Author's Note
Credit for this one goes to TheScarletSentinal who PM’d me an idea about Sour Sweet and Fluttershy having therapy together, suggesting a variety of topics they could discuss. The ending, however, is purely Nico-Stone 
Also, for anyone impatient for “You” to directly get back into the stories, I’m going to do my best to have a new 2nd Person Romance in time for Valentine’s Day.
As always, when Sour Sweet’s dialogue is presented in italics she’s sweet, in bold she’s sour, and in plain type she’s normal.
Shy and Sour
At the insistence of her mother and her boyfriend, Sour Sweet had been having regular therapy sessions with Doctor Chrysalis for quite a while now. It had never ceased to be uncomfortable for her, though. Not only for all of the deep conversations, but for the fact that Doctor Chrysalis looked more like a supermodel than a therapist. Thanks to her insecurities, it bothered Sour in a “Why can’t I look that smoking hot?” way.
Despite this, Sour Sweet had come to respect and consider her rather insightful. This was especially due to Doctor Chrysalis having quite the hypnotic personality which compelled one to spill their guts to.
Doctor Chrysalis patted her pen against her cheek in thought. “Well, Sour Sweet, you do seem to be making a lot of progress as of late. However, there’s still the matter of your social skills.”
“Whatever do you mean?" Sour Sweet asked, innocently batting her eyelashes before blurting, "I have GREAT social skills!”
Doctor Chrysalis gave her a look. “Do you need a reminder of just how many times you've told me how one of your friends or your boyfriend has had to hold you back from assaulting somebody? I have the exact number in my notes, you know.”
Sour Sweet rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. I get your point.”
“You do understand the consequences if you actually managed to hurt someone, don’t you?”
Sour Sweet smirked. “Well, if the crap ever does hit the fan, you’ll be at the trial to corroborate my insanity defense, right, Doctor?”
“Don’t make jokes like that, Sour Sweet,” Doctor Chrysalis said, seriously.
Sour Sweet groaned. “Alright, sorry. I know this is serious.”
“Listen. I would like to put you into a support group, though not the usual type. I’ve been putting clients which have similar issues within pairs, which I believe is more effective than putting them into larger clusters. No one will feel as if they’re lost in the crowd that way.”
“Three’s a crowd, you know.”
“I certainly do, which is why I won’t even be in the room. It’ll be just two relatable individuals freely having a conversion on their own and helping each other open up.”
Sour Sweet let out an annoyed sigh. “Fine, set me up with whatever loser you want.”
“It won’t be that bad, I promise.” Doctor Chrysalis smirked. “In fact, I have the perfect person in mind to pair you up with…”
****************
Doctor Chrysalis made the appointment for the next Friday at 4:00 in the afternoon. Sour Sweet went straight to the clinic after Crystal Prep let out, arriving just a bit early at 3:45. Room 41 was where they were supposed to have the session in. She entered and found it to be very plain, expect for the waterfall fountain in the corner. Sour Sweet didn’t know whether it was there to relax her or just make her want to pee.
She sat down at the table in the middle of the room. She took out her cellphone to pass the time before her partner was supposed to show up.
The wait wasn’t a long one.
There was a soft knock at the door before it opened. A pink-haired head timidly poked into view. Her eyes widened as she spotted who occupied the room.
“S-Sour Sweet?” Fluttershy stuttered.
“What a surprise this is! Gah! It just HAD to be one of the HORSE GIRLS, didn’t it?”
Fluttershy’s face nervously hid behind her long hair. “Um, sorry to be a disappointment. I’ll go ask Doctor Chrysalis for a replacement for you.”
Sour Sweet waved her hand over. “No, no. We’re doing this! You get over here, ButterRye.”
“Uh, it’s Fluttershy.”
“Whatever.”
Fluttershy sat down. There was an uncomfortable silence for several moments as Fluttershy just fiddled with her fingers while Sour Sweet glared at her.
“Well?” Sour Sweet finally asked, impatient.
Fluttershy flinched. “Um, I’m sorry. I don’t really know what to say. Doctor Chrysalis didn’t really tell me anything about you.”
Sour Sweet rolled her eyes with annoyance. “Of course she didn’t. That would violate client confidentiality if she did. We have to VOLUNTARILY share our problems with each other.”
“Oh, right. Um, well, I have social anxiety disorder.”
“Well, I guess that explains why we were paired together. I have schizophrenia. High social anxiety and low self-esteem come with that whole crappy package as well.”
There was another silence before Fluttershy spoke up again, “So, um, schizophrenia? How did you figure out that you had that?”
Sour Sweet grew a big smile. “Well, the first time that I accused my mother of wanting to murder me sure was a big clue.”
Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hand, not only from the shock of that statement, but for the inappropriate tone in which it was spoken with. “Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that!”
“Yeah, soon afterwards I got checked out, diagnosed, and put on medication.”
“Was it scary?”
“Of course it was, but eventually I made friends who looked past the mood swings and every-once-in-a-while delusion.” Sour Sweet then smiled even brighter. “It especially got better when I fell in love. My boyfriend has been so good to me. You know, I never took my meds regularly before we began to date. He gave me a reason to want to get better. I wish I had the nerve to show him how much I truly appreciate it. GOD, do I want to FUCK his brains out!”
“Oh my,” Fluttershy uttered as she blushed and placed her hands over face to try to hide it.
“So, what about you, Flutters? Your anxieties keeping you from having a sex life, too?”
“Uh, Sour Sweet, th-this really isn’t the kind of topic I’m comfortable with – ”
Sour Sweet banged her fist against the table, startling Fluttershy.
“So, THAT’S the way this is going to be, huh?! Me being the only one forcing themselves to pour their heart out, while you just sit there safe and sound in your COMFORT ZONE?!”
Fluttershy hung her head down in shame. “Sour Sweet, you’re right. I’m sorry. Well, I guess I haven’t really had the chance to find out if my problems affect my, um, sex life. Especially since I don’t ever see myself having a relationship like you have. Boys just ignore me.”
Sour Sweet lifted an eyebrow. “I seriously find that hard to believe.”
Fluttershy tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Well, look at you. You’re like a living embodiment of one of those perfect, virginal moe characters from anime. I bet every guy at CHS has had the fantasy of pushing you down on their bed and RAVAGING your fragile body without mercy.”
Fluttershy’s face blazed red hot and let out an “Eep!” as she couldn’t stop the torrent of lewd visions of that scenario from running through her mind.
Sour Sweet gave her a look. “That was supposed to be a compliment.”
Fluttershy’s eyes shifted nervously and squeaked, “If you say so.”
“Just answer me this, Fluttershy. Has there at any time been a guy who gave you a random compliment, for example, that they liked what you were wearing, even though what you were wasn’t anything particularly cute at all?”
Fluttershy put her finger up to her chin as she thought for a moment before answering, “Oh, well, yes.”
Sour nodded smugly. “Uh-huh, I thought so. Congratulations, Fluttershy, you have been hit on.”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “You mean boys actually have tried to flirt with me?”
Sour Sweet threw her hands up. “Of course, they have! Boys don’t ignore you, Fluttershy! You’re just adorably oblivious!”
Fluttershy raised her hands up to her burning cheeks. “Oh, wow. This is such a strange feeling knowing this.” She then suddenly shrunk into her chair. “Um… this doesn’t mean I have to let the boys push me down on their beds and ravish my fragile body without mercy now, does it?”
Sour Sweet slapped her forehead. “No, it doesn’t, Fluttershy. Not unless you want them to, anyway…”
Fluttershy grew a relieved smile and sat back up. “Oh, okay. Good. So, I guess I already know the answer to this, but why exactly are you hesitant to… make love with your boyfriend?”
Sour Sweet shook her head in frustration. “Just one stupid fear leading into another! The fear of the INTIMACY which leads to the fear of not being any GOOD at sex which leads to the fear of getting PREGNANT which leads to the fear of whether my boyfriend will take RESPONSIBILITY which leads to BOTH the fears of being a single mother if he DOESN’T and getting married if he DOES which leads to the fear of not being a good WIFE to which leads to the fear of YADAYADAYADA! It never ENDS inside my head!”
Fluttershy nodded and sighed. “Yeah. Ditto for me, too. Fear just makes you want to not do anything at all with your life.”
“Fear totally sucks. ‘I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.’ Man, I LOVE that crazy movie!” Sour Sweet’s face suddenly fell. “Then again, it’s better to have fear, then to cause it.”
“Causing fear?” Fluttershy asked, a little surprised to hear the shift to a serious tone in Sour Sweet’s voice.
“My mood swings scare people.” Sour Sweet sighed. “There was one person in particular. A little boy who lives down the street from me. I used to babysit him when his parents were out. One night, I was on my cellphone talking to my friend, Sunny Flare when he came up and tried to get me to play with him. I kept telling him to wait until I got off the phone, but he kept urging me. Then I just snapped. I yelled at him. I believe the exact words I screamed were, ‘Get the fuck away from me, little bastard’…”
Sour Sweet paused to wipe a tear from her eye. Fluttershy reached across the table and took hold of her hand.
“I’ll never forget the look of fear that was on his face,” Sour Sweet continued. “Sunny Flare heard it over her phone. It scared her, too. I couldn’t believe what had come out of my own mouth either and immediately tried to apologize to him. He just ran away and hid. Of course, he told his parents what happened when they came home. I got an earful. They said they didn’t want me being near him ever again. I still see him around the neighborhood every once in a while. He avoids eye contact." She shook her head. "I don’t blame him.”
“You didn’t mean it, Sour Sweet,” Fluttershy attempted to comfort.
Sour Sweet gave her a small smile. “Just be glad you don’t have to deal with anger issues, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy’s eyes winced a little and wandered to the side with guilt.
Sour Sweet titled her head in disbelief. “Wait. We share that, too?”
“Um, Doctor Chrysalis is concerned that I bottle up my frustrations," Fluttershy shamefully admitted. "It may lead to me at some point… exploding…”
“What kind of frustrations do you have?”
“Plenty. I was bullied when I was young. That’s one of the big reasons that I don’t speak much. I was laughed at so often whenever I said something that I ended up convincing myself that nothing I had to say was important. I still have a hard time talking with my friends sometimes. I find it better just to relate to my silent animals.” Fluttershy sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m truly as pathetic as Sunset Shimmer once told me.”
“Sunset Shimmer called you pathetic?" Sour asked in utter confusion. "The same Sunset Shimmer who turned into a freaking angel at the Friendship Games?”
“Oh, this was several months ago before she reformed," Fluttershy clarified. "She used to be quite the bully on a power trip. She made me do her homework. She said if I didn’t do it, she would go to Principle Celestia and say that I was plotting to harm other students.”
“Celestia wouldn’t actually believe that, would she?”
“At the time I was afraid she would," Fluttershy sighed. "It seems every time that there is a school shooting or some other awful event, the news seems to always make it a point to talk about how quiet the murderer was.”
Sour Sweet threw her head back in anger. “Ugh, don’t get ME started on the media! They would have you believe that every person with schizophrenia is a serial killer as well.”
Fluttershy hugged herself for security. “My quietness has caused a lot of pain for me. It sure has alienated me from my parents. They’ve kept asking me to please say something to them, to talk with them, but I can’t bring myself to do it sometimes. I’m sure I’ve made them feel like their own daughter is a stranger to them.”
Sour's eyes lowered. “I guess it’s a similar situation with mine.”
“How do your parents handle everything with your condition?”
“My mom seems to take it well. My dad, though." Sour Sweet paused and shifted uncomfortably. "He’s another story. He’s become distant from me ever since the symptoms came up…”
Sour Sweet bit her lip. Her eyes then suddenly filled with tears. She propped her elbows onto the table and buried her face into her hands.
“I-I think h-he's disappointed to have a m-mentally ill da-daughter,” Sour Sweet managed as she sobbed. “I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry that I tu-turned out the w-way I did, daddy! I’m so s-sorry th-that your daughter is a d-disappointment!”
Fluttershy stared at this scene until her own eyes became moist. She couldn’t help it. She needed a release of her own.
“I-I’m sorry, m-mom and dad that I-I can’t say any-anything to you!” Fluttershy wept. “I’m sorry y-your daughter is s-so pathetic!”
Sour Sweet lifted her face out of her hands. “You’re not pathetic, Fluttershy!”
“Oh, Sour Sweet, you’re not a disappointment, either!”
They both reached their hands across the table and held onto each other as they continued to let everything out.
Neither of them knew how much time had passed before they finally began to settle down. They looked up to see each other’s faces. Both were utterly smeared with mascara. Just as they abruptly cried together, they then inexplicably began to laugh hard with each other.
“You should see your face, Fluttershy!”
“You should see yours, Sour Sweet!”
There was a knock at the door before Doctor Chrysalis started to come in.
“Girls, you’ve gone overtime with your session. Is everything ok – ” she managed before spotting the runny makeup and happy grins. She smirked. “Oh, good to see some more progress was made today.”
****************
The two girls exited the clinic after stopping by the restroom to apply fresh makeup ( as well as Sour to relieve herself, darn waterfall fountain ).
Sour Sweet patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. “Fluttershy, you’re alright for a Wondercolt.”
“And you’re alright for a Shadowbolt. Oh, and Sour Sweet? About your dad. I was thinking that maybe it’s not that he’s disappointed in you. It be could just that he simply doesn't know how to help you, so he just avoids the subject altogether. Some people can’t express their emotions well, you know?”
Sour Sweet chuckled. “Well, whether that’s the actual case or not, that’s how I’ve always felt what was going on. And according to Doctor Chrysalis’ psychobabble, that might be the reason why I have such a so-called ‘clingy and overly-affectionate’ relationship with my boyfriend. To have another male in my life to make up for my lack of a relationship with my dad. Seriously, does that basically mean I want to date my dad or something? Psychology is disgusting.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Yeah, it can be funny sometimes.”
“Well, Fluttershy, at least we got a lot out of our system today. What we need to do now is get to work on your issue of bottling up frustration. We need to get you to unload that stress in some productive way.”
“How could we do that?”
“How about we join a gym and throw blows at some punching bags?" Sour Sweet enthusiastically suggested. "We can pretend that they are our mental problems taken on physical form and whoop their sorry behinds!”
They both started to laugh at that idea before Sour Sweet accidently walked right into somebody.
“Oh, hey, I’m sor – ” Sour Sweet began to say. Her eyes then widened as she found herself before the last person that she would want to bump into.
“Well, if it isn’t the schizophrenic blue baller!” Gilda happily declared. “And who’s pink-haired bitch here? Your new girlfriend? So your dweeb boyfriend finally abandoned ship and you decided to go DYKE, I see? HA! Doesn’t surprise me one bit!” She then noticed that the building they had just walked out of had the words “PSYCHOTHERAPY CLINIC” on the front. “D’aww! The PSYCHO couple have a nice date in therapy, did they? I bet you two look adorable in your matching straight jac – ”
Gilda was sadly unable to finish her last statement due to the unfortunate occurrence of a fist acquainting itself with her face. She fell back on the ground, her hands clutching her blood-gushing nose in pain.
Standing over her triumphantly was Fluttershy. She was panting heavily, her red-stained fist still firmly extended and trembling. Sour Sweet blinked a couple of times, not sure if what she just witnessed was her schizophrenia finally giving her hallucinations or not. Deciding that it was in fact reality, she placed a hand gently on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Her rage-filled eyes shot over, then softened just a bit, then shot down at Gilda, then widened in shock.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" Fluttershy shouted in a panic. "It’s just that you were saying such horrible things and I don’t know what came over me! Here, let me help you up!”
Fluttershy extended her hand down toward Gilda, whose eyes then bulged with terror at the sight of her own blood on it. She scuttled away along the ground before finally shooting up and frantically running down the sidewalk.
Fluttershy glanced down at the blood and grimaced. “Sour Sweet, I don’t think I need those punching bags anymore.”
Sour Sweet grinned with satisfaction. “I’ll say. Gilda served quite nicely!” She put her arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Come on, Fluttershy, let’s go get something to eat. My treat.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you, Sour Sweet. You’re so nice.”
Sour Sweet nodded. “That I am. You don’t need to worry about Gilda, either. If she comes back with an assault lawsuit, I’ll be right there at the trial to corroborate your insanity defense…”
THE END
