//------------------------------//
// 01:  Arriving in Ponyville 
// Story: The Personal Files of Dr. Mindwell 
// by rillegas08 
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"Next stop, Ponyville! Next stop, Ponyville!" called the same voice as a few days before. The ride was much shorter between Canterlot and Ponyville than between Canterlot and Manehattan, which was to be expected: Ponyville is about as far from Canterlot as Fillydelphia is from Manehattan.

The train slowed, and I took my saddle bags out of the storage bins, placing them on my back with my magic. As I stepped off the train car, I looked around at the sparsely populated platform. Having a small number of ponies present was a pleasant change from the crowded Manehattan and Canterlot stations. I couldn't find the pony I was supposed to meet with only a quick glance, so I took a closer look at the others. A cream-colored earth mare with candy for a cutie mark, who was apparently at the station to meet her teal unicorn friend with a lyre cutie mark from Canterlot who'd come to visit. A grey pegasus mare. A purple unicorn standing next to a purple and green baby dragon. No, not a unicorn - as I looked at her cutie mark, I saw her wings, and checked her head to make sure I didn't imagine the horn. Sure enough, she had both; she was an alicorn, and most likely the pony I was supposed to meet.

Princess Celestia may have forgotten to give her my description, as she was still looking at the other passengers. I walked up to her.

"Excuse me, I'm Dr. Mindwell. Are you Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

She turned to face me. "Yes I am, and this is my assistant Spike."

I started to bow, but she put out her hoof to stop me. I looked up, puzzled.

"I appreciate the gesture, and would allow it in a more formal setting out of necessity, but you don't need to bow to me. I'm still not used to this whole princess thing. And you don't need to call me by my title either."

"You can just call her Twilight," quipped the baby dragon, "or maybe Miss Sparkle if you still want to be somewhat professional about it."

"Spike!"

An interesting statement, a princess not comfortable with being a princess and asking not to be called such. I knew many ponies would jump at the prospect. I doubt I would, though. Perhaps if I were to be suddenly elevated to royalty as Pri... as Miss Sparkle was, I'd have the same sentiment. Princess Celestia did say she and I were similar: we're both very studious, and perhaps she was also like me in the sense that I preferred interacting with only a few ponies at once over being in a large group a lot.

"As you wish, Miss Sparkle," I said, and a tired smile graced her muzzle. She turned to leave the platform, and used her magic to levitate her assistant onto her back. I followed beside her.

"Well, we should get started," she said.

We passed through the door of the station, and I had my first look at the town. To the left, I could see the hospital standing taller than any of the surrounding buildings. Any other existing landmarks were blocked by houses and trees. To the right, I saw a schoolhouse and many acres of farmland. Two other structures stuck out higher than the houses and trees; a clock tower and what appeared to be the fancy cupola of a public building.

"He's here!"

I looked ahead of me, taking in the details right in front of me for the first time. Sitting - no, not sitting, bouncing quickly - by a fountain was a bright pink mare with a very puffy mane and tail. She was grinning from ear to ear.

I was slightly uncomfortable at her over-the-top enthusiasm.

"Thanks for waiting, Pinkie. Dr. Mindwell, this is my friend Pinkie Pie. When she heard somepony new was coming to town - "

"It took a lot  to not go to Canterlot and bring you here myself in a big parade with floats and balloons and music and a great big party!"

I knew opposites attract, but this seemed ridiculous. I was curious to know how such an introverted pony had become friends with such an extroverted one. I had encountered a lot of ponies over the years, but none were like this Pinkie Pie. She was certainly the most extremely extroverted point on an introversion-extroversion scale.

"Normally she welcomes somepony new as soon as she meets them, but she agreed to make an exception this time and wait."

"Is she going to throw me a party?" I joked, smirking.

"It's what she did when I first came from Canterlot."

I looked at Miss Sparkle with a surprised look, although I wasn't sure how surprised I actually needed to be. I knew Miss Sparkle had once lived in Canterlot, and had been sent to Ponyville the year before. So that was how they met, but it remained to be discovered how they had become friends.

Suddenly the pink mare produced a party wagon out of nowhere (it still confuses me how she was able to do that). It was pink (of course) and filled with fireworks, horns, flags, and all sorts of sweets. She started singing a welcome song and dancing to it. It was short and simple. She slid on her hind knees in front of the cart, facing me. When she stopped singing I smiled, sat on my hindquarters, and clapped my hooves.

"Wait for it..."

A cake popped out of what was apparently a portable oven. As if on cue, confetti burst out of some of the large pipes that were standing straight up. I'd wondered what those were for, if not pure decoration.

"Thank you for that welcome," I said, standing back up and brushing some confetti out of my mane. Miss Sparkle did the same. "Do you welcome everypony like this?"

"Only if they're planning to live here a long time."

I chuckled, turning to Miss Sparkle. "You got the welcome cart too?"

"Actually, when I first came here it was going to be a temporary visit, so I got a surprise party instead."

"Yeah, and considering how she was trying to avoid everypony as much as she could, it prooobably wouldn't have been a good idea to use the welcome cart since I later found out that I'd put the confetti in the oven and the cake in the party cannons that day. She wouldn't have liked that," she added.

"I see." I imagined it would be very difficult for me to figure out the psyche of this one.

"Anyway, gotta run. I've got a busy day today. Nice meeting you!" She waved and bounced down the road.

"She doesn't treat you like royalty, I notice."

"I've been her friend much longer than I've been a princess. In fact, that's true of most of the ponies in Ponyville."

"Speaking of which, I know how you two met, but how did you become friends?"

"Not long before Nightmare Moon returned, I was reading Predictions and Prophecies..."

She continued her story as we walked through the town, pausing from time to time to point out important buildings: Sugarcube Corner, the spa, the schoolhouse for foals, Sweet Apple Acres, the town hall (which did in fact have the cupola I'd seen earlier, proving my hypothesis), the park, the Carousel Boutique, the pet sanctuary operated by her friend Fluttershy, the windmill, the clock tower, and finally the Golden Oak Library. Several of these locations played a part in how she found her first group of friends. She told me about the letter that Princess Celestia had sent her, telling her to go to Ponyville to make preparations for last year's Summer Sun Festival; she told me about the ones in charge of each part of the celebration, who all eventually became her core group of friends, about whom she had told me as we passed each location; she told me about the missing Princess; she told me about the Elements of Harmony, and the long and arduous journey into the Everfree Forest to find them; she told me about her final standoff with Nightmare Moon, Nightmare Moon's eventually defeat, and the return of the royal sisters.

By the time she had finished retelling the tale, we had been standing near the library for several minutes. "And to think, Equestria would have been doomed if I hadn't come here and made some friends."

I had already learned a lot about Miss Sparkle, her friends, and some other ponies in town, and I'd barely been in Ponyville an hour. Party pony, hardworking farm girl, adrenaline junkie, fashionista, introverted animal lover, and of course my guide the scientist who enjoyed learning. Princess Celestia had been right; Miss Sparkle and I do have a lot in common.

I had noticed something else about the new alicorn princess beside me. Although she had started talking with enthusiasm, I could recognize a sign of too much stress: decreased energy, possibly caused by the on-going high-stress situations she'd had to deal with the last year.

"Forgive me for asking, Miss Sparkle, but are you all right? Princess Celestia told me a little bit about what you and Ponyville have gone through this past year, and you seem tense."

"Tense doesn't even begin to cover it!" she said, probably a bit more loudly than she'd intended. Overreaction: another indication of too much stress. "In one year, my friends and I have had the responsibility for saving Equestria no fewer than four times, five if you include Sunset Shimmer's attempt to cross over from a different dimension, I've suddenly been given appendages and barely know how to use them, and ponies are starting to expect me to be different than I was just because I'm now a princess!"

I could barely resist suggesting she come into my office sometimes to talk, but I did. She'd pretty much walked into it. Also, this Sunset Shimmer she mentioned intrigued me. I reminded myself to ask Miss Sparkle about her another time.

"Where's my office? Princess Celestia said arrangements had been made, but I think we forgot to stop there."

"Oh my gosh, you're right! Let's go!" She started on her way, but I put my hoof in front of her and pointed to her dragon, who was laid flat on her back, eyes closed.

"Your dragon fell asleep some time ago. Should we put him to bed first?"

"You're right," she said, her voice calmer now than it had been just moments before. "Wait for me here. I'll only take a minute." I nodded and waited outside the library for her. Not long after, we started making our way to one of the buildings nearby, and she opened the door to let ourselves in. It was two stories tall, built with plaster and exposed beams (or thin fake beams that had been added on after the fact) like most of the other buildings in Ponyville. The first floor was pretty much empty, although there was a kitchen area in the back. I wasn't much of a cook, but maybe now that I'm living by myself I should start cooking more. The second floor was empty as well, and actually had nothing else.

I followed her back downstairs, and she used her magic to levitate the key toward me, which I took with my own magic.

"This house belongs to you now. Decorate it however you wish." I planned to, although I hadn't yet decided whether I wanted my patients to be on the first floor where somepony could peer in as they passed, or if I wanted my bed there. The lesser of two evils, as it were, although that phrase may hold a different meaning in Equestria than in another country. She turned to leave.

"Miss Sparkle..." She turned to face me.

"Did you need something else?" she asked.

"No," I answered, "but I think you do. The last few days have been stressful for everypony involved, and I think you bore the largest weight of anypony. Too much long-term stress can be very harmful, contributing to painful ulcers and a weakened immune system. It can also be a contributing factor to disturbed sleep, muscle tension and aches, headaches, and fatigue, and also increases the prevalence of many preexisting conditions.

"I realize that as a princess your schedule may not allow for regular visits, but I do urge you to come by whenever you can. We can work on relaxation techniques, as well as find other ways to reduce the effect of stress before it becomes harmful."

She sighed, her ears drooping a little. "Was it that obvious?"

"Maybe not for somepony else, but I've spent years training to recognize subtle clues that may indicate bigger problems, and I recognized a few today."

"I'll check my schedule, and send Spike over soon to schedule an appointment then." She smiled. "I'm really glad Celestia sent you here. You're going to be helping a lot of ponies."

It was my turn to smile. "Thank you, Miss Sparkle. I look forward to seeing you again." I parted for Quills and Sofas, one of the stores that Miss Sparkle had specifically pointed out, where I could buy some furniture. A bed and nightstand for me, and some chairs for me and my patients. I paid to have them delivered to my new home, and made my way back.

Yes, I do look forward to seeing many ponies come through my door. It's not just about helping; it's about getting to know them so I can help them in the best way for each of them.