//------------------------------// // Patient 3, Part 3 // Story: Cozy Glow: Psychology PhD // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// Okay so this wasn’t going well. I needed to enlist the help of someone who knew about dragons. Smolder was out since she had gone back to the Dragon Lands, and Spike was busy with Princess Twilight in Canterlot. So I had to get some info from some indirect sources. The best place to start was almost certainly pops’ crew. So on that same day, I left to go to the agency and asked Pale what he knew about dragons. “Hmm…yeah I’m not much of an expert on them, kiddo. But I know who is.” My wings unfurled as I clapped my hooves. “You do? Who??” “This man right over here--” But then Pale was cut off by a voice that shouted…some foreign obscenities from the next room over. “Aw, bugger it to hell and back ya feckin’ yankee-doodle shite--I need those documents sorted right away, savvy?!” I heard the sound of someone slamming a telephone on its cradle as hoofsteps trotted out to us. It was Flash Drive! The half-unicorn, half-zebra pony from Trottingham that stood a bit taller than Pale with a stocky build. Did he have experience with dragons? Well, first off, he looked like he was mighty miffed at whoever he was just on the phone with. “We install the feckin’ phone lines and then they get crowded with foolish nonces that end up taking the piss out of us,” he grumbled as he buried his hoof against his forehead. “I swear, Pale. One’a these days, I’m gonna curse someone’s entire existence if this shite keeps up.” “Don’t say that,” Pale rolled his eyes with a casual smile, “You know that we’re working out the kinks as we speak. I only called you down here because Corkscrew was on a supply run.” “Supply run to feckin’ Timbucktu is what it sounds like--what a day…” he shook his head and looked at me, gasping as soon as he saw I was standing there. “Oi! Cozy--mate, how long have ye been standin’ there?” I smiled an awkward smile and simply waved ‘hello’ with my hoof. “...Long enough to have a neat look into Trottingham’s vernacular style.” “And you just let her stand there while I went off like a bloody muppet, eh?” Flash Drive turned to Pale--pops simply laughed in response. “Now that’s a new one,” Pale said with a chuckle, “Don’t stress yourself. In fact, she’s actually looking to hear from you about dragons.” “Dragons, eh? Wot for?” he asked, turning to me once more. I went ahead and explained the situation with Ash… “...long story short, I have no idea what he’s thinking,” I finished. “I was hoping you could help me since Pale said you know about dragons.” “Eh, I know a thing or three, yeah. Mainly through travels and reports from me dad,” he explained, “Sounds like this little lad here is going through his usual status of dragon adolescence. He’ll be a tad standoffish for a while unless he trusts ye.” I sighed. “I was afraid of that. Smolder’s gonna be disappointed once she finds out I’m not up to the task.” “Don’t sell yourself short, mate,” Drive did his best to comfort me, “If anyone can do it, it’s you. You’ve been across all sides of the psychological spectrum at this point and I think you’ve got it. Though, if you need help with…enchantments, then my ladyfriend and I might be able to help ya.” As soon as the black unicorn said that, my gray earth pony father immediately started to panic. “Oh no. Ohhhhh no,” he reeled his head back, “I don’t think you should get Zecora involved. You might end up bringing something down on us that you aren’t prepared to fix.” Flash Drive chuckled while nudging Pale with his hoof. “Hey now, I’m just jestin’ ya, bruv. At any rate, I think you’d do better by bein’ straight with him. Tell him you’re worried about him and ya wanna help in any way ya can.” “Alternatively,” Pale added, “You can go for a more subtle approach. Find out what this dragon boy likes, dislikes, and takes interest in. Then you can approach him when you’re ready.” “Hmmm…” I tapped my hoof against my chin as I thought about it. Both options were pretty good, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. After all, some kids do better when you’re more direct with them while others do require more careful approaches so you don’t set them off. The hard part was figuring out what to do in the first place. Nevertheless, with the aid of Pale-Pops and Uncle Drive’s advice, I had a newfound plan ready to go. “Thanks, guys. You always know just what to say when it comes to helping others.” “No worries, fam,” Drive replied, “Tis what we do.” Pale nodded as he trotted into the other room, “He’s right--though, I’m gonna go check out what’s up with this phone. See ya later, huh Cozy?” “Oh, for sure,” I added with a smile, “Don’t work yourselves too hard, okay? You guys should consider retiring pretty soon if I’m being honest.” “Ha! That’s not gonna happen, little bird,” Drive replied as he trotted after Pale, “Buggers never rest and neither do we.” As he walked off, I knew in my own heart that I couldn’t give up on Ash no matter how hard it got. But now I had two ways of going about this. Should I be direct with Ash and approach him with more sincerity? Or should I be sneaky and study him from afar before I engage?