Lesson 2: Getting Over Disability
Written by MattTOB
"Alright," Thorax began in a hushed voice, "let's go over this one more time. You two lay down the bait beside that tree over there, while I ready a stunning spell. Got it?"
The two Changelings he was with, Cornicle and Daffodil, nodded, flitting over to their positions. They dumped an entire sack of lettuce onto the ground at the base of the tree, then hid within the twisting branches. Thorax concentrated, and a light-blue light began to form around his horn and antlers.
After a minute, their target came into view: a baby Dread Maulwurf, seemingly separated from its parents. They had no idea how it'd wound up in the Everfree Forest (it most likely followed the Changelings while they were relocating from their old Hive), but what they did know is that, if it was left unchecked, it'd grow into a serious problem. Luckily, it was still young, so it hadn't fully developed its magic immunity. One quick stunning spell, and they'd be able to take it back to the Badlands.
Thorax aimed his spell, but before he could release it, something shiny in the distance caught his eye. The shiny object was oh so very shiny, reflecting the sunlight so perfectly, and Thorax couldn't help but become transfixed on it.
Cornicle and Daffodil took one look at their leader and instantly realized something was wrong. "Thorax!" Cornicle hissed through his teeth, "Pay attention!"
Unfortunately, Thorax couldn't pay attention; the shiny object was just too tantalizing. The King's head filled with one thought and one thought alone:
"I want shiny."
Without warning, Thorax burst out of the bush and began flying towards the shiny object, dropping the spell in the process. The Maulwurf, upon seeing him, squealed in terror and sped off to avoid confrontation. Cornicle and Daffodil groaned in frustration as they watched their plan fall apart.
Finally, Thorax reached the shiny object, which turned out to be a bottle that was hanging outside Zecora's hut. He pressed his muzzle to the bottle, staring straight at the shine, and muttered, "Shiny..."
Before Cornicle and Daffodil even reached their entranced leader, the resident Zebra came outside. "Ah, what a strange surprise; normally, that bottle attracts flies."
"Shiny..." Thorax mumbled in response.
Zecora raised an eyebrow. "So, I take it you like objects with sheen. Is that why you're staring at that so keen?"
"Shiny," Thorax nodded, not taking his eyes off the shiny for one single second.
Cornicle and Daffodil finally caught up, huffing and puffing. "Could you, maybe, help us get him into town?" Cornicle asked through heavy breaths.
Two Changelings and a Zebra walked into town. They were holding a flashlight and using it to lure a third, much bigger Changeling, after them.
Yep, just another ordinary day in Ponyville.
"Yep," Twilight finally stated said after five minutes of testing, "Thorax has severe phototaxis."
"What does that mean?" Daffodil beseeched.
"It means that, whenever he sees a light that particularly sticks out, his instincts draw him towards it."
They looked to Thorax, who was staring at a lamp, entranced. "But why?"
Twilight stammered for a bit, unsure how to put it without offending anyone.
Thankfully, Mandy (who was there to borrow a book) poked his head in and provided the blunt answer: "It's because we're insectoids. Some insects use the moon to navigate at night, so they're instinctively drawn towards bright lights in the dark."
Twilight flinched at the blunt honesty, but nodded regardless. "I wouldn't have said it like that, but essentially, yes."
Thorax, meanwhile, was still staring at the lamp. Mandy took the opportunity to stroll up and turn it off, snapping Thorax out of his trance. "Whuzz-huh? What happened? How'd I get here?"
"Long story short, you have a condition that causes bright things to distract you," Mandy put it simply.
Thorax blushed. "Oh right, that."
They all blinked. "Wait, you already knew about this?"
He shrugged in response. "Well, yeah! You really think I don't know myself?"
Nopony looked him in the eye as they mumbled half-hearted excuses.
Then Twilight said, "If you already knew, then why haven't you gone to somepony about this?"
"I wasn't ever really in a place where I could. I mean, with the way the old Hive worked and everything..."
Mandy deadpanned, "Basically, everyling acted like dicks, so nobody would help him."
Twilight frowned at his choice of words. "You could've worded that better."
He shrugged, "I just say it like it is."
Thorax sighed. "He's right, though. No 'ling would give me any actual advice; they were always too busy bullying me. Besides, it was never really an issue before, since I was so low on the ladder."
"Well, what about now?" Twilight asked. "Is there anypon– er, any 'ling that you could go to for help?"
"Well, we came to you," Cornicle pointed out.
She countered, "But I'm not a trained medical professional, nor do I have any practical real-world experience with mental disorders."
In the distance, Spike could be heard saying, "At least, not from that side..."
Daffodil suggested, "How about Coxa? He's been dealing with a disability his whole life; maybe he'll have some insight?"
The King of Changelings gasped. "That's not a bad idea, actually. Yeah, let's ask him!"
The three Changelings leapt off the couch and rushed out the door, leaving Mandy and Twilight alone in the library.
"So, anyway," the former eventually broke the silence, "Do you have any books on how to properly make a cameo?"
Twilight grumbled. "You really need to work on your bluntness."
Coxa sized up his target, a training dummy. Taking a step back, he tensed his muscles in preparation, being mindful of his shorter hoof.
Then he lunged forward, horn blazing. Blow after blow struck the stand-in, whittling away at its structure. He was working up a sweat, landing attack after—
"Coxa!" Called a voice from the other room.
With a startled yelp, Coxa lost his balance, falling head-first into the training dummy. The door to the room opened and Daffodil, who'd been the one to call out, stepped in.
Upon seeing the grounded soldier, she cringed. "You okay, Sir?"
He muttered from his position on the floor, "What do you want?"
In response, she stepped aside, allowing Thorax to enter. Coxa quickly leapt up at the sight of the King, instinctively falling into a salute.
Thorax sighed. "At ease, Coxa."
The soldier flinched at himself. "Right, sorry, force of habit. So what'd you need, Thorax?"
"Right now, I need some advice."
Coxa blinked in surprise. "Advice? From me, nonetheless?"
The King nodded meekly. "You see, I've got a disability that makes me really attracted to shiny things."
He raised an eyebrow. "You're phototactic?"
Now, it was THORAX'S turn to blink in surprise. "Wait, how do you know what it's called?"
"My brother has it, too." He explained.
"You have a brother?"
"Thorax, there's enough that you don't know about me to fill a BOOK."
Thorax shrugged, "Fair enough. Anyway, my condition caused me to ruin a mission earlier, and it's gotten us worried about how it might affect me in the future."
Coxa put a hoof to his chin. "Ooh, that is a toughie. But why me? You didn't know my brother had phototaxis before, so why'd you seek advice from me?"
"Because, y'know," Thorax pointed towards Coxa's shorter limb. "You've been dealing with something your whole life; I figured you'd have enough life experience."
Coxa blushed. "Sir, I'm flattered that you'd think of me. Of course I'll do my best to help."
The King let his shoulders slump in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. I honestly don't know what I would've done if you said no."
"Sought out an ACTUAL professional?" Coxa raised an eyebrow.
"Nah, they're too impersonal for my liking."
Coxa shrugged, then turned and lit his horn. The training dummy moved to the side of the room, and a flashlight was summoned in its wake.
"Now that this is under way," Daffodil — who was still standing awkwardly to the side — piped up, "I'm gonna go meet back up with Cornicle to get the mission sorted out while you're busy." Thorax nodded, and she left the room.
Coxa took up the flashlight in his aura, then turned back to Thorax. "Alright, we're going to work up your mental fortitude. I'm going to call out math problems, and you're going to answer them as best you can, alright?"
Thorax nodded warily, unsure of this.
"Okay, let's begin: 2+4?"
"6."
"3+7?"
"10."
"12+7?" As he asked that one, he turned on the flashlight.
Thorax struggled for a moment, but to no avail; he became transfixed on the shiny once more.
Coxa sighed, turning off the flashlight. No longer under the shiny's spell, Thorax blinked back into awareness. "Uhh... Did I do good?" He asked sheepishly.
Coxa smiled sweetly, "Not at all. But that's what we're here to work on."
For the next hour, the two worked. Coxa would call out math problems to get him into the mindset, then would turn on the flashlight at the third question. Thorax slowly began to go longer and longer without giving in to the temptation, but the mental effort needed prevented him from answering the math, and even then, he'd ultimately succumb to the supreme power of the shiny.
Eventually, Thorax gave up. "Ugh, it's hopeless; I'm never gonna get over this!"
"It's not gonna happen overnight, Thorax," Coxa pointed out. "It took hard work for my brother and me to overcome our conditions."
"But I need to rule the Hive!" Thorax interjected. "What if something happens, and every 'ling gets hurt because I got distracted by some random shiny thing?"
He sat on his haunches, stifling tears. "Maybe Dad was wrong about me... Maybe I'm not cut out to be ruler..."
"Yup."
Thorax froze dead in his tracks. Coxa had just said that so casually that he'd nearly overlooked it. "Wh-what?"
Coxa shrugged, a devious smirk on his face. "I'm just saying, you were always an outlier, even amongst us outcasts."
Thorax frowned. "What are you—?"
"I mean," Coxa continued, not even paying him any mind, "you always played with those dollies, you like pink flamingoes, and we even caught you snooping through the confiscated pony items. We used to call you a bitch, but now I think that's an insult to bitches."
Thorax wilted. "Wh-why are you saying these mean things?"
He shrugged, "Because it's true."
Thorax didn't know what to think. Where had all this come from? And what was this feeling heating up his blood?
But Coxa wasn't done yet. "In fact, I'll bet your brother's just—"
"DON'T YOU DARE!" In the blink of an eye, Thorax had gotten back up and assumed an aggressive stance, fangs bared.
"Don't I dare what?" Coxa asked levelly, his smug smile still on his face.
"Don't insult my brother!"
Coxa rolled his eyes as he began to casually stroll away. "Pfft, or what?"
Thorax had never felt this angry about anything before. His blood was near boiling, and his horn and antlers sparked dangerously. He didn't say anything; he just growled menacingly.
That elicited a laugh from Coxa. Brandishing the flashlight, he eyed Thorax cockily. "Think you can prove me wrong? Be. My. Guest."
With that, Thorax took off running, his horn blazing brightly as he charged forward. Coxa, however, simply turned on the flashlight and began waving around its bright, shining, tantalizing, —
No! He mustn't get distracted; his brother's good name is on the line!
Thorax continued to charge forward, expending a lot of mental energy just to keep himself focused. Finally, when he was nearly at point-blank range, he let off a stunning spell, aimed straight at Coxa's head.
But almost as quickly, Coxa fired his own spell, neutralizing the other one mid-air. He then stepped to the side, allowing Thorax to barrel straight past him and into the wall.
Thorax peeled himself from the wall, but before he could get his bearings again, he was greeted with the sound of... Applause?
Indeed, Coxa was clapping. "And that, Your Majesty, is how it's done."
It took a moment for the pieces to click, but when they did, Thorax gasped. "You sneaky son-of-a-Queen!"
He shrugged. "I certainly try."
So they continued to work. Every time Coxa turned on the flashlight, Thorax would imagine Pharynx looking disappointed in him. "Don't let me down, bro," the mental image would chide him, and that would go a long way to helping Thorax.
Of course, it didn't work perfectly; if he got overwhelmed before he could use his aversion tactic, he'd become too entranced to break out on his own. And the tactic didn't work 100%, but the more he used it, the more natural it became.
Finally, Coxa was satisfied with the results. "That should do it for today."
Thorax huffed, worn out from the day's activities. "How'd I do?"
Coxa smirked. "Adequately."
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Aww, yay! Coxa helped him!
What a minute mandy did you broke the 4th walls again lol I felt like pinkie pie taught you well lol
Well, that's certainly one tactic...
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10642117
Okay, that's pretty good.
Well then apparently thorax has a condition of getting distracted by shiny things which that could be a problem for him so they kind of went to Twilight which unfortunately she doesn't know anything about this kind of condition so they had to ask one more Pony or should I say a creature a changeling name Coxa so he's trying to help him try to get over his condition but apparently he has to use his other methods even though I know it sounds harsh but the only way that get him to focus at work a little bit but hopefully thorax will overcome best condition can't wait to see how that works out
Thorax has a bad case of attention deficit ooo shiny.
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10700085
That is the exact scene I based this entire problem off of.
Shiny.
10702392
I can hear her voice by just reading this.
Does it mean that a patient from mental asylum has experience in mental disorders? In the term of knowing how they work, classifications and how to cure them? If so, why aren't mental asylum patience become DOCTORS?! This implication is one of the most ass-backwards things I've heard... Matt, if you are still working on this fic, can this part be rewritten?
10837863
Yeah, when you put it that way...