//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Royal Therapist // by Sun Aura //------------------------------//                 Bright Thought had been seeing Cadence for a few weeks now. She was progressing well, both physically and mentally. They would now have their sessions in her office. So when another Royal walked into her office, Bright assumed it was to ask about Cadence.                 Bright Thought looked up to the sound of her door opening. Seeing who walked in, she wanted to jump up and bow, give her the usual respect. However, within this office, her clients and their family members were just that. No matter who they were or what powers they had. She’d made that promise to herself. So she stayed in her seat and attempted to address the Princess as if she were any other pony.                 “Hello,” Bright Thought greeted. “What can I do for you?”                 She didn’t answer at first. Bright Thought attempted to analyze her. How did she keep up her multi-colored magical mane? What were her white wings doing? Did her eyes flicker anywhere? But she got nothing from her. Well, not nothing. What Bright saw was practiced neutrality. She was purposely giving nothing away, even her violet stare said little about what she was thinking. This was a pony that had spent time to pretend that nothing was bothering her. And considering exactly who it was, she had more than one thousand years to practice. It was nearly a full minute before the silence was broken.                 “Cadence has said you’re helping her a lot,” Celestia said carefully.                 “That’s for her to judge,” Bright said.                 “She has also said you’re good at handling secrets,” she said.                 “It’s part of the job,” she nodded. “Even if I wanted to tell, legally I can’t.  If you want to know how Cadence is improving, you’d need to ask her.”                 “That is not what I-“ she began.                 She lapsed into silence again. Bright Thought took notice. For a fraction of a second, she was surprised. She collected herself.                 “She said you’re good at handling secrets,” Celestia repeated. “Not asking more about them, not being surprised that they exist.”                 “Again, it’s hers to tell,” Bright Thought said.                 “She suggested you could help me,” she said.                 Bright Thought tried to not look surprised. She probably failed compared to the mare in front of her. She reminded herself that everyone has problems, even a near-goddess.                 “Well,” Bright Thought began, “I do have about half an hour free, if you’d like to talk now. Or we could schedule an appointment for another day.”                 “Now would be better,” Celestia said.                 “Then choose a seat and get comfortable,” she nodded.                 Bright Thought pretended to organize her desk absentmindedly. She watched as Celestia settled into the chair, looking for anything. She wondered if this was the symptom or the problem, but only the story would tell.                 Though she was fully settled into the chair, she was not relaxed. Bright Thought stopped pretending to search for her quill, and waited, but Celestia did little but stare out the window, toward the Sun she would soon have to lower. Silence dragged on. If Bright Heart did not have things to do, she would let it go for as long as necessary. Still, she decided she’d only speak up if another minute had passed.                 Just as the minute was up, she took a deep breath and began to speak.                 “The Summer Sun Celebration is coming up soon,” Celestia said.                 “In a few weeks,” Bright Thought answered.                 There was another pause.                 “You do know the story, don’t you?” Celestia asked. “Of why we celebrate?”                 “I believe most ponies have,” Bright Thought nodded. “But you would be the only one who knows the full story, having been there at the time.”                 Celestia nodded, going quiet for another moment.                 “Do you remember how the story begins?” Celestia asked.                 “Yes,” Bright Heart answered, choosing not to elaborate.                 “’Two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land’,” she recited from memory. “’The eldest used her powers to raise the Sun at dawn; the younger brought out the Moon to begin the Night.’. So many ponies forget that part. It’s easier for them, to imagine that their Invincible Princess never has to make hard decisions, to imagine that everything is just black and white, good and evil. To forget the Mare that became a Monster because of others’ faults, and the sister.”                 “What was her name?” she asked.                 “Luna,” she answered. “Her name is Luna.”                 “Present Tense,” she noted. “To be blunt, is that truth or denial?”                 “’On the longest day of the thousandth year, the Stars will aid her escape’,” she recited again. “There are four more years left now, and ‘Nightmare Moon’ will return. Maybe it is denial. After all, Immortal’s forms change with who we become.  She became a monster. Yet I have to hope that Luna can return from that. If not, she’s just another I have failed.”                 “Who else do you believe you have failed?” she asked.                 She went quiet again. Bright Thought wondered if maybe she should forget about tonight’s plans.                 “I had a family once,” Celestia said. “We were quite unconventional. After all, we just popped into existence one day, and decided we were siblings. But over time, they were gone. Four are dead and buried, but on their own terms. One has disappeared, one went mad and is trapped in stone, and the last is locked in her Moon. I lost the rest of my family because I couldn’t help them.”                 “We can’t always help those we want to,” Bright Thought said. “Sometimes what we do isn’t enough.”                 “Sometimes what we do is nothing at all,” she replied. “Doctor, I am not delusional. I know what my problem is, and I know why it appeared. I’ve had more than a thousand years to figure it out. I am Immortal, so anyone I bond with I will watch die. Even other Immortals can chose to leave me behind. So while I still interacted with others, I stopped connecting with them. It became second nature, and bled into my relationships with those I had left. I ignored how they were suffering with the same problems, and ignored when they had other problems as well, causing them to leave me in different ways. And one thousand years of ruling alone and playing ‘the Invincible Princess’ has not helped.  I can be convincing enough to get through negotiations and please those who do not know me, but it hurts those who find themselves close to me. It takes a lot to break through to me, and even more to get me to show it.                 “Luna was not the first nor the last I hurt,” she continued, her voice still level. “I know what the problem is but not how to fix it, which is why Cadence suggested I talk to you.”                 Now it was Bright Thought’s turn to stay quiet. Though she was still new, she was not used to ponies knowing their issues and their causes, outside of Traumas of course. She thought for a moment.                 “If I may ask,” Bright Thought began. “Why now? You know your problem, and you’ve known it for quite some time. What has happened to make you seek help?”                 “Dancing Light, Philharmonica, Shining Armor, Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia answered.                 “I am familiar with the first three, but the rest only sound vaguely familiar,” she said. “Let’s start with Dancing Light and Philharmonica.”                 “It has been years since I’ve truly cried for something,” she stated. “Yes, there have been tears at every heartbreaking moment. But Dancing and Philharmonica’s deaths were the first time I’d had a breakdown in centuries, and the first time I’d had a breakdown in front of another pony in nearly one thousand years.”                 “Dancing’s final message was the trigger,” she said. “He said ‘They forgive you, and they forgive their family’. I know it was meant about my own family, but I do not know if it was truly their ghosts or just a hallucination of death. I have walked the Underworld, and I know my sisters are not there, so I do not know how they could reach from beyond that. It doesn’t matter if it was real or not.                 “And who is Shining Armor?” she asked.                 “I’m sure you have heard of him from your sessions with Cadence,” she answered. “You probably heard Twilight’s name as well.”                 “Those are kept secret,” she reminded her with a small smile. “But even so, who is Shining Armor to you?”                 “He is Cadence’s boyfriend,” she answered. “He’s a good Guard as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it to Captain in the next few years, and a nephew-in-law after that. When Dancing, Philharmonica and Cadence were in their accident, he was in the waiting room with me. After Dancing’s message, he reminded me that while I am an Immortal, I am still a pony, I am still able to feel.                 “Was he the one who saw your breakdown?” she asked.                 “Yes,” she answered. “Though he most likely doesn’t know how big that was for me. If anyone else had been there, they would have done the same. He reminded me of that.”                 “So who is Sunset Shimmer?” she asked.                 “My former student,” she answered. “One of many over the centuries, but the first to have left. I know that it is because of my problems. She wanted me as a friend, perhaps like a second mother, but I was distant. She decided to do anything to become ‘equal’ to me, in a hope that I would talk to her as a pony and not just my student, which turned to ambition for power. She wanted to be made a princess, hoping it would be enough, but she wasn’t ready for that. Had I been a comforting force, or even said something kind to her, she would not have turned to dark magic and fled from this Dimension.”                 “And Twilight Sparkle?” she asked.                 “My current student,” she said. “She’s powerful, and a quick learner, just like Sunset was. I see so much of Sunset in her. Even the way she looks at me is similar to the way Sunset once did, and the bond will grow with time. I do not want her to follow in Sunset’s hoofsteps. I want to be able to help her.”                 “And if you do that, you feel like you could help Luna as well?” she asked.                 “I don’t know if I can,” she shook her head. “But I believe Twilight might be able to. I do not want her to face my problems, to fix my mistakes, but she might have to.”                 “Why her?” she asked. “True, she sounds like with a few years of training she could do plenty. However, what stops you? Is it a true obstacle, or a part of your problem?”                 “Both,” she answered. “The only things that can help Luna as she is, are the Elements of Harmony. One thousand years ago, I attempted to use them to help her, and all I did was lock her in the Moon for one thousand years. I should have known it wouldn’t work, since the last time I attempted to help someone with them it had turned him to stone.                 “My problems keep me from using the Elements correctly,” she stated. “You need a strong connection to others, a bond of friendship. I no longer have that.”                 “Well, I-“ she began.                 “Sorry to interrupt,” she said. “But I do believe we are hitting your time limit.”                 Bright Thought glanced at the clock. Their time was nearly up. Even if she wanted to go over time, Celestia had to leave to raise the Moon.                 “Alright,” Bright Thought said. “We can schedule another appointment if you wish. But for now, I would suggest that you have someone around to remind you of things. Yes, you had a breakdown when you were reminded that you are still a Pony, but it was the biggest show of emotion. I’d suggest you have someone to remind you of that more often, to help you remember to feel. I believe Cadence might be a good choice for now, as another Royal would have less inhibitions about speaking to you of such matters.”                 “I… will talk to her about it,” Celestia nodded.                 “Good,” she said. “Other than that, if you catch yourself worrying about it, go out of your way to show emotion. Fake or not. Sometimes you have to pretend and it becomes the truth.”                 “I will try,” she said. “Thank you.”