Chapter 7
I opened my eyes, finding myself in a foggy forest that resembled the Everfree far too much for my comfort. I couldn’t see the sky above, the canopy completely covered it up. But despite the lack of light coming from above, I could still see rather well thanks to some fluorescent plants on the forest floor.
My ears swiveled all over, listening for something, anything. But the only sound I could hear was my own scared breathing. I swallowed my slight fear down and got to my hooves as silently as I could. As I rose, I saw a faint bit of movement out of the corner of my eye. My head snapped in that direction, which let me see the grass moving slightly toward a darker part of the forest.
“Fuck, this better be a dream or something, otherwise Ah’m havin’ words with Ms. Dash when I get out of here,” I grumbled under my breath and let out as much stress as I could in a quick breath.
I trotted in the direction of the grass, heading deeper into the forest. The deeper I got the darker it got, with the fluorescent plants getting rarer and rarer the farther I went. Once I reached the last bit of light I paused, narrowing my eyes at the path.
“This was a waste of time.” I rubbed the bridge of my muzzle with one hoof in frustration.
As I turned to walk back to where I woke up, the ground underneath me began to rumble and shake. I jumped up and tried to fly up, but as the ground fell away into a chasm I felt myself get sucked in anyway. I looked down in panic as a rainbow light shone from the holes in the ground and screamed as I saw-
I snapped my eyes open with a deep, deep breath and saw...
Well, I didn’t see much with all the lights off but I could tell I was snuggled into a cloud-nest-bed-thing. I had apparently wriggled deep into it and was still curled around my stuffed animal. Two soft and warm masses lay next to me, or well around me I guess.
My eyes slowly adapted to the minute amount of light in the room, somewhat revealing where I was. Wrapped around me was a slumbering Dash, holding me against her with her forelegs and wings. And wrapped around her were Soarin’s wings and hooves, making me the filling in their cuddle sandwich.
Must’ve had a bad dream or something and got carried to my ‘parents’’ bed.
Despite the infantilizing feeling of that thought, I couldn’t help but feel...content laying there. Part of me wanted to rage and get up since I was an adult. But the rest of me felt warm inside. Safe in the forelegs and wings of those that were older and cared about me.
I grumbled a little under my breath and closed my eyes, letting sleep once again overtake me.
“Ughhhhh. Do Ah have to go?” I whined, my tail swishing a bit in annoyance as I glared up at Soarin’.
Soarin gave me a patient smile and nodded, “Yes, Dash said you have to go see that therapist, so we have to do it.”
I sighed, my ears dropping as I frowned at the ground. “Ah know, Ah just don’t really like therapists. Asking me about mah feelings and stuff.”
Soarin’s hoof rested on my shoulder, nearly making me jump at the sudden contact. I had to bite back a shudder before I looked up into his surprisingly kind eyes. “Storm, if you really don’t want to go I won’t force you. But I do think it would do you some good, I mean it helped me when I hit a rough patch.” He offered a kind smile down at me as he removed his hoof. “Plus we can get some ice cream on the way back if you want.”
I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the small, childish bribe. But I did nod and moved to grab my hat by the doorframe. “Okay, Soarin, Ah’ll go. Not too happy but Ah’ll go.”
Soarin grinned and opened the door for us, taking the lead in flying out. Definitely, a good thing since while flying gave me a bird’s eye view of the town, I was still figuring out some of the landmarks in the town. It would have taken me a little while to figure out where to go by myself, something I didn’t want to deal with when I was trying to come on time for a medical appointment.
The pegasus stallion flew almost peacefully slightly in front of me, almost like he was casually fast walking where I was actively flying behind him. My shorter wings had to buzz a bit to keep up with his long, easy flaps. Thankfully the air wasn’t too crowded at the moment, although I could see the Weather Team clearing some clouds in the distance, especially the rainbow contrail that was Dash’s trademark. After about 10 minutes we landed in front of the hospital, Soarin looking like nothing happened while I definitely worked up a sweat, panting a bit as I folded my wings.
“Are you still new to flying, Storm?” Soarin looked down at me as we walked through the large glass doors.
I blushed a bit in embarrassment, one of my ears flicking back. “Y-yeah, Ah am still getting the hang of them.” I half expected him to hit me for my subpar physical performance, but instead, he just shrugged.
“Eh, we can get more practice in when we’re both free if you want.” Soarin gave an excited grin, “After all practice does make perfect.”
I let out the tension in my body with a sigh of relief and nodded, “Yeah, Ah would enjoy that. Thank ya.”
He chuckled, a lighthearted thing that made me smile. “Don’t worry about it fluffball. We can talk about it later, we’re here.”
I blinked, following his pointed hoof to the right side of the hallway. Sure enough, we were in front of Counselor Sunny Day’s office, or at least I thought it was him. I still couldn’t really read the nameplate on the door, but I did recognize that mix of squiggles and symbols well enough. Soarin knocked on the door and waited a moment, Sunny Day opened it quickly after what sounded like him fast walking across the room.
“Hello Soarin, hello Summer Storm.” The counselor offered a professional smile as he greeted us. “Are you ready for our meeting, Storm?”
I nodded, still feeling a little awkward stepping into the office. I dealt with my issues myself for twenty-five years so someone asking about my feelings was a little...odd at least. Soarin waved and headed off, intending to come back in 45 minutes when the session is done. The office was the same as last time, with the bean bag I claimed the last visit having a pillow set up in front of it already.
“Wow, yer quite prepared, Mr. Day,” I spoke without thinking as I took my bean bag throne, settling into the pliable material with a sigh.
Sunny Day chuckled lightheartedly and took a seat on his pillow, “Well, I thought that a little familiarity would be nice. After all, if what I heard was correct you had quite a change, Storm. Do you feel more comfortable now at the very least?”
I smiled as I looked at one of my wings, “Y-yeah. While Ah do miss magic a bit, it is nice to be able to look at a mirror and be able to say Ah’m looking at mahself, not someone else. Ya know?”
Sunny Day nodded, “I understand what you mean. Although I am curious, what made you pick the name ‘Summer Storm’? I know you couldn’t stick with Flurry Heart, but as one of the few ponies I’ve met who got to choose their names I can’t help but ask.”
“Well, Ah was born in a thunderstorm, and was then reborn in the summer, so at Luna’s suggestion Ah just combined the two into a new name.” I rubbed the back of my head in slight embarrassment. “Not the most exciting story Ah know.”
Sunny chuckled and shrugged, “Not all names need to have crazy stories. Moving on though, how have you been settling in? I heard you’ll be staying with Ms. Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ for the summer.”
“Going well so far, Ah mean they seem nice enough.” I felt my ear twitch in nervousness as I had to force the next bit out. “Ah mean, Soarin is nice but it is a little weird having a man, er, stallion be actually...nice. Like Big Mac is too but he sounds like a quiet older brother. Soarin feels like he’s trying to be an almost... temporary father figure I guess?”
Sunny Day nodded “And what makes it weird?”
“Er, well, mah Dad back home wasn’t always the best. He was pretty strict almost all the time and if ya weren’t up to his standards he’d often get angry.” Both my ears flicked back as my mood quickly soured. “A-Ah mean, he meant well Ah think but he...” I fidgeted in my seat as my anxiety rose, filly instincts probably kicking in.
“We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” Sunny said, his voice catching my attention like a grappling hook. “How about you tell me about any friends you’ve made?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, clearing my mood somewhat. “Well, Ah’m still friends with Scoots, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. And yesterday me and Sweetie went to hang out with one of her friends, Button Mash.” I felt my cheeks burn a bit in a blush as I thought about him. Ew.
“Would you say he’s a new friend?” Sunny Day let out a small chuckle as I fidgeted in embarrassment. “I’ll take that as a yes. Not to sound like your aunt, but it is nice to make more friends, especially for a filly your age.”
“Y-yeah.” I swallowed, wondering if I should bring up the weird stuff I heard and saw earlier in the week. “Uh, there was something that Ah should bring up back when Ah was in the Crystal Empire. Ah...kind of saw and heard things. Like things that weren’t there.”
Sunny kept his smile, although it did thin into more of a professional one. “And what did they say?”
“Nothing dangerous if that’s what yer wondering.” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to think back. “It was mostly just mean things, like calling me a zombie and saying things are mah fault.”
“How often did you hear the voices?”
“Er, a bunch in the Crystal Empire, but not much for a bit.” I rubbed my chin with a hoof and squinted before shaking my head. “Yeah, haven’t heard anything weird in at least a day or two. Why, is it something bad?”
Sunny Day shook his head, “No, it is not a bad thing, just something to keep an eye on. If you start to hear things again, especially if they tell you to hurt anypony or yourself.”
I nodded solemnly. “Will do, Mr. Day.”
Sunny Day got up and nodded, his smile getting some warmth again. “Unfortunately that is the end of our time. Hope you have a good rest of your day, Summer.”
I nodded and got up from the beanbag to shake his hoof. “You as well.”
Once Soarin and I left the hospital, he did actually fulfill his promise and took me to get ice cream at Sugarcube Corner. Mr. Cake quickly brought out Soarin’s simple vanilla bowl and my strawberry swirl one. I wasn’t usually one for fruits in ice cream, but seeing the strawbebbies made my mouth water.
As I was eating a spoonful I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I leaned sideways and saw Soarin’s cutie mark flashing for some reason. “Uhhh, Soarin, why is yer cutie mark flashing? Is that normal?”
Soarin blinked and looked down at his cutie mark with a shocked look. “No that is not normal. I mean, Dashie mentioned her cutie mark would do weird things like that before because of some kind of map-thing Princess Twilight had.”
My right ear twitched slightly at the mention of Twilight but I nodded. “We should probably go to the castle then. Maybe it's something important?”
Soarin hummed before - I swear on my mother’s grave - a lightbulb appeared above his head for a moment. “Want to know a pro to being a peg- I mean, a thestral? You can hover and still eat the ice cream instead of just walking like everypony else.”
Slip of his tongue aside, his idea made me giggle a bit at the mental image. “Or Ah could just do this.” And with that, I shoveled the last scoop into my mouth whole, swallowing it with a sigh of pleasure.
“Three...two...o-” Soarin counted down before the brain freeze struck, making me fall out of my chair with a groan of pain. “And that’s why you don’t do that, Puffball.”
“Ya win this round ice cream!”
When we eventually got to the Castle of Friendship, we found the door open with a note on it. Soarin frowned but grabbed it, reading it over.
“What does it say?” I asked, not even bothering to look over his shoulder at it.
“Apparently Spike got summoned to the Dragonlands by something called the ‘Call of the Dragonlord’? Rarity and Starlight went with him to make sure he was okay.” he shrugged and tacked the note back on the door. “Doesn’t explain why the door is open, though.”
I frowned as the gears in my head spun, my ears perking up as an idea popped up. “Maybe someone else was called by the map?”
“A good idea. Let’s find out.” Soarin headed in first, cautiously looking around.
We didn’t run into anybody, but once we got close to the Map Room we heard a few voices echo down the hall. It sounded like Dash and the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking. I quickly scampered ahead and rounded the corner to see...exactly that. The filly trio was peeking over the edge of the map while Dash flew overhead, all looking at some kind of hologram of Equestria. Over what kind of looked like the Crystal Empire hovered five cutie marks: all three of the CMC, Dash, and Soarin.
“Huh, looks like a party in here.” Soarin chuckled behind me, looking up at Dash. “Any clue what’s going on?”
Dash shrugged in midair, waving at the map with one hoof. “The tree wants us to go to the Crystal Empire to fix something or another. Not sure why it wants the Crusaders though...”
“Hey!” Scootaloo yelled in protest, “We can help fix friendship problems!” The other two cried out their agreement.
“I doubt she was saying you can’t, just that it's odd,” Soarin said as placatingly as he could, stepping over to the map himself. “Still, it is the Crystal Empire after all. Should be nice and easy, especially if it's inviting a group of fillies.”
“Wait, can Ah come along too?” I asked, looking up at Dash. “It feels weird, but it would be nice to go to the Crystal Empire when it isn’t having issues.”
Dash chuckled, “Sure Squirt, just stay close to an adult.”
I nodded before blushing as an idea came to my mind. “Would it be possible to invite another friend along? To show them around and stuff?”
Dash raised an eyebrow, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “If their parents are okay with it sure. Who?”
“Er. Button Mash.”
All three fillies immediately let out a chorus of giggles, making me blush even harder. “Somepony has a crush!”
“Ah do not!” I whined, looking up for some support but instead just seeing Dash laughing in midair. “Come on!”
Soarin rolled his eyes and chuckled “You walked into that one, Puffball.”
I pouted as adorably manly as I could. I did not have a crush.
Stats
Page generated in 0.02 seconds
Total duration
882 users online
1,087,499 hits today, 2,156,967 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Nice
I know it's hard writing a therapy session, but that was unbelievably short. I feel that they could have touched on other subjects, or at least implied that they did in a segue.
Looking forward to finding out what has called the Crusaders to the Crystal Empire.
Awesome
11408630
i have to agree
11408630
I will admit that I did kind of cut it short, there was a bunch of stuff I wanted to touch on but Storm wouldn't bring up herself so wouldn't get up. I will note that for the next one though, especially since once it's the third session they get digging into Storm's psyche and whatnot. Whenever that will be, at least.
And besides, you're kind of... stuck.
Somepony's in denial~. And not the river in Egypt.
I wondaw what da stwawbebbies taste wike. :3
(Ok sorry, couldn't help myself there. :P)
More
Just wondering if you wouldn't mind telling. What has caused storm to have such a change in personality ? Is it the body that's causing it that is slowly changing her mentally or all the magic shenanigans that came getting that body?
11431747
Bit of column a bit of column b. Filly instincts are powerful, as well as Flurry’s bit of personality Twilight threw into the mix.
Also keep in mind that Storm is slowly winding down from a bunch of stressful/traumatic experiences from the past two weeks.
Hope that helps!
Yeah, this is where I stop again.
Storm's personality has changed so incredibly that it's not even Storm anymore... Just a husk of what they once were. Can't be bothered to read this.
I mean, come on. It's been fucking two weeks since he was ripped away from the one he was going to propose to, and he just forgot about her like that? Snap and gone? Moving on?
Fuck sakes.
I'm wondering at this point of they told the therapist everything? Given that it's Equestria hearing voices could mean an external source is attempting to influence the pony. It'd also be helpful for the therapist to know that the dad that was super strict wasn't Shining Armor. Then again, maybe Shining Armor was super strict.