Outskirts of Appleloosa – Tree Hugger's Cabin – Early Afternoon
"Ohmmmmmmmmmm..." Tree Hugger sat in a center pile of dusty rugs, her lower hooves nimbly touching and her upper limbs meditatively resting on her knees. "Ohmmmmmmmm..." She smiled with her eyes sleepily shut as her head teetered... teetered. "That's riiiiiiiight... go forth... forage... hibernate... take turns in enjoying the delicious cycles of life. Find your habitat and cover it with your scent. It is not property... it's territory... for we all belong to the natural fabric stretching before us..."
"Uhhhhhhhhhh..." Twinkleshine's eyes clenched tensely shut as her mind wandered in flip-flopping directions—as evidenced by her twitching ears. "Okay..."
"Mmmmmmmm..." With slow, oozing motions, Tree Hugger trotted down from her perch and shuffled alongside her "clients," one by one. "Breathe in... nature's scent... that's riiiiiight... and breathe out... mmmmmmmm... wildlife's musky perfuuuuuume... ohmmmmmm..." She brushed past Twinkleshine. "And what you discovered yourself to be, dear sister? Hmmm?"
"I... am an eagle... I think?" Twinkleshine's jaw tensed. "I'm doing loopty-loops over Canterlot Castle. That's... that's allowed, right? Is flying breaking the rules?"
"Not at all!" Tree Hugger smiled deliriously as she shuffled past. "Embrace your spirit animal. Feel the wind in your feathers. Be free. Cast your worries to the horizon."
"But... h-how is this going to help me forget about the changelings—"
"Be majestic. Be proud. Be soaring. Mmmmmmmmmm-yesssssss... that's righttttt..." Tree Hugger wandered by Minuette. "And what are you, my little pony?"
"Heeeeeeee..." Minuette grinned from ear to ear, her eyelids fluttering shut. "I'm a fluffy white bunny rabbit!"
"Mmmmmmm-indeeeeeed..."
"And my buck teeth are soooooooooooo sparkly! Heehee! I bet I could chomp through a whole mountain of doughnuts!"
"Yes, you can. You and your offspring." Tree Hugger performed a slow-motion pirouette around the minty-blue unicorn. "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the universe with your spirit animal selves and paint the cosmos with shiny fluffy fur. So pristine. So innocent. Wash away all impurities. Ohmmmmmm..." She came to a lumbering stop beside Lemon Hearts. "And what are you, sister?"
"I'm... uhm..." Lemon Hearts gulped. "...I'm a sleek dolphin sailing through the ocean. I think? Yeah. Totally a dolphin."
"Nopony's perfect." Tree Hugger smiled. She trotted across the room. "And you, musical one? Mmmmmmmmm... what are you?" She grinned, teetering in place. "A sparrow? A cricket? A howler monkey?"
"Errrrrrrr..." Lyra's face tensed. Her tail flicked annoyingly. "...still working on that..."
"Don't work. Just drift." Tree Hugger gestured with a limp hoof. "Allow your spirit animal to come to you."
"Is... is that possible?"
"Shhhhhhh... you're thinking too hard..."
"Well... dang it..." Lyra frowned, eyes opening ever so slightly. "...I have the color green in my head. So I was thinking... uh... a lizard, maybe? Like a chameleon or something? Their eyes sure are freaky cool—"
"Mmmmmm... reptiles... cold blooded... slow metabolism..." Tree Hugger cooed. "Be calm. Find your center. In that natural niche, the spirit animal will come out of hibernation. Yesssssss..."
"But... like... do I gotta put lettuce on a stick and draw it our or—?"
"Do not taunt the spirit. Fraternize with it."
"Look, this is really... really hard..." Lyra grunted.
"Only if you want it to be."
"Oh yeah?" Lyra raised an eyebrow, squinting at the "therapist." "How about telling us what your spirit animal is?"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh... that's easyyyyyyyyy..." Tree Hugger stood up straight—teetering—and smiled blearily towards the walls of the room. "I'm a spreading oak tree."
Lyra blinked. Hard. "What."
"Mmmmmm... that's right..." Tree Hugger stretched back on her hind quarters and raised her forelimbs up at jagged angles. "...old and wise with several rings denoting the years of meditative introspection." She struck a graceful pose, standing on one hoof. "My roots go deep... and my limbs make a good home for dozens upon dozens of rodents. I am—in essence—a caregiver."
Silence.
Lyra stared with a gaping muzzle. At last, after several empty breaths, she blurted: "An oak tree is a plant."
"Mmmmmm... that's righhhhhht—"
"No, that's not 'right'." Lyra blinked again. "A tree can't be your spirit animal."
"Mmmmm?" Tree Hugger opened one eye. "And why not?"
"Because it's a friggin' plant!"
"It is a living being, alive with the great beating hum of all existence, contributing to the circle of harmonic continuity." Tree Hugger planted two hooves under her chin as her body bent back with a meditative grin. "The oak tree has been my spirit animal for yearssss."
Silence.
"... ... ...It's a friggin' plant!" Lyra shouted. "An animal is a free-moving heterotroph that relies on respiration to survive! A plant is a stationary eukaryote that derives energy from photosynthesis! An oak tree cannot be your spirit animal!"
"But an oak tree gels with just sooooooo many animals—"
Lyra gnashed her teeth. "You're a damned plant! Don't you get it?!" She flailed her forelimbs. "For buck's sake! Do you put any thought into these exercises or is it all just mumbo jumbo?"
"Lyraaaaaa..." Lemon Hearts growled.
"Okaaaaaaaay..." Tree Hugger squinted across the way. "...I'm not certain I'm feeling any positive resonance from your aggressive vibe at the moment? So I'm going to have to ask you to lower your enthusiasm just a scoach—"
"No. No! You're the qualified mental therapist here!" Lyra folded her forelimbs with a frown. "I want you to tell us why we all have to be animals but you get to be a plant!"
"But an oak tree is a spirit animalllll—"
"No it is not!" Lyra cackled. "My friends and I are in super need of some therapeutic release and here you are making us all frolic around in our skulls like damned kindergarten monkeys on parade!" She leaned forward with a glare. "Which was never a lesson that was indicated on the docket, by the way! I swear to Celestia—you're just pulling these genius 'sessions' out of your frickin' dreadlocks!"
"Yeesh, chill outttttttttt..." Tree Hugger waved a hoof. "I'm simply wanting to appeal to your harmonic corrrrrre." A drunken smile. "Psychiatry isn't an exact science."
"Are you shitting me?!" Lyra boomed, eyes wide. "What rat's nest of a medical school did they pull you out of, lady? University of Up Your Own Flankhole?!"
"There was no rat's nest," Tree Hugger purred, stretching again. "My roots run deep into the rich soil of the cosmossssssss..."
"You're a damned plant, lady!" Lyra spat. "Why not just come out with it—?!" She gasped as she was yanked aside. "Whoah!"
With an iron frown, Lemon Hearts pulled Lyra out of the room with her telekinesis. The front door slammed shut behind them, casting the cabin into tense silence.
"... ... ...I just found a carrot!" Minuette nervously chirped. "Eheheheh...?"
So she's not one who hugs trees, but a tree that hugs?
Ooh, Lyra's in troooouble.
Uhh...whoops.
Was wondering when some one would snap and Lyra couldn't be more right in her assessment I believe.
Perhaps she will be told to go for a walk to cool off and meet her spirit animal in a certain cave and become very well aquanted with her?
Also
When did rainbow show up?
Yeah, Dash gets around and all—she's the fastest pegasus in Equestria, after all—but this is ridiculous.
I like Tree Hugger here but Lyra has a point, I honestly don't think she actually is a therapist at all. I think she is just a crazy hippy lady who ponies pretend is a therapist.
Up next, Lemon Hearts is totally qualified to decide what is and isn't professional therapy, and will make sure we all know it and know that Lyra is wrong.
I understand where both of them are coming from...
Lemon Hearts is ticked off because Lyra is just running away or ignoring her problems as well as the problems of her friends.
Lyra does not believe that therapy will help them, and seems to be the reason why she does not hang out with her friends as much because they will talk about the therapy sessions.
I think Lyra could have done more to assure her friends that she still cares while not attending the therapy sessions, and her friends should respect that therapy is not for everybody.
I have been to both a one on one therapy session and a group session...I did the first one for about a year, and the group one for about 4 months.
Therapy is basically nothing more than talking about what upsets you or triggers you, and basically through constant talking about it making your mind more okay with the problem or trauma. Similar to how your finger tips will build up hard layers when you play the guitar a bunch. You discuss/relive the trauma until it no longer is a trauma...until it literally becomes that story you told hundreds of times, and it no longer hits your emotions like it once did.
Problem is for some that does not work, and the best medicine for that is just friends and time.
7563255 that is a very simplified description of therapy and only covers one approach to it. Any good therapist will tailor their approach to work for the person theu are treating because not everyone reacts the same, hell my therapist never once talked about my issues but talked around it in a manner that allowed me to deal with it myself.
And Lyra believes therapy is good and works, she just believes these two particular "therapists" are full of crap(which they are)
She she was avoiding a fraud and wasting her money on said fraud who is billing them for their money without actually trying to help them.
But you are right in that Lyra most likely avoids her friends because for the most part she is handling her issues as best as she can while her friends seem to wallow in the issues and have been far more effected then she was.
Aaaaand finally caught up! Phew! Now to enjoy the daily updates and to see when this sayan fusion thing actually goes down.
Also shipping. I see shipping in the future.
7563327 You will have to show me where it states Lyra believes in therapy because from what I have read most of her "positive" remarks about therapy have been her blowing smoke to appease either Bon Bon or Lemon Hearts.
I don't have anything against people that believe in therapy mind you, I just personally don't believe in it. Therapy tends to only work if the person believes in it, which puts therapy right up there with placebos and prayers.
Again if therapy works for you then more power to you. I have just seen many more instances of therapy hurting more than helping, and even the ones they help usually need to continue to see the therapist to stay "helped"
... And here I thought Tree Hugger's spirit animal would be a cannabis bush.
Almost there, I believe we can go whole 100 chapters without the main character not being mentioned at all.
All Treehugger needs now are two small clay figures, and she can call them Bill and Ben, the flower pot men, and she is little Weeeeed.
Now where was that 6 possibility for a hypothesis model.
My spirit animal is me but with bigger hands.
7563376
I hope there is shipping in the future and there are enough hints for it yo happen. But with no romance tag and SS&E way of writing, I don't have much hope of it happening.
7563467 she has only ever insulted the Doctor and his therapy sessions. She has never once said all therapy only talked bad about the doctors sessions so where is the evidence shebeleieves all therapy?
And so you are saying one of the sciences that exist in the world doesn't exist unless you believe in it? That makes a lot of sense.
Also in psychology it does tend to get worse before it gets better and once more only the therapist interred in money don't help.
Real doctors once helped never have to be seen again
You have unfortunately seemed to have only see hose interested in money and not actually helping
7563873 the absence of her saying she dislikes all therapy does not automatically mean she believes in it. I also noticed you could not find a chapter she says she does believe in it...very telling.
Therapy a science?
Yeah, so is crypto zoology and and so too was alchemy when they were trying to figure out how to turn lead into gold. Saying something is a science does not mean much.
Real doctors do help people, but therapists are not truly real doctors. Sure they have a diploma up some where in their office, but at the end of day they are just people who specialize in messing with a person's mind...no different than a mentalist or magician.
Real doctors can help you and your done, but therapists more often than not have to be seen repeatedly. Therapy is a practice not a true science...it is guess work.
I also noticed you did not deny that therapy requires belief of the subject to work...similar to placebos and prayers.
7563008 Maybe Dash is Lyra's spirit animal.
7564728 ypi also did not site a chapter where she says she does not beleice in therapy so where is the difference? She has only ever mentioned that this particular doctor is a fraud because that is what he is.
Alap cryptozoology is not regonize as a real sciences and alchemy was seen more as magic then science but parts of it is chemistry.
By therapy being a science I was meaning psychology which is a regonize as a real science and has mountains of proof it exists and does in deed work as more then "because you believe in it".
I didn't think I had to specificly state that after my explanation about how a placebo and prayers are not the same.
As for never having to revisit doctors, explain cancer? Or any number of other dieses that take multiply trips to the doctors to be cured and sometimes never will be and take a life time of visiting doctors just to keep you alive.
Jusr because something doesn't fix you in a single go does not mean it is fake. And as for mentilists they are using the the science of psychology to manipulate you. Yes therapy has to somewhat manipulate you but that's because not all issues can be solved with a pill(some can) and so they talk and guide and deal with the problem with words when drugs won't even touch it.
Anyways I've said all I'm going to say on the subject as any more would be me repeating myself.
7565620 I don't have to cite because we both agree that she has stated that she does dislike some of the therapists and their methods.
However you have stated that she has said that she does agree with therapy and believes in it, which we have not agreed on so citations/proof is needed.
Here is a citation https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://mindhacks.com/2013/08/20/dont-panic-but-psychology-isnt-always-a-science/&ved=0ahUKEwjC0O2T8ZDPAhVB54MKHYiODWMQFggoMAI&usg=AFQjCNFlP11AKW8q2xgaGsLIQfNLAohlKQ
The debate over whether or not psychology is a real science has been going on for a long time. The very fact that many of the practices involved can not truly be measured not to mention the results of which are again un-measurable makes it hard to establish this as a science which deals in measureable facts and outcomes.
Every mind is different. Yes there are similar patterns than can be exploited, but not every person is going to respond the same way.
Which is often why people have to continually go back to said therapist to make sure they are still "cured".
Are there real medical problems that require you to go back and forth to the hospital? Yes.
When you leave a hospital you know for a fact that something was done even if you might have to come back again to continue treatments or for a follow up surgery.
When you leave a therapist however you have no idea if anything was really done.
Which is why I laugh when you say science.
Can you measure your peace of mind?
Can your therapist check your depression levels against your previous visit?
Batpony chapter?
...
Aw.