//------------------------------// // Group Therapy // Story: What Princesses Need // by Aegis Shield //------------------------------// What Princesses Need Part 14: Group Therapy Name: Princess Luna Age: (vast?), physically classified as young adult Race: Pony Tribe: none (Alicorn) Sex: F Home Address: Canterlot Royal Palace Relatives: Princess Celestia (sister), Prince Blueblood (distant nephew) Diagnosis: Standard, High-Thinking-Order DID Progress: Positive Sources of Information: Princess Celestia Twilight Sparkle Palace Staff Lunar Stallion Foals Ponyville Residents History: (See Previous Report, File PL-001) Theraputic Processes Used Thus Far: -Art Therapy: House/Tree/Self/Other-Gender Test Luna displays very thorough desire to be around many ponies and to have many friends. Her self-doubt drives her to be hesitant and docile. It is easy to see her high respect for her sister, her desire for companionship (both intimate and not), and her wish for reintegration. -Art Therapy: Hearth’s Warming Living Room Scene Luna displays very real fears of rejection and hatred not only from her subjects but the standard right of happiness from those around her. She fears that putting herself into a public setting will only upset others and that she will disturb the natural balance of happiness in Equestrian life. -Hypnotic Therapy: Standard Repetition Speaking with the part of her called “Nightmare Moon”, I learned that one of the main issues surrounding Luna right now is misinformation. Her darker half awoke with Twilight Sparkle in her bed, and thought that they were lovers. Inviting her out to camp, she wished to consummate that relationship as Nightmare Moon, but Twilight Sparkle was not her lover to begin with—this has spawned a complex web of bad events that needs to be rectified as soon as pony-ly possible. I will make it my top priority. -Confidence Building Therapy: Midnight Court I have, in secret, been sending ponies to the Midnight Court. Ponies that have been waiting weeks to be heard in a royal setting. This has been excellent for Luna’s self-confidence and self-worth. Having many ponies approach her with their problems has helped to build up her self-worth. I will continue this as long as possible, until ponies start doing it on their own. (Note: invest in more of that fancy letterhead. Some of Canterlot’s “high society” won’t open anything that’s not on fancy paper in their mailboxes) Confidence Building Therapy: Audible Letter I instructed Luna to write an apology letter to Twilight Sparkle to be read aloud to the mare. While it took some coaxing for Twilight to participate, this went over as smoothly as could be expected. Some of Luna’s anxieties were lifted, and her mood was a bit better than before afterward. I understand that it was Nightmare Moon and not Luna that committed the act, but as her therapist it is not my job to treat her as two separate ponies. If I am ever to unite the personalities, I must treat both of them as one Princess. Period. Updated Situational Analysis: I have seen Twilight Sparkle, Luna’s molestation victim. She is understandably distrustful and upset when Luna is near, and it took a good deal of coaxing to get her to merely open her front door for the audible letter therapy. I have discovered that Luna’s Lunar Stallions are in fact foals in disguise. This must be addressed as soon as possible. I do not think it is healthy for any party in any fashion. Luna wishes for companionship, and while her cause is noble the execution is not. This must be one of my top priorities. Nightmare Moon did not think anything was wrong at during the cave incident (see attached) because she assumed Twilight Sparkle was already Luna’s lover and—to be frank—wanted a bit for herself. While this is a perfectly rational action for a singular pony, one suffering from DID is or can become exceptionally damaging in such things. Twilight Sparkle’s sibling, Shining Armor, must be brought forth as well. He has agitated both Nightmare Moon and Princess Celestia for various reasons connected to the Lunar Stallions. Most issues seem to stem from the stallions themselves, and he has become a rather tragic scapegoat for large portions of this situation. It must be handled swiftly if this stallion is to get his life back. Recommendation: IMMEDIATE Group Therapy Session for all ponies involved: Princess Luna Twilight Sparkle Princess Celestia Shining Armor Dr. Deep Psyche NOTES and CONCLUSIONS: -I’m rather startled at the vast amount of misinformation and cloak-and-dagger going on in this situation. I had to do a lot of research and interview a lot of ponies in the palace, in Ponyville, and in the surrounding areas to reach my conclusions. -The Lunar Stallions are seen as stallions by many and are known as foals by few, and this leads to too much confusion. -Shining Armor has apparently lost his rank as Captain of the Solar Guard for capturing a Lunar Stallion and “interrogating” him, which agitated Nightmare Moon to no end. -Princess Celestia GAVE Shining Armor to Nightmare Moon for punishment. This baffles me. -Twilight Sparkle may need my professional help in the near future if she is suffering from deep trauma over her molestation. I must take steps to see she is comfortable in the coming group therapy session. -Most of Luna’s forward progress problems seem to come from the Lunar Stallions themselves. (See “basket incident”, “cave incident”, “library incident”, and “throne room incident”) At this time it is my professional opinion that the Lunar Stallions should be removed from Luna’s care so that she may focus on her recovery. They are unwittingly tempting her with things she should not have (i.e. Twilight Sparkle), and blindly follow her like the children they really are. This is not healthy. Luna will not be pleased. =-----=-----=-----=-----=-----=-----= Princess Celestia stood in front of the big double doors of the meeting room, a guard at either side of her. “I’ll be fine in here. Please wait outside.” She bade them. Both armored stallions nodded, saluted, and took up posts nearby. The white alicorn steadied herself a bit, and raised a polite hoof to knock. “Doctor Psyche?” she called. The door came open partway, and the caramel stallion stuck his head out. “Ah, Princess.” He said in a pleasant voice, smiling. “Thank you for coming, thank you.” He slipped out of the room, keeping his voice down. The Princess smiled demurely as he bowed before her as was expected. When he rose, he was straight to business. “Group therapy is exactly what Luna needs right now, and your presence here will make things run very smoothly.” He was all-positive in his phrasing, as a good therapist should be. “Anything to help Luna.” Celestia nodded, eager to aide her poor sister. “What will we be doing, Doctor?” she asked, cocking her head. “Psychology is still a new science to me, I’ve not been able to study it personally yet. It’s only been around a few decades.” She chuckled a little melodically, as immortal creatures were wont to do when something was less than a century old but still very important. “We’re going to cover a lot of ground today, Princess, I promise you that much.” Deep Psyche scratched the back of his head a little. “All I ask is that you stay until the session is over. If you can do that much, I’m sure we’ll get along fine.” Celestia tilted her head a little, unsure of what to make of such a request. Well of COURSE she wouldn’t leave Luna’s therapy session early. She’d been forced to sit outside all the other ones, and only just now was she being allowed inside. Doctor-Patient confidentiality stayed even the sun goddess’ hoof, and she was very eager to get inside and see how all this was going to work. “Yes, of course.” She nodded at last. “I have your word then.” Dr. Psyche smiled a little cryptically, turning and opening the door for Celestia. The white alicorn stepped through the threshold, and gaped at the scene around her. The conference room hosted none other than Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor and Luna herself. They sat at a long conference table, a fair distance from each other. Twilight Sparkle was glancing nervously about, eyes flicking at Luna now and then like she expected to be pounced upon. Luna was very Fluttershy in appearance, hiding half her face behind her mane and looking about in an unsure way. Shining Armor sat with a scowl on his face, and Celestia noted that portions of his mane and his tail had been trimmed very short. What had happened to him? He wasn’t in his military garb either, merely naked and casual. The sun goddess also noted their placement around the table. Twilight was on the far end. Luna was on the near end left-side. Shining armor was on the far end right-side. Deep Psyche smiled and shut the door gently. “Please, be seated.” He asked politely. Celestia nodded, moving to sit across from her sister. She pulled out the chair, but stopped. Leaning in the chair was a full-length mirror carefully angled to face Luna. “Other seat, please, Princess.” Said the therapist with a patient smile, gesturing. Celestia cantered about the long table, sitting across from Shining Armor and next to Luna and Twilight. Ahhh, she understood now. Twilight was between her brother and herself, leaving Luna furthest away. Clever stallion, working to make the victim in all this feel safest. Celestia turned, smiling gently at Twilight. Twilight smiled back, seeming to relax now that her royal mentor was present. Nothing bad would happen to her so long as Celestia was there. She locked eyes briefly with Shining Armor. Whatever emotion he had, he suddenly masked it. He was very good at his guard face, a blank slate. “Good to see you, Twilight.” She offered softly. “You too, Princess.” Twilight smiled back, shifting in her chair. “Now then.” Deep Psyche heaved a deep breath, making sure the door was shut firmly. He took his place, as therapist for the group, at the head of the table across from Twilight Sparkle. “I’d like to call this meeting to order.” He said a little playfully, seating himself. There were a couple of good-natured smiles. “I am doctor Deep Psyche, as you all know. I am Luna’s therapist. We’re all here for her benefit—is what I would normally be saying.” He suddenly segwayed, catching the entire room off guard. They all blinked at him. “But quite frankly, all you ponies are crazy.” He chuckled a little, taking off his glasses and cleaning them on a little cloth. There was scattered, nervous chuckling. “Sorry, sorry.” He amended a bit, putting them back on his nose. “Seriously though. I’ve been observing this situation for some time now, from many angles, and frankly this has spiraled completely out of control—and you’re ALL to blame.” He swept a hoof around the table. “What?!” Twilight stood from her chair angrily. Shining Armor did the same, giving an angry shout. Even Celestia looked startled. “I got kidnapped! Twice! How am I to blame for any of this?!” “Twilight is the victim here! You need to back off!” Shining Armor shouted, his face reddening as the big brother gene activated in a very vocal way. “Isn’t that a bit much, doctor?” Celestia tried to play the diplomat. “I’m sorry…” said Luna a little submissively, turning her head down. The dark alicorn was very, very uncomfortable with Twilight and Shining Armor both being so close to her. It made her feel guilty. “See?” said Deep, gesturing for Twilight to sit down. “Everything about all of this has become so twisted, so very complex that everypony is losing their minds for completely different reasons.” They stared at him. “Twilight was kidnapped, twice, and molested. As a result, she thought it was okay to capture a grown stallion and interrogate him for information about her new enemy.” He pushed a hoof through his brown mane. Twilight looked to one side rather guiltily, color in her cheeks. “Shining Armor was assigned to protect her and, high on his big brother mode, knowingly tied up a foal and taunted him—albeit rather tamely—to the point of injury and perhaps trauma.” Shining Armor opened his mouth to argue, but he pressed on. “Celestia, to punish Shining Armor, hoofed him off to the very mare he was protecting his sister from and stripped him of his rank.” He nodded accusingly at the Princess. The solar alicorn’s mouth went a little agape at his audacity. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that you punished Shining Armor, and NOT your precious protégé, Princess. Twilight was equally responsible for both luring and capturing that Lunar Stallion, and foal or not that’s still unbelievably illegal.” Celestia’s ears turned back, her pupil’s growing small in a guilty expression. “They’d kidnapped me twice! What else was I supposed to do, hug him?!” Twilight demanded vocally. “I didn’t know he was a foal!” she said, her eyes lidding in distress as tears came to her eyes. “Shining didn’t tell me, I didn’t mean--!” “I didn’t know! I didn’t mean!” The doctor whipped off his glasses and threw them on the long table. “That’s EXACTLY what all this is about!” he slammed a hoof on the table, startling every pony present. “Buckle up, my little ponies! It’s time for some Faust-damn FACTS!” he rose from his chair so hard it tumped over behind him. “I did all the leg-work for you, so let’s start from the top shall we?!” They stared at him like he was a madpony. Twilight was aghast. Had that stallion just said a swear word in front of the Princesses?! “I’ve been studying this whole situation, and frankly it’s giving me a headache!” Deep Psyche cantered slowly around the table to stand beside Luna. She looked at him a little fearfully as he leaned down, whispering something in her ear with his hoof raised to hide his lips. She looked at the mirror leaning innocently in the chair across from her. As the stallion spoke, whatever he was saying made the Princess of the Night smile grandly and lower her brow into a rather sultry expression. “Oh-hoh, yes she does!” she flicked her eyes at Twilight Sparkle, who flinched and leaned back in her chair. Celestia’s wings opened protectively-- but Luna remained in her seat as she turned jet black. Her darker half had been summoned. Luna’s pupils extended out over her eyes like a dragon’s, and everypony present felt the five-sense glamour spell take effect. Before long, Nightmare Moon sat in Luna’s place. In the mirror across from her sat Luna, for the mirror was not fooled by her magic. Shining Armor scowled savagely. Twilight hunched just a little, as though she were about to bolt. Celestia’s mouth was a neutral line of tolerance. She only prayed this was going somewhere. “Now then! Let’s rip open some wounds and let the infection out!” said the therapist dramatically, turning and returning to his place at the head of the table. “Nightmare Moon! Why did you pounce on Twilight Sparkle?!” he demanded loudly with a flourish of his hoof. “I thought her lovers with Luna.” Nightmare said matter-of-factly. “We wanted to share in Twilight’s beauty and warmth as well!” she smiled with all her fangs at the purple mare. Twilight looked terrified. “There’s that ‘I’ again, I like that ‘I’ you’ve got going now.” said the therapist with a smile, checking Twilight Sparkle’s expression. The unicorn mare looked fearful. “Did you intend to molest her?” he asked, gesturing at her again. “Pfft, of course not.” Nightmare scoffed. “We merely wanted our fair share of Twilight Sparkle, if Luna had indulged already. T’was not the case though.” She sighed, looking at the table rather guiltily. Twilight stared at her. Slowly, the black alicorn looked over at Twilight. “We thought thee already ours and playing hard to get, Twilight Sparkle.” She said softly. The element of magic stared at her, unsure of what to say. Was it really true? Had it all been a colossal misunderstanding? “Next item!” the therapist pressed on, rapid fire. He was striking while the iron was hot, and not letting up. “Shining do you admit to any guilt for capturing a Lunar Stallion you knew was a foal, and tormenting him?” Shining frowned in a troubled way, but gave a slow nod. “And you didn’t tell Twilight this becauuuse….?” He let the sentence hang. “It was my mission to protect her. The nature of the Lunar Stallions is secret.” He said with a shrug. “But that hardly matters.” He said, sighing. “I’m not a Captain anymore, so I won’t get missions that important ever again.” “Because of Princess Celestia! Next item!” Deep Psyche was spreading the blame like hot butter. The solar alicorn stared at him. What was he doing? “Princess, you sent your prize stallion to protect your protégé but didn’t allow him to tell her about the Lunar Stallions being foals becauuuuuse…?” he let the sentence hang. “The Lunar Stallions are supposed to be secret, I suppose.” Celestia said slowly. “I was sure Shining Armor could ward them off if need be, and he did. But, to capture one and interrogate him was not acceptable.” She turned her head to look disappointedly at the former Captain of the Guard. “And you sent Twilight’s brother to protect her from not only a goddess but a small army of stallion-children.” said Deep Psyche, shaking his head. “Did you really think he would stop at anything to protect her, even in the face of shadier means to an end?” There was dead silence in the room. Nopony accused Princess Celestia of doing wrong. They all turned and looked at her, studying her face. She looked more than a little shocked, and then she slowly leaned back in her chair. “You sent exactly the wrong pony, Princess.” said Deep Psyche, pointing at her. “I’m not even in the army and I know that.” “Shining Armor is my best soldier.” Celestia argued with a mild frown. “There was no better than he, especially with his shielding spells and other defenses. He repelled twenty-four lunar stallions by himself.” “He repelled twenty-four FOALS by himself.” Deep Psyche shot back, dismissing her like she was a cranky teenager. “If a police detective’s daughter is murdered, they don’t send THAT police pony to investigate the murder. He’s too close to the situation.” He explained. Celestia nodded slowly. “Shining Armor was exactly the wrong choice, Princess, and sending him was a recipe for disaster.” Celestia looked across the table at Shining Armor, working her mouth a little. She… she wasn’t sure what to make of all this. The ranting therapist was… right? She’d made the snap decision to send Shining Armor. Who better than he who could shield an entire city with one spell? Right? But no… he WOULD stop at nothing for his own flesh and blood. “Next item!” The therapist just was not stopping at all. He kept chugging along. “The Lunar Stallions.” He turned to the mirror to look at Luna, quieting at last. “Luna, what is the purpose of the Lunar Stallions?” he asked. “W-well, they are orphans. I am allowing them to play knights until they get proper families.” Luna’s reflection said using Nightmare Moon’s mouth. Everypony gaped, leaning to crane their necks and look at the image in the mirror. Somehow, the doctor had managed to have both Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna in the same room… at the same time. The mirror was not fooled by her glamour spells, and even gave Luna a face while Nightmare Moon sat across from her at the table. Deep Psyche smiled in a rather accusing way from under his eyebrows, taking his place at the head of the table and stopping his pacing. “Liar.” He whispered. There was silence. Everypony cocked an eyebrow, even Nightmare Moon. “Tiz true!” Nightmare Moon defended. “They are our children until we find families for them. The helmets and armor are playthings!” “Liar, liar, flank on fire!” snapped the therapist. Celestia sat back in her chair. She wished she hadn’t promised to stay for the entire session. Twilight stared a little open-mouthed. Madpony or not, this stallion was insane, insulting the princesses and going everywhere with everything he said. “Try again!” offered Deep Psyche, smiling pleasantly. “We are not lying!” Luna in the mirror said. “The Lunar Stallions have beds—!” “You mean barracks.” “And good food brought to them!” “You mean rations.” “They have school and even art time with us!” “They train and devote themselves to you.” “WHAT DOST THOU MEAN TO INSULT US?!” Nightmare Moon stood from her chair violently, horn igniting and grabbing the therapist bodily. “Thou spouts accusatory lies while we bear our soul to thee! Explain thyself, insulting our children!” She lifted him into the air, mouth going agape with her fangs out. “Luna!” Celestia said, rising from her chair. “Put him down!” “Neigh!” Nightmare Moon snapped at her sister. “Answer us first!” she gripped the poor stallion, who was gagging a bit while he hung in midair. “It took me some time to figure it out!” gagged Deep Psyche. “They’re not your children! They’re your army!” Nightmare Moon gasped and dropped him in a pile of hooves and pain. He coughed, using the table to right himself. “How. Dare. Thee.” Nightmare Moon lifted her hoof to smack-a-stallion as she’d done with Shining Armor. Deep Psyche looked up at her. “It took me a while to figure it out, but I did, your Majesty. I read all your tests, looked at the symbols you put down for me with your own hooves.” He looked up at her with a sympathetic smile even as she raised a hoof to strike him down. “You were lonely, so you surrounded yourself with guards. What kind of guards? The sort of ponies that would trust you no matter what, no matter what you’d done in the past. Foals.” He punctuated. Nightmare Moon, and everypony else, stared at Deep Psyche. “Wh… what?” Luna said from the mirror, mewling in disbelief. “But… but tiz not true…” she sounded unsure of herself. “Foals would be the only ones not to know you from legend. The only ones not to judge you for Nighttime Eternal because they have no idea what that even means.” Said the stallion with a sad smile. “Foals, your highness. They’re like a crutch for you. You even made them look like grown stallions to make yourself feel better about keeping them around.” Nightmare Moon’s hoof fell, not stopping to strike Deep Psyche. There it was. A secret about herself she didn’t even know. Brought out by the pony that had grown to know her mind so well. After a long silence, Deep Psyche looked across the table at the gathered ponies. All of them looked mentally exhausted. So much new information, they’d been keeping so much from each other it physically hurt to wrench it all out into the open. But it had to be done. The therapist smiled a little, sad in the eyes. “I think,” he said, glancing over at the clock. “That’s enough for one day.” He said softly. He surveyed them all. They were looking at each other with such sad expressions. “We’ve cleared the air at this meeting, I think. You’re all caught up in each other’s mistakes, and it’s time for some forgiveness. I think everypony in this room owes everypony else an apology.” He righted his chair, turning so he could sit in it again. They stared back and forth at each other. They’d become so miserable, so very miserable in all of this complicated mess. Now all of their sins were brought to bear, and what did they have now? Just each other, and the chance to mend a little. The doctor cleared his throat a little, smiling good naturedly. Well… this was therapy. It was supposed to be good for them, so… “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry.” “We art sorry.” “We art sorry.” The clever therapist smiled, amused at the scene he’d helped create. So much dirty laundry… such a big bandage to be ripped off… ah well. At least it was over now. They would heal a bit more. “That was a very big thing all of you just did, right there. It takes a big pony to apologize and mean it.” He said, barely above a whisper. Whatever madness that had clutched him for the prior conversation was now gone, and he’d returned to his gentle and quieter demeanor. His smile was genuine. “Very good. All of you.” He put his saddlebag on, taking the mirror gently out of the chair. “Meeting adjourned.” He said a little playfully, turning and going out the door. Twilight flopped back in her chair, drained. Celestia seemed pensive, looking across the table at Shining Armor. Shining Armor had a puzzled expression on his face, not sure what to feel. Nightmare Moon cocked her head, watching the others. Gingerly, Celestia lit her horn. A pair of rectangular, metal pieces warped into existence in front of Shining Armor. He peered down at them. Rank stripes. He looked up at his Princess happily, and she nodded once. He pulled them to himself, Captain once again. Twilight rose from her seat and was the first to leave. Nightmare Moon watched her go, and for just a moment they locked eyes. There was no hatred there, nor fear. What was it? Empathy? The neutral expression was hard to read. The black goddess opened her mouth to speak, but… but she could find no words. So much had been brought to light, so many knots unraveled in one fell swoop. It was overwhelming. She marveled at her therapist, face-hoofing and giggling just a little. By the time she looked up again Twilight Sparkle was gone and Shining Armor was rising to leave as well. End of Part 14