Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

by Broseph_Stalin

Overture

Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence

~By Sabre

Chapter I. – Overture

A rolling, bubbling sensation at the pit of Spike’s stomach forewarned him of the arrival of a very important letter from his beloved Princess, and he quickly set down the dusty pile of books he had been carrying. Bracing himself, he felt the gas rise and let out a hearty belch.

With a swirl of misty smoke and the sharp snap of wintergreen prickling at his nose, the baby dragon reached out and caught firmly the delicate scroll that had been transferred from the Office of the Princess right here into his claws.

Breaking the seal with a deft slice of his claw, he grinned as he read the letter to himself. His face fell slowly, however, as he took in the contents of the seemingly impromptu letter. Finally looking away from the confusing memo, he called out to his unicorn friend.

“Twilight? Hey, Twilight!”

Padding down the steps with the swish of scales, he went to go look for the Princess's student.

. . . .

“So, what does it mean, exactly?” Spike inquired of Twilight as the unicorn held the parchment aloft in magic’s sparkling grip. The pair was sitting at the table, snacking on hay fries and waiting for dinner to be ready.

“Well,” she began, slightly distracted as she re-read the letter, “the Princess wants me to go to Neighsville, and visit the sanatorium there.”

“But…why?” the baby dragon asked as he fidgeted nervously with the little spike on the end of his tail. The more obscure letters that the Princess sent to Twilight were always the most awful, and as far as he was concerned, the less words Princess Celestia sent to Twilight, the worse that things seemed to be.

“Dunno, Spike. All it says is, and I quote, ‘My dearest student Twilight. I would like you to travel to Neighsville tomorrow morning to visit the Sunny Pastures Mental Hospital. You will be meeting a doctor by the name of Looking Glass, who will be showing you around the place. While you are there, you will learn about the Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. I expect you to pursue this assignment with an open and inquisitive mind, and I hope you enjoy yourself. Signed, Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia.”

Twilight rolled up the letter with a shimmer of magic and set it neatly into the little white saddlebag that was sitting next to the kitchen doorway. She looked down on Spike’s nervous form with a self-assured grin.

“Is that something to do with the Elements of Harmony?" the little dragon asked. "What does that mean, ‘The Six Degrees of Inner Tumblance?’ With his nervous mind alleviated by the prospect of food, Spike shoved a mouthful of fries into his mouth and looked up at Twilight expectantly. She chuckled at her friend's silly mannerisms.

“Turbulence, Spike.” She laughed again at the little dragon’s “Oh,” as he sprayed bits of fries everywhere from out of his mouth. “And it means…well, I don’t know what that means, exactly. I guess I will find out, won’t I?” A grin spread wide across the unicorn’s face at the thought, and her mind worked in a fervor as it tried to figure out what the Princess had meant.

“Guess so,” Spike managed huskily through another mouthful of fries.

Twilight could only giggle lightheartedly at her friend.

. . . .

After a night of curious thoughts and suspicions, Twilight sat quietly at the Ponyville train station, waiting for the ten-thirty locomotive to pull in to its stop. Rifling through her saddlebag, she snuck a glance at the Princess's letter, and beheld the three words that had produced so much confusion for her. Unrolling it carefully, she saw the curious letters lit up by the early morning sun: “The Six Degrees.”

With a sigh, she rolled it up, put it back in, and shuffled further through her other belongings. The unicorn dragged up a worn-out copy of a medical book that had been buried under a stack of reference manuals in the library. With a sparkle of magic, she flipped through the pages of her copy of the PP-DSM-IV: the Pony Psychological Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, version four. It was, essentially, the unerring guide to every flaw, fault, oddity, and error of the pony mind. After looking through it last night, she had been shocked at the multitude of disorders, complications, and conundrums that the natural mind could bring about.

Even now, she had gotten caught up in the mystery of the distressed mind once again. It took a twinge in her neck and a sensation of soreness in her flanks to realize she had been sitting stuck in the same goofy position for almost forty minutes on the bench, flipping past page after page. As a fog of mist swept into the station, Twilight smiled at the train and packed up her things. Clambering up onto her cart, she looked back at where she had been sitting.

Caught within wisps of warm steam, the wooden bench seemed so alone and out of place on the plain, flat station floor. It was a marvel of ochre-hued difference amongst the unimpressive wash of the plain yellow-stained station. It caught her mind in an odd way, and she felt her smile crack even wider as her mind set itself in a novel little decision.

Struck with a profound sensation, she decided that no matter what she found at the hospital, no matter the diversity or the unnatural things she experienced, she would approach them with an open mind, a loving heart, and of course, a little help from her psychology text.

. . . .

After a long and pleasant trip through roving hills and farmland, Twilight Sparkle finally arrived in Neighsville. As she exited the bustling train station, she spotted the sanatorium through the steam of the locomotive from a short distance away. A green pony bumped her accidentally, leaving her with a short “Pardon” as he continued on his way, and Twilight made a private note to move with a purpose within the packed train station.

Collecting her bearings, the studious unicorn stepped off the long platform and let her gaze fall further on the little township. It obviously revolved around the goings-on at the psychiatric hospital, as the town itself seemed such a small and insignificant location, tucked next to the rolling green fields of farmland.

With a pleasant smile, she left the station at a brisk trot. As she approached the hospital, she noted that its expansive grounds were enclosed in a high brick wall that seemed quaint and peaceful from the outside. As Twilight was admitted inside, however, she realized as the façade fell away that this place was more like a prison than a retreat. A grimace sat on her features as she spotted heavy-set guards dressed in plain black clothes standing at various key points on the grounds. An uncomfortable thought set a wave of nausea in her stomach as she spotted the "L"-shaped police batons that sat menacingly upon their belts.

Feeling increasingly more disheveled, Twilight looked around once more with a careful amethyst eye at what they could possibly need to use those formidable clubs on. As she trotted forward, she spotted various ponies dressed in yellow coveralls that were bounding around the long pastures with the casual indifference and airy demeanor of a group of foals. Other ponies sat listlessly in worn white wicker lawn furniture that looked older than the weathered book in her bag. Two earth ponies sat unmoving at a table, playing what she assumed to be checkers, but a second glance revealed it to be chess, much to her mild surprise.

As she continued up the neat little cobblestone pathway to grand oak doors, she saw a sawdust-colored unicorn in neat square glasses who seemed incredibly out of place amongst the guards and patients. He was standing smartly in a blanched white overcoat at the top of the entryway stairs, and he extended a hoof as she approached him. Twilight took it professionally, and greeted the doctor with a curt nod.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle. My Name is Doctor Looking Glass, but you can call me Dr. Glass, for short.” He smiled keenly at her and released her hoof. “Welcome to Sunny Pastures." Peering over his glasses, he held his smile solidly upon her. "Is it as you expected it to be?”

A second glance revealed that his square face was set with slight wrinkles, which were framed by his neatly combed and grizzled mane. He looked on at her, patiently awaiting her reply. The purple unicorn merely glanced sidelong at a black-robed guard that stood next to the heavy-looking doors.

“Yes, I...think it about fits the way I imagined it, Doctor” she said finally, picking her words carefully. She broke her gaze from the muscular guard and indicated to the thick doors with a nod and a plastered smile. “Shall we begin?”

“Yes, of course! Follow me, please, if you will.” Dr. Glass said, returning his guest's pleasant smile. He turned to go inside enthusiastically, pushing the large door far easier than Twilight had expected it would move.

She trotted inside after the doctor, and felt the professional smile on her face fall slowly. Nervous thoughts prickled at her mind as she wondered what she would possibly find here, in a place where burly guards with clubs oversaw ponies who seemed as content and nonthreatening as little fillies.

Comments

[neutralmilk]

This is one of the greatest albums I've ever heard. I can't wait to be able to read this.

[Thatkid99]

As i'm reading this i'm actually listening to the album. What a coincidence!

Can't wait to move on