Deflowered.

by 576-Belligerent-Coil

Part 2: Rotten

“Well, that’s about it for the paperwork, Iris. Maybe we can get some actual discussion in before this session’s over, right?” Cadance wore a fake smile, and it felt much wider than she was comfortable with. The pony sitting awkwardly on the sofa across from her shrunk back in her seat and Cadance attempted to relax and display something closer to compassion. “I’m sorry, Iris. These sessions are probably going to be difficult for both of us. I’m not sure how much you know of me, but I’m normally a marriage counselor. This is going to be a learning experience on both ends, but hopefully it’ll all turn out alright.”

Silver Iris simply shifted in her seat, staring at the glass ball at the edge of Cadance’s desk. “Um… if you don’t mind me asking… why do you have a crystal ball in here? Is that for some kind of magic?”

Cadance noted the evasiveness inherent in the question, but she humored the foal’s inquiry. “That was a wedding present from a rather… random… friend of mine. We were talking about my plans for after my husband and I got settled down, and when she heard I was going to be delving into the minds of other ponies, she just pulled that out of nowhere, set it on the table and shouted, ‘Do me!’ I waved my hooves around a little bit, made a few off-hoof observations, and she insisted I keep it. All she said was, ‘You’ve got a real talent for reading people! I want you to keep it, because I know someday you’re going to need it, and if you don’t take it you’ll be sorry!’”

“Sounds like your friend had some serious foresight,” Iris remarked. “Can I look at it?”

“I can do you one better.” Cadance’s horn began to glow, and the room seemed to expand. The crystal ball levitated off of the surface of the desk, drawing Iris’s attention. “Now, Iris, I’m required to ask this every time I have a new patient, but will you allow me to use some light magic on you to assist in the therapy?”

Iris lifted a hoof up to her chest, feeling the cold metal of the enchanted necklace. The Canterlot higher-ups knew where she was every moment of her life, and she doubted she even had the freedom to choose what her therapist was allowed to do. “That’s alright…”

Cadance sensed Iris’s hesitation. “Don’t worry, Iris. It’s nothing scary or dangerous, just a few spells I’ve picked up that help with concentration.” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed again, making the crystal ball sparkle. “This first one is called a Want-It-Need-It spell. I’m not going to make it full-strength, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to think about anything else. It’s going to be just strong enough to take your mind off of all the little things around us, but you’ll still be able to focus on what’s important.”

“Okay…” Iris said absently, immediately feeling her attention being dragged towards the ball in the center of the room. Indeed, she felt as if she were unable to look at anything else. Her world revolved around this object, and nothing existed outside of that sphere. Cadance pulled the globe closer to herself, her face distorted through the glass. Iris found her attention drawn to Cadance’s beautiful features. She was part of the globe now, too. She willed her therapist to speak to her, to ask her anything. Iris wanted to be included in this little world. As if in response, Cadance spoke.

“Good, I see that you’re focused now.” For the first time since the beginning of the session, Cadance’s face displayed an honest smile. It only stayed for a split second before she decided to move forward with the session. “So, Iris. What have you been thinking about since the… incident?”

Iris gathered her thoughts laboriously, able to remember only what stood out the most. “I’ve been thinking about… the fly….”

“A… fly?” Cadance’s face screwed up in confusion, alarming Iris deeply.

“No, not a fly… the fly…”

The only thing Cadance could think about was a crappy movie she’d watched as a filly. Surely this girl had better things to do than think about sci-fi movies all day, right?

Iris tried her hardest to elaborate, grubbing for every scrap of information she could hand over to the mare in the ball. “There was a fly… it landed on Daisy’s eye… Daisy didn’t move, she didn’t blink… ponies blink when something lands in their eye… Daisy didn’t… I didn’t realize… she wasn’t a pony anymore then… she wasn’t like me… she wasn’t alive… and I—“ Iris began to choke up, and had to force the words from catching in her throat. “—and I did that to her… I killed her, and that fly… showed me…”

Cadance nodded her head in understanding. “I know it’s painful, but I need you to hold onto that thought for me. I’m going to pull back on the spell a little bit. I can see how hard it is for you to think right now.” Cadance closed her eyes once more, and the crystal ball began to feel a little less alluring. Iris felt her mind stray ever so slightly away from what had, moments previous, felt like her entire world.

“That feels better,” Iris said calmly. “Although now I’m aware of my tongue, and that’s a little annoying.”

Cadance giggled, feeling able to let her guard down a bit. “When the session’s over, you’re going to begin to feel everything again. It’s a little irritating at first, but it goes away. Now, let’s ease back into our discussion.” She adjusted the spell one last time, just enough to bring Iris’s mind back to the orb. She noticed the tears that’d begun to well up in Iris’s eyes and decided to move in a different direction. “What kind of home life did you have?”

Iris shifted her eyes to the left, anticipating disappointment. “I had a normal childhood, I guess. My parents loved me, supported me… my dad was harsh, but he never overstepped any boundaries…” she closed her eyes and grimaced. “I don’t have an excuse for what I did, Princess… not from my fillyhood…”

“Call me Cadance, Iris. I know we didn’t meet under the most… ideal circumstances, but I’d like you to think of me as a friend, okay? I’m here for you.” Cadance tried to make the words sincere, but held on to her natural caution. The mare across from her was superficially normal, but there was no denying the severity of her crime. She considered prying a bit further into Iris’s mind before she felt the internal timer she’d set to signal the end of Iris’s session. “Iris, I’m going to reverse the spell. Unfortunately, our time for today is up.”

“Okay,” Iris said, a bit relieved. She understood the need for the spell, but it still felt strange. Perhaps with time she’d get used to it. For now, though, it was an annoyance she’d have to put up with. As she came out of the influence of the spell, she began intently observing the surroundings she’d previously been ignoring. The room hadn’t always been the office of a shrink; the architecture was far too ornamental. There had at least been an attempt to make the secluded room appear more normal, however. Whatever material the walls had been previously was covered with hardwood in most places, but massive marble pillars hinted that less mundane materials were used in the room’s initial construction. She traced one pillar from the marble floors to the arched ceiling, her eyes jumping to the suspiciously mundane light fixture hanging from a chain from the highest point of the ceiling. Iris assumed that at one point a much more elaborate chandelier had been mounted here. She wondered whether these alterations had been due to Cadance’s personal preferences or if they were to make the room feel more comforting. In either case, the disparities between the two styles were incredibly distracting, if only to a mind that was tuned to heavy observation.

Iris forced her mind away from the bizarre architecture, only to find herself staring at Cadance’s desk. It was just as plain as the room was trying and failing to be, and was sparsely decorated at best. There was a small stack of folders off to one side of it, nowhere near large enough to be Cadance’s entire catalogue of cases. Iris silently hoped that the stack wasn’t only her file. If it was, Canterlot had a disturbingly huge network of informants.

“Are the aftereffects of the spell beginning to wear off, Iris?” Cadance waved a hoof in front of Iris’s face jokingly. She must’ve gotten up whenever Iris was lost in the architecture.

“Um, yeah… I think I am, Prin—” Iris caught herself. “Cadance.”

“If you need a little more time, I can wait a little while to call my next patient in. I know how jarring a Want-It-Need-It spell can be the first time around.” Cadance smiled reassuringly. “We don’t want you getting distracted by a particularly interesting carrot on the way home, do we?”

Iris tried to smile at the Princess’s attempt at humor, lifting a hoof up to the homing necklace and muttering, “No… I wouldn’t want the guard to get called out because this thing told them I forgot to go home in time.”

Cadance stood awkwardly in the doorway as she realized how insulting her ‘joke’ must have sounded to the mare. “Iris, I didn’t mean it like tha—”

“It’s fine. I think I’m going to be alright.” Iris walked out of the office stiffly. Cadance watched as she went, barely hearing the girl hiss, “As long as I don’t see any carrots.”

Comments

[576-Belligerent-Coil]

Well, I'm just terrible with deadlines, aren't I?

At any rate, here's Part 2! Wooooo~
Next [chapter?] shouldn't have so much delay in coming, seeing as I have some inspiration and have a general idea what's going to happen. Don't have to worry about synthesizing the whole thing from scratch.

In case you're looking at my previous statement and saying, "What the hell, bro, why didn't you just type that up and put it at the end of this "chapter?" I mean srlsly guise," here's my response:
Work on your grammer, brother. Also, I'm not your brother. Furthermore, this has been long overdue and I like where I ended it. I get off on ending chapters with a stinger. Sue me. Or don't, Equestria's judiciary system is shit.

--576 Belligerent Coil was here and he's struggling with his romantic feelings towards you all!

EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that I haven't been signing off on my comments as I normally do. This is disturbing. Do not expect this terrifying trend to continue.
-makes mental note to double-check all his comments-

[576-Belligerent-Coil]

964975
...that's not creepy at all!

--576 B.C. was here