//------------------------------// // Episode 23: PTSD and Recommendations // Story: My Little Pony: Sparkling Harmony: Season Two // by Captain_Cosmos //------------------------------// Applejack glanced back into the room. “Heads up y’all, Foal Protection Services is here.” She said. Sparkler’s breath caught in her throat. Looks like it’s go time now. She nodded. “Let them in AJ.” She replied. Applejack pulled the door fully open and let Betty in. Betty smiled as she walked into the room. “Hello everypony.” She said. “My name is Betty Pringle. From Foal Protection Services. Investigator Nosey Pants sent for me.” “Thanks for coming Ms Pringle.” Sparkler replied. Betty nodded as she turned her attention to Sparkler. “I take it you’re the hero Sparkling Medley?” She asked. “Yeah. That’s me.” Sparkler said with a giggle. Betty smiled as she turned finally to the bed, where the reason for her being there lay motionless in a cast. Her smile turned soft as she carefully approached the bed. “And you must be Thunder Kicker. The foal I’ve heard so much about.” She said. Kicker nervously nodded. He didn’t know why, but there was something about this new mare that he didn’t like. He heard that she was from Foal Protection Services, but he didn’t quite understand what that meant. Betty saw the nervous look on his face and offered a warm smile. “Hey, it’s ok. There’s nothing to worry about. I’m here to help.” She assured him. “Y-you are?” Kicker asked, skeptical still. “Yeah I am.” Betty replied. “I hear you’ve had quite the little...adventure these past few years. I’m here to make sure you don’t go through all that again.” “Really?” Kicker asked, trying to figure out why he didn’t like this mare. Betty nodded. “Foals like you should never have to go through that. It’s just horrible. But don’t worry. We’ll put you in a loving home now—“ “I want to stay with Sparkler.” Kicker said, cutting Betty off. It clicked with him that this was the mare he needed to ask. “I hear she’s interested in adopting you.” Betty replied. “Assuming she meets all the expectations you can absolutely stay with her.” Kicker beamed at this...and then his smile faded as the expectations part sunk in. “What if she doesn’t?” Kicker asked. Afraid of the answer. Betty bit her lip. “Well, if for whatever reason we deem her unfit, we’ll find a new family for you to live with.” There it was. There was the part Kicker didn’t like. This mare had the power to take him away from Sparkler. “I don’t want a new family. I want to stay with Sparkler!” He cried. Sparkler smiled and leaned in to nuzzle his cheek. “Hey, Kicker. It’ll be ok. Just calm down.” She said. Betty nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry JUST yet. Based on what I’ve heard you shouldn’t have to worry at all.” Kicker’s breathing calmed down. “O-ok.” He said with a shaky nod and gulp. While all that was going on, the mane 6 and CMC watched from the sidelines. They were taking glances at each other and nodding. Silently coming to the agreement that they had better leave. Rainbow turned to Sparkler. “Hey Sparks?” She said. Sparkler heard and turned to Rainbow. “Yeah Rainbow?” She asked. “If it’s all good with you we’ll just head on out. Looks like you’ll be busy now.” Rainbow stated. Betty gave an approving nod. “That would actually be helpful if everypony could vacate the room.” She said. Sparkler nodded. “Yeah. Sure. It’s all good. Thanks for coming.” She turned to Kicker. “What do you say Kick?” “Uhm...thanks for coming everypony.” Kicker said. The CMC smiled and each came up and nuzzled Kicker on the cheek. “See ya soon Kick!” “Hope you recover quickly!” “Good luck with that adoption.” With that, the CMC, and the mane 6, all left the room. The door closed and Betty smiled down at Kicker. “Looks like you’ve made some good friends bud.” Sparkler smiled and tousled Kicker’s mane. “Yeah he has.” She said. Betty nodded and took out a notepad and pen from her saddlebag. “Right. Now. Down to business. Mind if I ask you a few questions Kicker?” She asked. “What questions?” Kicker asked in reply. “Just a few questions about your life after the...incident, three years ago.” Betty replied. “I need details so I can ensure those monsters are jailed.” She turned to Sparkler. “Sparkler I’m gonna need you to go wait outside—“ “No!” Kicker shouted, panicking. “I want her to stay!” Sparkler and Betty recoiled from the sudden outburst. Betty glanced at Sparkler. Sparkler slowly smiled at Kicker. “Kicker, it’s gonna be OK. I’ll just be—“ “Please, don’t go.” Kicker begged. Betty bit her lip. Deciding to try something else to make Kicker as comfortable as possible. “Is it ok if she waits on the other side of the room then? I really do need SOME privacy with you to make sure your answers are your own.” She said. Kicker gulped. Sparkler just smiled and leaned in close. “Hey. It’ll be ok.” She cooed. “I’ll be watching from the other side of the room and if she tries ANYTHING. I’ll kick her out. Ok?” Kicker glanced between Sparkler and Betty, before nervously nodding. Sparkler smiled and nuzzled his cheek. “Just be honest and everything will be ok.” She backed away and Kicker watched her move to the other side of the room. After a moment, Betty smiled at Kicker. “So Kicker. How about you start at the beginning and tell me the story.” She told him. Kicker gulped, and then began to tell his story. “Kicker did seem tense when I was checking him over.” Redheart said. “I can tell that if he could, he would’ve clung to Sparkler like his life depended on it.” “So you think that could be his PTSD kicking in nurse?” Twilight asked. After meeting in the hall, Twilight and Nosey had gone to find Nurse Redheart to see if she could diagnose Kicker with PTSD, and recommend that he stay with Sparkler. “Hmmmm. I would say yes. Three years of imprisonment and torture can have a lasting emotional impact on anypony. For Kicker, finding Sparkler must’ve been his salvation. She’s everything he lost. Add in last night’s events and Sparkler saving him, I’m fairly confident in saying that Sparkler is the only pony he truly trusts. And I am certain that Kicker will only feel safe if he’s with her.” She explained. “So would you say him staying with Sparkler is recommended for his mental state?” Nosey asked. Redheart bit her lip. “Well...I’ll have to run a test to know for certain. I’m due to check on him again. This time I won’t allow Sparkler to stay and watch his reactions.” She said. Twilight sighed. Kicker wasn’t gonna like it, but if he wanted to stay with Sparkler even before she adopted him... “Then maybe we can get it over with as quickly as possible?” Redheart nodded. “Let’s go back to his room.” “...and that’s when I escaped and eventually found my way to Ponyville.” Kicker said. Betty wrote notes down in her notebook. “What happened after that?” She asked. “Sparkler found me in an alleyway, took me in, and has been caring for me the last few days.” Kicker replied. “And she saved you last night? Is that right?” “Yes.” Kicker said with a nod. Betty smiled. “Saved by an Alicorn. You’re living the dream of many ponies...er, minus all the bad stuff.” She said. She finished her notes and closed her notebook. “Right. Thank you for this Kicker. You’ve been a big help.” Kicker nodded in reply. Betty turned to gesture Sparkler back over. “You can come back now.” Sparkler didn’t need to be told twice as she raced back to Kicker’s bedside. Smiling at him. Betty smiled at her. “Thank you for giving us some space Sparkler. I really do appreciate it.” “Thank YOU for letting me stay in the room. Kicker hasn’t wanted me to leave the room all day, and I can’t say I’ve wanted to leave either.” She replied. Betty gave her a warm smile. “Let me guess. Your momma bear instincts are out in full.” She said. Sparkler chuckled. “What can I say? Last night was extremely nerve wracking, he was placed in my care a few days ago. You could say he brought out the mother in me.” She said. “I can see that.” Right then, the door was slowly pushed open and the three saw Nurse Redheart poke her head through. “Hi there. Just popping in to check Kicker’s vitals if that’s ok.” She said. “That’s fine Nurse.” Sparkler said. Redheart nodded and entered the room fully. She cleared her throat. “I’m gonna need you both to vacate the—“ “Can Sparkler stay please?” Kicker asked. Redheart regretfully shook her head. “Sorry bud, can’t do that this time.” Kicker’s eyes immediately started to water. “Why not?” He asked. Sparkler suddenly felt a tingle in her horn, a message from Twilight. Twilight: Just play along. Redheart’s doing it to confirm if she should recommend Kicker stay with you. It’ll help in the long run. Sparkler understood and smiled at Kicker. “I’ll be right outside. Ok? If you need me you just holler and I’ll come rushing back. Deal?” Kicker gulped...before nodding in response. Sparkler smiled and kissed his cheek. “Be good for the nurse.” She said as she and Betty walked out of the room. “Betty. Thank you so much for coming.” Nosey said with a smile when he saw his friend walk out of the room with Sparkler. “No problem Nosey.” Betty replied. “And thank you for your updates. It’ll speed this along nicely.” “Twilight, you said something about Redheart recommending Kicker stay with me.” Sparkler said to Twilight. “Mind explaining that?” Twilight smiled. “Remember his PTSD Sparkler? It turns out. If the staff here feel staying with you is crucial for his mental health, they can recommend he stay with you.” “So Redheart had to get you out of there so she can make an accurate assessment.” Nosey added. “Wait a minute, you guys think he has PTSD?” Betty asked. “Did you notice that he was desperate for Sparkler to stay in the room Betty?” Nosey asked. “That foal is traumatized by last night’s events on top of the three years he spent in captivity. And Sparkler saved him from captivity...twice. It’s no surprise Sparkler’s the only one he completely trusts.” Betty let Nosey’s words sink in, and gave an agreeing nod. “That does make sense.” She said. “He didn’t like the possibility of going to another family. He wanted Sparkler to stay in the room. All those point to PTSD.” “There’s also him panicking every time he encounters a new face if he doesn’t already know they’re coming. Like he’s scared they’ll take him.” Twilight commented. “Another sign of PTSD.” Betty said. “It sounds like we should get Sparkler’s petition for adoption approved as soon as possible.” Nosey bit his lip. “I’m not sure if the kid’ll make it that long If River and I take him Betty. If Redheart recommends he stay with her to maintain his mental health I really think we should follow her advice, for the kid’s sake.” He said. Betty glanced at the door, and then back to the three ponies. She sighed after a second. “Sparkler can I talk to you for a moment?” She asked. Sparkler nodded and she and Betty walked a little ways away from Nosey and Twilight. After they got to the end of the hall, Betty turned to Sparkler. “Normally this is where I ask you for your version of events as you know them. But that can wait til later. Right now, would Kicker be your first?” “Yes.” Sparkler replied. “He would.” “As with most potential parents.” Betty replied. “Do you know what taking care of a foal entails?” “I do actually.” Sparkler said without hesitation. “We did the egg assignment in school. And we did a subsequent unit where we took care of real life foals for the weekend.” She explained. “I know it sounds weird but our village was really tight and small, and if we didn’t pass the egg assignment we weren’t allowed to do the sequel unit, it may have been weird but the school wasn’t stupid.” Betty, not wanting to question it further, just nodded and continued. “Ok. Moving on, I assume you have a room you’ve been letting Kicker stay in since you found him in that alleyway.” She asked. “Yeah. I do.” Sparkler replied. “I’ve been letting him stay in my guest room...maybe I shouldn’t call it that anymore.” “Alright. And final question for now. Can you financially support a new foal?” Betty asked. “Yes. I can.” Sparkler said. All I need to do is raise my commission prices a little. It’ll be fine. “In that case, so long as Redheart recommends it I can authorize for Kicker to remain in your custody while we work to make it official.” Betty said with a smile Sparkler grinned. “Thank you Ms. Pringle.” She said. “Don’t thank me yet. Still got a ways to go before you two can live happily ever after.” Sparkler nodded. “Right.” She said as they started walking back to Nosey and Twilight. So you REALLY want to do this. Yes I do. I was lucky to have parents who were there for me when nopony else was. Kicker’s LONG overdue for that kind of support. Are you gonna tell him about your past? Eventually. I don’t want to lie to him. You’ll be a good mother. And I can finally believe it. To be continued...