Seeking Some Help

Fireseeker found it strange that, despite being a young stallion, having travelled much of Equestria and experienced things he or many other ponies could only ever dream of, he had never felt the need for any kind of guidance or help.

But lately he had been feeling a lack of...something. He couldn't quite put his hoof on it, but when he was sitting at home and writing, he didn't feel the same sense of satisfaction that he usually felt.

This was why Fireseeker now found himself stepping into Dr. Counsel's waiting room. He took a seat and waited patiently, unsure of what may unfold.

Fireseeker would find that the door from the waiting room was open to her office and upon him taking a seat, she was peeking her head through the door. "Oh hello. Its about time I heard someone come in and not found out by accident. I really should put a bell on that door."

The slightly plump mare trotted in merrily. "I'm Lorenza Counsel, and I'll be happy to have you. Please come in."

"Thanks Doc," replied Fireseeker, stepping into her office. "I'm Fireseeker."

As he entered, he was less intimidated than he initially felt, since it seemed almost like any other normal room. His eyes set on the large armchair, presumably for Lorenza, and the sofa, for the patient. That would be him.

Fireseeker went over and lay down on the sofa, just like he had read about ponies with psychological problems doing in books. He couldn't help but grin and make a joke.

"Guess this means I've finally gone crazy, huh?"

"If that were the case, Mr. Fireseeker, then I'm short a few padded walls and a straight jacket." She chuckled before taking a seat at the couch. "But you're not crazy. At least not the way you think. Everypony has some crazy in them."

Her office was comfortable. Wood furniture and many windows that made the room shine. Lori got comfortable in her seat, leaning back. Both ponies could see eachother from where they were sitting, unlike the traditional setup that was stereotypical of others.

"You can call me Lori by the way. Do tell me though, whats on your mind?"

Fireseeker chuckled to himself at Lorenza's response.

"Fair enough. And you can just call me Fireseeker."

He shuffled on the sofa in an attempt to sink into the cozy material. After he had made himself more comfortable, Fireseeker let out a long sigh.

"I don't really know where to start with this. It's not like I know what is wrong with me, just that I feel that there is. I feel like...something is missing, but I don't know what. A part of me feels empty."

"I used to just be able to travel and write for my job, and I loved it. But then I felt like I needed a change of...something. So I decided to settle in Ponyville to start writing my first novel. It's all going fine but the more I think about it, the more I realise there's some other reason that I wanted to settle down. But I can't for the life of me work it out..."

Lori nodded to herself, watching Fireseeker and thinking. She would need more to dig into this.

"Hmm. How is your social situation? Got a fillyfriend? Friends in general?"

Lori though to get to the source of the depression. Being alone can be one of those things. Or it could be an even deeper internal conflict. She had plenty of experience with those but they took time.

Fireseeker felt an awkward blush rise to his cheeks when Lori asked her questions.

"Urm, no...no fillyfriend. Not that I'm not interested in having a fillyfriend, I just...haven't had one."

He raised his head a little off of the sofa and used a foreleg to scratch the back of his neck.

"As for friends...well, I traveled a lot, like I said. Never really stayed in a place more than a couple of months, if that. I made quite a few friends but rarely keep in contact with any," explained Fireseeker, finding his own words oddly depressing. But he quickly brightened up.

"But ever since I arrived in Ponyville I've made plenty of friends. I'm actually quite a bit happier with that part of my life than I have been for years. That's why it seems even stranger to me that I feel so sad and empty."

Lori nodded and to Fireseeker. "Huh. So you traveled all over and were not as happy with few permanent friends, but now that you don't travel, you have friends but have another depression. Just seeing you talk about it already tells me how happy you are with friends but..."

She nipped a chocolate from her tray she had on the center table and chewed to give her time to form words. "But it seems there is more to it. What do you do for work now? Do you miss traveling?"

"Well, I still submit articles for my magazine. It's a decent job, since I get to be creative," replied Fireseeker before going into detail. "It's for Pony Pulp Fiction. Dunno if you've ever heard of it but it's for the teenage colt audiences. Just action, adventure, mystery, all that stuff."

Fireseeker scratched the back of his neck with a hoof, eyes directed towards the ceiling as he thought.

"Travelling was good because I got to see new places, meet new people, try new things, see how different cultures work. Something different everyday. It really helped influence my articles. But I wanted to settle down, at least for a while, to start writing a novel, something more serious that I could really spend some time on."

Fireseeker let out a chuckle. "The world of literature doesn't really take comic-style adventure stories too seriously, ya know?"

Lori nodded, thinking to herself. She considered this ponies life style and the changes for him since he moved here.

"Hmm. Well, it could be as simple as just adjusting to this new life style or something more. How long did you say you have been living here?"

Fireseeker stayed silent for a few moments, attempting to recount how long he had been in Ponyville.

"About...a couple months?" he replied with more of a estimate than an actual definite answer. He had never been good at remembering times and dates. "Maybe a little more."

Then after a few more seconds, Fireseeker added more to try to be helpful.

"I would say that I started having this feeling that I wanted something else from my time here about a month ago too."

"Hmm. Well, it is possible you could be adjusting to such a huge change in lifestyle. But It wouldn't be fair to assume that was the only reason behind it." She munched on yet another treat while she thought. "Have you ever considered joining a writers club? Or join any social group of interest to you?"

"Not really. The thought never occurred to me," was Fireseeker's reply, as he let out a little sigh.

Leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eye's briefly. He felt very comfortable. He needed to get a sofa like this one. Maybe from the Sofa's and Quill's shop down the road...

Lori nodded. "I think you should try that. It will definently give you something to do and be exposed to different writers and ponies. That might just be what you need." She smiled, unaware of Fire's drowsiness.

Fireseeker nodded in agreement, reopening his eyes.

"Alright Lori, I'll give it a shot," he said, "I'm sure the library or somewhere might hold some kind of club I can go to."

He moved into a sitting position, flaring his wings out to stretch them a little.

"Thanks for the help. Unless there's anything else you want yo say or do..."

Lori smiled and nodded. "I love to help. Since this session was short and simple, You don't have to worry about expense this time. I would love to hear from you again later though and see how you are doing."

Fireseeker blinked.
No expense? Getting such useful help from a kind and professional pony was nice enough but for free? Well that was a pleasant surprise.

"I'll definitely get back to you about this," he assured her, hovering up into a stand and holding out a hoof to shake.

Lori smiled and shook his hoof back. "It what I do. I love to help. I hope you have some good times ahead of you." She yawned and and rubbed an eye. "Sorry. Rather tired lately."

"It's ok, I'm a bit tired too. In fact, I think I might have fallen asleep on the sofa," half-joked Fireseeker. "Well, bye! And thanks again!"

And with that, Fireseeker left the room, feeling much happier and much more certain about certain things than when he had entered.