Four months had passed and while Starlight still couldn't be touched without an angry outburst, her mind was clearly better than what it was when she was first brought in. Dr. Clear Mind had his beliefs as to what caused this. He believed that Starlight had been away from Sunset for long enough that her paranoia over having to return to the human world had diminished for the most part.

That morning when he headed into Starlight's room, he had a smile on his face. Starlight hadn't been as angry with him as of late but the look kind of unnerved her. That would change when he would tell her something she had been hoping to hear for a while, "Starlight, I have some good news. I think you are ready to be discharged from the hospital."

Starlight gave somepony the first genuine smile she had given anypony since before returning from the human world, "Really?"

Clear Mind replied, "Really but to discharge you, I need a blood relative to come and discuss your situation with before releasing you into his or her care."

That one word, care. Starlight asked, "So I won't really be free? I will simply be out of here and my father will be basically watching over me like I'm a foal?"

"I wouldn't say that" Clear Mind replied, "but it is something that we do with all our patients. We do it to prevent anypony from being a return patient."

Starlight sighed, "So I take it you need my father's name and phone number?"

"That would be nice."

Starlight sighed, "Ok, his name is Firelight and his phone number is 406-4318-8891. You will have to wait until the afternoon to call him because he is usually at the bookstore in the morning."

"Very well" replied Clear Mind, "I'll call him this afternoon."

Clear Mind decided to leave her room and give her her space until he had got a hold of her father. He did not want her to do anything to risk her being released once her father arrived.

That afternoon Clear Mind decided to call Firelight so he could come and get Starlight. When he dialed the number, almost immediately somepony answered,

"Hello, this is Firelight speaking."

"Hello Firelight, this is Dr. Clear Mind at The Manehattan Behavioral Health Institute and I am not sure if you know this or not but your daughter, Starlight Glimmer, is a patient here and she is ready to be released."

"She's what? How in Equestria did she ever become a patient there?"

"I'm assuming you don't know she wound up here."

"No, I didn't. What caused her to wind up there?"

"We can discuss that when you arrive. We can't release her unless she is released to a blood relative."

*sighs* "Very well, what is the address?"

"It is 11256 W. 10th Street in Manehattan."

"Alright, I will get to the train station and catch the next train."

"Ok but you won't be able to come and pick her up until 8 A.M. tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I understand. You have a good day."

"You as well."

*CLICK*

After getting off the phone with him, he immediately went to notify Starlight. When he entered her room, she seemed in slightly better spirits. He said, "Starlight, I have some great news. Your father will be here tomorrow morning to pick you up."

Starlight got a smile on her face and exclaimed, "Yes! I'm so happy!" She did not like being restrained almost all the time and continued, "With my dad coming, do you think you could free me from these bonds and remove this horn cap?"

Clear Mind could tell that the chances of Starlight being any kind of threat at this point was probably zero so she released her from her bonds and removed the horn cap. After being freed, she did not want to be viewed as a threat so she asked, "Would it be ok if I walked around in here a little bit? It has been so long."

Clear Mind replied, "Yes, as long as you stay in your room and don't worry, you don't need anypony to escort you to the bathroom either." He then became slightly more serious and added, "Now I need to go get your formal diagnoses written up so I can go over it with you and your father in the morning."

"Alright, "Starlight replied "sounds good."

Clear Mind left to go take care of what was hopefully the last thing he would need to do for Starlight. Starlight began walking around in her room and much to her displeasure, walking hurt since her muscles had deteriorated some being restrained for so long. She wasn't pleased at all but she was expecting it though, she knew that this would happen and she knew that she couldn't have even one outburst if she truly wanted out of there.

That night seemed to last forever to Starlight. She got little in the way of sleep as she was waiting to finally be free. At long last for her, it was a few minutes after eight when Dr. Clear Mind came to get her. He said, "Starlight, your father is here to pick you up."

She jumped up in the air and exclaimed, "Finally, I'm going to be free!"

Clear Mind replied, "You will be but I need to go over some things with you and your father first. I have notified him of some things, such as you not liking to be touched so things should go fine." He headed towards the door and continued, "Follow me."

Starlight followed the doctor into his office and when she saw her father, she gave him a tight embrace and exclaimed, "Dad, it is so good to see you!"

Firelight replied, "It's good to see you too Starlight!"

When Clear Mind saw Starlight embrace her father, he knew that she was doing much better than he thought. He then realized that since it was a blood relative, that any fears or thoughts of her past were irrelevant.

Once Starlight got sat down, Clear Mind began, "Well Starlight, it has been a rough four months for you but I now believe you are ready to be released. You haven't assaulted anypony in nearly a month, you haven't had any angry outbursts in over two weeks and your overall behavior seems much more stable."

Firelight wanted to know what was wrong with her right away so he asked, "So doctor, what all is wrong with her?"

Clear Mind replied, "Well your daughter is a very unique case. Now before you go laughing or anything just listen. It was probably sixteen months ago that your daughter went to the human world with a pony that goes by the name of Sunset Shimmer. Well they bonded quite a bit over there and they eventually got into a very deep and committed relationship."

Firelight nodded and he continued, "Eventually though, being without her magic broke her emotionally. When that happened, she wound up cutting herself pretty bad before Sunset brought her back to Equestria. When she returned, she was very violent, was covered in cut marks and she assaulted the doctor in Ponyville with her magic."

Again Firelight nodded and Clear Mind continued, "Now things happened in that human world other than not having her magic that led her down the path she reached. Her and Sunset had plenty of physical contact, more than she could eventually handle and when she returned, nopony could even touch her without getting yelled at or assaulted." He then gave the two a smile and added, "To be honest, you're the first pony that she has made any physical contact with willingly since returning to Equestria."

"So what is wrong with her doctor? What is wrong with my daughter?" asked Firelight.

Clear Mind continued, "Well the first thing I am diagnosing her with is Intermittent Explosive Disorder. I am doing that because of her violent outbursts. Now she hasn't had any in a while but ponies with this can go without episodes for a long time but the threat is always there. If she has one of these, she will turn violent. She will either assault somepony, break things or scream and yell. As of right now, I think she can get through this simply by avoiding ponies who were involved in her going to the human world."

Starlight said, "Mostly just Twilight and especially Sunset."

Clear Mind nodded before continuing, "And I am also diagnosing her with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The events that happened in the human world caused her a great amount of stress, finally there in the last couple of weeks. It was that which led to her cutting episode. What I would advise is just let her hug you if she wants to willingly. Do not try to even touch her without her permission. Such things could cause her to relive what happened and this will have to be the same with other ponies. I would also advise that she perhaps avoid Twilight and certainly avoid Sunset. Those two, Sunset especially, could also cause her to relive those moments and could cause a relapse.

"Anything else?" Firelight asked.

Clear Mind finished, "I also diagnosed her with major depression because she had told me that in the final couple weeks in the human world, she began to withdraw from her friends and lost interest in activities she enjoyed. She had also got to the point where she did not particularly care to be touched but only allowed it to keep her girlfriend in the dark about her true feelings."

"Alright," Firelight asked "so will we ever be able to let Twilight know she is out? They are good friends after all."

Clear Mind replied, "You can but I would advise that you let her know that she may have to wait a couple months before they see one another again and when it comes to Sunset, I would give that either a year or until Starlight is ready."

Starlight gave him a smile, "Yeah, I'd say a year at least, if not longer with her and when it comes to that mirror in Twilight's chambers, never again. To be honest, even going in her castle may be a 'never again' thing."

"I am glad to see that you are able to set limits Starlight. That has shown that you are moving along nicely that you know what your boundaries are." He then led the two to the exit and finished, "Starlight, I hope I never have to see you again. I wish you nothing but the best."

Starlight laughed, "I hope I don't have to see you again either doctor!"

As the two left the hospital, Starlight took in a fresh breath of air and exclaimed, "Fresh air at last, fresh air!"

Firelight suggested, "How about before we go home we go out for a hayburger, I know how much you love those things."

Starlight embraced her father and exclaimed, "Oh you have no idea how much I want one of those right now, that along with a milkshake!"

"Alright sweetie" Firelight replied "we'll do that and then we'll head home!"

Finally, after four months Starlight was free from being restrained in a mental hospital. She knew that while she had been released, that she would have to be careful not to have any kind of episode that would require her to have to be committed again. While she did wonder what it would be like when she would see Twilight again, preferably at home in Sire's Hollow, another mare began to cross her mind. She thought to herself, "Oh I wish I could see Trixie again soon! I miss her so much!"

Author's Note

Intermittent explosive disorder.

PTSD.

Major Depression