[Canterlot]Finding Peace(soulscapes, open)

[Lux]

Heart Healer was prepared for what amount of information she was going to receive. She had to in her line of work. Some ponies came into her office very shy and only gave out a sentence or two about their life on their own. Others would give so much information that one could fill an entire book about their life experiences. Ice Storm actually gave lots of information, something that Heart preferred as she would rather have everything out in the open than have to dig for information. Ice also seemed to have told this story before, perhaps to a friend. This showed that she wasn't shy about her experiences or feelings. This also meant that there was the possibility of sudden outbursts.

Heart could feel the mix of anger, sadness, and lonliness wash over her like a wave. For a moment the pink mare feared that she'd lose control again, but she knew that if she thought that, she would indeed lose control. She was what she thought she was. It was a sad story of Ice's parents willfully neglecting their child. Heart knew that the opposite of love wasn't hate. It was apathy. With hate at least a pony recognized the other person, but with apathy a pony didn't care if the other was alive or dead or even present.

Heart watched Ice begin to sob. for a moment she thought about asking Princess Cadence trying to calm her. But then she realized that this might do more harm than good. It would be like a bandage on her psyche, a temporary fix rather than addressing the root cause.

"First of all I am very sorry that your parents treated you like that. No pony should exhibit such hatred and even apathy towards another, especially toards their own daughter. I could see why also you would also show great disdain for other nobility. It shows however that you have a great will power to stay that long in such a hostile situation and not resorting to anger yourself even when you chose to leave."

Heart paused to think about the next part. She could only guess what Princess Candence and the purple filly were thinking as they heard Ice Storm's story.

"Before we talk about your journey to Canterlot, let me ask you a few questions. You don't have to answer them all if you are uncomfortable about them, but the more you answer, the more I can help you. First, would you say that economically your parents were wealthy or not? Second, how did your parents treat you prior to this aristocrat meeting them? Third, what was the aristocrat like and how did he treat you? Fourth, you mentioned that your school experience was also bad. Was there a reason that you were the target of the other ponies' abuse? Finally, and this is probably the most important question. Was the change in your parents after meeting the aristocrat gradual or a sudden shift from love to hate?"

Heart then waited to the answers, hoping to shed some more life on that time.

[Solaria]

Cadence couldn't help her jaw dropping slightly as she heard Ice Storm's story unfold. She hadn't even had a good school experience? Granted, her own had been somewhat boring, but never bad. What in the world would have possessed young fillies and colts to treat a classmate that way? The mare highly doubted that it was something terrible that Ice had done, and even if she'd made a few ponies uncomfortable that was no reason to spit on or do horrible things to the unicorn.

She didn't want to interrupt, seeing as how this was a rather impromptu counseling session, so the princess resigned herself to listen and learn as best she could. She hadn't exactly lead a sheltered foalhood due to her desire to be out and among her subjects, but sometimes situations like this were still new to her. What really, truly baffled her however, was that Ice seemed to claim that her parents had stopped loving her. It couldn't be possible, strong love just didn't go away, expecially for one's own filly.

Cadence narrowed her eyes and squared her shoulders, determined to listen to Ice Storm's every detail and get to the bottom of the mystery. If she had to, she'd use her own powers to discover the truth.

[IceStorm]

[colour=#000080]Ice listened, still in tears as Heart Healer spoke to her. She apologized for how her parents had treated her and that no pony should have to experience what she did. That she herself had a strong will though to be able to tolerate such treatment and not resort to anger herself when she decided to leave. She also stated that she understood her great disdain for nobility. After a brief pause though, she started asking questions. She told Ice that she didn't have to answer them if she didn't want to, but not answering them wouldn't do any good. The questions that she asked though tore into her. First she asked if her parents were economically wealthy or not. Then how they treated her before they met the aristocrat and how he treated her, and why the other ponies at her school treated her so poorly Then finally if the shift from love to hate was gradual or sudden. Ice was stricken with emotion and she was trying to fight them back to get to a point where she could at least respond. [/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"I..."[/colour][colour=#000080] she started.[/colour][colour=#0000ff] "We... were.... stable... We didn't have... a lot of money, but enough.... to get by... Before... that.... monster came to the city... he doesn't deserve... to be called a pony... at this point... Everything was fine! except at school.. I was always the smallest and the easiest to pick on... I didn't even get any of my magic until a few months before I left... A unicorn without magic... is like a bird with a broken wing... it's the easiest prey for anyone to take... Then... he came into the picture... my parents spent time with him, and because of that gained status... the didn't even want to be seen with me after they met him and whenever he'd come over, I'd get locked in my room. I never once actually got to meet him, which is... probably a good thing... if I had met him, I'd probably drove my horn straight into his chest for stealing my parents from me..."[/colour][colour=#000080] she mustered out before having to stop to fight her emotions again. [/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]"The worst part is, nopony tried to help. None of the teachers helped, nopony stopped to ask what was wrong or why I was constantly crying. Nopony in that city cared about anypony else but themselves, and they didn't care who they had to walk over in order to get what they wanted. I stood in the doorway of my parents for an entire hour hoping and praying that something would change, that something would click in their minds that they would realize the mistake that they were making, but I got nothing! Nopony even cared enough to try to stop me as I left. Not even the City guard said anything then I walked right out of the city gate! When I left Fillydelphia I was expecting and hoping somepony would stop me, but no pony did, and that's when I realized that I had lost everything in this world and tried to move on somewhere else, only to get met with much of the same![/colour]

[colour=#0000ff]Many of the ponies that I ran into here in Canterlot were no different than the ones in Ponyville. I was the oldest pony in the School of magic, so I was constantly degraded because my magic developed so late, and nopony batted an eye when I first got here after climbing this entire mountain!"[/colour][colour=#000080] she said noticing that her voice was starting to get rather loud. [/colour][colour=#0000ff]"I... I almost died even just getting here... if it wasn't... well I don't even know what it was... something in my body took over and I passed out... when I woke up I was in some sort of ice structure, and I had my cutie mark. I couldn't even be happy about that because I still had no where to go..."[/colour][colour=#000080] she said finishing this spell and awaited Heart Healer's reply. [/colour]

[Lux]

At first Heart felt the sadness by Ice, but then in the answering her questions the emotions changed to anger and frustration.

First there was the question about her economic background. Though it appeared to be an odd question, Heart used that as a two-fold means. A pony who was unlucky enought to be born into or by chance live in poor economic situations usually had the added family stress. Being in a less desireable situation also could provoke other students to make fun of said pony. In her time living and counseling in Canterlot, Heart had seen both. She had seen some instances of class struggles, whether it was as subtle as a pony turning their nose up at another or a whisper behind another's back, to something more outright like kids brutally bullying the less fortunate members of their class. But in Ice's case her family, while not rich, was not poor either. However it was the economic situation that brought upon the arrival of this aristocrat.

Then there was the matter of the school. While it didn't seem like her social standing provoked the bullying, the fact that she was small and did not have her magic developed yet caused it. Heart knew from her studies and sessions that unicorns, like other pony types, matured at different times. Some ponies appeared to be more mare or stallion like earlier than others, while some were late bloomers. Such could be said with a pony's discovery of their cutie mark. Heart had to isolate her feelings from Ice's as she was a target of a pony's bullying in school due to her unusual gift.

Then there was the aristocrat. Unfortunately Ice could not provide much about him, but the effects were clear. There was something thaat made the parents exchange the love of their daughter for this pony, and most likely it was privilage. Still, it was odd why they ostracized her in the process. It was as if her parents thought that Ice would somehow get in the way of that privilage or that she did not fit into the ideal picture of her parents' life. Heart desperately tried to hold back the rage she felt. She looked over at Princess Cadence as if to signal she needed some magical help. The mare felt like she wanted to find that aristocrat and scream at him and her parents or do things that normally she didn't even fathom doing like hurting another pony.

The worst possible thing was the apathy from her parents, teachers, and even those in town. The opposite of love, Heart found, was not hate but apathy. With hate at least a pony recoginzed another. With apathy there was not even the recognition of the other pony's existance. With this knowledge, Heart felt ready to continue.

[colour=#800080]"Ok Ice. First of all, I can see from your life why the ponies bullied you. Now let me be clear by saying that I do not condone bullying of any sort. Psychological bullying is just as bad as physical bullying. I will also share with you that I was the target of such bullying myself. I used to in school cry or get angry for no apparant reason which I learned was due to my ability. But some of the ponies in school treated me like I was a freak! Bullies always find something that a pony has different, whether it's their size, abilities, mane colour, anything! The reason for this, however, is that most bullies feel bad about themselves and instead of rationally talking to another pony, they try to make others feel miserable. However again this does not justify their actions."[/colour]

[colour=#800080]"Then you have your parents which I must say was very despicable that they traded the love of their daughter for prestige. A home should be a haven of love, but even there you felt none. So, I can see why would you would not trust any pony as there was no place safe for you. The fact that they did not even recognize you when you left was equally as terrible. It seems like you had the perfect storm of a bad household life and a bad school life."[/colour]

[colour=#800080]"Now before I can help you, we need to explore the next part of your life when you went to Canterlot. Firstly, you mentioned that something happened where you passed out and awoke in ice. What do you think happened then? Next, was your life in Canterlot better, worse, or the same as in Fillydelphia? Also, what did you do in Canterlot such as experiences, encounters with other ponies, and any memories you had? Lastly for that part, what made you decide to leave Canterlot?"[/colour]