Turn of Luck

by David Silver

13 - Therapeutic Counseling

Maya trotted up to the castle, the doors opening for her. "Thank you." She stepped inside, finding herself in a large entryway. "Hello?" She looked around. "Twilight? Spike?"

"Hey, Maya." A different pony was walking past, on the way towards another room. "Nice to see you."

Maya inclined her head. "St--Star--"

"Starlight." Star paused in her trek, turning to face Maya. "We haven't talked too much, so I understand. Twilight got you into a mess, I hear." She smiled. "She does that."

"She does that," echoed Maya. "I'm getting used to it. I'm glad I'm not alone." She smiled. "I mean, about Twilight causing trouble for. That came out awkwardly, sorry."

"It's no problem." Starlight wandered closer. "She did cause problems for me, but she fixed them, and made it even better in the end. Is she doing that for you too?"

"Yeah." Maya sank to her haunches. "She is. She's good at that." She wiped the smile off her face, literally, with a leg. "Sorry, so, sorry for interrupting. What did I catch you doing?"

"Getting a drink of water." Starlight pointed the way. "In the kitchen. You looking for Twilight? Too bad, she's not here. She's at her school, being busy with school stuff. My job there's done with the last bell."

"I see." Maya smiled. "I was looking for her, but I'm also looking for a book." She got to her hooves. "Maybe you can help me."

"I'm not sure." Starlight tapped at her chin, but was also moving for the kitchen. "Depends on the book. I'm not a super librarian like Spike or Twilight."

Maya drifted after Starlight. "What do you do? You said you work with Twilight?"

"Sure do!" she sang out as she used her magic to pour out a glass of water. "I'm a student counselor at the same school. What do you do again?"

Maya blinked in amazement. "Me too! Um, not at that school. I'm a therapist. Like a counselor for adults of any age or profession."

Starlight took a sip of her water, then put it down. "That's cool. We're kind of the same then. I'm a counselor too, just for kids. And teens. But you're for adults. So, not the same." She smiled. "But close."

"Close enough." Maya leaned forward, tail swishing with building energy. "I would be delighted to help a few children if they came by. Oh, what ages are the school you work at? How small are these kids?" She held up her hooves, starting small and working wider and wider.

Starlight stopped the hooves about halfway out. "Teens. Older than Spike, but not adults yet, usually. Some of them are adults, but mostly teens. They're right in that most awkward phase." She picked up her glass for a fresh sip. "Good times."

Maya giggled. "I bet. I love kids. I was going to have some, but I got too busy with my career. Now I'm here." She smiled. "And I can still help kids, so that's good." She suddenly scrunched her nose. "And I'm really not sure if I'm ready to have pony kids."

Starlight inclined her head as she floated the glass to the counter. "What other kinds of kids were you thinking about? They're not on my current wish-list, not gonna lie."

"Oh, well, I mean, I'm human, but I'm a pony now, so..." Maya shrugged. "I guess I was just a little off-kilter, you know? My old dreams involved human kids, and this pony body isn't going to give me that."

"I imagine not." Starlight floated the half-filled glass towards Maya. "Want some?"

Maya's hooves glowed green as a helpful vine shot up, grabbing the glass and tilting it for her to drink from with a satisfied ah. "I needed that, thank you."

Starlight glanced down at the hoof, still glowing, and back at Maya's face. "I heard about that, but seeing it is another story. You know earth ponies don't normally do that, right?"

"I do." Maya nodded. "I've been learning a lot about this world. It's very different from my old one." She smiled. "I'm having a lot of fun learning about it." She tapped a hoof, banishing the tendril away. "But I'd love to hear how you're doing with those teens. Want to share a few war stories?"

Starlight lifted her brows together. "No offense, but I don't think you have any for me. You're new around here. I bet I don't even know who you've work with, unless you happened to talk to Trixie, Maud, or maybe Twilight already?"

Maya perked with surprise. "One of those." She considered a moment. "Is it considered okay, or very not okay, for a counselor to talk about their patients around here?"

Starlight waved it away. "Just two counselors chatting, no harm in it." She moved around to bump Maya, side to side. "Now spill the beans and I'll share too."

"Okay, okay." Maya laughed. "I've been talking to Maud. She's been coming to see me, and I've been helping her with a few things. She's a very interesting pony."

Starlight tapped her hooves together after sitting. "You don't say? Stoic Maud? I love her to pieces, but imagining her opening up to anypony is a bit of a stretch."

"It took a little talking to get her to open up." Maya took a slow breath. "But it's been a wonderful journey. I hope she continues coming for quite some time. She's been teaching me too! She knows so much about earth ponies, and dirt. I never thought I'd learn so much about dirt."

Starlight gave Maya a look. "I know, right? Dirt is great. She loves dirt, and rocks. Especially rocks. But what is dirty, if not mostly little rocks?" Starlight shrugged with a soft chuckle. "About that magic. What does Maud think of it?"

Maya curled a hoof back at herself. "She said I have 'very earth-pony magic', and she seems to like it. Which is good, since I like it too." She considered a moment. "You unicorns can do almost anything, it seems. I have one trick, but it's a good one. I can make plants grow, and control them. Make them go up, down, around. If it's a plant, I can make it go where I want it."

Starlight's eyes lit up with wonder. "That sounds amazing! I wish I could do that. I'm not much of a gardener. But I can do this." She focused her horn, a cloud of green sparks gathering and solidifying into a small tree, a perfect replica of the one outside. "That's pretty neat, right?"

Maya gasped. "Wow, that's amazing! You made a whole tree!" She reached out with a hoof to touch it, but her hoof went through it. "Wha?"

"Yeah." Starlight banished the image of a tree away. "I'm a unicorn, not a talented little Maya. I can't make a tree grow out of nothing. Still, neat trick, right?"

"Very." Maya tapped her hooves on either side of where the illusion had been, summoning a real version of the tree to erupt in its place. "There, we'll say you did that."

"Hey! Twilight'll get mad if I go putting trees right there." Starlight rolled her eyes. "You put that away." She waved a hoof at it. "It's a nice tree, but I don't want to get yelled at."

"I'll take care of it." Maya hopped down and pressed her hooves to the ground. With her magic, she could make trees, and also unmake them. The tree was soon returned to the earth. "There's a lot I want to learn, about my magic, and about the Everfree, come to think."

"Why there? That's a treacherous place for a nice little creampuff of a pony like you. You shouldn't be wandering in there." Starlight waved a reprimanding hoof at Maya. "It's dangerous."

Maya chuckled. "I'm sure it is. But I was told I could help it, somehow. I didn't understand at first, but I'm way better at my magic now. It's a forest. My magic is kinda forest magic. That part makes sense, to me. So--you know--I was thinking I should look it up a bit."

Starlight sighed with a roll of her eyes. "Of course you were. I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I'm not sure if that's a bad idea. I'm not sure if I should stop you or not." She smirked faintly. "Fortunately for you, I have awful impulse control, so let's do some reading, and if I regret it later, it won't be the first time."

The two set off together, searching through books. It was only after digging through so many dead ends did they find anything that gave a hint. It was about the time when there was a castle in that forest. "Princess Celestia," read Maya, eyes sweeping over the paper. "--struck an accord with the deer folk. So long as the forest was vibrant, both nations would celebrate it. So long as a single tree stood, and the forest could be called a forest, the oath would remain."

Starlight whistled softly. "I never heard of deer folk. I've seen a deer before, but they were a critter, not a creature."

"Pardon?" Maya inclined her head with obvious confusion.

"Critter is an animal that doesn't talk. Your average squirrel or rabbit, for instance." Starlight gestured with her hooves. "A creature is one that can talk, even if not your language. Then you have monsters, who may or may not talk, but you're too busy running to care, usually.

"Oh, I see." Maya nodded. "So deer are critters, but deer folk are creatures?" She smiled. "I'm learning a lot."

"That's right." Starlight tapped her chin. "And the Everfree is a monster-filled forest, so I guess that means the deer folk are gone. Or they left. Or something."

"Maybe." Maya flipped through the book for more hints. "But I saw something like a deer folk. It was part deer! It talked! That means it was a deer creature, right?"

"Right." Starlight shrugged. "But doesn't mean it was a 'deer folk', which I'm guessing were, or are, a specific creature. This is complicated." She grabbed for the book with her magic, but rapid flipping didn't turn up too much. "So you met some kind of deer creature. What was it asking?"

"The way it talked--" Maya frowned, thinking back on that event. "They said every step I took was 'very loud', to the forest, somehow."

"You do have a plant specialty." Starlight began placing all the books they had removed back away on the shelves. "But, one thing to be sure of, you're not alone. If you want to go in there and check it out, take us with you. Twilight's on you side, I'm with you, and I bet Maud would be upset if you just wandered away and got hurt. So, as your therapist, I suggest you don't do that."

"You're not my therapist," laughed out Maya as she put back the last book. "But, good advice still. I'm not even sure if I want to go at all, but I'm getting more and more curious." She smiled. "I'll think about it. Thanks for the help."

"No problem." Starlight headed for the door. "I'll see you around, Maya."

"See you around." Maya watched her go and turned back to the library. "I should get back to my office. I'm sure somepony will be along soon." She nodded at the books, sure they were put away properly.

Having left the library as she found it, she descended the flight of stairs to the front door and headed out. The sun was heavy, and the sky was darkening. It was a good time to get home.

"A full day awaits tomorrow!" She hopped with a skip along her way, pondering who may be visiting, or what she might be doing, come the next morning.

Author's Note:

Maya meets Starlight and the two hit it off quite nicely. Also some Everfree hints. Time for a new vote!

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Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

Maya curled a hoof back at herself. "She said I have 'very earth-pony magic', and she seems to like it. Which is good, since I like it too." She considered a moment. "You unicorns can do almost anything, it seems. I have one trick, but it's a good one. I can make plants grow, and control them. Make them go up, down, around. If it's a plant, I can make it go where I want it."

Starlight's eyes lit up with wonder. "That sounds amazing! I wish I could do that.

Maybe Starlight should introduce Maya to phillius or Starlight’s plant.

[Chrome Masquerade]

Starlight gave Maya a look. "I know, right? Dirt is great. She loves dirt, and rocks. Especially rocks. But what is dirty, if not mostly little rocks?"

You know, rocks and soil and stuff. Some nice gems, too. Oh. it's not all brown and green. Just... mostly.

Like if you get that reference.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Why there? That's a dagerous place for a nice little creampuff of a pony like you. You shouldn't be wandering in there." Starlight waved a reprimanding hoof at Maya. "It's dangerous."

That's misspelled the first time, and the second time makes that redundant.

[Chrome Masquerade]

"Critter is an animal that doesn't talk. Your average squirrel or rabbit, for instance." Starlight gestured with her hooves. "A creature is one that can talk, even if not your language. Then you have monsters, who may or may not talk, but you're too busy running to care, usually.

I have something to put in on that myself.

A wolf is a Critter. As she said, they don't talk, they run mostly on instinct, etcetera. The ones in Equestria seem to be more intelligent than the ones on Earth, however.

A Timberwolf is a Monster. They're unlike a typical plant or animal that they might look like. It might look kind of like a certain animal, kind of, but they are CLEARLY not! Also most of them are EXTREMELY dangerous..

A Dire Wolf is a Beast. They're like wolves, but more intelligent, more powerful, tougher, etcetera. Like the critter, but... more.

[Poparakelis]

Don't know much about them, the deer were just on the comics

[FridayPie]

11832467
Maybe Starlight repeated it intentionally. She isn't very...eloquent under stress.

[Chrome Masquerade]

11833034
Just sayin'....