//------------------------------//
// 3 - Consulting with Royalty 
// Story: It's OK to Be a Pony 
// by David Silver 
//------------------------------//

Twilight settled in Lyra's office, her eyes wandering and taking in the decor. She spotted the license from Canterlot Mental Health that declared Lyra to be an accredited helper of the mind. "So, how's the new job going?"

Lyra shook her head. "A little crazy, pun intended. I want to call it a group delusion. They all think they were humans at one point, but they're all definitely ponies now."

"Human?" Twilight tilted her head a bit. "I thought those only existed beyond the mirror portal."

Lyra's monocle fell from her face. "They're real?"

Twilight grabbed the monocle with her magic and lifted it back into place. "Yes, but they don't exist in Equestria. I really shouldn't say more."

Lyra frowned sharply. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, I need to know this, for their sake. Please."

Twilight seemed to consider a moment before she nodded. "Very well. There's a portal in the Crystal Empire that leads to a world of humans. I visited it, twice. I don't recommend the trip, but I made some friends."

Lyra nodded slowly. "Alright, so, is it possible for a human to just 'fall' into Ponyville?"

Twilight shook her head quickly and waved a hoof. "Impossible. You have to go through the portal. If they came from there, they'd be in the Crystal Empire, not Ponyville. If your ponies claim to just... appear here, I couldn't say how that would work. My personal portal has been deactivated and not even in one piece since the last time I visited, so it's not that."

Lyra scowled. "Would there be... evidence, one way or the other?"

Twilight bit her lower lip, thinking hard. "I never tried bringing a human back through the portal to see what would happen. We've had ponies go both ways, but no humans."

Lyra nodded slowly. "One of them keeps asking for a 'hamburger'."

Twilight brightened. "I remember those, they were delicious."

Lyra went pale. "You realize that, if my patient is accurate, is made of meat?"

Twilight went green and gagged. "Oh Celestia! Well it didn't taste like meat?" Not that Twilight had any idea what meat should taste like. "Maybe your patient is crazy after all. Meat, hmmph. Why would they serve that in a school?"

Lyra nodded, feeling better about the situation. "They must have read the same book on humans I did and just started making things up. There's no sign of magical tampering or lingering enchantments of any kind on them. They're perfectly healthy ponies, aside from a few of them not having a cutie mark despite being well into adulthood."

Twilight bobbed her head. "Maybe part of it is insecurity from not having a cutie mark? You've seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders, imagine a group of adults?"

Lyra frowned. "Good thought there. I should see if we can't find their calling. Maybe getting their cutie marks would shock them out of this delusion and get them back on their hooves." She smiled then. "Thank you so much, Twilight. I'll get right on that."

Twilight rose to her hooves. "Anytime, Lyra. If you think it'll help, bring them by the castle and I'll show them the portal."

Lyra's frown returned. "I don't think teasing them with validation of their delusions would be a good idea. They could relapse. Some of them are showing real promise. Shattered Stone is practically ready to embrace his poniness, if we could just work past his anti-social behavior. Samantha and Sam are also showing progress. I think I'll get them to remember their real names soon, or at least take up new ones that don't sound so strange."

"Samantha and Sam? Those are very similar to one another." Twilight sounded curious about that.

Lyra bobbed her head. "You noticed that too? I really think they just came up with half of this stuff together. It's a real group-problem. That's why I don't want you scaring any of them. If one of them crashes, it could bring down the whole group with it."

Twilight approached Lyra and softly pat her shoulder. "You're doing good work, Lyra. They're in good hooves, and I'm glad you're being so serious about this."

Lyra beamed, filled with a giddy warmth at the kind words coming from the princess. "I'm just trying my best, Twilight. I want them to be happy. They won't be happy until they accept what they are, and they are definitely ponies."

Twilight rolled a hoof. "I would like to see the group sometime. Maybe I could sit in on a meeting?"

Lyra shook her head. "I'd love to, but I promise confidentiality. 'But she's a princess' will just hurt their feelings and the trust they have in me. You understand?"

Twilight gave an uncertain nod. "Oh, of course. Yes. Maybe when they're feeling a little better?" She tapped her chin. "You are taking notes on this, I hope?"

"Of course." Lyra pointed at a journal sitting on a desk nearby. "This is fascinating work."

Twilight bobbed her head in agreement. "I would like to review that, after you're done, of course."

"Certainly." Confidentiality requirements being what they were, after-the-fact reporting was commonly accepted to help spread knowledge in effective treatments. "I plan to turn it over to the therapist guild up in Canterlot. Maybe they'll be able to use it to help other ponies with species identity crisis."

Twilight shuddered. "I went through that once... They have my sympathy. Good luck, Lyra." She turned and departed, leaving Lyra to her work.