Episode 3: "The End is Only the Beginning, Part 3"
...
PREVIOUSLY ON "MY LITTLE PONY"
…
Gentle Gust: Now, Twilight, anything that you wish to say, it's okay. We're here to listen.
Twilight Sparkle: Nopony really cares about my feelings. They all think because I'm taking Celestia and Luna's place, they don't really care how my life is going to be different! THEY, DON'T, CARE!
Rarity: Of course, we care. We do care about her feelings.
Applejack: All we cared about is the princess title, not the pony who carried that title.
Twilight Sparkle: You have to retire.
Princess Luna: Your mental health is more important than us living in a retirement village.
Princess Celestia: Luna and I have decided that we'rre moving into the Castle of Friendship.
Cherry Tomato: I'm Cherry Tomato from Mustangia.
Luster Dawn: I'm Luster Dawn, from Canterlot.
Gentle Gust: Twilight has said that she's willing to see each of you one at a time, who wishes to go first?
Applejack: Twilight's willing to talk to us?
Gentle Breeze: It's for the best.
Fluttershy: WE ALL NEED YOU! OUR LIVES WON'T BE THE SAME WITHOUT YOU!
Sunburst: We can't worry about Twilight now.
Starlight Glimmer: This is her mental health and it shouldn't be taken lightly. Sunburst, you're in charge until I get back!
Luster Dawn: I'm going to see my idol.
Cherry Tomato: I'm going with you.
Gentle Gust: We'll keep her overnight and monitor her sleep patterns.
Twilight Sparkle: I love you all.
Princess Celestia: The time has come for my final decree as princess.
…
"My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" theme song
…
Twilight Sparkle found herself in her designated royal suite, a room that was spacious and accommodating to her. Exhausted and out of energy, she was carefully helped into her hospital bed by her parents. Resting her head against the pillow of her bed, Twilight struggled to keep her eyes open as Gentle Gust and Gentle Breeze came into the room.
"I trust you'll be comfortable here." Gentle Gust commented.
"It's…very nice," Twilight weakly answered, the events from earlier had left her drained. "But is this…?"
"We're just doing this so we can give you an official diagnosis," Gentle Breeze explained as Twilight felt another needle be inserted into her foreleg. "We're just putting an IV in, Twilight. No need to be alarmed. This is something we do to all our patients so we can monitor their vital signs;"
"You say that you're going to monitor my sleeping? What do you mean by that?" Twilight questioned. She only knew of how Princess Luna visited ponies in their dreams through the magic of the dream realm. Something told her that wouldn't be the case here.
"As you sleep," Gentle Gust explained and produced a magic screen showing an x-ray of Twilight. "We're going to be monitoring your brain activity. If the lines are zigzagged, then that means that your brain activity is irregular, a sign that your mental health is badly damaged. We believe it is, but we need to be sure so as to not jump to any conclusions."
Twilight sighed deeply as she absorbed what was being said to her. Still, the princess in her was concerned about another pressing issue.
"All of Equestria is going to be wondering about my coronation," she whispered to the doctors.
"That doesn't matter right now, Twilight. Your coronation can be held off until we say you're fit to do so," Gentle Breeze replied. "In any case, we're going to be the ones who say whether or not your coronation can be held at all."
Accepting defeat, Twilight sighed deeply again as her immediate family was allowed inside.
"We're very proud of you for how you're handling this, Twilight." Shining Armor encouraged while gently rubbing his hoof on his sister's foreleg.
"You really mean that?" Twilight asked, turning her head over to look at her family.
"Of course we do, honey. You're our family's shining star." Twilight Velvet sincerely smiled.
"But, what about…?" Twilight began, only to be cut off.
"Me? I'm not important, Twilight. You are," Shining Armor remarked, clutching his sister's hoof tightly. "I've had my successes, but yours are greater than mine. I may be older than you, but you are my inspiration and all of our inspiration as well."
The rest of the Sparkle family nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Elsewhere in the hospital, Luster Dawn continued to walk about very quietly as she continued to look for Twilight's hospital room. Finally, she saw two orderlies wheeling an empty wheelchair away from one of the room.
"That must be where she is," Luster Dawn thought to herself. "But I need to make sure nopony else sees me."
Taking shelter in another closet, Luster nearly blew her cover as she went up against a shelf full of medical equipment. Fortunately, it seemed no one heard the noise or if they did they paid it no mind.
Meanwhile, having gotten the sense that they had been forgiven somewhat by their friend, Twilight's friends sat down in the hospital lobby while still trying to process everything that had happened.
"I think she's starting to forgive us," Rainbow Dash said, a hint of relief in her voice. "And after we'd been so blind. Everything we said back there was true, right?"
"Do you think that Celestia and Luna could bend the rule of having to live in Canterlot full time?" Rarity wondered. "Because we certainly were sincere about needing Twilight here with us. Yes, there are laws and traditions, but even they can be broken if the situation absolutely calls for it. I mean, there wasn't a law for me to have more than one boutique, was there?"
"Of course not, Rarity," Applejack remarked. "If you can be in more than one place, so can Twilight. Canterlot should be where she does her princess duties and Ponyville is where her home should be. There's absolutely nothin' wrong with that."
"Perhaps we could maybe clone Twilight?" Pinkie Pie suggested. "One can live in Canterlot and the other can live in Ponyville. Easy peasy, pudding in the freezy, right?" Pinkie waited for a response from the others but got nothing.
A little while later, the Sparkle family came down and were quickly approached by Twilight's friends. All of them eager for news.
"How is she?" Fluttershy asked Twilight Velvet.
"Resting comfortably, Fluttershy," Twilight Velvet sighed. "Her blood work came back normal, which was a good thing. Now it's just a matter of what exactly Twilight's diagnosis should be. But we won't know until the morning."
"What should we do now, y'all?" Applejack asked.
"Perhaps we should do what Gentle Breeze and Gentle Gust suggested we do," Spike suggested to the others. "Unboxing all of the boxes back at the castle that hold the most value to Twilight. That way, when she gets back, there will be a sense of normalcy for her."
"If you want, we can help you as well," Shining Armor declared as he offered his services to the girls. "I mean, Cadence, Flurry and I might know of some items that Twilight holds dear and she might want to hold onto. If that's okay with all of you."
"Yes, of course," Rarity replied. "It would be a nice little activity for all of us. And like they said, doing a group activity would be good for the healing process, right?"
"But who's going to stay with Twilight tonight?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Gentle Breeze and Gentle Gust suggested that Twilight be left alone until tomorrow morning," Night Light somberly replied. "Just until the unofficial diagnosis comes in."
Peeking through the glass on Twilight's door, the invisible Luster Dawn quietly opened it as Twilight closed her eyes, grateful to be resting comfortably.
Suddenly, the princess noticed the door opening.
"Who's there?" She asked, turning to look at the door. "If you're casting an invisibiltiy spell, I can cancel it out easily!" she warned.
Just then, the invisibility spell was lowered and Luster Dawn revealed herself, much to Twilight's surprise.
"Princess Twilight?" Luster asked in a concerned voice and with an equally concerned look on her face. "Forgive me, I heard about what happened and came to wish you well."
Twilight was still flabbergasted by Luster's sudden presence.
"W-who are you? Where'd you come from? You shouldn't be here! Are you lost? Have you come to hurt me or abduct me?!"
"No, no. I'm not lost. And I'm not here to do anything to you," Luster retorted with a shake of her head. "I'm actually somepony who's enrolling at your School of Friendship."
That was enough for Twilight to stop fretting, at least for the time being.
"Then why are you here? You should be at orientation, getting acquainted with the school."
"I didn't even want to be at the school," Luster retorted with a snort. "Hay, I didn't even want to move from Canterlot to Ponyville."
Twilight felt her eyes widen at this confession.
"You didn't?" She asked, using her magic to pull up a chair for Luster to sit in. "Why?"
"Because I feel that magic is more important to me than anything, more than friendship. At least, that's how I came to view it." Luster willingly admitted.
"Then why did you move to Ponyville?" Twilight pondered.
"Because after Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow attacked Canterlot, my parents had enough and decided that if we moved to Ponyville, we would be a lot safer. I didn't have a voice in the matter even though I didn't want to leave Canterlot." Luster Dawn bitterly complained.
Twilight listened to everything, she couldn't help but connect with Luster Dawn because of it. In a way, in her mind, Luster Dawn was like her when she'd been living in Canterlot.
"You may not realize this," Luster continued, producing a magic screen similar to that of Gentle Gust's earlier spell. "But my family and I are living on the land where your library used to be. I didn't know if would upset you, but I thought you had the right to know."
"It's nice that somepony is living on the land where my library once stood," Twilight interrupted and sighed. "You're actually living on hallowed ground."
"Hallowed?" Luster Dawn wondered. "Why is it hallowed, Princess?"
"Because that was where I lived when I was a student. The library represented my time where I learned about the magic of friendship and the castle represents my time as a princess. Besides, there is... something else that's been greatly bothering me."
Seeing tears forming in the corners of her idol's eyes, Luster Dawn struggled to find out what was happening.
"He…he…did this to me." Twilight whispered.
"Who did!?" Luster Dawn asked. "Who did what to you?! I should have known. We should've never moved onto your old land."
Suddenly, Luster turned to see the door open and not wanting to be caught, quickly teleported away as Gentle Gust came into the room!
"Twilight, Twilight," He shouted upon seeing upset she had become, and was at his patient's side in a second. "What's wrong?!"
"S-sorry," Twilight whimpered. "I…just…had a…"
"Shh, shh, it's all right," Gentle Gust comforted his patient. "Just let it out. We're here for you."
"Di…di..he..did this to me."
"Who did what to you?" Gentle Gust inquired while sitting at the edge of Twilight's bed. "Are you trying to say that…?"
But Twilight didn't answer, she just broke down and sobbed.
Seeing Twilight lose control, Gentle Gust had every premonition that an ally of Twilight's was at least partially to blame for the condition that she was in.
…
…
Back at Twilight's Castle, the rest of her family and friends set about going through all of the boxes containing Twilight's belongings, trying to figure out which ones to send to Canterlot and which ones to keep at the castle.
"Why do I get the feeling that this like when we tried to make Twilight feel at home here?" Rainbow Dash wondered as she went through some items with Applejack in the castle library. "It's like déjà vu all of a sudden."
"You're telling me," Applejack said, picking up one of Twilight's many books. "I got to tell ya, Rainbow. Seein' Twilight lookin' like she did…it just breaks my heart."
"It breaks all of our hearts, Applejack," Rainbow complained. "I mean we were basically feeding Twilight to the Timberwolves when we should have…"
"We get it, Rainbow!" Applejack cried, taking her mind off of the books she was organizing. "You don't need to tell me again. But I have a feelin' that there's someone else that deserves some of the blame for what Twilight's goin' through."
"You mean Discord," Rainbow snarled, taking out a picture of Discord after he was awarded the pink heart of courage. "I mean, what was he even thinking?Freeing some of Equestria's most feared enemies just to build Twilight's confidence? Let me be honest here, he crossed the line and needs to be punished for it. Twilight didn't ask for his 'help' and certainly didn't need it! Her confidence was growing just fine until he revealed his plan to her."
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if Celestia and Luna decided to turn him to stone again," Applejack remarked. "Fluttershy may not like it, but he's done this too many times now. He had good intentions like he said, but it was poorly thought out. Not to mention he put lives at risk and is part of why Twilight is ended up in the hospital."
"Does he even think of the consequences before he does anything?" Rainbow sighed in a disgusted tone. "Or he just does what he wants? Personally, he wasn't thinking at all I'll bet. Just like when he set me up with the Winterzilla just so he could make Fluttershy look good. I still don't know why he did that."
Applejack just sighed further.
"I hate to admit it, but I think I was more right than I knew when I said it was like he hadn't learned a thing since bein' reformed."
...
Meanwhile, up in Twilight's bedroom, Twilight Velvet and Rarity went about going through some of Twilight's boxed clothes, mostly dresses for certain events as well as the ones Rarity had remade following the destruction of the Golden Oak Library.
"Well, she will need some of these in Canterlot," Rarity declared, placing some of the dresses on dress forms. "For like certain events and all. I must admit it's so hard to pick and choose which ones to stay here and which ones to go," Then she added. "You know, just looking at these dresses makes me think of Discord."
"Why is that, dearie?" Twilight Velvet wondered.
"Because he tested my patience, and I said in frustration that I wish we'd never freed him from his stone prison," Rarity answered. "Now it seems like those words are satisfying given the circumstances. I can't believe he'd do such a thing! Some 'friend' he turned out to be!"
Sighing, Twilight Velvet looked down at her daughter's remade best mare dress from Shining Armor's wedding. She could well remember hearing how furious Shining Armor was at Discord after the first events with Tirek.
"You probably won't be the first and you certainly won't be the last to say that, Rarity," she sadly declared while placing the dress on Twilight's bed. "I'm a pony who doesn't use hate to condone my enemies, but what Discord did to my daughter is unforgivable. If he were here now I'd give him a piece of my mind!"
"I guess you're right, Mrs. Sparkle," Rarity commented, placing Twilight's second gala dress on a dress form with the others. "Personally, I think that he betrayed us again, just like he did when Tirek escaped from Tartarus the first time. What's more, I'm even wondering how Fluttershy is holding up with all of this. Did he even think about her while disguising himself as Grogar?! It doesn't seem like he did, and I thought her friendship meant something to him!"
…
…
Upon returning from Canterlot Hospital, Celestia didn't have any time to rest. She was hard at work, forging what appeared to be golden objects into crown shaped objects. In her mind, there was only one way to help her former student and ease the pain of a power shift.
"Yes, that should do nicely," she said to herself, staring down at her handiwork: Five separate crowns with the markings of the Elements of Harmony on the center. "Twilight won't be the only one taking my place if I have anything to say about it."
Just then, the door to the study opened and in stepped Luna.
"Sister, I just got word from the hospital," Luna said as she approached her sister's desk. "Twilight just had another attack and…"
The Princess of the Night looked down at the five crowns her sister had made and felt her eyes widen.
"Five crowns?!" She gasped. "You are really being serious about this, aren't you?"
"I am, Luna," Celestia firmly replied. "The burden of Twilight ruling Equestria by herself is something I'm not going to allow. Her friends will become rulers as well. It's not fitting" Luna looked at the crowns and absorbed everything that was in front of her.
"Now, what about the hospital?" Celestia asked. "Did Twilight have another attack?"
"She did," Luna somberly answered as Celestia rose to her feet. "According to the latest scroll, Gentle Gust is saying that Twilight's mind may have been more damaged by recent events than originally thought."
A look of anger came onto Celestia's face as she began to pace back and forth in front of Luna. There was no doubt in her mind of who was to blame for putting Twilight in the situation she was currently in.
"You're thinking about Discord, aren't you?" Luna inquired.
"I am," Celestia firmly replied as she ceased her pacing. "How could he do this to Twilight, Luna? He may have had good intentions, but he went WAY over the line this time. It makes furious to think that Twilight is in the hospital because of him!"
The anger in Celestia's voice made even Luna tremble slightly.
"There were other factors," She commented while recoiling from seeing her sister's anger. "You're right that Discord deserves some kind of punishment for what he did. But had he not done what he did…"
"Then Twilight would not have been like this!" Celestia snapped, stamping her foot down. "She could have had an easier transition, would have been crowned by now and… and…"
Groaning and letting out a loud scream, Celestia activated her horn and fired a blast of magic out the window in pure anger! The fury of Celestia's anger caused the room to shake violently.
"Sister, calm down!" Luna cautioned with alarm. "Let's take this one step at a time, please."
But Celestia refused to listen. Looking back down at the five crowns she had created; she had every reason to believe that the spirit of chaos needed to see what he had done.
"Get a platoon together," She ordered, much to Luna's shock. "I want Discord arrested and brought to me as soon as possible. No ifs, ands, or buts!"
Seeing no other choice, Luna reluctantly complied with her sister's request.
…
…
Having escaped being caught by the hospital staff, Luster Dawn and Cherry Tomato managed to get themselves back to the school to rejoin the remainder of the students.
"At least nopony or nocreature noticed we were gone," Cherry Tomato whispered. "I mean…"
"Nopony or nocreature noticed is what's most important," Luster Dawn whispered back. "And you can't tell anyone about what we did today, understood? Swear it!"
"O-kay, okay," Cherry Tomato whispered as he gulped. "I swear it."
"Good." Luster Dawn smiled and left with the students.
She returned home a short time later, still trying to figure out what Twilight was trying to say to her.
"If Twilight wasn't upset by the fact that we were living on her old land, then what was the name of the creature she was trying to spit out to me?" She thought to herself as she walked back into her house.
"Ah, Luster! We've been waiting for you to come back. How was the orientation?" Moon Dusk asked as he prepared dinner with Fire Blaster.
"It was…great, a magnificent school," Luster stammered, trying to hide the fact that she had played hooky to visit her mentally ill idol. "I don't know if you heard, but the coronation has been postponed because Twilight's in the hospital."
"We heard the news," Fire Blaster somberly commented, turning away from her dinner prepping task. "Such a shame that Princess Twilight is in the hospital. Hope she gets well soon."
"You…know?" Luster Dawn asked, trying to figure out how her family could've learned of Twilight's situation.
"Of course, the news was posted all over Ponyville," Fire Blaster explained. "Everypony who was looking forward to the coronation is disappointed, but at least understanding of the situation."
Looking out the window, Luster Dawn saw several of the flags in Ponyville had been brought down to half-mast. "It's worse than I thought." Luster thought to herself before turning back towards her family.
"According to the news," Fire Blaster remarked, picking up an edition of the Foal Free Press. "It appears that Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow are not the only ones who are to blame for what happened to the princess."
More and more Luster began to realize what Twilight had been trying to say about whi had put her in the situation she was in. "Discord." She whispered to herself
…
…
Later that night and back at her cottage at the edge of Ponyville, Fluttershy set about getting a good night's sleep after the emotionally draining day she and the rest of Twilight's friends had. She was just climbing into bed when she noticed something or rather someone else was already there.
"What in…?" She muttered, before turning around and letting out a loud shriek, almost falling out of bed in the process. "Discord?! What are you doing in my bed?!"
The mismatched draconeqeus rose out of bed, a look of guilt riddled on his face.
"Sorry, Fluttershy," he answered, holding a teddy bear and wearing a white nightcap on his head. "I couldn't sleep, my brain reeks of guilt."
A foul smell came out of Discord's head and through his ears as he spoke.
"So I guess you heard the news about Twilight," Fluttershy remarked. "That she's in the hospital."
"A little birdie told me it's serious," Discord sighed as a small bird flew away from his lion's paw. "I mean, I was only trying to build Twilight's self confidence because Celestia and Luna were retiring. It was never my intent to hurt her psychologically."
"Well, you did hurt her, Discord," Fluttershy scolded before taking a deep breath. "And all of us, actually. You should have known better than to do what you did. You know how Twilight gets stressed out over these kinds of situations. Yet you decided to impersonate Grogar, free Tirek and Cozy Glow from Tartarus, bring King Sombra back from the ether..."
"Don't forget finding where Chrysalis was hiding," Discord added, holding a list in his grasp before crumpling it up and throwing it behind him. "Need I go on? The point of the matter is, Fluttershy, my intentions backfired miserably. I failed to realize my plan was working too well, that I'd created a situation I wasn't in control of after all."
"Then perhaps you should go to Canterlot and surrender to Celestia and Luna, Discord," Fluttershy explained. "Maybe if you throw yourself to their mercy, they'll be willing to spare you. This time I don't know if even I can vouch for you."
Suddenly, the sounds of knocking were heard on Fluttershy's door! Right away Discord knew that whoever was at the door was coming for him. Going over to the door, Fluttershy opened it and there stood Luna and two of her night guards. "Fluttershy, where is Discord?" The princess asked.
"I'm right here, Princess Luna," Discord sighed as he slowly walked forward. "I think you know what to do. I know my rights."
"Discord, the spirit of chaos," Luna sighed as one of the night guards placed a pair of cuffs on Discord's lion paw and eagle claw. "You are hereby placed under arrest for the events that led to the hospitalization of her highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you."
With Fluttershy watching in disbelief, Luna and the night guards led Discord away to Canterlot.
…
…
Discord looked around the cell he had been placed in amongst the dungeons of Canterlot. All he could think about was how his intentions to test Twilight had backfired. Just then, he heard the sounds of hoofbeats coming down the stairs and right away, the spirit of chaos realized who was coming down to greet him.
"Discord," Celestia coldy greeted as she starred into his cell. "I assume you know why you're here."
"If you're going to punish me then do it, get it over with," Discord pleaded. "Turn me to stone and place me next to the villains I recruited."
"No, I'm not turning you back to stone," Celestia answered, her cold look still plastered on her face. "However, we have to follow protocol when dealing with criminals. And for the moment, you are considered a criminal in the eyes of Equestria, Discord."
"Haven't I always been considered a criminal, Celestia?" Discord asked, producing an orange jumpsuit to wear. "I mean…I'm…I'm not a monster. Well, maybe I am, but all I do is create chaos. That's my purpose, is it not?"
"Yes it is," Celestia sighed, lowering her head for a moment. "But the truth of the matter is, you didn't think about the consequences that would come out of something like this. You know how sensitive Twilight is, yet you put her into this situation. She's in the hospital now because her mind was forced to take in not just three of Equestria's worst enemies, but also her impending coronation, moving back to Canterlot, and the fact that one of her 'friends' would do something so foolish to try and 'help' her!"
The rise in her tone of voice made Discord cower in fear. He had made Celestia angry in the past many times, but this was a whole new level to him.
"In other words," Celestia finished in a quiet, stern tone. "You inflicted upon her psychological damage that she may never recover from. I knew you had stooped low when you betrayed us to Tirek, but this is worse than that!"
Discord could detect the pain in Celestia's voice, which made him even more dismayed as he looked away from her. He knew that she was more hurt than angry.
"You need to see the damage you've caused first hoof," Celestia declared. "See for yourself what your action haves caused."
Discord realized what was about to happen as several guardsponies surrounded Celestia.
"We're taking you to see Twilight at Canterlot General Hospital," Celestia explained. "So that you can understand the gravity of the situation she's going through. And hopefully make it all up to her."
Discord felt his heart literally sink upon hearing those words.
…
…
As Twilight slept in her hospital bed, Gentle Gust and Gentle Breeze looked through a magic screen that showed Twilight's brain activity. As they watched, they began to see a vision of Twilight's play out on the screen.
"Ready, sister?" They heard Celestia say to Luna as they watched the two sisters face off against the alicorn powered Cozy Glow, before Grogar's bewitching bell drained them of their magic, causing the two sisters to scream loudly in pain.
"NOOOO!" They heard Twilight scream in agony after Celestia and Luna fell in defeat, seemingly dead.
Pausing the vision, Gentle Gust slid back in his chair and studied it carefully.
"Unbelievable," He muttered, his eyes locked on the vision while Gentle Breeze sedated Twilight through her IV. "This is the vision of nightmares, Gentle Breeze. Look at how Celestia and Luna are positioned, almost as if Cozy Glow had killed them."
"And you know how painful it is for alicorns when their magic is forcefully drained," Gentle Breeze added, shrinking the vision down and monitoring the brain waves. "Look at these brain waves, they're going at an almost rapid pace."
"Her mind must have been racing greatly, I'm afraid. Seeing Celestia and Luna harmed in such a manner that it almost seems like they were being murdered?" Gentle Gust questioned.
Activating another spell, the two unicorns pulled yet another vision out of Twilight's mind. Pulling the vision up onto the screen, they saw Twilight, her friends and the powerless sisters in a protective sphere by Twilight's magic. Looking closely, they saw Chrysalis in her powered-up form, looking sinisterly at Twilight, with Tirek and Cozy Glow on her right and left respectively.
...
"You know what is greater than friendship, Twilight?" Chrysalis gloated through the sphere. "FEAR!"
...
"Notice how Chrysalis is almost psychotic in this picture," Gentle Gust observed, pausing the vision. "Almost as if she's trying to instill fear into Twilight, trying to make her weak minded and...she succeeded in a way."
"Yes, perhaps some of that fear never left Twilight," Gentle Breeze added, looking over at her partner with a worried expression. "This might explain as to why Twilight suffered a break down when her friends put her coronation over her feelings."
"Because they were scared themselves," Gentle Gust told his partner. "But it does make you wonder if that the fear these monsters inflicted on Twilight might have had another effect."
Suddenly, Gentle Gust suddenly remembered what Twilight had been trying to tell him during her latest meltdown earlier that day.
"Wait a minute! I remember Twilight was trying to say to me something about how 'He' put her into this situation."
"What on earth are you talking about, Gust?" Gentle Breeze questioned with a look of confusion on her face.
"Take a look at who else is in this picture," Gentle Gust explained. "It's the spirit of chaos himself."
"Discord?" Gentle Breeze observed with a careful eye. "He looks scared, almost as if he'd been much of a victim as Twilight was."
"He was probably scared because he was afraid his plans wouldn't work," Gentle Gust realized. "He wanted Twilight to take the throne, and was so blinded by his obsessions that he didn't see the consequences of his actions, and how they were causing more harm than good."
"Be that as it may, we can't blame Discord entirely for the situation Twilight is in," Gentle Breeze remarked, taking her eyes off of the vision and onto the sleeping Twilight. "Because this seems to have been happening long before all this was taking place. The impending coronation may have just been what pushed Twilight over the edge."
Using her magic, Gentle Breeze went into Twilight's head and pulled out another memory, placing it into the screen.
...
"So, after much consideration," The two unicorns heard Celestia say. "My sister and I have decided it is time for us…to retire."
"Breaking news," They heard Discord say as he appeared in a reporter's outfit. "The Princesses of Equestria decide to retire!"
...
Pausing the vision, Gentle Breeze directed her partner to look directly at Twilight's face, completely filled with panic and anxiety.
"This whole thing is almost like a snowball," she commented. "And right here, at this moment, is when that snowball started rolling."
"So it started with the particular announcement that Celestia and Luna made," Gentle Gust commented with a nod. "But Discord must have fanned the flames even further."
Fast forwarding the vision, the two unicorns took notice of Discord suddenly disappearing from view as Twilight was having her meltdown.
"Notice here how he just randomly disappears without anypony noticing. And look at him smiling as he teleports away." Gentle Gust explained. Magnifying the image, they looked at the grin that was forming in Discord's mouth.
"It appears what Discord is currently thinking is that he wanted Twilight to be crowned as soon as possible," Gentle Breeze whispered. "And in doing so, whether he knew it or not, he made the snowball roll even faster inside Twilight's mind."
"Perhaps we might need to question Discord personally in order to get to the bottom of why he did what he did," Gentle Gust concluded. "Only then can we truly understand how this all came to pass and what must be done to resolve it."
…
At that moment, the sounds of hoofbeats inched closer and closer to the room, causing the two unicorn doctors to stop what they were doing.
"Who could that be at this hour?" Gentle Breeze wondered, rising out of the chair. "Don't they know the hospital is closed?"
Gentle Gust, meanwhile, walked over to the door. Opening it revealed Celestia, Luna and Discord all flanked by several guards with the arrested Discord walking behind them.
"Princesses, we're just doing our assessment on Twilight, so you might want to wait a little while longer." Gentle Gust advised, but Celestia wasn't hearing any of it.
"How is she?" Celestia inquired while walking into the room.
"Sedated, your highness," Gentle Breeze explained as Celestia glanced over at the sleeping Twilight. "We've been studying her mind, and we think that the very spirit of chaos who is standing behind you can help us understand what's happening here."
Looking back at Discord, Gentle Gust gestured for him to come forward. Sighing heavily, Discord walked towards the elder doctor. Entering the room, Discord kept his eyes locked on the sedated Twilight, her head plastered with connecting stickers that picked up her mind's readings.
"Take a look at what you have done, Discord," Celestia quietly but sternly remarked. "This is what happens when you take dangerous gambles in an effort to build up a pony's self-confidence."
Discord looked closely at Twilight, how vulnerable she seemed now. Nothing like the confident, assertive leader he had hoped to mold her into it. The leader he thought for sure she was destined to be. After all, if she could succeed where Celestia and Luna hadn't and not only defeated him but befriended him, then surely she could do anything. Or so he had thought until now.
"I can tell you right now," Discord commented, looking back to the group of ponies standing behind him. "That ever since Twilight and I first met face to face, I knew that there was something about her that made seem like…she was more powerful than either of you two."
Celestia and Luna still were unconvinced by Discord's words.
"So I had to test her," he further explained, producing a screen of his own, showing some of Twilight's many accomplishments, including Twilight and Cadence battling the Tatzelwurm the time Discord claimed to have been sick with the "blue flu." "And with each test I threw at her, she passed with flying colors."
"No thanks to you and your inability to think of the consequences," Luna bitterly remarked. "Consequences that can greatly affect a pony's psyche, Discord. I should know, I spend every night patrolling everypony's dreams."
Placing a hoof on Twilight's right foreleg, Luna gently stroked it while looking down at the pony who had reunited her with her older sister.
"But this was something beyond even my control, Discord. Did you ever stop to think about what would happen if Twilight didn't take action the way you expected her to? What would you have done if she had failed, if she had died?! Did you have no back-up plan at all in case the worst were to happen?!"
"No, not really," Discord shook his head. "I guess I didn't think things through after all."
Sighing deeply, he sat down at the edge of Twilight's bed, looking remorsefully at her.
"In my ambitions, I couldn't help but not realize until now what taking the throne would actually mean: leaving Ponyville, moving back to Canterlot, being away from her friends. Taking up the responsibility of ruling an entire nation, opening up plenty of new doors. I...I thought that Twilight and her friends would be going through all of this…together."
For a good solid minute, Discord looked down at Twilight remorsefully, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"If…Twilight ever wakes up," he continued, holding back tears. "I promise to never do these unintentional actions on her again. In fact, I Pinkie Promise: Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
"I'm glad to see you're starting to understand the error of your ways, Discord," Celestia spoke up a moment later, draping a wing over him. "Better late than never."
Having watched everything that was transpiring, both Gentle Gust and Gentle Breeze had gotten everything they needed out of Discord.
"To this end," Celestia continued. "We will not be turning you to stone or handing down any extreme punishment, on the condition that you stick to the promise that you made tonight, forever. Understand?"
"I understand," Discord sobbed, throwing himself down at Celestia's feet. "I understand! I swear it!" Still begging for mercy, Discord was escorted out of the room with the guards, his eyes still locked tightly on Twilight as he left.
Once Discord was gone, only Celestia and Luna remained with the two doctors as they removed the connecting stickers from Twilight's head.
"Well," Gentle Gust sighed. "I think we may have gotten more than enough information out of tonight, your highnesses."
"So, what happens now?" Luna wondered.
"We're going to review everything we looked at tonight, and then hopefully we'll have a diagnosis first thing in the morning." Gentle Gust informed the two alicorns.
"You're both welcome to spend the night here if you want," offered Gentle Breeze. "We don't call this the royal suite for nothing."
"Thank you, I'll stay here with Twilight." Celestia replied, despite knowing that Luna needed to return to her night patrol duties as well as return Discord to Canterlot.
"I'll come back in the morning for the diagnosis," Luna offered, embracing her sister before going over to Twilight and kissing her on the cheek. "May you have a peaceful sleep, my beloved Twilight Sparkle."
Once her sister and the doctors were gone, Celestia was left alone with her faithful student. Sitting down next to Twilight, Celestia gently stroked Twilight's hair, hoping for the best for the pony who had been a huge inspiration in her life.
"No matter what happens, Twilight," she whispered, her hoof clutching Twilight front right leg. "I will always be here for you, just as I am now."
Closing her eyes, Celestia once again sang softly to Twilight, reassuring the love that she had for her:
"Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head, close to my heart
Never to part
Baby of mine."
…
…
The next morning, Celestia quietly rose the sun from Twilight's window, hoping and praying that the diagnosis on Twilight's fragile condition would come soon enough.
Moments later, the door opened and in stepped Twilight's immediate family as her friends followed close behind.
"How is she?" Starlight Glimmer asked in a low voice, causing Celestia to turn and face her guests.
"Resting comfortably," Celestia answered, looking over at Twilight. "Hopefully, she'll be waking up soon to hear the diagnosis."
Just then, Luna came into the room having completed her nightly duties.
"I trust we are all here for Twilight's diagnosis," She remarked. "I know a lot of ponies were affected, but Twilight's been on my mind all night."
"We're all thinking about her, sister." Celestia reassured Luna.
"None of us could really sleep all that great thinking about Twilight," Fluttershy added. "Where's Discord?"
"He's back in Canterlot, fully repentant of his actions," Luna answered while, looking over at Fluttershy. "And he's promised to never put Twilight through such trauma ever again."
Luna then turned back towards Celestia, gesturing her to come to the window.
"What is it, sister?" Celestia asked as Luna directed her to look down towards a group of ponies and other creatures right outside the hospital. Celestia was shocked by what she saw! "How long have they been here?!"
"Supposedly they've been gathering throughout the night," Rainbow Dash explaied. "Many Pegasi left Cloudsdale early this morning to be here in support of Twilight."
"As have a lot of unicorns," Rarity added. "There was even one pony with a black sweater on, looking just like Twilight, sending her best wishes."
"That was Moondancer," Spike corrected, flying over to lay down next to Twilight. "Along with her other friends: Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine."
At that moment, the door knocked and everypony in the room froze, knowing that the time had come for Twilight's diagnosis.
Entering the room, Gentle Gust and Gentle Breeze looked over the small group, quickly getting their attention.
"It will take a few minutes still for Twilight to come around," Gentle Gust advised. "Would you all like to wait for her to wake up or should we get started now?"
Suddenly, all heard the sounds of light murmurs, and all realized that Twilight was coming around. Opening her tired filled eyes, Twilight weakly tried to speak.
"What is…what's going…?" Twilight whispered, but was unable to finish as Celestia and Twilight Velvet sat next to her. "What are you all…?"
"Shh, it's all right, honey," Twilight Velvet whispered as Applejack placed the hat she gave Twilight on her head. "We're all right here for you."
Taking a deep breath, all of Twilight's family and friends gave their undivided attention to Gentle Gust and Gentle Breeze.
"All right," Gentle Gust began. "Since we assigned to treat and diagnose the mental health of your daughter, your friend, your student and your fellow princess, we have conducted tests. Thus we have come to the conclusion that Twilight Sparkle has, among other issues…Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, otherwise known as PTSD."
Right away, everypony in the room felt their hearts sink! Twilight had been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, the kind that would bring anycreature, pony or non-pony, to their knees. And one for which there was no known cure.
…
TO BE CONTINUED
…
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really...?
You JUST realise this?
Two words:
LESSON! ZERO!
I really hope you mean official diagnosis.
He told you why in the episode. He wanted Fluttershy to have a chance to be the hero.
Ugh.
** Discord knew that Twilight's key did not yet exist, and the only way for it to exist was for her to forgive a betrayal. **
Re-watch that episode.
Twilight's eyes do the "glowy glow" thing not from using the alicorn magic (which would imply that her element is not magic), but when she insists that Discord is freed as well because she is going to forgive him.
Discord's actions are consistent with "I have to pretend to betray in order for this key". Heck, he shows them about the other 5 keys, just the same way that Q had to lead Picard to understand how his actions at multiple time points was the cause of the lack of life on earth and to get Picard to realize what he had to do to solve it.
Ugh. She is just sleeping, lightly sedated with medicine.
Hmm. So hold on. Luster teleported from Ponyville to Canterlot in one shot?
What the distance?!?
She left during school orientation, and returned in school orientation -- daytime. Yet Twilight seems to be in nighttime sleep when she shows up.
AHEM. Have you heard of doctor patient confidentiality?
You do not give the diagnosis in front of others. Only to the patient.
Aaugh.
Seriously, consider what if a 10 year old actually saw this, and thought that this was what would happen if they needed to see a psychiatrist? They would never willingly do it, you make it seem so horrible.
And, there are plenty of coping mechanisms for PTSD. In fact, for the vast majority of metal issues you have coping mechanisms; drugs are not the first choice.
(I'm currently going through intake, by the way. I can assure you I am not being wheelchaired around and staying overnight.)
ok I think I found the problem, and unlike others on here, im gonna try and help you fix it.
the issue is two-fold, as others have said, you needed to do your research here, do some looking into how PTSD is diagnosed, along with extreme anxiety, if you're going to touch on this issue, you need to do ti as accurately as possible,
and that brings me to the main issue of these first 3 "episodes", you have4 sacrificed too much medical accuracy for the sake of the story. What you have follows and advances a plotline very well, but due to the topic, this has lead to it being so inaccurate that suspension of disbelief goes right out the window, and thus alienates readers.
Now, due to the nature of this, you can rewrite it, and that is what I suggest you do, do more research into proper medical practices, and make sticking to those a bit more important then sticking to following a drama plot, and things will be much better, and I want them to better, as there is a TON of promise here
Honestly.. Discord line there really made me mad inside, but I didn't get to say that till now.
It continues the issue the show had with how the Royal Sisters get shafted for the sake of Twilight there. Like ultimately looking "inferior" to Twilight.
Like destiny has Twilight be the "chosen one" while ultimately at the expense of Luna and Celestia. Luna really getting the short end of the stick compared to Celestia.
But also Discord essentially added salt to the wound of what he had done to the Royal Sisters. His plan did more damage than he realizes.
Such as how while it tried to prove Twiight is "capable" of ruling Equestria, he caused Luna and Celestia look like they are "incapable" of doing so. If his plan went haywire or not, it made the sisters ultimately look like "failures" on their last days as rulers.(no, distracting the trio and turning the powerless trio to stone doesn't make them not look like "failures"). On their very last days as rulers, they fall flat on their faces and needed to rely on the girls to ultimately save the day AGAIN. Discord caused that to happen. His plan ultimately damaged Luna and Celestia's reputations as rulers/protectors of Equestria and most likely damaged their confidence.
And yet he has the nerve to tell the sisters that basically they are ultimately are just to be "inferior" and weaker than Twilight like that. I feel like he should have just said "I saw some kind of potential in her that interested me", not basically telling the sisters that Twilight is ultimately "superior" over them like that. This.. is basically my bitterness talking honestly.. his plan caused the sisters to end their rules on pretty bad notes(Luna suffering worse there) and him telling them Twilight is stronger than them just made me angry at him more with how he ultimately made Luna and Celestia look bad. Such as with the Plundervines, the Tirek mess, the Grogar plan.
Luna already has to deal with being stuck in Celestia's shadow and being "inferior" to her(sadly the writers didn't exactly resolve this, its like Luna is just hit by the rainbow laser and that's it, she is forced to accept she's doomed to be in Celestia's shadow. No, the attention Luna got is still not enough with what Celestia gotten, it still felt like Luna is still in her shadow) but the fact Luna is told she's essentially meant to be "inferior" to Twilight like that just.. bothers me so much.
Really sorry about the rant.. I just hated Discord's line there and been kind of bottling it up. I didn't initially brought it up for some reason.
Sorry.. just wished there was consequences for Discord's line there. It really felt like he added salt to Luna and Celestia's wounds there.
*sigh* PTSD is not a friend...
Twilight ended up with PTSD? That just gave me lesson zero vibes.
I know I have commented before but I love Celestia's motherly nature. It fits her very well and regarding Twilight's PTSD, that isn't surprising. The trauma she went through, that would give anyone PTSD.
10658306 That was the goal for Celestia's character. Retiring from the throne means she can focus more on being a mother figure to Twilight and her friends while focusing on being a mentor to the students at the School of Friendship.
(These words buzzing about in mind, until a lightbulb dings)
Can you repeat that again, Celestia?
Celestia: "Excuse me?"
You heard me. Repeat what you just said. About taking dangerous gambles to build up a pony's self-confidence? That sounds hypocritical of you considering that you're also guilty of doing that similar thing to Twilight Sparkle, and in a very wrong way.
Celestia: "How dare you?! Twilight is like a daughter I never had! So everything I did for her was to make her happy!"
Oh really? Everything you did for her was to make her happy? Ha! That's hilarious. Question! Did you make her happy when you took her concerns about Nightmare Moon coming back seriously?
Celestia: "What does that have to do with-"
ANSWER THAT QUESTION, YOU HYPOCRITE!!!
Celestia: "Ah...uh..."
Oh, what am I saying? Of course you didn't! And what did you do again instead of that? Hmm, was it beefing up Ponyville's security with more guards? No. Hmm, was it acknowledging Twilight's discovery and taking a different course of action? Oh, I remember now! Making fun of Twilight's interest in those 'musty old books' and sending her to Ponyville to oversee the Thousand Sun Celebration while making new friends! Am I remembering that brief summary of that letter you sent to Twilight correctly?!
Celestia: "Alright, alright! I admit my response to her concerns that time were a little discomforting, but-"
A LITTLE?!?! Brushing off somepony's concerns is a little discomforting to you?! Oh Celestia. You really are the most disappointing pony I've ever met in my life. Honestly, I don't even know why I'm not surprised you're this way. Maybe you chose to be like this. Maybe the real reason you're forcing Twilight Sparkle to take your place as main Princess of Equestria without asking her if it's what she wanted, is that you still haven't gotten over the fact THAT YOUR OWN MOTHER DID THE SAME THING TO YOU!!!
Discord: "Well that escalated quickly."
Again, I don't hate Celestia, just her actions as of late.