//------------------------------// // S1E15: Season's Sneezings // Story: The Adventures of Peaches and Mandy // by marmalado //------------------------------// The amount of times Odd Squad agents have gotten regular, human-borne illnesses like the flu, chicken pox, and pneumonia, as opposed to odd illnesses like The Skips, lemurnemia, and Restless Moose Syndrome, would surprise you. The amount of times Mandy in particular has gotten regular, human-borne illnesses as opposed to odd illnesses would probably surprise you even more. Contrary to popular belief, these illnesses were hardly ever caused by her tendency to eat a lot of food -- she had an iron stomach which had about the same digestion skills as a god, and so, she rarely got food poisoning from eating too much. She was more prone to getting colds or strep throat, although the jury was out on whether she could get illnesses more commonly found in Equestria, like fur blight or pony pox, from being part pony. Regardless of all of this, however, one rule remained clear. When the all-enigmatic Mandy is put out of commission by something out of her control, panic. Olive soared through Precinct 13579 as fast as her feet would take her. She bumped into numerous agents and nearly tripped on some small creatures that were roaming about, but neither of those were much of a problem with her. Odd bless her athleticism. Once she reached her destination, she threw the door wide open and took in the sight that laid before her. Mandy, looking visibly pale, threw up into a bucket that Peaches was holding, her body rippling with each heave she took. When she looked up, Olive was quick to notice how dirty her face looked, how matted her hair was, and how glassy and tired her eyes were. "Olive!" Peaches sighed. "Would you mind emptying this bucket and cleaning it? And would you mind doing it quickly? Mandy's been puking every five minutes and I don't know how much she has left in her." Olive didn't answer for a few moments, but nodded when the pieces began falling into place for her. "S-sure, I can do that." she responded, moving over to the catgirl and taking the dirty bucket from her. "If you tell me exactly what's going on here." "Isn't it obvious? Mandy's sick." Peaches said, grabbing a tissue from the tissue box that sat on Mandy's nightstand and wiping her mouth with it. "She woke up this morning feeling absolutely terrible. Threw up all over the floor. Holed herself up in the bathroom for hours before I managed to convince her to come out." At that moment, Mandy's nose twitched, and Peaches instinctively grabbed another tissue. The hybrid sneezed three times just as Peaches held up the tissue to her nose. Olive blinked. "Okay, well...let me go clean this bucket and I'll get back to you." A few minutes later, she was back, armed with a clean bucket and another question. "Did Dr. O examine her?" Peaches nodded. "100.3 degrees Fahrenheit. He said this was just a case of the common cold with a side of vomiting. It should pass soon enough, although how soon is something he doesn't know. For all we know, it could be weeks, or it could be by tomorrow." Mandy began coughing into the crook of her elbow right then, seemingly looking more ill with each cough -- or perhaps it was Olive's mind playing tricks on her. She couldn't tell. Instinctively, the Director made her way to Mandy's bedside and shot her an empathetic look. "Hi, Mandy. You feeling okay?" A soft moan and a head shake was her only response. "Ohh, I know. But maybe if you get some sleep, it'll help you recover. How about it?" Another soft moan. Olive sighed and glanced at Peaches. "I guess her being sick leaves her unable to help out with Santa this year. Really a shame, too...she's been talking about it nonstop all month." Her face lit up with an idea. "Have you tried anti-nausea medication?" "Yes. She threw it up. Doesn't seem like she can keep water down yet." Olive's gaze flicked to a fridge that sat next to Mandy's nightstand. Curiously, she made her way over and opened it, where she was met with bags of ice. "That's for her forehead. I haven't been able to put a bag on her because she keeps throwing up." Peaches trailed off upon seeing Mandy grab the bucket and lean over it, mouth open and waiting for the next round of vomit to come. The two girls held their breath for forever. Nothing came. Except the loud sound of a stomach growling, followed by another soft and rather pitiful moan. "You're hungry?" Olive asked, a soft sigh leaving her. "I'm sure you are. But if you can't keep water down, you shouldn't be eating a whole bunch of food." Peaches nodded in agreement. "Peaches, go up to Dr. O's office and get some anti-nausea medication. Whatever works, but preferably one with the strongest dose possible. If she doesn't have anything left in her, it might work this time." The catgirl nodded and quickly sped out of the room. Mandy began to sneeze, and she used the crook of her elbow once more in order to prevent any of her germs from reaching Olive and making her sick. "Bless you." Olive said, before reaching a hand behind her back in search of something. It didn't take her long for her to come up with a dark bottle of Shmumber's Sleep Aid. Mandy squinted at the label as she read it, then forcefully pushed the bottle away. "Ap ap ap. Don't fight back. You're taking this whether you like it or not." Olive waved a finger. "You don't want to go to sleep because you don't want to miss out on helping Santa Claus this year. Do I have that right?" Mandy's mouth pinched inwards like she wanted to protest, but whatever energy she had to speak had been sapped out of her long ago, and so, she put on a resigned expression and nodded. "Thought so." Olive smiled. "Don't worry about a thing. Twilight and the others have things covered this year. You should stay here and rest." Another moan. "There's always next year! You can help out then." Olive said. "You don't have to help Santa every year. I know he likes seeing you, but I'm sure he won't mind if we tell him you fell ill and had to stay home and rest." Her expression brightened again. "Besides...if you rest now, Christmas will come so much faster." Despite Olive's attempt to push her to rest, Mandy wasn't having it. She swiveled her body away from Olive and crossed her arms, a dissatisfied grunt bubbling forth. "You don't want Christmas to come faster?" Olive blinked. "That's a first. Usually you try, and you fail, to pull all-nighters and then dive for your presents first thing in the morning at exactly 6:00. I know being sick doesn't really allow you to do that...not unless you're an utter fool..." She rolled her eyes as she thought of Otto and how he would probably do exactly that. "But think about it. You love Christmas. You love sleeping. This is the perfect opportunity for you." "Olive?" Olive's head moved towards the door, where Oprah entered with a worried look on her face. "How's Mandy?" "She's...well..." Olive twiddled her thumbs. "P-put it this way, Oprah. She's stopped vomiting." "Oh praise be." Oprah ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I was afraid she was going to vomit up her large intestine sooner or later." "...Why the large intestine?" "Trust me. You do not want to know." She was right -- Olive had no interest in knowing any more details, and took Oprah's answer at complete face value. She cleared her throat. "Um, anyway...Peaches is getting some anti-nausea medication for Mandy now. I told Mandy she should rest, but it doesn't seem like she's willing to do that...not since she'll be missing out on helping Santa this year." "I already called and explained the situation. He told me to give Mandy his well wishes and to get better soon." Oprah pulled a bag of coins from her hammerspace spine. "I didn't know the North Pole even had a well. News to me." Olive stared as her old boss dropped the bag on the sewing table, regretting not seeing that literal metaphor coming. "I'm back!" Peaches announced, holding up a small bottle. "This is about the strongest medication Dr. O has. If this doesn't work on Mandy then I don't know what we're gonna do." Reading the dosage instructions, she followed them to a T, and soon had a tablespoon of the medication ready to give to her cousin. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how catpeople felt about medication, and so it didn't surprise her too much when Mandy began squirming and turning her head away. Luckily, she had a tactic up her sleeve. "Mandy, Olive will die if you don't take this medication. She has a deadly illness and will die within the next 24 hours- aaaaand gotcha!" The hybrid began coughing, making a mad grab for the glass of water next to her but not being able to lift it due to her magic being shot as a result of her affliction. Peaches gave it to her, and she began chugging it. "Peaches..." "What? Look, I didn't want to force her to take it, but we catpeople are notorious for despising taking medication. Myself included..." Peaches rubbed the back of her neck. "Saying that you're dying was the only way for her to open her mouth long enough. I'm sorry." Olive sighed. "Well, whatever works." She held out her bottle of sleep aid. "This one next, if you please." Peaches examined the bottle. "'Shmumber's Sleep Aid'? Why does she need that?" "She refuses to go to sleep. This is what I used to give to her all the time when she had fits of insomnia prior to the transformation. Worked like a charm every single time." Olive placed the bottle in the catgirl's hands. "Just try it out!" A sneeze from Mandy caught everyone's attention, and the hybrid reached for another tissue as she blew her nose into it. Peaches looked her cousin up and down, and it was then that she noticed how puffy and bloodshot her eyes looked. She needed sleep, and the eyes were one of the main selling points. "All right. Stand back and watch me work my magic." Not a minute later, and Peaches had a teaspoon of Sleep Aid ready. She had to invent a different story about herself dying, but she got Mandy to take that tablespoon, and then another one. "Now, lay your head down on the pillow and let me get you some ice. For Pete's sake, I did not spend fifteen minutes hauling a mini-fridge of ice into your room just to let it go unused." Peaches gently pushed Mandy's upper body downwards, her expression becoming one of surprise when the hybrid willingly complied instead of fighting back. Oprah had a bag of ice already in her hand by the time Peaches turned around. "Thank you." the catgirl said, before laying the bag of ice down on Mandy's forehead and straightening it out. Ragged wheezing breaths left the hybrid as her eyes slowly began to close. "Whoa, that was quick." "Well, she's transformed now. The Sleep Aid probably affects her differently." Olive made her way over to Mandy and lightly patted her shoulder as an alternative to a kiss on the cheek, pulling the blankets up and over her. "You have sweet dreams, okay, Mandy? Get better soon." It was both weird and unsurprising to see Mandy not snore, instead having her mouth open to allow airflow while slightly wheezing. Still, she was fast asleep now, and that was all that mattered. "S-she's not gonna puke in her sleep, is she?" Peaches asked, taking a few tentative steps away. "No." Oprah asked, her nose wrinkling. "Mandy doesn't do that stuff. The anti-nausea medication should start working any minute now. Let's just leave her be and let her get some rest." To that, Olive and Peaches gave nods of agreement, and the three girls began exiting Mandy's room. Peaches gave one last worried look at Mandy, her frown morphing into a smile as she closed the door behind her. Unfortunately, sweet dreams weren't necessarily on the agenda for Mandy. Not this time. "Sensei, the answer is six!" Blue eyes struggled to adjust to the light as Mandy awoke with another one of her typical non-sequiturs. Her jaws parted and a yawn slipped through, followed by a few sniffs. Her eyes widened as she continued to sniff, making a surprising discovery. "Hey...I don't feel so stuffed up anymore! And I feel fine now!" She took a deep breath. "It feels so good to not feel like you're dying." Sneezing from outside of her room caught her attention. Three of them in rapid succession, and none of them hers, thank odd. Or so she thought. "Gesundheit!" she chirped. Another sneeze. "Wow, I haven't heard this much sneezing since the last time Peaches had a sneezing marathon." she mused. "Better go see what's up." She hopped out of bed and made her way out the door. It didn't take her long before an agent looking quite worse for wear passed her, tissue in hand. "Ethcuthe me." "Sure!" Mandy tilted her head. "Uh, hey, you all right?" The agent blew her nose. "I'm fine." Mandy blinked and watched her move away. "Uh-huh." she said, not sounding at all convinced but deciding to roll with it. "Well it's that time of year, everyone gets colds, common thing. I'd better check on the others." As she wandered the halls, she was met with a rather ominous sight -- agents leaned up against walls, some sitting on the floor, all of them looking terrible as they were armed with tissues that they blew snot into like nobody's business. The more of these agents she saw, the more confused she got. She wasn't sure if this was some prank everyone was playing, or if she was just imagining things. A bump into something hard knocked her out of her thoughts, and she took a few steps backwards. "Oof! S-so sorry, I wasn't watching-" "Mandy, you're finally all better." It took a few moments for Mandy to register what, exactly, she had bumped into. She took in the sight of none other than her boss, with her nose red, her eyes looking puffy, and her legs shaking. Her dark skin had paled a very considerable amount, and her tight bun had come completely undone so her long dark hair fell in light waves. "Oprah?!" Mandy shook her head. "Y-you're sick too?!" "Unfortunately yeth." "You should be at home resting, ya know! I can take care of things here." Mandy's eyes caught Olive and Otto approaching her next. Neither of them were looking as sickly as Oprah was, but they had all the telltale outwardly physical signs of someone who was battling a cold. Like the other agents, they too were armed with tissues. "Mandy! Tho nithe to thee you up and at it." Olive smiled, before a round of coughing made its way forth. "Partner, we have to get back to that meeting with Oprah, remember?" Otto said, blowing his nose into his tissue before quickly reaching in his hammerspace spine for a tissue box. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." Mandy's eyes went wide with shock. Sure, maybe the agents she saw were sick just by mere coincidence. But if Oprah was sick, it was an immediate cause for concern, and it was her appearance that made the hybrid less confident that this was just a mere prank. No...she was the one that was sick. And even though she wasn't in a state of wellness, she still recognized the agents who had taken care of her and what they said to her. "Wh- all of you, sick..." She stared for a few moments, watching as Oprah shifted her feet as though she was set to collapse. "S-surely I didn't get you sick...there's no possible way my cold can infect all the agents of this precinct..." She swallowed the small lump in her throat. "Can it?" "Aww, don't worry. We'll be fine. Dr. O checked uth all out and he thaid we were only at 99 and 100 degreeth." Olive waved a dismissive hand. "That's not a normal temperature." Mandy deadpanned. "Besides, Momma, you're the one who gave me flak for not resting and gave me a sleep aid! Don't be so hypocritical. Go home and rest." "If we go home, there'll be no one to run the prethi-" Another wave of coughing interrupted Olive. This time, however, the coughing was more violent in nature, to the point where the Director had to stumble to the closest wall to steady herself as she hacked away. "That's bad. That's 'I have lung boogers' bad. No one wants lung boogers!" Mandy peeked past the trio and was both surprised and not so surprised to see agents coughing, sneezing and sniffling away. It was like those 'chickenpox parties' she read about once on the Internet, where parents got their kids together to try and share chickenpox to achieve herd immunity -- only this was the common cold, herd immunity was certainly not the goal, and it almost looked like agents were meeting intentionally. "Wha...is everyone in this precinct sick?" "Yeth. What about it?" Mandy groaned in response to Oprah's question, pushing past her and emerging into the bullpen. "HEY EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!" No response. Not even a head-turn. "LISTEN UP!!" Still no response. "Oh for the love of..." Mandy thrust a hand behind her back and pulled out a megaphone that, if stood vertically, would match her height to a T. She planted it onto the ground, gathered enough air into her lungs, and screamed, not even flinching at the whining feedback noise she got. "EVERYONE GO HOME AND DO THE RIGHT THING!!" The cry blew a few papers around and caused Olive, Otto and Oprah to cover their ears, but otherwise had no effect on the sick agents, as everyone kept milling about. "GO HOME AND GET SOME RE-" Now it was Mandy's turn to cough. "Ah, geezaloo, forget it. They're like walking zombies." She threw the megaphone off into the distance to some unknown location, and made a mad dash for Olive and Otto. More specifically, she made a mad dash for the collars of their suits. "You two are coming with me!" she declared, beginning to drag the duo across the halls like they were nothing more than blankets. The fact that they seemed to be as light as air didn't faze Mandy in the slightest -- she had bigger priorities on her mind at the moment. She didn't really know where she was going with them. All she saw was a bed on a door, and that was it. She kicked open the door and threw the Directors into their own separate beds. "And you are staying in bed!" "Mandy, we're fine." "Can it with the hypocrisy!" Mandy snapped in response to Olive. "Now what was that stuff you put in my mouth...it was small, brown..." The next thing Olive knew, she had a hand rummaging through her hammerspace spine. "What-" "Gimme a sec, I'm rummygauging." Mandy shushed, squinting as she continued to search for the small brown item she was looking for. Otto's eyes widened as he heard the sound of loud crashing, followed by a cat yowling. Olive, on the other hand, couldn't help but snicker and squirm about. "That tickleth!" "Aha! Got it!" The item in question was Shmumber's Sleep Aid, in its ever-familiar brown bottle. "Nice to see my magic still works." Mandy said, eyeing the bottle that was caught in a multicolored field of levitation. Within seconds, she had conjured up two teaspoons and poured a little bit of the bottle's contents in each. "Now open your mouths." "But why- mmph." "How- mmph!" "Drink up. If it can send me to Dreamland, then it can work for you too." The teaspoons were teleported out of existence, and Mandy watched as Olive and Otto struggled with swallowing their sips before launching into a fit of coughing. And there's revenge for making me drink that stuff! she thought, as a smirk settled on her face. "Now, you should be knocked out shortly. I'm gonna go and see if there's anyone around here who isn't sick in this crazy fever dream." Sighing, Mandy left the Bedroom, not bothering to look back to make sure if Olive and Otto were staying in bed but deciding to place a magical lock on the door to prevent their escapes. "If only I could find the ponies...or Peaches. I wonder where they are." she mused aloud as she made her way to the bullpen. Part of her wanted to find Oprah and hurl her in the same room with Olive and Otto, but she figured the Director was long gone by now and didn't want to invoke her wrath. It didn't take her long to find Pinkie wandering about, holding up a tissue to her nose and squeezing her eyes shut. "Pinkie!" Mandy called. "Oh, thank odd, there you are. A-are you...sick?" "What doeth it look like?!" snapped the pink pony in response, her tone a level of anger that was hardly ever witnessed. Before Mandy could respond, the rest of the girls marched up to her, armed with tissues like all the others, with red noses, puffy eyes, and matted manes and tails. And none of them looked all too happy to see their friend. "Oh no." "You did thith to uth!" Applejack accused, thrusting a hoof towards the hybrid. "M-me?! What did I do?!" Pinkie joined the others. "You got that cold and you dethided to thpread your dithguthting germth to everyone here! And now they're all thick!" It was all too clear to Mandy now. As she heard the sound of vomiting coming from somewhere she couldn't identify, memories began to flood her brain -- memories of her stark refusal to go to bed and rest until she vomited all over the floor and was resigned to making the bathroom her home-not-so-far-away-from-home. The truth was, she was already starting to feel sick the day before, but didn't tell anyone and didn't keep it hidden because she certainly wasn't going to pass up a year to help out Santa Claus with his gifts and with oddness that affected him, his elves, or his workshop. "I...I did this?" "You motht thertainly did!" Rarity cried out, before letting out a sneeze into her tissue. Fluttershy was arguably in the worst state out of the group, her legs wobbling the same way Oprah's were, with her wings splayed out and nearly touching the ground.. "I...can barely...thtand!" Mandy could only stare and stammer. "The Big O ith coming by to thay thomething about the outbreak. And you better be there!" Rainbow said, shooting daggers at Mandy. "What?!" The hybrid took a step back in surprise. "I-is this really that bad? I-I mean it's just a little cold-" "It'th more than jutht a little cold." Twilight, on the contrary, stepped forward. "You put my friendth in danger! No...you put everyone in danger!" "T-Twi, there is no possible way my cold infected hundreds of agents in one-" The steel automatic double-doors opened with a loud whooshing sound, causing everyone's attention to be turned towards the newest arrival, one they were expecting. "The Big O!" came the unisonant but congested cry. Relieved murmurs followed suit as agents kneeled down in the typical greeting pose, and Mandy couldn't help but give a relieved huff herself as she made her way over with the ponies and got down in the same pose. Yes! The Big O will clear all of this up, for sure. If no one will believe me, she has to! "Please rise!" came the call, and almost immediately, agents began getting to their feet. However, many were slow to do so, and some even collapsed onto the floor and had to try again. "I have gotten wind that this precinct is going through an epidemic of the common cold, and-" The Big O took pause for a moment to let her gaze sweep over the gathered agents. "Odd. I expected a larger crowd." "Motht of the agenth who aren't in Invethtigation are gone, ma'am." Oprah piped up, two agents flanking her on both sides and struggling to keep her standing. "Gone? Where to?" "Toronto General." "The hospital?! For colds?" Mandy asked, her eyes growing wide as she ignored Oprah's coughing. "A lot of the coldth have developed into the flu." The flu...that would explain why I heard vomiting earlier. But I don't have the flu...unless I missed something. Mandy's head began to hurt, and she instinctively rubbed it in a futile effort to dull the pain. "I see. I'm sorry to hear that." the Big O said. "I also heard the catgirl that's staying with you, Peaches...she is suffering from pneumonia?" "Yeth." Oprah conjured up another tissue from her hammerspace spine and blew her nose into it. "Thee's been thick with pneumonia for a few dayth now." Mandy's gaze drifted towards her boss's wobbling legs, which seemed to be wobbling even harder than they were before. Oprah can barely stand. Why is she pushing herself like this? Suddenly, she began to regret not taking Oprah with her and forcing her to rest. Even if she got angry at her, it was better than her becoming even sicker. Mandy would have been willing to take that chance. Still, it wasn't like she could do it now, and so, she was forced to put the action as a mental sticky note in the back of her brain. And then, what Oprah had said hit her with all the brunt force it had. "PEACHES!!" came the worried cry, as she spread her wings and quickly flew up to the Medical Bay. Within seconds, she had thrown open the door and laid eyes on the weakened state of her cousin. Wires streamed from her body to a computer that sat beside her bed and showed her vitals. Her breathing was ragged but slow. Her eyes were closed, and she looked to be in a state of sleep, even though Mandy knew that it was far more than just a state of sleep. The hybrid began to hyperventilate right then and there. Her heart beat a million miles an hour. "CUZ!! No!!" she cried out, before throwing herself at her bedside. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she clenched her fist. "Don't die on me! Don't!!" she screamed, before launching into a fit of sobs. "Y-you can't! I'm...I'm not..." Whatever English skills Mandy might have had were non-existent by that point. I can't believe it...I caused everyone to get sick here. Everyone including my own cousin. I'm Patient Zero. Patient Zero...it sounded so ominous, when she thought about it. The one who started it all, the one who would probably be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of agents, and all because she was too oppositional to make room for common sense. Down in the bullpen, the discussion continued. "So, I'd like to ask all of you. Do any of you know exactly who started this epidemic?" Silence met the Big O's question. "Anyone?" Confident hoofsteps made their way forward, one pink pony guiding her winged friend as they both wore steely looks. "Agent Mandy." The Big O glanced at Pinkie and Fluttershy, and tilted her head slightly. "Mandy?" "Mandy wath the one who got thick inithially." Twilight explained. "But thee dethided to puth through tho thee could thee Thanta." She raised a hoof. "By the way, Big O, it'th worth noting that Thanta himthelf ith also thick with a cold. Lloyd, hith right-hand elf, called and confirmed it himthelf. And Mandy did vithit him a couple dayth ago." "I see." was the Big O's response, as she gave a nod and digested the information. Her head swiveled towards the Medical Bay, and her eyes slowly opened. "Agent Mandy! By order of the Big O, I order you to come down here this instant!" Mandy perked up. A feeling of dread sat in the pit of her stomach, which only served to add to her anxiety. Still, she maintained a small shred of confidence that she would dig her way out of this sticky situation. And she held onto hope that her cousin would make it through her illness and come out alive. "Stay strong, cuz. Please do it for me." she murmured, planting a kiss on the catgirl's forehead before leaving the Medical Bay and soaring back down to the bullpen. "You called me, Big O?" "Yes. These agents here seem to be in agreement that you caused this epidemic." It was one thing for Twilight and the other ponies to accuse her of getting everyone sick. It was another thing entirely for everyone else to accuse her of the same thing. Worst part was, they had factual evidence to back them up, assuming they knew of what Mandy did prior to her getting sick. "No!" she cried, before shaking her head. "I-I mean yes! I mean-" "Silence!" The resounding cry nearly knocked Mandy off of her feet. "Mandy, you have proven yourself time and time again to be a valuable asset to Odd Squad. Because of this, I will allow you to testify before these agents here and now." Normally, Mandy would have made a quip on how this felt a lot like a court trial where she was the defendant and everyone was the plaintiffs. But the cold and icy aura that radiated from the Big O had finally gotten to her, and she refrained. "And...what happens if I...?" "Then you will be fired." Mandy's iris and sclera shrunk considerably. Sure, the punishment was fitting, especially if some agent happened to die as a result of her stupidity...but that didn't mean the Big O being willing to fire her wouldn't shock her. Her gaze swept across the crowd of small, upset, and very very sick agents. One thing became apparent in her mind right then and there. This is it. Everything rides on my testimony. If they don't believe me, my career's gonna end. I have to pick my words right! Slowly, she made her way to where the Big O had been standing, the glorious leader herself moving back and allowing her agent to take center stage. "U-um..." Mandy tugged at her collar. "First of all, I'd like to give my condolences to everyone. I hope you all feel better soon." Murmurs rippled through the crowd, and absolutely none of them were murmurs of intrigue or happiness...or any positive emotion, really. To Mandy, that certainly wasn't a good sign. "Heh. Tough crowd." she said, clearing her throat. "I-I know you might all be thinking that I was reckless and pushed myself too hard. And...you'd be right. I did." The murmurs died down. "I wanted to participate in helping Santa Claus this year so badly that I didn't listen to my body when I first started feeling sick. I didn't look out for my own health, nor did I look out for the health of others. I kept on pushing myself, and in the process...I infected tons of other agents." Mandy sighed. "What I did wasn't right. I should have gotten rest..." Her voice began to crack. "And because of it, now my cousin is suffering from pneumonia and about to die...!" By the time the tears came, it was clear that the anxiety got to her too much for her own good. She broke down, burying her face in her hands and sobbing. Her career was on the line, her cousin was about to die...it was almost like a nightmare that had come true. She wanted so badly to run away right then and there, but the little sliver of hope that lived on inside of her stopped her from doing so. And besides, she would have gotten in bigger trouble with the Big O if she ran, anyway. "I've infected all of you!" came the horrid realization, followed by a screeching and anguished wail as she slumped to the ground. "What ith going on?!" "What'th that noith?" Olive and Otto's arrivals did absolutely nothing to deter Mandy. She didn't feel like asking herself why the Sleep Aid didn't work, or how they escaped, or why they were still sick -- she had bigger issues. "I'm sorry!! I'm sorry..." She sniffled. "I know that what I did isn't reversible. But...I'd like to remedy this however I can. You name it, and I'll do it. J-just...please...don't be mad at me. It was never my intention to infect this place." With that, the testimony ground to a halt and ended. All the crowd could do was stare at Mandy sobbing her eyes out, although none of them wore looks of sympathy. Especially not the ponies. "You thure about that?" Mandy looked up, her gaze settling on Rainbow. Pinkie followed up with a bout of bitter and mirthless laughter. "You know, you're not muth of a comedian, Mandy. Do you really think..." She coughed. "...that thaying a few thimple wordth ith gonna make all thith go away?" "I think we would all be better off without you." Fluttershy chimed in, just before she sneezed and crumpled to the ground. "Your thilly little thpeeth didn't thange a thingle thing!" Rarity huffed. Like Fluttershy, she too punctuated her words with a sneeze that was in no way ladylike. "And now, you're payin' the prith. In karma." Applejack said, her green eyes piercing Mandy in a way that she had never seen in the farm pony before. Her breathing became slow and heavy. Twilight turned around. "Agenth of Prethinct 13579, wouldn't you agree?" A pause followed her question. And then, concerned murmurs, much to Mandy's chagrin. "My friendth are all correct." Twilight remarked, turning back towards Mandy. "You have proved, in thpectacular fathion, why the prethinct doethn't need you. Why Odd Thquad doethn't need you." The sick alicorn tentatively stepped towards Mandy. "'I'd like to remedy thith by doing whatever I can'? What a boring lackluthter thtatement. What maketh uth inclined to believe you?" "Twi!" Mandy cried out. "No, you have to understand! My words are honest!" A snort was her only response. "Well, the agents here have made their decision." The Big O sighed. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I have no choice but to fire you from Odd Squad. Hand in your badge." "But-" Mandy glanced from the Big O, to the crowd, and back again. It was made clear to her now that in this crapsaccharine world, absolutely no one was on her side. Her testimony had fallen on deaf ears, and she knew it. Essentially, losing her job meant that she was homeless too, but she didn't pay much attention to that fact. Heaving a sigh, she unclipped her badge and placed it in the Big O's outstretched hand, the tears falling harder now. "Now, stand on the seal, if you will." Like a programmed robot, she did as she was told, placing her feet smack-dab into the center of the seal and awaiting whatever further punishment the Big O had for her. It was then that the agent who once led her put on a wicked smile, something entirely unprecedented for her that was best suited for her predecessor. "Au revoir, Patient Zero." A lever that wasn't there before suddenly made itself known, and as the Big O yanked it backwards, the seal opened up within a second. Unable to catch her fall in time, Mandy was sent plummeting down into...well, it should have been the Dinosaur Room, but it seemed more like a bottomless pit, now. She let out a scream -- a scream of fear for where she was going to land, a scream of worry for her cousin on life support and stricken with pneumonia, and a scream of sadness for her friends who weren't so keen on forgiving her for her mistake. A mistake that, granted, could end in mass murder. Finally, something clicked in her brain, and she flapped her wings to gain lift. Unfortunately, they didn't do much of anything, and she was still falling at a breakneck pace. "Not even my wings are of any use he-" Harsh impact with the ground cut her sentence short. The wind was completely knocked out of her lungs as she landed on her back. She hacked and wheezed in an effort to scramble for air, but as she did so, her ears caught the sound of another person doing the same thing. It was Oprah. Coughing and wheezing, lying flat on her stomach, surrounded by agents who all expressed their concerns for her. Somehow, she managed to look worse than the last time Mandy saw her. Something clicked in her brain. I'm...back where I was before. She took in a big gulp of air and rose to her feet. "Oprah!" "Stay away from her, agent!" Something hard and lengthy slammed into Mandy's chest, and the next thing she knew, she was sent hurtling towards the steel double-doors, a loud slam marking her body's full impact with them. She slumped to the floor and became dizzified, eyes spinning around in their sockets as she saw dancing jackalopes circling her head. "Say whatcha will about the Big O...she sure knows how to leave a good impression on doors..." "There'th no pulthe." Fluttershy's soft but defeated voice snapped Mandy out of her stupor right quick. She shook her head and began to take in the sight that laid before her. Oprah laid deathly still. There's no pulse. There's no pulse. Oh odd, she's... "NO!! OPRAH!!" came the horrified scream, tears springing forth and beginning their descent down Mandy's face. She didn't dare move forward, for fear of the Big O knocking her back again, and instead, she settled for a feeble outstretched hand. How the mighty had fallen. Oprah, the one whom everyone regarded as a powerhouse when it came to strength, wits and intelligence. Oprah, the one who could somehow down more sugar with her juice addiction than even Pinkie Pie consumed in the span of a single day with the sweets she made, and yet she could still function like a normal human being. Oprah, the agent who had somehow, some way, lived to be millennia old, and yet what remained was her physical appearance of a mere ten-year-old child. Her time upon the earth had been met with a swift and premature end. And it was all because of Mandy. "That doeth it." Twilight stood up and jabbed a hoof towards the shocked and grief-stricken hybrid. "Mandy killed our leader, and thee hath no regret for it!" "Please!" "Get her!" Mandy could hardly get a word in edgewise. As the small crowd began to approach her in a slow and ominous manner, her body scrambled against the doors, and she tried to open them. Try as she might to get them to budge, her attempts fell flat. Her vision became blurred as her eyes filled with thick, ugly tears. She was in too much of a state of shock to defend herself, let alone go on the offense against the angry mob. The seal opened up again, without the use of a lever this time. One by one, agents were sucked into the looming black hole that laid within it. Even the Big O couldn't resist its pull. Mandy's body was subject to the massive force. She scrabbled at the cement floor to no avail, as gravity took over. She barely had time to ask herself why the objects in the bullpen weren't getting sucked in as well, before the room shrank and shrank before her very eyes. "I'M SORRY!!" were the last words that fell from her lips before her body was once again thrown into the abyss. It wasn't too long before her body was thrown into yet another setting, and certainly not the same one. As she landed on her stomach, the sound of agents sneezing, vomiting and coughing was the first thing she noticed, and as her eyes opened, she was met with a view of a room that she had never seen before. The only thing within it were two rows of ten beds, each parallel to one another, and all of them full of what she had to assume were patients. "I'm...in a room full of sick people?" she mused, slowly getting to her feet while also glancing at the ground every so often to make sure whatever cosmic forces were controlling this entire scenario didn't drop her into another bottomless pit again. "Oh! You must be Mandy." Mandy turned around, and came face-to-face with an Odd Squad Doctor -- not the warm inviting figure of Dr. O himself, mind, but a different Doctor. She had pale-grey hair and blue eyes that looked soulless, and her skin was unnaturally pale as well. "Y-yes?" Mandy tilted her head. "Who are you?" The Doctor didn't answer that question. Her smile morphed into a frown as she looked through the papers on the clipboard she was holding, then looked at Mandy. "Mm, wait, no. Wrong patient." Mandy suddenly found herself hoisted up by the arms. Two Doctors, each of their heights easily surpassing six feet, dragged her effortlessly to the door that looked to be streaked with blood. "Wait! W-whaddya mean, wrong patient? I'm not supposed to be heeeeeeeeee-" Her body being unceremoniously tossed through the door marked the abrupt end of her sentence. With its owner screaming, it went flying backwards through the air for what seemed like hours, until it tumbled about in the snow in a cartoonish manner. Only after inadvertently turning into a wheel for several seconds did she come to a complete stop, eyes spinning around in her sockets once more and the dancing jackalopes returning to her head for an encore. "Beatzz bein' thrown into a black hole againnn..." came the dizzified response, the cold barely fazing her as she struggled to keep up with what was happening. The sound of bells tinkling brought her back to her senses, and she began to take in the new setting she had found herself in. It was nighttime, a vast, snowy landscape with Christmas lights strewn up on lampposts and hardly a building to be seen. "Wait, I recognize this place. Isn't this..." Mandy slowly stood up, brushing the snow off of her pajamas and glancing behind her. "It is!" she squealed, spotting a house with a very familiar red-and-white figure emerging from its entrance. "And there's..." Her feet began to move. They took her across the cold white snow, the glorious contrast with the dark night. She didn't care whether Santa was going to pummel the heck out of her or not -- it was a familiar face that was actually an inviting one in this twisted fantasy, and she was going to seize the opportunity tenfold. It was a 50/50 chance, and she was willing to take it. "Santa!" she cried out, happy tears beginning to flow down her face. Said tears only came harder when Big Red himself threw open his arms, as though anticipating the gesture to come. "Mandy! Oh-ho-ho, it is so wonderful to see you again!" Santa Claus said, taking a few steps back when Mandy plowed into him and threw her arms around him. He could already feel his suit getting wet, no doubt from all the tears Mandy was shedding, and he allowed her to cry as much as she needed to. "L-likewise!" the hybrid squeaked out, wiping away her tears and sniffling to try and clear her clogged-up nose. "It's just so good to see a warm face for once...a warm face that's actually happy to see me!" "Oh?" Santa tilted his head slightly. "Why's that?" "Well...I-I have something to, um..." Mandy bit her lip as she struggled to find the right words. A breeze suddenly swept forth, causing her tail to bush up as the rest of her body shivered. "Why don't you come inside?" Santa urged. "It's much too cold for you to be out here." Mandy nodded, eagerly taking the invitation and making her way inside. Santa took a few moments to smile at the vast sight that laid before him before he closed the door. A few minutes later, Mandy was settled in a comfy chair with a warm cup of hot cocoa. Her tail flicked to and fro as she took a huge sip, relishing the taste. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until that sip, and she eagerly drank more. "Now, young Mandy..." Santa Claus settled into the chair across from her. "Why don't you tell me what's on your mind?" "Well...I've unfortunately come down with a terrible cold. It's left me bedridden for a day and a half." Mandy said. "And..." "And?" Mandy ran a finger along the outside of her cup. "I realize now that this is all some crazy dream, but-" "A dream?" Santa said, a bout of soft laughter bubbling forth. "Why Mandy, this is no dream." Fear shot through Mandy like a lightning bolt. She blinked. So all the stuff I experienced...was...what...that was real? I didn't really...they're not all... One part of her told her to try and wake herself up, to go back to the real world and see if everyone was okay. Another part of her told her not to waste her energy on something so fruitless -- she could hardly control when she woke up, and her efforts would do nothing. Her mouth felt dry, and she took another sip of cocoa. "It...it isn't a dream?" "Well...yes and no." Santa made a rolling motion with his hand. "You are in a dream, right now. But you are talking to the real Santa Claus." That brought a wave of ease to Mandy -- So the nightmares weren't real? -- but it didn't last for very long. She wanted to believe Santa, but she was still worried for her friends. Her family. She wanted to make sure they were okay. "How are you..." she started to ask, before her eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Oh. Yeah. Odd Squad." Santa chuckled. "So does that mean you're fine? Y-you're not sick or anything?" "Oh, not at all. I'm perfectly healthy." Santa said, before his smile turned into a frown. "However..." "Hmm?" "I do believe that you've been pushing yourself too hard." Ahh, there it was. That little dose of reality that decided to bite Mandy right in the tush. She had realized the consequences of her actions all throughout her nightmares, but didn't really give it too much thought with all the hubbub over the Big O's meeting and everyone getting sick and all that. "Normally I'd laugh that off, but after the nightmares I've been through...I'm inclined to believe you." Mandy sighed. "It's just...you know how excited I get whenever I help you deliver gifts to kids around the world. It's a rare experience. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. But..." She fiddled with her cup again. "I just hate to miss out on this year." "And why is that?" "It's another year I get to spend with all my friends and my family." Mandy smiled. "And...I can't spend it with them if I'm bedridden. S' not like any of 'em will wanna come near me." Santa nodded slowly, hanging on to every word. A sense of warmth rose from within him, and he put on one of the warmest smiles that Mandy had ever seen. "Mandy. You are a tender and warm spirit. You are the star on top of the Christmas tree that illuminates even the darkest of nights. You bring joy to every boy and girl on the holidays." he said, his voice as soft as a cloud. "I've seen it firsthand. The way you put your own little touch on presents. It makes the children so delighted." His smile grew bigger. "You are very selfless, and that is something I admire." A blush crept into Mandy's cheeks. "W-well, I-" "I believe it's time I give back." "Give back?" Mandy blinked, struggling to understand what Santa meant by those words for only a few fleeting moments, before it finally hit her and she widened her eyes. "Santa, y-you don't have to, really!" "I insist." From behind his back, Santa pulled out a scroll and a quill. "What would you like for Christmas?" Six words. Six words that made Mandy's child-like spirit go wild. Every year, she was asked the same question, and every year, she was all too eager to answer it. Everyone who knew her well had the common knowledge that her requests ranged from the utterly fantastical -- yes, even for this world -- to the plain and easy-to-get. But that didn't mean they didn't try to spoil her rotten and give her all the gifts she could ever want. She was ever so grateful to have such loving and caring people in her life who was willing to give a "buck you" to finances and splurge for one month out of the year. Still, she knew exactly what she wanted the most. She didn't need a single second to think about it. And this time, it wasn't a material object. "I...um, well...what I want is something that can't necessarily be obtained in a single day." Santa tilted his head. "Hmm?" "I want to spend as much time with my friends and family as I can. I want them all to be happy." Mandy reached behind her back and pulled out a paper. "But, uh, while you're at it, I have a list." Santa eagerly grabbed the list and read it over. A warm and kindhearted smile spread across his face. "I believe this can all be arranged." "It can?" "Of course. You just have to believe it's true, in your heart." Mandy took the time to think. She was only a child of eleven years old, a child who had many, many years of life ahead of her -- perhaps more, if she somehow found out whether she could live for millennia like Oprah could or not. The same could certainly be said for her friends and family. Even Twilight and her friends were fit and spry enough to get plenty more decades in before the cosmic forces shuffled them all off of their mortal coils. No way she got them all sick. They were fine, surely. It would take more than a simple cold, and even the flu if it got to that point, to bring them down and make them stay down. Mandy held that hope deep inside of her, and treasured it for all it was worth. For the first time since she had descended into the land of dreams, a genuine smile made its way across her face. "You must cherish the time you have with your loved ones." Santa continued. "And if you believe with your heart that they are happy, then it will come true." "That's...really nice." Mandy murmured, feeling tears spring to her eyes but fighting the urge to let loose this time around. Santa stood up with a grunt. "Now, I must be heading back to the barn. Twilight Sparkle and the others are waiting for me." "W-wait!" Santa turned around. "Thank you. For finding the time to chat with me like this. I appreciate it." "Oh-ho-ho, it's no problem at all!" Mandy rubbed her arm. "Can we maybe...exchange a hug before you go?" "Why of course." With that, Mandy threw her arms around Big Red once more, hugging him as tight as she could. She almost felt like crying again. Almost. But she held back. Too much crying would make her tired, and she didn't feel like falling asleep in a dream so she could go deeper down the rabbit hole. "Good luck!" Mandy called, as she broke away. "Thank you! And merry Christmas!" Santa responded, before heading into the cold dark outdoors. Now, it was just Mandy, alone in the house. Her gaze drifted to the fireplace, and she watched the flames of the fire burn with intensity that not even she could match with her own fiery form. "Now how do I wake up?" She blinked. "Maybe I don't?" Her desire for a drink brought her gaze towards her cup of cocoa, which had surprisingly been left unfinished. It wouldn't stay that way for long, however, as she eagerly chugged the rest of it. Now, all she had to do was wait. Surely, with the hope that swirled about in her heart, she would wake up and find out the truth that had made itself so obvious to her. Mandy's eyes opened, and her vision met utter darkness. To her complete lack of surprise, she still felt sick. Her head ached, she felt nauseous (although it was probably from hunger, now), and it still felt like she had a fever. With tremendous effort, she was able to use enough of her magic to create a small bulb of rainbow-colored light that sat at the tip of her horn, and she had herself a look around. As her gaze moved to the nightstand, she saw a glass of water, a banana, a bowl of rice, a bowl of applesauce, and two pieces of toast, all neatly arranged. Laying on the toast slices was a small note, which she eagerly took and read. Mandy, I hope you're doing better. It looked like you were having a terrible nightmare, but I didn't want to disturb you, so I left you alone. On your nightstand, you'll find key components of the BRAT diet -- bananas, rice, applesauce and toast -- that should help your tummy feel right as rain. Remember to start out with the water, to test the waters of your stomach. (I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke. But I couldn't resist.) Pinkie Pie and I are having a Christmas get-together tomorrow at 7PM, and we've invited everyone. If you get better by then, please come and stop by. It'll be at my house, over on Cypress Way. And don't worry -- I'll give you your gift there, too. Eat well, rest up, and get better soon, okay? If you need anything, Dr. O is right upstairs. - Olive Of course. Typical of Mandy's mother to lay out stuff that should be obvious, like Mandy wouldn't know where her house was or wouldn't know to drink water to make sure her stomach could handle it first. As Mandy picked up the glass of water and took a few sips, relief washed over her. She knew something, now -- both Olive and Pinkie Pie were alive, and so was Dr. O. Perhaps it was a safe bet to assume that everyone else was alive, too, but she couldn't know that for sure. Not until she saw everyone else. Her pony ears swiveled about like satellite dishes, trying to pick up on the sound of sneezing or coughing or any noise that would indicate an agent was sick. No such sound presented itself, and she heaved a sigh that morphed into a cough of her own. Deciding to set her worry aside for now as best she could and hold on to that spark of hope in her heart, she grabbed a Wolves of the Wilderness book from her bookshelf and got to reading, waiting for the water to settle and allow her to make a judgement on whether she could progress to eating solid food or not. Sure enough, the anti-nausea medication had worked its magic. Mandy had finally graduated to eating solid foods. If only someone were around to give her a diploma. She hungrily downed the toast, the rice, the applesauce and the banana like she would never see the foods ever again as long as she walked the earth. Her stomach felt full by the time she was done, and she decided to take a bath to clean herself, from her toenails all the way to the deep insides of her mind. Baths were a nice way for her to think about things, after all, and with her having already gotten good rest, she wouldn't fall asleep in the tub and risk drowning like she had done so many times before. As she went down the hall, forcing herself to keep her legs steady so they wouldn't shake as a result of the remaining sickness, she passed one or two agents who looked healthy enough. None of them were armed with tissues or buckets, just with paperwork that needed to be filed or with an odd creature that needed to be properly dealt with. That brought her further relief, and set her mind at ease that maybe, just maybe, the dreams she had were really just dreams, like Santa said they were. The warmth of the water, soft and inviting, melted away any sickly feeling she might have had. Coupled with some nice Brittany Gomez tunes from her "classical and smooth" discography era, it made for one of the best baths she had ever taken in her entire life. She wasn't sure how much time had passed between going to sleep and finishing up her bath, but the clock now read 9:00. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the warm water had made her feel sleepy again, and as soon as she got dressed in a clean set of pajamas, it was back to bed for Round 2, Shmumber's Sleep Aid and nightmares excluded. The next evening, Olive's house was about the liveliest it had ever been. A total of fourteen guests had been invited, including Olive herself and Pinkie Pie -- a small party, honoring Olive's wishes and preferences of enjoying such parties instead of ones with a ton of guests. Thirteen of the fourteen guests had already arrived. No one needed to guess who was missing. "Hey, partner." Otto said, flopping down on the couch between the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Olive with a slice of cake in his hand. "You still waiting for Mandy?" "Yeah. I haven't heard from her all day." Olive's gaze stayed fixated on the front door. "When I went to check on her this afternoon, I found her sleeping, but Dr. O insisted she was getting better..." "Don't worry. It's like you said -- Mandy never turns down a good party!" Otto took a bite out of the slice. "Yeah, but I told her it would start at 7 and it's 6:45 now!" Unbeknownst to the two of them -- or to any of the guests, really -- Mandy was, indeed, at the front door. The cold wind blew relentlessly, giving off an eerie howl that she would have been terrified of, if it weren't for how cold she was. Her entire body felt tired, especially her feet, given that walking to Olive's house from the second-nearest tube entrance that wasn't her backyard wasn't an easy thing to do. "W-w-why aren't they a-answering t-the door?!" she asked, her body shivering as she felt icicles begin to form on both sets of ears. "I-I'm g-gonna freeze m-my tail off!" As much as she wanted to look inside through the top windows of the door, she couldn't find the energy to jump up and look. What she did have energy for, though, was something she considered a last-ditch resort. At the very least, it was better than trying to get herself through a window. Through the bumping sound of the music, a loud screeching wail from the other side of the door caught the attention of more than one partygoer, Olive included. "W-what was that?" Sweetie Belle asked, lowering her bowl of Christmas Chex Mix. Olive, forgoing any sense of fear, immediately lunged for the door, having a pretty good idea of what, exactly, the sound was coming from. As she threw the door open, she took a step back as her eyes laid upon a shivering, icicle-ridden Mandy, lying on the ground and looking feebly up at the one who had opened the door. "Mandy?!" came the Director's shocked cry. "W-w-what...l-let me get you inside, quickly!" She grabbed ahold of Mandy's shoulders and effortlessly pulled her inside, Rarity closing the door from her current position in the kitchen doorway. "Can you speak?" Olive shook her head furiously, regretting asking such a rhetorical question. "No, never mind that. We need to warm you up." Immediately, Peaches rushed over with a few blankets that had been sitting on top of the couch. As Olive took off Mandy's jacket, Peaches wrapped her cousin's body in the blankets to make a "hybrid burrito", as she had called it when she had found Mandy in the same shape of her own volition some time ago. As the minutes passed, Mandy slowly stopped shivering. A sense of warmth filled her -- both as the result of the hope she still had in her heart that her friends really were all alive and well, and the blankets feeling nice and snug around her body -- and she almost felt like drifting off to sleep. "Feel better?" Olive asked. "Very." Mandy purred in response. "I'm really sorry we left you outside. You weren't waiting too long, were you?" "No. But your tube entrance is broken. Had to walk all the way here!" Olive's eyes widened. "You walked?" "It was too cold to fly. My wings were frozen solid by the time I got to your door!" Mandy looked around at the partygoers, who were all looking at her with relief. A warm smile spread across her face as her next words danced on her lips with grace. "You're all alive." "Yeah! Why wouldn't we be?" Rainbow piped up, hovering above the crowd. "Y-you're not sick!" "We're all perfectly healthy." Olive said. "Aside from the occasional runny nose or sneeze that came about as a result of the cold weather, of course." Mandy attempted to wriggle free of her burrito, with Peaches assisting her until she was out and able to stand on two feet once more. And then she lunged. In one swift move, she had pulled thirteen people, including nine ponies, in a tight hug. The coughs and cries of protest did absolutely nothing to deter her from treasuring the moment. Santa...you really weren't kidding. Everyone's alive. No one's sick. My dreams...were really just dreams all along! After a minute or so, she put everyone down, allowing them to recollect their bearings. "Jeez, what's with you?" Oprah asked, cracking her neck. "You're acting like we're dead or you're never going to see us again. Did something happen?" All she got in response was a long slow whistle and an eyeroll. "I died?!" "Well, 'died' isn't really the right word...more like 'murdered'." "Wh- how- you- are you-" "Just let it out. We got all night." Mandy had gathered everyone in the living room and told the story of her adventure through the land of dreams, including meeting Santa Claus himself. "That would explain why he told us he had to do something important right before we headed off to deliver presents." Twilight said. "If the Sleep Aid is really that powerful..." Olive twiddled her fingers. "Maaaaaybe it was a bad idea to use it. It might have altered your dreams and turned them into nightmares." "Maybe!" Mandy shrugged. "But I'm feeling much better now. I'm just glad I didn't get any of you sick!" She shuddered. "Those nightmares were awful. Especially when Peach was on life support with pneumonia..." Peaches wasn't sure how to react to that bit of information. Part of her was surprised that Mandy's mind, as complicated and crazy as it was, had concocted such a scenario, but another part of her figured that it was just "Mandy being Mandy". "But for how scary those nightmares were..." Mandy rubbed her arm. "It made me realize something. Something that should've been obvious." The group stayed silent, watching and listening. "I pushed myself too hard. All I wanted was to help Santa with Christmas, and I didn't listen to my body when it was trying to tell me I was getting sick...a whole two days ago." Oprah's eyes widened. "You were sick two days ago?" Mandy sadly nodded. "I figured I could push through it...and that ended up being a very bad idea." "That's so typical of you to say." Mandy's gaze drifted to Pinkie, who gave an eyeroll. "You always work yourself too hard! It's best to take breaks every once in a while, so you don't get burnout." Mandy couldn't deny it -- her partner was right on the money. But the stubborn part of her resurfaced. "But...but my wish! I can't spend any time with any of you if I'm just rotting away in bed!" "Put it this way, sugarcube." Applejack said. "If'n you're dead, then ya won't be able t' spend any time with us anymore." Her quip was met with silence as everyone's heads turned towards the farmpony. Her blunt honesty didn't surprise anyone, but that didn't mean it didn't sound a little rude in their eyes. "Mm, well, that..." Rarity made eye contact with Mandy again. "And you're certainly not bedridden now, darling. You don't have an ounce of sickness in you." Mandy fiddled with her shirt. Both mares made very good points, she had to admit. She wasn't in bed right now -- she was at a party, with her friends. With her family. With presents, and food, and music. With warmth filling the entire household, top to bottom. With the knowledge that she wasn't one of those people who just sat in bed all day doing nothing. Yeah...every day I go to bed knowing I worked really really hard to stop oddness! And I'm proud of it! I wouldn't trade it for anything else! Even if I didn't help Santa this year, there's always next year. Maybe it's not the end of the world if I missed a year just 'cause I got sick. As long as none of my friends and family are sick, I'm fine. She sighed and stood up. "All right, I concede. Let's put this convo to the way-wayside..." She reached behind her back and pulled out a party cannon, with cat ears embedded on the wheels. "...and get this party started already!" All she needed to do was press the purple button on top of the barrel to set the cannon off, showering confetti on everyone. The music blared throughout the lower level of the house. Some partygoers talked, while others sung and danced. Others were moreso concerned with the food than anything else. In the kitchen, Mandy had gathered with Pinkie and Fluttershy, munching on some fudge pretzels. "And then..." Fluttershy said, giggling throughout. "...Blitzen fell in the snow!" Mandy erupted into laughter, clutching her stomach as she felt its sides begin to ache. "Oh, that's rich! Wish I could've been there to see that! I would take soooooo many pictures!" Before Pinkie could chime in, Olive walked up, carrying a huge stuffed bunny with fluffy yellow fur and a pink bow around its neck. In her other hand, she held a rather large present, and was clearly struggling with both items. "H-hey!" she said, setting the items down. "I got your gifts, Mandy. Took me a while to find them in the walk-in closet, but I got 'em." Pinkie rubbed the bunny's leg. "Ooh, it's so soft!" "It has to be." Olive hugged the toy close. "It's designed for Mandy to cuddle with and sleep with. Kind of...like a cloud, but in stuffed toy form." Mandy tilted her head. She couldn't understand why Olive was giving her an animal that felt like a cloud when she could just get a cloud from the sky, but the more she looked into the animal's green eyes, the warmer she felt. "It's cute! Thank you!" she chirped. "But maybe you should put it out of the way for now, so it doesn't get dirty." "Good idea." Olive said. "Open your other gift." As with every boxed present she received on Christmas (or really, any package addressed to her in general), Mandy performed her tried-and-true analysis on what could be in this box. She levitated it closer to her and began. Hmm...lightweight, doesn't really make much noise...did Momma give me an empty box? 'Cause it sure feels like she gave me an empty box! She tore the bow off and nudged the box open. Immediately, a barrage of bright multicolored lights hit her in the face, causing her to yelp in surprise and shield her eyes. Upon closer inspection, however, she found a set of wing covers, tailored to fit over each individual feather in her wings. Each feather on the covers was colored in a color found in the rainbow, as well as those outside of the rainbow -- turquoise, pink and gray, among others, were all seen. The glowing gift was truly a spectacle to behold. "Here, let me put it on you." Olive offered, setting the toy down and getting to work applying the covers onto Mandy's wings. Once she was done, she conjured up a mirror and held it up so Mandy could see her reflection. Shimmers formed in the hybrid's eyes as she sucked in air in such a way that it sounded like a squeal. "Oh my gooooosh, it's beautiful!" "It's that, yes, but it's also wing bling!" Olive smiled. "You always complain about your wings freezing up in the cold, so Rarity and I worked together to make these wing covers for you!" Mandy chuckled. "Jeez, if only ya gave me those before I left Headquarters!" "You didn't have your badge phone on you?" Mandy shook her head. "Didn't think to bring it with me." Her face brightened. "Oh! Pickleferries, I almost forgot! Where're you keeping the presents?" "Cubby by the door." Olive took the wing covers off of Mandy and took the plush toy. "I'll stick them in-" "No! No. I'll get 'em. I've got presents for everyone in there, anyway! Hang tight!" Only a couple minutes later, and several presents gathered together in a blob moved across the living room, caught in a rainbow-colored magical aura. Olive, Pinkie and Fluttershy both watched as she moved about the room, giving gifts to everyone, before she finally came back to the kitchen. "Et voila!" she exclaimed, giving the girls their gifts. "Sorry I couldn't get you any more, Pinkie. I wanted to get a whoooooole slew of gifts for you! But I'm not exactly the richest agent in Odd Squad..." Eagerly, the trio opened their gifts. "A new soccer ball?" "A box of Dough Must Go On brownie mix?!" "A pet fountain?" Mandy eyed the confused reactions with a grin on her face, nodding eagerly. "I tried to get you all stuff you liked!" Silence fell in the room. Mandy used the noise coming from the living room to ward off her nervousness, but that didn't stop the sweat from cascading down her face nor her grin from becoming wobbly as she awaited her friends' verdict. Olive's eyes shone in a way they did back when she was a young agent-in-training. "Do you know how long I've waited for this soccer ball, Mandy?" "Yes! A whole year!" the hybrid chirped in response. "You keep talking to Otto about it, so I decided to jump the gun and get it for you!" It looked like a normal soccer ball to the untrained eye. To Olive, however, it was one of the ultimate soccer balls on the market. Perfectly inflated, suited to the Earth's gravity, had a guaranteed 90% scoring rate in games...and was also insanely expensive. Her eyes began to water. "I...I don't know what to say..." "A 'thank you' is just fine." Mandy waved a hand before her gaze drifted to Pinkie, who wore just as big of a grin on her face as her partner did. "This brownie mix...I thought they discontinued it!" Pinkie turned the box over and read the back. "And it's only sold in Equestria, not Toronto! How'd you get it?" A bout of nervous laughter left Mandy's lips. "Um, c-can we just say that I have my ways and leave it at that?" "Sure!" came the enthusiastic response, much to the hybrid's surprise. "Ohh, thank you thank you thank you! I'm gonna make the bestest brownies in the entire world with these!" Mandy caught Olive's raised eyebrow, but ignored it and shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who was observing the fountain. "It's...nice." A frown came forth. "Just nice?" "Just...nice." "Oh, you don't like it!" Mandy shook her head. "Knew I should've gone bigger but I just didn't have enough money for anything extravagant and you know how I love pet fountains and maybe you needed one I dunno so I decided to get one for you and please look I'm so sorry I just-" A hoof to her lips stopped her rambling. "Mandy, I do like it." Fluttershy smiled. "As it just so happens, I've been considering buying one. But I haven't had the time to shop around for one." Mandy's expression immediately brightened. "Thank you. Um...would you mind telling me where you got it? In case I need to buy more?" "The Super Pet Market!" Mandy responded, levitating the three gifts she still had in her possession towards the kitchen counter. Fluttershy nodded, and moved to take the fountain back to the cubby so she could grab it on her way out. "What are those three presents?" Olive asked. "Gifts from Santa!" Olive blinked. "Where are the rest?" "This is it!" Instinctively, Olive moved to place her palm on Mandy's forehead. "No, no. You're definitely not still sick. Odd." "'Course I'm not!" Mandy got to opening her first gift. "I just didn't need that much stuff this year. Next year, I'm gonna go big!" As the hybrid dug her way into the tall box, she came out with a complete set of golf clubs tucked inside of a black caddy bag. Pinkie eyed them curiously. "Golf clubs? Since when do you golf?" "All the time! I'm even in the Hall of Fame!" Olive and Pinkie's jaws dropped as Mandy showed them a picture of her posing next to a golden plaque. "I...y-you've told me you were mini-golfing. These are regular golf clubs." Olive took out a 9-iron. "You're aware of this fact?" "Doiii, Momma." Mandy rolled her eyes. "But the place I go to is a real, actual golfing place! With rolling greens and trees and sand traps and water hazards!" "A-and when do you...when do you find the time for this?" "When you're efficient enough, more time than you'd think." As Olive looked through the caddy bag, her expression soured. "I've always wanted to take up golf..." "Now's a good of a time as any!" Mandy blinked. "Or, well, I guess not...'cuz of the cold and stuff. But you should totally ask Coach Roberts to give you lessons!" Pinkie, her curiosity getting the better of her, picked through the next box, opening it and coming out with a rainbow-colored bow around the tip of her forelock. Mandy gave a happy squeal. "Ooooh, a new hair bow!" She took the accessory in her hands and examined it. "This'll be great for the collection!" "You only have the one bow." "And who said I only have the one?" Olive stammered as she tried to come up with a retort, but found herself being resigned to giving a heavy sigh, not willing to get into a spat with Mandy over something as trivial as hair bows. Mandy tucked the small gift away in her hammerspace spine, and went for the third gift, stored in a horizontal box. She tore it open, revealing a small statue of her and the others, which was engraved with "BEST FRIENDS AND A LOVING FAMILY UNTIL THE END OF TIME" on its base. "Ooooh, a statue of all of us!" Pinkie said. "It looks so cool!" "Now there's something I can spice up my room with!" Mandy took a few more seconds to admire it, then tucked it away in her hammerspace spine. She swept up the rest of the gifts in a field of levitation and moved them over to the cubby. "All righty, gift time over! Now it's time for fun!" Mandy threw her hands up and shuffled Olive and Pinkie to the living room. "Go dance your hearts out! You deserve it!" Both girls did as they were told, without another word spoken. As Mandy watched them go, the sound of tinkling bells caught her attention, and she moved over to the glass door that led to the backyard. Her gaze shifted up to the sky, where a full moon sat, and a shadow moved across it. "Is that...?" She took a pair of binoculars out from her hammerspace spine, and smiled. "It is." For what seemed like hours, she stared up at the moon. If the weather were nicer, she would have gotten a lawn chair and sat out there and watched its mesmerizing glow all night long. But alas, she had to settle for a glass door separating her from freedom. "Thank you, Santa. Thank you so much." The words danced softly on her lips, and as soon as Santa and his reindeer were out of view, she turned her attention back to the party and began making her way to the living room, not hearing the jolly cry from up in the night sky but keeping the sentiment in her heart all the same. "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!"