Plushie Therapy -- Coping Through Ponies

by Yosh-E-O

Safe Space - Daytime

"You can do it, Yosh!" announced Starlight.

"I'm not so sure," the dino-duck whimpered. "I really don't feel like I can do it."

"Don't say that," Snowdrop said softly yet firmly. "Didn't I help you learn that you don't need your eyes to find your place in the world?"

Yosh snuggled the pale-blue Pegasus close against his feathery cheek.
"You did," he replied simply.

"And what about me?" the reformed Cozy Glow added. "Golly, Yosh. I never thought I'd ever be any good at friendship."

Yosh looked down towards where he heard Cozy Glow speak.
"Friendship is hard," he said while using a free hand to feel at her plush body. "Especially when people don't understand you."

"Right," Starlight said. "I think we all can say we know what it is like to feel like life isn't fair."

Yosh sniffled as Snowdrop and Cozy glow hummed in agreement.

"I never asked to be so alone and feel like I had to force friendship in order to have friends," stated Starlight.

"I got so used to ponies taking things from me, or demanding something in return to be my friends," added Cozy. "But that was no good reason for me to take away magic to force friendship."

Yosh continued to nuzzle Snowdrop as he rubbed Cozy glow's curly mane.
"You're right," he said. "What good is being mad at the world? All it does is make things worse when we could work towards making things better."

Starlight smiled.
"It's hard to control emotions," she stated. "However you're never too young, or too old, to discover better ways of coping with your feelings."

"Remember my snowflake?" beamed Snowdrop. "I made it because I wanted to make a star. I may never have seen a star but I knew what one was and what they represented. However I made the star because it made me happy."

"I really did like helping all the creatures at The School Of Friendship," stated Cozy. "It really felt peachy keen to know I could make other creatures smile by just lending an ear or hoof."

Starlight smiled as she said, "I liked to read and challenge myself to become a true master of magic. It was always thrilling to outdo myself and now I can use my wisdom to help all my friends along with the students at The School Of Friendship."

Yosh brought Cozy glow and Starlight up onto his lap and made it so he could cuddle all three in an embrace.
"You're all right," he said while enjoying the minky-softness of the plush ponies. "There are always ways to find happiness even if everything around you feels so sad."

"Right," said Snowdrop. "Just because you don't have eyes doesn't mean you can't see."

"Friends also come and go," added Starlight. "However you should never be afraid to open your heart to someone."

"You should also trust that others will like you for you," stated Cozy. "I had lots of friends but always feared they'd all betray me and hurt me like all those ponies I knew before coming to The School Of Friendship."

Yosh sighed as he felt a weight leave his heart.
"Thank you," he said. "I feel a lot better knowing how even a rainy day can be a happy one."

"And you can feel the sun!" cheered snowdrop. "You don't need to see it to know it is there."

"Heartbreak is part of life," continued Starlight. "However hearts can heal by never giving up on some pony out there genuinely wanting to be your friend."

"And you should not do anything just to get something in return," noted Cozy. "I ruined so gosh golly much just because I never stopped believing I had to get them before they got me."

"What do you say, Yosh?" Starlight pursued. "How about we have some empathy cocoa, grab a comfort pillow, and take a cuddly nap under our security blanket?"

Yosh smiled.
"Sounds good!" he chirped. "Thanks for being my friends!"

"Thanks for being ours," added Cozy.

With a smile on his beak, Yosh headed for the kitchen to get some cocoa before settling down with his 'friends' under a soft blanket while resting upon a bean bag chair.