David Silver]

11798133

TAmber Starts, Comforting Endings

• MLP: FiM
• MLP Gen 5
• Slice of Life

With books in her eyes, a chipper unicorn comes to the big city of earth ponies, certain that they would be more open to the idea of a grand library than the superstitious unicorns she was leaving behind.

• OC
• Mane 5
• Misty
• Tree of Harmony

David Silver · 61k words  ·  40  11 · 494 views

[Twinkie Sprinkle]

11799359
Ha! I somehow didn't see this until after I'd found the new story. I still very much appreciate it, though.

[howard035]

A perfect ending to this story (and the series finale as well).

[Teardrops]

David, why on Equestria are there pockets! No, bad pockets! Those are a deal breaker for me. That and some hard to understand and make sense of confusing dialog.

[David Silver]

11834999
You got to the last chapter of 187 chapters to note pockets?

[Teardrops]

11835013
No, I didn't make it past 20. Why did you add them. Like the first time I saw them it was bad, but poor innocent me thought, "oh, I'm sure it's a one time accident." Nope, it sure wasn't. The last nail in the coffin was the camping trip and hard to understand dialog.

[Teardrops]

11835013
I might muster the willpower to finish the fic... Once I've forgotten how terrible the pockets are. And that will have to be repeated ever couple dozen chapters.

[Luckyfanisaac]

11837045
I don’t know.

[Mocha Star]

This was a very good story. There were a lot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, especially when she... transitioned to her other form.
I like how you wrote her and everypony else. Well done!

[David Silver]

11844021
Glad you enjoyed! See you in the sequel I hope.

[DrCygnus]

my god I've never been this happy to reach the end of anything before
this has been an extremely draining experience, adios