Chapter 5: The Whole Truth
So Twilight, her family and friends were all on their way to visit the therapist. Hopefully, Twilight's therapy session would help her tremendously with her recent hard times. After all, she had been so stressed out the past two days and everypony she knew had noticed.
"The therapist I'm taking you to is a former student who also attended my personal school just like you did, Twilight," said Celestia. "She's about your age, but she's talented with magic spells that soothe ponies. I'm sure she can help." They all soon arrived at the therapist's office and they saw one of Celestia's guards leave. He looked a little down, but quickly sprang into a salute upon seeing Shining Armor.
"C-Captain! Sir! Welcome back, sir!"
"Uh... carry on," said Shining Armor and the guard left. That's when the therapist came out to see Twilight.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle," she said sweetly. "Remember me? I first saw you at Princess Celestia's School for the Gifted Unicorns." Twilight just looked confused. "It's okay. I didn't think you would. We were just fillies."
"Sister!" Princess Luna suddenly showed up.
"What is it, Luna?" asked Celestia.
"The citizens of Canterlot are restless. The guards are stressed and unable to disperse them."
"Sweet Mother of Equestria!" said Applejack. "That doesn't sound good!"
"What's going on?!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I've heard the rumors too, Princess," said the therapist.
"Y-you have?" said Twilight.
"Mm-hm. It all started four days after the royal wedding. My first patient was a guard pony who was trying to cope with stress from the wedding events, which of course was the changeling invasion. Soon after that, I got visits from several more guards and a day later, Canterlot civilians were coming for therapy sessions. And I started to hear some of the strangest things they've said, particularly coming from the sophisticated ponies." In a flashback sequence, ponies were explaining their troubles and worries to the therapist.
"I was wrapped up in this green cocoon," said a guard in a nervous wreck. "I thought it was the end for me."
"Not even Celestia was able to protect us, and she didn't even see this coming," said Jet Set. "But her student saw the signs and nopony listened to her!"
"Twilight Sparkle is her personal student and Celestia should have listened to her!" said Upper Crust. "I think the smart pony would make a much better leader than our daytime mistress."
"This doesn't sound good," said a worried Celestia, back in the present day. "What are the citizens saying now?"
"They want... they want a revolution," said Luna. Everypony else gasped. "They believe that since Twilight Sparkle was the only pony who saw the signs of the changeling invasion that she should replace you as leader of Equestria."
"So they wanna overthrow the Princess?!" said Rainbow Dash, aghast. "The nerve of them!"
"This is the last thing Twilight Sparkle needs," said Celestia, now frustrated with this unfortunate turn of events. "For starters, she's in no fit condition to take charge with all the stress she's been suffering from. And second, while she may be a brilliant student, she lacks the proper wisdom needed to rule all of Equestria."
"What are you gonna do?" asked Applejack. Celestia breathed heavily through her nostrils.
"I shall have to be patient," she said. "Sister, I feel that I must talk some sense into these citizens."
"Forgive me for disagreeing with you, sister," said Luna. "But the citizens might be up in arms if they see you here and now. I fear you may be losing their trust."
"They have to know that Twilight Sparkle is not capable of becoming Equestria's leader, especially if it means replacing me."
"As you wish, sister."
"I will do what I can." She then spoke to Twilight. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but I'm afraid I can't wait around until your therapy session ends. I must address my people and shed some light on this misunderstanding. But I'll be back as soon as I can." Twilight nodded and the two regal sisters took off. The therapist then escorted Twilight into her office.
"I'm afraid all of you will have to wait outside," she said to Twilight's friends. "Therapy sessions are personal and what Twilight and I will be discussing is liable to be classified. But in any case, you all must swear to keep anything you hear a secret."
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" said Pinkie Pie and the others nodded in agreement. And with that, the therapist went into her office and closed the door. The others waited outside, realizing that Twilight's first therapy session could take at least an hour.
Inside the therapist's office, Twilight was sitting on a sofa in a resting position while the therapist was making preparations for their session. Using her magic, she levitated a box of tissues, a wastebasket, and a small paper bag over to where Twilight was.
"Now Twilight," said the therapist, taking a seat in a chair near the sofa. "I think it will help if you are able to tell me as much about your personal life as you can. It's my job to keep whatever you tell me between ourselves, unless you wish me to tell your friends anything."
"Okay," murmured Twilight.
"Trust me, you'll feel a lot better about yourself if you start from the beginning." She then used her magic to levitate a notepad with a pen to her and to hold it in front of her. "I suggest you pick a point in your life that changed everything about you."
"Okay."
"Oh, and one more thing before we get started. I noticed that your friends and family seemed really worried about you, so chances are they might listen in on us from time to time. If you feel that it's going to bother you, I can ask them to leave. Do you want me to tell them to leave?"
"No, it's okay."
"Very well. So, Twilight, let's start from the beginning. Tell me everything you remember if you can."
"Okay." And Twilight began. "It all started at the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot when I was a filly. I witnessed Princess Celestia herself raise the sun with her magic. I was so inspired that I began pouring my time into reading books and studying all kinds of magic. My parents and my brother were the only ponies who ever understood me. Oh, and of course my foal-sitter Cadance as well. She knew I was special. When I was enrolled at Princess Celestia's School for the Gifted Unicorns, the Princess herself made me the greatest offer in my life, to be her own personal protégé. It was a dream come true!" Twilight seemed to be happy to discuss this, and all the while she talked, the therapist was jotting down notes using her magic with relative ease. "After years of studying magic, the Princess sent me to Ponyville to make some friends. At first, I felt that my studies were far more important, but once I realized how wonderful friendship was, I couldn't have been happier. So I moved into Ponyville to stay with my friends. Oh, we had so many good times and adventures together. Sometimes, we had problems, but we were able to understand them and overcome them, which made our friendships even stronger. I felt that nothing would ever be able to drive us apart. And then, after we had all been friends for so long, we were invited to the royal wedding of Canterlot." Twilight's face started to drastically change at this point and the therapist sensed this. "My brother was getting married to my former foal-sitter Cadance. At first, I wasn't too happy because my brother was too busy to tell me in person, but I was happy again once I learned who he was marrying, and that he wanted me to be his best mare. My task was to make sure everything went as planned, and I was only too happy to do so, but then when I met up with Cadance again, she didn't seem to remember me. I didn't know this yet, but she was an imposter - Chrysalis, queen of the changelings. I got suspicious and upset when the fake bride was treating my friends badly and when I saw her cast a spell on my brother, I concluded that she was evil. I was right of course, but nopony believed me. The imposter had tricked my friends by making them the new bridesmaids and also pulled a stunt to make it more convincing that she was Cadance." Twilight then started to tear up and as she went on, her voice sounded more upset as she began talking through tears. "My brother... then told me that the reason she was being mean was because she was simply stressed out because of the wedding and that she wanted it to be perfect. When I tried to protect him... he only yelled at me... He got so mad at me... he told me... I couldn't be his best mare anymore... and he didn't even want me to come to his wedding." Twilight now started to cry, but the therapist continued to jot down notes. It was hinted that Twilight's friends were in fact listening in on the other side of the door because they were all tearing up, likely out of guilt. It wasn't too bad hearing Shining Armor punish Twilight the first time, but subsequent times made them realize it was quite harsh the way they all treated her. Shining Armor was trying to refrain from crying with Cadance comforting him, but only Fluttershy was actually crying yet softly so nopony could hear her. Twilight went on. "My friends... didn't even care... They just... walked away... like I deserved it... Even the Princess was mad at me... I felt useless... And when I needed my friends more than ever, they were all gone..." Tears poured down Twilight's face. "I thought I lost everything that night," she wept. "They broke my heart... and I never imagined they would do that to me." As Twilight dabbed her eyes with a tissue and blew her nose, the therapist levitated the small paper bag in front of Twilight.
"Here, Twilight," she said, pausing from her note taking. "Breathe through this." And as Twilight did so, the therapist cast a magic spell on Twilight. "This magic spell is supposed to soothe you. Just relax." The spell made Twilight breathe easy and she was then able to continue talking, but she still sounded very much choked up. Twilight Velvet, having listened in on much of this, was now sobbing herself.
"The imposter came back and imprisoned me underground." The therapist looked up from her notepad hearing this. Twilight's friends soon realized this was the part of her story they never heard before, so they listened in, along with her family. "When I woke up, I found myself laying on the cold ground. I was trapped in a series of tunnels beneath the castle. It was dark and I only had the light of my horn... All of my hopes were gone... So were my friends... and my brother... I was tormented by the imposter... I felt that no one would find me... I felt that everything was lost! It was like the worst moment in my life!" Twilight had now been crying so much that her tears on the floor were being to form a small puddle.
"Breathe, Twilight," said the therapist gently. So Twilight breathed into the small paper bag while the therapist casted more of her specialty magic on her to calm her down. Despite being calmed by magic, Twilight still let out small sobs. "Now, about these underground tunnels, I think it would be most helpful if a lot of ponies in Canterlot knew about them. If you don't mind, I wish to pass this information on to Princess Celestia."
"O-of course," said Twilight. So the therapist prepared a scroll to be delivered to Celestia. She then handed the scroll to none other than the ditzy Muffins, whom she chose as her delivery pony.
"Muffins, take this scroll to Princess Celestia," said the therapist. "It is vital that she gets this information."
"Will do!" said Muffins. She exited the office and all of Twilight's friends saw her take off.
"Hey," said Rainbow Dash. "Was that...?"
Meanwhile, a lot of ponies in Canterlot had gathered at the castle entrance creating a massive public outcry. The guards at the entrance appeared to be too tired and stressed out to do anything, so they were unable to shoo everypony away. Luna was trying to disperse the crowd, but no avail.
"Please, good citizens of Canterlot," she bellowed using her traditional Canterlot voice to make herself heard. "As princess of the night, I command you all to leave! Princess Celestia wishes to assure thou that our fair city will not fall into evil hooves!"
"The princess has failed!" shouted Golden Harvest, a background pony from the crowd. "Twilight Sparkle was right all along!"
"We never should have believed in the princess!" shouted Time Turner, another background pony. "She betrayed us!"
"Please!" begged Luna. "She is not a traitor! She wishes for our well-being!"
"Well, we don't feel safe with her watching over us!" shouted Shoeshine.
"Those changelings are all stronger than the princess!" shouted Lemon Hearts. "And their queen is far too dangerous!"
"If they come back, who will protect us?" asked Twinkleshine. "Our princess won't stand a chance! And neither will we!"
"We want Twilight Sparkle!" demanded Lyra Heartstrings. "She saw the signs of danger the first time! She can lead us!"
"Yeah, we want Twilight!" shouted Minuette.
"Yeah!" agreed Sea Swirl.
"YEAH!" shouted Bulk Biceps. And then the entire crowd started chanting "We want Twilight!" again and again. Luna was dismayed, but that's when Celestia appeared by Luna's side, causing the crowd to stop chanting, but her appearance did start to make things worse.
"There she is!" shouted Cherry Berry, pointing with her hoof.
"She's got some nerve showing up," said Peachy Sweet.
"Please, good citizens," begged Celestia. "I implore you to listen."
"Why should we listen to you?!" demanded Merry May. "Your student knew everything and no one believed her!"
"Those changelings are still out there!" shouted Goldengrape. "Twilight Sparkle is the only pony capable of leading us! She can tell us what to do!" Several ponies in the crowd agreed, saying "Yeah", including Bulk Biceps.
"YEAH!" And so the crowd continued their chants of "We want Twilight!" once more.
"Citizens, listen..." Celestia tried to say. "Please!" But it was of no use.
"Citizens of Canterlot!" boomed Luna again, silencing the crowd, yet making Celestia wince. "We implore thou! Twilight Sparkle is indeed a noble, brave, and smart pony, and we are honored you think she is capable of leading you all. But you must know and understand this! Twilight Sparkle does not have the proper wisdom to rule all of Equestria! We cannot allow such a heavy burden to fall on this young pony's shoulders! If you wish to be rest assured, you must listen to Celestia and myself!"
"Oh, great!" shouted Noteworthy. "Then we're done for!"
"This is insane!" shouted Junebug. "We'll never be safe again!" As the whole crowd started buzzing at once, Celestia looked aghast. That's when Muffins finally showed up with the therapist's scroll.
"Mail for the princess!" she said, delivering the scroll and flying off. Celestia quickly read through the scroll and looked surprised with its contents.
"Sister? What is it?" asked Luna.
"The therapist has given us Twilight's description of the underground network of tunnels that run beneath Canterlot. Luna, I have an idea." And Celestia addressed the crowd once more. "Citizens, I have received word of something that might help." This got the crowd to be quiet again. "Very few of us have known this before, but now we will all know about this. My most faithful student has provided me with the location of a series of underground tunnels that run beneath Canterlot. If there is ever a time and place, we can seek shelter beneath our city until any danger passes. They will give us time to devise strategies and figure out how to overcome our troubles. But you all must know this. The land of Equestria thrives on the power of teamwork and the magic of friendship. And we must all keep this in our hearts. Only then can we truly keep all our troubles at bay. We must come together as one in a unity of pony friends! Equestria depends on it! Equestria depends... on you!"
"YEAH!" shouted Bulk Biceps a third time, which was then followed by excited cheers from the crowd.
"Thank goodness, sister," said Luna with relief. "I think we just prevented a rebellion."
"Let's hope so," said Celestia. "I must go and check up on Twilight Sparkle. See if you can keep this crowd under control." Luna nodded and Celestia flew off.
Back with Twilight and the therapist, Twilight was now getting to the part about her three nightmares.
"But I found the real Cadance and we escaped the tunnels, so we were able to set things right. And then a week later, the nightmares started."
"Can you describe your nightmares?" asked the therapist.
"Well, see... The first time, I dreamt that the changeling queen had been impersonating Celestia when I discussed my worries about facing the changelings again. My next nightmare was worse. I dreamt I was shown a vision of my friends ditching me after my brother disowned me."
"Come on, y'all. Forget about Twilight. We've got a wedding to plan."
"Maybe she's not really our friend after all."
"Yeah, who needs her anyway?"
"She's a party pooper!"
"I can't believe she was my most faithful student."
"Hmph. She's no sister of mine."
"Those words they said were so hurtful," Twilight cried. "I wasn't sure if I could talk about my problems with them personally. What if they would hurt me again? What if they would just ignore my problems as if they were nothing serious?"
"Was the wedding rehearsal the first time they didn't take you seriously?"
"No," moaned Twilight, trying to hold back tears, but to no avail. "One time I went ballistic worrying that I would be tardy for not writing a weekly letter about friendship to Princess Celestia on time. My friends... They... laughed... like it was nothing. But this meant a lot to me... and they didn't even bother to help me."
"How long ago do you think this happened?"
"I don't know. A month ago, maybe more."
"That's okay." The therapist made a note of what Twilight had said about worrying over not being on time. "Any other nightmares?"
"Yeah. Last night, I dreamt that the wedding and reception was just a dream and in reality, we were all trapped in green cocoons about to be metamorphosed by the evil Queen Chrysalis. I have no idea what that nightmare meant, but it was so scary... I didn't know which would worry me more, either the changelings returning or my friends not being there for me when I realize how much I need them." The therapist then finished taking down her notes.
"Hmm... Well, Twilight, it does sound like you've been through an awful lot this past week. What's happened is that you've trusted and loved your friends for so long, when something so unexpected like them deserting you comes up, it hurts you so much that it's liable to come back and haunt you. Therefore, I can only conclude that what you are currently going through is a moderate case of what is called posttraumatic stress disorder."
"Huh?"
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Black Kyurem is trying to get the whole darn thing up actually. He waited till he got approval after submitting the Prologue and Chapter 1 to do the rest.
Wow it doesn't take much for the citizens of Canterlot to be swayed either way, they form an opinion one moment and then dsiregard the next.
I think that you would have been better served to leave out the riot/rebellion bit as it stands; however, it could have be edited to be worthwhile by coming up with a better solution. You know, like the princesses successfully arguing that Twilight would be a better fit as Chancellor (or something) that as a monarch.
They seriously want Twilight to rule Equestria now? However way you slice it, Twilight is only a kid.
If it helps put things into perspective...one could point out that lots of other fictional siblings have had their own issues. There's Sasuke and Itachi of the Uchiha Clan; Goku and Raditz of the Saiyan Race; King Cold’s sons, Frieza and Cooler; Scar and Mufasa of Pride Rock; Starfire and Blackfire of planet Tamaran; Ozai and Iroh of the Fire Nation; Ramses II and Moses of Dreamworks’ Ancient Egypt; Zeus and Hades of Disney’s Ancient Greece; Thor and Loki of Marvel’s Asgard; Megabyte and Hexadecimal of the computer city of Mainframe; Esplin 9466 the Greater and Esplin 9466 the Lesser of the Yeerk Empire; Stewie and Bertram of the Griffin Family...
Gentle Soul: And how did those relationships turn out?
Pokemon Pioneer: .......
..........
I don't think Twilight is in the position to run a country right now folks.
That's good that you brought up Lesson Zero in this chapter. Come to think of this, oh the irony.
I'm really feeling sorry for Twily, I know how is it to be ditched by the people you thought you could always count at the worst time possible, worst of all, in my case, was my whole family. You can imagine how painful is to suddenly you don't have anyone you can trust anymore. You are alive, but you don't feel alive.
Yeah yeah, I know you don't like to read depressing stuff here, but I just had to let it out. It's not the same as speaking with someone you trust, but it's something
WOW!!!
I got the link to this story from a story written by twilightsparkle3562 called My Greatest Failures where the therapist is used. So I decided to read the original. I am so glad I did. This story is now liked and fav'ed.
You do realize that you've predicted the name of Bulk Biceps right?
The more times I read this fic, the more times I realize how unpolished it is. Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome story, but the pictures and the videos and the odd, script-y way that the fic sometimes reads as makes it very hard for me to get fully invested.
I think this might need some revision.
2538170 yeah this is what the Tropes call Disproportionate Retribution
Why do I feel that Celestia sounds slightly jealous in this line?
Am I the only one who noticed that?
Is it wrong of me to think of the part at the gates with the crowd and it going the way of the French Revolution with a gieten, Twilight, a basket, and a public event?
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Zeus and Hades come from Ancient Greek mythology, and were sons of Kronos, Titan of Time.
Thor and Loki come from Norse Mythology from the Iron Age, were fated to both fall come Ragnarok, the End of Days.
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You mean a guillotine?
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Haters gonna hate.
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Nope. I edited it after I learned his name. Same for Muffins.
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Someone used my OC without my permission? Wow, I got so much hate here.
See you in Season 9 Celestia...
ah posttraumic disorder, I mean when I was going through similar things, but mine were seeing things and hearing voices, that was freakin scary, I'll admit it O_O
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Griffinstone has always been the ultimate enemies of Equestria! We are extremely joyful that The Crystal Empire joins us in the neverending fight against their evil!
*A paper is passed over, and without missing a beat*
We must be determined to keep up the fight against our sworn enemy, The Crystal Empire, as they are attempting to destroy our way of life!
*The listening, frenzied crowd tears down the signs supporting Griffinstone, going into a rage about the spies that must be in their midst*
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