Later that day, Nurse Redheart returned accompanied by a blue unicorn that definitely was no staff. “Visiting hours have started! You’ll be getting lots of visitors today!” she announced before leaving the newcomer to the hospitalised mares.
Cheerilee’s eyes widened, recognising an old friend from her school days. “Minuette?”
Minuette gave her a toothy smile, unintentionally getting Olive on edge. Passing by Twilight, she greeted her briefly before moving on to her good friend. “Yep! Boy, am I glad to hear you’re okay! I was just passing by and heard all about the school so I went there myself and there it was, destroyed so I got really worried and figured I’d check the hospital to make sure you were okay.”
“Still as chatty, I see.” The cerise make mused, smiling weakly. “I’m happy to see you. Things haven’t been great lately.”
“Oh.” Minuette’s cheerful smile dropped. “Well, that’s why I’m here, right?” As she approached her friend, she cringed at her sorry state. “Uh, are you going to be alright?”
“I don’t know...” The cerise mare motioned at the unicorn to move towards the side, for she couldn’t turn her head without risking another wave of agony raining down on her back. “The doctor hasn’t returned with an answer. I’m not sure I want to hear it, but I also want to know if... It’s messy, I know. I have no idea what I want right now.”
“J-Just give it some rest. I’m sure you’ll be feeling better in no time!” Minuette kept on a bright smile, hoping it would light up the earth pony’s day. Thankfully, it somewhat did.
“I hope so. Then again, I’ve never had much luck in hospitals anyway.”
The blue unicorn cringed. “Oh yeah, that one was arguably worse.”
Cheerilee frowned, feeling a different kind of pain this time. “Don’t have to remind me. I... prefer to leave that part of my life behind.”
Twilight, curious, roused herself from her long reading. “Hm? What happened?” Applejack grimaced, knowing her friend was about to trot on a tight rope. She wasn’t in Ponyville back then, how could she know?
“Oh yeah, it’s an awful story.” Minuette began, much to Cheerilee’s dismay. “Basically, Cheerilee went to Ponyville General because she was going in labor and so th-”
“What?! Labor?!” Twilight screamed, startling Minuette. “Cheerilee, you gave birth?”
Cheerilee grumbled sadly, shame encompassing her face. “Y-Yeah... it was a long time ago, e-eight years I believe. That’s all in the past.”
Olive climbed on her mother, wanting to hear the grown-ups talking.
“W-Well... where is your foal? I’ve never seen them before.”
Applejack and Minuette gritted their teeth, sweating. “Oh yeah, Twilight. ‘Bout that...”
“She’s gone.” Cheerilee croaked. “Disappeared just a day after I had her.”
Twilight’s eyes widened, her mouth agape. “Wha-but... Did you send a search party? Called in a detective to find her, talked to May-”
“Twilight, I did.” The cerise mare lowered her hoof, surprised at how heavy it felt. “I did everything you thought of. That filly’s gone, we never found out what happened to her.”
“Aw...” Olive moped, devastated about the sad fate of that foal. She wondered how awful it must feel to be separated from your parents this young. That filly, if she was still alive, would probably never find out who her real parents were.
“You don’t have to feel bad about me. That baby was an accident, I’m not really sure how I would have taken care of her back then when I was short on bits. Heh, I still am actually.”
Minuette blinked, suddenly realising an important detail was left out of the story every time Cheerilee told it. “Hey, you never really told me who was the father.”
The cerise mare glared, peeved by her friend’s insatiable curiosity. “That’s... not important. I never saw him after I learned I was pregnant. To me, he doesn’t exist anymore.”
“Eesh...” Twilight was now discouraged from asking further questions, a good thing considering she only now realised tight the rope she trotted on was. “I think I’ve heard enough. Sorry if I bothered you.”
“It’s nothing.” the mare kindly responded. “I’m sure anypony who didn’t know would have asked the same things.” A slight tug on her hoof made her flinch. Looking down, she saw Olive nuzzling her, trying to bring some comfort. The filly limped all the way to her just to cheer her up. “Aw, you don’t have to feel bad for me, dear. I’ve gotten over it a long time ago. Plus, I still don’t think I’m ready to be a mother.”
“But it’s sad! You lost your daughter!” Olive pressed. “I’d be awfully sad if that happened to me.”
“I know it is, I was terribly sad to, but there’s nothing that can be done now. Things don’t always go the way we planned.” She gently caressed the filly’s mane, hoping it would calm her down.
Olive backed down, unsure if she should try to cheer her some more or leave it at that. “Oh, okay... Did that help?”
Cheerilee giggled. “Yes, that helped a lot!” That filly was an angel. So kind and understanding, always willing to go above and beyond to help a pony out. A good pony knows what love is, and love, she understood perfectly. In some ways, she was similar and yet very different from her father. Oh, how much she deserved a better father than him. A spineless coward, that’s what he was. And now, she’s learned that he was also an abusive monster that murdered hundreds of innocent ponies. The cherry on top of the fecal cake...
Olive smiled happily, returning to her mother’s side to conclude another successful mission. Minuette remained for a couple more minutes, speaking with Cheerilee whilst Twilight and Applejack occupied themselves with other things out of respect. They shouldn’t be interrupting this important visit. That’ll be extremely impolite considering they’re about to get a lot of visitors, much more than the cerise mare!
After the blue unicorn had left, Redheart returned giggling. “Something tells me you three will be having a party in there!”
“We’re throwing a party?! Woohoo! I brought some confetti just in case!”
“Pinkie, she didn’t mean a literal party. We’re just visiting.”
Olive stood up, staring at the open door curiously. She recognised these voices, but struggled to remember the names of the ponies that strolled in. A pegasus with a rainbow mane, that one was easy to remember. The pink earth pony hopping in like a bunny had to be Pinkie. The last one, a yellow pegasus gently trotting in was her Fluttershy, perhaps one of the nicest ponies she’s ever seen despite barely having seen her. Oh, and they even brought in Scootaloo for good measure, that’s really nice. However, the pink filly noticed there was a missing mare.
The one with the strange indigo mane and the pretty crystal eyes. What was her name again?
“What’s up, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash greeted flamboyantly.
The princess of friendship smiled gently. “Great, most of us are doing fine...” the lavender alicorn just now realised a pony was missing. “And, uh, where’s Rarity?”
Oh, yeah, the white mare was Rarity. She brushed the filly’s mane back at the Sugar Cube Corner party and made it less messy. Olive was rather sad she wasn’t here, partly because that also meant Sweetie Belle was missing from the party, but also because she wanted to ask her something important.
“Um, she said she couldn’t come with us for now.” Fluttershy responded. “She said something about Sweetie Belle not feeling too well, but she promised she’ll come later today.”
“Oh, yeah.” Twilight somberly said. “I almost forgot we weren’t the only ponies inside the school.”
“Don’t worry too much about it, Twi!” Dash confidently exclaimed, pulling Scootaloo close to her. “Some foals have handled it quite well! Just look at Scootaloo! She was scared, but as you can clearly see; still standing.”
The orange filly nodded profusely. “U-Uh, yeah yeah! I’m doing just fine! Uh, still standing too!”
Olive wondered why her friend was trying so hard to look good in front of Twilight. Maybe it’s viewed as cool to appear brave in front of a princess? Or maybe she’s looking to appeal to the rainbow maned pegasus judging by the fact she’s constantly glancing at her.
Pinkie Pie bounced around the room, examining it. “Wow, this place sure could use some more fun!” She began to hang balloons and other party decorations. “Now this should make this place super-duper fun to be in!”
Fluttershy trotted towards Applejack’s night table, flowers in her wings. “Well, I-I brought these flowers. They should hopefully make the room smell nicer.”
Olive blinked, moving to the edge of the bed to give a good sniff at the flowers. Pulling back, she stared blankly at the bouquet. “Mommy? How do I smell?”
Applejack scratched her head. “Uh, ya just... sniff.”
Olive leaned in, trying her luck again. Then she looked back at the farm pony, desperate. “It doesn’t work. I can’t smell it!”
Fluttershy’s eyes widened. “Oh dear...”
“Aj, I think Olive might have... anosmia.” Twilight affirmed nervously.
Olive gasped, looking back at her mother in shock. “Mommy! A-Am I going to die?”
“No, Olive. It just means your nose can’t smell.” The alicorn corrected. “It’s quite uncommon. I haven’t really met anypony who had anosmia before.”
Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened, her mouth agape. “Oh no! That’s horrible! How can she have fun eating if she can’t smell the super good food of Sugar Cube Corner!”
“I have fun eating.” Olive protested, confused. “Your cupcakes taste really good!”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Yeah, Pinkie. Smelling only enhances the taste of food.”
Today, the little pink filly learned something new. Apparently, ponies are supposed to smell things. They smell and they taste at the same time, something she didn’t know was possible. Heck, she didn’t even know that her condition was not normal. How could she? She’s had anosmia for as long as she can remember.
“I’ve heard that an irritation to the mucus membranes lining the nose can be one of the many causes for anosmia.” Twilight informed. The others blinked, having already lost her. The alicorn sighed. “Or a brain/nerve damage can cause anosmia, which is most likely what happened to Olive at a very young age for her to not remember what smelling was like. It’ quite the interesting condition. I’ve read about it in the newspaper a long time ago.”
The small unicorn kept on sniffing the flowers, eventually giving up when she realised it was futile. “I had a lot of accidents when I was young, or so my friend told me... I didn’t know I have brain damage. Does that make me stupid?”
The lavender alicorn shook her head. “Um, n-no, I don’t think brain damage necessarily makes you stupider. Those accidents your friend mentioned should be the cause of your condition. I haven’t heard of a pony who had anosmia at birth yet, and I do not think it will ever happen.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Anyway, let’s move on to the cooler stuff.” She flew next to the pink filly. “So, I’ve heard you transformed back into your big monster form to take down a giant stallion, correct?”
“Um, yes. I did.”
“Awesome!” The blue pegasus leaned in real close to the filly’s face, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “I wanna know more! How did it feel fighting against evil and saving an entire class of foals?”
“Yeah! You were pretty awesome when you fought him with all those extra hooves coming out of your mouth! You really gave him the coolest wallop I’ve ever seen!” Scootaloo chimed in.
Olive was perplexed. She vaguely remembered seeing the pegasus during her accidental fight with Princess Twilight, so she should know just how ghastly and dangerous the monster is and yet, she thinks it’s... cool? “I don’t know. It was... nice? I think. I didn’t think about being a hero when I fought him, I just wanted to kill him.”
Her voice died down as she realised that she openly admitted to attempted murder and in front of all her mother’s friends too! Her pupils shrank, her face flushing red as the weight of her dangerous mistake dawned on her.
“Oh, um, I see. Well, I don’t know all the details of what you went through... but I’m pretty sure he deserved it.” Rainbow said, taken aback by the filly’s brutal answer.
“Like goodness. What kind of monster would want to hurt such an innocent and adorable filly?” Fluttershy added, gushing over the cute pony.
“He’s a complicated kinda monster.” Applejack spat out. “The type that believes what he’s doin’ is good. From what Ah know, it was a personal grudge that drew ‘im to Olive.”
“A grudge? Why? What is there to hate about a filly that just wants to have fun?” Pinkie Pie asked in rapid fire succession. “Oh no! He’s... a party pooper!”
Applejack looked at her daughter, sensing her discomfort. “Ah don’t think it’s necessary to go in detail ‘bout it. Olive’ll tell ya when she wants to. It ain’t mah business s’far as Ah’m concerned.”
The pink filly smiled gratefully. Her mother truly understood her, it felt great to have a pony who could understand you this well. The last pony she felt comfortable confiding to sadly passed away at the hooves of the behemoth, but Applejack will never die because of her weakness. She possessed great strength in her, and that strength will be put to good use now. No longer will it be an instrument of anger and fear, it will be a shield to protect the ponies who love her.
That thing inside her, it’s a monster no longer. It’s a benevolent protector, a superhero. Nopony will ever be crushed beneath the hooves of her father, not while she’s there.
“It’s not important, not anymore.” She responded serenely, much to the surprise of her visitors.
Rainbow Dash conceded. “Huh, if you say so.”
Scootaloo approached her, eyes sparkling with wonder. “What are you gonna do about that monster? Like, are you gonna become a hero or... vengeance?”
“I’m done with vengeance. I don’t want to fear it anymore.” I’m not scared of my anger. It is me, and I am it. There’s nothing to be afraid of, because I finally understand what it is.
Fear cannot exist without the unknown. Where there is knowledge, there is an absence of fear.
Next came the rest of her new family, the Apples. Big Mac, Granny Smith and Apple Bloom came to visit after Twilight and Aj’s friends left. Olive was really happy to see them, especially her big sister whom she was worried about. She was right in the middle of Strong Hoof’s wrath too, hopefully she wasn’t hurt like the four of them. Hugging each other, her worries went away. Apple Bloom was okay!
Despite being happy to see each other, neither Applejack nor the rest of the family seemed all that jolly. Olive didn’t know why, and it scared her. What was she missing? “W-What’s going on? Why are you all sad?”
“Eh, mah apologies youngin’.” Granny Smith said, finally breaking the awkwardly sad silence. “We’re just not thrilled by ta terrible weather.”
Gazing at the window, Olive didn’t understand what was so bad about the weather. It was a sunny day, with just a lot of snow. It was basically just a winter day, only it came early. “It’s just snow.”
“That’s ta thin’.” Big Mac responded. “It snowed earlier than usual. We weren’t ready for that. We live on a farm, thrive off our harvests. We usually make a big reserve fo’ winter, to keep on makin’ money.”
Apple Bloom trotted closer to her clueless sister. “We need to harvest everythin’ we ‘ave, buck every apple tree before they get rotten! We probably won’t even ‘ave ‘nough for this winter, especially knowin’ it’s gonna be longer than usual.” The yellow filly lowered her head, devastated by their arduous situation.
Applejack sighed. “Yeah... that’s ‘bout what Ah imagined when Ah learned of ta weather. Can’t ta weather ponies do anythin’ ‘bout it?”
Big Mac shook his head. “Nope.”
“Ah asked ‘em. They said they can’t raise nor lower ta temperature. It’s stuck like this right now.” Granny Smith answered bitterly. “Ah’d like to help out Big Mac and Apple Bloom, but these old bones can’t quite match yer speed. We’ll hafta ask for some help.”
Applejack tried to step out of her bed, but Twilight stopped her, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t do this, Aj. Our friends will help your family, you should relax and let your body heal.”
The orange mare sighed, letting go of her unrealistic desire to leave immediately. “Yer right. It just doesn’t sit right with me to let all mah friends do mah work while Ah just stay ‘ere doin’ nothin’... Soon as Ah’m out, Ah’ll get back to work.”
“Of course.” Twilight softly said. “Just don’t overdo it. You have a filly to look out after.”
Applejack looked down at the pink pony curled up in her hooves. Olive looked back at her with her soft, beautiful eyes. She’ll have a lot of work to do once she’s out, but that doesn’t mean she’ll neglect to spend some quality time with her daughter. She could spare more time with her now that she thought about it. Yeah, that’ll be a nice change of pace.
“You have another visitor!” Redheart announced gleefully, letting a silver filly enter the room. It was Silver Spoon, one of the many foals locked inside the class when the giant stormed in. A front row seat to the unfortunate carnage.
“Silver Spoon!” Olive crawled to the side of her bed, waving at her friend.
“H-Hi.” The earth pony awkwardly waved back. “Um, I-I have a few things I wanted to say. I, uh, wrote them into a card.” she reached for her saddlebag. “Here, you can just read it. Everything I wanted to say is on it so... I’ll just leave you alone.”
“Mhm?” Olive blinked, watching blankly as Silver Spoon left as quickly as she entered. Staring at the card, something strange happened. It levitated towards her, albeit quickly falling to the ground a split second later.
“Hey, was that magic ya used just now?” Applejack asked, surprised.
Panicked, Olive looked at her horn, expecting the same ominous glow to emanate from it. Strangely enough, the aura was olive just like her eyes, nothing bad about it albeit difficult to control. She only managed to levitate a featherweight object for a split second. “I-I think so.”
“That’s great! Ah was scared ya were gonna ‘ave some problems with usin’ magic, what with all that transformation stuff.” Applejack cheered. “Ah know Twilight can help ya with learning magic. She’s been helping Sweetie Belle for a while now and it’s paid off.”
Twilight’s ear perked at the mention of magic. She put her book down, staring at the filly excitedly. “So you know how to use levitation? Nice, I can teach you a few basic spells if you want.”
Silver Spoon’s card lifted for another split-second only to fall again. Olive’s magic faded as quickly as it came. “It’s not working. I don’t understand.”
“Okay then, I suppose I should maybe start with how to properly use magic. I thought you knew how to use magic since you were able to teleport when transformed.” Twilight said, waving a hoof.
The filly blinked, not remembering ever pulling off such an advanced spell. “I didn’t know I could teleport. It just sorta happens on its own when I’m angry.”
“Huh.” The lavender alicorn scratched her chin, perplexed. “So it’s more like a reflex? In any case, it’ll do you a lot of good to learn to use magic in your normal state. Magic can be used to do many things, like pick up objects to something more complex like playing an instrument. It’s always used in a unicorn’s everyday life.”
Clearing her throat, “For starters, you need to concentrate on the incantation to cast levitation. Since you were able to briefly lift the card, I assume you still remember it. Then, you need to focus on what you want to lift.”
Performing her instructions to a tea, Olive was shocked when the card lifted and stayed in the air for more than a split-second. It kept on floating, never falling. “Woah, I can float things!”
“Yep, it’s really simple! I suppose you didn’t know about reciting the incantation. That’s the most complicated thing about magic. The more advanced spells have rather long and windy incantations, hence why they’re difficult to cast in a heartbeat. They also put quite the strain on your body and mana. That’s why we teach levitation first, it’s the easiest spell and- oh, right... Nopony’s actually listening to me.”
“Mommy, look! The card’s staying in the air!” Olive proudly announced, pointing at the flying object.
“Yer doin’ mighty good, sugar cube! Now how about ya read it?”
The pink unicorn just remembered why she even tried lifting the card. Silver Spoon didn’t really tell her anything, she just hoofed the card over and left. What’s inside must be important then, maybe it’s a message that came from the heart?
Opening it, Olive read the card.
Dear Olive,
I know we’ve only really met for two weeks at most but to me it felt like you’ve been around for much longer. And in those two weeks, a lot has changed. You’ve made me realised there was more to friendship than blindly agreeing with your friends, even if you don’t personally believe in what they’re saying. I’ve always followed Diamond Tiara around, saying the same things as her and acting the same because I just thoughts that’s what friends do. You made me realise how shallow that was, and how shallow it made me as a result.
I don’t want to be simply known as a follower. I have dreams and wants too, not just Diamond’s. So for that, I’m grateful I got to meet you. Thank you for showing me what true friendship is. I hope you and your family are doing well. I can’t wait to see you again when you’ll be feeling better.
Silver Spoon.
After reading it from start to finish, Olive kept on staring, rereading it over and over. Each time she did, it made her feel better about herself. She’s done it, she made an impact, a positive one on a pony. This card may be just words on a paper, but to her, it was worth a million bits. She’ll keep it until the end of time. It’ll be her treasure.
“Wow, I had no idea you were this popular!” Redheart let another visitor enter the patients’ room. This time, it was Diamond Tiara. Yes, Tiara for she was wearing her namesake once more only this time, it looked much different.
Olive couldn’t take her eyes off it. The tiara looked... cheaper.
A beige stallion trotted in next to the pink earth pony. It was Filthy Rich; the stallion Olive saw at the Sugar Cube Corner party. Unlike Spoiled Rich, he didn’t seem to harbor any hatred for her, instead keeping on a warm smile. He looked like a genuinely nice pony, which was surprising considering Spoiled and Diamond were anything but nice the first time she’s met them.
The fact that Diamond Tiara even changed at all must mean she’s got some of her dad’s good will in her. “U-Um, hi there.” The filly awkwardly said, glancing nervously at Applejack. She didn’t know how the mare would react seeing her sister’s bully waltz in their room.
“Fancy seein’ ya ‘ere, mister Rich!” Applejack greeted. “Ah didn’t know ya cared that much fo’ me!”
The beige stallion chuckled. “Actually, it was my daughter that insisted we come to visit. I couldn’t say no to that, especially after what went down...” Just from his tone, Olive could tell he sounded like a good dad. Well, she could tell because he didn’t sound anything like hers, which was a low bar indeed.
Anyhow, Diamond Tiara came close to her, readjusting her tiara with an awkward smile. “Well, uh, I-I'm glad to see you’re okay.” Poking at it, she noticed her friend’s eyes were entirely on it. “Oh! Yes, that’s my new tiara. I promised I’ll get a new one, and I did.”
“Why does it look like that?” Olive asked curiously, tilting her head from side-to-side to examine the thing from every angle possible.
Diamond took her namesake off, analysing it. “Well, by getting a new one, I didn’t mean buy a new tiara. I want to be the class president and I just thought that, uh, I wanted to look more genuine, to show that I wasn’t the bully they all remembered so I decided to make it myself... with my dad’s help of course.”
Her father patted her on the head, smiling brightly. “I think it looks much better than the previous one!”
Olive’s mouth opened wide, her eyes sparkling. “Oh! So it has more value when you make it yourself?”
“Yes, exactly. I just want to show to everypony that I really mean it when I promised to do better.” Diamond Tiara affirmed.
“There’s something I want to make by myself.” Olive looked out the window at the hills in the distance, remembering a specific one near Sweet Apple Acre. “I’d like to make it as soon as I’m back home.”
Applejack nuzzled the filly. “That sounds nice! How ‘bout Ah lend a hoof?”
Olive frowned, feeling guilty for what she was about to say. “Um, n-no... It must be just me. It’s really important to me.”
“Ah... well in that case, Ah’ll leave ya to it.”
Olive smiled gratefully. It felt great to have such an understanding parent, one that won’t question your personal decisions. She was truly lucky to have her.
“W-Well, in any case...” Diamond placed her tiara back on her head. “I only really came here to tell you how grateful I am for everything you’ve done, Olive. If it weren’t for you, I’d have never understood what it truly means to have a friend.” She lowered her head, avoiding her friend’s eyes. “A-And when you’re out, can I, um, invite you to my house?”
The pink unicorn smiled brightly. “Of course! We’re friends!”
After the filly’s visit, Applejack felt the last bit of her strength leave her. Her eyes were heavy, it was time to take a nap. It would appear her body still needed a bit more rest to fully recover from the physical trauma of the gloomy confrontation under the cold rain.
Just then, Nurse Redheart returned, yet again. “You have another visitor!” she announced giggling. These three ponies might just get an award for “most visitors in one day”.
“Tell ‘em to come tomorrow.” Applejack muttered; her eyes already closed as she rested on her warm pillow. “Ah’m beat.”
“Darling, please. Can’t we stay for at least five little minutes?” That voice, that aristocratic English accent...
“I believe Miss Rarity wants to see you.” Redheart precised.
“Ya should have said so earlier. Ah can spare ‘er some time.” Applejack chuckled, waving a tired hoof at the beautiful white mare.
Rarity waltz in, stroking her indigo mane. “Glad to see you still give me special treatment, darling. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it with the others. You see, Sweetie Belle had some... trouble taking in the big fight. She just needed a bit of time to think about it all.”
As the young filly in question stepped in, Aj could now see what the problem was. Poor Sweetie Belle’s eyes were sore, still a little wet. Looks like she wasn’t the only one terrified about Olive’s unknown fate at the time. The pink unicorn sensed something was wrong, hanging on the edge of the bed.
Sweetie Belle rushed to her in no time, embracing her without uttering a single word.
“Why were you sad?”
The white unicorn swallowed a lump in her throat. “I-I thought I’d never see you again!”
“Don’t cry!”
Sweetie Belle only tightened her grip, letting tears run wild. As she pulled her dear friend closer, the pink filly’s weight crushed her, and they both fell to the floor on top of one another.
“Now, Sweetie. Don’t get too carried away. You don’t want to hurt your friend.” Rarity scolded.
The two fillies didn’t hear her, too busy hugging each other and relaxing in each other’s presence.
“That’s a rich statement comin’ from a drama queen.” Applejack mused.
“Drama queen?! Applejack I...” Rarity blinked, then frowned as realisation passed through. “I suppose that is factually correct. Still, I’m not THAT bad.”
Twilight rose from her book, giggling. “Sure you are, Rarity. Need any help finding a lost ribbon?”
“Oh please! I’m not like that all the time.”
Olive and Sweetie Belle finally let go, loosening up. A single hug worked wonder to ease their fear.
The white filly wiped the last remaining tears away, smiling brightly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be crying. You’re practically invincible!”
Olive blushed, stroking her crystal white mane. “I-I mean, I guess I am. I’m just tired to be in the hospital all the time.”
“What a humble little filly.” Rarity gushed, leaning towards the red-faced filly. “You don’t seem too used to compliments, aren’t you, darling?”
Olive’s face grew redder, forcing her to hide behind her mane. “They make me feel kind of strange, but in a good way.”
Applejack crawled over to the edge of her bed, giggling. “That’s called bein’ flustered by ta way. Ya should be familiar with it, ya always seem to be when yer near Sweetie.”
Rarity faked a gasp, nudging her baby sister. “I think there’s something going on between you two!”
“H-Hey! It’s not what you think!” Sweetie shouted, betrayed by her blushing face.
Her older sister gave her a knowing look. “My apology, I shouldn’t be prying in your business.” She then felt a slight tug on her leg.
“Hey, miss Rarity?” Looking down, she cracked before the adorable soft gaze of the injured filly. “I want to ask you something.”
Oh, so polite... “Ask away, darling.”
Olive fumbled in her mane. “I want a new manecut. I don’t like mine right now. It’s... lacking, I think. I want you to make it pretty, i-if you want to!”
Rarity rose, a hoof to her mouth. “Oh dear, if I had known, I’d have brought my kit with me. Oh, nevermind, I suppose I can always use what’s in the bathroom.” Directing the filly to the bathroom, the white mare closely examined all the bottles in there, hoofpicking only the best for her current task.
The mission: to give this filly a pretty manecut.
Cracking open the shampoos, Rarity got to work with admirable proficiency.
“I want the swirls gone, make it different!” Olive asked kindly. The pink unicorn cringed at the feeling of her wet mane being played with, but she was willing to sit through this unpleasant operation if it could change how her mane looks and by proxy, how ponies will view her. She wants to be seen as far removed from who she was before as possible. Making it pretty would also perhaps dilute the ugliness of the scar though she’s gotten used to it by now.
After a few unpleasant minutes, Rarity proudly announced her victory, levitating a mirror to Olive. “Tada! You said to make it as different, so I changed the swirls to something a little spikier! It’ll also show you can bite back should anypony pick a meaningless fight with you.”
Olive’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she saw her new look. A hoof unconsciously lifted to touch the new mane, bewildered by its soft feel. Then, her shocked mouth turned into a big bright smile. Her soft eyes sparkled with joy as she hopped around on her flank, unable to contain her excitement. She giggled, turning her head towards Sweetie Belle.
“Look at it! It’s so pretty!”
Gone were the swirls. Now, her mane was longer, wrapping around her neck with sharp edges near the bottom. Her tail was also changed to be a lot spikier, with four sharp edges.
Sweetie’s heart pounded against her chest, her face flushing red. The pink filly had never looked as radiant as ever. It was crazy how a simple change in her mane made such a big difference. She was beautiful now, and it made the white unicorn flustered. No time to think, Olive lunged at her to give her a big, overjoyed hug. “Wha-huh?!”
“Thanks, miss Rarity!”
“Aw, it was nothing!” Rarity said, stomping her hooves down rapidly. She was proud of her work, that clearly showed. “If you want a new style for your mane or especially a new garment, come to me. I’ll be happy to help.”
“Sure thing!” Olive galloped out of the bathroom and into her mother’s hooves, waking her up. “Mommy, look at my new mane!”
“Mhm?” A tired eye opened. “Oh, it’s lookin’ mighty nice.”
“I’d rather call it wonderful, Applejack but you do you.” Rarity exclaimed, stroking her mane proudly. “It’s delightful to see your foal is interested in the art of styling one’s mane. Hm, probably interested in fashion too but that might be a stretch...”
“Anyhow, Ah’m happy ya helped, sugar cube.” Applejack smiled gratefully. “Ah can always count on y’all for anythin’!”
The five ponies continued their chat, almost losing track of the time. Thirty minutes later, Redheart returned to sadly announce that visiting hours were over. It was only four hours, but to the patients, it felt like only a single hour had passed.
As Sweetie was about to leave, she remembered a promise Olive made to her that week. Looking at the window, she noticed it was starting to get dark. “Oh, right... I’m sorry, it doesn’t seem like we’d get to watch the stars together this weekend.” the filly lamented.
“Aw...” Olive’s morale dropped, the spiky edges on her mane drooping.
“Heh, ya can always sneak in at night if yer that desperate.” Applejack joked, a sly smile on her face.
Sweetie’s eyes lit up. “Oh right! Can we do that, Rarity?”
“Uh, goodness... no! We can’t! That’s against the law!”
The white filly didn’t back down, keeping her sad eyes on her sister. “Please, Rarity!”
Rarity cringed, sweating a little. “Sweetie, we can’t do that.”
“Aw...” Olive dropped on her flank, now staring at her with sad eyes. Under the crushing weight of two entire sets of sad puppy eyes, Rarity gave in.
“Urgh, fine. I can’t believe I am about to do this, but we’ll sneak at night to watch these acursed stars!”
“Oh! Are we doing another sleepov-”
“Sweet Celestia! No, Twilight! It’s only in and out. Five-minute illegal adventure!”
The great city of Canterlot was as restless as ever. The castle was on full alert, nopony’s ever seen it lit up like that, even at night. The threat of Anarchy’s return brought everypony on edge, for not much was known about this future event, just that it would spark some tragedies.
Once again, Looking Glass was called in by Princess Luna personally. The reliable stallion wasted no time galloping to her position. The snowy road to the garden was long and arduous. Trotting in the deep snow is no easy feat, but it gave the stallion plenty of time to reflect on the current situation and himself as well. So many years had passed since he first started his work as a detective for the bureau at Canterlot.
In these years, he changed greatly. At first, he worked with a partner, building a strong bond between them as they worked on all sorts of cases, some more disgusting than others. Things were great back then, the cases felt like a game to them, solving complicated mysteries and saving the day but then, reality sunk in. Death came for his partner, tore him to pieces and ate what remained.
Looking Glass acknowledged he probably had a foalish vision of his job during these old days. In hindsight, a tragedy like that should have been predictable, but somehow, he didn’t think it would happen. He was always at the top with his friend, always getting out of the most dangerous situations like a superhero. When he returned home that night, a part of him changed.
Justice turned to vengeance.
Before the scoundrels of Equestria, smiling was a sign of weakness. They fear only the coldest and most unforgiving of ponies. Never smile, never joke, show only anger and righteousness. Looking Glass understood what it meant to be a detective in this world, in the darkness of Equestria. However, as he kept on going, it became harder to separate his work from his life. His cold gaze, sharp demeanor and anger carried over to his everyday activities. He only lived for one thing; to kill the worst of the bunch.
As he passed by the garden, he noticed that captain Mango was wide awake, carving on a large slab of stone. There were bags under his eyes, his hooves were weak, but he didn’t stop carving. That was odd, Mango rarely ever stood in the light of day. He was nocturnal, as his specie would indicate. A warm dome surrounded him, casting the frost away. Looking Glass felt alot better standing inside said dome, no doubt created by the lunar princess.
“What are you doing, Mango?”
The batpony exhaled loudly, just now realising that he held his breath for a long time. “Carving on a monument. What else?”
Looking Glass made a quick detour, approaching the imposing stallion. “I’d like to know what exactly you’re carving.”
“We’ve lost plenty of good stallions in that storm. I’m making sure nopony forgets the services they’ve done for this country.” Mango dropped his chisel, cursing under his breath. “Look pal, if you’ve got some important business, don’t waste your time here.”
“I see, that’s noble work. I’ll leave you to it then.”
Moving further in the garden, Looking Glass found the lunar princess, sitting on a bench surrounded by a couple guards, courtesy of her protective sister. She seemed somewhat bothered by it but understood its necessity. Much like Mango, the group was surrounded by a warm dome, shielding them from the unforgiving temperature of what was still supposed to be an Autumn afternoon.
Noticing the dark blue stallion, she smiled gracefully at him, an invitation to come closer. “Looking Glass, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Always at your service, Princess Luna.” The stallion responded, quickly bowing before the alicorn.
He got it right for the first time... How thoughtful of him. Luna thought, amused. “As you can see, we’ve already taken some drastic measures regarding Anarchy’s inevitable return. Guards everywhere, a curfew at 9 pm, etc. That’s not why I brought you here, not for Anarchy at least. It’s about the other issue that’s been sitting in the back shelf for a while now. You certainly know where I’m getting at.”
“But of course. The Crimson Mask.” Looking Glass responded, not letting anything about him betray his true stance on this matter. “You wish to discuss about his so-called ‘return’.”
“Indeed.” Luna tapped on the empty spot next to her. Looking Glass nodded and sat next to her, earning some distasteful looks from the other guards. He was used to it, after all he’s probably one of the few ponies ever to be treated in such high regard by royalty but unlike the others, he was much colder on the outside. “The issue has still not been resolved, it’s still in the newspaper, still a subject of fear amongst our subjects. I’d like you to investigate this imposter and inform us about their identity before Anarchy’s return. We’d appreciate getting some weight off our shoulders.”
“I believe we won’t have to worry about this imposter any longer, princess.” Looking Glass searched in his pocket, levitating a small book out. “On one of the captured Anarchists, I found this book.” He opened it and flipped a couple of pages into it, letting the midnight blue alicorn read its content.
“That’s... about the hostages.” She blurted out, confused.
“Yes, it's to prove its legitimacy. Now, the important thing I want you to read is this.” Flipping to the last entries, he let Luna read it, satisfied by her shocked response.
“T-Then, that would imply that the Crimson Mask was...”
“Just a distraction. Indeed, they sent one of their agents to break into my office and steal the mask. Then, they paraded around it, posing as a spectre of vengeance by attacking Sweet Apple Acre and sneaking around Canterlot. They wanted us to split our forces.” Looking Glass exclaimed, flabbergasting the alicorn.
“That... I should have seen it coming. Anarchy is very intelligent, always evading our gaze, a stunt of this magnitude is not out of character for this twisted stallion.” Luna said, scratching her chin. “In any case, I’m sorry to have pulled you out of your work for an already resolved problem, Looking Glass.”
The detective shook his head, placing the book in her hooves. “No, the blame is on me. I should have told you sooner when I got my hooves on this book. I’ll try to be less forgetful next time.”
Princess Luna giggled. “Forgetful, you? Ah, I’d never describe you as such. You’ve probably got a better memory than me!”
Looking Glass stepped off the bench, glancing over the guards with a rather cold gaze telling them to “knock it off” before saluting the lunar princess. “Now that this issue has been resolved. I’ll go back to chasing trouble in Canterlot.” he smirked. “It’s my specialty.”
Hours passed in Ponyville General Hospital, and now the sun was setting. Olive waited on the edge of her bed, staring excitedly at the window where Rarity and Sweetie Belle would enter from. Twilight and Applejack giggled over the filly’s jolly attitude.
“They’ll be ‘ere soon.” The earth pony said, patting the small unicorn on the back.
Olive looked over her shoulder with her adorable curious eyes. “Soon? How long is ‘soon’? Is it five minutes?”
“Eh... Ah’d say when ta sun’s gone.”
The pink unicorn slumped on the rails impatiently. “Come on, can’t the sun lower any faster? I want to see my friend!”
“Now, now... Patience is a virtue, remember?”
Groaning, Olive forfeited. “I’ve been patient all my life.”
Applejack chuckled, leaning over the rails herself. “Life is practically just a buncha waitin’. Let’s wait together.”
“I’ve mastered the art of waiting. I can do this!”
“No doubts ya did, sugar cube.”
The two ponies watched the beautiful sunset together, nuzzling each other until an indigo mane popped up. Upon the simple sight of this color, Olive jumped on all four, eyes sparkling with joy. “Rari-mph!”
Her mother quickly hushed her. “We’ve gotta be quiet. Remember, they’re not supposed to be in ‘ere.”
“Oh, sorry mommy.”
A white hoof knocked softly on the window and whispered nervously. “Applejack? Could you please open the window? I can’t be seen out here like this, darling! Not with this new curfew!”
Applejack chuckled as she opened the window. “Ya know there ain’t any guards in Ponyville, right?”
“There are still nurses patrolling the hospital!” Rarity exclaimed, sluggishly climbing over the window whilst also trying not to damage her precious mane. “If they catch me, my reputation will be in shambles!”
“You’re overreacting again, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle hopped over the window with more confidence than her older sister. “There are only like six nurses in total, and only three of them are working the night shift.”
“Erf... I suppose that explains why it was so easy to sneak in.”
“Provided you had us to assist.” Twilight Sparkle winked. An incoherent mumble startled her.
Cheerilee awoke from her deep slumber. They didn’t tell her about this surprise visit! “Hm? I didn’t know visiting hours were extended.” she mumbled, barely able to keep her eyes open.
“Well, uh... It’s not exactly visiting hours.” Twilight sheepishly admitted.
“Oh, anyhow just don’t make too much noise, ‘kay? Mm tired...” And just as quickly as she woke up, she fell asleep.
Now that they’ve gotten in, Sweetie Belle and Olive sat near the window to watch the stars. Just like she promised, the pink unicorn stood near her good friend under the moonlight, sharing their body heat to keep themselves warm.
A noteworthy observation to make was the moon, or rather what was on the moon. Similarly, to the Nightmare Moon incident, there was a design on it, showcasing what was currently stuck on it. Instead of being the head of a mare, it was a demented smile, looking down arrogantly at whoever dared to stare at it. It’s left eye was half-closed whilst the right one was fully open, revealing a pupil in the shape of a circle with an A in it. Sweetie Belle didn’t recognise what that symbol meant, but it looked not good.
“Why is daddy on the moon?” Olive blurted out, flabbergasted. “You can’t breathe on the moon.”
Sweetie blinked, surprised. “How do you know that’s your father?”
“He really loved that symbol. The circle with the A in it. He said it represented anarchy itself.”
“It represented your dad?”
Olive shook her head. “No, the word ‘anarchy’. It’s a concept, I think. I don’t really know what it means.”
Her friend grumbled. “Let’s stop talking about your dad. It’s supposed to be about us.”
“Yeah, my daddy was nothing more than a meanie anyway.”
“Honestly, Applejack, I can’t believe I let Sweetie goad me into doing something stupid again!” Rarity kept on glancing at the door leading out the room, scared that a nurse would pop in unannounced. “If I get caught, oh, I can’t imagine what will happen to me!”
Her alicorn friend laughed it off. “It’s not going to be the end if that does happen, Rarity! They’ll probably just ask you to leave and warn you not to do it again. Nothing severe since you didn’t commit any terrible crimes whilst trespassing and plus, you have a clean record, nopony’s going to assume the worst.”
“Well, uh, I suppose you’re... right, darling.” Regaining her composure, “Still, I’m a renowned fashionista around Equestria. I take orders from the most prestigious of stars, I can’t have any bad stunts tarnished my reputation! Nopony would want to take orders from a trespasser!”
Applejack scoffed. “Oh shush! Ah don’t think any nurse’s gonna-”
The door creaked. Everypony inside froze. “What were you about to say, darling?”
Nurse Redheart peeked inside. Her eyes briefly widened as she saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle inside. She opened her mouth but said nothing. Her gaze was focused on the clueless pink unicorn nuzzling against her close friend, curled up against the window. The beautiful moonlight shined on their faces, revealing the sparkling joy in them.
“Um, visiting hours are over... but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to give you an additional thirty minutes. By then, you should leave, alright?”
Bewildered, Rarity’s mouth went agape. “O-Oh, right! Yes! We’ll be as far away from the hospital as possible!”
Redheart smiled gently as she closed the door and trotted away. For her sake, I'll look the other way.