//------------------------------//
// S1E9: A Fool and His Assistant 
// Story: The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy 
// by marmalado 
//------------------------------//

"Big O, sir?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"It's almost time for you to leave for Precinct 13579."

"All right. Just give me ten minutes."

"Of course, sir."

An exhausted sigh escaped the Big O's lips. It had been a long and busy day, full of paperwork to do, agents to meet, and plans to make. As much as he wanted to take a vacation, however, he had something more important to take care of first.

He looked over the letter on his desk one more time, with its sloppy penmanship but show of importance by stationary alone.

Dear Big O,
I am pleased to hear you are doing well. Likewise, I am very much the same. Much like you, I have been furthering my own plans in the capture and subsequent punishment of Peaches, sending out catpeople to spy on her and gather information that will be useful for others in concocting and acting on plans to deliver justice to the one who should never have been brought to Vallea to begin with.

I must say, I am quite surprised that she has managed to make a friend, let alone discover that said friend is also a family member. Unfortunately, I do not have any answers as to whether Peaches had any sort of family -- she was left alone at the border of Vallea with no family to speak of. Still, when one is an outcast with no value to their village, I suppose any friend they make would be considered family. 

Now, I suppose I should get on to 'the meat of the matter', as they say. After much consideration, I have decided that Agent Mandy should also be taken into custody for her role as an accomplice in helping Peaches. Capturing her should be rather easy on your end, I imagine, but -- and I do hope that I am not stating the obvious here -- please do exercise caution. For everything you have told me about that wretched rabid dog, neither you nor I have likely seen what she is truly capable of. Peaches is useless in combat, but Mandy is not a catperson like the rest of us Valleans, and thus, she does not fight in the same way we do. Since you both are of the same organization, however, I have full confidence in your abilities to capture her and bring her back to Vallea. When you do capture her, one of my subjects will be more than happy to take her back to Vallea for you, if you do not wish to make the journey yourself. I will be taking your advice to heart and working diligently to capture her on my end.

As for your own plan, I am afraid I cannot provide much useful advice. No equine has walked into Vallea during my long reign, and I do not know enough about the six ponies who have so boldly asserted themselves as Mandy's friends to assist you in their seizing. However, like Mandy, they may be more powerful than they let on, so please exercise caution with them as well. I am confident you will succeed, just like how I am confident that I will succeed. Do not stop, do not falter, and do not collapse at the hands, the paws, and the hooves of the weak.

Best of luck to you.

Yours truly,
King Ashero of Vallea

It was a rather lengthy letter, he had to admit. But his own letter had been somewhat lengthy as well, so perhaps he couldn't blame the King for standing toe-to-toe with him. He ended his reading with a smile on his face, giving a satisfied sigh as he knew the King had his own matters taken into his own hands with care, tactic, and smarts.

The same went for the Big O himself, of course. He would be nothing but a fool otherwise.

He grabbed another piece of paper off to his side and finished writing what was on it. Only a minute later, his response letter was complete, and he read it over.

Dear King Ashero,
I had figured you would not know anything about the equines who roam about here. Thank you for responding honestly; it is much appreciated. I am happy to say that I have enough research gathered on Mandy's friends in particular to finalize my own plan and set it in motion at the time of this writing.

As for your determination that Mandy should be taken into custody, I am more than happy to capture her for you and deliver her to you personally -- with Peaches in tow as well, of course. I have gathered enough information on her to capture her handily and will aim to do so by end of day, although I will most certainly heed your warnings.

Thank you for taking the time to respond to each and every one of my letters. It is wonderful getting in touch with you. Best of luck to you as well.

Yours truly,
The Big O, Head of Odd Squad

"Big O, sir!"

"R-right, right, coming!" he called, a huff escaping his lips as he walked to the door and eyed one of his other assistants seeing him off. "You. Get Osend to deliver the letter that is on my desk. Left-hand side. I want it out by today's end."

"Yes, sir." The assistant nodded and went in the direction opposite from her boss to fetch his traveling assistant once again.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to lead the way." With that matter settled, the Big O could begin his journey towards Precinct 13579, his two bodyguard agents flanking him as he mentally ran down the plan to capture Mandy and take her on her own journey.

Her journey to her ever-so-sweet demise.





Oprah sprinted down the hallway, nearly colliding with a couple agents who were walking by. Unfortunately for her, none of those agents was the agent she was looking for.

"Where is she, where is she?!" she muttered, skidding to a halt besides the Bedroom door and flinging it open as she gazed around. A growl rolled in her throat as she slammed the door before making a complete beeline for the other room that was the most occupied in the hallway.

Peaches jumped a little ways into the air as she swiveled her head towards Oprah to the sound of a slamming door, blinking a couple times. "Oprah, what's wrong?"

"Have you seen Mandy? The Big O is coming here today and I need everyone to be ready for his arrival!" Her tone was nothing but pure panic -- something rather out-of-character for the normally-collected Director. "On that note, Mandy should definitely be ready...I don't think he liked it when she missed his last arrival."

"Last I saw her, she said she was going to take her daily nap." Peaches said, realizing that Oprah didn't have any sort of juice box in her hand. It had to be a weird sensation for someone so addicted to them like adults addicted to those "IAP" things or whatever they were called, but she supposed Oprah was too panicked to notice.

Oprah groaned. "Of course she was. Did she say where?"

Peaches blinked again, a confused look settling onto her face. "Mandy sleeps in more than one place?"

"Uh, yeah, did you forget?" Oprah rolled her eyes. "Mandy can sleep practically anywhere. Standing up, laying down, on another human being or in a factory."

"Those seem like two very big differences." Note to self: get Mandy checked out for...ah, what was that illness called? 'Narcolepsy'? Yeah, that. I know her brain's wired differently, but really...

"Okay, well, the point of the matter is, I want her by my side so she can greet the Big O when he comes. Do you know where she's napping?"

"She said it was some place called the Not-Princess Room?" Peaches shrugged. "Whatever that is."

"Oh! Like the Princess Room, but without the robot princesses." Oprah shook her head. "Ha. I should've known. Thanks."

Before Peaches could even ask her what the Princess Room was, or even what robot princesses were, Oprah was gone, leaving the catgirl nothing short of confused as she just stared at the doorway, hoping the Director would magically pop up again and give her a couple explanations.

When Oprah flung open the door to the Not-Princess Room, the hybrid wasn't found anywhere.

"MANDY!"

No response, something that Oprah realized would happen only mere seconds after she called out her second-in-command's name.

"Ugh, who am I kidding, she's not gonna be able to hear me. She's asleep!"

Rubbing her forehead in a futile effort to ward off the beginnings of a headache, she marched forward and began looking around for any signs of Mandy. As she got closer, she could hear her drowsy voice as she talked in her sleep, intersected by repeated raucous snores in a weaving pattern of slumber.

Oprah didn't bother to listen too intently to Mandy's sleep-talk -- really, it was all just silly non-sequiturs and incoherent gibberish that came about as the result of whatever weird dreams her brain decided to concoct. All the Director used it for, at least in this situation, was for location purposes.

After what seemed like hours of searching, she spotted her, off in the distance and situated comfortably in a hammock secured between two trees. Her body was just slightly bigger than the hammock, but of course, she didn't mind.

"Yes! There you are!" Oprah sprinted over as fast as her legs would carry her, a relieved sigh escaping her body. "Finally...why are you all the way here?"

Her answer came in the form of another snore, followed by a "The zzcrewdriver hazz three notchezz..."

"Screwdriv-" Oprah shook her head rapidly, her brain scolding her for letting Mandy's sleep-talk get to her when she already was well-accustomed to the contrary. "I don't care about your sleep-talk or whatever weird and odd dreams you're having! Wake up, there's an emergency!" 

Helping her out was a cowbell and a drumstick, which she banged together as many times as she could until her arms got tired. No matter how much she did it, though, Mandy refused to stir, her snoring and sleep-talking continuing forth.

Another growl came forth. "WAKE UP!!" she cried out, before throwing the cowbell and drumstick with all her might. Perhaps, had Mandy been awake, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to her that Oprah had a throw that would have made Major League Baseball pitchers weep in jealousy and regret -- the items flew some distance away, and then a rumbling sound came forth that she didn't care enough to identify.

"Just..." She sighed. "Forget it. I'm not gonna drag you out to see the Big O while you're asleep. But you're probably gonna miss out on something big, and I'm not gonna tell you what! So don't go complaining about secret-keeping like the last time!"

She knew Mandy probably couldn't hear her, and yet she still said what she said anyway. It didn't matter now -- she could always turn her attention to everyone else in her precinct who wasn't aware of his arrival. Besides, she still had to make the announcement anyway.

She turned on her heel, walked towards the door, and slammed it closed.

"Cheese bread!"

Mandy snapped awake and pushed herself upwards, blinking as her vision tried to adjust to the real world.

"Mm...could've sworn someone was here..." She stretched. "Mmm, ah well!" A yawn came forth. "Nothin' like catchin' up on a few more Z's..."

And with that, she was knocked out again, going back to her usual loud snores as a soft breeze blew like a lullaby easing her into dreamland.





The announcement was made. The red carpet was rolled out. Everyone was preparing for the Big O's arrival, fists on foreheads and elbows on knees and bowing as best they could.

The double-doors opened, and in he walked, flanked by his two bodyguards. His gaze looked around expectantly, and then it soured. It didn't last long, however, as the cool expression returned to his face.

"Please rise."

Everyone did as they were told.

"I would like to start by saying that my reasons for coming here do not involve the entirety of the precinct. As such," He cleared his throat. "All of you, barring Oprah and Agent Twilight Sparkle, are free to depart and resume your current activities."

This was met with murmurs, some confused, others surprised. Still, it didn't stop everyone from moving away and going back to what they were doing, especially when the Big O's gaze turned steely and demanding. 

"Oprah. My greetings to you."

"Greetings, Big O. It's nice to see you again." Oprah stepped forth with a polite smile on her face.

"And you as well. How has Precinct 13579 been faring?"

"Just fine, thank you."

The Big O nodded. "I might as well cut to the chase." He cleared his throat. "Recently, I have received reports from clients about one of your agents. Agent Twilight Sparkle, to be specific." He glanced at the alicorn mare, who blinked a couple times in surprise. "From what I can tell, she is a terrific agent, am I correct?"

"Oh, yes. Twilight is one of my best agents. Always punctual with paperwork and getting things done efficiently. Very organized and certainly very capable of fighting oddness." Oprah praised, causing Twilight to blush slightly.

"Hmm. So it seems these reports live up to the hype. Absolutely nothing has been said by you that hasn't already been said on any report I have received." The Big O nodded. "Oprah, I would like to promote Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role of Big O's Head Assistant. Meaning that she will be one of my top assistants, working alongside me at the Big Office. She will no longer be an Investigation agent of Precinct 13579, and as such, she will no longer work under you."

Oprah's eyes widened. Of all the news she was hoping to receive today, "your agent's been promoted" certainly wasn't one of the headlines on the list. Even though she knew she couldn't say no, her brain short-circuited and she began to stammer. "Oh! Um...I see. I...w-well, it's a weighty offer, and-"

"I'll go."

Both Oprah and the Big O glanced at Twilight, who held a look of confidence as she took a few steps forward. "I'm more than happy to take the promotion, Big O, sir."

"Oh, wonderful! Thank you."

"Um, Ms. O...just a question I have. Could I still stay here? In the Bedroom?"

"Stay here?" The words danced on the Director's lips as her brain continued to short-circuit, not fully grasping exactly what was happening. Still, that didn't mean it was completely dead, and she was able to answer her now-ex-agent's question. "Oh! Y-yes, of course, Twilight."

The Big O's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, thank you. It's much appreciated."

"We leave now."

Twilight's head swiveled towards her new boss. "N-now?"

"Yes. We have a lot of training to go over. Unless you wish to...decline the promotion?"

"No, no! Of course not. I'll..."

Twilight turned around and gazed out at the bullpen. She saw no sign of her friends, but her heart was filled with sadness either way, knowing that she would have to leave them for good without telling them of the promotion -- or without them being there to witness it for themselves.

She grit her teeth, and then gave a resigned sigh. "We can leave right now."

"Good. Come along." The Big O turned and began heading out, his bodyguards following suit. "It was good to see you, Oprah."

"Y-you as well, Big O. Best of luck to you and to Twilight."

As the alicorn mare followed, she stopped in the doorway to take one last glance at her old boss, in all of her juice-addled, ridiculously strong, steel-plated-but-gold-hearted glory. Something in her felt like crying right then and there, but she used her willpower to keep moving forward, only leaving her with a soft sigh before she walked away and the doors closed.

Somehow, deep within her brain, Oprah had retained only a faint knowledge of what had happened. She couldn't grasp it before, but that was because it was just so unbelievable. It was the equivalent to a wife telling her husband that she was pregnant, and then running away to South America with absolutely no warning, no preparation, and no straight reasoning whatsoever.

She slumped to the floor, on her knees in what would have been a show of patheticness at any other point in time. "What have I done?" she whispered, the noise of the bullpen drowning her question out.

A familiar high-pitched humming noise brought her back to reality, and she blinked as she saw Pinkie Pie trot towards her. Shaking her head, she waved. "Pinkie!"

"Hmm? Oh, hi, Ms. O!" Pinkie greeted. "What's up?"

"Have you, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy meet up in my office, now."

"Sure thing! I'll go find them!"

Pinkie re-routed and went from going through the double-doors to going down the left hallway that flanked it instead, resuming her humming.

Oprah watched her go, slowly getting to her feet and letting her hand curl into a tight fist.

I can't believe...I can't believe I just let Twilight out of my grip like that. I haven't just lost a friend -- I've lost a valuable agent. And there's no getting her back.

Not unless I want to be fired. Again.

Sighing, she began ascending the left staircase towards her office, pulling a much-needed juice box from hammerspace and beginning to sip it eagerly before slipping inside and closing the door.

A few minutes later, the Mane Six minus one were gathered, each in their own chairs and facing their boss at her desk.

"Thank you all for coming."

"No prob!" Dash said.

"What did ya need, sugarcube?"

"Agent Twilight was recently promoted by the Big O to the position of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Which means that..." Oprah swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. "...she will no longer be working in this precinct."

All five ponies gasped, their eyes widening in shock and surprise.

"T-T-Twilight? N-no longer w-working with us?!"

"But we're her friends, darling!"

"Didn't the Big O say anything like, I dunno, all of us being his assistants?"

"No. He specifically said Twilight." Oprah said, in response to Rainbow's query.

"And you just let her go?" Applejack asked, with a slight accusatory edge to her voice.

"I didn't have a choice!" Oprah buried her head in her hands. "It's in a Director's moral code to follow whatever orders the Big O gives, no matter how moral or immoral they may seem. If we disobey those orders, we risk getting fired." She sighed and lifted her head up. "I've led this precinct for decades. I don't want to risk losing my job!"

Pinkie frowned. "Sometimes we need to make sacrifices to save our friends, boss! And-"

"I'm not finished!"

The pause that hung in the room was deafening. It was deafening in a way Oprah hated. She wished she could veer off-topic, but she didn't want to leave her equine agents out of the loop about any part of the situation.

"Twilight...she..." She tried to swallow another lump that had formed in her throat, but it only grew bigger in response. "She wanted to go. She took the position willingly."

Everypony exchanged glances with each other.

"And...she didn't even say goodbye?" Fluttershy asked. 

"No, but I'm sure she's open to phone calls. You're welcome to call her anytime you wish. And...I'm sure you all will convene in Equestria from time to time." Oprah had to fight hard to prevent her voice from cracking.

"I can't believe it. Twilight, gone, from the precinct!" Applejack blinked.

"Wait! Who will I have as a partner if Twi's gone?" Dash asked. 

"I'll have you work solo for the time being, Rainbow Dash, until I can find you another agent to work with."

"Me and her, we worked so well together...I didn't think I'd ever experience the feeling of an agent losing her partner..." Dash folded her ears down. "And it feels awful!"

"Your friends are here if you ever need support. And I'm always here if you have concerns."

Dash sighed. "I guess...we can only hope that Twilight's doing well at her new job..."

"Could we maybe...visit Twilight?" Fluttershy asked her next question.

Oprah shook her head. "I'm not sure how the Big O would feel about that. To play it safe, I'm going to deny visitors." She felt tears forming on the edges of her eyes, and didn't bother to blink them back. "I'm really sorry."

"Does Mandy know about this?"

"She's taking her daily nap." Oprah responded to Applejack. "She doesn't know about any of this."

"We should tell her!"

"No!" Oprah stood up and reached over to plug Pinkie's mouth. "If Mandy found out, she could go after the Big O. And that would mean me and her would both lose our jobs. I'm sure none of you want to lose Mandy, nor me."

Murmurs of agreement rippled across the office. 

"If there are no further questions, then you may all return to work. At the very least, try to adapt without Twilight here. A suggestion from me to you."

By this point, the ponies were on the verge of tears. Oprah herself had already crossed that threshold, although she didn't dare admit it even in spite of the obvious evidence. After the ponies gave her halfhearted thanks, they slunk out of her office, heads down and expressions full of sadness and hurt.

"It's so hard to believe...Twilight, just gone from the precinct...taken by the Big O." Rarity mused, once she and the others were outside.

"How could Ms. O just let her go like that?!" Dash cried out, feeling like punching or kicking something but finding no object where she could perform either action safely.

"I don't know, sugarcube. But at least we can still meet up with her in Equestria." Applejack nodded. "It ain't the end of the world that she's gone from here!"

"Yeah! We can have weekly meetings and stuff, and chat about life, and ooh, ooh, throw awesome 'Hi-Twilight-Welcome-Back-For-The-Week' parties!" Pinkie bounced up and down and giggled, in spite of her dour mood just a minute beforehand -- not too surprising, given her Element.

"Yes! Just because Twilight is gone from this Odd Squad precinct certainly does not mean she's gone from Odd Squad!"

Everyone looked at Rainbow Dash, who was the only one that still had an upset look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess..."

"We understand if'n ya need time to mourn, Rainbow Dash." Applejack said. "Losin' a partner's a mighty big deal."

"It is." Dash glanced at the first floor of the bullpen below. "I'll be...around, if anyone needs me."

She sped off, leaving a rainbow trail behind her in her wake.

"Y'all should leave her be for now." Applejack stated, to murmurs of agreement from the others. "Still not sure why Ms. O doesn't want us t' tell Mandy, though..."

"Mandy can be a little...hot-headed." Rarity gave a small sigh.

"Yeah! Don't you ever notice how she bursts into flames whenever she gets super-duper angry? Every agent knows not to make her super-duper angry, even me! And she's pretty strong, too..."

Applejack sighed. "I s'pose you two are right. If Ms. O wants us to keep Twilight's promotion a secret, then we should honor that." She made her way towards the staircase on the right. "C'mon, y'all, let's get back t' work."

Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy all followed her, their moods lifted a little by her encouraging words. Still, sadness floated about in their hearts as they struggled to understand the reasoning of the situation, and the reasoning of their friend in why she took the promotion to begin with.





Having awoken from her nap, Mandy roamed the halls, rubbing her head in a futile attempt to clear the sleepiness from it. Unfortunately, she wasn't seeing where she was going, and ended up colliding with a body that made an "oof" noise, just like she did in unison.

"Cuz!"

Mandy looked up and smiled. "Heya! Glad I found ya, have you seen Twilight? I wanted to return a book to her that I borrowed, but she hasn't been around."

"No. Have you checked the library?"

"I tried every place I could think of. I even tried Olive and Otto's precinct!"

"Maybe she's in Equestria?"

Mandy's expression brightened, and she snapped her fingers. "Ah! Ahh, I really do have the brain of a raisin." She shook her head, not noticing Peaches's knowing smirk that showed she agreed with her statement. The hybrid unclipped her badge phone from her suit and opened it. "I'll just call her!"

After pressing the numbers 1-9-0 and receiving a few ringback tones, a familiar voice picked up. "Hello?"

"Hi, Twi!" Mandy giggled and snorted. "Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, I have a book here that I wanted to give back to you. Are you at Precinct 13579 right now?"

"Oh! N-no, I'm...in Equestria! Yeah, in Equestria. At the Castle of Friendship. Just...cleaning it."

Twilight's nervous tone was completely lost on Mandy. "Ohhh!" She laughed. "Thank odd! I thought you were, I dunno, on some perilous quest without me or something."

"No, no, I'm-"

"Twilight Sparkle, get off the phone and get back to work! Now!"

"Oh! That's Spike, I gotta go, bye!"

Before Mandy could get another word in, a dial tone met her ears. She slowly closed the phone and put it back on her chest.

"What did she say?" Peaches asked.

"She's at her Castle of Friendship in Equestria! That's her home there." Mandy explained. "She's cleaning it along with Spike."

"Spike?"

"Her dragon assistant!"

Peaches blinked. She didn't even know Twilight had an assistant, let alone one who was a dragon. It sounded kind of cool, now that she knew about it. She made a mental note to ask the mare if she could meet Spike someday -- surely, since dragons were a prominent creature in Odd Squad, he would fit right in with little to no issue. "Well, at least you know where she is." she said. "Maybe you could just...leave the book on her desk?"

"Eh, not a bad idea. I did want to apologize to her for eating her lunch the other day, too, but...I guess that can wait. Thanksies!"

She bounced away, and Peaches waved her off. "No problem. Bye, cuz!" she called, before her hand slowly lowered as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. Thinking she was just hungry, she began to make her way to that Fish-in-the-Pond Room she had heard so many rumors about.





Olive glanced over Mandy's shoulder at the gadget that laid in front of her, just as the hybrid raised her hand up into the air. In her hand was a hammer -- not one she used to go into combat with, but a typical nail-in-a-wooden-plank hammer that she intended to use to destroy a rather pesky gadget once and for all.

She lowered the hammer with as much speed as she could, and her eyes widened when the head flew clean off and landed on the floor with a thud.

She blinked. So did Olive. The two girls just stared at the head in complete silence, like someone had walked in and announced they murdered at least 19 men and had their 20th on backlog.

"That's..." Mandy leaned back and flopped in her chair. "That's the third hammer I've broken! How durable are these things?!"

"They have to be durable. They go through a lot of wear and tear."

"That was a rhetorical question, Olive." Mandy deadpanned, throwing in a glare at her mother for good measure. She snatched the Hammer-inator from the desk and conjured up another copy of the tool. "Okay, attempt number 4! Outta probably a million!"

Just as she was about to try and hammer the gadget again, the steel double-doors opened, and in walked Twilight, who caught Olive's eye just from the blinding-white jacket she was now wearing. "Hey, Agent Twilight's back!" the Director remarked, although Mandy didn't bother to look up.

That is, until another bang of her next hammer sent the head of the tool curving upwards upon hitting the gadget.

Mandy's face went pale. She grit her teeth and clutched the handle of the hammer as hard as she could. "YOU STUPID FLIMSY HAMMER!!" she cried to the sky, throwing the tool as hard as she could and listening as it collided with the wall that framed the right hallway.

While normally Olive would have scolded Mandy for nearly giving some poor agent a concussion, she had other things on her mind. "You look really ragged. Are you okay?" she asked Twilight.

The mare gave a shaky sigh. "I-I'm fine!" she tried to reassure.

It was then that Mandy spotted the latest arrival to the bullpen, and gasped. "Twilight!" She hopped back into her chair and rolled her way over to her friend, examining her up and down. "Jeez, you look like a wreck!"

"I'm fine!" Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. "Really, I am, it's just...been a long day."

"Well, why don'tcha rest up a lil', have some dinner, and we can talk about it!"

"No, no, that's okay. I...think I just need some time to myself." Twilight gave a small smile. "But thank you for the offer, Mandy."

"Okay!" Mandy waved Twilight off as she headed past her and Olive and went down the right hallway. "And nice Big O cosplay, too!"

"Weird. Twilight isn't usually this exhausted after work." Olive observed. "And what's up with the Big Office outfit?"

"I know, right?!" Mandy turned. "That cleaning she did must've taken a lot outta her, especially for that big of a castle!"

"Huh?" Olive tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh!" Mandy did her usual giggle-and-snort laugh. "Twilight spent all day in Equestria cleaning the Castle of Friendship. It's a biiiig castle, I hear. Bigger than this place, even!"

"I doubt that." Olive smirked. "But that's understandable. It's hard to balance Odd Squad and princesshood, I'm sure. But...does she normally have a Big Office outfit stashed away for cleaning purposes?"

"Maybe! Rarity could've made one on the fly for her. For an authority boost!"

"Yeah, I don't think that's it."

Mandy only shrugged in response.

"Do...you want a new hammer?"

Whatever happy mood Mandy had was squashed upon hearing this question. She heaved a heavy sigh. "No, but if you wanna use that super-strength of yours to repair one, that'd be a huge help!"

Olive glanced at the hammers on the floor, and then at the gadget, which didn't even have so much as a dent in it. "Yeah no, you know what, ask Oona to handle this one."

"Done!"

In just a few swift movements, Mandy grabbed the gadget and blindly tossed it over her shoulder as hard as she could. Unfortunately, she bopped Oona on the head with it as evidenced by her irritated "Ow!" coming from the lab.

"S-sorry!" Olive called, more out of instinct than anything else.

"Okay, anyway, I'm starved!" Mandy chirped, making it clear that whatever order Olive was going to give her to apologize would be lost on her. "You wanna go get dinner? My treat!"

"Sure."

"You have any place in mind?"

"There's a new one that opened up recently...Seaside Oriental, I think?"

Mandy gasped, her eyes sparkling at this news of a new restaurant in town. "Ooh, I'm in! Meetcha there at 7?"

"You got it."

"Yay!" Mandy watched Olive head for the double-doors. "See ya then!"

"Bye!"

As the Director walked away, the hybrid gave a satisfied sigh before grabbing some paperwork, not feeling the urge to repair or destroy any more gadgets today no matter how much Oona pestered her about it.

"Mandy..."

Her hair and tail stuck straight up.

She slowly turned around, a creaking sound like that coming from a door making its way forth.

There was Oona, gadget in hand and a very angry look on her face. 

"I-I-I can explain!"

"It better be a good one."





Over in the Breakroom, Twilight sat down with her own meal, a small cheese pizza with some apple juice. She nibbled on a slice absentmindedly as she glanced around the bullpen. Aside from Oona aggressively talking to Mandy about something, collar grabbed and all, nothing seemed to be all that out of place.

Sighing, she thought back to earlier in the day, when the Big O had delivered her yet another blow -- as if promoting her and taking her away from her friends without giving her a chance to say goodbye to them first wasn't enough.





She was situated in his office when she received the order.

"Starting today, Twilight Sparkle, I am banning any use of flight or magic on the premises. All of these... ponies around here are extremely detrimental to Odd Squad as an organization. But, they would fare fine as domesticated horses. After all, they were domesticated thousands of years ago for a multitude of things." The Big O side-eyed Twilight. "Besides...I'm sure you're well-aware that unicorns are an edible delicacy among many?"

Her mouth had run dry, and something in her prevented her from speaking out against such a ludicrous law and such a preposterous plan. "U-um...y-yes, sir. I'm well-aware." she simply responded, feeling like she had somehow regressed back to the pony she was before she met all of her friends.

"Very good." The Big O smiled. "In addition, I am banning you from returning to...ahh, what's that other world you call? 'Eh-quess-tree-uhh'? Yeah." He cleared his throat. "You will not be allowed to return there as long as you are working under me. Understand?"

Her brain screamed at her. Say something, you foal! Equestria is your home! You have friends there! You're royalty there! He can't just do this to you. He can't just strip you of everything and everyone you hold dear!

But a part of her, the part that feared what the Big O would do to her if she refused him, won over. There was no using her smarts or her common sense to outwit him -- something had told her he would just match her action for action.

There was nothing she could do but practice blind obedience.

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. So you will do as I say and follow my orders, unless you want to face punishment, understand?"

Twilight gulped. "Yes, sir."

"Very good. Now, I shall give you a tour of the premises. Tomorrow, you start working as my assistant." The Big O stood up and walked towards the automated double-doors that lined his office. "Come!"

Like a dog, Twilight immediately hopped off of her chair and followed him, but couldn't resist the soft sigh that forced its way out of her body.

"Twilight?"

Her head lifted at the sound of Fluttershy's voice, but for some reason, she couldn't find her friend.

"Twilight?"

Still no sign of her.





"Twilight!"

That was the cue for the alicorn to come back to reality. She blinked, giving a small hum as she did so, and found Fluttershy staring at her with concern. "Oh! Hi, Fluttershy. What's up?"

"Um, I just...wanted to say, welcome back. We didn't think you'd be coming back..." Fluttershy pawed at the ground with her hoof. "We all miss you."

The last sentence was like an arrow through Twilight's heart. "Ms. O told me I could stay here even while working at the Big Office." she responded, trying her damnedest not to cry.

"How was your first day?"

"I'd..." She could feel her throat closing. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"Oh...okay. I understand." Fluttershy smiled. "We were talking earlier about meeting in Equestria once a week...just to catch up. If you want to, that is. And Rainbow Dash is really heartbroken about losing you as a partner." she explained. "I hope you're happy at your new job."

Sweet Celestia, Fluttershy, please don't make me start crying...not here! She swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in her throat, but it came back with a vengeance. All she could do was nod.

"I-I have to get going and do some paperwork, but it was good to see you!" Fluttershy waved her goodbyes as she took to the air towards her desk.

"Y-you as well..." The words were nothing more than a whisper as she watched the yellow Pegasus go, and she tried to take another bite of her food to no avail -- the pizza didn't taste appetizing anymore.

Not with her clogged nose blocking her sense of taste.

Knowing there was no way to stop it, she let the tears fall, burying her hooves in her hands as she cried and cried, hoping no one would spot her and try to comfort her.





Mandy and the Big O met weapon-to-weapon, the former's hammer and the latter's sword-like gadget clanging together before they separated.

"You won't get away with this!" came the reverberating voice of a Mandy aflame.

"Get away with what?!" the Big O snapped back. "I strive to make Odd Squad a place for kids and ponies alike!"

Leaving her hammer for the time being, Mandy took to the air and charged magic in her horn. "That's a lie!" she called, before firing off a series of laser beams that made impact with something that produced a banging sound. She gave a "ha" of triumph as the smoke cleared and she took in the sight of the bruised and battered child who had once been her boss.

"It appears...we are at an impasse, Agent Mandy." he rasped, holding his singed weapon tight even in his current state.

"You don't even have a developed brain yet." Mandy rolled her eyes and swooped back down to the ground to pick up her hammer, choosing to remain airborne. "After what you did...you..."

She grit her teeth, unable to complete the sentence for a time.

Far off to the side, everyone -- Olive, Oprah, Otto, Peaches, and the Mane Six -- were all watching the fight with concerned looks on their faces.

"You conspired with Vallea's king to get rid of me, get rid of Peaches, and get rid of our friends!"

"Equine friends." the Big O corrected. "And so what if I did? It furthered both his goals and mine. Catgirls like Peaches do not belong in this world, anyway."

"You're wrong!" Mandy's voice was practically a scream. "This world is home to many different creatures! From Ginormice, to Centigurps, to Daves, and even to ponies! There's no reason why a catgirl can't fit here!" A foul taste began to form in her mouth, and she turned her head and spit off to the side in an effort to alleviate it. "You're just biased."

"Biased?" The Big O let out a hearty laugh at this bold claim. "Against whom?"

"Anyone who isn't human. LIKE MYSELF!!"

The last two words of Mandy's sentence echoed throughout the expansive room. Peaches' eyes widened, as did Twilight's.

"Mandy, stop this!"

The hybrid's head swiveled towards the one who had so boldly spoken and so boldly stepped forward. "Don't tell me you're staying by his side?!" A glare formed in her eyes. "Are you biased as well...Oprah?"

"That's Ms. O to y-"

Oprah's words were immediately cut off by her neck being held in the weight of magic, first being gently caressed by what felt like a pair of hands before turning into a thick beam that held it in a vice grip. She felt herself be levitated into the air, and futilely kicked her feet as though that would bring her back down to the ground.

"I refuse to work under someone who has any sort of prejudice!" Mandy asserted, her magical grip on Oprah loosening. This caused her to fall on her butt with a pained grunt, Olive and Otto tending to her and making sure she was all right. Her neck was red, almost to the point of a rash, but Mandy couldn't care less.

Instead, she had her sights set on her opponent.

In one swift move, she teleported him to the wall on the other side of the room, took her hammer, and rushed over to him just in time to ram the head of the weapon into his mouth before he even had a chance to lift up his weapon. As was expected of someone who fell victim to such a cruel finishing move, he began to choke, feeling like his jaw was about to snap clean in two.

"'All are equal. All belong.'" Mandy recited. "This has been the modus operandi of Odd Squad as far back as I can remember. And as long as I live, it will hold true!"

The Big O had no witty response to her assertion. Mostly because the choking noises he was making grew fiercer as the head went deeper into his mouth.

"Scum like you doesn't deserve to walk the earth. There is no punishment..."

She took a deep inhale.

"...THAT IS WORTHY OF ALL YOU'VE DONE!"

She didn't need to ram the head down further. The Big O's body succumbed to his injuries, both from the hammer and from the fight overall, as he stopped choking and slumped to the ground like a ragdoll. The hammer slid free from his mouth, covered in spit in a few places.

"Big O!" Oprah called out, purely on instinct if nothing else.

A move that proved to be a very bad idea...and one that sealed her fate.

The flames around Mandy grew more intense. "AND YOU'RE NEXT, AGENT 58!!" she called, her voice gaining even more of an echo as she pointed the hammer directly at the one who had also been her boss once upon a time.

Her feet took her across the ground.

"No...please, no-"

A bloodcurdling scream was the last thing anyone heard before the view went completely dark.





Twilight woke up and flung herself upright in bed with a gasp, her eyes reduced to pinpricks as she glanced around the room to try and reorient herself.

She was in the Bedroom, and around her were the rest of the Mane Six, sleeping peacefully in their respective beds.

The alicorn mare, breathing heavily, spotted Mandy, who was also fast asleep in a world of her own. Whatever reaction she might have had to Twilight's sudden awakening was null and void -- she kept snoring and sleep-talking away without so much as a single movement.

Twilight kept her gaze on her co-worker and friend for a long time as her mind's gears began to turn. She's going to fight the Big O. I just know it. And she's going to kill him.

The sigh she had pent up made its way forth. But should I tell him? Or should I stay silent? she thought. Whatever I do...I run the risk of me getting fired from Odd Squad!

Her head swiveled back and forth, and then her gaze landed on the Bedroom door. She grit her teeth together and magically pulled the sheets off of her.

I can't...I have to tell someone! And I know just who to tell.

Five minutes later, she had reiterated her dream, as well as her findings on the first day on the job -- plus the news of her new job to begin with -- to the one person who would reasonably be up at this hour of the night.

"Wh...you mean, King Ashero..."

"Yes." Twilight nodded. "It's a vivid dream, but I fear that it may come true if Mandy finds out about me." She put on the best begging expression she could muster. "Please don't tell her. If she ends up killing the Big O then it could spell disaster for Odd Squad as an organization, and I don't want that to happen!"

Peaches only barely heard her friend's request, her eyes glazed over in both shock and deep thought. "I can't believe that the king of my home village is conspiring with the Big O..." she murmured, before letting out a hum of thought. It only lasted a few seconds before she piped up with a request of her own, her eyes returning to normal. "Do you think you could ask the Big O about it tomorrow?"

"The conspiracy with King Ashero? Or my dream?" Twilight asked. "Because I could do both, if I manage to reach him again. Which I probably will."

"In the meantime, I'll have to find out why they're teaming up...maybe it's to get to me somehow, but why? If the King already exiled me... Twilight tilted her head in response, causing Peaches to blink and then vigorously shake her head. "S-sorry, Twilight. I don't mean to make this all about me, but this is something that affects both of us, and-"

"Oh! No, it's fine, Peaches." The mare smiled. "I know how stressful this revelation must be for you."

Peaches nodded. "I'll have to sleep on it. Devise a plan." she mused. "But your secret is safe with me. No telling Mandy. But can I at least tell Oprah?"

Twilight gave a relieved sigh. "Yes, you can. And thank you. I'm going to head back to bed and try to get some more sleep."

As she moved towards the door and exchanged goodnight wishes with Peaches, she let her gaze linger on the catgirl for longer than usual before she left the room. Something told her that Peaches would now be the unlucky soul who wouldn't have a restful night, and she felt a pang of guilt for venting to her when she didn't ask for it. Still, she was a friend...and friends were usually open for venting, weren't they? She was the Princess of Friendship; this was supposed to be a rhetorical question.

So why didn't she have an answer?

She entered the Bedroom once more and climbed into bed as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake up any of the other ponies. Her body felt heavy, but her brain refused to shut off, and she slipped under the blankets with a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and trying to think of memories she could string together for tonight's feature film.





The next day came rather quickly, although the air was noticeably different.

The steel double-doors opened, and in walked Peaches, who Mandy spotted as she sipped some juice.

"Oh, hey, Peaches! How's it..."

She didn't get to finish her sentence, as the catgirl outright ignored her and trudged up the left staircase to the second floor instead.

"Huh. Whatever she's up to, it seems like it's urgent!" Mandy gave a nonchalant shrug and sipped more of her juice before turning back to her paperwork.

Oprah didn't even have to look up from her own activity of coloring in a picture of a robin to know that someone was entering her room, punctuated by the sound of one of her office's glass doors forcefully being pushed open.

"Slamming doors open doesn't work with mine." she remarked.

Her guest didn't care. "Oprah, we need to talk. Now."

Not five minutes later, and Oprah was given the news about Twilight's dream and the talk she had with Peaches last night.

"What?!" She blinked. "You think the Big O is conspiring with your village's king? And Mandy's gonna kill him?!"

"Twilight saw evidence of the conspiracy when she was at the Big Office. And Mandy killing the Big O came to her in a dream. She said it was very vivid. And considering King Ashero isn't exactly what you'd call a good king, I think what she said may hold some truth."

"Ha! The day Mandy bests me in battle is the day I might as well retire."

Peaches slammed her fist on Oprah's desk. "That's not my point!" she yelled. "My point is that Twilight working with the Big O will only spell disaster."

"If Mandy is told." Oprah held a finger up. "But she doesn't know about any of this, does she?"

"Well, no, but-"

"So she doesn't have to know."

Peaches' expression contorted into one of confusion and disgust. "Hold on. Have you not said in the past that you must obey the Big O's orders lest you get fired? Don't tell me you're taking his side?"

"Nooo, no!" Oprah quickly asserted. "Just because I follow his orders doesn't mean I agree with what he's doing. But why would King Ashero be working with him to get to you, instead of just coming here and attacking you directly?"

"The King has always been a coward. He sends catpeople out to fight for him and do his bidding rather than do anything himself. It's probably why he didn't take the helm in finding out who burned Vallea to the ground -- that, and he wanted to get rid of me." Peaches rolled her eyes. "If I had to venture a guess, I'd say he's working with the Big O so he can carry out his plans for him." She blinked twice. "Er, assuming the Big O is someone who actually does things himself?"

"Depends on the situation, mostly, but he is very competent. And he isn't afraid to do things himself."

"He's probably going to have the Big O relay his actions either directly to me...which is silly...or through Twilight first. Much more plausible."

Oprah could only give a thoughtful "hmm" in response as she struggled to comprehend the entire situation.

"I did ask Twilight to get more details, so maybe we'll find out more stuff later on. But that's all I got."

"I can't believe it. For the Big O to do something this wild..." Oprah shook her head. "I'd like to be alone for now, Peaches. Just to clear my head and get my mind off of this for a little bit."

"Perfectly understandable." Peaches nodded and turned on her heel. "I'll leave you be."

With a weight off her shoulders, she left the office in higher spirits than before.

"King Ashero...working together with the Big O." Oprah made her way over to the juice bar and grabbed a box, sticking a straw into it and sipping it as fast as she could possibly go. "What an unlikely pairing."





The sound of squeaking interrupted Otto's snacktime. He watched as a tomato slid out of his BLT and fall straight onto his plate before he picked it up and ate it whole. He didn't need to look to identify what the sound was -- the sounds of effort were a dead giveaway.

"Whoa, hey!" Otto swallowed his tomato. "You want help bringing those in?"

"Issat a rhetorical question?" came the tired response, intersected with panting as the pusher of the rack tried to regain her breath.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

With a sigh, Otto got to his feet and grabbed the other end of the rack, pulling it across the shared Director's office with ease.

"Geez, you don't know how long it took me to sew all these!" the visitor remarked, flopping onto the couch with a tired groan, her face dripping with sweat.

"I think you're just out of shape, Mandy."

"Shut up and get me some water! Please!"

Otto happily obliged, heading over to the "water bar" and grabbing a bottle of fresh water. Smirking, he pulled his arm back and threw the bottle, where it hit his intended target square in the face.

"Oww! Not at my face, you numbnut!" she snapped, grabbing the bottle and taking a few generous sips of water.

"Hey, Otto!" Olive greeted, making her way into the office with a small stack of papers. "I got that paperwork from Odie. Apparently there's a gadget missing here?"

"Oh. Yeah, it's probably the Paper-inator. Some agent borrowed it, hasn't returned it."

Mandy narrowed her eyes. "Uhh, helloooo-oooooo? What am I to ya, chopped liver?!"

Olive glanced at the girl who had wound up on her couch, and gave a laugh. "Hi, Mandy."

"Hiiii!" came the happy chirp in response. "Brought those suits you wanted. Took me a loooong while to sew 'em, but Rarity was willing to help me out!"

"Oh! I meant to ask last night," Olive said. "How is Rainbow Dash handling the...um...loss of Twilight? I know she hasn't been around as much, and the two are good partners..."

"When I saw her, she looked pretty down in the dumps, but wouldn't give me any details. Although...I did hear her muttering 'Big O' over and over again..."

"The Big O?" Otto made his way over to the other couch. "What's he got to do with this?"

"Beats me. Maybe Twi was lying and that's where she came from yesterday! But it wouldn't explain why she looked ragged..." She blinked. "And why lie about going to the Big O's office?"

"Have you seen her today?" Olive asked. 

Mandy shook her head. "Uh-uh. It isn't just Dash that's acting weird, though, it's all the ponies! Like, I asked Pinkie today if she wanted to join me for lunch. Suuuuper-common activity, right, just a partner-to-partner thing! But she declined!" She folded her ears down. "She never declines lunches with me! Kinda tore my heart a little..."

"Something's going on." Olive declared. "If everyone's acting shifty, it should be a cause for alarm."

"Yeah..." Mandy took another swig of her water bottle, a happy sigh escaping her as her thirst was quenched once more. "Can't anything be normal in my life-" -- she spotted Olive and Otto opening their mouths -- "and don't answer that, that is a rhetorical question!!"

The two Directors gave a unisonant disappointed "aww".

Mandy gave a groan. "That's it, that's it! I've made up my mind!" She stood up. "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this faster than I can do an imitation of a pony!"

Olive immediately narrowed her eyes. "If you do one, Mandy, I will see to it myself that you are thrown off the second floor and onto the seal. Face-first." she growled, her tone becoming grating.

Whatever hostility she brought towards her daughter was, of course, brushed off as she simply laughed. "Aww Momma, you're such a jokester!" A snort came forth. "I wasn't planning on doing one, silly, it's an expression!"

"Thank the odds above." came a mutter.

"Aaaaaanyway, the suits are sorted by department. And don't tear them. Toodle-oo!"

With that, the hybrid bounced out of the office, taking the water bottle with her.

"I wanted to see an imitation of a pony!" Otto complained, much to Olive's protest as she shut him up with a low growl.





When Mandy got back, she was stuck in between watching the Mane Six whenever they walked by, and doing her paperwork. She had to admit, though -- doing the former was a nice break from the monotonous activity of the latter.

As she filled in another Form O-135, her ears caught the sound of the steel double-doors opening, and her eyes caught a flash of yellow. She turned her head to the right, and who else did she see but Peaches.

"Cuz!" she cried out, getting up from her seat and giving a relieved sigh. "Jeez, I've been pony-watching so much that it's refreshing to see a human face!" She bounced over to Peaches, her cat smile growing wider and wider. "How's my faaaaaaavorite catgirl, huh huh huh?!"

"I'm...fine."

Mandy's smile faded as she took in Peaches' behavior -- her avoidance of eye contact, her folded ears, and her tired posture. Something was up with her, but what, exactly, was something that Mandy couldn't place.

"Cuz, what's up with you?" the hybrid asked. "You're acting aloof! I-I mean you've always been a lil' aloof, but now you're more aloof than usual! It's like..." She gave a whine, like a dog begging for treats. "I'm being avoided!"

"Avoided?" Peaches blinked, and then shook her head. "N-no, no, of course not! I-I, it..."

This is why you really can't hide stuff from this girl. She's persistent. If I lie to her, it'll be like thrusting a piece of clear glass into her face. She tried to think fast. I have to come up with some excuse, some kind of diversion that will change the track of her mind.

Her expression brightened as an idea began to take shape. "T-tell you what? Why don't we go out, right now? We can...go for a fly, maybe. I still need to get used to riding on your back."

This seemed to be a step in the right direction. Mandy gasped and nodded. "You're on! And I know exactly where we can go!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah!"

With her horn alight, Mandy teleported her and Peaches to a city sidewalk. Peaches stumbled around a little bit, not expecting Mandy to teleport at all. Before she could say anything, however, the hybrid chirped, "C'mon, let's fly!"

"Okay..." the catgirl said, still a little woozy as she climbed onto Mandy's back. "Let's fly..."

She didn't get a chance to reorient herself, as Mandy was already flapping her wings and taking off, a loud and high-pitched "wheeeeeee" sound splitting the air.

Soon, the intended destination came into view.

"Are your eyes closed?"

"Yup!"

Swooping down, Mandy made a perfect landing on her own two feet, not noticing the harsh looks others around her were giving her.

"And we're here!"

As Peaches hopped off, she slowly opened her eyes to find a sleek and circular white building. "Huh? What's this place?" she asked.

"C'mon, follow me!" Mandy chirped, marching forward and not bothering to answer Peaches's question. The catgirl had to admit that she had never seen this building at all, but the air alone was enough to make this a "I'm going to visit this once, and only once" kind of place. She felt unnerved, but her feet allowed her to follow her cousin towards what she could assume were the front doors.

"Halt!" came a booming voice, just a mere second after Mandy had pushed open one of the doors. Her gaze swiveled towards a girl with black hair in twintails, dressed in the same white outfit she had seen other agents in the building wear. She narrowed her piercing hazel eyes. "Who are you?"

"Agent Mandy, of Precinct 13579." the hybrid introduced, as Peaches came up beside her. "This is Peaches, my cousin. We're hoping to see a fellow assistant of yours. Twilight Sparkle?"

Immediately, the girl's expression softened. She gave a surprised gasp. "Oh, Agent Mandy, what an honor! My name's Oriella." Looking around for anyone who might be overhearing the conversation, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can't take you to Twilight, but I'd like to discuss something private with you, outside. Follow me."

Both Peaches and Mandy exchanged surprised glances, but did as they were told, following Oriella out of the building and towards a large fountain that sat smack-dab in the middle of the walkway.

"Is this part of our flight?" Peaches asked Mandy, her voice low.

"Uh-uh." Mandy shook her head. "I dunno what's goin' on!"

"Where even are we right now?"

Mandy giggled and snorted, taking care to make it quieter than usual. "You don't know? This is the Big Office!"

Peaches' entire body went rigid. It was a miracle her legs were still moving, but her brain had otherwise completely shut down. "Wh...the B-B-Big Office?!"

"Yeah! See, all the ponies have been acting super-duper strange lately, and Twilight's been gone from work soooooo much recently! It's not like her!" Mandy exhaled. "So I intend to find out why!"

"No..." She's gonna find out, dear Leo, she's gonna find out and then what? Then what?! "No, Mandy, you can't!"

Her raised voice was enough for Oriella to stop and face the two girls, watching as they conversed with a confused expression on her face.

"Huh? Why not?"

"It's..." Peaches clenched her fist. I can't tell her! If I do...it's gonna spell disaster for the Big O! But it's not like I can lie...not with her... She flashed back to a time when Mandy had told a crowd of eager agents how her cousin often flicks an ear when she lies, much to their amazement as she boasted that -- and Peaches could quote this accurately from memory -- "no lie gets by me", followed by a noblewoman's laugh that haunted her for weeks afterwards.

She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't have a choice. Mandy killing the Big O be damned -- it was inevitable, and no one could stop it.

"Twilight is working for the Big O!"

The shout was more than enough for a few assistants to look towards the duo, although they didn't say anything, presumably because Oriella was with them. Oriella herself, in fact, only served to get even more confused as to why Peaches was stating the obvious to Mandy, but decided to let them iron out whatever kinks they had.

Mandy's blue eyes reduced to complete pinpricks. You might as well have told her Otto took the joke from when he and Olive were promoted completely seriously and marrying Olive, she was so floored.

"T-T-T-Twilight...Twilight got promoted?!" she cried out, glancing at Peaches' face for any sign of her expression turning more lighthearted. Maybe she would burst into laughter and explain how she was just kidding. Or maybe she would say sure, Twilight got promoted, but not to the Big Office...really, what were the chances that Pinkie Pie would get promoted by the Big O himself, then Twilight? They had to be slim. Slim as a sheet of paper from the Shmumbermart.

Her face fell slowly, ever so slowly, after a few moments. The realization slowly dawned on her.

"You're dead serious!"

Peaches could only respond by burying her head in her hands.

"Why did no one tell me?! I feel like I have a right to know these things as second-in-command, y'know! And what did I say about keeping secrets from me?!"

Peaches began to tremble, now. Quiet sobs wracked her body as she collapsed to the ground on her knees.

"Cuz?"

It was at this point that Oriella figured she should intervene, even though she knew this was likely more of a personal issue she had no business butting her way into. "Are you two all right?" she asked, making her way over to them.

"I'm fi- whoa!"

Mandy didn't get to finish her sentence before she felt herself being pulled into the grasp of her cousin, who hugged her tightly. Only three words danced on her lips in a quiet whisper.

"Don't kill him..."

"Kill who?" Mandy rubbed her head. "Nngh...my head's spinnin' more than a top! Just tell me what's goin' on! You've gone this far!"

"I'll tell you what's happening, Mandy." Oriella piped up. "It's true. Twilight Sparkle was promoted to the role of Big O's Head Assistant a couple days ago. But...the Big O doesn't treat his assistants well. I speak from experience as one of them."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been his assistant for years. I've served by his side and carried out his orders both big and small. But he..." Oriella stared at the ground. "He isn't the nicest boss I've had. And he isn't a nice boss to Twilight, either."

"What did he do?" Mandy tilted her head.

"Well, for one, he...banned magic and flying from here." Oriella glanced at Mandy's folded-up wings. "And he also banned Twilight from returning to Equestria."

"What?!" Mandy's cry was nearly a scream. "Why?!"

"He's always had a hatred towards ponies. When ponies first arrived in Toronto, he took an immediate dislike to them. He said that the world of Equestria and its inhabitants were freak shows of nature, that they don't belong in sharing a world with Toronto. He allowed ponies to enroll in the Odd Squad Academy, but he would 'block out' any precinct that hired them and wouldn't provide any supplies or services for those precincts. He would...disown them, in a sense."

Mandy was so taken aback by this explanation that she was forced to repeat both of her questions. "What...why?! Ponies and humans live in harmony here! They can be great Odd Squad agents! Twilight and her friends are living proof of that!"

Oriella continued. "When the Big O found out about Twilight and her friends staying at Precinct 13579, he planned on blocking out the precinct, but saw something in Twilight particularly during her time at the Academy. He did still hate ponies, of course, but realized that they were still horses deep down -- after all, ponies are just small horses. So he decided to tame the ones he deemed fit."

"Tame them?" Mandy blinked. "Like use them for horseback riding and stuff?"

"In a sense, yes. To replace the little cars that we have."

It didn't matter what Oriella threw at her. Mandy wasn't making any heads or tails of this situation. She knew the concept of riding horses -- she'd be lying if she didn't say she used to try and ride the Mane Six when she was little -- but taming Equestrian ponies for this purpose seemed...weird. After all, Toronto had regular-looking horses too, and what was wrong with using those horses for the things humans had domesticated them to do for centuries? Why the ponies of Equestria?

Unless there was something more to this. Something that she was missing.

She glanced towards Peaches, still distraught, and decided to hold off on her questions to her, instead turning her attention back to Oriella. "But why? Seems a lil' contradictory, to hate ponies and yet want to use them for such a mundane task."

"Well, it's only the ponies that weren't unicorns. Any pony that was one...would be eaten."

Mandy suddenly felt sick, in a way that only matched that time when she drank a whole bottle of Shmumbotussin and was vomiting in the bathroom for hours, because she almost never got that sick. Her mind flashed to Rarity, on a silver platter, being gazed at by the Big O and all of his assistants, forks and knives in their hands as they made jabs about how she looked like a tasty marshmallow...it was terrifying to think about. "H-h-he's gonna...eat Twi...?"

"No. Twilight's an alicorn. So he wants to tame her into being a regular horse."

"That's..." Mandy shook her head vigorously to cleanse the horrible imagery of Rarity about to be eaten from her mind. "That's awful! That's not the kind of regime that Odd Squad should have!"

"Cuz, wait!" Mandy glanced at Peaches, who stared at her with bloodshot eyes. "The Big O...he's been conspiring with the king of my village. King Ashero."

Ohhhh, well, this day just couldn't get any stinkin' worse, could it?! You got any more wild n' crazy info you wanna throw at me, world?! Mandy's brain screamed at her in a fit of frustration. The emotion she was actually feeling, however, was entirely different. "The same king that kicked you out...he's working with the Big O?! Why?!"

"I have no idea. Oprah and I talked about it, and...we think that he wants to use the Big O to further his own plans." Peaches explained. "See, the king is a coward. A pathetic coward, at that. He sends those he leads to do his dirty work for him, without getting his own butt off of the throne. It's partly why he sent me away instead of finding who burned down Vallea himself. So he wants the Big O to carry out his own ambitions."

If it weren't for her innate curiosity keeping her afloat right now, Mandy's brain would have completely and utterly shut down. Absolutely nothing Peaches said made sense. What plans? To find out who destroyed Vallea? I don't think the Big O really has the time to be goin' on some crazy search party for some random culprit...and I don't think he'd send his assistants to find the culprit for him.

...No wait, maybe he would. He's a busy kid. There has to be a gajillion assistants in there. He can spare a few.

Her mind was swimming with questions, but she chose to focus on a simple one. "How did the King even get in contact with the Big O?"

"Th-that's not really important." Peaches responded. "Furthermore...Twilight had a dream last night, about the Big O and you fighting. It was really vivid, she said. And in it, you..." Her voice began to crack. "You killed him!"

"I what?"

"Y-you took your hammer, and rammed it so far down his throat...and you killed him. And then..." Tears began to spill. "You turned on Oprah, for calling out his name..."

The breath was taken clear out of the hybrid. She wasn't sure what to say. She thought back to her battle with Cherry Moriarty, and how she had spared her life. Am I so violent that people think I'll kill villains without hesitation? Her own tears began to come forth, and spilled onto the ground.

She knew she had to say something, but only one thing came out. "C-cuz-"

"You wouldn't really do that...would you?" The question came from Oriella, who gazed at the hybrid with concern. "The Big O is more powerful than he might appear to be. If he really wanted to, he could kill someone."

Mandy began to choke up. Like Peaches, she too collapsed to the ground, her eyes becoming glazed over. "I wouldn't..." She glanced up at the sky, cloudy and depressing -- fitting for someone who now felt like she was just a mindless killing machine when it came to those she opposed. If she had a kill count, she would be chastised and outcast. But she was the most beloved agent of the organization. And no person would love an agent of Odd Squad with a kill count.

The words came out before she could stop herself. "Cuz, I don't kill! Ever!" She sniffled. "At most, I...I seriously hurt those who have hurt my friends. I make them suffer. I teach them a lesson about what happens to those who dare cross the path of those I care for most. But I never kill!"

Her final four words echoed into the air, with some assistants turning their heads to look. Once again, none of them bothered to intervene. The echo lingered for what seemed like a long time, as Mandy now began to sob, every inch of her body quivering. Peaches and Oriella could only watch, their hearts aching as they wanted to help her, but didn't really know how.

Luckily, they didn't need to -- Mandy stopped herself after just a few minutes. She stood up and gave a mighty sniffle. "ENOUGH!" she called out, before taking a few footsteps towards the building once more. "I'm..."

"What are you gonna do?" Oriella asked, her eyes widening.

Mandy's gaze turned rigid, steely, and hard. "I'm gonna go confront him myself." was all she said before she began marching the rest of the way without a second glance.

"Cuz, no!"

"Peaches, stay behind. It's an order!" Mandy barked, although her sharp and serious facade started to crumble when she choked up and added, "FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!"

Her walk turned into a run, and both girls knew there was no way to persuade her to turn around.

"Oriella..." 

Peaches stayed on the ground, gazing at the Big O's assistant with her bloodshot eyes.

"Call Precinct 13579."

Oriella nodded, and hastily unclipped her badge phone to make the call.





Assistants were startled by the sound and the sight of Mandy thrusting open the doors and sprinting down the hall. Some of them even stumbled and fell.

"Halt!" one of them called.

"There's no time!" Mandy called back, not bothering to see who had tried to stop her. No, she was a hybrid on a mission, now. Her wings spread, and she went from her feet being on the ground to her feet dangling in the air as she soared down hallway after hallway.

Finally, she reached his door. And she slammed that sucker wide open as loud and as commanding as she could possibly make it.

The Big O didn't even flinch, instead looking up from his paperwork with a small "hm?"

Mandy landed and folded her wings in. "Big O."

Her venomous greeting was either completely lost on him, or he just didn't care. "Oh, Agent Mandy. Fancy seeing you here. To what do I owe the..." His mouth curved into a smile. "...pleasure?"

"You promoted Agent Twilight Sparkle to the role and rank of 'Big O's Head Assistant'. Do I have that right?"

"Yes. I must say, it was quite a shame you weren't there."

"Mm. Yes. Quite a shame indeed." This smug socksucker's gonna play hard-to-get-under-the-skin, huh? Mkay. Two can play at that game. "Now, I must ask you. Is it true..."

She straightened her posture and pointed at her leader.

"...that you are working with King Ashero of Vallea?"

The Big O's eyes widened, certainly not expecting Mandy to figure that out. Still, his shock wore off after only a mere couple seconds. "King Ashero? Vallea?" He scoffed. "I must say, for a dimwitted equine abomination like you, you have smarts. I might as well come clean, then."

A long while ago, Mandy would have been insulted at being called dimwitted. Nowadays, she had been called that so much that the insult -- whether used in a lighthearted manner, like with her friends, or used in a mocking manner, like the Big O just did -- barely fazed her. She blinked, and waited.

"See, I took in Twilight Sparkle as my assistant so that I could eventually tame her to be my workhorse." The Big O sighed. "Getting around as a child in an adult's world is just so incredibly hard to do these days, and those little toy cars simply won't do. So, it has been my personal goal to transform those tiny equines that litter Toronto into workhorses that can ultimately help Odd Squad become a better place to work."

"So what about King Ashero?"

"He had goals, and so did I. He wants to capture and bring one of his own back to his village for their failure in finding who razed it, and I want to help Odd Squad which just so happens to house one of his own...and something more."

Now it was Mandy's turn to widen her eyes. It was one thing for King Ashero to kick her cousin out, but it was another thing entirely to want to force her to come back just for not having found who destroyed Vallea. She's in danger. Peaches is in danger. And that means...Precinct 13579 is in danger! Momma and Otto's precinct, too! I have to do something!

No. Not right now. If I can defeat the Big O and take him down, then I can do something. Peaches is fine, she's out there with Oriella. She's fine.

"He wants to bring Peaches back to Vallea?" was the question she settled on asking.

"Hmm?" The Big O tilted his head. "Seems like you really do know who he's looking for. This will be wonderful news for him! I'm sure Odd Squad will benefit well from losing a mutated equine agent -- surprise surprise, he wants you back as well!"

He wants Peaches...and me? Why me? Did he figure out that we're family? So many questions swirled about in Mandy's mind, but she was forced to shunt them off to the side. In the event that she needed to battle the Big O, she needed her mind clear. Oriella's warning wasn't one she was going to take lightly.

Still, there was one question she wanted to pose. "Then why didn't you fire me when you had the chance? You have the power to control all of Odd Squad, and yet, you let me stay. Why?"

"Because you were a human."

Mandy took a deep breath. "Let me...rephrase." She cleared her throat. "When I became a pony-human hybrid, why did you let me stay?"

"You are an alicorn, are you not? The same race that Twilight is?"

"Yes..."

"I had initially planned to tame you as well. But, unlike with Twilight, I needed to do more research on you first." The Big O's gaze bore into her. "Because you, Mandy, are an abomination, a mutated human being. It's unlikely you could ever be tamed into a full-bred workhorse." He smiled. "But I had hope. Hope that perhaps, one day, you would reveal your true equine form to the masses and stay in that form as a more comfortable option. Then...you could be tamed."

"You're never going to tame me. I'm human just like you!"

The Big O merely laughed at this. "Not anymore you're not! That transformation you went through proves otherwise. You have pony blood in you now."

By this point, Mandy wasn't fazed by what her boss's boss was saying. Words tumbled out of her without her even thinking. "Don't you understand what 'hybrid' means? It's a mix of two things. I am a mix of a pony, and a human being. And I was born a human!" She scoffed. "I'm more human than pony, anyway. Even if I have pony blood in me, I can't transform into one. And even if I have pony blood in me, that doesn't mean I'm just a pony, or just a human! It's possible to be both! And Peaches...she's a catgirl. A mix of a cat, and a human. And she's human just like me!" She didn't bother to bring the fact that Peaches shapeshifted often into the discussion. "You have such a black-and-white viewpoint that it clouds your thinking. You refuse to have any sort of moral standards! You want a regime where humans thrive, and ponies are their meek and weak subordinates."

She pulled her hammer from her back and slammed the head of it onto the ground.

"Well I refuse to let that happen! As long as I'm alive, I'll never let you go through with your stupid plan."

"Hmm. Quite a disappointment. Even in spite of your monologue." The Big O shrugged. "No matter!" He pulled out his own weapon from his back, a medium-sized gadget that looked similar to a laser gun. "It's lucky I had my assistants make this all-purpose gadget in order to protect myself. Absolutely no mutated being in existence can survive this baby."

Whether it was from being referred to as a "mutated being" again or it was from the Big O just casually shrugging off her words, Mandy was fed up with him. Her body became engulfed in flames -- the form that most of her enemies feared, but that her newest enemy was completely indifferent to.

And then, she snapped.

With a mighty, almost primal roar, she dashed towards him, but teleported before she got more than halfway to him.

"Aww, now isn't that sweet. All bark and completely no bi-"

He heard a chomping sound, and then felt a searing pain in his left shoulder.

A yell left him as he swung his body around, trying to get her to release her grip on him. However, Mandy was persistent, and each swing only allowed her to sink her teeth deeper and deeper into him.

"Let go of my shoulder!" he cried out, feeling like he was being mauled by a rabid dog.

A couple of assistants who had heard the chaos came rushing into the room, and gasped when they took in the sight of what was happening, immediately backing up and resigning to just peeking inside.

"Harder!" Mandy could feel blood begin to tickle her taste buds. The quivers of the Big O's body delighted her in a rather twisted and sadistic way, and she began to apply more pressure, hoping she would reach bone, or better yet, some kind of nerve that would disable his entire arm. Who knows -- she didn't really know much about the logistics of the human body.

Finally, she decided to let go when she had failed in hitting a nerve, leaping backwards and levitating her hammer towards her so she could grasp it. "Ha, I should equip my hammer with a bite feature!" she said, turning her head to the left and spitting out some metallic-tasting blood.

The Big O clutched his shoulder in pain, his body still trembling. Unfortunately, that left him open to Mandy's attacks, as he found his gut suddenly being slammed with the blunt force of a hammer, sending his body careening towards the other side and colliding with a wall to the extent that it became slightly dented. He slumped down to the floor, one eye closed despite it not having been injured and giving small pained grunts.

"C'mon." Mandy taunted. "Oriella said you were powerful. She said you could kill someone if you wanted to. I guess those were bold-faced lies!"

A laugh escaped her as she twirled her hammer around in her hand like a yo-yo once again before making a complete beeline for the Big O like it was a Black Friday sale and she really wanted that 48'' TV.

"Your reign of terror ends today, kiddo."

And with that, she performed her finishing move.

Unfortunately, the Big O wasn't down for the count, and despite his choking, he managed to grab ahold of his gadget and fire it.

It was a direct hit, one that let Mandy have a taste of her own medicine as she went soaring across the room. Her body hit the floor once, twice, and then rolled a little bit before coming to a dead stop. She could hear her hammer clatter on the floor as well, although where it was, she didn't know.

Heaving a sigh, the Big O slowly stood up, shaking his body vigorously as if all of his wounds were just ones of flesh. "Nothing more than a dent!" he said. "Can't say the same for you, though. Quite typical of a mutated being. They always end up weaker than their healthier counterparts."

"Stop spittin' up fertilizer..."

Mandy, with a tremendous amount of effort, began to stand up.

"'Cause I'm not done yet, either!"

Once she was on her feet, she ran. She grabbed her hammer and ran at the Big O, with no set attack in mind. All that was flashing through her brain was: Bash his face. Make him suffer. Walk away a winner. 

Fifteen minutes later, Oprah and the ponies arrived at the Big Office. The same went for Olive and Otto, who received Oprah's message in turn.

"I can't believe you cracked and told her!" Oprah said to Peaches as the group (plus Oriella) ran through the halls.

"I'm sorry, I didn't have a choice! I'll explain later!" Peaches responded, beginning to book it so that she was ahead of the group, like it was a track-and-field race and she was going to be the winner.

As a couple assistants were leaving a nearby room, they were startled by a sudden cry of "It's over this way!" from Otto, causing them to give their own cries of surprise in response.

The sound of a laser blast caused Oprah to dig her heels into the floor, coming to a stop directly in the doorway of the Big O's office. She made her way in, as did the others, but everyone decided to remain pressed up against the wall, noting that, based on the small dots and splatters of blood and their locations, it was a generally small battlefield.

Still, that didn't mean a lot hadn't supposedly happened within those fifteen minutes.

Both Mandy and the Big O were bloodied and badly beaten. In those fifteen minutes, they had exchanged blow after blow with their weapons, each one delivering more wounds than the last. Neither one of them had expected their battle to go on for hours -- or at least, that's how long they thought they were battling for -- but one thing was made abundantly clear: it was all going to end soon.

Mandy charged up her horn for another mega-blast of magic. She reared her head upwards and then fired, sending the Big O stumbling backwards a few steps before collapsing on his knees.

"Down on your knees. Like a subordinate." Mandy chuckled, either not caring or not noticing that the tip of her horn was starting to blacken. "Funny twist of irony, hmm?"

"You're dead, Mandy."

"It's been a long battle, Big O. I'd like to see you try and kill me!" She grabbed her hammer and twirled it around in her hand again. "Nothing gets past my hammer. Nothing at a-"

Her boast was immediately cut off by a blast of magic aimed right at her hand, sending her hammer flying backwards and colliding with the floor. She clutched her hand in pain, her eardrums picking up on the sound of her weapon clattering to the floor once again.

"Her hammer!" The words were only but a whisper on Peaches' lips as her eyes shrunk to pinpricks.

"Mandy likely doesn't have much magic in her as it is. She's in a weakened state. If she's going to keep fighting, it has to be with her hammer." Oprah mused.

"But the Big O's weakened too, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Right, but..."

"The Big O may be powerful, but he's still just a kid. The fact that he's withstanding all of this is...honestly incredible." Oriella remarked. "I had no idea Mandy was such a competent fighter."

"Trust me, my partner's taken down tougher foes than this one!" Pinkie boasted. "The big chiefaroni is nothin'!"

The group watched as Mandy extended her tail until she was able to pick up the hammer with it. It was a power that was certainly common, with Pinkie possessing similar prehensility in her own tail, and it was a power that was very well-known by agents, especially with Mandy's frequent comedic antics.

The Big O could only watch as the hybrid's tail delivered her own weapon back to her. "What..."

"Oh, this?" Mandy let fly a mighty noblewoman's laugh as she showed her enemy her gift. "It's my prehensile tail! Agent Pinkie Pie taught me how to use that skill. You know, one of the ponies you so badly wanna tame?"

She threw her hammer up into the air, the Big O watching it spin and spin before gravity took over and she caught it in her hand again.

"So anyway, we'll make this quick. There's one thing I ask of you."

"No...she's gonna kill him..." Peaches took a step forward.

"Resign."

Peaches blinked.

A guttural growl rumbled about in the Big O's throat, easily heard by Mandy. "And why...would I do that?"

She pointed her hammer towards him. "Because I can send you flying to the next galaxy." She winced as a metallic taste stung her tongue again, and she spit off to her left before continuing. "You underestimate me, boss. I'm not just your average rinky-dink agent. I have done far worse to villains and particularly nasty agents alike, so you'd best take this opportunity to heed my words."

The Big O grunted in pain, squeezing his eyes tight. Although he wouldn't admit it, the rush of adrenaline was slowly wearing off, and all he could feel was some of the worst pain imaginable.

"Face it. You can't fight anymore." Mandy, by contrast, still had adrenaline flowing through her veins, her brain refusing to let her quit until her enemy had rightfully conceded.

For one final attack, the Big O aimed his gadget at Mandy and fired.

A miss, although it grazed her hair bow.

She rushed over to him as fast as her wings would carry her, grabbed his arm, and twisted it with enough force to break at least one bone inside it. In response, he gave a cry of pain.

"Don't try anything funny!" the hybrid warned, baring her teeth and becoming almost nose-to-nose with him.

"Oprah...she's gonna kill him." Peaches murmured, feeling her legs begin to shake.

"Hold on." the Director advised. "The place is a wreck. Both fighters are on their last legs. Let Mandy and the Big O work this out."

"But why, darling?" Rarity asked.

"This is their fight. We shouldn't get involved until the timing is right."

All Peaches had in response to that was a soft whine. She felt utterly helpless, and wanted to help...but at the same time, she placed enough faith in Oprah's judgment to follow her lead. Swallowing the small lump in her throat, she looked on as a bystander, not noticing that a hefty crowd of assistants had gathered outside the door.

Another blast of alicorn magic sent the Big O's way caused his body to once again start flying towards the other side of the room in what was a case of near-deja vu. A scream left him that was immediately cut off when his back collided with the dented wall, as he remained in a standing position for a few moments before landing on his feet, stumbling about like a drunkard, and collapsing onto the floor.

Mandy's horn began to sizzle, like someone had put a fresh steak on a hot grill. "I'm giving you an out and yet you still try to fight? Pathetic." she spat, not noticing that she too was stumbling.

The Big O's eyes slowly opened, although his vision was hazy, and Mandy was nothing more than a blurred figure.

"Stop this. I don't want to fight anymore." the hybrid rasped. "Your regime is nothing but harmful and will bring Odd Squad down to its knees. I'm not going to allow that to happe- aah!"

The adrenaline was now starting to wear off for Mandy. She was only faintly aware of her bloody wounds and her broken bones -- although which bones were broken, she wasn't too sure. Her legs began to wobble whenever she stood still, which wasn't for longer than two seconds as she continued to stumble around the room.

"Please. We're both injured. If we keep going like this...one of us is going to die."

More pain rocketed through the Big O as he gave a low growl in response, his eyes only showing defiance.

"All I want is for you to resign. And while you're at it, tell me what King Ashero is planning to do."

Oriella blinked. "She's...sparing his life?"

"Mandy's always been a pacifist like that." Otto explained. "She never kills."

"F-fine!" The Big O grunted. "Fine. He's...he wants to take...Peaches and you...back...for failing...to find who...burned Vallea down."

"And what will he do with us?"

"Don't...know..."

A pained huff left Mandy's lungs. "Of course-" She was interrupted again by another bolt of pain, to which she let out a hearty cry, gripping her arm tight. Her horn began to shoot out loose sparks of magic. "My magic's completely drained..." She sighed. "Just resign. Odd Squad will go easy on you if you resign from your position as the Big O."

"N-neve- aah!"

A gushing sound filled Mandy's ears, although she wasn't sure whether she was imagining things or not. Her vision started to grow hazy, but she could see that her enemy's left arm was spewing out blood at a rather fantastical rate. "Blood..." she whispered.

With a wobble, down went the second contender on her knees.

"J-just resign...we can't fight anymore...we're both badly injured..." she wheezed, feeling her eyes slowly starting to close but some unknown equal force fighting to keep them open.

"She's going to die!" Olive's voice was practically a scream, although she didn't care who heard her or what happened. 

Oprah went to restrain her before she could rush over to Mandy and ruin the chance for the fight to conclude in a proper manner. "Pinkie, Fluttershy, find Twilight. Free her if you have to, and bring her back to Headquarters."

The two mares nodded and quickly dashed off, dodging the large crowd of assistants (who were giving confused murmurs) as best they could.

"I can't believe it...this is where Mandy's life is gonna end!" Otto remarked, feeling tears start to prick at the corner of his eyes.

"Rainbow Dash, fly over to the Academy and get the Odd Squad Doctors. Now!"

Rainbow nodded at Oprah's next command, speeding off and leaving a rainbow trail behind.

"What about us, darling?" Rarity asked, gesturing to her and Applejack.

"Stay here."

"Fine!" came the final cry from the Big O, followed by a grunt. "I'll...I'll..."

"Resign...!" Mandy coughed. "Oh good..."

A few more pained breaths, a mighty exhale, and with another collapse, she went from kneeling to lying down, her hammer loosening from her grip.

Her eyes began to close, for good, now. The force that was making them stay open had mysteriously vanished. She gambled with the pain that throbbed all over her body to give a few parting words, her mouth forming into a smile.

"Thank you...for making the right decision."

She could have sworn she heard Olive cry out her name before she lost consciousness.





Mandy's eyes slowly opened.

Her view was that of a white rectangular-tiled ceiling, a bright light illuminating the room.

"Oh thank Leo, she's waking up!"

...Peach...?

She tried to sit up, but a bout of pain stopped that in an instant. She grit her teeth together, but it didn't stop a small, high-pitched cry of pain from eking out.

"Don't sit up just yet." urged a voice that she could identify as belonging to Oprah. "You must be in a lot of pain."

"Where's...the Big O..." she wheezed, her lungs still feeling constricted.

"The Big O is resting up in the Medical building of the Academy." Olive spoke, now. "He's in pretty bad shape, but he's expected to make a full recovery."

Dr. O, hunched over a jar of cotton balls, turned around. "Mandy took some bad hits during her fight with the Big O." he explained to the group. "It will take her a few days to reach a functioning point in her recovery."

"Just as long as she's not dead!" Olive said, holding a hand to her heart.

"According to my analysis, she experienced a 'power-strain blackout'. Once her magic went, she began to gradually lose energy until she eventually collapsed and fainted. Adrenaline was a major factor in keeping her going, but once it wore off, that was it."

"Will her magic ever be restored? Fully?" Oprah asked.

"Not for a few more days, which is why I'll be keeping her here for today and monitoring her magic levels as she rests in the Bedroom beginning tomorrow."

That's right...I'm in a hospital bed. Dr. O's office. I'm back home. Mandy could see now that Olive, Otto, Peaches and Oprah had all come to see her, but there were no signs of the ponies anywhere.

"T-Twilight..." she rasped.

"Twilight is fine, Mandy." Olive smiled. "Rest assured, we'll tell you all the details when you get better, all right? For now, I'm just glad you're okay."

Mandy tried to smile, but she couldn't. Instead, her eyes began to involuntarily close again as a soft hum left her.

"Thank you, Dr. O."

"You should be thanking Agent Rainbow Dash." Dr. O explained to Olive. "If she hadn't alerted the Odd Squad Doctors, we never would have been able to get Mandy any treatment, and she likely wouldn't have even survived the fight."

Oprah couldn't resist giving a smug smile for being the one with the quick commanding skills. "Come on. Let's give Mandy and Dr. O some breathing room." She beckoned Olive, Peaches and Otto to follow her out of the Medical Bay.

As Olive closed the door, Otto asked, "So who's gonna be the new Big O?"

"I'm not sure. Many of the assistants I spoke to tell me they want Mandy to be the new Big O, but..." She glanced down at the ground and awkwardly rubbed her forearm, falling silent.

"You don't want to let her go." Olive murmured, an understanding smile settling on her face.

Oprah's eyes widened, and she gazed at Olive for a few moments before shaking her head and giving a bout of nervous laughter. "No, no, I-I don't mind, really, I mean she's free to do what she wants, and..."

Olive and Otto both gave her skeptical looks.

"All right, fine, I don't want her to go." Oprah conceded. "It's just that...Mandy's been the heart of this precinct for as long as she's been an agent. When times were tough, Mandy helped pull us back up. She's helped us so much, and she's one of my best agents in part because of that. And if I lose her...I don't know who will be a more worthy second-in-command."

Peaches flicked an ear. "Why don't we let Mandy herself make a choice when she recovers? Odd Squad can still mostly function without a Big O." Her eyes widened slightly, and she absentmindedly scratched her cheek. "Uh, I-I'm sure."

"I guess..."

"Hey, look on the bright side. The Big O is defeated, and his plans are effectively squashed into the ground too." Otto said, before his expression brightened and he snapped his fingers, an idea forming in his head. "Why don't you take advantage of these days of Mandy's recovery to alert other precincts of what went down?"

"Yeah! Otto and I plan on doing just that when we get back to our own precinct." Olive nodded. "It'll be nice to spread the word."

"That's not a bad idea. It would be weird for only us to be in the loop on what happened. I'll go do that now."

Oprah began making her way towards her office just a couple doors down, but not before snatching a fruit punch juice box from hammerspace and beginning to guzzle it like mad.

"I hope she'll be all right." Peaches mused.

"Ah, she'll be fine." Otto waved a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, Oprah always tends to bounce back from most situations eventually. Everything will be fine in no time!"

In spite of Olive's encouragement, however, no one could deny the fear that was clawing at their insides and securing a vicegrip on their hearts.

The fear that Mandy might leave them, to ascend to a higher position for the sake of the organization that was the only family she ever knew.





Surprisingly -- or perhaps unsurprisingly, given who this was -- Mandy made a relatively quick recovery. Just like Dr. O said, she got better in only a week, although it was clear her broken bones and her wounds needed more time to heal than that.

She gave a soft moan as her eyes opened once again, this time her vision meeting a different white ceiling with star and moon stickers plastered on it. Her moan turned into a soft hum as she began to regain consciousness, recognizing exactly where she was. The Bedroom, after all, was one of her most frequented places.

"Ugh, my head...what even happened..." she murmured, her gaze sweeping the room as she ran a hand through her hair. Her bow was gone -- a sensation that felt weird to her since she wore it every day and every night, from the time she woke up to the time she went to bed.

The door opened, and Dr. O walked in. "Hmm? Oh, you're awake!" A relieved sigh escaped his lips. "With your sleeping habits, I assumed you'd be knocked out for a month, at least."

Mandy started to say something, but the second she opened her mouth, a yawn interrupted her.

"How are you feeling, Mandy?"

"Well, I have a headache..."

"Here, take these." Dr. O reached behind his back and pulled out a small cup with two round white pills inside of it, "and here's a glass of water."

Mandy took the pills without hesitation, tossing them into her mouth and drinking the entire cup of water. She gave a satisfied sigh when she was finished.

"Other than that, are you feeling okay?"

"For the most part..."

"According to diagnostic reports, your magic is now completely restored. In the future, try not to strain yourself so hard." Dr. O smiled.

"Well, in all fairness, the battle did last a long time. Like, really long!"

"I'm sure." Dr. O gestured towards the door. "Now, I believe there are some agents who wish to see you."

Mandy gasped, feeling 99% correct in knowing who the "some agents" were. "Take me to 'em!" she chirped, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and wincing when a bolt of pain shot through them. Much to her surprise, they weren't broken during the battle -- a result of the Big O aiming well above her legs for all of his attacks. Her gut area and chest area, on the other hand, as well as her left arm, didn't fare off so well. Her arm was in a well-wrapped cast with a support brace, while gauze was wrapped tightly around her stomach. She looked like she completely half-assed making a mummy costume.

Grunting, she followed Dr. O out of the Bedroom, excitement flowing through her.





"Dr. O's taking a while..." Olive heaved a sigh.

"Aww, don't worry." Otto reassured, his mouth stuffed full of pancakes. "He'll be out shoon, I'm shure!"

Sure enough, as soon as he swallowed his bite, Dr. O emerged from the hallway and met the group of nine in the Breakroom. "Hi, guys! Sorry for the long wait."

Trailing behind him was none other than Mandy herself, who gave a meek wave.

"Mandy!" came the joyous unisonant cry, as everyone quickly gathered around her like paparazzi gathering around an out-and-about celebrity. Of course, unlike most paparazzi, the group took extra care not to aggravate her wounds.

"C'mere, you!" Olive scooped up her daughter in a ferocious hug.

Oh odd, is this what it feels like when I hug people?! It was a question she had asked before, but for some reason, it only existed as a brief thought before flying out of an ear. Olive's hugs, however, could easily rival hers. She began to choke, pain rocketing through her body again. "Ow, M-Momma, not so hard...choking, choking, no air, much pain!"

"Oh! Sorry!" Olive gave a sheepish smile as she set Mandy down. "I'm just so happy you've gotten better!"

"We all are."

Mandy's head swiveled towards Oprah and Twilight, the latter of whom approached the hybrid in a surprisingly stable state and gave a smile.

"Twilight! Oh, you're okay!" Mandy smiled. "Thank goodness. I was kinda slipping into unconsciousness, but I coulda sworn I heard somethin' about chains and cages..." It had been a faint memory at best, but both words were etched into her mind. Her eyes widened, the smile faded from her face, and she gasped as she came to a realization. "You weren't..."

"I was." Twilight sadly nodded. "The Big O had me chained up in a magic-proof cage until he could 'domesticate' me. Luckily, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy came and rescued me, and they told me about your fight with the Big O." She sighed and took a seat on the floor, burying her face in her hooves. "It was awful being his assistant. He banned magic and flying, and he didn't let me go back to Equestria at all!"

"Well, I gave him the what-for, so he won't be messing you anymore! It's a Pinkie Promise!" Mandy eagerly went through the motions.

"I don't know what I would have done if I had stayed as his assistant, or what would've happened to me, but...it was like I couldn't speak up, unless I wanted to lose my job." Twilight gazed at her friend with hope shimmering in her violet eyes. "Thank you, Mandy. You saved me."

"Aww, no prob! What're friends for?" Mandy smiled and knelt down as the pair exchanged a long hug, Twilight making sure to avoid touching her bandaged arm in the process.

"Mandy?" Oprah piped up. "After the battle, I spoke to the Big O's assistants about finding a replacement for him, and...a lot of them want you to step up."

"Me?" The hybrid broke free and stood back up, wincing slightly at the strange sensation that briefly rocketed through her legs.

"I'll admit, I really don't want you to leave. You've worked in this precinct for a long time, and I know it's practically like a home to you. But after thinking it over, I've realized that it's ultimately your decision. And I won't stop you if you do decide to become the new head of Odd Squad."

Mandy blinked. She looked from Twilight to the rest of the group, all giving her looks of pity and sadness. They might as well have just flexed their archery skills and shot arrows at her heart, the looks were so piercing. It almost made her want to cry.

But leaving Precinct 13579...it was a laughable prospect.

Becoming the leader of every single Odd Squad precinct on the entire planet Earth...that was even more of a laughable prospect.

And so, she laughed.

Her lungs ached after a few seconds, no thanks to her still-broken ribs, but she let her body ride her through the motions of laughter as she tried to imagine herself as the Big O, dealing with agents and oddness and sending the organization into complete and utter chaos on the first day. Whatever sadness came with the thought of leaving behind the agents who were essentially her family was easily trumped.

"Huh? What's so funny?" Oprah tilted her head.

Finally, with a snort, Mandy pointed. "Ahh, Oprah, you're funny!" She downgraded to snickering. "What makes you think this tail's headin' out that door for good? I don't wanna be the Big O!" Straightening up, she wiped her tears away. "All that responsibility of every single precinct in the world on my shoulders...it's terrifying to think about!"

Oprah's eyes widened. "So you're...staying here?"

"Yup! Bein' an Investigation agent's what I love to do the most, and Precinct 13579's where I love to do it, so that's where I'm stayin'!"

Sighs of relief rippled through the group. Oprah, however, looked about ready to cry. "You don't know how happy I am to hear that." Her voice was a near-whisper, and it was only on the last word that tears began falling down her face. 

"Oprah, you're...you're crying!"

"I know." She stepped forward and enveloped Mandy in a hug, which surprised her but still left her open to accept it and hug her back.

"Wait. Who's gonna replace the Big O if you're not gonna step up?" Otto asked, just before Olive nudged him in an effort to get him to stop ruining the mood.

Luckily, Mandy didn't care too much. A knowing smile formed on her face. "I may have a likely candidate in mind!"





"With all that being said, it is with pleasure and joy that I pronounce Oriella as the new Big O of Odd Squad!"

Cheers and claps erupted from the audience to such an extent they were almost deafening. Still, once she was zapped with the Big-O-inator gadget and her assistant uniform was transformed into that of an agent in the position of Big O, Oriella marched forward, taking her spot at the podium as Mandy moved off to the side. She looked out over the audience, at the view of the walkway that lined the Big Office's entrance, and smiled.

"Thank you!" She cleared her throat. "I-I've served as the Big O's assistant for a long time, and like other assistants, I always followed his lead because it would mean that I would lose my job otherwise. When I told Mandy the truth about him and saw her fighting him to protect Odd Squad, I knew exactly how bad my...no, our boss had become. His goals would not benefit our fair organization, and it certainly didn’t fit our modus operandi of 'all are equal, and all belong'." Her head swiveled towards Mandy. "I want to thank Mandy for that. And I promise, as long as I am the Big O, I will work to make Odd Squad a rightful organization, a fair organization, one that treats humans and ponies of equal measure! Now let me hear you say it!"

"All are equal, and all belong!" the crowd roared, before going into another round of eardrum-shattering cheers and applause.

Oriella stepped off of the podium and rushed over to hug Mandy -- perhaps her ten-millionth hug today. The hybrid didn't know; she stopped counting. "Thank you, Mandy. For not only saving all of us assistants, but the entirety of Odd Squad. You are always welcome at the Big Office anytime as long as I rule."

"I'll take you up on that whenever it's needed!" Mandy chirped. "And as long as I live and breathe, we can be bestest friends forever!"

"It's a deal!"

The two girls shared a hearty laugh, although it was easily drowned out by the roar of the crowd below them.





Later in the evening, Mandy had resolved to get some paperwork done instead of staying in bed, relying on painkillers to ward off any pain, either from walking or otherwise. It was quite unfortunate for her that she was left-handed, but her having a horn she could use telekinesis with was something fortunate to counteract it.

"Hey, Mandy?" Peaches approached her from where she had entered the bullpen through the steel double-doors. "I...need to apologize. For thinking that you were going to kill the Big O." She sighed. "I understand now that you never kill anyone. You're just not that kind of person." A wink. "You're a mean one with the hammer, though. Now that I can admire."

"Mmm..." Mandy stretched her arm upwards, wincing but not flinching upon hearing her spine pop. "Uh-huh, sure, but do you have a massager for my back?"

Peaches rolled her eyes, not bothering to ask if her cousin had heard anything she just said. "I'll get you one later as a gift."

"Make sure you get one from the bath shop store, pwease? The good one where the nice lady lets me smell all the stuff inside!" Mandy chirped. "They have the best massagers! And some goooooood massage chairs..."

"Duly noted." Peaches felt a warm sensation in her chest, although whether it was Mandy's good mood rubbing off on her or her happy fantasy of using a massage chair was anyone's guess. "Oh, and there's something I need to ask you. About King Ashero."

That snapped Mandy back to reality. She blinked and then took a swig of juice. "Fire away! My four ears are open!"

"What was the Big O conspiring with him about?"

Mandy's face fell. "Oh, that. He..."

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, instead fidgeting with her fingers and looking down at her lap. Those few seconds were painstaking for Peaches, and she was about to snap at Mandy for her to get on with it before she spoke again.

"He wants to...take us back to Vallea. For not finding who burnt it down."

The catgirl's heart stopped. Her pupils and irises both shrunk to the size of thumbtacks. "W-what? But...I haven't even been searching for that long! Toronto's only one of the first locales I've visited! Does he expect me to find the suspect in a matter of months?!"

"The King also knows about me, too...I guess the Big O wanted to capture me when he defeated me, but that didn't happen." Mandy vaguely remembered something Olive said...something about the Big O having come out of the entire scuffle alive and being treated. It scared her slightly. Even with how powerful she was, she had to keep a watchful eye out for her surroundings -- who knew what the Big O was going to do when he fully recovered? Would he continue trying to capture her? Would he give up the fight? She didn't know. It was that unpredictability that scared her.

Her eyes began to well up with tears as she made eye contact with Peaches. "Cuz..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm gonna protect you. No nasty king's gonna take my cousin away!" Mandy declared. "You deserve to find out who destroyed your town. So I wanna help you, as best I can!" As she blinked, tears began to roll down her face, but she paid no mind to them. "I feel like I've already reiterated this, but I'm doin' it again, baby! Whoo!"

"You don't have to do that." Peaches shook her head. "It was my town that was burned down, after all."

"Hey, the more people and ponies the better! Besides, I can fly higher than you, and it's always best to search from really really high in the air." Mandy gasped. "And we can travel! Traveling buddies!"

"Okay, 'traveling buddies' may be a bit much." Peaches waved her hand. "I still have to get used to your back!"

"No time like the present!" Mandy hopped off of her chair and spread her wings, leaning downwards. "Hop on! Besides, this chapter's long overstayed its welcome. We gotta do somethin' cool to end it, the thing's gonna be nearly 20,000 words!"

"What?"

"Just hop on!"

"Okay..."

Hesitantly, Peaches did as she was told, hoisting herself up onto Mandy's back.

"Now clutch onto my neck! I go really really fast!" Mandy chirped. "That's how Momma fell off the first few times. Didn't bode so well for her..."

Peaches was hesitant about this, too -- she didn't want to aggravate any of Mandy's wounds, and so, she tried to grab her shoulder blades. "Is this good? Does it hurt?"

"Yes, and not any more than a pinchy-winchy!" 

Mandy's wings began to flap.

"Oh cattails."

"And away we gooooooo!"

A yowl echoed through the bullpen and carried throughout the Trophy Room and the Tube Lobby.

"I told you, I go fast!" Mandy called, laughing as she made her way towards the emergency stairs.





The kitsune heaved a sigh as she laid her head down onto the grass.

What a strong fighter. One who is willing to go to whatever lengths are needed to protect her friends and her family, even if it kills her.

I must get into contact with her soon. Vallea's attacks will only grow stronger and stronger. Now more than ever, she needs me to guide her.

Her gaze drifted towards the sky, with its white rolling clouds.

But I must be careful. If Vallea spots me, too, then it will all be over. I cannot allow that to happen.

Mandy...please, stay strong and stay safe. I am coming for you. I promise.