Whirlwind Love

Whirlwind Spear trudged along with her eyes locked on the empty dirt road under her hooves. The morning breeze rustling the leaves of the trees causing a dance which dappled the suns light on the way to her destination. The scent of the early spring flowers was on the air and the wind carried with it the sounds of Canterlot. The sounds getting more and more faint as she walked until they were no more. Sighing heavily as she dropped her head a bit lower thinking about this unknown therapist she was on her way to see. She had never been to one before and didn’t even know what to talk about. Being relieved of duty was bad enough but the thought her mind was damaged while her body had healed bothered her badly. What kind of a name is Tough Love for a therapist anyway? Breathing deeply, she lifted her head and closed her eyes for a moment to compose herself.

“Pull yourself together. There is nothing wrong with you. It is just a requirement to get you back on duty. You are stronger than this.” She said to herself opening her eyes and continuing on to the property. Tough Loves office was just outside the city but distant enough its sounds couldn’t be heard out there. An office in town may have made more sense and brought in more business Whirlwind thought, but realized the privacy would make it harder for people to know who her clients are which may have been the point.

Tough Love’s practice had just opened and very few knew anything about her. Those who did seem to know were timid to speak of her when Whirlwind asked about her. The only thing she had been able to find out was the property had been bought unseen and the buildings built secretly. She had also heard her cutie mark was a heart with a riding crop on it. Whirlwind didn’t know which bothered her more, not many seemed to know who she was, or no one was willing to talk about her. Whirlwind wondered what could be the reason no one wanted to talk of her? What kind of a pony is she? Where did she move from? All the basic questions someone would want to know about a therapist.

Whirlwind reached the archway into the property and was stunned by the beauty of the property. If she hadn’t known better she would have thought she had returned to the Canterlot Gardens. The grass perfectly cut, the plants shaped with every leaf perfectly in place, flowers arranged in lovely color displays, and water features and fountains reflecting the sky clearly in the crystal waters. The amount of time and money that had to go into the garden and the maintenance had to be extensive. On the far side of the grounds was a large building or a small mansion, she wasn’t sure which it would be. Like the gardens, it was meticulously kept and beautifully adorned with hand carved woodwork, statues and decoration.

“Who is this person? They just moved in and the property looks like this!?” Shaking her head she continued up to the front door. The large wooden double door had one half already open with a note stuck on the other half that read: ‘Please come in and have a seat. I will be with you shortly.’ Whirlwind peered in and saw a large hall with a hardwood floor and a large carpet in the center with a seating area. To the back of the room was a large grand staircase that splayed out to the left and right wings of the second floor. The pillars of the balcony walks were decorated in carvings of ponies and flowers. There were a few furnishings around the edges of the room and a variety of doors leading off to other areas of the house. She took a step inside and her hoof fall echoed on the wooden floor making her turn bright red. Whirlwind froze in her tracks as a second loud clop echoed through the house. No matter how soft she stepped her hooves were going to be loud on the floor due to her size. If she could get a few more feet into the room she would be on the carpet. She looked over the carpet and took a leap forward to land on the carpet with a muffled thud and sighed with relief. Whirlwind began to head for a chair to sit down and heard a chuckle from a door to the left she hadn’t noticed was open.

“No need to worry about the sound Whirlwind. It’s quite normal. Think of it as my secretary letting me know someone has arrived.” Said a voice from inside the room.

“How? How did you know it was me?” Whirlwind replied with a raised voice.

“There is a camera in the room on the wall and you are the only one I was expecting today. Please come in if you are ready I am just finishing getting things ready.”

Whirlwind started toward the door and winced as she reached the end of the carpet. Her hoof hit the floor and echoed in the room with each slow step. The office carpet silenced her steps as she entered. Inside there was a couch and a couple chairs with near a large picture window that looked out to the garden that was adorned with lovely drapery. On the walls were a few bookshelves and various tables with flowers in vases in them or small statuettes and a couple paintings. The room was smaller than Whirlwind would have thought given the size of the hall and the house but it was comfortable. Across from the door was a blond haired pony at a desk. Her hair tied up in a perfect bun with not one hair out of place as she moved things around with her back turned to the door.

“Please have a seat. Would you like some water or coffee?” she asked.

“I am okay, but thank you.” Whirlwind said quietly as she walked to the couch and took a seat. She tapped her hooves and looked down at the carpet as a pair of hooves came into view in front of her.

“I’m Tough Love, Nice to meet you. What brings you here today?”

“My superiors want to have a sign off that I am okay to return to duty. They want to make sure that I am combat ready.”

“And do you feel you are combat ready?”

Whirlwind looked up at Tough Love for a moment. She was now sitting in a chair across from the couch with a pad of paper and pencil looking at her. Her bright green eyes showing through the lens of her glasses were soft and kind. The perfectly manicured mane trailed along the side of her face framing it tenderly while the rest was up in the bun. Her voice was gentle and kind as she asked the question, even still Whirlwind looked down at her feet once more and tapped her hooves together a bit more.

“I was trained from a foal to fight and I am one of the best so I have to be.”

“You seem very shy for a warrior.” Tough Love replied while scribbling down a couple notes.

“I’m not on duty.”

“Does that matter?”

“When I am on duty I can focus on that. I am doing my job”

“What about when you aren’t doing your job. Tell me about then.”

“I don’t really do much when I am off duty.” Whirlwind said in a mutter.

“You don’t go out with friends or squad mates?”

“Other ponies don’t like me.”

“What makes you think that? You have ponies who follow you in your squad and your family.”

“Growing up no one wanted to be around me much because I was bigger and stronger than everyone else. They always picked on me and made fun of my size. So I never really had friends and my squad has to follow me. I don’t know if they want to. They simply don’t have a choice. My family has their own lives and I would just be in the way.”

“Interesting.” Whirlwind could hear the pencil scratching at the page and didn’t know if she should speak or not. What firepower was she giving to this pony and would it keep her from resuming her duties?

“So on Duty you are more outgoing and have no issue interacting with other ponies?”

Whirlwind simply nodded her head and kept looking down at her hooves.

“So then what would make you need to have a sign off that you are ready for duty? Why do your superiors think you aren’t?”

“They are concerned I have lost my edge. I was injured and since they claim I hesitate to much and hesitation is a risk.”

“What happened and how badly were you injured?”

“I would rather not talk about it if it’s okay?” Whirlwind looked away out the window towards Canterlot in the distance.

“Very well, we will get there eventually. Do you hesitate like they claim?”

“I… don’t know. I make a decision and just go. It’s just…”

“Just what?” Tough Love stopped writing and focused on Whirlwind intently.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Every time we do combat training I remember what happened and it causes me to freeze up and panic. I feel like we are all going to die even if it’s just training and I cant shake it.”

“Does this also effect you when you are off duty?”

“Sometimes I guess. I’m not really sure, when I am around a lot of people I am uneasy and have to get away from them and want to hide.”

“I think I can help you. It will take a little while, but in time I think we will be able to get you back to where you need to be and maybe even a bit more. I would like to see you each week for now it is okay with you?”

“Okay, I won’t have anything going on so that’s fine.” Whirlwind glanced over to Tough Love.

“Till next week then, same time. Just come in and have a seat. I will know when you get here.” Tough Love snickered a little as she got up and reached out her hoof.

Whirlwind shook her hoof as she stood and headed out toward the front door with her hooves clacking across the floor. She made her way to the garden and looked around as she strolled along taking a moment think about the session. It wasn’t to bad and Tough Love seemed really nice. Whirlwind glanced back and saw Tough Love looking out the window watching her as she walked away. As she left the grounds and began her trip back to Canterlot she thought about her injuries and the events that had occurred in her past. She was going to have to relive it in therapy but didn’t know if she could.