Today’s a little cloudy, the breeze is cool, and it looks like it’s going to rain. Not a very joyful day all around but that doesn’t bother one pony in particular: Looking Glass. This stallion is on a mission, and he won’t let anything bother him as long as he hasn’t seen it through. The train ride back to Ponyvillle took a while, and the work he had to do at the bureau only helped in slowing him down. Annoying, yes but at least he finally gets to investigate the area of the crime. The edge of the Everfree Forest. He wanted to go there the instant he heard about Olive, but he knew he wasn’t going to do this alone, so he reluctantly pushed it back.
Finally arriving on the scene of the crime, it didn’t take long for him to find the blood stains on the grass. The area was blocked off as requested by Princess Luna. A few royal guards were patrolling around the area, trying to stop anypony from wandering too close. Looking Glass strolled past them like he owned the place and honestly, he kind of did at this point in his career. Almost everypony in Equestria respected his skills and achievements.
He stopped by a small puddle at his hooves. Looking into it, he saw the face of a dark blue colt. He frowned at the imagery and resumed his course, wanting to forget about it for now. Painful reminder...
Normally, the royal guard standing before him would told him to halt and recite his usual line that says something along the lines of “This area’s off limit.” but for him, he only said. “Glad to see you here, Looking Glass. We’ve left the area untouched for you.”
The detective nodded calmly. “Good. It’s time I get to the bottom of this.”
The royal guard smiled. “No doubts you will. You’re the best pony for the job.”
Looking Glass passed through the protective barrier that the guards had summoned to keep the crime scene intact. Once inside, he immediately made his way towards the stains. There was a rock behind the bloodstains, one he skimmed over. There, he noticed something subtle next to the dry blood, deformities on the grass; hoofsteps, left no doubt by the perpetrators of the assault.
Looking Glass hovered one hoof over the traces left and noticed that some of the hoofsteps matched the size of his own hooves. Others were... slightly smaller. So it was 2 stallions and three mares, the smallest of the steps were no doubt the filly. She was chased by five ponies and viciously attack by them. Hm, seems like one of the stallions was quite big; my hoof doesn’t quite match his size.
The questioned remained; who were these five mysterious ponies? Looking Glass doubt, he could figure it out now, but they surely had to have left a clue behind. This couldn’t have been a simple hit and run, fillies like Olive usually have nothing of value on them.
As he looked up, he saw something strange on a patch of grass, just a couple of steps away from his current position. Carefully moving as to not compromise any of the clues, Looking Glass made his way towards the mysterious object. Once he was close enough, the detective was rather disturbed to notice that it was a broken bone, snapped clean in half. Judging by the size of it, this can only belong to a foal, be it a colt or a filly. Her attackers apparently didn’t shy away from murdering foals. The detective thought somberly.
He was very knowledgeable with the underbelly of Equestria. He will eventually track down the gang responsible for this brutal assault. Now, with what I can see, I can attempt to make a recreation of the crime scene using a particular spell...
His horn glowed, shining an amber color and soon, magical visions of the filly and of the attackers formed before him. Judging by the prints left in the grass, the filly was running towards Ponyville looking to protect herself from her pursuers.
The visions did exactly as he envisioned the scene to play out. Here, the hoofsteps are covering less distance, the filly must have run out of breath at that moment. Hm, her pursuers also slowed down not long after. They must have figured that they could toy with their prey for a bit.
One of the stallions knocked the filly down to the ground and then, the visions froze. It must have been at that moment that they attacked. After the deed was done, they ran away. Their hoofsteps overlap for a bit at this part...
Looking Glass stopped when he noticed another object close to the path taken by the big stallion. Leaning forth, he picked it up with magic. A broken cassette tape... There could be crucial information on it. I’ll have to get it repaired. I know a pony in Canterlot who could be up for the job.
After searching around for at least an hour, he found nothing else. His only lead was a broken bone and a cassette tape, equally broken. These ponies were admittedly sloppy in their execution...
Counselor Care waited patiently to be let in the patient’s room. She hoped that the staff at least notified her about their meeting today, the last thing foals like this one needs are surprises.
Eventually, after long minutes of waiting in anticipation, the door open and a nurse motioned her to come inside. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Nurse Redheart told the small pony across the room who looked visibly uncomfortable.
Olive looked at the counselor before hopping out of bed to hide behind Redheart’s legs. She was staring at Care with fear and uncertainty in her eyes. The nurse looked visibly stressed at that little display of agitation. “Olive you shouldn-” She calmed herself down, knowing that raising her voice would only make it worse.
She must be very distrusting of strangers... Care thought solemnly.
“Olive.” Redheart said, pushing the filly in front of her so she could look her in the eyes. “If you go and talk with the nice mare over there, I promise I’ll buy you a nice treat from Sugar Cube Corner. Now please, be careful.”
After a moment of consideration, Olive reluctantly nodded before hesitantly moving to go back to bed with the help of the mare. Once the door closed, she immediately covered herself with her tail, looking awfully scared of the counselor, still trying to stick as closely as possible to the nurse, who remained close by.
“Remember what I told you. Protect yourself with words. Don’t let them know. Oh, and keep your broken leg safe while we’re at it!”
Care cleared her throat. “Hello, Olive.” she started. “My name is Heedful Care. I’m a counselor here in Ponyville, and it’s a real pleasure to meet you!” she gave the brightest smile she could, though still being careful not to... overdo it as she’s heard from the staff.
Nurse Redheart nudged the filly a bit. “Come on, greet her back!” she whispered in a playful voice.
Olive briefly looked at the nurse before complying. “Hi miss Care...” she croaked behind her tail. “I’m Olive.”
Already from what she could see, Heedful Care learned that Olive seems only trustful of Redheart. Probably because she’s the first pony who met her in the hospital.
She trotted to the side of her bed. “How are you feeling, Olive?” she made sure to make her voice sound as calm and friendly as possible. This filly needed to know that she can put her trust in the counselor. “Are you comfortable? Do you feel any pain?”
Olive shook her head. “No.”
The look on Redheart’s face seemed to say otherwise. “Sweetie, you don’t need to lie.”
Immediate red flag! Foals her age should feel scared or surprised by any kind of pain, especially horrible maiming such as this. She’s hiding her true feelings whilst any other would immediately complain. The counselor carefully hid her worries behind the guise of a smile. And they say smiling always keeps your mood up! “Nopony would find you annoying to complain about the pain. It’s okay to be scared.”
Olive’s eyes briefly wandered to the side before she gave the final say in this matter. “I don’t want to talk about it.” Her tail slowly lowered for a moment, until she realised it did, pulling it back up.
Anyhow, now that the greetings were out of the way, it was time to move on to the hard part. She steeled herself before moving on. “Olive, I was called here by the staff because I heard from Nurse Redheart that your father was ‘somewhat problematic’. Is that true?”
Olive buried her face in her tail, torn between what to say. She knew that her next words would have a big impact on what would happen next. She might be young, but she was smart enough to know that this was a choice. A choice between daddy dearest and Nurse Redheart alongside Applejack. “I...” She immediately shut herself up.
“Me? Problematic? Heh, well maybe she’s on to something. But I’m not problematic to you! I’m your legal protector, your guardian! If you’re afraid of big stallions, I can deal with them just for you! You need to come back to daddy dearest!” The voice kept on interjecting whenever she was struggling with what to do, just like a guardian angel would.
In the end, the deciding factor that made her choose was the sight of a broken bone in her memories. Scared to death, Olive hastily responded. “It’s true!”
“How disappointing... Note to self; be meaner and greener to fillies next time.”
Even though it was foolish to believe, Heedful Care hoped that filly had simply botched her fugue and was too embarrassed to admit it. That her injuries were simply the unfortunate cause of a hit and run. That it was more surface level than it appeared. Sadly, she knew better than to believe in such hopeful thoughts. There was a darker story hiding in the filly’s words.
Taking a deep breath, Care continued. “Okay Olive, I’ll need to talk to you about some important things.” Now there’s usually somepony to stay by the foal for this part. Some kind of parental figure, legal guardian or simply a pony they trust. “If you want to, Miss Redheart can stay with you while we talk. I know it can be tough to meet new ponies and all.”
She already knew what the filly’s answer would be, but she just had to ask anyway. Olive looked at Redheart in the eyes, her gaze clearly indicated her answer.
“Of course I’ll stay with you, sweetie!” The nurse responded as she took a sip from a glass of water.
Celestia’s sun outside casted very little shadows in the room, making the place look friendlier to the two mares, but not the filly. In her frightened state of mind, all she could really focus on was a small spot in the back of the room. A small spot that was well hidden from the sunlight, big enough to fit a whole pony in. A pony’s who just now smiling at her.
“Olive.” the counselor began. “I need you to know that I’m here to help you and that I just want what’s best for you.” The filly nodded. “But for me to help you, you’ll need to tell me everything you know. Even things that ponies, even adults, have told you to keep secret.” Her eyes were now beaming with determination. “Can you help me by telling the truth?”
The filly bit her lips, burying herself more in her tail. After a few seconds of intense thinking, she gave her answer. “Okay, I’ll try.” Olive said, peeking through her tail.
Care gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll do my best to be as understanding as possible.”
Redheart patted the filly on the head, lowering her tail in the process. “Are you ready to start?” she asked gingerly.
Olive gave her a slow, uncomfortable nod.
“Great!” Care said. “Let’s start with your father. You mentioned him a lot... What was he like?”
The filly pondered for a bit but didn’t know where to start. The silence in the room became very uncomfortable for all parties involved and it took until she started whimpering that the counselor realised, she probably had to ask more specific questions.
“Was he nice to you?” Care corrected, hoping that a simple yes/no question would do the trick.
“He was nicer than other ponies...” Olive finally gave an answer.
“How were the other ponies treating you? Did they like you?” Care asked, already knowing the answer.
“They...” tears welled in her eyes. “They hated me.”
Heedful Care felt a wave of compassion wash over her. “We don’t hate you here.” she said in a comforting tone. “Now, did you feel safe when you were living with your father?” Care cringed slightly when she said “living”, this filly didn’t sound like she had a good life at all.
“Only when he was here. The other ponies wanted to hurt me.” Olive stated.
Sounds like a perfect case for an abusive environnement. This father figure wasn’t a nice pony from what she’s heard, but this filly views him as her only salvation. It’s fairly common in such cases that the foal in question overlooks the abusive qualities in their parents because they make them feel safe. Then, there was still the disturbing mystery of the filly’s missing mother.
“Do you know why they wanted to hurt you?” Care continued.
“I don’t know! They keep on saying mean things behind my back. Mister Strong Hoof always called me a bruja.” Olive stammered, sounding desperate.
Bruja... Heedful Care thought. It means witch in Spanish. From the looks of it, they sound repulsed by her. I suppose it’s useless to ask since she seems just as confused as I am. She chose that now wasn’t the best time to explain the word to her. “I see, let’s talk about your mother. You haven’t said anything about her, have you seen her?”
Olive shook her head. “I don’t have a mommy. That’s what daddy said. He refuses to talk about her.”
Gigantic red flag number 2! Care thought, looking more worried. This is getting worse and worse with each answer she’s given. The picture she’s drawing of the filly’s prior life is... depressing to say the least. “Sweetie, how do you feel in here? Is it better than your home?”
Olive looked around her room for a few seconds. “It’s not scary in here. I like it. It’s very bright.”
“It sure is a pretty hospital!” At least, she had confirmation that the filly feels safer in here. With sufficient manipulation, foals can be gaslighted into believing that the situation they live in is normal. It seems that they’ve found her just in time. As she looked at the time, Care realised that there wasn’t much time left. “Anyway, do you know what your father does? What’s his job?”
“I don’t know. He says it’s a surprise and that he’ll only show me when it’s ready.”
That’s not what I was expecting. Usually, their answer implies something like foal trafficking or other criminal activities. Care didn’t know what to make of this. “And... does he want you to do something?” Every parent has some expectation for their foals. What does he want from her?
Olive scratched her head, trying to remember until she looked up. “He says he wants me to make some noise.”
Redheart spat her drank all over the floor and Care dropped her notebook, stretching out her wings in surprise. The two mares looked horrified, and now it was scaring Olive too.
She hid herself behind her tail once more, completely shutting down from the conversation.
“W-W-Well, I guess we can call it off there, uh. I’ll come back so we can talk about it more.” The counselor announced to the filly as she picked up her stuff. “Um, before I leave, I’ll speak with Miss Redheart over there.”
Hidden behind her tail, Olive couldn’t hear the words spoken between the nurse and the counselor as they moved far away from her to speak in private. The filly only peeked out when the door closed.
“D... Did I say something wrong?” She asked, her voice quivering.
Redheart still looked distraught but tried her best to keep her composure. “N-No, dearie. You didn’t say anything wrong.”
Applejack took a seat around the dinner table. A normal action for a pony to take, but not for this earth pony, not at this time of day. She’d normally be outside working out on the farm, but she simply wasn’t in the right state of mind to perform such labors.
Instead, all she found herself doing was staring blankly at the window, sighing. She couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday. Couldn’t stop thinking about the filly. Couldn’t stop thinking about their interaction. Couldn’t stop thinking about what will happen to the poor thing.
“What’s on yer mind, Applejack? Yer usually out workin’ on the afternoon.”
Applejack nearly jumped. Granny Smith came out of nowhere, at least from her point of view. Her grandmother sounded concerned.
“Uh, nuthin’ much. Ah’ll get back ta work soon enough.” Applejack responded, hoping that she sounded normal enough to evade Granny’s suspicions.
Judging by the look in her eyes, the orange mare failed. “Ya sure ‘bout that? If somethin’s wrong, ya gotta tell me.” she slowly trotted towards her granddaughter. “Sittin’ here and mopin’ ain’t gonna fix a thing.”
“Ah know, Granny.” Applejack sighed. “Ah just... can’t get ma mind off yesterday.”
“Oh.” Granny Smith pulled back slightly. “It’s about that filly, ain’t it?”
Applejack’s eyes glanced down at the table. Well, looks like she’ll have to talk about this.
“Ah can’t help but feel responsible for anythin’ that might happen to ‘er now. Ah can’t stop thinkin’ about ‘er, and now Ah simply can’t concentrate on workin’.”
Granny Smith remained silent before she pulled back a chair and took a seat herself. “It’s alright to be worried. That’s just the goodness of your heart speakin’. Ya can always visit ‘er in the hospital if it makes ya feel better, at least until ‘er parents come to Ponyville.”
Applejack cringed at that last phrase, and Granny Smith felt like she made a mistake. “Oh, uh...”
“Oh dear, did Ah say somethin’ wrong?”
“No, not really. It’s just that...” Applejack paused for a moment, took a deep breath and continued. “We don’t think ‘er parents are ever gonna come in the picture.”
Granny Smith’s eyes widened. “Ah see why yer so distraught now.” She quickly regained her composure. “Yer worried about what’ll happen to ‘er once she leaves Ponyville General.”
Applejack nodded. “Right on ta mark.” She buried her face in her hooves, looking even more anxious.
“Ah’m sure there’ll be plenty of nice ponies willin’ to foster ‘er. She’ll be in good hooves.” Granny Smith said in a reassuring tone. Her granddaughter still didn’t seem more at peace, however. “Ah see that not enough for ya?”
“Apparently not.” Applejack was still moping in her hooves.
Granny Smith pondered for a bit before her face lit up with an idea. You could even say a lightbulb appeared over her head in this very moment. “There’s an easy solution; why don’t ya foster the lil filly?”
Applejack suddenly sparked back to life. “What? But Ah can’t do that! Ah’ve got lots of work on Sweet Apple Acre, Ah’ll never be able to help ‘er when she needs me!”
Granny chuckled. “Are ya forgettin’ yer not alone? Big Mac and Ah could lend you a hoof!”
Applejack reconsidered the idea. “Ah suppose it’s the only way Ah can stop stressin’ over yesterday. B-But Ah can't help but worry 'bout her finances. It's gonna take a lotta money to tend to 'er needs. Ah'm not sure we can...” she said, albeit still sounding unsure.
Granny Smith smiled. “Ya should have more faith in yerself, Applejack. Ah’m certain ya can do it! We'll just 'ave to work a lil harder!”
“Um, well Ah gu-”
A loud gasp caught their attention. Apple Bloom had just return home from school and has been apparently listening silently to their conversation. “Am Ah gonna get a new sister?” she asked excitedly. The filly was almost bouncing with joy.
“Apple Bloom! That, uh, that hasn’t been dec-” Applejack quickly glanced at Granny Smith who gave her a subtle frown. “Well, yeah. As soon as she can get out of Ponyville General, we’ll foster ‘er!” Her granny gave her an approving wink.
Apple Bloom rushed over to her older sister with sparks in her eyes. “Is she older or younger than me?”
“Uh, Ah believe she’s around yer age.”
The filly bounced happily. “Does she have a cutie mark?”
Applejack shook her head. “Not from what Ah saw.”
Apple Bloom gasped, her whole body now shaking with joy. “Sh-She could join the Cutie Mark Crusaders! W-We can have a new member!”
Applejack stopped her sister from bouncing around, closing her eyes and taking on a stern expression. “That’s nice an’ all, but she’s a troubled filly who’ll need some time to adjust to her new surroundings. Y’all have to give ‘er some space first, ya understand?”
“Ah understand!” Apple Bloom responded, her eyes still shining like the stars themselves. “Ah so have to tell this to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!” She turned around and tried to run out of the house, but she was stopped when Applejack bit her tail, pulling her back towards them.
“Ya didn’t forget yer chores, huh?” Granny Smith asked, wincing at the filly. “Ya can tell them later.”
“Ah didn’t forget them, Granny Smith! Ah’ll do them right naow!” Apple Bloom gave her grandmother a salute before rushing off to do said chores.
The two older mares watched her disappear. “It, uh, ain’t gonna be easy dealin’ with two fillies.” Applejack commented.
“Bah! Ah’m sure we’ll manage!”
Celestia’s sun was setting down on Equestria, signaling to everypony that night was coming. Upon seeing this, Applejack returned to the hospital with her saddlebag, immediately going to the secretary.
Noticing her, she smiled and waved hello. “Miss Applejack! Nice to see you here again.”
Applejack tipped her hat as to greet her. “Ah’m lookin’ for Doctor Hoof.” she simply stated.
“Doctor Hoof?” The mare brought a hoof to her chin. “I’ll call him, but he may be too busy for the time being.”
The door leading to the EMERGENCY room suddenly busted open and Doctor Hoof came out. His mane was messy, there were bags under his eyes but nevertheless, his body was still beaming with energy. Upon noticing Applejack, he motioned at her to come with him.
“Well then...” The secretary said. “I guess you’re in luck!”
The orange mare quickly rushed to the stressed doctor as he let the doors slam behind them.
“Oh mah... Am Ah coming at a bad time?” Applejack asked, concerned.
The doctor quickly brushed his mane with his hoof until it looked fine enough. “No, not really. We’re just about done with the rush. Had you come earlier, you wouldn’t have gotten the chance to speak to me.” he explained, his voice no longer sounding quite as professional as before. “Well then, what brings you here?”
Applejack felt a little awkward, not knowing how to say it. “It’s about ta filly.”
“I hope you’re bringing us good news.” Doctor Hoof sighed.
“A-Ah was just wonderin’ what’d happen to ‘er once she leaves Ponyville General.” the mare asked hesitantly.
Doctor Hoof briefly glanced inside one of the patients’ room, asking them if everything is okay before returning to Aj.
“What’d happen to her? We’re currently working on finding a foster home for her...” He lowered his head out of disappointment. “No luck so far.”
Applejack bit her lips, feeling a bit of sweat dripping down her face. “W-Well, Ah could, uh... foster ‘er if y’all are strugglin’ to fin ‘er a home.” she finally said, albeit tripping over her words a bit.
Doctor Hoof’s eyes briefly widened as a slow smile formed on his face. “You would? That’s marvelous! It’ll be a great help to us!” His joy then faded away. “Olive can be a bit hard to help at times. She seems to get really attached to the hospital and especially Redheart. We don’t want her to get too comfortable in here. I mean, she’s not going to stay here forever.”
“Ah see... but that’s good ta know that she’s warmin’ up to other ponies.” Applejack said before something crossed her mind.
“Yeah, earlier today she even apologised profusely when she felt that she might have hurt my feelings. Of course, I didn’t really take it to heart, but she insisted that she had to make it up to me.” Doctor Hoof caught himself smiling dopily. “She has a kind heart, Aj. I have no doubt you’ll be a good foster mother to her.”
“Yeah, ‘bout mah mee-”
They arrived close to another patient’s room. “Hold that thought.” Hoof said abruptly, peeking in the room to do his usual routine again. After he left, he nodded at Aj. “You were saying?”
“Ah want to know if Olive spoke of me ‘gain. Ah mean, if she liked me simply based on our first meetin’.” Applejack said, swinging her ponytail from one side to the other.
The good doctor laughed. “You certainly left an impression on her! She kept mentioning if she could meet Mistress Mare-velous again! That’s you, right?”
Applejack blushed. “Ah... that might be me. Ah told her Ah was Mistress Mare-velous on one occasion.”
The doctor smirked. “I didn’t take you for the cosplaying type, Applejack. That sounds more like Rainbow Dash to me.”
Applejack rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. “It wasn’t cosplaying per say... Mah friends and Ah were... sucked into a comic book.”
Doctor Hoof chuckled. “Heh, must have been quite the adventure. Still, it’s adorable that the filly has taken to calling you Mare-velous. She even asked us if you would come back.”
Applejack’s heart melt at that revelation. “How sweet of ‘er!” She reached out for something in her saddlebag, it was a toy. “Ah bought ‘er a Saddle Rager toy. Ah don’t want ‘er ta get bored in ‘ere.”
Doctor Hoof smirked once more. “I see the maternal instincts are already kicking in, aren’t they pardner?” he said, imitating the Apple twang for just a brief moment.
Applejack blushed, looking away to avoid the embarrassment. “Oh, uh, didn’t know Ah had it in me.”
“Surprised that much? You always take great care of Apple Bloom. I’d say you always had it in you.”
Applejack stopped when she spotted the door leading to Olive’s room.
“Visiting hours are over...” Doctor Hoof stated. “But I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to let you in for a few minutes.” he said with a smile.
The mare tipped her hat in respect. “Thanks, doc.”
She looked at the toy in her hoof. Raising a second filly, even if it’s temporary is a daunting task, but it’s a task she’s willing to do. She’ll do it for her sake. Ah won’t give up on ya, sugar cube.