In spite of the heat, Applejack worked extra hard to finish early today so she could return to Ponyville General for a very important visit. She would accompany the counselor Heedful Care to announce something truly great to the hospitalised filly.
Both mares were quite happy in fact, for they’ll get to shine some light on the poor foal’s life. “So, um, did ya find anythin’ about ‘er relatives?” Applejack asked.
The pegasus shook her head. “Sadly no. I was hoping we could find somepony like her grandparents or cousins, but there’s absolutely no information about this filly anywhere.” She frowned. “It’s like she’s a ghost. Her father must have kept her away from any civilisation.”
“That’s a darn toothin’ shame. It looks like she doesn’t have anypony to turn to... well except us.” Applejack said, tipping her hat down.
“Complete strangers, yeah.” Heedful Care exclaimed ironically. “At least she’s gotten really attached to Nurse Redheart and you, so she doesn’t seem to have complete trust issues, if we take stallions out of the equation.”
The earth pony quickly thought about her brother. “Ya do know Ah have a big brother, right?”
“I know, but Big Mac’s a kind pony.” Heedful Care explained. “I believe he’ll be a good way to break her fear of stallions. She just needs to know that not all of them wants to hurt her.”
Applejack smiled weakly. “Yeah, he’s a pony of few words, but ya know what they say; actions speak louder than words.”
The counselor returned the smile. “I have no doubts Olive will fit right in with the Apples. You’re the most trustworthy family in all of Ponyville.”
The earth pony felt her cheeks grow warm. “Aw gee, thanks. A-Ah promise Ah’ll do ma best.”
“Well, here we are.” The two mares arrived at Olive’s room. The pegasus repeatedly tapped her hooves on the floor, looking somewhat nervous and excited at the same time. “Okay. Are you ready to go?”
Applejack gulped, feeling nervous herself. “Ah think Ah’ll manage.”
“Alrighty then.” Heedful Care turned the door handle and opened it. Inside the room, Olive remained still on her bed, staring at the window. She looked awfully sad, even more than when she first got here.
Upon noticing their arrival, she retreated back into her blanket with a guilty look on her face.
“Hi sweetie!” The counselor greeted. “How are you doing today?”
Olive didn’t say anything back. Instead, she turned around to face away from them.
“Are you still feeling guilty about the accident?” The pegasus asked carefully.
The filly retreated further into her sheets. Care tried to caress the young pony to reassure her, but when she made contact with her, the filly violently pushed her hoof away. “Go away.” she whined, trying to sound commanding.
“It’s no use beatin’ yerself over it, sugar cube. It wasn’t yer fault and ya know it.” Applejack finally intervened. The sheets were slowly lifted up, showing only the lower portion of the filly’s face but it was just enough to see part of her eyes. After she made eye contact with the earth pony, she pulled them down.
“I don’t want to hurt anypony.” Olive said weakly.
“We know, and that’s why we got somepony to help ya out with yer magic.” Applejack informed, pulling up the sheets from the filly. This time, she didn’t resist. “She’s a friend o’ mine, Ah’m sure ya two will get alon’.”
“And speaking of getting along,” the counselor smoothly said. “We have great news to share with you, Olive!”
Applejack smiled and proudly lifted her head up right as Care was about to announce the news.
“Applejack has volunteered to become your caretaker! You’re gonna have a foster family!” Heedful Care said excitedly.
Olive froze. Then, her tail slowly started wagging left and right. Her eyes began to water, and her body was shaking.
Applejack looked at her nervously. “Uh, a-are ya okay sugar cube?”
The filly gripped her front leg and hugged them, burying her face in the mare’s fur as she started sobbing.
Emotions welled up in the earth pony as she felt the small pony’s pain reach out to her. She never talked about her mother, and Applejack started to figure out why.
Heedful Care smiled weakly. “It’s okay now. You’re going to be happy here.”
Manic joy, tearful joy, two emotions that not many ponies get to experience. The latter is only really felt by parents who are proud of their foal’s accomplishment but is almost never felt by foals themselves... unless they’ve lived through an event traumatic enough to shake them to their very core.
The counselor thought back to her first meeting with the filly, and how much she must have suffered at the hooves of her horrible father. At least, she gets to have a fresh start, something that sadly not every foal gets to have.
“Ah’m really happy to take ya in with us.” Applejack said to the crying foal, her voice hitching. “Ah really am.”
Seconds passed by, seeming longer and longer as time came to a full stop. Olive sniffled, now calming down after her therapeutic hug. Applejack lifted her head up with a hoof so that their eyes could meet.
“Yer an Apple now, sugar cube. We’ll take care of ya.”
The filly never had a mother before. Why she was so quick to cling on to her and Redheart now made sense.
“When will I leave?” Olive managed to say weakly. Everything about her just screamed “I want to leave!”, mainly due to the unfortunate incident in her previous room. Thankfully, the filly’s healed rather quickly for somepony her age. It won’t be long until she’s able to step out of this hospital she’s become so familiar with.
“If everything goes well...” Counselor Care started. “You should be able to leave with Applejack tomorrow!”
“Tomorrow?!” Olive’s eyes widened. She turned back to Applejack with a big grin on her face. “I’m leaving tomorrow!”
“E-yup! Ah’m pretty excited mahself.” Applejack smiled back. “Now Ah know it can be quite dauntin’ to move out into a new home...”
“I move out all the time!” Olive interrupted. “It’s fine!”
Heedful Care raised a worried eyebrow. “You moved out all the time?”
“Yeah, daddy said that staying in one place for too long is dangerous.” The filly flatly explained.
The counselor quickly took out her notepad and scribbled down a few notes. “Well, it won’t be anymore. You’ll be safer staying at Sweet Apple Acre, Olive.”
“Why will it be safer?”
The two older mares were taken aback by this strange question. “Because, uh, it’s a sturdy house, close to town and y’all be with the Apples, not alone. It’s pretty safe if ya ask me.” Applejack quickly answered.
Olive remained puzzled. “But my other houses were also sturdy, close to town and filled with ponies.”
Applejack could hear the counselor furiously writing it down. Once finished, she readjusted her glasses and smiled at the filly “That’s very interesting to hear! Could you tell us more about your previous houses?”
Olive’s eyes darted around, and she remained silent, though it was clear that she was trying to find the answer to this question.
Rookie mistake! My question was too vague... The counselor thought, facehoofing. “Were they clean?” she specified.
The foal shook her head. “No, nopony really wanted to clean. They tasked me with cleaning.”
“So you made your houses clean then?”
Olive lowered her head in shame. “No...”
“Oh, I see. Did they teach you how to properly clean?” The counselor asked, trying to sound cheerful even though she knew it wouldn’t improve the filly’s mood.
“No, I tried my best, but it wasn’t enough...” Her eyes started to water. “They laughed at me while I was doing my best! They laughed at me because I’m stupid!” She sniffled, smashing her hooves on the bed in anguish. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”
“Hey, hey.” Applejack wrapped a comforting hoof around the crying filly and brought her close to her chest. “Ah know for a fact yer not stupid. They didn’t teach ya how to clean and that’s their fault ya were not able to dust up the place. No filly can do everything perfectly on their first try.”
Olive sniffled, slowly calming down.
“Yer smart and brave for a filly yer age. Smart, and brave. Don’t let anypony else tell ya otherwise.” Applejack’s words reached through her distress. Olive’s tail lowered until it slumpt in the comfy sheets of her bed, her shaking stopped, and her breaths slowed down to a more natural pace.
In the back, Heedful Care observed the scene, smiling to herself. All her doubts and worries regarding Olive’s new foster mother had faded away. Applejack truly was the right pick, the right pony to get the filly to open her heart to the world.
Cassette tapes really aren’t as popular anymore, not since cameras have been invented. Getting to record both images and sound alike made these old tapes obsolete. Rare do you ever get to see one, unless somepony wanted to remain anonymous. Oh yes, these old puppers are still popular in the underbelly of Equestria. It’s a reoccurring thing with inventions, those who partake in dirty activities fancy the old and reject modernity for often times, newer technologies favor safer and less criminal usage. Looking Glass became all too familiar with cassette tapes since the criminal underworld frequently recorded important messages on them.
He knew of one good place in Canterlot, more specifically a pegasus who will still fix broken tapes for him. The shop’s small, but it’s cozy. The owner, Screen Saver, doesn’t see a lot of customers, but he always remembers the few who do come. Over time, Looking Glass developed a fondness for this stallion and his shop, what with how often he had to go there to work out some broken equipment. Sometimes, he’d even bring on full-on antiquities to this place.
There were many shelves, all filled with cameras and tapes. It was kind of a mess in there, but it was a mess Screen Saver had become accustomed to. Thus, he never bothered to clean it up. While you may think it’ll deter potential customers away, it only served to add some personality to this shop. Most stores in Canterlot have this fancy air to them. A place’s as messy as this equipment store is a rare sight to behold in a city of rich folks.
Looking Glass went there often and yet, the owner always looked a little nervous to see him. Especially when he just popped in unannounced, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.
“Good day, Screen Saver.” Looking Glass said, his voice of steel echoing throughout the empty shop. He looked at an old camera, witnessing his reflection in the lense. Once again, he saw a young colt smiling happily at him.
“O-Oh, g-good day, detective Looking Glass.” The stallion responded, putting on a nervous smile. He tapped his hooves together as they rested on the counter, trying to appear as normal as possible. The dark blue detective was always a stressful customer. While he had an average build for a unicorn, his amber eyes and his voice were powerful and commanding. No matter how big and tough some ponies were, they always feared and respected the detective.
With his magic, the unicorn took out the broken cassette tape and placed it on the counter. “I’ll need your services once more. This tape is extremely important for my investigation.” he explained calmly, his eyes piercing into the soul of the pegasus even though he wasn’t trying to appear intimidating. His explanation was bare bone, but Screen Saver swore not to prod too deeply into his client’s business, especially when it’s Looking Glass who’s speaking.
“That I do not doubt!” Screen Saver exclaimed, pulling the tape towards him with his slightly shaking hoof. He examined the item closely. “Ooh. Th-This tape is horribly broken. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise much will come from it. I fear some parts of the recording may be lost in the process.”
“That won’t be a problem. I only need to hear who’s speaking in this recording.” Looking Glass turned around, already prepared to leave. “I have a bad feeling about this whole affair. It’s best you don’t ask any questions. This could get very dangerous.” He briefly turned his head around to face the pegasus.
“I sure won’t! Eh, c-come back tonight!” Screen Saver announced. “It should be done by then. I believe you already know the price for this job.”
Looking Glass nodded. “I’ll bring the bits necessary. I won’t bother you any longer. Oh, and don’t forget about our previous deal.” On these words, the dark blue unicorn left the old store.
Once gone, the tension in the pegasus vanished. He looked down on the broken tape with relief in his eyes. “Whew, it was just for a cassette tape this time.”
Somewhere, in a dark room in the hospital, Doctor Hoof was leaning over another stallion, staring at a computer screen. They were closely examining an x-ray and a scan of Olive, hoping to find any anomalies.
“So, anything strange on the scan?” Doctor Hoof asked to his coworker.
“Um, I-I don’t see anything really. It’s just a normal filly.” He hesitantly informed. “The scan’s showing us no anomalies. The bones are nothing remarkable, the same goes for her muscles. Nothing suggests she could have stretched her mouth three to four times longer than that of the average pony.”
“Then perhaps Snowheart was only hallucinating the wide mouth,” The doctor theorised. “but it doesn’t explain the powerful burst of magic.” He leaned closer to the other pony. “Have you run a scan of her magical abilities? Surely we can find something there.”
The stallion nodded and ran through the files on the computer, eventually landing on the right fil. Once he opened it, the Doctor Hoof’s jaws dropped. “Sweet Celestia, that’s concerning.”
“I, uh, wh-” The other stallion stammered. “D-Do you think Princess Twilight had this much magic when she was a filly? I’ve heard she was quite powerful even in her youth.”
Doctor Hoof shook his head. “No, not even close from what I’ve heard. Olive’s not only much stronger than Twilight when she was a filly, she’s magically more powerful than the majority of unicorns.” He looked at the stallion dead in the eyes.
“With this much power in her, her body should have been torn apart from her previous outburst. Something’s not showing on her physical scans...” He nervously trotted away from his coworker. “and I sincerely hope that Twilight can figure out why.”