The next couple months were very boring, even for Mea. It was like Ms. Heart was trying to make it so boring that some fillies painted their wall and called in sick just to watch it dry. Nemo didn’t (call in sick, that is) because that is just the way he liked it, plain and boring. Mea didn’t so that she could make it not boring. Despite the conflicting interests, the two remained friends. As they say, “Opposites attract.” With few blips on the radar, Nemo let his guard down, slightly. His home life kept it up; parents arguing about his condition and being quite frank to him.

Anyway, life was fairly routine for the most part. Get out of bed, go to school, be bored, come home, and go to sleep. Except for that one day that the bus driver got lost and turned onto Equestria Avenue, nothing significant happened, nothing life-changing. That streak ended on the day that was half-way expected to; it was the start of the second semester. The day that their search for cutie marks would begin.

Several fillies already had their marks; as one would expect, there are early bloomers. One foal in particular, named Leaf Edge, got his weeks before the start of the unit. Unsurprisingly, he arrived with a duo of leaves one his flank that day, signifying his deftness in landscaping. Ms. Heart was very stern to the early bloomers not to laugh or joke at the others, orders they took to heart involuntarily. Mea was “nervouscited” and Nemo was for once out of the doldrums. He approached school that day with a feeling that he had rarely felt before, the feeling of looking forward to something. Nemo was going to seize the day by the horn and never let go.

“I know you are all very excited for this semester, but we need to spend a few minutes going over some safety things. First of all…” Ms. Heart droned as Nemo tuned her out. “These rules are mostly for the unicorns and pegasi,” Nemo reasoned. His mind wandered until the teacher stopped droning on safety and started talking about the good stuff, the getting of the coveted marks. They would all go and first take a psych test to “discover interests, find interior motives, and take advantage of all the bits the Royal Sisters are throwing at this program.” Nemo swooped quickly back into a light depression at those words. A psychologist is just what would make his spirits bright. Mea seemed to be off-puttingly ignorant of what a “sike” test was as she entered the light-toned non-windowed room.

Mea exited the room, disturbingly cheerful. Nemo wanted to ask what happened in there, but was shoved into the room. It screamed “interrogation room,” like the ones to the television. One-way glass; a singular table; two chairs, of which one was occupied by a brown mare with a dirty-blonde mane; and the hypnotically-swinging lamp gave it a minimalist look. The mare gave him a look of amusement. “So, you’re… Nemo Curat. Why don’t you sit down?” Nemo obeyed out of fright. “Don’t worry, I won’t kick. My name is Psyche Manic, but you can call me Psych.”

“Is that why it’s called a psych test?” Nemo nervously joked.

“No, but that is a good observation. So, let’s get this started. Are there any concerns that you have? Any “code” you live by?”

“Does ‘Live in fear.’ count?”

“I guess so. So, you’re a fearful foal? The kind of pony that stays in the sunlight?”

“Not even the sunlight very much.”

“Hmm… a shy pony, eh? Your friend seemed to agree.”

“Mea?”

“I do believe… Yeah, that was it. Mea. Quite the interesting character. I feel she will be an excellent entertainer.”

“I guess so.”

“Anywho, let’s talk about you. I want to hear about you.”

“Well, I’m Nemo, and… um…”

“Speechless? I understand. You don’t want to admit anything. You don’t want to burden me. Don’t worry, you won’t burden me.”

“Fine… I am really depressed.”

“Is that all?”

“I guess.”

“Well, it says here that you are the smartest in your class. I would think that is worth mentioning.”

“Sure.”

“Any interests outside of school?”

“Not really.”

“C’mon. You can tell me.”

“No.”

A brief pause followed, until finally,

“Well, I can tell that you don’t really like to talk. I think we can be done… for now. You can leave, if you want to.”

“Ok.”

Nemo opted to leave, feeling uncomfortable. Except that this was a different uncomfortable than what the gray foal was used to, a personal kind. The foal nearly sprinted out of the room. As the next pony walked in behind him, Nemo thought about what happened. It felt like it was from a badly written cop show; the one where the plot advances too quickly. Nemo started to question the legitimacy of this “psychologist” when Ms. Heart told him to go back to the classroom. He sauntered back to the classroom, mind moving from topic to topic. Mea derailed his train of thought, though.

“How did your analysis go? Mine went great! At least, I think it went great. I don’t know, really. She talked about sugar and extro-something. I don’t know, I stopped paying attention when she said sugar. I love sugar!...” Mea was very good at going on and on. She was going to be an entertainer someday. He realized something then that pushed him deeper. Mea knew what she was going to do. Everypony else had at least some idea, while he had no idea whatsoever.

Nemo literally sunk into the floor. His world swirled around him as the wall grew closer and closer. Ms. Heart smacked him to stop him from hyperventilating. “Do you need to go to the nurse?” asked the concerned teacher. “Maybe a doctor?” Nemo just sat there, motionless. A panic attack maybe, conjectured the foal, or maybe a spout of depression. Nemo was confused, as would anypony who experienced such an event. So, he just sat there until the nurse came down, having an even more worried face than Ms. Heart or Mea.

He woke up in a white room, filled with medical supplies and bright lights. Hovering above him was the school nurse, Mrs. Joy Heart (no relation to Ms. Heart). Joy stared at him for what seemed like hours before she broke the silence. Occasionally she would look at some sheets of paper filled with alphanumerical characters that had very little coherence to him. Finally, she spoke. “How… just how? This doesn’t make sense! I don't know what to make of it. I… I need professionals.” Nemo wondered what she was all worried about. Could it be him? Of course it was him, he thought, there has to be something wrong with him.

His conclusions were affirmed when his parents came. When the parents come, nothing good follows. He was dragged out of the nurse’s office into the parking lot and was driven to the hospital. Oh yay, he thought, what happened? He continued in his thought until they came to the door. With a simple pull of the door, Nemo entered the hospital, completely in the dark on why. Nemo never felt so scared.

Author's Note

Sooooo.... I haven't published a chapter in a significant time period. School is my excuse, really. (Not that anyone really cares)
Areas to improve: Dialogue. Not rushing. etc...

Any and all comments are welcome, even negative ones.

It may be a while 'till I publish the next chapter. Until then, find better stuff to read.