//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: The Personal Files of Dr. Mindwell // by rillegas08 //------------------------------// I boarded the train to Canterlot after way too long waiting on a crowded platform. I'm not originally from Manehattan, but here I am: a tan unicorn stallion with ivory-rimmed glasses and a mane and tail the color of ginger sticks. For the past several years I've been going to Manehattan University, a prestigious academic institution second only to Celestia's school for unicorns. So of course I'd be one of the few unicorns attending the school, the students of which were at least 75% earth ponies. 20% or so of the rest are pegasi who have chosen to study something other than flying or weather management, and the remaining minority were unicorns like myself and other non-pony creatures. We tended to receive a few strange looks of confusion; why wouldn't a unicorn be attending Celestia's school that catered to our kind. I'm not sure why I was thinking of the school's demographics. I put it out of my mind and turned my attention back to the letter I'd received from the Princess. It had arrived the night before. It was a plain envelope, but sealed with the unmistakable seal of the Royal Sisters, the same seal that's surrounded by several stars on the Equestrian flag. I'd had to read it a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming -- and, if I'm being perfectly honest, to gather as much information as I could about the Princess that I didn't already know. The hoofwriting was elegant, as to be expected from any of the nobility in Canterlot, but it wasn't a fancy script. Although there were loops, curls, and other embellishments typical of fancy calligraphy, it was simple. The elegance came not from the script itself, but from the centuries required to make such simplicity elegant. She began each sentence with a slightly larger letter than the rest of the sentence, unnoticeable except for those purposefully looking for it. Other than that, each letter was exactly like the others like it: every lowercase t was crossed the same, the dot of every i the same angle and distance from its stalk. I put no serious thought into graphology, or how her writing reflects her personality; such a practice is a proof of confirmation bias, especially when you start analyzing the hoofwriting of somepony whose personality you already know. But I'll have my socks darned if I pretend I don't enjoy good-looking hoofwriting. Dear Psy Mindwell, Congratulations on receiving your doctorate! It is my joy to see any pony work hard to fulfill their destiny as you have done these past several years. I knew as well as you did when you dropped out of my school for unicorns the first semester that you were destined to have a different kind of magic that my school is admittedly lacking in: that of helping others. It is with my pleasure, then, that I have been able to expedite the process of acquiring your very own practice. Please come to Canterlot at your earliest convenience so I may give you more details, as I am running out of room on this paper. Please send me a note back with your travel plans so you may be met at the station. Princess Celestia I smiled again, as big a smile as I'd had every time reading her message. Several things amazed me. How could she keep track of everypony who went through her school, even those who never even finished one semester? I had learned plenty about a pony's short- and long-term memory systems and the limitations of both, yet surely thousands upon thousands of unicorns had passed through her school's doors. "Next stop, the Hollow Shades! Next stop, the Hollow Shades!" The next stop after the Hollow Shades will be Canterlot. Canterlot, where I'll have my own practice... a fresh doctorate and already I get my own practice! Interning with the psychologist's clinic in Manehattan was difficult, for sure, but it certainly feels like it paid off. Wow, starting off at the top. The train pulled away from the junction that service the main line from Manehattan and Fillydelphia to Canterlot and the side tracks to the Hollow Shades and... someplace I'd never heard of. The tracks in that direction appear unused, but the rails have some shine to them. They must have been used recently. I stared out at the window the rest of my journey, watching the trees and hills pass by. I couldn't remember what I'd thought about, or even if I thought anything at all. The next thing I knew, the conductor was calling out the next stop, Canterlot. My ears and eyes perked up, and I looked at the clock on the capital city's approaching train station. Right on time. My eyes scanned the platform for Princess Celestia or somepony else of her court. I saw nothing at my first glance, so I took my saddlebags and got off the train car, looking at each pony now that I was closer. "Mindwell!" a voice called out, and my head turned toward it. I saw a well-dressed stallion with a sign around his neck with my name on it, and I approached him. "I'm Mindwell. Are you from the castle?" "Yes I am. Please follow me." He didn't say anything else. I followed him as he asked, and walked in silence the rest of the way through the busy streets. Ponies everywhere were talking, laughing, arguing, there were even a few singing. We passed building after building, shop after shop, business after business. I found myself wondering more than once whether my new office would be in one of these buildings. "Hello, Your Highness," the stallion said, bowing to Princess Celestia, and breaking my train of thought. I quickly bowed as well. The princess giggled. "Please rise. Thank you for coming, Psy." Her servant (I assume he was her servant, although couldn't all citizens of Equestria be considered the servants of the Princess?) parted, leaving the two of us alone in the hallway. Or at least, as alone as we could be while everypony else passed us, bowing their heads as they passed their princess. I walked beside the alicorn as she made her way through the halls toward another part of the castle, probably a conference room or the office of some bureaucrat who wasn't working for some reason or another. That would be weird. We're most likely going to a conference room. To my surprise, the princess led me out to a balcony. "How have you been, Psy?" she asked. "It's been so long since I've seen you." "It has indeed been a long time, Princess. And busy." "Congratulations once again on receiving your certification to become a counselor. We have far too few counselors in Equestria." "What you say is true," I reply, starting to relax. I've never personally had a chat like this with her, barely even met her in passing, but it seemed odd. Odd that somepony as powerful as her, both politically and magically, that she would enjoy small talk. Then again, perhaps it is because of her position that she enjoys small talk as a sort of relaxation method. The more I thought about it, the more the latter seemed more likely. "I was only one among four other individuals who was able to stand being in school that long." "How were the grades of your graduating class?" "The lowest of the four of us ended with a B+ average." She smiled, looking out at the city. I looked as well. The streets didn't look as busy from up here; in fact, several were empty or had very few ponies walking along them. I started to wonder whether my guide had purposely taken me along the busiest streets. "All wonderful students then." She turned to face me, but I didn't notice right away. I was still looking out over the city, my front hooves resting on the railing, and my head resting on my forelegs. I couldn't help but smile. "Are you proud of your accomplishments, Psy?" I turned to look at her again, and sighed. "The past few years were constant education and practicum," I responded. "I think I'm too exhausted from the exertion to feel much pride just yet. That's subjective, however. From a purely objective standpoint, however, I know I am. That's why you bought me here, after all, isn't it?" How quickly the conversation turned from small talk to the reason I was in the capital city. She smiled again. "Indeed it is. Arrangements have already been made for you to begin your new practice in Ponyville." "Ponyville?" I was understandably confused. Hadn't the princess mentioned in her letter that I was to begin in Canterlot? I thought back to what I could remember reading in the letter, but couldn't remember where she had said I would conduct my business. "Not in Canterlot?" "I've lived in Canterlot for a thousand years," she answered, "and the ponies here either have strong minds or refuse to accept help. A few who need help accept it, but the one counselor we have in Canterlot can handle those few." "Ponyville, however," she continued, "has endured so much in only one year. Nightmare Moon, a dragon, parasprites, all kinds of creatures from the neighboring Everfree Forest and Tartarus, celebrities, Discord, strange potions, and so much more. Some ponies there need your help, even without all that's happened." "Celebrities?" I asked. If she heard me, she didn't indicate that she had. "When my sister and I... disappeared... a few days ago, my former student and star pupil Twilight Sparkle was given a heavy burden to bear, but she was able to handle herself and her new position as a princess. You two could probably talk for hours about the subjects you both have learned. I have already sent her a message letting her know you'd be arriving soon and which building you would own. Whenever you're ready to go, I'll send her a message, letting her know to meet you at the Ponyville train station." I must have looked dejected, because the next words out of her mouth were "you look dejected." I sighed. "I was looking forward to living in the capital city, seeing my family and some of my old friends again." The princess rested her hoof on my shoulder, and my eyes went from looking at her golden shoe up to her kind face. "That is why I said whenever you were ready to leave. I knew you would want to stay a while, but try not to stay too long. I'm putting you there because that is where I believe the need for your expertise is the greatest." I gave a soft smile, but I wasn't completely sure why. This was a bittersweet moment for me. On the one hoof, it had been my dream to own my own practice in Canterlot; on the other hoof, what she had said about the need in Ponyville seemed to be accurate. I for one had never heard of Ponyville before the return of Nightmare Moon last year, and the small town had been on the front page of the national news several times in the year since. "In that case, Princess, I'll spend the rest of today and tomorrow doing what I need to do here. The next day I'll be on the first train to Ponyville." She retracted her hoof from my shoulder. "Excellent. I'll let Princess Twilight know right away. I trust you know your way out?" I nodded, looking back out over the city. I wanted to have dinner with my family. I had wanted to spend all of tomorrow with my friends, but now I'd decided to take some time to talk to Canterlot's counselor when he or she had a spare moment. For now, however, all I wanted to do was stare out at the city some more. After all, it's not often a pony of my socioeconomic status could talk with the ruler of his nation relaxing on one of the castle's many balconies. I'm sure Ponyville can afford to wait a couple days.