In the Bedroom, Rarity watched as Pinkie peered under her bed, raising an eyebrow when she watched the party pony's body slowly slide under it until it was halfway there. Clouds of dust kicked up, and the unicorn had to fight the urge to sneeze.
"Honestly, Pinkie Pie..." She shook her head. "I just cannot understand why you don't clean under your bed. There must be so much dust under there!"
"Oh, there is!" Pinkie responded. "Sometimes, I like to sniff it to get sneezes out! You know, when they try to come and you always feel like you have to sneeze, but it doesn't come, so you have to go around making weird faces -- it's the worst!"
Rarity was certainly not one to question Pinkie's method of relieving the urge to sneeze. "I'm quite sure they have a Dust Room for that, you know."
"They have a Dust Room?" Pinkie's back hooves scrabbled along the floor as she laughed and snorted. "Why didn't I think of that?!"
"Um, anyway, darling...what exactly are you looking for, again?"
"A gadget I have to return to Oona." Clattering ensued as Pinkie's hoof moved around under the bed, shifting various objects around that Rarity couldn't see. "She's been on my case about it for weeks!"
"I see. Mm." Rarity's mouth pinched inwards before she spoke again. "Well, I normally don't like to get my hooves dirty, but perhaps I could help you look?"
"Oh, that would be great, Rarity!" Pinkie responded, before she emerged from under her bed. "Hmm, doesn't seem to be under here. Let's try Mandy's room next!"
"Why Mandy's room?"
"Stuff always gets lost in there!" Pinkie waved a hoof before making her way out of the Bedroom. "Don't worry, I'm sure she won't mind."
"Y-yes, well, it's...not that..." Rarity trailed off as her friend dipped out of view. A sigh escaped her as she followed suit, closing the door behind her.
As the two mares made their way inside, none of them were all too surprised to find Mandy asleep, snoring and sleep-talking away as she became oblivious to the world around her. Strangely, the smell of bacon was also present, though they didn't pay it any mind. They began to poke around as politely and as quietly as they could, not finding any trace of the gadget Pinkie was looking for.
A rumbling noise caused Rarity to hit her head on the underside of the cabinet where she was searching, and she rubbed her head as she emerged and backed up. "Odd...I could have sworn I heard the sound of something rumbling just now..." she murmured. She certainly didn't feel hungry, and if Pinkie were hungry, she would most definitely have said something.
The noise came again.
"There it is again!"
"Ouch!" came a yelp from the other side of the room, as Pinkie waved her reddened hoof about. "Something wrong, Rare?"
"Shh. Be quiet for just a couple seconds."
Neither one of them dared to make so much as a single sound.
And then the rumbling noise came forth.
"Ohh, that sound!" Pinkie chuckled. "It's just Mandy's stomach."
Rarity blinked. "Is that all?"
"Yeah! I mean, I'm not hungry. Are you hungry?"
"Er, w-well...no, but-"
"See?" Pinkie said. "I recognize Mandy's stomach growling when I hear it! Just like how Owen can recognize people by their hiccups, I can recognize people by the growls of their stomachs."
Rarity rubbed her forehead. She had to admit, that particular skill of Owen's was one that she would never understand, and the same certainly held true for Pinkie's similar skill -- although, at least for Pinkie, she could chalk it up to "Pinkie being Pinkie". Who knew what was running inside of Owen's head.
"It's quite a shame she doesn't wake up when she's starved." Rarity mused, in an attempt to clear her own head. "One would think that with her...insatiable eating habits, she would be awake the moment the smell of food hit her nose."
Mandy's face contorted into one of upset right then, and her snoring and sleep-talking ceased to exist as her eyes slowly opened. "Zz' that bac'n I zzmell...?"
"And a good morning to you as well, Mandy." Rarity smiled. "There is some bacon on your nightstand, I believe."
"I made that!"
Rarity shifted to Pinkie, who was peering into a small mousehole. "Yes, Pinkie, we're quite aware." she said dryly.
Mandy sat up and eyed the bacon with intrigue. Still, when she only ate one slice that took her a few minutes to eat, it was cause for alarm for Rarity.
"You're...not scarfing down your food like you usually do, darling. Is everything all right?"
"I'm fine!" Mandy set the plate down and chugged her Chocolate Moo-Moo Surprise drink. "I'm just not very hungry. Besides, I'm kinda in a rush, anyway."
Echoing laughter brought both girls' attentions to Pinkie, who now had her face thrust into the hole and was moving her head around. "You? Not hungry? That's a first!" She laughed. "You're always hungry!"
"We heard your stomach growling quite loudly. Are you sure you don't want to eat?"
"Positive!" Mandy flung the covers off of her. "I just ate something last night that still isn't agreeing with me. Now, uh...you think you two mares can leave so I can get dressed?"
"Oh! Yes, yes, of course, we'll-"
"Found it!" Pinkie pulled her face out of the hole and came out with a small hexagonal gadget. "I dunno how it got in there. Thanks for letting me look, partner!"
Rarity didn't have the time to even say that she and Pinkie let themselves in, as the party pony was already bouncing away. Sighing once again, she gave Mandy her goodbyes and slipped out the door.
The hybrid looked at her plate of untouched food in a forlorn manner, before she slowly got up and trudged over to her wardrobe closet. Pinkie's words about her always being hungry stuck in her brain like glue, and she grit her teeth as pain shot through her stomach once more.
Still, she found it fit to ignore the cry for help. She was almost too used to it to let it faze her.
Almost.
Rolling a pencil about on her desk, Olive glanced at the clock on the wall. 3:30, only a half-hour after she had asked Mandy to stop by her office. Otto's cleanup of the office deterred her attention slightly, but part of her began to worry that Mandy had gotten in trouble and needed help.
Sure enough, Mandy came sprinting up the stairs a few seconds later, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and cyan-colored shorts. A red-and-white headband was around her forehead, and her hair and tail were both tied up in two puffs.
"Well, look who finally sho-" Olive blinked as she watched Mandy droop down, hands on her knees and panting heavily. "Did...did you run all the way here?"
"Yeah..." Mandy took a few swigs of the water bottle she was holding in her hand, a satisfied sigh leaving her as her thirst became quenched.
"And why are you in workout clothes?" Otto asked, tucking the duster away on a hook that sat on the far right wall.
"Decided to go to Formation Fitness, just to get a workout. Exercise is great for the physical and mental health of a person, y'know!"
As Olive opened her mouth to respond, Mandy's stomach growled, causing her to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity.
"Clearly I need to stop eating egg rolls." Mandy muttered, setting the water bottle on the table. "I'll be right back!"
With her horn illuminated, she was gone in a flash of light.
"Well...at least she's here, right, Olive?" Otto chuckled, his smile turning into a frown as his partner didn't respond. "Olive?"
"Did Mandy look a little...pale to you?"
The question caught Otto off guard, and he blinked. "Kinda. She might be putting on a few pounds. That would explain why she went to Formation Fitness...and why she ran all the way here."
Olive gave a soft hum. "Hate to say it, but Mandy has been looking just a bit chubbier than usual. But it doesn't explain why she looks so...sickly."
"No big deal, she had some bad food." Otto shrugged. "I've looked worse than that when I've had bad food. Remember when we were forced to eat those egg salad pizzas? How we threw up all over Oprah's carpet?"
Olive gave a heavy shudder. "I never want to relive that again for as long as I live."
"Yeah, me neither."
"I'm back!" Mandy chirped, bounding up the stairs and into the office once again. "Sorry it took me forever and a half. Those egg rolls...blech, I'm not eating those again." She smiled. "Soooooo, what didja need?"
"Oh! I, um..." Olive blinked, forcing herself to stay focused on the task at hand. "I wanted your help with Omi, actually. He and I, we just can't seem to come to an agreement."
"Omi? Your head chef?"
"Yes. He has a habit of intentionally overcooking or undercooking food for agents that he doesn't like. When they complain about it, he just doesn't replace their food and instead tells them to make their own food at home."
"Well that's rude!"
Olive nodded in agreement. "I tried speaking to him on the matter. Otto as well. He refuses to listen to either one of us."
"He threatened to quit!" Otto rubbed his arm and looked at the floor. "And he insulted my meatballs..."
"So what do you want me to do?" Mandy asked.
"Help him..." Olive rolled her hand about. "...work out his issues. You eat a lot, and you cook and bake and all that. You should be able to work things out with him."
Like with Pinkie's comment earlier, Olive's comment stuck in Mandy's brain like glue. How much was "a lot", really? Was it too much? Who was to say. All she knew was that it stung. It really wasn't supposed to, given how often she took insults in stride and even fired back with witty retorts of her own -- but it stung either way. Perhaps it was because Olive had been the one to lay the smackdown this time around.
"Mm...I'll see what I can do, but...I'm not makin' any guarantees!"
"Oh, thank you so much, Mandy." Olive sighed. "He's down in the Breakroom right now."
"Good luck!" Otto waved as Mandy left the office. "You'll need it."
"Yeah, thanks." came the slightly-disheartened reply, as she trudged down the stairs and began thinking further about Olive's comment, finding herself unable to push it out of her head.
Only one agent was currently in the Breakroom, poking away at a piece of fish that looked like it had been thrown back and forth over a fire several times and haphazardly thrown onto a plate.
"Um, Omi?" she said, raising her normally-soft voice. "This fish looks a little...undercooked."
"Mm." Omi didn't even flinch, as he continued to clean the refrigerator doors. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't have insulted my choice of fish."
"I'm sorry. Can I have something else?"
This innocuous question earned her a scoff from Omi. "If you don't like it, then you can make your own fish."
"But...but I don't know how!"
"You have the World Wide Web at your disposal. I'm sure you can find a few recipes for fried fish. Or if you're really desperate, the Shmumber King is located right in the center of town."
By this point, the agent looked close to either having a panic attack or just outright crying. She wasn't sure which one would come first, and she didn't want to find out.
"Omi, I didn't have time to bring a lunch today and I'm really busy, I-"
"Hey!" The chef swiveled around in a sharp motion. "This isn't a place to discuss your life story with me. Eat, or get out."
That did it. The agent got up from the table and began sobbing, her little legs taking her as far as they would go as she abandoned the fish she had refused to eat.
"Hey! Omi!"
The chef's hazel eyes flicked towards Mandy, who, to his surprised, looked quite frail. Frailer than he had ever seen her before.
"Ah, Agent Mandy. Devourer of Odd Squad kitchens across the globe with her incredible appetite and her love of food." He bowed. "Nice to see you again, although I must say, you have put on a bit of weight..."
A "tch" sound left the hybrid, followed by a soft whine. "Y-yeah, well...look, I'm not here for casual conversation. We need to talk."
"Talk? About what?"
Not a minute later, and Mandy had reiterated the details of what Olive and Otto had told her to Omi.
"So I insulted Mr. O's meatballs. Big whoop." Omi rolled his eyes. "Half the time he makes them, he eats the meat before it's cooked!"
Mandy set aside the fact that Otto doing that was dangerous, filing a note away in the back of her brain for later. "This isn't about his meatballs!" she snapped, before giving a heavy sigh. "Look. Why do you shoo agents away who critique your food? Why do you intentionally mess up dishes for agents you don't like?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because it's wrong!" Mandy jabbed a finger in the direction the other agent had run in. "I know what you did to that agent a minute ago and I saw it with my own two baby-blue eyes! I-"
The loud sound of her stomach crying out in hunger stopped her tirade. She grunted and fiercely clutched it, gritting her teeth while sending a message to the organ to stop making so much noise. The harder and louder it growled, the less she found herself able to ignore it, and this fact was well on display to any agent who was watching.
Which, of course, included Omi, who raised an eyebrow and gave a soft "hm" of curiosity.
He got up from his seat and moved towards one of the spherical refrigerators that hung on the wall, grabbing his rag and resuming his work on cleaning the door. "Seems like you're hungry."
He stopped, and turned.
"But you're more than just hungry, aren't you?"
Mandy's eyes widened.
"Don't think I don't know what you're doing."
"What?"
Omi tucked the rag away in his pocket this time, and grabbed the plate of undercooked haddock that had been pushed aside. "This is the undercooked fried fish I tried to give to that agent. Does it look appetizing to you?"
Mandy's mouth began to water. Undercooked it may be, and dangerous it was to safely consume, but to her, it still looked good. Despite this, however, she retained her common sense, and furiously shook her head.
"No! That stuff can kill me if I-"
Her stomach cried out again, like a pet begging its owner for food. This time, the pain was fierce enough to where she gave a sharp cry of pain in response as she clutched it.
Omi's expression was cool and collected. "I will give you this fish to eat, and only this fish to eat. Under one condition."
"You're trying to strike a deal with me over raw fish? Are you insane?!"
"You tell me what's going on and why you're starving yourself."
No...he knows. He knows!
Dread was the only thing that Mandy felt. She didn't want anyone to know that she had been starving herself -- although the evidence would have made itself known either way, she had wanted it to remain secret for as long as she could, mainly because she knew what would happen.
He's gonna try feeding me a whole bunch of stuff, isn't he? He works in the Food and Beverage department, of course he would, why are you asking such a rhetorical question, Ma-
"Ohh, come now, Mandy." Omi said, noticing the petrified look on her face. "Just by looking at you and distinguishing the type of growls your stomach has been giving off, it isn't hard to connect the dots. I didn't get this job by kissing the feet of the previous Mr. O, you know."
Mandy tried to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.
"If you confide in me...then I suppose I can tell you the reasoning behind my actions." Omi raised an eyebrow. "So. Do we have a deal?"
It was time for a retreat into her own thoughts, now.
Okay, so maybe he won't feed me a whole bunch of food. Her gaze flicked to Olive and Otto's office. But what if he tells them? Then they'll stuff me silly like a Thanksgiving turkey, and then...and then...
It'll be free reign for them to scold me about how much I eat, and how much weight I've gained.
And it'll be free reign for everyone else, too.
She looked into Omi's eyes. Cold and collected, but also with a small sense of warmth to them that let her know he wasn't all bad. He reminded her of Oksana, in a way, with her standoffish demeanor but warm passion for her work and for the agents she served. Maybe all Food and Beverage workers were like that -- who knew. She had no experience in the position to speak so confidently on that.
Forcing herself to return to reality, she nodded. "All right." Her stomach growled again, causing her to clutch it harder. "I suppose I can tell you. But I have a condition of my own I'd like followed."
"Which is?"
Mandy leaned in close. "You don't tell another living, breathing soul about this. It stays between us."
"Fine by me." Omi nodded. "Perhaps your story will be more interesting than the one that agent tried to give me before. I'll be washing some dishes while you talk."
As he got up and moved towards the utility sinks, Mandy took a deep breath, and closed her eyes as the memories began to come back to her.
"People have talked about my eating habits since I first got transformed into a pony-human hybrid. How I eat so much and yet I don't gain much weight." Her ears picked up the sound of water running. "I never used to eat this much before I transformed, and I don't know why I love to eat, but...it's long been the topic of conversation among some agents."
The first memory that surfaced was one that had taken place around Thanksgiving last year. No big family feast had taken place like the year before, but rather, everyone resolved to mix things up and spend Thanksgiving their own way.
For Olive and Otto, that meant doing a small celebration with Mandy.
But unfortunately, things did not go quite according to plan.
As the Director duo ascended the stairs towards their office and opened the door, their eyes bore witness to a rather hideous sight. Crumbs, napkins and other garbage littered the coffee table and the floor it sat on. Dirty plates were stacked high. A drink or two had spilled on the table, creating a mess.
And in the midst of it all sat a Mandy with a distended stomach, a face full of crumbs, and a feeling of sleepiness that anyone who knew her knew too well was the beginning of a food coma.
"Mandy..." Olive blinked. "Y-you ate our entire Thanksgiving meal! Including the 30-pound turkey!"
"And the five-layer cake we made!" Otto pointed out, his voice carrying an edge of disappointment.
"Yeah, and it was a good meal too..." Mandy purred contentedly.
"How can any single human being devour an entire feast in the span of five minutes?!"
"Took me a little bit to work on the turkey, but I made good work of it!" Mandy chirped in response to Olive, patting her stomach.
"That...that was supposed to be a meal for all three of us." Olive hung her head and sighed. "Guess you and I are gonna have to do something small, partner."
"I guess I wouldn't mind making something simple, like a pizza..."
"In the meantime, Mandy..." Olive placed her hands on her hips. "...we're leaving you to clean up this mess. Honestly, don't you ever think of anything besides food? Can't you have a decent, well-rounded meal like the rest of us?" Olive jabbed a thumb at her partner. "Not even Otto eats the way you do, and you and I both know how much he loves food!"
Otto blinked in surprise for a moment, somehow both expecting and not expecting Olive to compare Mandy to him. "Wait until the weight gain settles in. I speak from experience." he remarked, rubbing his own stomach, that of a little pudge.
Olive took a deep breath. "Let's just...go and make the pizza. I need to de-stress before I lose my top and do something I'll end up regretting later."
Mandy watched the partner pair leave, the brunt of their words finally hitting her in full force. She glanced at the mess she had made, then to her stomach, and back again, before a soft whine and a few tears began bubbling forth.
The next memory resurfaced.
"Applejack, I didn't eat your pies!"
"It had to have been you, Mandy!" the farm pony exclaimed, thrusting a hoof towards her coworker. "You're the only one who's able t' eat multiple pies in one sittin'! I was gone for only five minutes and I come back to an empty wagon!"
Mandy's gaze flicked to the wagon in question, completely bare with not even a single crumb on it remaining. "What about Pinkie Pie?! She can eat tons of them!"
"She has the day off today!"
Before Mandy could fire off a retort, Rarity arrived on the scene. "Applejack, what's going on?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Oh, Rarity!" Applejack placed her hooves on the unicorn mare's shoulders. "Rarity, ya gotta help me. Mandy ate all one hundred of my pies!"
"The pies you were planning to hand out to the townsfolk at the festival?"
"Yup! And she ate every last one of 'em!"
Mandy could feel Rarity's gaze boring into her. It was like a knife that pierced her heart. "But I didn't!" she exclaimed. "I already had lunch, and it didn't involve any of her pies!" She could feel tears beginning to pool in her eyes. "Rarity, please, you have to believe me. The townsfolk love Applejack's pies. I know she was planning to hand them out. I would never eat them no matter how hungry I was!"
It was quite clear that Rarity was torn. Her gaze moved to Mandy, then to Applejack as she struggled to determine which side she would take. The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that Applejack might be right -- Mandy might not eat her pies unless she was just that desperate for food and nothing else was available. Her hunger was limitless, and she had a penchant for sometimes eating stuff that wasn't even edible to begin with, to boot. It pained her to have to go against a friend and take another friend's side, but Applejack was the Element of Honesty, known for telling the truth and hardly ever spitting out a lie.
"Darling...as much as I'd like to believe you, I have to take Applejack's side here."
Mandy's eyes widened. "What?!"
"The only other agent who could eat that many pies is Pinkie Pie, and she's not here."
"W-w-what if it were other agents who got hungry? A-and then they ran up to the wagon while Applejack was gone and snatched the pies?"
This desperate retort got a snort from Applejack, and a pitiful look from Rarity.
"It's well past lunchtime. I'd imagine most everyone has eaten."
Tears were falling down Mandy's face, now. She took a step back, her legs quivering.
"Rarity...y-you really don't think..."
"If you want to make it up to my partner, you should apologize and make more pies with her."
"There ain't no way in the name of Celestia I'm makin' any more pies with that glutton!" cried Applejack, stamping a hoof down to emphasize her words before giving a mighty huff and turning towards the steel double-doors. "I'm headin' back to th' farm. Least my family has more decency than you!"
Mandy slumped to the ground.
"If you'd like, darling, I can help you make some more pies and pass them out."
"That would be just dandy, partner. Thank you." Applejack smiled at Rarity, before her smile quickly turned into a frown as she shot daggers at Mandy. "And as for you..."
Mandy was too shocked to speak, and stared dead-ahead.
"Don't even think about takin' any of my apples -- from here or from Equestria! Celestia knows you'll just eat all of 'em straight off the trees!"
"APPLEJACK!!" came the ferocious and desperate scream that caused a few heads to turn. From there, Mandy launched into blubbering that was near-unintelligible.
"Don't you try and gain my sympathy!" Applejack snapped. "You ate those pies, and you know it!"
The pitiful look returned to Rarity's face once again.
"C'mon, Rarity. How's about you help me?"
"Oh, I would, but I haven't the slightest idea on how to make a pie..."
"I'll teach ya!"
"Lovely!" Rarity giggled softly. "Let's go."
All Mandy could do from there on in was watch them go. She buried her face in her hands and cried like there was no tomorrow. Sorrowful wails escaped her, and some agents stopped to provide their comforts and shoulder her pain.
But to her, it wasn't good enough. She remained saddened for the rest of the day, avoiding Applejack and Rarity at all costs. She even swore off apples that day, and vowed to never eat a single food that had been touched by the fruit ever again.
"I used to take the comments in stride. I tried to not let them get to me. But it became evident that they were getting to me."
"How so?"
Mandy lifted her head up. "I'd have this recurring nightmare of agents telling me how I eat so much. How I'm so overweight. How I wasn't like this before I transformed, and wondering what had happened that caused me to develop such a large appetite." She exhaled. "It haunted me for a long time, and...it still does to this day. Because people keep on making comments about my weight. Yelling at me for eating things I shouldn't. Teasing me for gaining a mere couple pounds."
Omi picked up a dirty plate. "So what would make you happy again?"
"If people could just...not bring up my eating habits so much." Mandy's voice edged into a soft whine. "See, it's one thing to bring it up a couple times, even as a joke, and I'm fine with that! But when it happens all the time..."
"All the time?" Omi turned around. "What, you can't go a single meal without someone pointing out your eating?"
"Not every single meal...but a lot of them." Mandy sighed. "All these comments, they're weighing me down..."
"Hm. That seems to make sense. I would imagine most people's self-esteem would be crushed by such comments." Omi resumed his dishwashing. "So why are you starving yourself, then?"
"I don't want to eat if people are just going to make fun of me for it." Mandy twiddled her fingers. "Lately people have been talking about how I put on a couple pounds, and..."
"You don't like it."
"No." Mandy's eyes began to water. "I just wish people would let me eat and accept me for who I am. Even if I do eat whole Thanksgiving feasts and have a large appetite." She grit her teeth and raised her head. "I’m still a competent agent! Isn’t that enough for them?!"
Omi took a moment to digest the information given, working on washing the final plate in the sink. Once it was placed in the drying rack, he turned off the water and turned around to face Mandy once more.
"Mandy...you've confided in me. So now, I'm going to confide in you."
Mandy blinked slowly.
"That was the deal, was it not?"
"Well, y-yes. Go ahead."
Omi took a seat across from Mandy, and gazed into her slightly glassy and slightly bloodshot eyes. He took a deep breath before he laid his confession out on the table.
"The reason I've been doing what I'm doing is because...of Oksana."
"Oksana?"
"Yes." Omi nodded. "You know her, right? She was Precinct 13579's sole cook?"
"Uh-huh."
"Oksana and I were good friends before she left." A smile formed on Omi's face. "We would exchange recipes, share cooking tips, and she would even offer her supplies for me to use."
"The diamonds? The rose petals? All that stuff?" Mandy had to wonder just how rare the items that Oksana had sought out really were -- talk around Headquarters had led her to believe they were rare, and she made the grueling journey to get them in part because of that.
The other part was, of course, because she was dedicated to her job and the agents she served.
"Oh, yes." Omi nodded again. "Oksana may be emotionless and stoic on the outside, but she has a heart of gold on the inside."
Mandy couldn't help but smile a genuine smile for the first time in a while. "Aww, that's so sweet!"
"But." Omi raised a finger. "Despite her efforts to get the supplies, agents would often reject the food because it wasn't 'perfect'. Too undercooked, too overcooked, etcetera." His expression darkened. "Many of them complained, and even though they knew what effort she put in to get what she needed to make good food, they didn't care. So long as they were fed, that was all that mattered in the end."
"So what happened?"
"She and I sat down and had a conversation. She asked me if the agents at my precinct would often reject my food and ask them to make something else. Now, since I don’t do what she does in traversing far and wide for items and ingredients, I couldn’t quite emphasize with her as much as I wanted to." Omi said. "But when she asked me that question, it made me realize something. How I had agents asking me about Mr. O and his cooking skills, and some especially bitter and cold-hearted ones who wanted him to fire me so he could take my place. It was like a lightbulb had gone off in my brain."
Mandy's eyes widened. She couldn't deny that the Food and Beverage department was perfect for Otto, but she just couldn't imagine him as an Odd Squad cook. Maybe it was because he would most definitely eat the food the second it was finished being prepared. Or maybe it was because he had gotten increasingly good as an Investigation agent.
"When I expressed my concerns to her, she gave me a suggestion." Omi exhaled. "If agents hated my cooking so much, then they could make their own food. She told me that as an Odd Squad cook, I shouldn’t bow down to the whims of agents -- that it was sort of like giving a child food that they want when they won’t eat their vegetables. You eat what you’re offered and that’s it."
Faulty logic, if one asked Mandy. Still, that didn't stop her from sparing at least a few shreds of sympathy. "So I'm guessing agents started to complain?"
"Boy, did they ever. Even Mr. and Ms. O spoke to me about it." Omi chuckled. "But I didn't care about the criticism. I brushed my bosses off. And I just kept putting as much passion as I could into my dishes."
"You sound passionate."
"Oh yes. I've been cooking ever since I was little. It's my favorite thing to do. That's part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to get into the Odd Squad Academy."
Mandy tapped her chin. "So what would get you to go back to how you used to offer food to agents?"
"To be honest, I feel like the only people who could do something are Mr. and Ms. O themselves." Omi sighed. "If these kids weren't so picky...perhaps they could see how much passion I have."
"Maybe you need to offer broader food options." Mandy suggested. "Try three foods every day, served to agents. And in the meantime, I can convince Momma and Otto to have the agents be nicer to you, have them recognize your talent and passion!"
"That's not a bad idea." Omi's expression brightened, and he nodded furiously. "You're Ms. O's adopted daughter, no? Perhaps you can try and talk to them."
"I'd be happy to!"
The loud sound of Mandy's stomach growling cut into the conversation, making itself known for the first time as though wondering if talk time was over and it was feeding time now. She clutched it again and grit her teeth.
"Here."
Omi got up and went to the fridge, taking out a brown paper bag and rummaging through it until he pulled out a big red Pink Lady apple.
"You can have the apple from my lunch."
As he set it on the table, Mandy eyed it hungrily. Her mouth instantly began to water, and she very nearly started drooling before she came back to her senses. "A-are you sure?"
"I know it's not much, but...consider it thanks. For helping me out. And an apology for, um..." Omi scratched the back of his head. "Insulting you about your weight earlier."
Every single muscle inside Mandy was telling her to eat the apple right away and leave no piece, no peel, no drop of juice behind. But she held off just for a few more seconds.
"Does this mean you'll be a little more open-minded about giving food to agents?"
"If Mr. and Ms. O can help their agents not take my skills for granted, then yes." Omi made a "go on" motion with his hand. "Now go on, eat your apple. I promise no one's looking."
That was the only prompt she needed. Mandy eagerly took the apple with her tongue and ate it in one fell swoop, core and stem included. An "mmm" sound left her as she felt her body physically deflate, and a sigh left her when she swallowed. "It's been so long since I've had proper food..."
"How many days have you been starving yourself?"
"Only a few. But it's not completely 'starving'." Mandy said. "I've been eating little things here and there in secret, so I don't collapse and faint. Like that apple, for example."
Omi wrinkled his nose, not finding the heart to tell Mandy that an apple wasn't necessarily a small thing. "Mandy, if I may give you a word of advice?"
"Hmm?"
"Just like how I want Mr. and Ms. O to recognize what I do...perhaps you should tell everyone about how their comments are hurting you. Make them realize that you are a good agent in spite of your eating habits." Omi tilted his head. "You’re the second-in-command of Precinct 13579, no? They have to listen to you."
Mandy blinked. "I mean, I suppose I can, but I don't know if they're willing to listen to me..."
"You just have to make your voice heard. Put some passion into it. Like what I do with my cooking."
"Passion..." Mandy closed her eyes, thinking for a few moments before a smile formed on her face. "Yeah! I have tons of passion!" She chuckled. "Thanks, Omi."
"It's no problem at all." Omi returned the smile eagerly. "I have a feeling we are going to become the best of friends, Mandy. You're always welcome in the Breakroom anytime."
"Really?!"
"You're a respected agent in Odd Squad. It would be downright criminal of me not to give you some hospitality."
"Oh, thank you." Mandy could feel her eyes start to water again. "It means so much to me."
"Don't think anything of it." Omi waved his hand dismissively before beginning to walk away. "Now, I'm going on break. You should get back to HQ and tell 'em what you think."
Feeling renewed, Mandy hopped out of her seat and began starting for the steel double-doors. "I will! See you later, Omi!"
As Omi watched her go, he couldn't help but let his smile grow bigger. His heart, once bitter and cold, now was enveloped in warmth. It was oft a side effect of Mandy's enthusiasm and good cheer, but one would be surprised she even had enthusiasm and good cheer to begin with in her current state -- Omi himself included.
"That Mandy...what a sweet kid. I hope she'll be all right."
As Mandy arrived back at her own Headquarters, waves of empowerment coursed through her. She never realized how much she needed to hear Omi's words, but she was most definitely grateful for them, and it almost took her mind off of how hungry she was.
Key word being "almost".
Her stomach growled once more, yet another desperate cry for food the same way baby birds chirped for worms.
"Hey, I gave you an apple. At least appreciate that." she said, pounding her stomach to silence it as she walked through the steel double-doors. "Now, time to get back to work and-"
"Surprise!"
The sudden cry nearly made Mandy jump clear out of her suit and her entire skin. Instead, she stumbled backwards, falling on her rump as she let her jaw drop and stared at the sight that laid before her.
All of her friends were smiling, each holding a delectable dish that would make any chef start drooling. Behind them stood a table with a wide array of food that looked like it could feed an entire small town. It was the dream of any hungry person, and under normal circumstances, Mandy would have bowled down every last one of her friends and gone right to town on demolishing every last foodstuff.
But these weren't normal circumstances, of course.
"We prepared this huuuuuuge feast of food for you!" Pinkie chirped, oblivious to Mandy's shocked expression.
"We noticed how pale and thin you've been looking recently, and you told me you weren't feeling well, so we made some stuff that's perfect for bugged tummies!" Olive smiled, holding out several slices of toast on a plate.
Deep in the bowels of Mandy's disturbed mind, her vision of the scene twisted. What was a genuinely kindhearted attempt at helping a friend get better became a genuinely coldhearted attempt at force-feeding a victim.
Olive's expression, in turn, went from warm to malicious. "But don't eat too much. We don't want you to gain more weight, after all."
"Don't even think I pitched in t' help ya!" Applejack marched forward, her plate of apple pie now completely gone. "After you ate my pies, why would I?"
"We're just looking out for your health, Mandy." cooed the sweet but poisonous voice of Oprah.
And then, everyone began marching forward. "Now eat. Eat. Eat!" they began to chant, the word "eat" resounding through the warped space the more they chanted it.
Mandy began moving backwards, although she didn't get very far, and her back immediately made contact with the door. Her eyes were wide, and her hair and tail were both bushed up like that of a cat.
She felt her stomach churn away.
"No! I don't want to!"
"But you must!" came the unisonant cry, as plate after plate was thrust into her face.
Her stomach growled once again, this time loud enough that she could have sworn the room shook just a little. Everyone looked around in surprise, the smiles fading from their faces for only a single fleeting moment before they returned.
Mouths opened to reveal row after row of teeth, jagged and sharp like a shark's.
The choir singsonged.
"Now open wiiiide..."
Mandy began to hyperventilate, now. "Leave me alone!"
"You must!"
"Stop!"
The smiles faded once again. Everyone leaned back, taking the food with them. Stares of disapproval was the next hivemind emotion to be put on display.
"All right then." Oprah huffed. "If she refuses to eat..."
She reached behind her back, and pulled out a fork that was nearly bigger than her. A toothy smile accompanied her next words.
"Then we'll shove it down her throat."
Rainbow seemed thrilled at this prospect as she rubbed her hooves together. "Let's fatten this puppy up!"
"Then we can have all the food we want without her in the way!" Rarity declared.
Mandy went paler. So pale that her skin looked about as white as a sheet of paper. Anxiety and dread held her heart in a vicegrip. A very, very small part of her realized that this wasn't what was actually going down in reality, but it was nothing but a mere tiny voice in a sea of voices that made up her conscience.
All the hybrid could hear was laughter after that.
Pure, mocking laughter.
She vividly remembered having a nightmare like this, once. A nightmare where everyone was out to get her and make her life miserable. She took pride in the fact that it was just a dream, and in the real world, her friends loved and appreciated her.
But this was the real world. Her friends were bullying her, jeers and taunts flying from their poisonous mouths while they chased that dominance high for as long as they could.
"S-stop it!" she cried, to no avail as the laughter grew more intense and she covered her eyes.
"Mandy, please. Listen to your co-workers. Your friends. Your family. They just want to help."
Mandy's head snapped up, and she looked around for the source of the ever-familiar voice.
"H-Haruko?"
"I will be waiting for you in the Magical Grasslands."
Whatever hope she had left completely died in that moment.
I thought Haruko was gonna save me from this...this torture! S-she's here...she was here...but now...
Oh Haruko, come back!
"C'mon, Mandy. Don't you want something to eat?"
In contrast to the harsh tones of the others, Peaches' voice and expression was calm, soothing, inviting. She held out some banana bread, freshly cooked and ready to be eaten. For all intents and purposes, she was the only good guy (er, gal) in this situation.
But Mandy was too anxious and too weak to be rational like that.
Her vision began to blur, leaving the shapes of her friends as complicated smears. "Leave me alone!" came her shrill and cracked cry, before she used what was most likely the last of her magic to teleport as far away as she possibly could.
She arrived on the city streets, deep in the heart of downtown Toronto. As she landed on her stomach with an "oof" noise, she tried to process what was around her. People and ponies alike stared at her, but otherwise kept to themselves as they walked by.
A boom.
And then another boom.
And then, the streets became alive with the sounds of panic.
Mandy could hear feet and hooves drumming on the ground as everyone began to soar past her. The sound of lasers making impact with various objects and buildings mixed in with the sound of screaming and yelling was hell on her eardrums, but she didn't care.
"A loose laser chicken...!" she tried to call out, as she slowly rose to her feet and allowed them to guide her to safety. Her voice was nothing more than a soft rasp, leaving it completely unheard amidst the hysteria.
She felt like her limbs were made of gelatin...and thinking about that just made her more prone to start eating them. But even she knew, in spite of her hunger, that she needed her limbs to live. She only tried eating them once or twice before for the occasional random bit, anyway.
"No...I'm losing speed..."
Her feet moved slower, slower, slower. She could feel her eyes gradually beginning to close, and her stomach growling with more sadness than before.
Suddenly, she was brought back to reality when she tripped on something hard. Her body careened forward until she tumbled onto the sidewalk and came to a stop directly in front of a crosswalk sign.
"Walk sign is on to cross. Berry Avenue, walk sign is on to cross..."
The booming sounds grew closer.
In Mandy's blurry vision, a figure consisting mostly of white made itself known. It advanced closer and closer to her, flashes of red emanating from its head as it made small clucks.
M-my vision...I can't see anything...
Numbness shot through Mandy like a bullet. She could hardly feel a thing, now. Even the pain that had been festering inside of her stomach was starting to go away, little by little.
Mustering up what power she had left, she sent it straight to her horn, and fired a thin rainbow-colored laser.
A complete and utter miss.
I can't...I'm slipping...
Her head slumped to the ground.
I...don't want to...be fed anymore. But I...I want to live...
The sound of distant panicked voices, although so dull she couldn't make them out, stuck in the back of her mind.
No...d-don't feed me...please...I want to...
Her eyes fully closed, and the world became silent.
When Mandy next opened her eyes, she was met with a view that was starting to feel familiar.
Too familiar, if one asked her.
All she could see were four blobs hovering above her, a white ceiling sitting above them. Mouths were moving, but no sounds came out. Worried expressions were put on, but those seemed to be just mere fronts to fool people.
In spite of Mandy's circumstances, however, she was well-aware of one thing.
I'm...alive? But how?
Only a small dose of feeling rushed back to her body, and it was then that she felt the existence of an oxygen mask on her face.
And...needles in her inner arm.
No...this can't be. There's...there's no way!
She tried to will herself to yank the needles out. She put every ounce of strength she had into it. But it wasn't much, and she could barely feel herself move.
They fed me.
They fed me, and these... evil things are acting so concerned. Like they aren't even trying to fatten me up!
Her body, aching and stiff, tried in vain to lash out. She tried to punch and kick with all her might, thrashing about like an angered wild bull.
A hand was placed on her shoulder, forcefully pushing her down.
Without even thinking, she opened her mouth and clamped it down.
A scream rocketed through her eardrums for all of three seconds before it began dying with a whimper, and then continued dying with words that she couldn't make out.
Good. Now I can at least fight 'em off! She tried to smirk, but it looked more like the attempt at a smile of someone numbed up on novocaine.
Finally, after a minute or two, she slowly stopped thrashing, the energy she had gained being completely spent. Her body fell still, and her eyes began closing once again.
No...don't let me slip away again! I feel weak, but I need to get out of here...
It was involuntary. Her mind was plunged into the darkness once more, and she was forced to allow fate to guide her to where she needed to go.
"Mandy."
Mandy's eyes slowly opened.
"Mandy, can you hear me?"
Her eyes opened fully.
She glanced around the area she was in, trying to collect her bearings. It took her quite a bit to realize exactly where she was, but when she did find out, her heart became filled with joy.
"The Magical Grasslands!" she squealed, her head moving back and forth. "Haruko? You here?"
"I am here."
The majestic kitsune stepped out of seemingly nowhere, her green eyes shimmering with the same warmth, hope and happiness they did before.
Mandy cried, although she couldn't feel the tears cascading down her face. "Haruko!!" she cried, lunging for the kitsune and enveloping her in a mighty hug. "Oh, I-I thought you abandoned me back there! I got so scared, and, and I-"
"Shhh." Haruko raised a paw to Mandy's mouth. "Come and sit by me, and we will talk."
Mandy eagerly did as she was told, sitting on the grass and staring up at the sky, with its endless splash of blue and its clouds that seemed to shape themselves into whatever she wanted them to be.
"Mandy." Haruko began. "I can sense your distress. Your hunger. Your suffering." A pause. "I saw your twisted fantasy. How everyone was approaching you, wanting you to eat and trying to force-feed you. But you refused." She glanced at Mandy. "Why did you refuse?"
Mandy didn't answer that question. She practiced a tactic of avoidance -- staring at the sky and distracting herself with all the clouds in the air.
"You may confide in me. Remember, I am an ally. It is just you and me."
Something told her that her tactic would not work any more than it already did. Haruko was much too smart for something like that, and she knew it. Gritting her teeth, she took a moment to compose herself, then took a deep breath before she spoke.
"When I first got my wings and tail and horn and all that, I developed a larger appetite. I could eat a small salad and still be hungry for three larger ones. No one knew why this change happened -- a pony-human hybrid is a new and weird species. But even though some people got used to it over time, others kept on bringing it up. Berating me for my eating habits. Yelling at me for eating entire Thanksgiving feasts in one go." She sighed. "At first, the comments didn’t faze me too much. But as time went on, it felt like people were always bringing up my eating habits. I would get stares and comments, and...it nicked away at my self-esteem until the tipping point."
Haruko nodded once. "And what was the tipping point?"
"Lately people have been saying how I put on a few pounds. Even my own mother has been saying it, and...it spurred me to stop eating." Mandy said. "But I went to visit Omi, the chef who works at my mother’s precinct, and...he gave me some words of advice. About how I should tell everyone about my feelings and how I should put passion into it to make my voice heard." She paused. "But..."
"But?"
"I’m afraid that...no one’s going to listen to me. No matter how hard I try. They’ll continue to berate me and yell at me and bully me and critique how I eat..."
Mandy couldn't finish. She buried her face in her hands, feeling the tears pulled from her eyes make her hands wet in the process. Choked sobs left her as she completely broke down, the comments from all of her friends playing in her head once more.
She has been getting a little chubbier...
You really can pack it away, huh?
Take it easy, there! You don't want to get too fat.
She honestly wasn't sure what was worse in that moment -- the comments themselves, or the bringers of the comments. She hadn't been thinking rationally the whole time, and apparently, she wasn't going to start now. Tears continued to fall as she let out sob after sob, wail after wail, and all while Haruko was watching her with that patient gaze of hers.
Although she would never show it, the kitsune felt pain deep inside her heart. Pain that Mandy was only a mere eleven years old, and yet she was going through this, suffering from these hurtful comments that wore her self-esteem down to almost nothing. Pain that she had been so distraught over the constant comments about her weight and eating habits that she had resorted to starving herself just to make them stop coming.
Pain that all of this had led to her near-death.
Finally, after Mandy had calmed down a little, Haruko spoke her next words of wisdom.
"But it does not hurt to try."
Mandy's head lifted, and promptly swiveled over to her. "Huh?"
"It does not hurt to make an effort, Mandy. Try to put Omi's advice to good use."
All the hybrid did was blink, half-confused and half-despaired.
"From what I understand, eating is a part of who you are. Everyone must eat, but to you, eating is a very special thing. It is not just something you must do to heal your body, mind, and soul. It is a time to bond, to laugh, to share."
Mandy listened to her words, slowly digesting each and every one of them.
"I would imagine how you eat, and how much you eat, is quite humorous to your friends and family..." Haruko, in one of her rare moments of faltering, paused to try and amend her words. "But it should not be the only thing they notice about you, of course. You have other qualities that make you wonderful and special. I am sure they are well aware of that. They just need a little reminder."
Somehow, Mandy doubted that. A "tch" sound forced its way out of her, her gaze growing steely.
Haruko placed a paw on her knee. "Be yourself. Express your feelings. They will understand, Mandy." Her gaze grew warm. "Believe in them. Believe in you."
Mandy rested her head on her knees, the whistling of the wind providing a blanket of comfort as she retreated into her own mind to think.
Maybe Haruko's right. My friends are reasonable people. Er, reasonable...agents? Yeah, that's a better universal term.
If I just communicate with them, they're bound to listen! After all, that's what Fluttershy tried to do in regards to my sleep, and they listened then. Who's to say they won't listen to me telling them about their comments and how much they hurt me? I have enough self-advocacy skills to back me up if they try to fight back.
Rationality slowly began trickling back into Mandy's brain. For the first time in a while, a genuine smile formed on her face.
"I suppose...it doesn't hurt to give it a shot." She stood up with a huff. "Okay! I'll make my voice heard and tell them exactly how I feel!"
Silence lingered across the area as she looked around.
"Uh, if I can get out of here, that is..."
"Just wait." Haruko said. "Your departure from the Magical Grasslands will come in time. And before you go..."
Materializing from complete thin air was a hamburger on a plate, three juicy beef patties and three hot buns tall. It looked like the glowed-up food she saw in fast food commercials all the time, and she had to wonder if it was real.
"Please, do enjoy this. I realize you are not experiencing this in the real world, but I do hope you appreciate it all the same."
Mandy's mouth instantly began to water. Without any hesitation, she scooped up the burger whole with her tongue, sending it into her mouth and straight down her esophagus. A happy squeal left her, even though she couldn't feel hunger nor taste nor a sense of fullness in her current state. It just felt good to eat food again -- the mere action of it was enough to excite her.
"Oh thank you, Haruko! I'm feeling so much better now!"
"It is not a problem." Haruko's ear flicked. "I believe it is time to go now."
Sure enough, Mandy had begun slowly floating, her body ascending to the great blue sky above. She turned her head around, her eyes growing wide with alarm.
Haruko held her hand until she was out of reach, watching her slowly disappear into the dark void, the endless...well, limbo between the waking world and the Grasslands. Mandy felt sad that she couldn't enjoy any more of that delicious food, but the hope in her heart still kept her happy for the most part.
Yes...I'll tell them everything. I'll pour my feelings out to them. They have to listen to me! They're my friends, and friends always listen to each others' concerns and worries!
That same feeling of warmth washed over her, and she slowly closed her eyes, allowing herself to be taken to reality once again.
The beeping was annoying.
Mandy had been to the Medical Bay more times than she cared to admit, and yet, the beeping sounds would always annoy her.
A soft moan very nearly formed into an irritated growl as she slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was the same white ceiling and the same blinding light as before. Nothing really new there.
However, there was one thing she noticed right away.
She was stronger.
Her stomach had finally quieted down, its pleading cries for food having been answered. She wasn't as strong as she normally was, but it was definitely a big improvement over how she felt when she first woke up.
How long was I out for? She honestly couldn't tell. For all she knew, it could have been years. Decades, even. Centuries. Outright millennia where guinea pigs ruled the universe. Odd Squad was funny with time travel like that. It could totally happen.
The sound of footsteps broke into her thoughts. Her ears swiveled towards the source of the sound.
"Mandy! You're awake!"
She could hear the voice clear as day. She could see the figure the voice belonged to. It was all so clear to her now.
"Dr. O!" she called out, her voice deeper and more raspy than it usually was, much to her surprise as her eyes widened. Her change of voice was but a mere fly compared to the elephant in the room she wanted addressed. "What happened?"
"Well, from my understanding..." Dr. O tapped his chin. "Someone brought you in. They said they found you laying unconscious near a crosswalk sign, with a laser chicken about to attack you."
Mandy bit her lip. She only barely remembered what had happened after her friends had tried to force-feed her. It was such a blur to her, no doubt a result of the weakness that had overtaken her body.
"Who..."
"They wished to remain anonymous."
Anonymous? Mandy fought the urge to scoff. Honestly, not to brag, but...I'm a legendary Odd Squad agent, they saved me, and they want to remain anonymous? That's insane!
"We had to perform intravenous feeding. IV feeding, for short." Dr. O continued. "The shock and hunger you had experienced caused you to fall into a two-week-long coma."
Mandy glanced at the needle embedded in the crook of her arm. As with a lot of kids her age, she absolutely despised needles. Before, every time she received a shot, she had to cling on to Olive while she comforted her and pat her head and fed her the same "this won't hurt a bit" bull that Dr. O did. And then she got a lollipop, which took all of her worries away.
Of course, she matured, and she wasn't as scared of needles now as she was before.
Maybe it was how many times she had landed in the Medical Bay teetering and dancing on the edge of death that eased her fear slightly...?
The second part of Dr. O's explanation hit her.
"I was out for two weeks?"
"Yes. Luckily, your vitals became stable rather quickly after you were fed." Dr. O glanced at the beeping computer by Mandy's bedside and skimmed through the vitals displayed. All of them seemed rather solid. "And it looks like they're plenty stable now. Let me go ahead and remove the IV, okay?"
Mandy eyed him as he placed one gentle hand on her arm, and used the other hand to slowly pull out the needle. Her ear flapped in response to the pain as she simultaneously winced.
And there's another reason why I hate needles... she thought bitterly to herself, wondering why fate had to make her come here often enough to where she could probably legally declare it her second home.
"How do you feel?" Dr. O asked.
Angry. Hurt. Tired. Sad. In pain, so much pain. You wanna spin a wheel and see if ya come home with the grand prize? Mandy wanted to snap. But in spite of her sour attitude, one thing stuck out in her mind like a sore thumb, and made her feel a rush of emotions that she couldn't describe very well.
I don't feel hungry. All I feel is...emptiness.
She stared at the ceiling for a few moments, trying to recall Haruko's words in her mind. All she could really imagine in that moment, though, was the hamburger she had.
It was so big and so juicy...it felt so filling and so freeing just to eat it without anyone judging me for it or wondering how many pounds I'm gonna gain from it.
I wish I could remake it again. I'd go to Shmumber King or ShmumDonald's or something but they couldn't dream of making that monster of a burger. And if I make one here, someone's bound to notice.
Slowly, she got up from her bed. The sensation in her body was so familiar, yet so foreign at the same time, and she wobbled as she tried to find her footing. "Can I be discharged?"
"Yes. Just make sure to come back in a week for a followup checkup."
Mandy nodded before she made her way out of the Medical Bay, rubbing her head furiously as she struggled to put the pieces of what had happened together in her head.
As empty as I feel right now...some good old-fashioned sleep will help me clear my mind.
The next day, almost everyone was crammed into Oprah's office. Oprah herself, Olive, Otto, Peaches and the ponies were all mingling in casual conversation as they awaited the arrival of the one who had summoned them.
"I'm here!" Rainbow called, soaring into the office and leaving a rainbow streak behind that she could hear at least a few agents react in awe to. "Sorry it took me so long. What's going on?"
"Mandy wanted to see all of us to discuss something." Oprah explained. "She said it was, and I quote, 'urgent and important and if you don't come I will personally drag all your butts over to Oprah's office and force you to listen with the aid of a magic spell Agent Twilight taught me.'"
Twilight merely shrugged as eyes fell on her.
"Maybe it has something to do with the feast we prepared for her." Fluttershy suggested, a worried tone to her voice as her gaze remained fixated on the glass double-doors.
"We were all just trying to look out for Mandy's best interests! Oh, the poor thing hasn't eaten in so long, I figured that having a bunch of food set out for her would fill her tummy right up!" Rarity remarked.
Ascending the stairs in that very moment was the hybrid of honor herself. She took a deep breath, so deep that she could feel her lungs about to burst from how much air she sucked in and expelled.
"It's now or never. Just gotta remember...passion." she muttered to herself, sending a prayer to whoever above that the conversation with the ones she called her friends, the ones she had grouped together as being her family, would go over well.
Her foot hit the top step.
"Agent Mandy. Glad to see you're feeling better."
Her eyes opened, her vision darkened by the sunglasses she had on.
"Yeah, we thought you were gonna be blown to bits by a laser chicken!" Pinkie cried out, which earned her a heavy nudge from Peaches.
Mandy exhaled. "Well, it's lucky I didn't, huh?"
The bitter and rough edges of her tone, lacking any sort of her usual cheeriness, was cause for alarm for everyone in the room. The hybrid really wasn't surprised at the number of worried expressions that were aimed right at her, but perhaps that was because she didn't really care.
"Whoa, what's going on with you?" Rainbow asked.
The sunglasses, seemingly there just for aesthetic purposes, came off.
"Why don't I get right to the point." Mandy remarked, before she took an inhale and spewed out in one single breath, "I don't like the way you all have been obsessing over my eating habits."
"Obsessing over your eating habits?" Otto wasted no time. "Why do you think we-"
"Because every time you see me eating, you just have to bring it up!" Mandy snapped, her mood doing a sudden 180 as the rage that she had kept at bay for so long made her inch ever closer to the boiling point, word by word and sentence by sentence.
More confused expressions, which led her to perform mockeries of, to the others' surprise, no particular characters at all.
"'Oh wow, look at how many cakes she's eating!'" Her eyes gained shimmers in them briefly.
"'Don't you ever think about anything other than food?'" This one was addressed at Olive specifically, and Mandy made sure she knew it by giving her a glare that could cut through and destroy an entire steel plant.
"'Oh, it's amazing how she hasn't put on any weight!'" A "yeah, right" scoff left her.
She clenched her fist and ceased the mocking. "Do you think I wanted this to happen? Yes, I have a large appetite. But it came as part of a package deal with my transformation! Do you really think I can help it if I eat so much?! DO YOU THINK YOUR COMMENTS MAKE ME FEEL ANY BETTER?!"
Their visible flinching made her want to put on a sadistic smile that even Todd would have drawn the line at in his villain days. Fluttershy, in particular, looked close to crying, but Mandy paid her no mind.
Wanting to dispel her anger, she gave a huff. "It's one thing to bring up my eating habits every once in a while. I'm fine with that, really, I am, but...when it happens all the time, every time I eat, it becomes less of a joke or a 'haha, so funny' moment and it becomes more harmful than you think it is. And I'm sick of it!"
Her voice cracked with that last sentence. She hadn't meant for it to crack, but the sadness that lingered in her heart had made it do so without her consent. And with that emotion came tears that slowly began to move forth as she continued.
"The reason I looked as pale and sickly as I did was because...I was starving myself. I didn't want to eat if everyone was just going to make stupid comments about it." Mandy's gaze flicked to... "Applejack, remember that time you thought I ate all one hundred of your pies? The ones you were gonna give out to the townsfolk?" And then, to... "Momma, Otto, how about the time I ate your Thanksgiving dinner meant for the three of us because I was starving, and you yelled at me for it? Do you really think that made me feel any better? To be scolded for something I can't help?"
Applejack lowered her hat in shame, while Olive and Otto both exchanged guilty and heartbroken looks. None of them felt like responding, instead opting to just listen and wait until Mandy ended her ranting tirade and gave them the floor.
"And let's not forget what's been going on recently -- how you all keep on bringing up my gaining a couple pounds. Don't you have any sympathy? E-empathy, even?!" Her gaze moved to Pinkie, the one in the group who was known for her insane eating habits, and then to Oprah, the one in the group who was known for her insane drinking habits. The blue eyes that once signaled innocence now signaled rage and hurt, and both mare and child knew this as they avoided eye contact. "I've been at a healthy weight for years. Even if I do eat a lot, I work it off by fighting oddness and getting good rest and- and flying around all over the place! Seems a lil' nitpicky bringing up my weight in particular, don't you think?"
The vibes of pure guilt hanging about in the room was thick enough to be cut with an industrial-grade knife. Mandy waited for what seemed like days as no one seemed to muster up the gall to respond to her.
Her expression twisted into an ugly grimace. "Unbelievable. Not one of you can explain yourselves? At least say sorry for what you've been doing?" She scoffed. "I nearly died! If that anonymous person...pony...thingie-whoever hadn't saved me when they did, I would've been prey for a laser chicken. Then you wouldn't have a pwecious target anymore. Wouldn't that pain your hearts just so?"
Still no response. Mandy had at least somewhat expected some kind of "don't mock us" clapback or something along those lines, and part of her wanted such a clapback to come along so she could really bring her nastiness out to play on her stage, but nothing came.
"Then I guess that's it. I've said what I've needed to with as much passion as I can muster."
She turned around and headed for the door, only swiveling her head back once to spit out a final bludgeoning sentence.
"There's nothing left to do now but leave you to think about what you've done."
Well, I did it, Omi. Haruko. I spoke my true feelings to them with all the passion and spirit I have. And yet, nothing happened. All they want to do is fester and rot in silence and guilt, without even trying to make amends.
Thank you for the advice, but...
She trailed off. The thought lingered in her mind as she placed her foot on the first stair, and then the other foot on the second one.
"Mandy, wait."
Her eyes opened. Although she refused to turn around, Olive was in the doorway, arm outstretched in what she had to admit was a rather dramatic fashion.
"I...I had no idea...we had no idea you were feeling that way. We thought you could take it. You take almost everything else, you're so resilient." A smile crossed Olive's face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. "But...to be honest, I think we'd be feeling the same way if someone always commented on our eating habits too. Isn't that right?"
Nods met her inquiry, which irked Mandy slightly and made her a little jealous that Olive was easily able to garner a reaction with her spiel and she couldn't. What did Olive have that Mandy didn't?
"Me, I'm just happy you're alive. We thought you died out there with that laser chicken about to attack you." Her voice cracked. Mandy raised an eyebrow as tears began to fall. "I...I should have...I should've listened to my own daughter, and...and I should've thought more about your feelings, and..."
Mandy watched as the Director slumped to the ground and buried her face right into the palm of her hands. Her body quaked and shivered, and it didn't take much deducing to figure out that she had progressed to outright sobbing.
"I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!" came the pleading apology, right before a wail came forth that would have been eardrum-splitting if it weren't muffled by hands. Almost immediately, Otto was at his partner's side, rubbing her back in an effort to comfort her as partners did.
"I'm sorry too, Mandy."
Mandy blinked as her gaze flicked to Oprah, who stood up.
"If you don't want us to comment on your eating habits so much, then we won't. Right, agents?"
Murmurs of agreement filled the hybrid's ears. She ascended the steps and moved back into the office.
"You were acting so much like your usual self just a couple weeks ago, I didn't even notice there was something wrong with you!" Rarity placed a hoof on her chest, a warm smile gracing her lovely face. "Darling, if ever anything is troubling you, anything at all, I am always available to listen."
"Don't be afraid to tell us anything that's on your mind!" Otto smiled as well. "That's what we're here for, as your friends."
"We're all here for you, cuz." Peaches, now. "Always remember that."
Mandy wasn't quite sure to make of this situation. On the one hand, her bitterness slowly began to ebb away, and was replaced by a similar feeling of numbness from when she was in the Medical Bay. The smiles began to warm her heart more on pure instinct than anything else, although she couldn't deny that seeing them made her want to smile too, just because she could.
On the other hand, it certainly seemed like everyone was sorry, but time and time again with this ragtag group of children and mares and catgirls that all bore the excuse of "you're just so unpredictable" had shown her that maybe they just couldn't be trusted to handle her with care. From the incident with Natsu to her sleep-flying around town, she didn't really feel comfortable with trusting them with something that, frankly, was just basic common sense.
You just don't comment on how people eat their food. You don't comment on their weight, either. The stupidest foal in existence knew that much, but these kids and fully-grown mares -- fully-grown mares! -- didn't.
Why would I forgive them for something that should be common sense, I wonder.
She reached behind her back and produced a tissue, thrusting it in front of Olive. "Your nose is running. Have a tissue." she plainly remarked, watching as Otto took it and handed it to his partner for her to blow her nose in.
A mighty sigh left her as she settled on an acceptable answer. "As much as I'd love to accept all of your apologies...a lot has happened over the past two weeks. I just...need some time to process it all."
And with that, her final hurrah was laid on the table. She descended the stairs, fully this time, not bothering to listen to any of her co-workers anymore. Her eyes briefly laid sight to the Breakroom, and for a moment, she contemplated eating something of merit. But her head was aching...no, if she was being honest, her entire body felt like that wannabe villainess who called herself "Mega-Pain Jane" and just complained about body aches all the time, as adults did.
So, she trudged on back to her room to get some more sleep, and hopefully clear her head a little bit.
Maybe, just maybe, she would meet Haruko again and try to make some sense of all this.
Unbeknownst to her, however, Oprah was already on her way down the stairs with a spring in her step, with Peaches' question of "Oprah? Where are you going?" barely even fazing her.
The girl dug into the fridge of the Food Storage Room, half of her body being consumed by the appliance as she took dish after dish out, throwing them onto a nearby table and caring very little if their appearances got ruined.
"Oprah!" Peaches called as she made her way into the room. "What are you doing?"
"Putting out some food for Mandy in case she gets hungry."
Peaches blinked. Certainly didn't flinch on that one, huh? she thought, as some kind of a pastry was flung onto the table next. She studied the wide array of food that was already placed on it, fighting the urge to just snatch up a dish for her own dinner later that evening and not have Oprah notice.
And then she realized.
"Is this all stuff from the feast?"
"Well, I can't just let it go to waste." Oprah remarked, pressing her Converses against a shelf as she strained and struggled to pop her body free. When she did, she landed on her back, kicking up a few clouds of dust.
Peaches side-eyed her as she got up on two feet once again. By all accounts, she was acting normal. However, Peaches couldn't help but notice the sad and guilty edge to her words. It was abundantly clear that Mandy's words had pierced her right through the heart, but she would be odd-damned if she put on a show of tears that could flood the Mississippi River now.
"Hey. Are you...feeling okay?" came the tentative question, as the catgirl tread carefully around Oprah to avoid getting an angry growl in response.
"I'm all right. I just need to unwind with a juice box."
And out came the kiddie alcohol. Fruit punch was the flavor this time around, with a straw already stuck in it and bearing a bit of juice within its transparent cylindrical shape. Oprah eagerly took a mighty sip, an equally-mighty sigh leaving her as she eyed the drink with a look that Peaches couldn't place.
Before the catgirl knew it, she was using the Teleport-inator to zap all the food away.
"I-"
Oprah was leaving.
"W-wait, Oprah, hold on!" Peaches feebly called, giving an irritated huff after a few moments and following her.
Later that evening, Twilight and co. returned from spending a night out on the town of Ponyville. All of them were exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to get some good rest.
"Oh, thank Celestia. Mandy ate something." Twilight remarked, as she approached the Breakroom table and was pleasantly surprised to find that nothing was on it, not even a single crumb. All that was there was a couple dishes.
"Well that's a relief." Fluttershy elevated herself to examine the table from up in the air, a warm smile crossing her maw. "I was really worried about her."
The sound of the automatic steel doors opening caught the mares' attention. Six heads swiveled behind them to find Olive and Otto approaching, the former being comforted by the latter.
"Oh, hi Olive, hi Otto!" Twilight waved. "Are you two still upset over Mandy?"
"'Upset' is a bit of an understatement." Otto rubbed Olive's back. "She was crying into my chest as soon as we got back into HQ."
Most anyone could see Olive's reddened and bloodshot eyes, and within them, most anyone could see the absolute hurt she was going through. Perhaps she felt guilt for driving Mandy to nearly die, or perhaps she felt sadness at seeing her daughter at such a horrific point in her life. No one really knew, and Olive didn't look too keen on sharing her thoughts at the moment.
"Ohh...I'm so sorry, darling." Rarity moved forward and placed a hoof on the girl's knee. "We know how much you love Mandy."
"I miss when she was all perky and happy and energetic, just like me!" Pinkie piped up. "Now she's all frowny-faced..."
"I just wish there was a way to make her happy again. To really show how sorry we all are."
Twilight's statement was met with resounding murmurs of strong agreement.
And then, silence fell.
Of course, it wasn't complete silence. With agents and clients alike all milling about in the bullpen, complete silence could never be achieved. But that didn't mean the feeling of culpability and heartache didn't hang over their heads like a huge thick cloud.
"Mandy?"
Fluttershy's ever-so-soft murmur made heads perk up, and then promptly turn.
Standing in the entryway to the right hallway was the hybrid herself. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her hair was a complete and utter mess, and her wings looked to be slightly smaller if one looked closely enough. It looked like she had just rolled out of bed after plucking a few feathers from her wings out of rage and then falling asleep crying -- and not that they would know, but that was exactly what she had done.
"Hi."
The greeting sounded...small. Alarmingly small. Mare and child knew that regular old Mandy would not settle for just a simple stony "hi". No, the regular old Mandy would settle for a "hiya" or a neat little catchphrase she invented on a whim.
"Do all of you...have a minute?"
The question sounded small, too. Like a child who asked their parent for permission to go to the bathroom or to eat a cookie from the cookie jar. Peaches in particular opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, not sure whether to answer her cousin's question first or remark on her scruffy appearance.
Just as the mares and the two Directors nodded, the sound of someone panting grew closer and closer.
"Oprah." Mandy gave a simple polite nod. "Can you...can all of you sit down, please?"
Everyone did as they were told, gathering around the Breakroom table to hear what their friend had to say.
"Is something wrong?"
The question slipped free from Peaches' lips before she could stop herself. She bit her bottom lip, hoping she didn't just throw herself clear into the fire.
"No, nothing's wrong, it's just..." Mandy grit and ground her teeth together before a sigh eked through, squeezing through the gaps in her teeth and making a soft whistling sound. "As I said, a lot has happened over the past two weeks. And since you guys are all open to me venting to you, then...I might as well, right?"
Pinkie took notice of the smile that graced her partner's face. It definitely wasn't genuine, she knew that much. But she also couldn't place the emotion the smile held within it. If Mandy was giving her a challenge, she was definitely on the losing end.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice everyone else had given their agreement. She, too, chimed in with a single nod.
Mandy took a deep breath. "So Momma. Otto." Her dull gaze became fixed on the dynamic duo. "I fixed the issue with Omi, first of all. He wants the agents of your precinct to not be so picky about their food options, to recognize the talents and the passion he has for cooking. I'd suggest you work on that."
Otto didn't respond outside of a nod.
"Second." Mandy continued. "I visited Haruko again. Like Omi, she gave me advice on what to do in regards to starving myself, and she said that eating is...a part of me. It's who I am. It's more than just a basic human function. It's special to me." She rubbed her arm. "And...like I said, it's fine if you guys poke fun at it every once in a while, but just...don't do it obsessively, 'kay?"
Nods and murmurs of agreement filled the area. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, but Mandy pressed on before she could get even a single sound in.
"I don't know why I have to tell you guys something that should be basic common sense. You'll always be my family, but...you honestly suck on the friendship front." Mandy gave a soft breathy chuckle, the unidentified smile making a return before fading away again. "Even you, Twi."
Twilight blinked, feeling a blush creep along her cheeks.
"We are but children, full of naivete and blind to the cruelties of the world. Such of which we will prolly forever be immune to, drifting in the sea of immortality as we go about our daily lives throwing ourselves on the front line to protect the world we call home, while dealing with our own disgusting vices and our own horrifying sins that make us unique humans and unique equines all around..."
Mandy had begun to aimlessly wander at the beginning of her nonsense musings, and it wasn't until she caught the eye of everyone staring at her confusingly that brought her to a stop.
"Sorry...got a lil' cynical for a second there. Guess I should try to cheer up, huh?"
As if to answer her, her stomach let out a loud grumble.
Mandy gave a sigh, reached up to the top of her head, and began to unzip herself from head to toe. It was a rather grotesque display to the untrained eye, but to her friends, it was nothing more than just a simple surprise.
The disguise fell away to reveal a Mandy that was much brighter in both personality and color. Her blue eyes held life again, as did her hair, her tail, and her wings. Aside from her thinner-than-usual stature, she looked every bit like the person she had been before all hell broke loose.
"Feast food, feast food!" she chanted, pumping a fist into the air. "Giii-mme some feast food!"
"In the refrigerator, sugarcube."
Applejack's words were all that Mandy needed. Within seconds, the hybrid had half of her body stuck in the fridge that stood tall on the ground, feet waving wildly as she greedily munched on food after food. All the while, everyone watched with warm and grateful smiles on their faces.
"Olive? You okay?" Otto asked, noticing his partner and the tears that cascaded down her face.
"She's eating again." came the murmur, soft and quiet. "She forgives us."
"Of course she does. Mandy tends to hold long grudges against people who hurt her, but she always ends up forgiving them in the end." Otto smiled. "Although she does have a point. We were pretty stupid to start commenting on her eating habits and her weight the way we did. It's rude."
The fridge began to rock violently, now. The top part of it, the freezer, was now open for access, although Mandy didn't plan on getting to it until a little later.
"You enjoying yourself in there?" Peaches called. "I hope you are. You deserve this feast!"
"Shure!" Mandy chirped back, her mouth full of one disgusting meat conglomerate. "And thank you!"
"Can I have some?"
"Not on your life, shishter!"
The fridge tipped over. Olive, immediately forgoing her tears, jumped up on pure instinct and lunged.
Mandy landed square on her feet, bent her knees to the point where her legs nearly buckled out from under her, and leapt in one swift movement, turning the fridge right side up and continuing to munch away on whatever food she had found in there.
Olive blinked as she laid there on the cold and dirty floor for a few moments, wondering exactly what had transpired and why she was laying on a cold and dirty floor to begin with. She watched Mandy's tail wag furiously and listened to the sounds of a hungry hybrid completely and utterly mauling a refrigerator, slowly getting up and returning to her seat as she watched the show continue to unfold.
It seemed like forever before Mandy had finally made her way to the freezer. Her stomach had, to the others' surprise, a very noticeable bulge, and she could certainly feel herself start to grow sluggish and drowsy. Never mind the fact that she had just woken up from sleep -- eating a ton of food absolutely never failed to send her into the after-dinner dip.
"I bet ten bits she's gonna eat the entire fridge and then go right to sleep!" Pinkie chirped, raising a hoof and rapidly ringing a service bell that had suddenly appeared in front of her. "And that's ten bits from each of you!"
Oprah decided to entertain her energetic equine of an agent. "Pinkie Pie, do some currency exchange calculations, would you?"
"Sure!"
Pinkie tapped twice on the smartwatch that adorned her wrist -- certainly not a gag exclusive to her; every agent in the Investigation department wore one as part of a push by Odd Squad to keep up with society's technological advancements. She hummed as a picture of a bit and then a picture of a Jackalope Coin popped up next to each other, along with an equation at the bottom that showed a conversion rate of one bit to one Jackalope Penny. It was exactly the rate she thought of, and she tapped the smartwatch twice to close it again just as quickly as she had opened it.
"Ten Jackalope Pennies, ma'am! Or ten cents."
"Only ten cents?" Oprah chuckled. "You don't want to go higher?"
Olive shot her former boss a glare that could send the Shapeshifter packing.
"Hmm...okey-dokey! Ten Jackalope Bucks!"
"That-a-mare."
Olive buried her face into her hands and groaned.
The sounds of Mandy eating in the freezer began to slow down with every minute that passed. No one could even make sure if she was done or not by the time she hit the back. Her tail slowly ground to a halt, as did her flailing feet.
Once she came to a dead stop, Twilight lit up her horn, allowing her magical aura to encase her friend's body. With immense effort, she pulled Mandy out and turned her over to let her co-workers gaze upon what would be the bad ending of a contestant in an eating contest.
The hybrid, with eyes completely closed, had a peaceful smile on her face, her arms tucked by her sides and her hands folded downwards, like that of a T. rex's. Her stomach had grown so big that it was actually peeking out of the suit, a feat that O'Q probably would have admired just for the sake of boasting about how well he designed the suits for durability.
"I believe our friend has reached postprandial somnolence." the purple alicorn declared.
"Ha!" Pinkie pointed, then rang the service bell repeatedly again. "Ten bits! Er, ten Jackalope Dollars! Pay up!"
With collective sighs and groans, everyone laid their $10 bills on the table in front of her.
"Ahhh...smell that $90 of postpram...post...somnam..." Pinkie faltered. "W-whatever it's called."
"Food coma, Pinkie."
"Yes! Thank you, Twilight!" Pinkie took the wad of cash and shoved it into her mane for later usage.
Twilight took flight, beginning to head towards the hallway. "I'll go and put this one to bed. She's eaten enough of her share. Now it's time she sleeps it off."
As the group watched the alicorn turn the corner with a sleepy Mandy who muttered "Thankzz f' th' feazzt...", they exchanged relieved glances.
"Yep, everything's definitely back to normal." Peaches remarked. "Although Oprah, you might wanna restock that fridge."
The Director scoffed. "Nonsense! Do you really think I would have a fridge of 13579's entire food supply just so Mandy can eat it all? What an..." She broke out into huffy laughter. "What an absurd notion."
"Wha..."
"That fridge -- the same one you saw earlier -- is from the Food Storage Room. I helped Olly drag it up here so I could put the food from the feast in it. There was debate about putting a fridge in here when the Breakroom was made, but no one could make it work." Oprah shrugged. "So we had to settle for the spherical wall ones instead."
Peaches' brow furrowed. She supposed the wall fridges did add a bit of odd class to an already-odd workplace, although she couldn't deny the space in them was rather small. She wasn't quite sure how a hundred agents, if that, were supposed to fit their lunches. Did a majority of them hit up fast-food places? Or were their other fridges in Headquarters somewhere?
Nonetheless, she pushed the question aside for now and settled for a smile. "I see. Good to know."
With the fun having ended, everyone got up to return back to their usual activities. Olive, with a mighty sigh, got up and began walking the same way Twilight had gone.
"Partner? Where are you going?"
Olive stopped and turned. She stared at Otto for a few moments, her now-normal chocolate-brown eyes boring into his own ones, before she cracked her knuckles and gave a soft chuckle. It was clear to her that she knew exactly what she had to do for the rest of the day, and every inch of her shimmered with the prospect of a challenge.
A smirk settled on her face.
"Someone's gotta make Mandy dinner."