//------------------------------//
// Patient 2, Part 3 
// Story: Cozy Glow: Psychology PhD 
// by Jmaster49 
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“But I just don’t have enough confidence to tell them…” Zoe muttered as she sat down on a nearby rock, “My parents are the ones who take care of me and pay for everything that I do. I can’t exactly blow them off and force them to accept me.”

“No. You can’t,” Maud said as she trotted over and sat on the ground in front of her, “But you can show them how passionate you are. If your parents really love you, they’ll understand that your passions don’t align with theirs.” She picked up a little rock--wait was that Boulder? “My mom and dad wanted me to run the farm at first, but once they realized that I wanted to be a geologist, they let me go. And here I am now. Boulder and I have each other’s backs.”

“Who’s Boulder?” Zoe asked, wagging her tail.

Maud placed the little roc--er, Boulder on the ground. “He’s shy around diamond dogs, don’t mind him.”

“I see…well, my parents do love me, so I think they’d be willing to listen.” Zoe nodded, “I just need to speak up for myself, right?”

“Right.”

The dog girl turned to me for advice next. “What do you think, Ms. Glow? Does Maud make sense?”

I was caught off-guard, and looked up from my notes with a nervous expression. “Oh uh…” To be quite honest, I had no clue what to say since their rock-y dialogue was completely lost on me. “I think she’s really good at…that.”

Maud was quick to call my bluff though. “If you don’t comprehend what we’re saying, it’s okay to say so. I won’t judge you for it.”

“Nonono!” I tried to clean up my act, “It’s just…okay, yeah. I’m not really an expert on geology. But Maud is. That’s why I brought you here, Zoe.”

Zoe simply giggled--and that was the first time I saw her fully enjoy herself since we met. “It’s okay, Ms. Glow. You don’t need to force yourself to try and understand us. We all have different things that we’re good at. Right, Maud?”

“Right.”

“Technically, having a skill does not make you better than anypony else. It’s how you use that skill that changes how other ponies see you.”

“AWK!” Cozy squealed like a parakeet and flew into the air. “What the--?!” She looked down only to see it was a harmless earth pony that had appeared behind her. “...Oh. Mud Briar. It’s you. How long have you been standing there?”

“Technically, it hasn’t been very long at all.”

Maud flashed the tiniest of smiles on her face and introduced the stallion. “This is my husband. Mud Briar. Mud Briar. This is Zoe and Cozy Glow.”

“Technically, I’ve already met Cozy Glow when she tried to--”

“A-tututut!” Cozy shoved her hoof in his mouth to keep him from talking. “We uh--ahem. We don’t need to retread that little nugget of info, hehe…heh…”

Mud Briar casually pushed her hoof out of his mouth--his expression as neutral as always. “I see. Very well.” He turned to Maud and asked, “Honey, do you have those pieces of wood that I lent you? I need them for the Winter Art Festival.”

“Of course I do, dear,” Maud droned right back, “I’ll take you to them once I’m done here.”

Zoe came up to me and whispered into my ear. “...They’re both…a perfect fit for each other, huh?”

“Yes. Yes they are,” was all I could really say in return. Maud and Mud Briar were two very…eccentric ponies that were practically made for each other. Despite that, they were both really helpful in regards to Zoe’s conflict. “What do you think so far? Has their advice been good to you?”

“I think so,” she replied as she scratched behind one of her ears, “It took me a bit to understand what Maud was trying to say, but I think I have it down now.”

I smiled and said, “That’s great! What do you wanna do now?”

“Well…” she picked up the pickaxe once more, “I think I wanna dig with Maud for a bit longer until she’s ready to go off with her husband. If that’s okay.”

“Fine by me. So long as I don’t have to carry ‘em,” I replied as I flexed my wings, “I’m more of a light glider than a heavy lifter.”

Zoe responded with a smile on her face as she wagged her tail. “You’re awesome either way, Ms. Glow.”







Not gonna lie, I almost teared up. Seeing that kid find her passion was what made life worth living. But my work wasn’t quite done yet. See, this is where the hard part started. I couldn’t actually get any results until she went home and told her parents what she thought. 

All I could do was hope to goodness that her parents were reasonable pooches.







Once we were finished speaking to the Sticky-Rock pair, we started walking back to my office located at the Town Hall.

Next to me, Zoe was carrying a burlap sack filled to the brim with the pieces of stone and crystal formations she had mined. Soon enough, she asked me the all-important question. “...Do you think my folks will accept my dreams, Ms. Glow?”

I had to be honest. “I can’t say for sure. But from my own experience…things work out in better ways than you might expect if your parents truly love you.”

One of her ears flopped down in front of her face which she had to move out of the way with a paw. “...What do ya mean?”

“Well…let’s just say that my dad went to great lengths for me,” I explained as I walked along with a vacant smile on my face, “Lengths that nobody else has ever gone to. And my mom ensured that I’d be able to live a comfy life once it was all said and done. If my parents can do that much, I’m sure your parents would be willing to accept a minor career change.”

“You’re right…” Zoe nodded with a little bark, “Ruff! I can’t stand back and let my parents dictate my life. They should want to give me a chance. Thank you so much, Ms. Glow. I think I understand my problems better now.”

“It’s perfectly fine, kiddo--” I was interrupted by a hug from the little dog girl. Naturally, I put a hoof around her and held her close. “...You’re very welcome, Zoe.”







And in that moment, I felt like I had channeled the best parts of both mom and dad to make that little girl’s day. I think they’d be proud of me…