"And it wasn't the first time he did it either," Brocade said to Dr Headlove, "there was this one time on Hearth's Warming where he had too much to drink and nearly slashed my throat open with a broken glass."
Dr Headlove gave a concerned nod, "And you never told anypony this until now?"
"No, not once," Brocade shook her head, "I would never betray his trust like that. Only reason I'm telling you is because of doctor-patient confidentiality."
"Good to know you can trust me with your secrets," Dr Headlove said, "some of my patients are usually paranoid at first."
"Wouldn't blame them," Brocade whispered, "Especially with all these creeps befriending ponies and making little social gatherings just to sell their private information to the highest bidder."
"Yes, it's one reason why I don't trust the new princess," Headlove muttered.
"What new princess?" Brocade asked.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Headlove replied, "She had been coronated as the 'Princess of Friendship' about a year ago. A bit young for a princess if you ask me."
"I'm very certain most princesses start out young," Brocade said "After all, they are royalty. They're bound to be born into it, right?"
"Not exactly," Headlove replied, "Some ponies have ascended to alicorn status for reasons that are beyond our comprehension."
"So...why don't you trust the new princess?" Brocade inquired, "You know, apart from her age."
"A grown mare hanging out with three young fillies once a week," Headlove said sternly "Kinda suspicious if you ask me."
Brocade giggled, "Now who's being paranoid? For all we know, she could be their tutor."
Headlove smiled and looked away in embarrassment, "Well, I suppose that's true."
"Besides, whatever they're doing is bound to be less creepy than a guy with a PhD stalking royalty," Brocade said before laughing.
"I was not stalking her," Headlove denied, "I just heard rumours. Although I did see the brother of one of my patients looking in the window of her castle."
"Does the brother attend therapy?"
"Technically, no," Headlove replied, "He's just a tag along. His mother tells me he's autistic."
"Which one?" Brocade asked.
Headlove tilted his head, confused by Brocade's question.
"Your patient or his brother?"
"The brother," Headlove replied, "He listens to his music while I listen to his brother. Besides, I wouldn't have told you about him if he was my patient."
Headlove put his notepad and quill away and trotted over to a pile of envelopes with a yellow book right next to it, "Speaking of ponies on the autism spectrum, here's something I suggest to them as a way of improving their social skills."
Headlove picked up the yellow book, "making a pen pal and writing to that pen pal."
Brocade looked at the yellow book as the many questions about the safety of making a pen pal circled around her mind.
"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" Brocade asked "I mean, what if somepony is pretending to be somepony else? How do you know the pen pal isn't slowly corrupting the individual? Can't be too safe in this day and age."
"All very good questions," Headlove replied, "And I'm personally convinced the mail companies are selling the private information of the senders to a bunch of politicians but it's better than the alternative."
"And what's the alternative?"
"Making a friend in person only to lose that friend when they move far away with no way of contacting them," Headlove replied, "Which might result in them trying to emotionally shut themselves off from others or develop a pathological need to control others, both of which common symptoms in narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders."
Brocade put her hoof to her chin and thought about what the good doctor had said. Last thing she wanted was for her little Glowie to grow up and become a female version of her dad. Or worse, running a cult that brainwashes ponies.
"I suppose I could teach Glowie how to write letters," Brocade said quietly, "Might help her make some friends."
"Is Cozy Glow on the spectrum?" Headlove asked inquisitively.
"Not really, no," Brocade replied, "She never had any delayed speech nor difficulty with eye contact, not even a tantrum when something out of the ordinary happened."
"Pity, I really would have liked her as a patient."
Brocade gave Headlove an odd look, "She's a bit young for therapy, don't you think?"
"Nopony's ever young for therapy," Headlove replied dismissively, "After all, if a young foal had gone through a traumatic experience or has some mental difficulties, it's better to treat them now than never."
Brocade sighed, "I suppose that would be best for her. She has seen me and Facade fight more than once. And with that restraining order he put on Discord, who knows what will happen?"
Cozy Glow sat on the living room sofa and read a great big book about the history of Equestria and all the big bad guys that have invaded over the years. In spite of the many ferocious threats she skimmed over in the book, there was only one that she was interested in learned about. The one that attacked her father and many others with Discord at his side. Lord Tirek, son of the centaur King Vorak. Long ago, he and his brother came to Equestria to take its magic for themselves. But his brother had a change of heart and alerted the princesses of Tirek's plan, imprisoning him within the deepest pits of Tartarus.
"That's it?" Cozy asked in disappointment, "For a guy that teamed up with Discord, I thought he'd put up more of a fight."
Cozy closed the book and flew up the shelf to put it back, dissatisfied with what she learned about Tirek. Between Discord's reign of chaos consisting of nothing more than chocolate reign and soapy roads and Tirek's humiliating defeats, she was starting to question how menacing the many foes of Equestria really were. If anything, they were like the villains in the school pantomime. But as she heard the door open, she was about to realize all too quickly that not every evil creature in Equestria was an over-the-top nuisance that was announced by the boos of the audience. Some were just regular ponies that hurt others for reasons only they would know. And in the case of her dad, who had just trotted in with his three-piece navy blue ensemble covered in slime, it wasn't hard to guess that he hurt her and her mother out of anger. Without a moment's hesitation, she zoomed under the sofa to hide from her father's wrath.
"Oh no, you don't," Facade growled, "Come here!"
Facade used his magic to drag Cozy out of her hiding spot and slammed her into the wall before entering the living room himself and hurling her into the bookshelf. Even after seeing her father at his weakest, it always scared Cozy whenever he lost his temper. Half the time, it wasn't even the fault of her or her mother. Facade just wanted somepony as a stress toy. Cozy's wings and legs ached as she desperately crawled through the books and broken bits of wood. She could barely see anything as her vision became red, the blood from a nasty gash crawling down her head. She hoped her dad was finished with her but he immediately slammed her into the wall once again. As soon as she heard her bones crack from the impact, a loud ringing drowned out every other noise she could hear. While it was difficult to see, she saw her dad take his sunglasses off and tilt her head. She knew from prior experience what he was doing. He was observing how bad the injuries were and how to cover them up with his lies and a first aid kit. And when he was finished, she knew exactly what was coming next.
Her bath time.