• Published 28th May 2015
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Ciderholic - twilightsparkle3562



Rainbow Dash turns to an Alcoholic Cider for comfort following Tank's hibernation

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Visiting the Psychiatrist

Chapter 7

"Visiting the Psychiatrist"

Fourteen times the punishments had come and gone for Rainbow Dash. Once her punishments were completed, Rainbow Dash came to the academy early the following morning and sat outside the psychiatrist's office nervously pacing about the waiting room. A few moments later, the doors to the office opened and a white unicorn with a heart cutie mark on her flank and long pink hair stepped out and smiled at Rainbow Dash.

"You must be Rainbow Dash?" asked the mare as Rainbow rose into the air. "I'm Sweetheart and I am the psychiatrist for the wonderbolt academy. Care to follow me?"

"Um, sure," replied Rainbow Dash, although she was hesitant at first. "I'll follow you."

Almost right away, Rainbow Dash knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but she knew it was for her own good. Her recent actions had set off alarm bells in the minds of her friends and it was at their suggestion that she seek help. Stepping into the office, Rainbow Dash sat down on the sofa and Sweetheart sat down in a chair, sliding over to Rainbow Dash.

"Now, then," she began, taking out a piece of paper with her magic. "Your friends and Spitfire have brought to my attention that you were in a state of distress and needed to talk to me. Care to tell me about what is happening? And don't be afraid to get emotional. Sometimes its best to cry to let our feelings out."

Taking in a heavy sigh, Rainbow Dash knew that the time had come for her to reveal the truth. She closed her eyes for a moment and then raised her head to look back up at Sweetheart, who now had a pen in her magical grip.

"If you really want to know the whole truth," began Rainbow Dash. "Tank is not just a pet, he's like my only family that I had. My father and mother always looked down on me, always in denial of what my dreams were and all that. I've wanted to be a Wonderbolt and no matter how hard I tried, they wouldn't listen to me. It was at summer flight camp that I found my true calling and even though I received my cutie mark for creating a sonic rainboom, my parents brushed it off."

"Don't be afraid to tell me everything," said Sweetheart, writing down everything she was hearing from Rainbow Dash. "Go on."

"I continued to distance myself from my parents," continued Rainbow Dash. "All they wanted me to do was to just focus on the weather patrol, like they were. After I met Twilight and her friends, I decided to follow my destiny as a flyer. Over time, I began to notice that they all were starting to have pets except for me. I never wanted to have a pet, because they weren't like me and I wanted a pet that would fast, awesome and cool."

Rainbow Dash then noticed a picture on Sweetheart's desk with her and several other ponies surrounding a small green frog.

"If you don't mind my asking, Sweetheart," asked Rainbow Dash. "Who is that frog in the picture with you and those other ponies?"

"Oh, that's just me and my friends, Starlight, Melody, Bright Eyes, Patch, Clover and Bon Bon with a frog we adopted named Spot. We didn't know at the time that we had to send him back to where he came from. It was hard at first, but we learned that it was best to let him go and remember the good times we had."

"Who told you that you had to send him free?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Our teacher, Miss Hackney," replied Sweetheart, sadly. "She was a good teacher to us all and taught us everything we needed to have to become the ponies we are today."

Rainbow Dash at that moment, began to think of Princess Celestia and all the lessons that she taught them while Twilight was still her student.

"I know how you feel," sighed Rainbow Dash. "Letting Tank hibernate was a hard choice, but it was for the best. But, I couldn't let him go. I thought if he was hibernating, then I would never see him again. I did everything I could to keep him by my side and it was a mistake that hurt me instead of helping me."

"Hmm," pondered Sweetheart, taking in what Rainbow Dash was saying. "I guess from a professional's perspective that you were supposedly suffering from what is known as the Five Stages of Grief."

"The Five Stages of Grief?" wondered Rainbow Dash, who was hearing about this for the first time. "What are they?"

"The Five Stages of Grief," explained Sweetheart. "Are stages that we go through when we either lose somepony for a brief time or for forever. First we deny what is about to happen, then the second stage is we get angry at ponies we love for no particular reason at all."

Hearing about the second stage was making Rainbow Dash think back to when she got angry at Pinkie Pie because she was going to say the word, "hibernate." In fact, she could still her own words being screamed at the top of her lungs keep playing out in her head.

"The next stage is what you did to the weather factory," continued Sweetheart, placing her chin on her hooves. "That stage is called bargaining where you would do anything to stop winter from coming to Ponyville."

Rainbow Dash looked down in embarrassment over what had just been said. She sabotaged the weather factory and was paying the consequences for it.

"Finally," finished Sweetheart. "You went through the fourth stage, which is depression. Tell me, are you somepony that is known to get emotional?"

"No, Sweetheart," replied Rainbow Dash, looking down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at Sweetheart. "I try to not get emotional about my own personal matters. But, when Fluttershy told me that my winter was going to be pet-less, I just couldn't control myself."

"She was telling you the truth, Rainbow Dash," she said. "If I was in that bedroom with your friends that day, I would have told you the same thing. The truth hurts and I'm sorry, but that's how it is."

Rainbow Dash almost felt like crying herself, but she didn't have any more tears in the tank that needed to be released.

"It was then that after you cried is where you went through the final stage," continued Sweetheart. "And that stage is acceptance. You accepted the fact that your pet needed to sleep for the winter and although it was hard, you did do just that. However, your recent behavior had me thinking that you could be suffering from a side effect."

"A side effect?" asked Rainbow Dash, slightly confused. "What do you mean a side effect?"

"We like to think to ourselves that we are done going through the stages," explained Sweetheart. "But, after we come to acceptance, we go through a secondary process called the Grieving Process. Your drinking of alcoholic cider explains to me that this is how you grieve and that there are better ways to handle yourself when you are grieving."

Rainbow Dash suddenly then began to realize for the first time of the errors that she had caused. She had made a grave mistake and was now paying for it.

"What have I done?" cried Rainbow Dash, feeling ashamed. "I couldn't control myself, Sweetheart. I hurt myself and my friends all because I couldn't grieve properly. What am I going to do?"

Rainbow Dash became hysterical at that moment and starting to nervously tug at her mane, pulling off several strands of hair.

"You can start by seeing me on a regular basis," suggested Sweetheart. "I can help you by offering advice on how to come up with methods for grieving with loss. My first advice I can give you is to realize that the alcoholic cider you have been drinking is not going to help you in any way. You are stronger than you think you are and when you grieve, you turn to your friends for support and me. Will you accept my help?"

Unhesitantly, Rainbow Dash smiled and leaped into Sweetheart's arms, hugging her tightly. This was a sign to Sweetheart that Rainbow Dash had come to accept the fact that she needed help.

"I'll do anything to have you help me," cried Rainbow Dash, starting to cry again. "I don't want to hurt my friends any more than I already have."

So, Rainbow Dash would now begin the healing process with help from Sweetheart. At the same time however, Tank would soon wake up and Rainbow Dash made sure that she would be the first thing that Tank would see after his long winter's nap…