I'm Always Here to Help

If you stroll along Main Street, you'll pass various shops for various things. There are dress shops, kitchen shops, flower shops, fabulous bakeries, and the occasional entrance to an apartment complex. On this street, there is a rather famous bakery known by the Prench name of Sucré. It was a fabulous type of building, one that drew the eye, and not many ponies would notice the little, unassuming sign on the building across the street. It simply said, 


Dr. Clear Mind, MD
Psychiatry and Therapy


From the outside, one wouldn't assume that it was anything special, but from the inside, they were assaulted with bright colors. It was described by some as stepping into a foal's fairy tale, with the fluffy carpet colored a pretty shade of blue and the walls painted a color that could only be described as honeydew. The room was decorated with fun, eccentric bean bags and couches, and again, on the wall, the doctor's name and services were framed.

A plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies sat on the neon coffee table, along with a plate of sugar cookies for ponies who didn't like chocolate. 

This was Dr. Clear Mind's waiting room, and connected to this room was the place where she had healed so many ponies before.

"Split" Percy Diamond had come a long way for this. He hopped on a train to Canterlot to see a Psychiatrist to help with his "condition." He didn't even know he had one. But a few ponies told him to see a professional about it. They described what he was doing has having multiple personalities. While he didn't believe it, it couldn't help to double check.

When Percy arrived at the place he was told to visit, he trotted in and was attacked by bright colors. They looked fun. Like a foal's fairy tale. It looked way too fun to be a psychiatrist's office. She must be good at her job, then. Or they messed up the sign and this was really a day care center.

Percy trotted around the office and came across a plate of chocolate chip cookies. He couldn't resist, and grabbed a few. Might as well have a snack before you wait, right?

Clear hummed to herself as she checked outside for clients, and, to her surprise, there was a pony eating her cookies! She hadn't hear him come in, and she quickly stood up and opened the door, walking out to greet the stallion.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully. "My name is Dr. Mind, and I'm assuming you're here to see me?" 

She grabbed a cookie before sticking out her hoof in greeting.

Percy Diamond looked at the mare who extended her hoof to him. He brought his hoof out and shook Dr. Mind's. She seemed very friendly. And colorful. Like her office.

"Yes, I am. My name is Percy Diamond, and yes, I am here to see you. But a lot of people added Split in front of my name as a little nickname. I don't know why, though. Anyway, shall we get down to business?"

Clear liked this stallion's enthusiasm. She led him into her office, sitting down behind her desk and gesturing to the couch opposite her position.

"So, let's start things off," she said, a quill poised over her notepad for future references. "I always let my clients know in advance what I charge. I start out with about 884 bits for an evaluation, then about 457 bits a session for your first three visits. Afterwards, it's completely free, no loopholes or sneaky tricks. I only charge enough to run my equipment and live. My main goal is to help you. That's it. Are you okay with this? If it's too much, we can work out a price. I'm flexible."

Percy followed the doctor into her office and sat down on the couch. He listened to what she had to say, and holy buck was therapy expensive. But he wanted to know what was wrong with him, and he just barely had enough money to pay for it. He made a good bit from being a teacher.

"Ooh, that is rather pricey. But I think I can afford it. A lot of ponies keep saying that there's something wrong with me, but I have no idea what. They said I acted like a jerk, and a filly, and paranoid. I don't know how I could be acting like that, though. So they recommended I come to you."

Clear nodded slowly.

"I know it sounds a bit pricey, but it's actually quite a bit less than most therapists. I don't want to wipe you out. How does five hundred for the evaluation and nine hundred for all three sessions sound? You still get the free sessions afterwards."

She listened carefully to what he said, taking notes and getting a general idea of what was going on.

"Are there periods in your life that you can't remember?" she asked when he finished. "If you've had a concussion before, do you have times where it feels like the period after that? Blackouts?"

Percy Diamond sat and thought for a few minutes. He could afford therapy with this mare. He saved up a lot of money for a trip to somewhere else, like Saddle Arabia. Well, that'll have to be delayed for him to get his mind straight.

"Well, yes. People say I act these weird ways, yet I have no memory of it. Sometimes I feel like they're just pulling my leg and making a joke. But there was a few times where I had a cut or two or there was something like Whiskey spilled on me. So it's probably unlikely that it's a ruse. But I still find it hard to believe."

Clear nodded again, confirming to herself what she had suspected from the beginning.

"From what you've told me, I think I know what your problem is. I can't be certain for now, but, rest assured, I'm certain there's nothing physically wrong with your brain at the moment, so this will not kill you."

She laughed at her own statement, and though it wasn't really that funny, it was warming to hear laughter, even if it was just her own. 

"I'm thinking that you have a sever case of multiple personality disorder," she continued once the giggles had faded. "Usually, ponies with this condition only have two, but you seem to have four. The "you" you think you are is the dominant personality, while the others are a bit more quiet. When they assume control of your body, you don't remember a thing. If it's easier to understand, it's like having four ponies crammed into one body, with one leader and, in your case, three group members. You're the leader."

She got up and sat next to him, holding out another cookie.

"Any questions so far?"

Percy looked down at the floor for a bit and sighed. He had Multiple Personality Disorder? That was one heavy blow. It's not easy to take in that you're crazy. He looked at Dr. Mind again, ignoring the cookie that was offered.

"So, what you're saying is, I'm crazy, and I think I'm four ponies at once? Can't say I'm really surprised, to be honest. I'd hold back on my life story, but it's your job to listen to my junk. I was growing up in the poor part of Manehattan. Being a Batpony, I wasn't all that popular in school or my neighborhood. I did have a couple friends. One was a filly that was really nice to me. I still don't know why. There was also my History teacher. I love history, by the way. Then there was a pony who was a jerk to a lot of ponies and judged what they did or wore. Except me. And a similar one who stayed in her house a lot and was really paranoid of ponies. Then one day, when I couldn't find any of them, my house burned down, and my parents died with it. I panicked and couldn't find my friends..."

Percy started sobbing at the memory of his trauma. He actually held onto Dr Mind, hugging her and crying on her shoulder.

Clear held onto Percy as he started crying. Almost everypony cried in her office, but it was completely normal. She patted his neck, like she had done when Ideal had come home crying, and waited for him to calm down a bit.

As she waited patiently, she levitated over her notes, reading carefully before speaking again.

"It seems that your personalities sound a lot like these friends of yours," she said. "A nice filly, a brutish pony, a paranoid mare, and a history teacher. Do you, by chance, happen to teach history? I might be able to explain it a bit more clearly if that's the case."

Percy sniffed, and started to calm down. He wiped his tears away and was breathing almost normally. He was glad that Clear Mind had hugged him back. He then took the cookie that was offered earlier and snacked on it a little.

"Yes, I do. It's my favorite subject. And the reason I got my Cutie Mark, a History textbook."

(Sorry for short post. Ain't got much to say)

She nodded again.

"It's seems that your personality issue was started with the fire. It was a catalyst. When you couldn't find your friends, right after you had gone through the complete shock of losing your family and your home, it triggered the shock area of your brain, causing it it over fire. Your brain trained itself in that moment to believe that you were your friends. Do you remember their names? It might be slightly different in explanation if you can tell me. I'm working it out as I go."

She patted his hoof.

"It's okay to cry. Don't ever let anypony tell you otherwise. It's okay to cry over the deaths of your parents. I cried for years after my mom and my sister died. Don't feel like you have to hide anything from me, unless you really want to do so, okay?"

Percy Diamond started crying again when Clear Mind said it was okay. He was letting it all out now. He had never cried this much in his life. He could feel a headache coming from how hard he was crying. His voice was a bit softer with minor stutters here and there.

"I... I don't know... I can't really remember their names... Or what happened to them... I just know that they weren't there when I was in trouble... And I wanted to see them. And I couldn't find them... The could be dead to. They could have just taken a vacation... I don't know"

Clear took a few more notes with her horn, lighting up her quill with bright, neon pink magic and scribbling across the paper. She hugged Percy again.

It was always hard to tell patients their issues, but to tell a pony that his friends had been just hallucinations, all part of his subconscious... That was a toughie. It could wait until he was in a more stable state, but it would be a really hard blow for the poor batpony. He had gone through so much already...

She wrote down a prescription on a second notepad and signed it, hoofing it over to the stallion.

"Here. This will calm down that little part of your subconscious that tells your mind to switch personalities. It'll still happen, mind you, but it lowers the chances about fifty percent. If it works well, I'll up the dosage later, okay?"

Percy took the slip of paper that was his prescription for a medication that could help with his disorder. He still had a bit of disbelief in his condition's existence, but might as well try. Besides, Doctor Mind was a professional. Might as well trust her.

"Thank you Doctor Mind. I'm glad that ponies had convinced me to come here." Percy got up from his seat, wiping away a bit more tears, now smiling. "I really like your office. Really friendly. And is there anything else you need before I go?"

"Actually, there is," she said kindly, patting the sofa again. "I want you to tell me, truthfully, how you feel about this process. I really care about your feelings, Percy, and I want to know how, in any other way, I can help you. Really. It's not just my job, like most ponies think; it's my passion, my sense of honor and pride, when I can be, not just somepony's crazy-doctor, but their friend."

She smiled brightly, glancing almost imperceptibly at the only picture of the family she had known, sitting framed in an oak wood setting on her desk.

It was from a time before the darkness, when they were all together; Clear had been seven, Ideal had been five, and Straight had been three. Their mother, Glorious, stood behind them, grinning at whoever was taking the picture. The family had been as whole as Clear had ever known, and as she looked into her sisters' faces, she knew she was serving their memories justice by helping out the ponies of Equestria in every way that she could.

Percy Diamond sat back down next to Clear Mind, as he was signaled. He was starting to enjoy talking to her. But he didn't like the subject they were discussing.

"Well... I still doubt there's really anything wrong with me. Especially something that bad. Having multiple personalities? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still in disbelief. But I think I should trust what you say. This is your job and all. I mean, I don't understand how I could have Multiple Personality Disorder. And because of a house fire?"

Percy looked at a little family photo Doctor Mind was staring at. He wanted to ask a bit about them. Then he told himself not to, since they were already talking about something important.

"Doubt and reluctance is completely normal," she said calmly. "I'll tell you a secret: I was anorexic as a teenager. It wasn't because I thought I was fat or anything; it was to take care of my little sisters, to give them everything I had. I didn't grow out of it until long after college, saving my food from meals to brig back to my dorms before realizing that nopony needed it. I was hungry, but I didn't want to eat, see?"

She patted her stomach before levitating over a cookie and munching on it.

"I don't know why I ever refused it. Food is delicious."

She kept eating it, careful not to spill crumbs all over her clean office. 

"I think I have another theory, but let's leave it until next time. It's really only important medically, but I'll tell you later."

That was a lie, but it was best not to stretch anypony to their breaking point in the first meeting. She never wanted to see a pony that damaged because of the harsh truth, so she spread it out over time.

Percy Diamond sat back in the couch and sighed. Even though he was going to see a psychiatrist, he didn't expect his day going with him hearing he was insane. He wished his friends were around. He wanted to see them again. That's when his body froze.

Percy sat completely still on the couch, twitching. He was like this for a few minutes. He gave no reaction, showed no emotion. Just still and lifeless, twitching and staring straight ahead. When he actually started to speak again, after a long silence, his voice was much softer and higher pitched.

After his comatose state, Percy jumped from the couch and ran around the room, giggling like a little filly and jumping up and down. He even flew a little bit until he almost hit his head on the wall

Ah, perfect. This was what Clear had been waiting for. 

"Hello," she said sweetly, hoping to grab the filly's attention. "My name is Clear. Do you want a cookie?" 

She held out the plate and patted the couch again, treating this new personality like, well, that: a new pony.

She hoped this would, indeed, capture her attention. After all, a trashed office was the last thing she wanted. Messiness was uncouth and unsightly, and she preferred if everything stayed in its rightful place, unless it was meant to be moved.

Percy Diamond looked at Doctor Mind, a bit confused, but very happy. She seemed friendly, and he had no memory of her at the moment. Then she held a plate of cookies to him. He took one and nibbled on it. What a friendly mare.

"Hi Miss Clear! I like your room! I love the colors! I want to hug them! Do you want to be friends?" Percy then proceeded to chase his own tail happily. He was a very happy little filly. Even though he was a 24 year old stallion with a beard and taught History.

"Of course we can be friends," Clear answered, smiling sweetly. "But how can we be friends if we don't even know each other's names?" 

This was a sneaky way to find out what Percy had named his personalities and to further her explanation when he took over again. 

"My name is Dr. Clear Mind, but you can call me Ms. Clear, if you prefer," she suggested, prompting the filly-spirit to continue. 

(Sorry for the short posty!!)

Percy Diamond stopped and thought for a moment. He tapped his hoof to his chin, trying to find an answer to Miss Clear's answer. He really couldn't figure out his name. Or the name of that personality. He frowned and looked at Miss Clear again.

"I don't know my name. Mommy and Daddy didn't really give me one." But then she smiled again and hopped around. "But you can call me whatever you want! I won't mind! You could call me Big Dumb Poo Poo Head" Then he giggled a bit at the name he suggested. Once again, the mind of a filly

Yes, she was completely correct.

"Well, that's terrible!" Clear exclaimed. "Being nameless is something I'd never wish upon anypony! Let's get you a pretty name, okay?"

She patted the seat next to her again, waiting for the "filly" to sit down. She wanted to see if this personality was strong enough to retain a title... If so, she might have to take more drastic measures to limit the personalities's grip in Percy as a whole.

"Why don't you suggest a few?" she asked.