//------------------------------// // The High Priestess — Chapter II // Story: The Twilit Tower // by Fresh Coat //------------------------------// Flash stumbled forward, skidding across the wooden floors of the dollhouse’s foyer, the floral wallpaper passing by in a blur as he grabbed onto the nearby staircase railing. As he regained his balance and released the banister, he turned towards the ponyquinn who had shoved their face into Flash’s. He leaned away from them, uncomfortable with the contact of the scratchy fabric on his fur.  “What are—” he began.  “Hello!” The ponyquinn interjected.  Put off by the sudden greeting, Flash returned the greeting. “Oh, um, hi?” he grinned nervously, worried that he might offend the thing otherwise.  “I’m so glad you’re finally here, Flash!” the ponyquinn continued. “That’s… awesome!” Flash said, feigning an enthusiastic tone. “I don’t suppose you could step back a bit?” “No,” the ponyquinn bluntly stated.  “Right, of course.” Flash gulped. “So, where is here exactly?” “Its true name isn’t important, but to make things easier you can call it the tower.” “That’s a really weird name for— ah!” He was interrupted by the ponyquinn abruptly stepping back, grabbing his hoof, nearly toppling him in the process, then shaking it up and down rapidly causing the rest of his body to follow suit. The thing stopped just short of popping Flash’s foreleg out of its socket. Looking into the ponyquinn’s featureless face, Flash angrily shouted, “What was that for?!” “The traditional greeting ponies give. A hoofshake,” the ponyquinn stated matter-of-factly. “With introductions complete, we can get started.” “Started with what?!” Flash said in exasperation. He shook his head and tried to regain his bearings on the situation. “Actually, first off, who are you?” “Your guide,” the ponyquinn answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Sure, but what’s your name?” Flash tried again.  “I do not have one. It is unnecessary.” “Then how should I address you? Saying ‘you’ every time I want to get your attention is going to get confusing.” “You make a good point,” the ponyquinn tilted its head to one side in thought. “You shall pick one for us then.” “You want me to name you?” Flash asked.  “Yes.” Taken aback by the request, Flash furrowed his brow in concentration as he attempted to come up with a name for the strange… thing. It didn’t have any unique features excluding the fabric wrapped tightly around its frame. He focused on the colour, attempting to gauge what shade it was. It was a shade of purple, reddish in hue. The specifics reminded him of his mother’s garden and a certain berry that grew there. “I’ll call you Mulberry,” Flash answered.  “Excellent,” Mulberry replied. “Now we shall begin!” “And we’re beginning what exactly?” Flash asked apprehensively. “A simple questionnaire,” Mulberry said. “To start. It will assist in our treatment of your emotional distress.” “My—” Flash choked on his words in surprise, “I don’t have any distress!” He paused. “Okay, well, I shrunk down to the size of a doll, but I wouldn’t call that emotionally distressing.” “Oh no, I’m not referring to your shrinking. I refer to your personal distress. All the things currently bothering you at home and work!” Scrunching up his face in discomfort, Flash backed away from the ponyquinn with Mulberry following after him. “I’m not comfortable sharing that with a total stranger,” Flash replied as he felt his rump impact with a wall. “But who better to discuss it with than a total stranger?” Mulberry tilted their head, pressing up into Flash’s personal space. “A trusted friend?” Flash questioned, going back on his haunches and pushing himself against the wall. “No!” Mulberry replied back in a chipper tone. “Your trusted friend is part of the problem! It’s always better to talk with an unbiased third party who isn’t part of your situation nor held back by any affectionate attachment to you.” “I’m not sure that—” “We are capable of giving you unbiased opinions and feedback,” Mulberry interrupted. “We can help you address your issues and move on.” They pressed their muzzle to Flash’s. “You want to feel better don’t you?”  “I mean yeah, but—” “You want someone to discuss your problems with, don't you?” Mulberry continued. “Yes!” Flash said exasperatedly. “But if you would give me a moment—” “Then why hold yourself back, Flash? Let us help you.” Flash bit his lip in indecision, his discomfort mounting with how close Mulberry was to him both physically and emotionally. Invading his space. Taking it over. And he hated how he couldn’t say no. He could move them out of the way, he could tell them to go away, he could do any number of things to get out of this situation.  But instead, all his brain could come up with was to agree with whatever it was they wanted and hope it would be painless. “S-sure,” Flash agreed with a hesitant nod of his head.  “Wonderful!” Mulberry stepped backward giving Flash enough space to come back to the ground. Flash breathed a sigh of relief as he did so. “Now, to start,” Mulberry continued, “we will be asking a series of questions to get a better understanding of your mental well-being. Please answer truthfully to the best of your ability.” “Okay,” Flash nodded his head, getting himself comfortably seated on his rump.  “Then let us begin.” Mulberry stared off into space for a moment before chuckling quietly to themself. “Oh! This is a fun one. What is your favourite colour?” “Blue?” Flash replied uncertainly, trying to gauge Mulberry’s reaction. “No, it’s orange. Er, wait, white.” “White is not a colour,” Mulberry stated. “T-then blue,” Flash answered, pinning his ears to the back of his head.  “A lovely colour,” Mulberry said. They paused for another moment. “Who is your favourite sibling?” Somewhat taken aback by the abrupt personal question, Flash thought about his younger brother Lead and older sister Swift. He didn’t particularly like either of them. His brother was obnoxious and loud. His sister likewise.  They were both difficult to talk to. His brother was insulting in how he addressed Flash, while his sister just took over any discussions they had with each other. However, the question still hadn’t been answered and Mulberry was waiting for his response. If he had to pick one… “My sister, Swift,” Flash said.  “The professional athlete, interesting,” Mulberry mumbled. Flash looked askance. “I see even weird ponyquinns know about her.” “We find it difficult not to, with her being the best racer in Equestria.” Mulberry once more stared off into space. “How do you feel about your job?” “I enjoy the work. The discipline and routine is good for me. I get to stay active and protect those that need it.” Flash shrugged. “It's fulfilling.” “That’s it?”  “What do you mean ‘that’s it’,” Flash asked, confused. “I answered the question, now let’s move on to the next one.” “Now, Flash—” “I just answered you!” Flash yelled, stomping his hoof on the floors and leaving a crack in the wood. Mulberry ignored the damage and stared at Flash intently. “Flash, I am obligated to remind you that you must answer truthfully. We are here to help. And we cannot help you if you are not honest with us.” They paused to allow their words to sink in. “Now, I will ask again.” Their voice went an octave deeper, an unknown power behind their words. “How do you feel about your job?”  He mulled over his thoughts, twisting and turning them until he found an answer. As he tried to speak the words, his throat closed up, unwilling to let him vocalize something so private. Pushing through the discomfort, Flash forced out, “Everything is decided for me. I don’t have to figure out where I fit because everyone fits in the same box regardless of who they are,” he continued, the words becoming easier as he spoke. “I don’t have to set boundaries or figure out who I am in relation to others because, while in the guard, I’m not ‘Flash Sentry’, I’m just ‘Guard’. “I-it’s comfortable.” Mulberry stared at him impassively before they said, “Excellent response.  Now, for the final question. How do you feel about your attraction towards stallions?” With just a simple sentence, Flash could feel his world expand bigger as he grew smaller. His breathing sped up, his heart threatened to burst from his chest. His wings flapped behind him, anxious to take off and fly away as far as possible. “W-what do you— no!” Flash exclaimed, his voice trembling. “I’m not attracted to— I’ve never—!” “Now, now, Flash, it’s perfectly normal to harbour feelings for other ponies, even if they are of the same gender.” Mulberry tilted their head to one side. “Even a pony in a higher station than you.” “I— what?!” Flash’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks, sheer panic coursing through his system. “I don’t— he doesn’t even—!” Flash slammed back against the wall feeling cornered. Everything seemed to be moving away from him, the walls, the stairs, even Mulberry. “Why are you even asking this?!” “The root of your distress is your inability to come to terms with these feelings you have. In order for us—” they placed a hoof on their chest “—to help you, you must confront these feelings firsthoof.” “This isn’t— I-I don’t want to talk about it,” Flash whimpered, his body shaking in fear.  “That is not an answer to the question, Flash Sentry.” “I don’t—” “We will not move forward until you answer the question,” Mulberry firmly stated.  He shrunk away from Mulberry feeling physically nauseous at being confronted so directly about an aspect of himself he so rarely wished to acknowledge, let alone talk about. Unfortunately, he had no way of escape and the only way forward was to satisfy Mulberry’s question. Gritting his teeth, Flash mentally pushed forward. With his head hung low, Flash responded, “W-what do you mean by the question? It’s kind of vague.” “Oh, apologies. We did not mean to be so unclear,” Mulberry said. “We are asking about how you feel about those feelings of attraction.” Flash shrunk in on himself, hunching his shoulders and covering his body with his wings. “Shame, remorse…” he bit his lip, recalling a moment long ago now smeared with guilt, “... hate. But I wouldn’t act on it! The only one I really like now is married and he… probably doesn’t feel the same way.” “Superb!” Mulberry looked down at him. This struck Flash as off since he was supposed to be taller than them. “Now, would you like me to take your jacket back? It appears to be too big for you.” Confused, Flash glanced down then quickly became alarmed. He had become roughly the proportional size of a foal and his jacket, made for somepony that was both an adult and not average-sized, hung around him like a tent  that had collapsed overtop of him.  “W-why am I—” Flash could feel his breath picking up pace, his chest heaving from his panic. “What did you do?!” “We did nothing, but you are making excellent progress,” Mulberry said in a chipper tone, grabbing Flash’s jacket and hanging it over the nearby banister.  “Progress?!” Flash shouted. “How is this progress?” “Because you’re finally addressing your feelings,” Mulberry stared into space a moment. “The questionnaire is now complete. Are you ready to move on to the next session?” “I’m don’t really want to.” “Perfect! Let’s go.” Mulberry grabbed Flash by the shoulders and dragged him towards one of the closed doors in the foyer. It swung open as they approached, one willing and one filled with dread. Flash tried to bury his hooves into the wooden floorboards, but he’d lost all his weight from shrinking further making it impossible to fight back against Mulberry’s surprisingly strong grip.  “Wait! Please don’t!” Flash begged. “I-I need to fix this first!” “You will! Just continue with the sessions,” Mulberry replied.  They stopped just short of the door. Flash looked up, finding Mulberry’s expressionless face looking unnervingly down on him.  “Try to be social!” They pushed Flash through the door, which closed roughly behind him. He tried to push it back open, but it was firmly shut. Apprehensively, he looked out over the new place he found himself in.  Staring back at him, was a sea of differently coloured ponyquinns.