Summer Cruise kept a warm and nurturing aura about her office that helped put her clients at ease. A homely fireplace lit by hoof every morning ensured the office was toasty.The fire burned a calm storm of orange that was the only light in the room. She had a couple of lounge chairs for her and her client. Her office walls were a deep brown base with blooming red flowers that seemed burst off the walls, painted by a wonderful local artist a friend had recommended.
On the walls she kept her doctorate in psychology, and two pictures. The first picture was of the famous thrill seeker pegasus known as “The Unwavering Storm Chaser”. Summer Cruise chuckled to herself as she looked at the stallion’s solid neon green flight suit, and how it clashed with his cobalt coat and brown mane. His rich brown beard whipping about in the storm’s wind as the photo had been taken.
The second photo was of Summer Cruise flying through a sun soaked wheat field. Her cobalt coat seemed to glow in the sun mid photo. She wore a white sundress decorated in magnolia flowers. Her beard was trimmed nicely to the curve of her jaw.
The two photos were taken years apart, and the ponies represented in those photos were near identical, except for one unmistakable detail. Summer Cruise was happy, and Storm Chaser was not.
If a photo was to be taken of Storm Chaser that photo would never depict a smile, laugh or even a humble chortle. His days were spent with his face in a perpetual state of stone-like blankness. Even during the most taxing and thrilling stunts that he performed, his trademark expression was never lost.
Summer Cruise on the other hoof was bundle of emotions in her pictures. She had taken so many of her smiling and joyous, but also of her sorrows and the burdens she carried in her soul.
Plenty of ponies don’t smile or show emotions easily, but imagine if a pony that wanted to show emotion, but all that pony could show was a blank muzzle to those saw him/her. That pony would be absolutely miserable. And this was the reason why she had those to photos, to show a contrast between what he was and what she is.
She looked at the photo and smiled, but just before she could start to reminisce somepony knocked on her door. “ Come in” she said grabbing her notebook and a pen. The pen was magically enchanted to write down the pieces of information she deemed needed, as well as her thoughts on her patient’s words. This allowed her to freely converse without having a pen her mouth.
The pony that walked into the office was a large pale green coated stallion with messy mop of brown mane. A golden leaf was adorned his flank, and a pair of silver glasses sat on his muzzle.
The stallion’s first expression was of shock at seeing Summer Cruise, and it took him a few seconds to get his jaw to close. He said nothing as he took his seat, and rubbed his hooves together.
Summer Cruise just waited calmly for him to speak. It took a few more minutes before his somber tone flowed through the air. “ Hello.. Storm… I mean Summer Cruise” he struggled a bit to say her name.
Summer Cruise simply smiled. “ Hello to you as well Mr. Fields.” She said grabbing a envelope from her saddle bag that was beside her chair. On the front was the name Copper Fields. “Unless you would prefer for me to call you Copper”
“Yes Copper is a better for me. I haven’t been Mr. Fields for a long time.” He said leaning back in his chair in an effort to relax. “Does this mean that I’m your client now?” He asked nervously.
Summer Cruise pulled the letter for the envelope, and sighed. “Not yet. This is more of a preliminary meeting between the two of us. It gives us a chance to see each other muzzle to muzzle.” She held the letter aloft. “ Would you please state why you wish to be my client, like you did in this letter”
Copper’s face set in a confused frown, “If I wrote it in the letter. Why do I have to say it again?”
“Because you didn’t say it the first time. It is hard to write to a stranger and tell them that you have a problem, but it is another thing to tell a stranger muzzle to muzzle.” She said calmly.
Copper licked his suddenly dry lips as he struggled to speak, “I’m….. a homophobe, and I need help.” He felt so empty after saying it, and he didn’t talk as her pen wrote on her notebook.
“Thank you. I know that was hard. Would you like some water.” She said. He nodded and she flew outside her office to the water cooler and brought him a cup. After a deep sip he calmed down a little, “ Did you read the rest of the letter?”
“Of course I did. Quite a few things caught my attention, but the fact that you don’t want to speak about your gay son.” She said looking at the portion of the letter that seemed to have dried tear marks where the stallion had cried. “In this letter you tell me what happened between you and him, and how you’re willing to go through therapy for your issues, but you are reluctant to talk about something that may be the key to your problems.” She looked over the stallion reading his body language as he spoke.
Copper rubbed the back of his head with his hoof. “Well the truth is me and my son’s worlds don’t fit together anymore.” He sipped more of his water. “ “We have said everything we can to each other. He knows that I love him, and that I would like to be in his life, and because of what I did I can’t. I accept my son for who he is, and I love him.”
A tear fell down his muzzle into his water cup. “The reason.don’t wanna talk about him is, because I know that after losing him I don’t care what he is, as long as he’s happy and safe.” He breathed deeply. “ My homophobia only happens when I’m around… other ponies”
He adjusted his glasses as a log in the fireplace split and orange embers burst up the chimney. “Ponies like me?” Summer asked as her pen paused.
“Yes.. and No” he said finishing his water.
Summer looked at him bluntly. “ Would you please elaborate?”
“To be honest it's because Storm Chaser was my hero, You are everything a stallion should be.”his eyes jumped in shock and he launched into a rush to correct himself. “ I know you’re not him. He’s gone forever and he’s not coming back.. Please don’t kick me out.. I’m so sorry”
“Take some deep breaths” She said worried for him as he started to gasp. “In and out. In and out” she instructed as the stallion tried to calm himself. “I’m not offended or mad at you for being a fan of him.” She glanced at Storm Chaser’s photo for a moment. “Many ponies were, but would you please explain the connection between how that makes me different from other ponies like me.”
He took a few more breaths before answering. “ It helps me see you differently. I see past what you are and these feelings I have lessen. I know the wrong way to go about things, but at the moment it's all I have to start with.” He took a deep breath, “Would you please help me”
Summer was a bit unsure about whether not to take him on as a client. “ Copper before I answer I’d like to tell you a few things” She set her pen and notebook inside her bag. “ First: I mainly work with stallion’s and mare’s that are having trouble with their sexuality and gender, not pony’s that have problems with homophobia. Second as far as I know there hasn’t been a single case of homophobia in equestria that has ever been treated.”
Copper was confused by this. “ What do you mean never been treated? I mean there must have been one case where a pony sought help for their fears. I mean people are scared of ghost and ghouls, yet they get some form of help.”
“Just off my suspicion it would be that most ponies that are homophobic do not wish to get help.Or quite possibly don’t realize they have these fears.” Summer answered while scratching her beard.
Copper hung his head low as he thought over her statement. “ I suppose that means you can’t help me.”
Summer simply shook her head, “ No… I think I can help you.” She got up from her chair and stretched her wings. “Therapy and treatments have to start somewhere, and while I never promise to provide the answers to ponies problems. I promise you that together I will try my hardest to treat you. Does that sound agreeable to you?”
She stretched her hoof out to him, and he shook it firmly. “Yes I can agree to that.” She smiled as he let go of her hoof and started to leave. “Thank you Summer” He said as he walked out the door.