6 – Helping Hands
Chapter Six
Helping Hands
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The sun peeked through the window, gently filtering onto Sunset’s face. It was her signal to wake up and ‘rise with the sun’, as Princess Celestia was fond of saying. Sunset wasn’t terribly fond of the tradition – just because her cutie mark was a sun certainly didn’t mean she was a morning pony – but she did it every day, without complaint.
Well, no complaints to anypony else, in any event. She groaned as she pushed herself off the bed, haphazardly rubbing at her eyes with one hoof. Like the princess herself, Sunset was often up late into the night. Unlike the princess, she didn’t have the energy of an alicorn or two thousand years of experience to make the process easier.
She had to drag herself to the mirror, but her mood improved considerably from there. Something about her reflection just seemed better than usual. Not that she could have said what; her mane was nothing short of a mess, and there were bags under her eyes. Still, it just looked right. Good thing, too, since there wasn’t much time to fix any of the imperfections. Princess Celestia would be expecting her soon, and Sunset hated making her wait. A teal light shone from her horn, and a hairbrush levitated itself to her. Practiced as she was, she barely had to focus on the thing for it to do its job.
Several minutes later found Sunset turning from the mirror, with a song almost finding its way out of her smiling lips. That wouldn’t do, so she allowed herself a moment more to properly compose herself. Imagine if Cadance saw her so much as humming merrily. She’d probably blab about it to Princess Celestia, who would give her that cheesy smile she gave whenever she thought Sunset might actually start caring about friendship, or whatever else she chose to prattle on about.
Which… actually didn’t sound so bad. Sunset tried to think about what could possibly have her in such a good mood that she might be willing to suffer from both of Equestria’s princesses praising her for – wait, no, Cadance would still be obnoxious. So at least there was some degree of normality in Sunset’s world.
With a relatively neutral expression in place, Sunset left her room. The hallway outside was wide and richly decorated. Why had she never noticed how beautiful everything was before? There were deeply colored tapestries that hung on the wall beside bright and elaborate stained glass windows. The sun shone through the windows in a full spectrum of color. Here, red and orange. Over there yellow, green, and blue. Indigo and violet shone to the side.
But as she walked on, the hallway grew narrower. Sunset didn’t like it. The carpet faded underhoof, before being replaced by several rugs over hardwood flooring, with red rose petals sprinkled around. The windows had lost their color, although every windowsill had a mismatched flower vase, containing everything from orange marigolds, to yellow sunflowers, to green chrysanthemums. The tapestries were replaced with large photographs in black and white, which depicted the surrounding area in years long since past. The only color came from the flowers that covered everything. Although they had an oddly wild look about them, they seemed to be well cared for. Of course, that was to be expected in Canterlot castle. Flowers even grew out from the hallway itself, with blue hydrangeas dotting the walls and indigo lupines growing from cracks in the ground.
Sunset kept a brisk pace. Princess Celestia was waiting for her, after all. It wasn’t long before she came to the doors. They stretched out as far as she could see, although she knew there was an end. Each door led to a child’s room. Through a red door, a girl was crying. Through an orange one she could hear yelling. Sunset hated the other children, they all wanted to play with her. No one understood her here. The windows were small and didn’t open, and the walls were decorated with crude paintings from the children. Primary and secondary colors were the palette used in everything – yellow, green, and blue abounding wherever she looked.
She came next to the dining room. There were several people already gathered. They had left a spot open for her, so she climbed into it. The chair felt awkward, and she remembered it wasn’t made for somepony like her, but rather somebody like the people around her. She would make the most of it. It was important to eat breakfast, they would be upset with her if she didn’t.
Everything was made for children. Her plate was bright red, her cup orange. Both were plastic, so as not to be broken. Off to the side were her yellow fork and green spoon, also plastic. There was no knife, children didn’t use those.
First she tried to use her magic to lift her utensils, but it didn’t work. That’s right, magic never worked here. She would have to wait until she was with Princess Celestia in the other parts of the castle for that. Meanwhile, people were staring at her. She reached for a fork, but it was not made for hooves.
Rose Petal was looking at her disapprovingly. Sunset didn’t want to let her down, so she decided to make an excuse for herself. I’m not really hungry today, she said. I think I’ll skip breakfast. Do you know where Princess Celestia is?
Her voice seemed to alarm the other children. “You’re always such a freak!” Sugar Breeze yelled at her. Dew Drop was crying again. She was always crying.
I’m not a freak! Sunset claimed. Her words had no effect. Rose Petal stood up and walked over to her. She would help. She always said Sunset could count on her to help.
Before she even realized what was going on, Rose Petal had already pulled off Sunset’s shirt. Although ponies often went without clothes, Sunset felt strange without it. She tried to back away, but tripped. She didn’t remember how many legs to walk with. Rose Petal roughly took hold of her shorts and pulled them off as well. Sunset pushed the elderly caretaker away, not caring what happened as she fell to the ground.
Remembering how to properly move her legs, Sunset ran. She made it through the front door and found she was surrounded by mirrors. On her left she saw herself, a unicorn of red, orange, and yellow. On the right she saw somepony else, an alicorn wearing her colors. That wasn’t her, but it could be so she ran to it. Her reflection wore a sinister grin, but she didn’t care. It was all she ever wanted. She would be an alicorn, a princess. She would be Princess Celestia’s favorite again.
The mirror shattered, the pieces piercing her skin. In the shards on the ground she saw her reflection. It was warped beyond recognition, and it was exactly what she was. She was a freak, a nightmare creature, a thing.
“Come with me,” a voice said.
Sunset saw Violet Dusk beside her, passive as always. Her command was simple, so Sunset followed it. She no longer worried that she wasn’t wearing clothes. Horses never wore clothes.
Where are we going? she asked, but Violet ignored her. Sunset went along with her, but never with the intent of doing what Violet wanted her to. It was simply the path of least resistance.
Violet led her into the back of her car, where Sunset barely fit. As they drove, she noticed her blood. It flowed from the many cuts the glass had given her, soaking red into her orange fur.
They arrived at the one place Sunset never wanted to see again, a farm that felt large enough to be a prison.
Violet let her out, and Sunset ran. She would not be there. She ran, but she was found. Crystal Clear stood in her way, a patronizing smile on his face. But she wouldn’t stop, not for him. She reared back and brought her forelegs down onto him. She didn’t know what would happen to him, but it wasn’t her concern.
She ran back along the road she had come from, and found herself face to face with a little girl. She stopped suddenly, not wanting to accidentally run into Applejack. She held out her hand, and Sunset approached her slowly.
Stay by her side, she will help you.
Run away from her, you’ll both be better off.
“Everything will be okay,” Applejack said.
How do you know? Sunset asked.
“I just do. Trust me, it’s the honest truth.”
Sunset wanted to, but she couldn’t. She ran past Applejack, putting the silly girl behind her.
She didn’t know how long she ran for, but it didn’t matter. All the paths led back to one place. She didn’t need to try more than one, she just knew. She was back at the barn, as she would be from any other route she took. But anything was better than the barn and the creature inside it, the creature like her.
She turned to leave but found there was nothing behind her. The nothingness approached her, and she turned from it.
It forced her up against the barn. She heard a voice inside. Rough, male. Go away, it said. Your kind is not supposed to be here.
But the nothingness drew ever closer, and Sunset wouldn’t go in it. Without thinking, she kicked in the door to the barn. It wouldn’t follow her into the barn.
Chestnut was waiting, as she knew he would be. He snarled at her. I told you to leave, he said. This is not the place for humans.
I’m not a human, I’m a ——! Sunset pleaded for him to understand, for something to understand.
He approached her snarling, backing her into the wall. He had heavy iron chains keeping him from reaching her, the same as she had around her own neck. This was the place for her, the place she belonged.
Although it made the chains dig into her neck, Sunset turned away. The barn was dull and void of color, except for one. Red spider lilies raised up around her. Her favorite, they were the flowers of death, and of hell.
She bent down to reach one, but it was just out of her grasp. She strained her neck as far as she could, longing for the poisonous bulb. Everything would be okay if only she could eat just one.
Even as she woke up, Sunset hid under her blanket. She didn’t want to see herself in the mirror, didn’t even want to so much as check her own body to see which species she was. As long as she didn’t know, there was a chance she was still a human.
But whether she wanted to or not, she could feel herself drifting out of consciousness. If she remained in the dark, she’d sleep again, and she’d dream again. There was no choice, Sunset had to get up.
But first, she would make sure of something. Without opening her eyes, she slowly lifted her hand and pressed it to her face. She felt five little points press into her cheek, proving that it was indeed a hand, not a hoof.
She pulled the cover off and looked into the mirror. She saw a little girl with red and yellow hair that was all tangled up from tossing and turning in her sleep. Still, her heart wouldn’t stop pounding. She couldn’t forget everything that had just happened, even if it was a dream.
A knock on the door made her retreat back under her blanket. “Sunset, it’s time for breakfast,” Rose Petal called through the door.
Sunset didn’t answer. She didn’t want to see Rose Petal, not after what she’d dreamt about. Moments passed without any other interruptions, meaning that Rose probably had already moved on to the other rooms. It was only a minor relief since Sunset knew she would be back soon.
Rose could come back, but she would not get in. Rising from her bed, Sunset moved quickly. She cleared off her bedside table and pushed it against the door. She would have liked to move the bookshelf or, even better, the heavy dresser that was next to the door, but even the comparatively small bedside table proved to be a challenge for her small body. She piled everything she could on top of it, even if it only amounted to a few books. Hopefully it would be heavy enough to keep Rose and everyone else out.
She got it in place not a moment too soon. There was another knock on the door. “Sunset? What was that noise?”
Sunset ran back towards the bed, opting to hide under it instead of on top. The doorknob turned, and the door was pushed open slightly before being stopped by the table. The only thing that managed to work its way into the room was a light from the hallway.
“Sunset, what’s going on in there? Are you okay?” Rose sounded concerned.
It was a tone Sunset couldn’t trust. When had she ever done anything to earn that concern? She had caused problems for Rose the entire time she’d been at New Horizons, there was no way she could be genuinely concerned about Sunset’s well being now. It was a trap, she was faking it to lure Sunset out.
“Sunset, please, answer me.” The door pushed against the bedside table, but it didn’t move. “I just want to help you, please, just come to the door.”
Lies. Tricks and treachery. Sunset wouldn’t fall for them.
The noise stopped eventually. Footsteps led away from the room, but it hardly made Sunset feel safer. She reached a hand out from under the bed in order to grab her blanket and pillows. She covered her body with the blanket and placed the pillows in front of her, leaving just a crack between the top of the pillows and bottom of the bed frame which she could see out of.
The minutes passed slowly. Whether it was because of the hard floor, or because she was still terrified, Sunset was now much further from sleep. That was good, they could take her much more easily if she were asleep. She wouldn’t let that happen, no matter what.
Sunset had no idea how long she lay under the bed, watching the door. It felt like hours, at the least, although she knew that was probably not the case. In any event, it was all too soon that another knock came, and a different voice called through it. “Sunset, it’s Crystal Clear. Will you open the door?”
What was he doing here? After a moment’s silence, he tried the door. Thankfully, the table still held it in place. “You don’t want to talk to me through the door, do you?” he asked, as if she wanted to talk to him at all.
The door closed and she heard muffled voices from the other side, followed by silence. She wanted to believe that meant they had given up, but she knew better. She maintained her silent vigil on the door.
Enough time passed that she really did believe she might have won out, until she heard another sound coming from the wall to her right. Her head jerked to look, but she couldn’t see anything. Still, she knew what that sound was. Someone was opening her window. She could tell from the sound that it was already opened at least in part, leaving her no time to lock it. Instead, she pushed her way farther under the bed, hiding in a corner underneath her blanket.
She heard footsteps. “Sunset?” Crystal Clear called. His voice was gentle, the same trap that Rose Petal had tried. “Come on out, we need to talk.”
The closet door opened, then closed a moment later. The footsteps came closer, stopping just short of the bed. Sunset squeezed her eyes shut as tight as possible, willing him away.
“There you are.” His voice was much too close. If she would have looked, she knew she’d see him on the ground looking right at her. “Why are you under the bed, Sunset?”
Sunset wouldn’t move. He hadn’t seen her, and she wouldn’t acknowledge him.
“Ms. Rose is worried about you. She told me that you haven’t said a word all day.”
Sunset continued not speaking.
“She said that you’ve been distant since we went to Sweet Apple Acres.”
The name caused her to wince. If she could, Sunset would never even think of that place again.
“Please, Sunset. I want to help you, but you need to talk to me.”
Sunset pulled the blanket down to just below her eyes. “You’re lying.”
Crystal Clear was flat on his stomach, with his head barely underneath the bed. Although he probably could have reached her if he tried, he didn’t do anything to try and force her out. “Now why would you think that?”
“Because…” Why did she think that? Everything blurred together, all her thoughts and emotions. “You don’t even understand what’s going on.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have all the answers for you, Sunset. But I do want to help you.” He reached an arm under the bed, but didn’t attempt to grab her. “It would be a lot easier to understand what’s going on with you if you’d talk to me about it. And it would be a lot easier to talk if you come out from under the bed.”
Sunset stared at his open hand for a moment, then ignored it as she crawled out from under the bed on her own. Crystal Clear moved out of her way, then took a seat on her bed once she was out. He patted the spot next to him for her to sit down as well. She did sit on the bed, but picked a spot farther away from him.
“Now then, want to tell me what’s going on today?” Crystal asked.
Sunset folded her arms and scowled. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“I don’t know, I can be pretty understanding. Did you have a nightmare?”
For a second, Sunset turned to him with a bewildered look, but she soon realized that it must have been fairly obvious. It was early in the morning, after all. “Yes.”
“Nightmares can be scary,” he said in his most patronizing tone, “but it wasn’t real. You know nothing from your dreams can hurt you, right?”
It always seemed like he forgot whom he was talking to. “I know that,” Sunset answered sharply. “I’m not an idiot.”
“I know you’re not, I’m sorry.” Sunset doubted that. “Did you know dreams have hidden meanings?”
Sunset didn’t have the patience to go through all the motions with him. “Yes, and you probably figured that I do. You’re just trying to ease your way into asking me what I dreamt about while making me feel like I was the one who wanted to open up with it in the first place.”
When they first met, Crystal Clear would have been caught off guard by a comment like that. But it had been over a month with weekly sessions, and he had since grown accustomed to her. “Well, you’re half right. I did want to ease into the question, but I wasn’t going to try to manipulate you into anything.” That was a lie, he was just trying to cut his losses. “So then, do you want to tell me what you dreamed about?”
“No.”
“Okay.” He smiled, which caught Sunset off guard. He looked at the no-longer-bedside table and noticed the books on top of it. “Have you been enjoying these books more?”
Sunset looked at the books. There was a book about basic electronics, which was written for kids. But Sunset didn’t mind so much, as it was a subject she knew nothing about. The other book was finally something suitable for her age. Of course, Sunset usually wasn’t interested in reading books for teenagers, but it was a hell of a lot better than the juvenile stuff she had to read to get to it.
“They’re good,” Sunset said, unable to form a better answer. “Aren’t you going to try to get me to tell you about the dream?”
Crystal’s smile widened. “I think it would be helpful for you to talk about it, and I want you to know you can tell me about anything at all. But no, I’m not going to force you. It’s your decision whether you want to tell me or not.”
“Well, I don’t,” Sunset said definitively, frowning as she turned away. Meanwhile, thoughts of the dream lingered, eating away at her.
“So, have you gotten to the part where –”
“I dreamed I was a horse.”
To his credit, Crystal Clear only needed a moment to compose himself before proceeding professionally. “I see. And what happened while you were a horse?”
“I was…” Sunset shook her head. She wanted to say it so she would understand how ridiculous it sounded. Maybe that would get her to stop dwelling on it. But she hated admitting something bothered her. ‘Like he doesn’t already know. He saw me run away crying a few days ago.’
“I can see how that might have been disconcerting,” he prompted gently.
“It… wasn’t, at first. But then… at first, I thought I was a pony. I only realized I was a horse afterwards.”
“You were okay with being a pony, then?”
Sunset looked down at her hand. She balled her fingers into a fist, and tried to imagine it was a hoof again. “Yes.”
“What happened when you realized you were a horse?”
“I… I was taken away. To Sweet Apple Acres. They chained me up in the barn with the other horse.”
“Is that when you woke up?”
Sunset opened her mouth to agree, then stopped. No, that wasn’t quite it, was it? “There were flowers there. Lycoris radiata, which are poisonous. I was trying to eat them, but I woke up first.”
Crystal Clear nodded and put his hands together on his lap. “Dream interpretation isn’t an exact science. Most things have a few different things they can mean, so we’ll have to work together to figure out what your dream means to you. Horses, for example, can be a sign of strength, or they can represent arrogance.”
Sunset shook her head. “I know what it meant.”
“Oh? And what’s that?”
Sunset didn’t answer.
“I can’t help you if you don’t –”
“You wouldn’t get it! Nothing is what it’s supposed to be!” Sunset jumped to her feet and gestured towards the mirror. “This is wrong. I’m wrong. You don’t… you can’t…”
Although Sunset’s temper was heating up Crystal Clear seemed remarkably cool. “Talk to me, Sunset. I want to understand, but I can’t unless you help me.”
“I don’t need any help!”
“Oh, Sunset, my gifted student. Everyone needs help sometimes. I know I certainly do.”
“The only thing anypony even wants from me is a free ride to the top. I don’t need them.”
“Yes, there are some ponies who would manipulate you for their own gain. But you’re a smart mare, and I think you could tell the difference in somepony like that and somepony who just wants to be friendly if you tried. Ask yourself if somepony really seems trustworthy and I think you’ll find most of them are. And when you find somepony you can trust, you’ll be amazed at how much better you feel when you open up to them.”
Equestria was fading from Sunset’s memory much faster than it should have. She suspected it had something to do with her smaller child-sized brain. There was a certain shop she liked to take breaks from studying in; she could no longer remember what it smelled like. There were ponies that she knew, acquaintances even if they were never friends; she remembered them less and less. She had to struggle to remember the taste of hay and flowers, foods that humans didn’t eat.
But there were memories that would never fade. There was the feeling of being left alone while her aristocratic parents were too busy for their daughter. The thrill of magic and using it to get the recognition everypony told her she deserved. Cadance’s ascension putting all of her own accomplishments to shame.
And then there was her. There was the day that she invited Sunset to be her own personal student, which even caused her parents to look proud. The first winter, when she wore that hideously ugly scarf every day, the one that Sunset had foolishly tried to make for her, thinking it would be easy. Times she took Sunset out of class for ‘private lessons’ which amounted to nothing more than secret trips to the ice cream parlor. And then years later when she invited Sunset to leave her parent’s house and live in the castle with her, as if Sunset were part of her family.
There was Celestia. If there was nothing else in her life worth remembering, there was Celestia. Her princess, her idol, her mentor. Sunset had shunned everything she taught that wasn’t magical, and where had it gotten her?
She looked at Crystal Clear. Sunset was a smart girl, and who knew? Maybe she’d be amazed at how much better she felt.
“Well, the thing is… I’m not actually…”
Crystal Clear just waited patiently. As she paused, he nodded to encourage her.
Sunset looked away as she returned to her seat. She couldn’t look at him while she explained. “I’m not exactly from around here.”
“Did you remember something?” Crystal’s smile could be heard through his voice, even though Sunset still wouldn’t look at him. “Sunset, that’s great!”
“I, uh, I remember everything. I always did.”
He took a moment to answer, sounding more uncertain once he did. “What do you mean?”
“I lied. I didn’t want to tell anyone anything about me because you’ll never believe it.”
“Still so much doubt,” Crystal said. He leaned in closer. “Sunset, does this have something to do with ponies?”
Sunset spun around to face him. His smile was less encouraging, more knowing. “What do you know about ponies?”
Crystal shrugged and faced forward, adopting a matter of fact tone. “I’m a psychologist, not a biologist, so not all that much. But I did look into them since they came up with you, and it turns out that ponies are just small horses.” He turned back to her, the knowing smile returning. Somehow, he managed to sound like he was genuinely interested in what she had to say, while still giving the impression that he already knew everything. “I know that there’s more going on than you’ve been saying. So why don’t you tell me what you know about ponies?”
“I… I’m a pony.” It was all Sunset could manage to say.
Crystal seemed to consider it for a moment, while never seeming to doubt her for a second. “You don’t look like a pony,” he said casually. It wasn’t an accusation that she was lying, just a simple observation.
“I know,” Sunset said, glancing at her reflection. “The mirror turned me into a human when it brought me to Earth. We don’t even have humans in Equestria.”
“Well, that must have been a very shocking experience.”
Sunset couldn’t believe it. There wasn’t a trace of doubt in his voice at all. She scooted over, closing the distance between them as she began to talk more excitedly. “It was horrifying. I panicked and wound up letting myself get taken away from the portal.”
“Where was this portal?”
“I don’t know. It was where the police found me. I tried finding it again, but I couldn’t.”
“The night you snuck out?”
Sunset frowned. He didn’t say it accusingly, but she still felt guilty admitting it. “Yeah, I was trying to find my way back. I just… I want to go home.”
“You know, I might be able to find out where they found you.”
“Really!?” Sunset’s excitement faded as soon as it had come. “Oh, but it’s closed now…”
“What do you mean? The portal won’t work?”
“No, it’s only open for three days, once every thirty moons.”
“I suppose that must be why you’ve been so frustrated.”
Sunset nodded enthusiastically. “That’s just the start. I wa– I am seventeen, but when the mirror changed my body it also made me younger.”
Crystal Clear smiled a bit. “The pieces fall into place.”
Sunset was about to launch into an explanation of how she was a unicorn so she also lost her magic in the transition, but stopped short. “You… you really believe me?”
Crystal Clear stopped to consider that for a moment. “It’s… a lot to take in. Maybe things like this happen in a magical world like Equestria, but this is unheard of on Earth.” Sunset bowed her head. “But on the other hand, I’m not the type to just throw out possibilities. A lot of things could be explained by this, so I’m willing to look at it with an open mind. We’ll have to see what happens from here.”
“Okay.” Sunset nodded. “That seems reasonable.” Really, it was better than anything she would have dared to expect. At his prompting, she talked more about life in Equestria. She could hardly believe how good it felt to finally be open about it. It seemed Celestia knew what she was talking about after all.
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I'd wager that Crystal Clear will probably never tell Sunset Shimmer, on account of professionalism, that her claims of pony identity aren't even the strangest things he's ever heard.
I just started reading this story and i find it a very interesting version of events.
please do keep writing it
Crystal Clear diagnoses... DELUSIONAL DISORDER!! (And maybe body dysmorphia) Or... just the mind of a traumatised five year old creating a false fantasy world which she escaped into during whatever happened to her in the past.
And is now having trouble comprehending reality, her advanced knowledge in the things she knew could be self-taught from maybe an isolated life, with only books about nature and things. No electronics or cars.
The mind is an interesting thing. Humans like to think that after lots of studying, they can finally understand it, it makes them feel in control. But they don't. They just learned some patterns and try to make any problem with someone's mind fit into that.
It's not his fault that he is a human, Crystal is doing his job as psychologist. It's not her fault she is hurting so much, Sunset can't stop having a human kid's mind and acting like one. The betrayal, it's gonna hurt.
Now, I wonder, what is going to happen to reassure Sunset that Equestria exists? She is already losing it, and normally there must be some kind of therapy brain wash to make her understand it was all in her mind. Because, obviously, it is the only logical explanation to poor Sunset's condition.
I'm terrible at understanding dreams, specially well written dreams with symbolism and stuff. But it was a good sequence.
Fabulous writing as usual.
Things are going so good, it is still hard to believe Sunset will lose her way.
Her paranoia is understable though.
Some truly profound progress is being made now, especially considering this self realization.
"Sunset had shunned everything she taught that wasn’t magical, and where had it gotten her?"
Though i'm afraid the psychologist won't agree with my assessment.
Also, love how on-point realistic Crystal Clear and Violet Dusk character's are
It's almost creepy
I once had a similar talk with a social worker while sitting in my room, the room itself was a broom closet. A room just big enough to fit one bed nothing more. I told him how I felt mistreated by my mother, that I would like to at least have a bit of more space and in the end I was thrown out by my own mother at the age of thirteen. A few years later I got to read the report and I couldn't believe what that bastard had written.
I would delude myself and think I were harry potter (I had the newest book on the little shelf on the wall over the bed) I never talked about harry potter and the only time I used a word that could be found in a harry potter book was 'broom closet' while describing the size of the room we were sitting in.(that guy even had to slip out of his shoes so that he could get inside. Because the 2 m2 room only contained my bed and nothing else. So he had to climb inside and talk to me and had the nerve to write I would delude myself in any kind.
I can't imagine what Crystal Clear is diagnosing Sunset with. But I'm sure I don't want to be around if Sunset should ever find out.
7804743
Yeah, he probably has run into some pretty interesting experiences in his time
7805007
And no worries, that is certainly the plan 
Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it
7805065
Needless to say, it was an important day for her treatment
And as for Violet Dusk and Crystal Clear being realistic, I certainly hope they are
I aim for realism, but I don't really have experience in the realm of child care and psychology, so I'm researching what I can while guessing at what I can't.
7805140
Indeed, anyone truly knowledgeable in psychology ought to also acknowledge what we don't know far outweighs what we do. But for better or worse, it is in human nature to take what is currently the best understanding of a situation and use it with confidence.
Although there's some stuff in the dream that could be interpreted, the important thing was just to show that she's having difficulty reconciling the pony past with the human present, and is still upset about what happened at Sweet Apple Acres. I'm fond of dream sequences, but I don't think I'd ever go so far as to add anything too important to one. Mainly, I just like the excuse to write some surrealism
7805148
There's still another twelve years to go before we get to EQG1 stuff, plenty of time for stuff to happen
7805228
I'm sure he agrees that much progress was made here, although his reasoning would be rather different. He can only treat her for what she's being open about, after all.
7805712
I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. It's always one of the saddest things when those who are supposed to be taking care of a child fail at even the most basic parts of their job. It doesn't take a professional to see that the living conditions you were given were far from what would be adequate, let alone ideal.
As for Crystal Clear, he can only assess her in terms of what he understands about the world. It's not really his fault if he's doubtful of her story.
7805913
) so I just offer the warning for those who would rather not spoil things. Of course, plenty of others (like yourself) don't care so much, and the other stories are there for those who want to read ahead. It's all good, and I'm just happy to hear people are enjoying my writing, no matter how they chose to read it 
Hope you continue to enjoy everything I have planned 
Some people do (I do, for instance
7806006 Thanks for explaining the importance of the dream. If it was the surrealism what you were going for, you nailed it.
I'm one of those who like to read series in order. Probably will read more of your stories, but yeah, will wait for this to finish, and use the chronology in your group.
Fun fact, most human brains are their full size by the time a person is seven years old. But, The human brain isn't finished developing until one is 25. The last thing to develop is the prefrontal cortex.
I'm so happy this exists.
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Yeah, I think that's the most enjoyable way to read the series, to be honest
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That's pretty interesting. I knew that the brain didn't fully develop until twenty-five, but I wasn't aware that it stopped growing at seven.
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Thank you, glad you like it so much
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Naturally, the brain continues to develop throughout one's life, the only thing it can do after it's finished whatever process it's started after finishing the design or organization process is to fill in or get stronger... Of course, this knowledge about brain size comes from 19th century phrenology, which also implies that people with sharp features are likely to have bones so thin you can feel the vibrations of the brainwaves coming off their larger minds, whereas people with wide features are likely to have thick skulls and smaller brains.
On an unrelated note It's kind of like watching an adaptation of 'Yes Virginia there is a Santa Claus' where The Sun has this supposedly great reputation to uphold the truth, when in reality they were well known for perpetuating one of the greatest hoaxes of all time... Seriously, in real life the editor had no trouble publishing scientific reports that implied unicorns and a sapient race of warmongering alien space bats lived on the moon, not to mention the kind of gaslighting and news making the Herst affiliates were known for. And, we're supposed to believe they had some difficulty or objection to proving Santa Claus exists.
7812773 Oh I like it alright, it's already on my fave list
its quite different from the other Sunset shimmer stories.
Five year old sunny has to fight that five year old self of hers.
Imagine her meeting Twilight... whoops no spoilers hehe.
Peeked. Peaked is to get to a summit of something~
Crystal Clear undoubtedly believes Sunset is delusional by now. On his part though, he's probably got to feel mystified, because Sunset seems to be high-functional in just about every aspect, only to be completely nuts about her background and thinking she's a pony. In any case, he's a professional, so he's not just going to laugh and dismiss what she says as a child playing at make-believe, and that already makes this fic pretty believable instead of having an incompetent flanderised psychologist.
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She is an interesting case, to say the least. And thank you, realism is one of the main things I strive for in my writing
I was cringing as I was reading through this chapter, and when Sunset said she was a pony I literally had to stop reading to mentally prepare myself for the clichéd reaction I expected to happen.
And yet, the cliche never materialized. No melodrama, just some confusion and rationality. In one chapter, you have proven yourself to be a cut above the rest. Now, I must resume reading.
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While I do live and breathe drama, my number one goal is always to have characters act the way real people would in a given situation. Because the majority of this series focuses on slice of life drama, it is pretty much a soap opera, but like a soap opera without the over the top melodrama 
Thank you
Crystal is up to something, he isn't just going to brush that off. No way.
Oh boy when sunset learns the truth she is going to explode.
oooooh noooo noo no no... she is going to feel so betrayed.
Like, I know it's possible he could not be lying to try and get her to open up. But I also know that's exactly what a psychologist would do.
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I can’t say much that wouldn’t be a spoiler, but this comment made me smile a lot more than was probably warranted
So sunset did pay attention to Celestia trying to teach her about friendship, she just never took it to heart until she had nearly no other option.
Or until she met applejack.
Also it might just be me but, there is something strangely humorous about a therapist claiming through a window to have a chat with a unicorn and her magical world.
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Haha Applejack may be great, but it was definitely the whole "no other option" that pushed Sunset into opening up here
And I guess when you're a children's therapist, you've got to be fine with acting childish sometimes
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One second of professional curiosity would change Crystal from someone I want to see get hit by a fucking bus into a decent person.
Hell, deciding that the best course of action that since she feels like Equestria is closed to her forever / she wants to move on from her delusions and be a normal kid, to work on integrating her into the "real world". literally anything would have been better than leading her on for as long as he does and using her aa a childhood schizophrenia test case to get published and further his own career.
Now this, this guy earned his PhD
Again, another scene I really enjoy. I just really really love the dream sequences in WWB, especially the ones in LG. But this line in particular I just think is so good with the use of the dashes. It just... exudes a vibe.
This makes me incredibly upset. I can't even imagine how Sunset feels, thinking that someone actually believes her.
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Dream sequences are, no surprise, a huge favorite of mine. I'm extremely fond of them and I think they've become something of a trademark for me. That was something I learned when writing this fic, because it wasn't something I did very much before this story but it's something I work into almost everything I write now. I look for excuses to do it lol
Both the beginning and ending sure did shock me
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I'm a big fan of using dream sequences like this. Almost every long story I write has at least one dream sequence in it. As for the ending, well, gotta have some twists in there
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agree ive talked to some people who are in this field and (while they would never reveal anything or anyone they talked with or about.) a story like this would not even be the strangest thing they would have heard. in fact, I've heard some stories that are even crazier, again without the sych people revealing names or details. I've just chatted with some people or gone to panels about such things at anime cons, psychology is very interesting.
they would think she is suffering some sort of if memory serves right, a false memory where the patient remembers their own retelling of events because the real events are too much for the child to handle. or he may think she is just interpreting how she was treated into a narrative that makes scenes, like he may think she was abused and treated like an animal. provided she wasn't lying. she's not lying but he doesn't know that.
honestly, her story about coming from a world of ponies is tame compared to stuff you see on the news. truth is some times stranger then fiction.
i'm feeling happy and hopeful for sunset after the end o this chapter!!!!!!
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Little Sunset can make good decisions, the question is will she continue to? Lol glad you're enjoying the story!
hehe, Celestia would be fond of saying that
that is certainly ironic
aww, love Sunset’s insistent cynicism
well, def some imagery here that feel like it’s hinting at some dark (possibly repressed?) experiences in Sunset’s past. or maybe disturbing dream imagery is just disturbing dream imagery?
always a sad moment in the mornings, huh?
really does say a lot about Sunset’s mindset to think this, and sadly understandable
ooh, the flowers from earlier! yeah i thought that moment would turn out to have a lot more meaning later!
aww very fitting for Sunset
dang really speedrunning that surrogate motherhood!
do love how that sentence just keeps recurring
dang, Sunset! weren’t you all about this guy’s ability to use standard therapizing techniques to get you to open up more?
oh no, this is totally gonna backfire on her isn’t it