There you go..." Fluttershy gently set Spectrum into the playpen next to Sunrise, "Have fun, you two."

Spectrum popped his thumb into his mouth as he looked curiously at Sunrise, who wasted no time in glomping him right to the floor of the playpen.

Ascentia smacked the table with her palm, "Pin!"

"So it seems," Fluttershy giggled and sat down, "She's very strong."

Ascentia nodded, "That's my girl!"

Sunrise babbled happily as she snuggled up with Spectrum, blowing zerberts onto his cheek. In response the younger infant let out little laughing noises, kicking his little legs and moving his arms along her.

"Awww!" Ascentia grinned, "Sunny has a new boy toy!"

Fluttershy giggled and gave a smile, "It'll be great for them to have each other as they grow up."

"Mmhmm," Ascentia smiled, "I always hoped Sunny would have a little brother."

"I agree, I'm glad Spectrum has a big sister like this," Fluttershy giggled, "I guess until we may decide to have another."

Ascentia nodded, shifting closer to her and laying her head on Fluttershy's shoulder, "Think you ever will?"

"Well, not in the immediate future, but... I would like another one," Fluttershy gave a smile, nuzzling her hair, "We'll try again when we feel ready."

"Well, I guess it's good Sunny has a little playmate," Ascentia grinned, "And Spectrum has someone to protect him from bullies."

"Oh, for sure," Fluttershy smiled at the two little ones, "I see her being the domimant leader type while he follows her around like a puppy."

"...Like Rainbow and you?" Ascentia asked with a knowing smirk.

"You're right," Fluttershy giggled, nudging her lightly.

"So when exactly do they start making out in the middle of class?" Ascentia giggled.

"I give it about twelve or thirteen years," Fluttershy smiled.

"Twelve years old, eh? That's adorable!" Ascentia kissed Fluttershy's cheek.

Fluttershy kissed her cheek back, "I know, isn't it?"

Ascentia nodded, "Yup. Just like you."

"Awww, thank you," Fluttershy nuzzled her cheek, "Like you, too."

Ascentia giggled and snuggled her head down into Fluttershy's lap, "That's me. The human kitty."

"Human kitty, that's adorable," Fluttershy reached down and played with her hair.

"Twilight didn't call me Kitten for nothing," Ascentia giggled.

"No, it seems she didn't," Fluttershy ruffled her hair, "You're such a kitty."

Ascentia mewled happily in her lap, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Fluttershy leaned down and nuzzled her nose to her cheek, "So, is there anything I can get or do for you?"

Ascentia shook her head and sighed softly, "This is nice. Keep doing this."

"Of course," Fluttershy did so, while looking up to also keep an eye on the babies.

Sunrise and Spectrum had fallen asleep snuggled together, the latter still suckling his thumb even while he slept.

"Awww," Fluttershy giggled, "At this rate, she's going to beg to sleep in his crib with him."

"No reason they can't share a crib," Ascentia giggled, "But then I'd be lonely in my room..."

"Would they fit in her crib, then?"

"I guess, it's an old heirloom, so it's pretty big," Ascentia shrugged.

"All right," Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled her cheek, "We'll give it a try and see how they like it."

"Okey dokes," Ascentia smiled, nuzzling into her lap.

Leaning back in her chair a bit, Fluttershy sighed in bliss, "It's nice to have some quiet..."

"Mmhmm," Ascentia nodded, "...It's been a long time since I've had quiet..."

"Enjoy it while you can," Fluttershy giggled.

"I intend to," Ascentia grinned, curling her legs up to her chest.

"I know I will, too," Fluttershy kissed her cheek.

Ascentia sat back up and kissed Fluttershy's cheek, "Hey, I wanted to thank you. For being so understanding when Rainbow brought me here..."

Giving a smile, Fluttershy nuzzled her, "Absolutely. I was worried about you, too. I'm glad we were able to help you, and now look where we are. It's worked out so well... I'm happy about that, really."

Ascentia wrapped her arms around Fluttershy's shoulders, "It's not just that... you guys saved my life."

Hugging her back, Fluttershy kissed her cheek, "And we'd do it all over again. We're glad you're here with us, now. You being safe was the most important thing."

Ascentia kissed Fluttershy's cheek and squeezed her shoulders, "...I guess Rainbow told you that I went to see Twilight the other day?"

"She did, yes," Fluttershy nodded, "I just didn't want to say anything more about it. I'm just glad you came out of it all right."

"...She begged me not to leave," Ascentia murmured, "...All those years of telling me to stay away one minute and snuggling up the next... that was the first time she ever begged me not to go..."

"...Wow..." Fluttershy said softly, giving a little nod.

"What do I do?" Ascentia asked quietly, nuzzling into Fluttershy's shoulder.

Fluttershy bit her lip, unsure, "I wish I had an answer, but I really don't know."

"...Should I go back?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Well... not so soon," Fluttershy said, shaking her head, "It is ultimately up to you, though. But for now, it's best to leave her in the hands of professionals. There's really nothing else you can do."

Ascentia fell silent, shivering slightly in Fluttershy's lap as she nuzzled her cheek.

Fluttershy rocked her gently, kissing her head, "Don't worry for now. Sunrise needs you more than anything, you should focus on her."

"I know, but... she'll be out eventually... and she's going to come looking for me..."

"You don't know that, at least not right now," Fluttershy said, "We just have to take this one step at a time. There's not much else we can do about it. I hope she'll recover too, but right now, she needs to be away from you and Sunny."

Ascentia shook slightly as she squeezed Fluttershy tighter, taking a few shaky breaths and nuzzling into her neck, "She... she terrifies me..."

"I understand," Fluttershy kissed her cheek, "It's okay. You're safe here."

Ascentia sniffled and squeezed her tighter, before she finally started to cry into Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Okay, that's it! She's broken down like that twelve times since she's been here!" Cielle said angrily, "What the fuck did Twilight do to her?"

"Do you mean recently or in total?" Fluttershy asked.

"We could write a book about that," Rainbow sighed, shaking her head, "Unless you want the police report, it's gonna take a while."

"No no no, I know all that shit," Cielle waved them off, "I mean, what did Twilight do to her to make simply talking about her send her into a terrified fit of sobbing?"

"Obviously she's associating Twilight with all the bad memories and the terrible things she's done," Rainbow said, "So that with the PTSD kinda sets her off her rocker. The last time broke her."

"Okay, then riddle me this. Almost a decade of her being beaten senseless and the whole time she's happy as a clam and avoiding any and all help offered to her. Then she's away from Twilight for a week, and suddenly it's like saying Lord Voldemort," Cielle exclaimed, "I don't understand this woman!"

"You think we do?" Fluttershy sighed, "We can't explain it, either. All we know is that this has affected her."

"She also doesn't have Twilight's influence," Rainbow threw in, "So that's probably part of it."

"No, that's not good enough!" Cielle exclaimed, "There's gotta be something that can help her!"

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow as she watched Cielle. At first, her and Fluttershy had thought her entire angry rant for the last hour had been some insensitive "why don't you get over it" speel. But now it was becoming clear that perhaps Cielle genuinely cared and wanted Ascentia to get better.

"Okay, you're right," Rainbow said, "She was seeing the same doctor I go to for a while, then kinda stopped. Might be about time she went back again."

"Hasn't Ascentia been calling your Doctor every nasty name under the sun?" Cielle asked, looking unamused.

"She's a brat about it, dur. But unless you got any ideas hiding up your ass, I don't know what you want us to do. We're not the experts here," Rainbow said, sighing, "You really think we're qualified? We're not. She's gotta help herself, too, and it's impossible to help someone who doesn't want it."

"I'll talk to her about it later," Fluttershy offered, "So she'll know the option is on the table."

"Nah, I got a better idea. We'll talk to her about it now!" Cielle said, standing up and climbing the stairs to Ascentia's room.

"...Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Rainbow groaned as she and Fluttershy followed her upstairs.

"Me too," Fluttershy murmured.

Cielle all but knocked loudly on the door, "Ascentia, come outta there right now! We need to talk!"

The door flung open and Ascentia looked incredibly worried, "What's wrong? Why are you banging on the door?"

"Heard about your breakdown earlier and it's time you womaned up and-" Cielle was pulled out of the way.

"What she MEANT to say, was that you need some serious help," Rainbow said, holding her "twin" back, "We'll be there to support you, but you need more help"

"More help than we can give," Fluttershy coaxed gently, "Please, try to understand it's just because we want to help. We think you should go see Firebrand again."

"Oh that prick? Oh hell no!" Ascentia exclaimed, "Yeah, that guy was supposed to help Twilight, fat lot of help he was!"

She turned and rounded on Rainbow.

"Hey, how'd that therapy to deal with your urges help you? Oh wait, it didn't! You went into the hospital for a year and another doctor had to pick up his slack! The guy is a scam artist! I'm not going to see him!"

"That was MY damn fault, for your information!" Rainbow snarled back, "I was a fucking idiot about it and I let myself give in! He was not there holding a gun to my head telling me not to listen to his advice! I chose to myself! Now stop being a brat and LISTEN! No, you don't get to talk! SHUT UP! I'm talking! You sit down!"

"No! You spent a year in that place, and it wasn't him that helped you through all that shit, it was her!" she exclaimed, pointing to Cielle, "And those quacks kept telling you she wasn't even real!"

"Well, we're not coddling you! Those days are fucking over! You pretty much cry at the very MENTION of Twilight! That's not normal! What are we supposed to do?! Sit here and twiddle our thumbs, hoping it'll go away?!"

Ascentia moved forward and grabbed Rainbow by the shirt, lifting her up off her feet, "That woman raped and assaulted me for nine fucking years! That shit doesn't go away!" she roared.

"Put her down right now!" Fluttershy half yelled, "Listen for a second! We can have you go see another doctor! There are others out there. Please, everyone, just stop! This is getting out of hand for nothing!"

Rainbow looked around the room at Fluttershy and Cielle, and at Sunrise who was crying in her crib. Laying her hands over Ascentia's, she took a deep breath and tried to let the shock of Ascentia lifting her so quickly wear off.

"Okay, just... this was a bad idea, Asy. I'm sorry," she said softly, "We didn't mean to gang up on you, we're just... we're just worried about you. Just when you seem to be getting better, something knocks you right back down again."

Ascentia didn't let go of her or put her down, but her eyes softened. Fluttershy noticed that she seemed much like a frightenend animal backed into a corner.

"It's okay," Fluttershy said softly, placing a hand on her arm, "Just put her down, please. Then we'll talk about this calmly, so we can figure out a solution."

Ascentia's fingers tightened around Rainbow's shirt as her eyes darted around the room.

"Just... put me down, please?" Rainbow asked softly.

Ascentia slowly lowered her to the ground, setting her back onto her feet.

"There's my good girl," she said softly, stroking her cheek.

Cielle looked surprised, "Did you just see what I saw?" she asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nodded, saying nothing.

"Thanks," Rainbow sighed in relief, "Okay. We're gonna leave you alone for a bit, and when you're ready... well, we'll talk."

"Hey, wait," Cielle said, coming forward, "Look Asy, this whole thing was my fault. I was... being a bitch about all this and kinda forced it all on you. I'm sorry. I just hate seeing you like this, but still."

"Just... just get out, the three of you," she whispered, picking up Sunrise and rocking her.

Rainbow took a step forward and gently kissed her cheek, "Okay. Do you want me to make you some coffee?"

"...Yeah... thanks," Ascentia said quietly, kissing Sunrise's head.

They left the room, going back downstairs in silence. Eventually, Cielle broke it.

"...How the hell did you get her to calm down like that?"

Rainbow shrugged, "Just gotta coax it out of her. Like Shy's animals in Spring."

Fluttershy nodded, going over toward the coffeemaker to get it prepared, "Exactly. It was a form of pet play."

"...Yet without the sexy stuff," Cielle said dryly.

"Well sometimes having a pet isn't all about the snuggles and the purring. Sometimes you gotta clean up the litterbox," Rainbow frowned.

"Animals need more care than just affection, you have to take care of them in other ways too. It's... well, it's kind of like any relationship you have."

"Are you seriously calling her an animal, now? I-" Cielle caught glares from both of them, "...Shutting up."

Ascentia sat in the office of Doctor Wolf, trembling as she ran her hands over the leather couch she was expected to lie on.

"I can see you're nervous," Doctor Wolf said kindly, "It's completely understandable. Just take your time and start when you're ready."

"Okay... I recently just got out of a marriage... it wasn't all that pleasant," Ascentia said slowly, shifting on the couch.

"Tell me about it," Doctor Wolf glanced up at her from his notepad.

"Well... at first everything was great," Ascentia smiled, "We were happy, horny newlyweds. And then... Twilight became a Princess. And started working really late nights and sometimes went entire weekends without sleep..."

Doctor Wolf gave a slow nod, "I see. So then what happened after that?"

"She got... more and more irritable. She was set off by the tiniest things... by the time of our first anniversary... she was beating me regularly," Ascentia whispered.

"Mm-hmm," Doctor Wolf jotted something down, "Tell me about the first time she had ever beat you."

"...It was about four months into our marriage. We'd just had a weekend in Canterlot that hadn't gone quite as we'd hoped it would," Ascentia rubbed the back of her head where Twilight had slammed a cast iron pan over her skull, "She was in a really bad mood and wanted me to cook dinner. But since we'd been gone all weekend we hadn't gotten any groceries for the week. I tried to explain it to her that I couldn't do anything without any food, and... I don't know what happened, but she just blamed me for it. Said I forgot to run the errands on purpose to tweak her. I tried to tell her she was jumping to conclusions, but she just punched me right in the nose. She broke it. And then again, and again. Eventually I was on the floor trying to conver my face but she just kept hitting me."

She laid back on the couch and tried to relax.

"Twilight had gotten violent before then, but this was the first beating she'd ever given me..."

Doctor Wolf nodded again, jotting down more notes, "All right, and what did she do after it was over?"

"Eventually she just got tired, and went to bed," Ascentia sighed, "Told me to sleep on the couch and think about what I'd done..."

"Do you recall what happened the next morning?"

"Twilight acted like it had never happened, even asking me how I'd gotten all those nasty bruises," Ascentia explained, "Started fretting over me, trying to force me to sit down and take it easy if I was going to keep hurting myself."

Doctor Wolf wrote down on his pad again, "Did this occur often? She would abuse you, but then seem to have no recollection of it?"

"I think she was just trying to pretend it had never happened," Ascentia sighed, "And most of the time, yeah. Maybe a handful of times she'd apologize for it, but then she was right back to it before you could blink."

"I see," Doctor Wolf nodded, "What was the extent of the damage she has caused you physically?"

Ascentia shivered as she pulled up a mental list that she never seemed to forget, "...Bruises, broken bones, bleeding, she knocked a tooth out once, and all manner of..."

"Well Mrs Dash, it's very clear that what we're looking at is a textbook case of Bipolar Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Stockholm Syndrome," Wolf explained, "And you clearly already know this, so I'm curious as to why you brought her here."

"I know all that, but she needs more help than I or any of my girls can give her," Rainbow said with a light sigh, "And I wanted to just be sure about some stuff with all this."

"Well unfortunately, as well meaning as it may be, you could potentially be doing more damage to her," Wolf explained, "She was in an abusive marriage for almost a decade. And she still loved her wife very much all throughout it. And then all of that was ripped away from her in the blink of an eye. Sure, the abuse is gone, but so is the security she felt being around her wife. And now she's had some time to really think about what Princess Twilight was doing to her. You cannot simply sever an emotional connection to something and expect no blood to fall out. You're not looking at a few months, you're looking at maybe ten years before you start seeing significant improvements."

"Well yeah, I guess that makes sense. We're just not sure how to deal with it or help her properly. We don't want to make it worse for her."

"Well, contrary to what you may think, you've been a far bigger help than you may realize," Wolf explained, "I asked her about her new home life, and she had nothing but glowing things to say about you. She's clearly happy under your roof, and she is very smitten with you, Mrs Dash."

Rainbow gave a little laugh and smile, "Yeah, that's true. She's definitely done better since living with us, so I'm glad about that. Oh, but one last thing. She kinda asked about what she should do about her seeing Twilight, since she's in the mental ward and all. We weren't sure, but we kinda told her to keep her distance for a while. Any idea what we should do about that?"

"Absolutely not," Wolf shook his head, "After such little time away from her abuser, it is highly unwise to be seeing her in the hospital."

"Okay," Rainbow nodded, "we'll do that and make sure she won't."

Wolf looked over his notes again, "Ascentia is going through a very difficult phase right now. Previously, she had always internalized the idea that Twilight's abuse was a price she had to pay for Twilight's love and affection. Now that she is living with you, she's getting the same love and affection without such a steep cost. This is what has been setting her off so much lately. It is only now dawning on her just how much she's been abused over the years. Nine years of trauma are all crashing down on her at once."

"Makes sense... you don't exactly break a habit that easily if youv'e done it so long," Rainbow said with a little shrug, "Guess that explains why she's had those breakdowns."

Wolf nodded, "I must say, you've handled all of this excellently, Mrs Dash. Fact of the matter is, it took a loving, caring partner to show her how cruel her previous partner had been."

Rainbow gave a smile, "You got that right, Doc. I wanted to give her a taste of real love. Sure, we got problems to fill a textbook but we're doing everything to make her happy."

"Good. Continue to do that," Wolf said, closing his book.

"Will do, Doc," Rainbow said, getting up.

"Have a good night, Mrs Dash," Wolf smiled, nodding to her. Next Chapter: Raspberries Into My Stomach Estimated time remaining: 10 Hours, 10 Minutes