//------------------------------// // Patient 2, Part 1 // Story: Cozy Glow: Psychology PhD // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// So that’s how my job goes. I think you have a good understanding of how it works. Ms. Inkwell or the Mayor lets me know who needs help, and I generally do my best to help them. Though, if it’s a situation where I can’t exactly help on my own, then I usually ask for Inkwell’s help. Sometimes even with the help of a friend or two. Join me as I tell you how this particular situation played out. As always, there was a knock on my office door. Tap-tap-tap. “Come in,” I said while organizing the various files I had on my desk. “Yo.” Imagine my surprise when I saw Flurry Heart appear. She was wearing her usual sunhat and shades disguise to keep the citizens from smothering her. “What’s happening, sister?” “Oh it’s you--how’ve you been, Flurry?” “I’ve had my ups and downs,” she replied as she teleported into the chair in front of my desk and removed her shades, “But overall, I’m good. I really need your help, though.” I pushed my glasses down, and gave her a concerned look. “You need my help? What’s wrong?” “Well there’s this Diamond Dog kid who wants to become a miner in the Crystal Empire but her parents won’t let her because they want her to be some kinda--” Flurry had to pause and levitate a notepad to read what she wanted to say next. I couldn’t blame her--I sometimes forget my points halfway through making them. “...Wrestler? Sumo I think. Pound probably knows more about it than I do.” “Hrm…” I tapped a hoof against my chin and gave it some thought, “So what we have here is a classic case of living through the child in a vicarious manner.” My alicorn friend tilted her head and looked at me as if I had suddenly grown two more. “...Vica-what?” “It means using one’s imagination,” I said as I tapped the side of my head, “in order to cast those thoughts onto something else. Most folks nowadays call this ‘projecting.’” “Oh, so that’s what that is,” Flurry replied with a slow nod of realization as she leaned back in the chair. “I’ve heard about that from mom and dad before, but I never knew what it meant. Thanks for clearing that up.” I raised a brow. “Under what context have your parents said that?” “When dad can’t find his projector.” I leaned upon my desk with both hooves in front of my face. I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “Wow...just...wow.” Flurry started to laugh with a snort. “Hehe! Yeah, he’s not that good with machines.” While that was funny, we had to focus on the more important stuff at hoof. “Alright, so where is she? Is she with you now or is she in the Empire?” “Oh she’s with me. Though, I let her hang out with Maud for a bit before I brought her here. Figured they’d like all that stuff, ya know?” I started to scribble down in my notes--the pencil clutched tightly between my wingtips as I looked for as much info from Flurry as possible. “I see. How old is she?” “Hm, didn’t think about that,” she replied, “But I’d say she’s certainly a teenager. Several years below you and me.” “Alright. Tell her to come in as soon as possible.” Flurry got up from the seat, and trotted towards the door. “On it, sis. And make sure you don’t overwork yourself. I’m sure you’ll probably be tired once it’s all said and done.” Oh she had no idea. But I wasn’t about to tell her that directly. “Yeah...thanks, Flurs.” With that, I watched my alicorn friend leave and about five minutes later… She entered. A young diamond dog girl with brown fur and green eyes. She wore nothing but a simple spiked choker and matching spiked wristbands. Certainly fitting the ‘tough girl’ archetype to a T as she sat down on the therapy couch with one leg crossed over the other. And interestingly enough, she was staring at a book the whole time. The title read: Finding Rare Gems For Newbies. I had to be tactful and break the ice carefully. “Ahem...er...hi?” I said with a wave of my hoof. “My friend Flurry Heart brought you here. She said you were into mining.” She didn’t respond with much. Simply with a curt, “Mm-hmm,” in what sounded like a deep voice. “...Right. So apparently you’re having some issues with your parents? Care to elaborate on that?” I asked as I got up from my desk and approached her. Silence. I could almost hear her eyes focusing hard on those pages. Since she gave me no response, that let me know I needed to back up a few steps further. Take time to build up to what she wanted to talk about. I took my seat in the chair that sat across from the couch, and redirected the conversation with something else entirely. “That’s a nice book. What’s it about?” At last, I got an actual answer. “...Digging for stuff.” “I see...what kind of stuff? Just gems or is there something else you’d enjoy digging for?” I asked while pointing out the title of her book. “...Bones, sometimes,” she replied softly while shrinking back against the couch. That made sense. All dogs loved bones. But I wondered where her passion for digging as a career came from. To find that out, I needed to play to her interests. So I thought back to what Flurry had told me. “Say, my friend mentioned someone. A Maud Pie. Do you know her?” “...Mm-hmm. She likes rocks and digging like me.” “Why don’t we go back to her for a bit?” I offered, “See what we can find out while digging.” The diamond dog girl put the book down, and allowed me to see her face. “R-really? You want to actually...join me?” “Of course,” I said as I stood up, “Only if you want to of course.” “No...I do,” she shut her book, and stood up with me. “...My name is Zoe by the way…” “Cozy Glow,” I said with a smile, “Nice to meet you, Zoe!” That was the easy part. But getting her to actually open up would be the hard part. Join me and see how it goes.