//------------------------------// // Therapy // Story: The Infestation of Equiss Prime // by Jest //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle shifted nervously in her chair, the filly squeezing the hoofrests of her seat as she waited impatiently for her therapist to get ready. Velvet Touch shuffled a small group of papers, attached it to her clipboard and pulled out a pen. “Alright, so let's start at the top. What happened the other night?” she asked, looking over the rim of the clipboard and down to Twilight. The filly gulped and continued to shift nervously in her seat. “Well my brother said some mean things and I ran away and then I had a really bad nightmare when I got home.” “What did you argue about?” Velvet asked, her pen hastily scrawling a plethora of notes on her page. “He knew about what we were talking about and-” Twilight began, only to be cut off. “Wait, he knew what exactly?” Velvet asked, unconsciously leaning forward in her chair. Twilight gulped. “He knew I have to eat a little bit of meat, and that I was friends with Mister Razor Wind and that we had an argument and I messed up your papers and... and that I can hear people’s thoughts sometimes and that I’m a freak!” The filly’s voice rising more and more, she listed off the things her brother had said, tears budding and finally trickling down her face by the time she reached the end of her sentence. Velvet carefully discarded her clipboard and walked around the coffee table, carefully seating herself next to the sobbing unicorn filly. Placing a gentle hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, the therapist sighed and pulled her closer. At first she resisted, the filly pushing back against Velvet’s hoof, but she quickly melted into the embrace, hugging Velvet Touch’s leg and sobbing into the mare’s fur. Using her free foreleg, the therapist gently rubbed the filly’s back, merely staying silent and allowing the young mare to get it all out. Mood swings are getting worse, trauma no doubt the cause, Velvet thought to herself, the mare trying to stay as clinical as possible. Familial distance will exacerbate loneliness and emotional detachment. Her thoughts petered out when she noticed that Twilight was now sniffling and wiping away her tears. “It's okay, Twilight, take all the time you need,” Velvet whispered. The filly nodded, wiping her face with her hooves and accomplishing nothing more than wiping her tears across her nearly her face. With a sigh, the therapist levitated a hoofkerchief to the filly and wiped away her tears before placing the square of fabric on Twilight’s lap and allowing her to finish the task. Something that Twilight initially resisted, but soon allowed Velvet Touch to do for her before taking up the rest of the task for herself. “T-thanks,” muttered the filly as she wiped clean her cheeks. “It's okay, Twilight. Why don't we talk about something else for a little while? How’s Spike doing by the way? I hear he's getting quite big already,” Velvet Touch offered, continuing to rub the filly’s back. “Y-y-yeah.” The filly sniffed. “Celestia says that dragons grow fast at first but after a year start to slow down for a while.” “Well, that certainly explains how he got so big so fast,” Velvet offered with a smile. Twilight grinned weakly and nodded. “Celestia says that because I’m giving him so much attention he is growing faster than most dragons raised by ponies.” “And why is that?” Velvet Touch pressed. “It's ‘cause I know what he wants to eat, something that doesn't happen much with pony parents.” Twilight grinned a little wider, and a little more sincerely. “Celestia says it's because harmony is telling me what he needs, isn't that cool?” “I bet there are plenty of moms out there that would love to know exactly what their baby wanted,” Velvet continued, gently pulling her hoof from Twilight’s back. “I-I guess…” Twilight muttered, suddenly staring off into space with a contemplative expression on her face. “Is something wrong, Twilight?” Velvet Touch asked, leaning a little closer. The filly shook her head. “I never thought of him like he's my baby, just that I was helping raise him, but I guess he would probably see me as his mommy. I mean, I hatched him.” “I wouldn't worry about that too much, Twilight, I don't think anyone is expecting you to raise a dragon while also going to school. Nevermind the fact that you are so young,” Velvet replied. “I guess… is it weird that I wouldn't mind being his mom?” Twilight asked, looking up at the older mare with hope in her eyes. “I think it's wonderful, Twilight, just don't push yourself, remember you have plenty of helpers including staff and even Celestia,” Velvet answered, a small smile on her face. “And you are just a kid, Twilight, you don't have to worry about that kind of responsibility until you are much older.” The filly nodded. “I know you're right, but it kind of makes me warm and fuzzy inside when I think of Spike calling me mom.” She frowned. “I’m not weird, right?” The therapist chuckled and shook her head. “Plenty of fillies want to be mommies when they are younger, though most usually have dolls instead of dragons.” Twilight chuckled. “I never thought of it like that. Oh yeah and Celestia said that she's going to start letting me take care of him more soon! The sitters are nice, but he’s getting so big he's starting to be a hoofful and she says that so long as I keep up on my work, he can even sleep in my room!” “That's wonderful, Twilight!” Velvet Touch declared, taking a step back and walking back over to her spot across from the filly. “I can't wait to meet him one of these days.” “That could be fun! He may be a little grouchy sometimes, but he really does like meeting new ponies,” Twilight declared proudly. “That's great to hear, and speaking of new friends, how is Razor Wind doing?” Velvet Touch inquired as she grabbed her clipboard once more. “He's okay, I guess,” Twilight muttered. “He's old and has a weird sense of humour though.” “Really? Why do you say that?” Velvet pressed, the mare scratching a few notes in the margins of the page. “He just says funny things like jalopy, and he always calls unicorns horny toads,” Twilight muttered, a frown on her face. The therapist’s face lit up and she nearly lost her grip on her clipboard. “I wouldn't repeat that phrase again, Twilight, it's an old griffon swear that's quite crude.” “Really?” Twilight cocked her head. “But frogs are kind of cool. They got great big mouths and are all slimy and ooooh... Now I get it.” “Yes well, let's just say there are several ways to refer to our kind in a less than pleasant manner.” Velvet coughed into her hoof. “Moving on, I was hoping to apologize to you. I have no doubt that you may feel betrayed by your brother knowing these things and I know I shouldn't tell you this, but there was an incident not too long ago.” “An incident? What kind of incident?” Twilight pressed, shifting forward on her seat. “One where one of your files went ‘missing’ and ended up in the hooves of someone that should not have it.” The therapist sighed. “He was fired and promptly jailed when Celestia caught him in the act, but I’m afraid he still made off quite a few of my notes and apparently sold it.” Twilight frowned and crossed her hooves over her chest. “What a bad pony, I hope he learns his lesson.” Velvet Touch coughed into her hoof awkwardly. “Yes, well, let's just say he will never be doing that again as Celestia threw the book at him.” “How does getting hit with a book mean you never do it again…” Twilight’s eyes lit up, a panicked expression crossing her face. “She didn't kill him with a book, did she?” Velvet Touch giggled and shook her head. “Oh no, she just charged him with treason and tossed him in a dungeon so deep I don't think he’ll see his own shadow for the rest of his days.” Twilight frowned and sat back down, tapping her chin as she looked off into the distance. “Isn't that a bit much?” she asked suddenly, looking up at the mare. “I mean, it was just some papers, right?” “Yes, but if a mean pony got it they could do many nasty things with that information and it was shown that he was quite erm, unrepentant,” Velvet Touch muttered, remembering well the zealous screaming she had heard from all the way down the hall. The mare shook her head suddenly, dismissing the memories that threatened to drag her down a dark path. “Regardless, he won't be a problem anymore and I promise we have increased security tenfold since then.” The filly breathed a little easier, relaxing into her chair and resting her chin on her forehooves. “That's a relief, ‘cause I don't want to go through that again.” “I don't want to pry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask for more information on the disagreement you had with your brother.” Velvet Touch sighed. “If at any point you are uncomfortable with the conversation and want it to end, just let me know and we can pick this up another time, okay?” Twilight nodded slowly. “I g-guess.” “Okay, first question. What did your father say before you left?” Velvet asked. “He didn't want me to leave,” Twilight muttered, her gaze drifting off. “He wanted me to stay home and for things to work out.” “That's good, do you think he really meant it?” Velvet continued. Twilight nodded weakly. “I think so.” “Your father loves you very much. You know that, right?” Velvet Touch smiled. “Why he even came to the castle several times to try and see you, but you were either in class or weren't in the castle.” “R-really?” Twilight asked, hope burning in the depths of her glowing orbs. The therapist nodded confidently. “Celestia was unsure of whether or not to tell you since your little falling out, but I managed to speak with him briefly the last time he was in the castle. He wanted me to tell you that he cares about you very much.” Twilight sniffed, tears building at the edge of her gaze. “Dad…” “So I wouldn't give up hope in your family quite yet either.” Velvet Touch smiled. “Your father also said that he had a long conversation with the rest of your family and I think there is a chance to fix things between you guys.” Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the hope in Twilight’s eyes vanished and she pulled back, crossing her hooves over her chest. “Why should I talk to them when they were mean to me?” “Twilight, they are your family, they love you very much,” Velvet Touch insisted. “Maybe dad does, but Shining Armor was a big meanie and doesn't like me anymore. He even called me a f-freak,” the filly remarked, her jaw clenching tightly. The therapist sighed. “I know you don't want to hear this, but he is just a kid too. He said something stupid, something I’m sure he now regrets very much.” Twilight’s jaw clenched tighter and she looked away. “I don't need him. I have Celestia and Mister Razor Wind and Spike and Bull and that's all I need.” “And your father? Would you push him away after he stood up for you?” Velvet Touch asked. The filly’s anger melted for a moment, revealing the angry and hurt child beneath, though that lasted only a moment as Twilight gritted her teeth. “Maybe. For now I have all I need right here in the castle.” That's something at least, Velvet Touch thought. “We are going to talk about this again later, but for now I want to talk to you about something else, okay?” Twilight nodded. “Okay.” “It's about your hearing thoughts comment. How much are you able to hear and is it some ability you are able to use consciously? I know we haven't really talked about it much, but both Celestia and I are curious about your new abilities,” Velvet Touch explained, smiling gently. Twilight looked down, avoiding the therapist’s gaze. “A little, I could hear more but after my nightmare I can't hear as much.” “What can you hear then?” Velvet Touch pressed. “Big thoughts, like if you are really angry and really hate pens or something, I would know that, but like right now you're thinking of so many things that it's all just… noise.” Twilight gulped, pressing her forehooves together awkwardly. “I try not to listen, but sometimes some ponies think so loud that I can't help it.” Velvet Touch paused, mere millimeters from the paper. “What happened in this dream, Twilight?” “I dreamt there were these monsters, but it wasn't like any dream I’ve ever had before. It felt real, like I was there in that creepy cave with that monster and those ponies,” Twilight remarked, shivering as she imagined what had occurred only a night ago. “Can you draw these monsters?” Velvet Touch asked, already bringing over a large pad of paper, and a plethora of pencils. “Just do your best, it doesn't have to be perfect.” “I guess, it might take a while though,” Twilight replied, grabbing the pencils and paper out of the air with her magic, laying them out before herself. “That's okay, Twilight, take all the time you need, in the meantime I’m going to ask you some more questions if that's alright with you,” Velvet Touch half asked, half exclaimed. “I guess,” Twilight muttered, her horn alight as she began to sketch the first monster she had seen. “Excellent.” Velvet Touch smiled as she grabbed a new pen and tossed the old one into the trash. “Now then, you said there were ponies and a monster, just one?” Twilight nodded. “One looked like a monster and a pony mixed together, but she was nice. So was the other one who looked like a monster.” A frown crossed the filly’s face and her pencil moved faster across the page. “And the last one looked like a pony and monster squished together, but she acted like a monster and not at all like a pony. I don't like her ‘cause she wants to hurt the princess.” “Hurt the princess how?” Velvet Touch asked hesitantly. “She wanted to make me explode and hurt the princess, but the other two didn't want me to explode.” She frowned. “I thought they were gonna make me explode at first too but now that I think about it, I don't think they would do that.” The mare paused mid-notation and rubbed her temples with her forehooves. “How exactly would they make you explode, Twilight?” The filly shrugged. “They said something about overloading me and making spores come out of me, but the other two didn't want to hurt Celestia.” “Right. Did you happen to know where these monsters were? Did you see any mountains or forests or discernible landmarks by chance?” Velvet Touch pressed. Twilight shook her head. “We were in a creepy cave and the walls were all gross and covered with this fleshy stuff.” She stuck out her tongue. “It was super gross.” “Yes, I suppose that would be quite unpleasant,” Velvet Touch muttered, her cheeks growing a little green as she tried to imagine it. “There was also this pool of green goop called a breeding pool. Does that help?” Twilight asked, looking up at the mare. Who nodded awkwardly. “Oh yes, I’m sure somepony will know what that is.” Twilight smiled to herself and went back to drawing, only to stop after several seconds and take a closer look at her drawing and grin. “There, I made the nice pony I saw first,” she announced, turning and revealing the image she had just completed. Velvet Touch raised an eyebrow as she took the picture, eyeing it carefully. Though clearly drawn by a child and its proportions were off significantly, it at least looked like a pony, save for its one eye, and its mandibles. “And its cutie mark is bubbles?” Twilight nodded. “That's her name too! Also the bubbles were green but you don't have any coloring pencils.” “Right…” Velvet Touch muttered, her mind churning with possible reasons for the mare’s strange disfigurements. “And why does she have mandibles and that stuff all over her?” Twilight shrugged. “I am not sure, but I think it's because she was infested.” The filly frowned. “I’m not sure if I’m saying it right.” Velvet Touch nodded absently, her gaze never pulling away from the picture for a second. “And what was this Bubbles like?” “She was nice!” Twilight frowned. “Kinda. She looked around in my brain for another unicorn filly and didn't even ask permission, but when she did I could tell that she was really scared for some reason.” “That is… interesting,” Velvet Touch muttered, her pen flying back and forth across the page, her every thought being committed to paper at a breakneck pace. “Please continue the next drawing.” Twilight nodded and did just that, her face screwing up in concentration as she stared at the paper, strugglingly to draw what she could already see in her mind’s eye. Velvet Touch however, was baffled by the drawing already before her, already imagining the many exhausted sighs that her partner would utter once she heard this most recent bit of news. Silver Scalpel already came home every night mentally and physically exhausted to the point that Velvet Touch was beginning to have doubts of taking this job, despite the pay and the prestige, and this new information wouldn't help that one bit. If she was already exhausted with just the few samples she was already able to take, Velvet Touch didn't even want to think about how bad things were going to get if she told her about this other pony. “Done,” Twilight declared. “I couldn't draw her legs super good but they were like a spider’s, only with weby things between them.” Velvet Touch lifted an eyebrow and took the page hesitantly, gazing nervously down at the strange drawing of what looked like a twisted version of the mythological Arachne. Only it was larger, more disturbing and had a weird vertical mouth in its waist, all things combined to make one of the most horrific sights Velvet Touch had ever imagined. It was at this point that she was quite glad that Twilight wasn't a better artist as she wasn't sure if she could keep her dinner down if the full disturbing nature of this creature was brought to light. “And who is this?” Velvet Touch asked. “Starlight Glimmer,” Twilight replied, the filly scowling at the simple drawing. “She is the meanie that wanted to make me explode.” “She certainly looks… mean,” Velvet muttered, noticing the big angry frown drawn on the creature’s face. “And is she also like Bubbles?” Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” “What is that thing on her head?” Velvet Touch asked, pointing to the zerg’s crest. “I don't know, but it was really big and gross-looking,” Twilight explained. “I might be remembering it wrong though…” “And the last picture?” Velvet Touch asked, already fearing what might be coming. Twilight shrugged and hoofed the third paper over. “Mother is really detailed but she's generally like a worm with arms all over her, see?” The filly pointed to the picture, indicating all the small arms that grew out of the snakelike creature’s body. “She's got two big arms as well.” Velvet Touch nodded meekly. “I see that, Twilight, and what was she like?” “She was kind of scared and confused and wasn't sure if I should explode or not, but I think she didn't want me to explode.” The filly shook her head vigorously. “I didn't want to take the chance though so I made sure she can't make me explode.” “And how did you do that?” Velvet Touch asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not really sure but it's like there was this part of my brain that was connected to them and I put a wall over it.” The filly shrugged. “I don't know how to explain it.” “Well that's certainly… interesting,” Velvet Touch commented. “Maybe I should take out a book on drawing the next time I’m at the library,” Twilight muttered to herself, tapping her chin and staring off into space, deep in thought. “That might be a good idea,” Velvet Touch remarked offhandedly, never taking her eyes off the drawing. The filly sat there for a few seconds, the room silent save for the tick of the clock, until she suddenly lifted an eyebrow and looked up at the mare. “Hey, isn't our time up already?” Velvet Touch blinked and looked up at the clock. “Oh, uh, yes, would you look at that.” “So can I go then?” Twilight asked tentatively. “Absolutely. Don't forget your books and some candy,” Velvet Touch muttered, already ignoring the filly in order to give her attention to the three drawings fanned out before her. Twilight lifted an eyebrow at the strangely distracted mare, but ultimately shrugged off that bit of oddness. Grabbing her book bag, the filly also grabbed one of the foil wrapped chocolates in the bowl in the centre of the coffee table, only to look up at the distracted mare and grab a whole hoofful before scampering out of the room, bags stuffed full of candy and books. Velvet Touch however didn't notice or care in the slightest, uncomfortable realizations flying through her brain at a million miles an hour. There were more of these strange infested, they were able to alter a pony’s anatomy considerably, and they were being commanded by a great snake creature that looked so unlike anything that the therapist had ever seen. There was now no longer any doubt in her mind that this threat was extraterrestrial in nature. This Mother thing, was obviously a command oriented creature of some kind, but what exactly it was capable of was not clear upon first glance. More disturbing than even those terrible realizations was the fact that at least one of the ponies was even more violent than the thing from outer space. Was this some sort of accident of becoming infested or had she been chosen for her apparent readiness to commit violence, or were these infested meant to all be violent and Bubbles was merely an outlier? The therapist placed the three pages face down on her desk, forcing herself to not think about them at least for the time being. She added a few more notes to the file before placing it on her desk overtop of the drawings, the mare breathing deeply, a hoof placed against her chest. This was officially above her pay grade, if Twilight was to be believed anyway, something the grown mare never once doubted in the slightest. The filly was so earnest, so desperate to please that Velvet Touch doubted that she could even lie, at least to any authority figure anyway. Furthermore the minor enchantments placed on the room made lying more difficult, and she certainly hadn't noticed Twilight struggling to speak even once. Taking a deep breath, the mare stood up and rounded her desk, her hoof reaching for the bottom right drawer and pulling it open. Pushing past all the random nick nacks and nonsense that seemed to accumulate in the glorified junk drawer, the unicorn grabbed the small bottle of wine hidden in the back and pulled it out. She looked around for a cup only to sigh and pop the cork and take a swig straight from the bottle. After several glugs of room temperature chianti, the mare felt her nerves begin to settle and she placed the bottle back on the table. Though the alcohol had yet to truly enter her veins, the mare already felt more relaxed, and she took a deep, steadying breath. “Celestia is going to want to hear about this right away,” she muttered to herself, the mare staring down at the file resting on her desk. With one last deep sigh, she reached forward, grabbed the package of papers and stood slowly. “Well, this should be… interesting,” Velvet Touch remarked.