"So tell me more about this 'Equestria'."

Dr. Daylily, Canterlot Memorial's resident child psychologist, did not expect to spend her morning being lectured about the intricacies of a fantasy world populated by a slew of creatures from Greek mythology. In the past hour, she had heard tales of chaos gods who could manipulate reality at will, spirits of hatred that fed off negative emotions, two pony princesses who ruled the land with prudence and benevolence until one fell to dark forces, and various other stories that seemed like they were ripped directly from a fantasy book for young children. Sunset's place in all this was equally as fantastical: she was the personal student of a nigh-immortal Sun Goddess who was training her in advanced magics - though nothing too advanced yet; Sunset was still a filly - because, naturally, Sunset was a unicorn, the only species in this world that could cast magic.

Convenient.

"Uhmmm," Sunset rubbed her chin with a balled-up fist. It didn't escape Daylily's notice that she hadn't once stretched out her fingers. "I dunno. Do you wanna hear about magic theory?"

"Hmmmm. I think that might be a bit beyond me," Daylily scrawled a few more notes onto her pad. "Let's talk a bit more about you, Sunset. Can I ask about your family?"

Sunset tensed immediately, curling into the chair like a kicked puppy. She worried her lip before answering in her strange drawl. "I dunno who my parents are. Princess Celestia got me from the orphanage last year."

Interesting. So Sunset was an orphan who was taken in by 'Princess Celestia'. However, assuming that 'Princess Celestia' was a proxy for Principal Celestia, then something wasn't adding up. As far as Daylily knew, Celestia had no children, adopted or otherwise - the gossip surely would have spread around town by now.

"Can you describe Princess Celestia for me? What does she look like?"

Sunset brightened up. "Well, she's tall, like really tall! And she has a white coat - she says that I'm lucky I don't have a coat like hers, or I would have to constantly take baths," she stuck her tongue out at that, "and she has a mane that's all sorts of colors, and it always looks like it's blowing in the wind." She pawed at her hair. "I wish I had a mane like that."

"Mmhmm, that does sound very nice." She had described Celestia almost to a tee, bar the rainbow mane being blown by an invisible wind. If Daylily remembered correctly, Celestia had pinkish hair that did not break the laws of physics. "And how is Princess Celestia? Is she a kind... pony?"

"Uh huh!" Sunset said, vigorously nodding her head. Her eyes were sparkling like tiny jewels as she spoke. "She's the nicest pony I've ever met! She got me a bunch of toys when I first became her student, and I got a biiiig room in the castle," her arms spread to emphasize how big this room was, "and she always has the chefs prepare my favorite deserts!" Sunset wilted a bit before muttering an addendum. "A lot better than the orphanage."

Hmmm, this could be telling. "Would you like to talk more about the orphanage?"

Sunset stared down at the floor for a few moments, idly kicking her feet back and forth. "It wasn't very nice."

"In what way?"

"The other fillies and colts picked on me cause I was smaller than them. None of the adults ever stopped them, even though they told us we could come to them if someone was bothering us." Sunset was absent-mindedly tugging a lock of her hair now, a tic that Daylily noted.

"Alright, Sunset, I think that's all the questions I have for now." The child was clearly becoming stressed, and there was no point in pressing her further right this moment. They would have plenty of time to unpack this. "Would you like a lollipop?"

Sunset's quick rebound made Daylily wonder why she even asked.

"So, what's the sitch?" Evening Star asked the second Daylily slipped into her office.

"You need to stop watching Kim Possible," Daylily deadpanned. She dropped into one of the hard plastic chairs in the room, wincing as she swore her tailbone cracked. "And maybe get better chairs."

Evening Star waved her hand dismissively. "I only use this office when I have business in the area. No use making it anything more than it needs to be."

"Sure," Daylily said, clearly unconvinced. She wasn't going to mention how maybe the social worker should make her office a bit more social. "Anyway, I've finished my evaluation of Sunset Shimmer."

"And?"

Daylily sighed and closed her eyes. How to say this in the most sensitive way possible? "She has the most sustained delusion I've ever seen from someone in her age group. It goes beyond just having an active imagination; she is fully and completely convinced that she is a magical pony from a fantasy world, the personal student of a Sun Goddess who bears a resemblance to the local high school principal." Daylily opened her eyes, noting that for the first time in their conversation, Evening Star was actually looking at her. "It screams of some form of dissociation, though I'm going to refrain from officially diagnosing her at this point. I'd prefer to talk with her a few more times and perhaps get a second opinion before I say anything definitive."

"Dissociation," Evening Star muttered. "Like Multiple Personality Disorder?"

Daylily successfully fought the urge to roll her eyes, though she couldn't stop her lips from forming a grim line. Dissociation was perhaps one of the most misunderstood principles in psychology, even among those who worked in adjacent fields. "Not exactly. Dissociation describes a wide range of psychological conditions that can vary from Dissociative Identity Disorder - what you might know as Multiple Personality Disorder - to Dissociative Absorption, which describes a state where an individual becomes obsessed with their fantasies. I would tentatively place Sunset in the realm of the latter."

"Okay," Evening Star stared at her computer for a second, seemingly absorbed with something on the screen. "Do we know why she has a preoccupation with Celestia?"

Daylily was wondering that herself. "At least in her fantasy, 'Princess Celestia' was a benevolent monarch who saved her from a possibly abusive orphanage."

"And yet, there's no record of Celestia adopting a child." Even Star's lips quirked into a strange expression. "Furthermore, there's no record of a Sunset Shimmer either."

"What? You're sure?"

Star shrugged. "I've checked every CPS database, state and national. All the ones for missing and exploited children too. Nothing. Not even a kid matching her description."

"The databases aren't perfect."

"No, of course not," Evening Star admitted, "but it's still a bit strange for a kid who's assumedly spent years in an orphanage to just not show up." She drummed her fingers against the desk. "You don't think there's anything... darker going on?"

Ach, that was definitely something Daylily didn't want to think about, but it was still a possibility. But, considering everything.... "I don't think so. Her description shows negligence, but nothing... like that. I think it's more likely that she was kept in a small orphanage that sucks at paperwork. Lord knows there are still plenty of rural areas where a lot of kids don't even have birth certificates."

"True," Even Star muttered. "Back to the Celestia thing..."

"Right," Daylily's eyes roamed the ceiling as she tried to formulate an answer. "Best I can figure, she might have encountered Sunset at some point and been kind to her. You know, just one of those daily interactions you have that you don't remember, but might have just made the other person's year? Sunset, coming from a crappy situation where she feels unhappy and neglected, imprints Celestia like a little duckling. Now, she has these fantasies about an immortal Princess Celestia who's basically a supermom. Make sense?"

"I can see the logic," Star nodded. She leveled Daylily with the type of impassive yet inquisitive expression that can only be mastered by a government bureaucrat. "So... do you think Celestia would be a good placement for her?"

Daylily was silent for a moment. It was an... interesting question. On the one hand, Sunset had wrapped this random woman into her delusions. On the other, it was likely that she would feel comfortable in Celestia's care and that living with her in a stable environment could be the key to unraveling these fantasies. "I think it would be okay. From what I know of Celestia, she's a very kind woman."

"Good, because I already put in the paperwork to have Celestia foster her."

"What?" Daylily was convinced she must have misheard Evening Star. "Isn't there a process? A list of foster parents? Background checks?"

"Normally, yes," Star said, a smirk tugging the corners of her mouth. "But we have a case where the child keeps asking for her. It seems like a clear placement, especially with you saying that it shouldn't damage her psyche or anything like that." Star tapped a sheaf of papers on her desk. "Besides, Celestia is a professional who works with children and adolescents. She's already had more state background checks and trainings than you can imagine. It's fairly easy to give her priority, all things considered."

"Is that... is that legal?"

"It would pass inspection," Evening Star deflected. "CPS won't make a big deal about it when the potential foster parent is a local school principal who's had extensive background checks within the past year. They've got much bigger fish to fry."

It somehow didn't surprise Daylily that a state organization could be so... like this. Still, she couldn't see any issue with the placement other than ignoring typical procedure, so she simply nodded.

"Don't think we're just handing her over to Celestia. We've essentially just put her at the front of the foster parent line. There's still going to be home inspections, paperwork, and visits."

"I'm not doubting your expertise, Star. You're the social worker, not me. I think Celestia would be just fine."

"Great," Evening Star sighed and gestured to a stack of papers on top of a filing cabinet. It was so thick that Daylily was certain it could be used to stop a high-caliber bullet. "Now I just need to do all that paperwork."

Author's Note

The sun continues to cry. I apologize in advance because these few chapters are probably going to be a bit technical with appointments/conversations about rules and regulations/police and the like, but it sets up good groundwork for the rest of the plot.