Author's Note

Sorry about the delay but I got hit with a bunch of life stuff, and putting together a storyline for this plus other stories.

Chapter 3

Celestia sat down in front of a long table as the castle servants walked around setting the table for supper. The room was large and open. It could easily fit hundreds of if not thousands of her little ponies in this room. It was the very reason why she used it for large galas and other such parties. Long narrow windows gave the occupants a glimpse of the gardens. Red curtains decorated the windows were tied up with golden decorative robes with thin tassels at the end. At the top of the windows laid the banner of her sun. The same red that was used on the curtains was also used for the carpet under the table. It allowed the table's occupants to keep their hooves warm from the white tile.

The Princess of Equestria let out a soft sigh as she turned to look at Dr. Cure and Sunny Smiles as they stood in front of her.

“Are you ready to present your findings?” Celestia asked.

Both ponies nodded their heads.

Celestia turned away from them and called out, “Can you please give us the room?”

The servants turned to their ruler and bowed before exiting the dining hall. Celestia then turned to the earth pony guard at the door, “We are not to be disturbed,” she said.

“Yes your Highness,” the guard said as she turned to exit the room.

Once the room was clear Celestia motioned towards Sunny, “Mrs. Smiles I know that you have many clients to take care of tomorrow so you can give your report first,” she said with a mother's smile on her lips.

“Thank you, your highness,” Sunny said as she held up her clipboard full of notes. She glanced at them, her face falling just a bit. “I've done as you asked and assessed Sean the human.” The psychologist let out a sigh, “And just as you suspected he does have a form of Autism.”

Celestia closed her eyes as her heart sank. It was just as she thought. She had her suspicions when she first met Sean in his home, and it appeared that the one she found in her old home had some of the same symptoms, but she couldn’t be sure. Celestia wondered if he knew. If his world was like the one she went to then it is possible that they missed it as well. She brought up her arm and pinched the bridge of her nose. His country's healthcare system could only be described as barbaric. Advance her ass.

“How bad,” Celestia said simply as she slowly opened her eyes and dropped her arm.

Sunny shrugged as she browsed her notes, “To be honest Your Majesty, I would need to conduct further exams. I can’t be certain what it is like in humans, but by pony standards, he would be what we would call High-Functioning Autistic.” The psychologist lowered her clipboard and looked at Celestia, “It is easy to miss because ponies with symptoms like this are normally written off as just shy or anti-social.”

“From what I could gather humans are similar as well,” Celestia said, letting her knowledge slip. She didn’t want it to get out that she did slip off somewhere outside of their world again. In this case though, the more the medical team knew the better. Besides, they were already sworn to secrecy. The rest of the staff have been told likewise. She needed time to set things up to prepare her ponies for the human's arrival, and she also needed to get Sean prepared for it as well. Get him ready to defend himself against the political games that were bound to tie him up.

“I see,” Sunny said as she looked at Dr. Cure.

“What are your suggestions?” Celestia asked the psychologist.

Sunny turned away from Cure to look at Celestia, “Well first thing is you need to tell him,” she said. “Something like this needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.”

Celestia nodded her head, “I agree.”

“This needs to be handled delicately,” Sunny said stressing the fact, “Within my assessment, I found out about a lot of trauma he has dealt with growing up, which is probably why he hasn’t been assessed for autism yet. People around him properly thought that the trauma was what caused his symptoms.”

That got Celestia’s attention. “Trauma? What kind of trauma?” she asked quickly, her head snapping straight and her ears going to their highest point and aimed towards Sunny.

Sunny bit her lower lip and looked at Dr. Cure. The doctor looked at the psychologist and nodded his head. “Well Your Highness, I can’t tell you the exact details because of doctor-patient confidentiality, and plus it's his right to tell you the details, but I can tell you that it was mental, physical, and,” Sunny leaned back as she finished, “…sexual.”

The temperature in the room skyrocketed as the smell of ozone began to burn the air. Celestia let out a huff and steam escaped her nostrils.

The princess closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and the temperatures dropped back to their normal levels. “I see,” she said slowly.

“He seems to have made peace with it, as well as most of his trauma which tells me that he has gotten help already,” Sunny said looking at her notes briefly, “He gave the details of that instance readily and was opened to discuss it as well as the other physical and mental trauma.”

Celestia’s shoulders shuddered at the thought, “How bad was it?” she asked.

Sunny held up her clipboard as spoke, “It seems to be mostly bullying during his younger years, probably because of his undiagnosed autism, but that was about it.” Sunny skimmed through her notes quickly, “No family violence,” she said as she flipped the paper over, “but apparently they, at least his father’s side, played a lot of mental games, and the rest, well you would have to ask him.”

“Oh Sean,” Celestia whispered as she closed her eyes again, her heart began to break for the human.

Sunny took a cautious step forward, “Your Highness,” she said softly and got Celestia’s attention, “I’m only telling you this because as of now you're the closest thing he has to family here.”

Celestia took a moment to herself before she nodded and looked at Sunny, “What is needed of me?” she asked.

Sunny bowed to Celestia, “Well like I said you need to tell him about his Autism. I can be there when it happens to help guide him through this,” she reassured. She then held up a finger, “Keep in mind that he will go through a roller coaster of emotions from acceptance to denial.”

Celestia nodded, “Okay.”

“He's going to need you,” Sunny stated, “He’s going to need you to affirm that there is nothing wrong with him and that he is loved.”

Celestia let out a sigh as the weight of the world began to rest back on her shoulders, “That’s going to be difficult, I do have to run a county.”

“I know Your Highness,” Sunny nodded understandably, “I'm willing to help as much as I can. Thankfully he is High-functioning so he can take care of himself, it’ll be the social issues that he’ll have to struggle with. Any pony in his position would already have difficulty, but add Autism to that...”

“It makes things extremely difficult,” Celestia finished.

Sunny nodded her head. She then took a few seconds before she spoke wanting to make sure that she worded this correctly. “Exactly,” Sunny said slowly, “I’m not sure how close you are to him, but I suggest that you set some time just for him. At least for a few days to see how he is doing, and you can schedule an appointment with me at any time.” The psychologist then bit her lips hoping that she didn’t overstep herself telling the princess what she needed to do.

Celestia stared off to the side as she contemplated her next moves. With a sigh she turned to Sunny and gave her a smile, “Thank you Mrs. Smiles for everything,” she said as she stood up. “I know it was a lot of trouble having to drop everything on such short notice.”

Sunny gave a bow to the ruler, “Anything for the crown,” she said with a smile that lit up the room. “Thankfully I have other psychologists under me to pick up the slack.”

Celestia nodded her head, “Well I won’t keep you, unless,” she motioned towards the table, “you would like to stay for supper, it is the least I could do.”

Sunny shook her head, her smile still on her muzzle. “Thank you so much for the offer your highness, but I should get home, my herd is waiting for me.”

“Of course,” Celestia said, nodding in understanding. With a wave of her hand, she motioned for the psychologist to follow her to the doors. Just as the duo reached the doors Sunny turned to Celestia.

“Before I go,” she said, “I would like to give one more piece of advice.”

“Yes?” Celestia said her ears perked up once more.

“Find something for him, it would help him settle into his new life,” Sunny said simply. “On the plus side individuals on the spectrum tend to find something that fascinates them and put everything into it. In fact, many become leaders or masters in their field.”

When Sunny finished Celestia nodded her head in understanding, “So if he finds something he likes, encourage it.”

Sunny nodded her head before she raised a finger, “As long as it is not destructive to him.”

“Thank you again,” Celestia said as she used her magic to open the door, “Have a good night my little pony.”

“Good night, Your Highness,” Sunny said with a bow before she exited the dining room.

Celestia closed the door and turned to look at Dr. Cure. “I hope you have some better news?” she asked as she returned to her seat.

The doctor held up his clipboard and waved it around. “Well from what I can tell he is perfectly healthy,”

Dr. Cure looked at his clipboard as he listed off his findings. "His organs, while similar to ours, are slightly different in size," he said before he pulled up a piece of paper to look at the back, "but everything seems fine and in working order." He let go of the paper and let it fall down, "His reflexes are faster than the average ponies. His senses from what he has told me seem to be sharper than normal humans, but after testing they seem to be at the level of a pony."

"Based on his teeth and from my scans of his organs his dietary needs are that of an omnivore. So it appears that his original human physiology has assimilated perfectly with that of a pony’s, mixing just right with aspects of a pony. To be honest Your Highness it is a medical miracle that we haven’t detected any abnormalities. I won’t know for sure until I get his blood work back tomorrow."

"So he is alright?" Celestia asked slightly relieved as she sat back down.

"Oh yes, very healthy, and his stamina whew!" Dr. Cure let out a crazy sigh, "Humans are a scary bunch that’s for sure."

Celestia fell into her seat and let out a sigh, "What about magic?" she asked.

Dr. Cure let out a hum as he went through his notes, "It's…strange, and I’m not sure I can describe it correctly."

"Try your best," Celestia encouraged the pony.

"Well as you know every race is connected to the magic of the land in some form or fashion," Dr. Cure began, "Earth Ponies tap into the magic with their hooves and use it for agriculture."

"Pegasus use their wings to tap into the magic in the air and use it to manipulate the weather," The good doctor then tapped at himself. "Unicorns are able to tap into the very essence of magic, but we are limited to only excel in one area of magic. Like mine is connected to medicine."

Dr. Cure tucked his clipboard under his arm as he went on, "From what you have told me his kind has zero connection to magic and has no affinity for it. With that being the case one of two things should have happened. One: His body should have rejected the presence of magic like a virus, which should lead to either a sick-prone body or…"

Dr. Cure gulped, "…death. But since that didn’t happen we don’t have to worry about that so that leads to the second outcome. Magic resistance, like he would cancel out magic together."

Wanting some clarification Celestia asked, "Meaning?"

"Meaning he would negate any form of magic," the doctor said with an arm slicing the air. "For example, if there was a magical lock his touch would just remove the presence of the magic and the lock would become undone. It just would be repelled by his presence."

"So, what has happened?" Celestia asked.

"Well," Dr. Cure said as he looked through his notes once again, "whatever change Sean’s body has undergone it was done in such a way that it has integrated a magic absorption much like a unicorn. This has allowed him to tap into the magical aether, but because of his human nature, it doesn’t seem to be tied to a particular aspect."

Celestia began to connect some of the dots, and her eyes widened, “Are you saying that…"

"He’s like a blank canvas," Cure said releasing the papers before tapping them, "it's possible that magic is his element. There is only one pony I have seen that could even come close, and she’s your student. We all know what kind of power potential she has."

"So you're saying that he can become a powerful magic user?" Celestia inquired formulating possible teachers and tutors for her human friend.

"I’m saying that it's a strong possibility," Cure clarified, "It's possible that he could become as powerful as you if not more, or he could be tied to one aspect of magic and get a Cutie Mark for it. He might not even reach the level of a unicorn filly. I don’t know at this point. That’s the problem, because he is human with some pony in him anything could go."

"I see."

Cure sighed as he folded the papers away, "My professional opinion is that we watch him." The doctor's horn glowed a slight green as he copied his notes. "Have him come to me every so often for a check-up and see if there are any issues. At the very least for the next few months, after that, we will play it by ear." He then sent the copy over to Celestia which she took and teleported them to her room. "This way I can also build up a portfolio so that way if something happens we can have something to go off of. If he is to practice magic then it should be under the watchful eye of a professional just in case. "

"Okay, then that’s what we’ll do," Celestia said with a nod, "I’ll talk to him and see what he wants to do about the magic aspect. For the medical, give me a day or so and we can meet up in order to set up a schedule."

"As you wish Your Highness."

"Thank you, Doctor," Celestia said with a slight bow of her head.

"Of course Your Highness," Doctor Cure said as he bowed before his princess, "I live to serve."

"I’m sure that your mate is missing you."

"Yes, she is," Cure said with a small smile on his muzzle.

"Then send her my love and gratitude," Celestia said with a regal wave of her hand to dismiss the doctor.

"Of course Your Highness," Doctor Cure said with one last bow before he turned around and departed.

Celestia let out a sigh as the doctor walked down the halls. “You always go big don’t you Sean,” she murmured. She turned to the guard next to her and said, “You can allow the servants back in to finish setting up dinner.”

“Of course,” the guard said as she turned to the unicorn maid next to her and gave a nod. The maid gave a curtsy before her horn glowed and she walked back into the dining space. Celestia returned her gaze to the dining space but stopped when she noticed three ponies coming her way. She paused and looked down the hall to see that one of her maids and a human were coming toward her. Next to them was the guard she assigned to the human.

Hazel Star and Gleaming Shield had their heads pointed forward. Sean on the other hand was looking around him as he walked. Celestia smiled when she saw the childlike wonder in his eyes that didn’t seem to match his regular thin lip expression. The human’s head continued to swivel until it snapped toward her. His lips curled upward when he saw her and gave her a wave as he sped up towards her.

“I can’t believe the size of this place,” Sean said as he came up to her, Hazel and Gleaming trotting up to them. “Seriously,” the human said as he came to a stop in front of Celestia. He waved around, “Why do you need so much space?”

Celestia giggled before she waved him inside. “Well, one can’t have too many rooms,” she answered before she turned to Hazel and Gleaming. “Thank you two, you are dismissed.”

“Oh right,” Sean said as he turned towards the ponies. “Thank you for all of your help.”

Hazel curtsied to them and said, “It wasn’t a problem at all,” before she turned and walked down the halls. Gleaming just bowed her head before she turned and followed.

“I think she’s still mad at me,” Sean muttered as he watched the retreating guard.

“Just give them time to warm up to you,” Celestia said as she placed a hand on the human’s back. "Did you learn anything about your magic while we were apart?" she asked

"Not yet,” Sean said as he held up his right hand. He then wiggled his first two fingers together rapidly. “I mean I feel…something,” he said as his eyes narrowed at his fingers as they danced. They slowed for a moment and Celestia used that moment to ask.

“What do you feel?”

“Something…new, I guess? It's hard to explain but it's like there's this presence around me, floating. It's just waiting for…” Sparks began to dance around his fingers. With a jolt, Sean flung his hand as if to rid himself of a bug.

With a chuckle, Celestia said, “That?”

“Yeah," the human said as he rubbed his fingers, "that.”

“Why don’t we discuss over supper?” Celestia said as she motioned the human to a seat next to her. Sean nodded his head and went over to sit down. “Although I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to use magic while we are eating."

“Right," Sean snorted with a smirk, "Don't want it to blow up or something."