//------------------------------//
// Part 1, Chapter 4 - Questions 
// Story: Just a Phase 
// by HorseStories 
//------------------------------//

The sky darkened and the moon rose as Sweetie Belle sped back to her home.

'Oh, no...'

Sweetie Belle arrived home to see all the lights on. And if she squinted, she could make out the silhouette of her parents in the hallway.

Slowing to a trot, Sweetie Belle arrived at the door to her home and slunk in. Immediately she heard her father:

'Late again, Sweetie Belle? And the day after we told you to stop these library visits! What is wrong with you?'

'I'm so sorry dad, but I swear-'

'Sweetie, don't interrupt! We are sick and tired of this behavior, and if you aren't willing to do anything about it, we are going to seriously think about-'

'Dad, please, I wasn't-'

'Sweetie, I already told you to be quiet! We only what what is best for you, and-'

'SHUT UP!'

Magnum faltered, shocked at this uncharacteristic display of belligerence from his daughter, a normally quiet and soft-spoken pony. His wife, however, was not so perturbed;

'Sweetie Belle, how dare you talk to your father like that!'

'Ahh.. Um, yes, Sweetie Belle! Apologize!'

Sweetie hung her head, feeling the fight drain out of her. 'Sorry, dad.'

Magnum took a few moments to recompose himself, and then continued with his lecture. 'Sweetie Belle, we have told you before to stop being so antisocial, and to not stay out late at the library. Explain yourself!'

'Dad, I swear I wasn't at the library. I was with Fluttershy, because...'

The silence hung in the air, as Sweetie Belle tried to come up with a valid reason for staying late at Fluttershy's house.

Eventually, Magnum spoke up again. 'Sweetie Belle, don't insult my intelligence. I don't believe you were at Fluttershy's house, but this is a conversation we can have another time. We want to talk to you about something else.'

Sweetie Belle felt her heart sink, recognizing the tone in her father's voice. Whenever Sweetie Belle heard that tone, it meant Trouble. Not just regular trouble, such as failing a test, but BIG trouble. Trouble with a capital T.

'Sweetie Belle, when you were out today, we went into your room-'

'What?' Sweetie Belle shrieked, rapidly feeling terror rise up inside her, bolting her to the spot and seizing her throat. Her father spoke, but she could not hear him over the pounding of her heart. They know, they know, they know! Come to think of it, her stack of photocopies had seemed rather slim when the went to deliver it to Fluttershy...

'Sweetie Belle? Are you paying attention? I said don't shout at me like that!'

Sweetie Belle felt her blood boil, fear swiftly replaced by boiling hatred. How dare they pry into her personal affairs? What gave them that right? Sweetie Belle's fury was only amplified by the knowledge that if they had searched her room one day later, they would have found nothing. This wasn't just an invasion of privacy for Sweetie Belle - it was a cruel way to impede her attempt to change her life around.

'Sweetie Belle? Pay attention! Now, while we were there, we found some... photocopies. I tried to go and get the rest, but they were gone, so don't play the fool here - you must have known I found them, or you wouldn't have disposed of the rest. Goodness knows how you knew - I only hope you haven't read them so many times you recall each and every single one.'

'Sweetie Belle,' her mother cut in. 'We know these photocopies are from the library. Don't try and deny it.'

'Yes, dear. In any case, Sweetie Belle, we want you to know that we are deeply concerned. These photocopies are just.. morbid. The ones I took are all about a lobotomy performed on some pervert' - Sweetie Belle flinched - 'and I can only assume the others were equally disturbing. What are you doing with these, Sweetie Belle? Do you enjoy reading all about these poor ponies? What is wrong with you?'

'N-no, dad, I swear, it's all for my resea-'

'DON'T LIE TO ME, SWEETIE BELLE!'

Sweetie Belle collapsed backwards. Her father had always been one of the quietest, gentlest ponies she had ever known. His outburst just then had been completely out of character. Sweetie got up on her feet, shaking violently, feeling the combination of terror and hopelessness taking her.

'I-I-I...'

Sweetie Belle could bear it no longer, and collapsed, weeping. Her father looked away in pity, as his wife rushed over to comfort the filly.

'I'm s-s-sorry...'

'Shh... Sweetie Belle, it's okay...'





An hour later, Sweetie Belle was sat across the table from her parents. Her brief outburst had earned her fifteen minutes solace before she was called back to talk to her parents.

Magnum was the first to speak. 'Sweetie, both of us are tired and very stressed, and we want this resolved just as much as you do, but we want to know what these pictures are doing under your bed.'

Sweetie gave no response, simply shrugged her shoulders. 'I can't tell you, dad. I'm sorry.'

Sweetie saw her father's face fill with the same look of anger, but before he could start, her mother cut across the table.

'Sweetie Belle, you can tell us anything. No matter what's going on, we will help you out of it'.

Sweetie Belle considered this offer. She did, after all, have a problem, and her parents, she knew, loved her and would do whatever it took to help her.

Then, Sweetie Belle flicked her eyes towards the photocopies laid out on the table, and remembered why she kept the photocopies in the first place. She needed help like she needed a hole in her head. Literally.

'You won't be able to help me.'

'Well then, I'm decided'. Magnum used a brisk, businesslike tone. 'Sweetie Belle, if you will not tell us what is going on, we will schedule a meeting with a psychiatrist for you every week. Perhaps you will be more open with him than you are with your own parents.'

'Until this dispute is solved, you are no longer allowed to leave home, except for school or an emergency. You also are no longer allowed to play with your friends - they are not allowed inside this house. This is for your own good, Sweetie Belle.'

Magnum got no further than this, because Sweetie Belle interrupted him. Not with an objection or even to curse him, just a roar of pure hatred and resentment. Magnum, who had never dreamed his daughter would be capable of producing such a deep sound, turned to face Sweetie Belle.

'Sweetie, control yourself!'

'NO! Why are you doing this?' Sweetie cried. 'Why can't you leave me alone?'

'Sweetie Belle, I can't just "leave you alone". It is my responsibility-'

'To do what? To pry into my stuff? I have a life, you know! If I wanted you to know about something, I would have told you in the first fucking place!'

'Sweetie Belle, watch your tongue! I understand you're upset, but we are both very concerned about you!'

'No you're not! You don't care about me, you don't love me, because you don't even know anything about me! You... you think I'm broken, right? That's why you want to set me up with a psychiatrist, because you want to fix me!'

'But you can't! I can't change!'

'Change what? Sweetie Belle, I don't understand-'

'I KNOW!' Sweetie Belle had never been so angry in her life. 'I know you don't understand, because if you did, you'd disown me! You'd send me away to doctors, and they'd cut out my brain!'

'Sweetie, that is such a ridiculous-'

Sweetie Belle saw her father's eyes slide to the photocopy on the table. When he looked back at her, she saw the faintest inkling of understanding. He knows, Sweetie thought, but he doesn't accept.

Sweetie's mother, however, did not make the same connection, and scoffed at her daughter. 'Sweetie Belle, nopony is going to cut out your brain! Now, there is nothing left to discuss here, so march yourself straight upstairs and go to bed!'

Sweetie screamed one final time, threw her chair to the floor, and galloped up the stairs. The dust on the table jumped up a few inches as she slammed her room's door.

'My, my.' Cookie Crumbles sat down next to her husband. 'I'm sure she'll get over it darling. Darling? What's wrong?'

Magnum gave his wife a weak smile. 'Nothing, it's just - a shock, to see Sweetie Belle like that. I think I need to - arrange the psychiatrist.'

Magnum waited for his wife to leave, and then flipped through the telephone directory. Sure enough, there was the number he had prepared to call - Dr Mind Warp, foal psychiatrist. Given Sweetie Belle's more recent outburst, though, a different number might be needed.

Should he tell his wife? No. This was a... probing measure. To see if his suspicions were correct. This would be between him and Sweetie Belle.

He finally arrived at the number he had been looking for, and punched it into the dial pad. Hopefully, this was all a big fuss about nothing.

'You've reached Dr Comet Spark, orientation conversion therapist. This is a secure, confidential line. To whom am I speaking?'