Interlude: Frillius Sockus Interuptus
Author's note to follow this chapter.
"Well, what are your thoughts?" Spring Meadows sat across from her colleague in her sparse and little-used office, her head in her hooves. She was rubbing her temples, a sign of a worsening headache. Clear Sight sighed, his hooves crossed in front of his chest and eyes wandering the room as he weighed her question. It said much for the mare that she kept little in her supposed office. While blank walls spoke volumes of a ponies mind, Clear thought it more indicative of the mostly under utilized nature of the room rather than her mental faculties. He sighed again and turned his attention back to the mare in front of him.
"Well if it was enslavement, it was a very short period in his life." Spring looked up at him, her face etched in confusion. Clear shrugged. "He has no scars, no physical trauma of any sort to suggest it. He's intelligent beyond his age and Diamond Dogs aren't known for teaching their slaves."
"This 'hell' suggests he at least knows of it." Clear pursed his lips and shook his head slowly to Springs assertion.
"Well, seems likely it was a more disciplinary type of measure of his parents. 'Do what we say or we'll send you to 'hell' with the big, mean bipedal demon-dogs.'" Clear waved his hooves in front of him, making an overly-expressive angry face. "It's more likely his parents are more to blame for his situation." Spring stuck her tongue out, making a sick face at the thought.
"I - I can't see anypony doing something like this but you have a point." She lowered one hoof to her desk top, tracing imaginary lines. Her face grew contemplative as she fiddled with her hooves, a nervous action. "He tries so hard to act as he saw adults act but it's so obvious he has a lot of growing up to do."
"Yes, well, we're getting away from the main issue here." Clear grimaced and waved at the small pile of papers spread out between the two Ministry workers. "What can we piece together from this?" Spring straightened, idly hoofing through the papers without really reading anything. They had both had more than enough time to read what was there.
"Well, his actions point toward poor adult-foal interactions but he is surprisingly willing to accept responsibility for his mistakes." She bit her lip in concentration. "That ... doesn't fit. If he was afraid of discipline, he'd be more apt to blame others. But he's afraid of adults, that's for sure."
"And being touched." They both nodded at memories of his sarcastic comments and general nervousness. Clear's brow furrowed. "You stated he was very insistent on not being nude but he seems more comfortable with that than you implied."
"He told me he was uncomfortable in his natural state." Spring shrugged her wings and shoulders, a strangely casual motion for the subject. Familiarity breeds ease. "You noticed he kept tucking his tail?"
"Yes, which does point to improper body touch. Still, it might not be as bad as you first thought. I'm worried, though." Clear fidgeted slightly in his chair. He didn't want to feel at ease with this case. It was very strange and if even half the things noted were true, being at ease with it would just add to the 'wrongness' of it all. "You noted the incestuous relationship he reported and the physical abuse between his father and elder sister." Spring waved a hoof with a frown.
"If he even has sisters. This could all be a gigantic fantasy land."
"Now you disbelieve him?" He met Springs look with a quirked eyebrow. "We could reducto ad infinitum here. He has no parents, he has no sisters and he's been homeless since he was foaled. But we have to accept some of what he says as truth." She nodded at that with a grimace.
"Well, within reason."
"Of course."
Silence fell between the two ministry workers as they tried to sort their thoughts. Occasionally, a sound would slip into the room from outside. Hoof-falls on the tile or the distant sound of passing conversation. Clear kept his eyes firmly on the desk in front of him, the papers spread about in semi-organized disarray. So little known but so much hinted at. Spring broke the growing tension after a few moments of reflection.
"We know he's from a monogamist family of some sort, we can assume he's telling the truth about his family up to a point, we know he's touch-shy to an extent." Clear nodded his head at everything Spring said. You could fake a lot of the reactions, true, but that would be placing too much trust in a youthful mind. Something would slip if Bruce was just making it all up. His body-unease was one of those odd things that didn't make the list, he noted wryly. "We can assume he's also a smoker and a drinker from his actions and his state in the hospital. So, lack of supervision at the very least. Probable child-on-child sexual misconduct with possible adult acceptance or knowledge." Clear frowned at this last one. Not enough evidence but it wasn't something he was discounting entirely.
"Runaway?" Spring perked her ears up at his suggestion, tilting her head to the side with a concentrating look.
"Hmm, that might fit. Fell in with a bad crowd after he ran away. Some mares like them young." They both grimaced at that. Spring frowned as she continued, her face contorting into a sneer of distaste. "Maybe that's where he got this 'wife' of his. Or could it be one of those arranged marriages that some monogamist cults try to pull?"
"Could be. We don't have enough information to say for certain though." He sighed. With all the information they managed to get out of this colt, how was it he was so hard to read? An inkling of a doubt entered Clear's mind as the memory of Bruce's convinced face rose to the surface. 'I'm 32...' He shook his head slightly to clear his mind. Impossibilities ... "Until we can get him to start telling the truth, be it willful misleading or delusion, let's go from the 'least cause' here. He's from a monogamist family that was dysfunctional and he's had a lack of supervision. Anything else we can't be certain."
"Yes. Oh, and a tribalist family. You saw how he reacted to Twilight." Clear jerked slightly at her words, concern etched in his face. Tribalism was one of those accusations that was hard to prove and potentially devastating to anypony, foal or not.
"Well, yes and no." He managed to keep his voice level despite the memories of angry parents and yelling children trying to enter his thoughts. "He distrusts magic but a good number of pure-tribe Earth Pony foals do. He didn't seem to dislike me." Spring seemed to chew on this for a moment before nodding and pointing a hoof at her colleague.
"Point. I'm still leaning heavily towards that though."
"Until we can-" he began, only to be cut off by Spring waving a hoof.
"Yes, yes. I'll put it in my notes but not in the paperwork." He frowned and laid his ears back. A counselor's notes were her own and he couldn't tell her what to put in them. Still, it was not something he would be so cavalier to accuse. Even if it was the parents they were tangentially accusing. "So, uhm, suggestions."
Clear heaved a sigh and stood, tired of being confined to a chair. The blank walls, the heavy conversation, the implications of even half of what they discussed weighed heavily on him. Spring's eyes followed him as he began to stretch his legs and walk slightly. Not a true pace but a movement.
"Well, he needs therapy. Badly." Spring nodded energetically and motioned for him to continue. "Group therapy to get over his aggressiveness, family therapy with the Cakes to ensure they are kept in the loop and know how to deal with his problems, individual therapy to get over this lying or delusion."
"Oh, and body-form therapy." Clear blinked at her outburst. She shrugged and sheepishly smiled. "He does have that 'human obsession' after all."
"Are any of those for foals?" The 'human' thing was relatively new but it was already making a huge splash in the psychiatry profession. It was opening up a great number of long-buried and glossed over issues ponies had been dealing with for centuries.
"No, but the Ponyville group only has ... a few members. We can make it a one session per month deal where it's more about general topics and not the excessive sexuality most groups tend to focus on." Spring's pause and the 'sexual' aspect she mentioned caused him to raise an eyebrow. Most body-form groups dealt with difficulties in lacking firm control over magic or lack of proper support for one tribe or another. He'd never heard of any that concentrated on the sexuality of the members. Still, if it was something that was unique to this group ... he trusted Spring's professionalism. She would never force the young thing into a situation she didn't think he could handle. Or, barring that, she could handle for him. Clear shrugged, returning to his chair with a groan.
"Ooooh, well if you think that'll work. Ugh, this is a headache." He unceremoniously dropped his head onto the table, avoiding impaling his horn in her desk with practiced ease. He heard Spring chuckle.
"Yeah, well, that's why I work in a hospital."
Edited by Genjen. Again, he's cool.
Author's Note: Ok, so some people have been getting their jimmies rustled voicing some concern over some of my choices in this fic. Primarily, there have been complaints about the gender-inverse but there have also been some concerns about Bruce's actions, his seemingly unconcern for going home, missed opportunities for 'convincing' characters of the validity of his actions, the characterization of the main characters and some other piddly stuff.
I am going to be answering a lot of the characterization aspects in the coming chapters. He's going to be interacting with the Main 6 more and I think I'll get their characters down regardless of their professions and/or where they exist in the society in this fic.
I will admit that Bruce has not seemed too concerned about going home. That is a bit of a failing on my end. I know things he (and y'all) don't know that make it less ... important. BUT! He should still be looking for a way home/convincing ponies he's telling the truth. I'm going to be working on getting that across more effectively. I am sorry. However, do note that only about a single day has gone by. 40k words and a single day ... wow. Anyway, so it's still pretty dang early for him to be panicking about how long he's been in Eqeustria.
Gender inversion, polygamy and the new AU tag: Ok, this is a source of extreme contention in the comments, about this story and just plain old in general. So here we go: My original thought was not to invert the genders. It was to invert the ... societal value of the genders. Not quite. Uhm, a caring motherly mare was seen as a better Mayor than even a caring fatherly stallion. Uh, Equestria saw war as disgusting in total (defensive included) and the guard was there only because it was needed and not because it was honorable or noble or good. Diplomacy and turning enemies to friends was more important. A place where the motherly and inclusion was 'better' than aggression and individualism.
I couldn't write that way. I tried and, uhm, didn't work. SO, in the interest of copying AnonAuthor of Xenophilia fame in making the ponies seem more alien and 'other,' I chose to make this Equestria have inverted gender roles for, uhm, most things. Also, I thought it'd be funny to have this hard smoking, hard drinking, comfortable-in-his-masculinity guy end up in a land where guys are frilly. It was either that or make him a filly. I had a ton of convoluted and twisty ways of rationalizing it within the context of the show itself. And, frankly I don't think they are completely and totally bogus rationalizations. I don't think we, as fans of the show, have enough information to point at Equestria and say 'This is Americanada with ponies and will follow all aspects of our general culture.' It's the most logical and simplistic answer ... yes. It's not the only one and Occam can go suck an egg, sometimes shit be all complex.
However, in the interest of having these silly and far-too-often arguments about why gender inversion is right/wrong, I am sticking an AU tag up in here yo. I don't think it's right/wrong either way. So far, we have a single married couple (the Cakes, all other couples haven't been distinctly labeled as married) and a single wedding between royalty. We can assume from these two issues that, sure, it's Americanada or what have you with all other couples not specified as married being married. And it's the simplest and easiest answer, sure. But it's not the only one and any small and slight inconsistency in having another answer is trumped by the general inconsistency in the show itself. I mean, RD knows about tanks and bullets, they have camo and Rarity has an old M1 helmet ... but the Royal Guard uses plate mail and spears? WTH man? Read and like or read and dislike, it's here to stay.
That and I like it and find it funny.
Oh, and in reply to some of what Bruce is saying/what the counselors are saying: we're being 'told' this story through Bruce's eyes and - in the interludes - some other eyes. We only know what they say. Well, I know more but for the most part, y'all only know what they are telling us. And they can be wrong, mistaken or just plain-old assuming things. Don't take everything that comes through the chapters as 100% 'from the horses mouth' fact. Over the course of the work, I hope to point out where everyone is wrong and what the truth is but sometimes, a 'fact' might not be as factual as the reciter believes.
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*sigh*
Idiots. Why not try a memory spell? That could tell everything.
EDIT: Wow. Thirteen responses to my comment... Just wow. I am amazed.
FUCK YEAH! Need more.... more... FUCKING MORE. AHHHHHHHH!!!!! THE AUTHOR IS A...fucking....GENIOUS!
Masculine females.... are mmmm better.... if you're a beeyetch that doesn't like masculine females and being from a world with masculine males instead of females.... then that's good for you, because you won't be finding either, ON THE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! BEEEEEEEEEEYEEEEEEETCH!
Personally, while I don't see how herd-based social structures like you described could lead to a predominately matriarchal society, that may be because humans in polygamist cultures with one male for several females tend to be very patriarchal in nature. And now that I've used all the big words I know, I'll say that you should totally keep it like it is, because it's funnier this way.
Jimmie Status: Slightly Rustled.
On another note, if guns are showcased in the show then almost every fan fic is going to have to add the alternate dimension tag.
Ooooh!
I can't wait for 'body form therapy' with Lyra. At least, that's who I'm guessing.
Yay, an update.
"Not impossible... just a bit unlikely."
or
"The universe is big, it's vast and complicated, and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles."
Given the whole herd thing going on, I find the gender role inversion unlikely but not unwelcome. Frankly it's funny as hell.
Gender inversion - I LOVE this idea. I think it fits the story really well - it's one of its defining factors. It's something you rarely (if ever) see in stories and as such it is an interesting and new twist that makes the story much more interesting.
1204227 - maybe such a spell is considered a kind of rape / torture that is used only in extreme cases and NEVER against foals?
So, to conclude:
MOAR!!!!!!!, MOAR!!!!!!!!!!!
interesting chapter i like
Yaay best fic ever has update, bad that half of it is authors note, But i cant complain since i got an update :D
1204227 because ponies are not known for using common sense, which, as anyone with a brain knows, isn't all that common
I just figured out the matriarchal society thing! Since herds use the strategy of safety in numbers, and there were more females than males, the males would have relied more on the females for protection than for anything else! Therefore, it actually makes perfect sense for their society to be predominately matriarchal, because the more numerous females have always been seen as the protectors of the fewer numbers of males! Ha! I feel smart now!
I'm not sure if the fridge brilliance here was on purpose or not, considering your author's note, but either way it's awesome.
1204227
Too easy.
I have no strong feelings about the gender inversion one way or the other.
I am having the idea that Bruce will eventually be stuck in Equestria, he can't leave and is left to grow up and try to make a living while he still has his memories about his old home, and nopony believes him.
It would be nice to have a good fic once in a while without a big happy ending. (maybe he likes it in Equestria after a while dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/shrug_Luna_apple.png who knows?)
I am impatiently awaiting the next chapter. Why impatiently? Because it is excellent, AND I am this close to smacking down that good-for-nothing Meadow.
Now, a good day to you sir, and good luck on.
1204227
Abused foal suspicious of magic? Sure, let's mindrape him with it!
I have the suspicion that Bruce might have a thing or two to say about mind-magic. And even then, the psyciatrists might.
Considering I was planning to borrow the gender inversion for a fic, for which I have nothing else planned, should tell you all you need to know about my oppinion of this fic.
1204274
Nevermind that stallions, being somewhat scarce, become a valuable, protected resource.
Fantastic as always.
And at this rate, they'll never believe him...
images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120221201224/halo/images/4/47/I%27m_Okay_with_this.jpg
1204227
his reaction to Twilight/magic in general and her being the only pony they know who can cast one?
Is Pinkie Pie part of Mr. Cake's herd? I mean, he's not a filthy monogamist, is he?!
I would really like to see some light shed on a couple of polygamist couples around Ponyville.
Hey, look!
Rainbow's lickin' Twilight!
Finished reading a chapter from another story. Now what am I going to do? I guess I'll check the updates list but I don't thi- OH SWEET LORD AN UPDATED!
I like these parts where we get to see what other ponies think of Bruce and the whole situation. By the way, did they say something about a meeting between fans of humans? Oh I do hope Lyra is there! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Lyra.png
(re: A/N)
Yeh its fun to cheer Bruce on, or try to figure things out as we go. But dammit, getting worked up over how a story about a guy in a cartoon talking pony world acts is just...sad.
So anyone not happy should just lighten up already!
That said, you should have Trixie turn the mane 6 into newts. Just because they deserve it. And for fun.
It might screw up your story line a bit, but I'll take that risk, since you're the one who'll have to get it back on track, and not me. 
Now, I'm off to read this chap.
Carry on.
I'm cool with the gender-inversion. The polygamous relationships? Not so much. It just goes again all the relationships shown in canon. (Cakes, Shining-Cadence, Hearts and Hooves Day relationships)
In any event, still love it.
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Pinkie_loool.png
PS: Way to knock my story out of the top featured updates spot. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Vinyl2.png
i dont really care about the sex inversion thing.
the story is still amazing and makes me laugh with the absurdness! 
this story is great
everytime this gets an update i can't wait to read it
WHO actually hates gender inversion?...
Are they really that insecure abour their masculinity?...
I find that hard to be believe, considering this is a fanfiction of a tv show with "magical freaking..ponies"
1204227 Perhaps it would be viewed as a violation of rights and privacy. After all, to confirm that Bruce was telling the truth they would have to search through a lot of memories, and could be possibly traumatic for the caster, who would have to relive those memories. It's basically mind-rape. Something only to be used as a desperate measure.
1204313 Exactly. Besides, even if all of this was complete crap, Bruce's reactions to it are too funny to pass up.
I dont give a rat's dance about the gender stuff. just as long as the story is consistent and keeps flowing. i enjoyed this chapter. i loved it because i was entertaining how there are two professionals stressing over the biggest case they've ever come across and putting their hearts into it not knowing the truth (moar liek ignoring the truth) about bruce.
take your time with bruce in my opinion but dont let him deviate into joining pony society too thoroughly if you really plan on putting him on a quest of returning.
oh and i just WANT to see what bruce will find when he comes across loony ponies who theorize what "made up fantasy humans" society is like. If i understand the 2 counselors, they are hinting that those humanity clubs are just idiot ponies who try to figure out how humans have sex?
wat?
hm, let's see how bruce reacts to these nut cases too....
Oh to be old again updated?
cdn.publishdev.se/cdn/5-1/1663024/images/2012/tumblr_lxav949dzh1r1xh71_192121968.jpg
I like it. (I was wondering if you'd read Xenophilia!)
Mentioning Xenophilia and using its lore
My interest increased tenfold.
The gender inversion thing feels rather......................... uncomfortable for me. If I was there and angry, DT would be in hospital. My testosterone levels are HIGH!!!!!!.
HURRAH!
Next thing you know... his wife shows up as a filly...
It DOES occur to me that, at the end of the day, Bruce might not actually BE a pony, y'know? Everypony seems to know about the strange book series(es) and strangely popular mythological human creatures... what if Bruce really was from such a messed up place that he embraced another reality? To the point where he honestly doesn't remember he's actually a pony? That would make for an interesting twist, I'd say, and a stroke of genius when it comes to the "Human in Equestria" category of writing. He THINKS he's human, but really and truly is not.
Though, that would be a can of worms to open, if he ever did uncover his pony-past and realize how very fucked up it was that he had to retreat into fantasy to survive. It also doesn't quite explain how he was drunk when they found him, Bruce hasn't yet acknowledged any sort of party or other drinking occasion in his recent past that would call for drinking to unconsciousness... so there's still that bit that hasn't been directly explained.
So, I'm gonna put the theory out there now:
"Bruce really is a pony, he's just imprinted on a human story he's read someplace. Maybe a FANFICTION he wrote."
1204514
(no big mac, although that might be hilarious in its own right)
Bruce: So, you're telling me that you every human is some form of technomancer, and most jobs include a demon fight at least once a month?
Attendees:
Bruce: yay disillusionment time! You are aware of the population of 7 billion, and the fact that there are no less than three major armed conflicts/rebellions/civil wars going on right now? And that the world powers, instead of controlling the sun and moon, have access to weapons that can literally end all life not in deep sea trenches? Oh, and what about the terrorism with weapons designed to kill or disable with engineered diseases or chemicals that cause cancer, destroy the nervous system in an agonizing way, or even just destroy the lungs, so you drown in your blood. (Dirty bombs, Sarin gas?, Mustard gas - should be able to remember off the top of his head, like I just did) Also, there are a lot of STDs (once he knows about their human fetish), one of which slowly develops into an auto-immune disease that primarily reproduces in your immune system. So you don't die of it, per say - you die of the common cold, or any number of infections you would normally fight off. And don't get me started on our social problems.
1204227
I've heard several good reasons, but as of when I posted this, these hadn't been mentioned: He wouldn't want his mind raper to have an existential crisis if they believed how he knew about Equestria, which leads into - They'll probably just think, that there is a very impressive construct you've created there, how bad must his life have been to spend that much energy creating a completely new take on 'humans'?
I look forward to where this goes. Immensely.
1204648
But as Clear Sight said, Testosterone has never been found to cause aggression in ponies.
1204753
I love your WPN series, but please stop giving Minalkra ideas, because I don't want mindfuckery on that level. At least in the current story.
wait..... whose gender is inverted
Huh. I only browse the comments from time to time, I was unaware people had that big an issue with some of the premises. I'm not sure why, I think step one to ever enjoying any fic is accepting the framework it's built on. It's fine to criticize a fic for failing to be internally consistent, but attacking the very foundation? Eh, doesn't sit right with me.
Premises is a weird word. It doesn't sound quite right.
Anyway, now I'm picturing Spring and Clear watching the newly best-of-buddies Lyra and Bruce running around a room on their hind legs, wearing pants and each of them shouting at the other about how human society would REALLY work.
"... Well, this idea kind of backfired on us..."
I thought I sensed some Xenophilia in your writing, and I like it.
Peoples jimmies getting russled over a story,this is a new concept... well not really.
"yay"
LOUDER!
"yay"
LOUDER
YAY"
1204858 the gender roles are inverted, not the genders.
1204261 Doctor Who quote........... well done.
1204753 Brilliant theory good sir
Any way, good story still. I had no problem with the gender roles and everything. Keep up the good work.
1204874 < I second this
Don't. Change. Anything.
Grape flavored! So...Awesome!
Am Not!
Are too.
...
1204326