Once Olive was done eating, Nurse Redheart left the room with the empty plate, leaving only Applejack to keep the filly company for now. She watched the nurse leave and as she turned her back to the filly, she heard her mutter something.
“...yes.”
“Hm?” Applejack noticed that the foal was looking off to the side of her bed, looking extremely worried. “Who were ya talkin’ to, sugar cube?”
Olive’s eyes quickly locked on to Applejack before returning to their initial position. She remained silent for a moment before slowly cocking her head towards the orange mare. “It’s just m-my imaginary friend.” She explained in a voice that sounded somewhat unsure. “He keeps me company when I feel alone.”
“An imaginary friend? Ha! Ah had one when Ah was your age. What’s yer friend’s name?” Applejack asked, her ears perking up.
Olive looked back at her imaginary friend and stayed silent again. “He doesn’t want anypony to know his name.”
“Ah?” Applejack was... taken aback by this answer but then again, she might have only said so because she’s not fully trusting her yet. That’s okay, she can’t expect everything to go smoothly when they’ve barely met. “Well, uh, is he nice?” She felt a bit stupid for asking this, but she had to get the filly to open up one way or another.
“He says he just wants to protect me from danger... and for me to make some noise. He says I'm safe with him.” She informed, now fully staring Applejack in the eyes.
It was very difficult for the earth pony not to fall for her adorable gaze. “And Ah’m certain yer safe with us too. Everypony in here will gladly lend a helping hoof to ya, sugar cube.” Make some noise?! thought the troubled mare. She briefly diverted her attention to the filly’s blank flank, trying not to think too much about that strange remark. “In fact, Ah know a few ponies who would be thrilled to meet you!”
Olive blinked and her eyes briefly widened. She looked to the side, rather surprised before simply saying. “He’s leaving. He says he’ll come back.”
Silence filled the room and Applejack felt like she had to somehow start a conversation that isn’t one-sided. “We talked about yer imaginary friend, but um, do ya have other friends?”
“Aurora.” Olive blurted out. “She was my best friend.”
Was? Aw, shoot! Ah’m walkin’ on a tight slope! Applejack nervously thought to herself. She’ll have to pick her next words carefully, or else she might hurt the filly on an emotional level. “A-Aurora? That’s a nice name. How was she?”
Olive fidgeted around with her hooves. “She liked to play with me when daddy wasn’t around... She didn’t like daddy much.”
Applejack could hear the hurt in the filly’s voice and could only imagined what happened to that poor Aurora. “So, she didn’t like yer daddy. What abou’ ya sugar cube? Do ya like yer daddy?” she asked, trying to sound as nice as possible in hopes that the foal wouldn’t pick up on the anxiety in her voice.
For a split-second, Olive looked off to the side eye before answering. “I... like daddy.”
Ah’m not sure that’s such a good thin’. “Hey! Ya said ya liked daddy. Is there anythin’ else you like?” Applejack looked around the room and saw the small pile of books resting on the night table. She reached out to pick one of the books, as expected, it was a comic about the Power Ponies. Unsurprising considering that this room is occupied by a young foal. “L-Like the Power Ponies! Ah heard these superheroes are really cool an’ always save ta day in the end!”
Success! Olive’s eyes were filled with wonder as she stared at the cover of the comic. A large smile began to draw itself onto her adorable face. “Superheroes!” She happily exclaimed. “I love superheroes!”
Ah sure know a lil dragon who’d be happy to learn that! “Who’s yer favorite? Mine’s Mistress Mare-velous.”
“I like Saddle Rager.” Olive cutely clapped her hooves together as she said it. “She’s so kind to other animals and she stands up for those who cannot protect themselves.”
“She sure sounds noble sugar cube.” Applejack patted the filly’s head who this time, did not seem somewhat irked by this physical contact. “Ah think Ah can see why ya like ‘er so much.”
“Why do you like Mistress Mare-velous?” the filly asked, her eyes beaming with curiosity.
“Oh! Ah...” Applejack thought back to that bizarre adventure she had with her friends inside of a Power Ponies comic. “Ah’ve been kind of a supa pony myself at one point.”
Olive inched closer to the edge of her bed, her ears fully perked up. “You’ve been a superhero?!”
She sure as hay seems more talkative now! Ah guess it worked! “Yeah, it’s a crazy story let me tell ya!”
“Tell me! Tell me!” If her back leg wasn’t broken, she’d by standing up by now out of sheer excitement.
Applejack looked at the clock, she should have enough time to tell the whole story. “Ah well... It all started when my friends and Ah went to the ol’ castle in ta Everfree Forest...”
“Applejack! Visiting hours are over! It’s time for Olive to go to bed!”
Applejack, surprised, took a look at the clock. “Whoowee! It took longer than Ah expected!” chuckled the orange mare.
Nurse Sweetheart was standing by the door, looking over at the two ponies. “You can come back tomorrow, Applejack! I’m sure our little Olive here would like to see you again!”
The filly was bouncing in place with an excited look on her face. “You’ll come back?”
“Sure thing sugar cube. Ah’m not leavin’ ya anytime soon.” Applejack hugged the small foal who reciprocated the feeling with an even stronger hug. “Heh, you’re quite strong for a unicorn.” remarked the mare before trotting towards the nurse.
“See ya tomorrow!”
Olive waved goodbye, looking a little sadder once she left her sight.
Nurse Sweeheart walked up to the lamp next to her bed and turned it off. “Now it’s time to go to sleep, sweetie! If you need anything...” She pointed a hoof at a peculiar button above her. “Press this button! Alright, goodnight!”
The mare left, and Olive was suddenly overcome with anxiety. She was in an unfamiliar place, hurt and all... alone. Her eyes immediately darted to the side.
Nopony could truly see what was there, but she knew there was a smile there. No, not just a smile, a grin... A very toothy grin. A reminder.
“Darling...”
She tried to ignore the disturbing image and sleep it off, but two things stopped her. First, she was terribly nervous at the idea of being alone and two, a throbbing pain began to run through her leg. Her eyes were starting to water and in her desperation, she looked at the button the nurse kindly pointed to earlier.
Nurse Redheart was just about to leave now that her shift was practically over. As much as she wanted to leave and head back home, her conscience, however, wanted to check one last time on Olive. She’d feel guilty if she didn’t make sure she was alright for the night.
Just as that thought crossed her head, she was called to Olive’s room. Talk about perfect timing!
She entered the filly’s room with a cheerful and careful smile. “Hello there my little pony! Is there anything you need?”
Olive didn’t say anything, but her body language suggested that something was off. She was looking down with tears in her nervous eyes. Said eyes were locked on her broken leg. The foal was whimpering.
“Aw, don’t be afraid to let us know if it hurts.” Redheart said as she trotted to the filly’s side. “We can give you painkillers to make you feel better!”
The filly kept her head down, still looking at her broken leg. “I-It doesn’t hurt that much.” she quietly stated.
“Dearie, you don’t need to act like you’re okay when you’re not.” She pushed away the strands of hair covering the filly’s eyes. “We want to help you as best as we can, but we’re not all knowing. You need to let us know if something’s wrong, okay?”
Olive’s tears intensified as she finally locked eyes with Redheart. “It really hurts!” she sobbed.
Redheart gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll give you some painkillers immediately.” She said as she began to make her way out. As she did, the foal’s hooves wrapped around her back leg. “Aw, I won’t be gone for long. I promise I’ll come back as quickly as possible.”
Olive eventually let go of her leg and slumped back into her bed. No thanks were said, but Nurse Redheart could tell simply by the look in her eyes that she was very thankful.
Barely a minute has passed before the mare returned. She sure did keep her promise! All she brought was a simple pill and a glass of water. “Don’t chew on the pill, dearie!” she explained in a cheerful voice. “You have to swallow it whole! You can use the glass of water to help. They always go down easier with water.”
She placed the two items on the nigh table next to her bed. Olive examined them briefly before she cocked her head towards the pill and grabbed it with her mouth.
I can only hope she’s not using her magic because she’s too weak... Otherwise it’ll mean more problems for her down the line.
After the painkiller was inside her mouth, she used her trembling hooves to grab a hold of the glass of water. With one chug, the glass was empty, and she swallowed.
“Looks like you’re really good at swallowing!” Readheart stated cheerily. Not remotely what I meant...
Olive giggled. “Daddy taught me to swallow hard things!”
The mare briefly froze in shock. “Wh-What do you mean by h-hard things?” she asked, sweat dripping down her face.
“Meat is hard to swallow.” she bluntly explained, sounding confused by her question.
“Ah, I-I guess so.” Redheart stammered, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “I’ve never eaten any meat before, so I'll take your word for it.”
Olive yawned; her head now rested on her pillow.
“Well, if you don’t need anything else; I’ll let you go to bed.”
“Goodnight Miss Redheart.” The mare stopped briefly to look back at the filly. She was smiling at her with her eyes closed in a way that made her look impossibly cute. Redheart’s heart melted at that adorable display.
“Goodnight Olive.”
Afterward, the toothy grin... was gone.