Now paging Dr. Tarentino...
*Click*
*Slam*
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No, no ma'am. It's not your fault, I was just in the middle of my break when they called me over...
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Don't worry, what psychiatrist would I be if I prioritized myself over my patients?
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Yes, you are my patient. You are in my office, in the patient chair, while I hold your file, you are my patient...
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Oh, I am terribly sorry ma'am. I was not aware of your previous medical records until now...
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Thank you for understanding. Now, for introductions, your name is... Twilight Sparkle?
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Do not worry, I will not judge you.
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I believe that everyone, regardless of what side of the law they are on, deserves someone to hear them out.
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Thank you, as long as you're in my office, you're a friend of mine.
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Well, I don't know about that, everyone must have at least one friend.
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Well, now you have one again, me.
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Don't sweat it, ma'am. Now, where would you like to begin?
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Well, I believe that every story must have a beginning, no? So let's start there, where would you like to start?
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Ah, the gang era of Canterlot City, I remember it well.
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No, I wasn't in one of the gangs, I was a medical practitioner at Canterlot General before I transferred to here at Rainbooms Incorporated as a psychiatrist.
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The Sentry Incident? I cannot say I was there. I was at the East Wing at the time.
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Ah, so you were the 'Purple Wind'.
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Patients began calling you that when they saw how you were able to knock them down with a purple gust.
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If it's not relevant to the current session, I have no reason to inquire further about it, Miss. Sparkle
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Alright, let us start over, where would you like to begin?
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The Canterlot High Bombing? I vaguely remember the news covering it one day.
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Well, I am sorry to hear that, Miss. Sparkle. Were any of your... *former* friends apart from those that died in the explosion?
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That's good to hear. In traumatic incidents, a person that you could talk to and vent to is a good start to recovery.
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Well, I am sorry to hear about Miss Cheerilee, ma'am. She must have been one of your favorite teachers, wasn't she?
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Well, if it's any condolences, I'm sorry for your loss.
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Do not worry about it. In my line of work, I expect people to cry. It's a part of my job to help you, and crying is a natural way to cope with something you cannot agree with.
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Very, well, may we continue?
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Yes, what would you like to talk about?
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I'm sorry, repeat that?
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Oh, don't worry about me, ma'am. The bond between a psychiatrist and their patient is a sacred one. Short of a court order, I will not reveal the contents of any of our discussions.
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Alright, what would you like to talk about?
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The Canterlot Saints? I heard of them, yes.
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Well, depending on what you hear, your view may be different. Today, the general consensus is that the Saints were a hero-turned-villain scenario. An organization built on good motives that descended into chaos.
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What do I believe?
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I've always thought of them as the middleman. They weren't as ruthless as the former gangs of Canterlot, like the Sonata Dusks, or the Aria Blazes, or the Adiago Flares, but they would hold their ground where the citizens or the police wouldn't. They were as if the gangs of Canterlot had better motives but kept their strength
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Have I ever heard of the story? What story?
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No, I don't think I have. Will you oblige me to tell it?
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Wait, so you were the deciding vote among your friends?
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That must have been a lot of pressure.
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So, why did you switch?
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Ah, I see. Violence is a great deciding factor when it comes to voting on creating a new gang.
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Miss. Sparkle, yesterday I listened to a crackhead who made his own dope because he was bored, the day before that I listened to a convicted serial killer to try and find why they went their ways. Two weeks ago, I met with a mother who was distressing over her choice to abort her infant.
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My point is, Miss. Sparkle, I do not care what your background is, or what you did before you walked into my office. I believe everyone should have their story heard, and I was apparently chosen to be that person to hear it all.
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Again, Doctor-Patient Confidelity, Miss. Sparkle. Nothing short of a Court Order will get me to talk.
And you won't need to worry about that camera. I wired it to record to my laptop instead of the mainframe. I believe that in order to get the trust of my patients, I must earn it instead of asking for it.
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So, when you decided to switch and become a lieutenant in the Canterlot Saints, what did you do?
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Yes, the gun sellers in this part of the city don't really care about regulation. Provided you could put up the cash, they weren't going to ask any questions.
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Well, back during the gang war, I had opted to buy myself a... 'piece' as you gangsters called them, for defensive positions should the need arise.
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Yes, it's in my drawers now.
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No, Miss. Sparkle, I'm afraid I cannot show you. I hope you understand.
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Thank you, will you please continue?
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So, when you attended the party on the yacht boat, your friend... *Opens file*, Flash Sentry detonated a bomb on it, putting you in a coma?
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Why do you believe he put the bomb on the yacht?
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Ah, you were about to be killed by Filthy Rich's men? I see.
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Do I what, Miss. Sparkle?
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In what, Miss. Sparkle?
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Miss. Sparkle, let me be frank with you. I cannot say whether you decide to take part in the creation of the Canterlot Saints was a good or bad decision.
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Let me put it to you this way. A man robs a store, correct?
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And when he is captured, he is later found to be living in poverty with a son and daughter, correct?
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So, would you feel guilty for him, knowing that he robbed a store just to feed his children?
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Exactly, ma'am. The human mind is a very confusing item, but the general consensus is that every mind is unique. Every experience, every movement, all of it. And those experiences, those paths we take, shape the choices we make in the future.
When you were walking down that sidewalk and got caught in the crossfire between the Dusks, Flares, and Blazes, your friend Flash Sentry had to beat up a man because he pointed a gun on your skull.
When you were trapped on that yacht with Filthy Rich's men, Flash blew up the boat with you on it, knowing that the alternative was you were going to likely get shot and killed.
So, would you be angry at him, and call him a murderer and an anarchist, because he tried to save your life?
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Why?
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Exactly. That is the basis we must apply to all people in life in their choices. Moving onto you, you had just come out of a brush of death, one of the most traumatic events of your life in which one minute slower by Mr. Sentry would have meant you would be in the cemetery right now. Would anyone blame you, if you decided to get revenge?
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Exactly. Again, violence is often a very good reason for someone to go down the path of lawlessness.
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What feeling, Miss. Sparkle?
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Repeat that?
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The feeling of... murder? What do you mean by that?
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Miss. Sparkle, you must realize we are all changed people, and that each choice we make will affect us in how we change. You cannot judge yourself on your high school ideology that you can so easily take someone's life nowadays, for your high school ideology cannot account for your future experiences.
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My suggestion, if I may Miss. Sparkle...?
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Take some time off, go camping in the Everfree Forest, take a walk near Neighagra Falls, or visit the towns near us, like Ponyville or Hollow Shades.
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If you fear you are becoming too detached from your former self, you should take some time away from what you do nowadays, which seems to be murder and robbery, and go ahead and enjoy what you used to like.
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Well, what did you do in your past before the creation of the Saints?
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Well, if you would like, the Canterlot Public Library has accumulated a new collection of books and stories over the years, maybe you could go and visit that?
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Well, here, *Opens drawers*, take my card. I haven't used it in years, and I don't believe I will have a use for it for a while. If I ever need it, I'll just buy another one and say I lost my last copy. Go ahead, get yourself a change of clothes and borrow some books you haven't read, then go and take a nice vacation from the city until you feel you are ready to face it once more.
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It was my pleasure, Miss. Sparkle.
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Oh, I don't charge a dime, Miss. Sparkle. I operate on the basis that everyone shouldn't be entitled to merely talk to someone about their feelings. As such, I negotiated that I merely work on hourly pay, instead of commissions per patient.
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What?
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*Sigh* I see. *Opens Drawers* Please, do not use this unless you absolutely have to, Miss. Sparkle?
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Thank you. And one more suggestion?
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Take my recording of this session, and run out the service corridor instead of the main entrance. SWAT and hostage squads are already on their way.
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*Smiles* Good Day Miss. Sparkle.
Author's Note
The universe this story is set in is Taking Back Canterlot, by Coyote de la Mancha.
I MUST EMPHASIZE, THIS IS NOT THE SAME STORY AS TAKING BACK CANTERLOT, I TOOK THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR STORY TO USE HERE, YES, BUT THIS IS NOT A CANON STORY.
WE STILL DO NOT KNOW WHO SET OFF THE BOMB ON THE YACHT, NOR DO WE KNOW THAT FLASH IS EVEN IN THE STORY. THIS IS NOT CANON, DO NOT COME CRYING TO ME THAT 'OH, THIS IS FAKE BLAH BLAH BLAH'. I KNOW, THIS IS JUST A FUN LITTLE STORY I WROTE, IT IS NOT THE REAL THING!!