4. You're Not Alone
The day was long and arduous. Nurse Redheart was relieved to finally see the end of her shift. She took off her hat, grabbed her stuff and headed out of Ponyville General. Or at least, she would have had she not spotted counselor Care speaking with the secretary.
“Miss Care!” The counselor quickly turned her attention to the approaching nurse. “I figured you’d come here to see our newest patient.”
“Ah! Redheart, nice to see you tonight!” Care looked rather restless. She was carrying all sorts of papers and documents in her saddlebag. “I’ve been meaning to see you for a while. I think you know what I want to talk about.”
Redheart blinked, her eyes felt very heavy. It was a long and pretty draining shift all things considered, but spending a couple more minutes talking with this counselor can’t hurt, right?
“Sure, let’s take a seat and I'm all yours.”
There were many seats available at that time considering nopony really goes there at night, except for the personnel and the extreme cases. As such, they chose to sit face-to-face.
Counselor Care gingerly put her belongings on a nearby table and crossed her hind legs, almost looking like she was about to start a counseling session. “So... how was it with the filly?”
Redheart looked up, trying to recall everything she could remember about her time spent with Olive. It was quite a wild ride, that’s for sure! “It was certainly quite the experience I must admit. It was both adorable and... deeply troubling at times.”
Care’s ears perked up and she found herself slightly leaning forward. “Troubling?” She leaned back into her seat. “Well, with the injuries she’s sustained, I can only imagine what she must have gone through...”
Redheart lowered her head solemnly. “Her injuries weren’t caused by timberwolves or any other wild creature roaming the Everfree.” She sighed. “There were no bite marks nor were there any scratches on her body. It looked like she was beaten and stabbed to near-death.”
Care’s brows furrowed and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Anger wasn’t going to do her any good right now, no matter how righteous it may be. “I see... She was most likely targeted by scumbags. Sad to know that someponies can be willing to beat a foal to death. No matter the circumstances, such a crime cannot be justified.”
Redheart looked out the window, worried. “That’s the first time we got a battered pony like this in Ponyville. Most of the extreme injuries we deal with are the cause of a wild animal attack. I just hope that we’re not going to see some criminal activity in this town any time soon. The perpetrators must be nearby.”
“I share that sentiment.” Care thought back to the detective that showed up in her office a few hours ago. Those powerful eyes wouldn't leave her mind. “Though I fear that we have to be prepared for the worse. Ponyville’s going to see some action soon.”
“You’re talking about that eerie detective?” Redheart asked, frowning. “He’s been going around town, scaring ponies with his sudden appearances and questions. It’s like he just teleports silently around Ponyville. Gives me bad vibes.”
“Heh, yeah. He almost gave me a heart attack this afternoon.” Care chuckled.
“In that case, I hope I'm not of any use to him!” Redheart joked.
The counselor fumbled through her documents, searching for cases Looking Glass was directly mentioned in. “Last I heard, he left for Canterlot. I suppose he must have some very important business there to depart so soon.”
“That stallion’s got nerves of steel.” Redheart thought back to the exchange between Applejack and Looking Glass. It felt like a full-on interrogation even though the stallion wasn’t acting threatening at all. Simply by the sheer power of his voice was he able to emanate such a scary feeling. “I’m sure he’s going to do something quite daring there.”
“Yeah, I’ve read the newspaper about this pony. Constantly meddling with the princesses for his investigations like they don’t already have lots of work on their hooves.” Care exclaimed with a bit of disdain in her voice.
Redheart giggled. “You don’t sound like you like the stallion very much.”
“He should show more respect to our princesses!” Care explained. “He’s acting as if everypony is on equal fields with him when it’s just not the case. We have a hierarchy, a pony as smart as him should understand that.”
“Maybe he just doesn’t realise it? I know someponies are quite oblivious to social cues.” Redheart theorised.
“Yeah, I know that all too well.” Care said, crossing her fore legs. “He just... doesn’t strike me as the oblivious type. He’s too... well, observant to miss obvious social cues. It feels like he's doing it on purpose.”
Looking back at the files in her hooves, she got back on topic. “Anyway, what else have you learned the filly?”
“She’s named Olive.” Redheart responded. “She also doesn’t have a cutie mark, but at her age it shouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary.”
“Interesting.” Care noted it on her notepad, keeping her ears perked. "Continue, please."
“So far, she’s only really spoken of her father but nothing about her mother.” Redheart continued. “I don’t believe she has one... at least, not one that she remembers.”
“So, a single father? We don’t have any medical record or information about this filly, which is very odd. I’d like to know more about her father, that is, if you’ve learned anything. I know it can be hard to work with foals sometimes.”
Redheart tensed up. “Oh, y-yeah. From what she’s told me. Her father and his friends are... meat eaters.”
Care’s jaw dropped, and by extension, so did her pencil. “W...Wanna run that by me again?”
Redheart gritted her teeth nervously. “They’re carnivores. We have many theories on who could have raised her. Griffons, diamond dogs, but what I fear most is... ponies. Cannibalistic ponies.” She crossed her shaking legs and avoided making eye contact with the counselor. “Ponies that have a carnivorous diet always tend to develop an affinity for their own flesh. They’re doomed to become cannibals.”
Counselor Care ran a hoof through her mane, wiping off the sweat from her forehead. “That’s... very concerning. This filly’s case is going to be very delicate. N-Nothing I can’t handle!”
“Sure hope so.” Redheart replied. “This filly practically doesn’t exist. She doesn’t appear on any list or records whatsoever. I’m guessing the same must apply to her father... Whatever the hay he is.”
The two exchanged worried glances. The filly's situation was becoming clearer to them. “Oh no... He must be part of a crime syndicate.” Care uttered in fear.
Silence filled the room. The two mares remained still for a while; their eyes locked onto each other.
“So... still feel up to the task?” Redheart asked, breaking the dreadful silence.
“I’m not going to let that scare me away.” Care reassured. “This foal needs my help. I can’t simply look the other way.”
“I can only wish you good luck. You’re going to need it.”
The sun was getting really low. Everypony in the majestic city was heading off home to sleep through the beautiful night. Well, almost everypony. Looking Glass was trotting forth with great purpose showing in each of his steps. He had a mission, and by Pete’s sake, he’ll do it!
It’s a good thing then, that night was coming, for it meant that Princess Luna will be awake. The perfect time to have a small chat with her. He was no stranger to bothering them with his investigations, because they knew that everything he did, he did to secure a better tomorrow. Yeah, he’s got the reputation of a local hero here in Canterlot.
The hero who almost stopped the biggest criminals in the history of Equestria. The ones who excelled at staying in the shadows. They’ve all heard stories of these “super criminals” as they’ve been referred as. The legendary Crimson Mask, the insane Anarchy, two of the most powerful were defeated at the hands of this one stallion, although one of them has never been brought to justice yet. Still, it was no wonder he was given lots of privileges.
His bout with the Crimson Mask made the headlines in every single newspaper in Canterlot. The death of this exceptionally powerful crime boss made everypony in this rich city cheer the detective's name. He did, however, fancy himself as being better than criminals because of his no killing rule. The Crimson Mask only had himself to blame for his death, that’s what he stated numerous times to the reporters.
Oh my, seems like he got a bit side tracked with all his past achievements. Where was he again? Oh yeah, Princess Luna. He was in front of the majestic castle overlooking the city.
“Looking Glass! Nice seeing you again!” One of the guards smiled, awkwardly trotting up to him. “I-I’m a big fan!”
Looking Glass nodded, not really showing much emotion in his gaze. “And so am I. I respect every guard in Equestria who takes their job seriously.”
The guard couldn’t stop himself from blushing. “Aw shucks! You don’t have to be this nice.” He then opened the front door for the dark blue unicorn.
Once inside, he wasted no time making his way towards Princess Luna’s bedroom, nodding every time a guard waved excitedly at him. He did stop when he spotted Princess Celestia in the corner of his eyes. That was when he chose to go a bit off track.
“Princess Celestia.”
The beautiful white alicorn sluggishly turned around to face the stallion. She looked terribly tired, with heavy bags present under her eyes. Her head was kept down and her wings, almost flopping on the ground. “Looking Glass. What brings you here at such a late hour?”
“I’m looking for your sister, Luna.”
Celestia sighed. “It’s Princess Luna. Don’t forget the honorifics.”
“I’m looking for Princess Luna.” bluntly rephrased the stallion.
Celestia giggled but couldn’t stop herself from yawning. This day really tired her out, but it was nice to see Looking Glass again, the great hero of the bureau. “She’s in the dining room. My sister always takes a trip there before doing her royal duties. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got an important meeting with my bed.”
“Appreciate the attempt at humour, Ce-Princess Celestia.”
The alicorn chuckled. “You could try to say that with a smile next time. You know, you used to smile a lot more back then.”
Looking Glass’ gave her a subtle frown. “I’ll try.”
He watched the princess leave before deciding to resume his initial objective. He arrived at the kitchen, but as expected, he was stopped by one of her loyal guards.
“Hol' up there, pal!” He shouted as he held a hoof out to stop the detective in his tracks. “Princess Luna is not to be disturbed during her royal feast. If ya got any business with her, wait for a bit.”
The stallion’s amber eyes were locked with the yellow one of the guard, his whole posture not faltering one bit. “I need to see Lun-Princess Luna. It’s for an important mission.”
The guard was not intimidated by him in the slightest but recognised the stallion after a few awkward seconds of examining the detective from head to hooves. The heroic stallion that almost everypony in Equestria knew. “Ah! Detective Looking Glass!” He exclaimed. “Hey look buddy, you weren’t really summoned by the princess, I’m afraid I can’t let you disturb he-”
“Let him come.” A powerful voice resonated behind the tough stallion. Princess Luna had taken notice of Looking Glass’s presence and she seemed very curious.
“As you wish, princess.” The guard bowed and moved out of the detective’s way, but not before snatching a bottle of cider on the table. "The cider's still mine, mind you."
Looking Glass gave him a calm side eye before moving towards the princess. That royal guard was rather strange...
“You never come without being summoned. That’s new.” Luna said as she wiped away a bit of ice cream from her muzzle.
“I never had a good reason to come to you before. Now, I do.” The stallion responded; his whole face still as cold as ice. He reached out for a cup of cider using his magic, only to get yelled at from across the room.
“Hey! Nopony’s allowed to eat the princess’s food! You pu-”
Luna raised a hoof up, causing the guard to immediately stop. “You already have enough, let him have it.”
“Thanks.” Looking Glass said as he took a sip. Even when thanking somepony, his face remains as still as a statue, no trace of a smile there...
“You should really learn to smile more often.” Luna magically moved a seat for the stallion. He politely shook his head, preferring to remain on his four hooves.
“That’s something I’m working on.” His demeanor sure resembled that of a certain Pie sister the more Luna thought about it.
Luna took a deep breath, feeling like she’s about to hear some terrible news. It’s always bad news when Looking Glass is around. Not his fault for always getting involved in the most horrific cases on a daily basis. “I suppose you are here because of a new case?”
Looking Glass nodded. “It sounds like an interesting... and troubling one. I’ll need your help with this one for I only have one lead so far, and it’s not one I feel comfortable dealing with.”
The alicorn raised an eyebrow. “That’s rare to hear that coming from you. What could possibly prove to be too much for a detective of your scale?”
“My only lead so far is a little filly.” The detective began to explain, sounding somewhat disappointed in himself. “She seems to have gone through a traumatising event. She was found on the verge of death at the edge of the Everfree Forest.” the stallion said, his explanation sounded rehearsed, which kind of is at this point.
Princess Luna’s eyes widened, and she almost choked on her tea. “A filly’s in need of us?!”
“Yes indeed.”
The alicorn looked at her feast. She’ll have to hurry up and finish quickly, for there’s no time to waste when such a young soul is in need of help. “I see. Thanks for informing me, Looking Glass. I will search for this filly in the dream realm. For that, I’ll need to know her name.” Luna exclaimed, her voice sounding sharper now.
“It’s Olive. While you’ll be scouting out her dreams, I’ll try to find the scene of the crime and see what I can uncover.”
Luna gave him a subtle smirk. “You almost sound like you’re giving ME orders now.” she said in a playful tone, though her outrage regarding what happened to the filly overshadowed it.
“I hope I’m not giving off that impression.” Looking Glass defended. “I greatly respect all four of you.”
“We know.” Princess Luna said, finishing off her ice cream. “You’re just very... daring let’s say. Most ponies wouldn’t just stroll up to one of us asking for our help.”
“I’m only asking for your help because a filly’s life is on the line.” Looking Glass defended once more, his voice losing a bit of its calm demeanor.
“Again, we know.” Luna giggled. “I’m not giving a full critique of your personality or anything. I just find you amusing.”
Looking Glass raised a perplexed eyebrow. “That’s... not something I hear often.”
Now that she had concluded her royal feast, Princess Luna finally stood up and sprouted her wings. “Now, if you don’t mind; let us get to work.”
The detective nodded before trotting out of the dining room. “The night will be long...”
Drip, drip, drip.
Everything was deathly silent, except for quiet sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The world was cold and dank, unwelcoming in its presentation. Olive looked around, slowly remembering that this place, as scary as it was, was one of her homes.
There were many deep tunnels in front of her, a pony would lose their way rather quickly in these dark catacombs, but the little filly knew exactly which tunnel to take. On the walls, there were papers strung up. On these very papers were written in red; Whoever finds my daughter Olive will get a promotion! That line was also accompanied by a smiley face next to it. This horrible face was grinning, it’s grin so wide that it spanned its eyes.
“Daddy’s angry at me.” Olive quivered. Why else would he adamantly want to find her? I didn’t listen to him, now he’s angry at me. She thought, tears welled in her eyes as her breath became ragged. She knew out of all ponies that HE was scary when he was angry. You wouldn’t want to know what a pony like him can do when he’s angry. He’s going to punish me! Her breaths became laboured, her vision blurry as she looked at the tunnel she just came from.
For the first time, she considered running away. She stood up, surprised that it didn’t hurt at all and ran straight into the tunnel, looking back in the process.
“Oh darling... What have I said about obedience again?” Her body froze. A toothy grin accompanied by emerald eyes pierced the darkness of these tunnels. The grin was slowly approaching her, not faltering one bit despite the slight hints of anger in its voice.
“Oh yeah, I do not like when ponies don’t listen to me. Let’s see now, oh! How about I send someone to break your legs? Wait a minute! That already happened, didn’t it?” Uh oh. The voice sounded angrier now. Daddy was angry and this time, the pain will be much worse. "Let's make some noise!"
“I’m sorry...” The filly sobbed. “I’m so sorry!”
Suddenly, as if her prayers were answered, a beam of light shot down from the very sky, startling the smile as it fled into the darkness.
A midnight blue alicorn descended from the sky and stood on top of Olive protectively. She was tall, but far from the tallest pony the filly has ever seen. There were only two stallions she knew that could even rival such a height. Out of instinct, the filly hid behind her legs, peeking out at the smile who for the first time, lost some of its steam.
“Fear not, my little pony!” the alicorn exclaimed heroically. “I have heard your call for help! Nothing shall ever harm you in my domain.”
Olive kept on staring at the fading grin, now just an angry frown. Luna glared at the evil presence before firing a beam of light that destroyed the malicious face, bringing the serene moonlight into these dark tunnels.
Once the evil was gone, Olive looked at the lunar princess, her face now a cute mix between confusion and curiosity. Finally recognising her, the filly jumped out, hugging the princess’s neck. “Princess Luna! Princess Luna! Princess Luna! It’s really you!”
Pleasantly surprised, the midnight blue alicorn found herself cracking a smile at the adorable attitude of the foal. “Yes, my little pony. I’ve come to cast your fears away.” she said in a comforting voice.
Olive was giggling, tightening her grip around Luna’s neck who began to struggle a bit to breathe. “You can let go now.” She instructed before lighting up her horn to force the filly back on the ground, taking a second to catch her breath. Wow, what an iron grip!
“You are currently dreaming. What you see here cannot harm you.” explained the lunar princess. “You have nothing to fear.”
“I know...” Olive whimpered, struggling to keep her eyes on the beautiful princess.
“You know?” Luna looked somewhat surprised. “Then why were you afraid? You shouldn’t let your fears overcome you.”
“I’m not scared of the dream. I’m scared of my daddy.” The filly responded, her eyes now looking away from the alicorn.
Luna looked behind her, at the dark tunnel from where the smile was destroyed. That’s how she views her father? She thought, troubled. She began to feel outraged at whoever could have raised a filly to be so afraid of their own parent. Most of the time, when a foal was scared of their parent, they usually just view them in their dreams as being angry. But her father, felt more like a monster than an angry pony. Looks like she finally found the filly Looking Glass was talking about. Good, now she could finally help out a soul in need.
“Why are you so afraid of him?” she asked gingerly.
“Because I made him angry! I didn’t listen to him.” Olive raised her voice, tears welled in her eyes. “Daddy doesn’t like disobedient ponies, especially when it is me.”
“My little pony...” Luna began in a solemn voice. “If you’re so scared then, why didn’t you ask for my help before? I can help you.”
Olive swallowed a lump in her throat. “He said that nightmares are bad for me. He taught me not to be scared in my dreams. He said that being scared is a bad thing and that I should never be afraid to do great things.”
Luna felt a spark of anger that almost broke through her serene expression. Her father didn’t sound like the kind of pony who would do something like that to make his daughter feel safer, no. Judging by all the signs present here, he simply didn’t want the alicorn to know about any of this. She could only imagine what kind of monster he was.
She wrapped a wing protectively around the filly. The dreamscape shifted, going from the terrifying tunnels to a simple night sky in the middle of a beautiful and serene forest. “You’re a brave little filly.” she said in a sad voice. “But it’s okay to be afraid. Everypony can be scared, even I.”
The filly’s olive eyes looked up to meet up with those of the alicorn, her tail waggling around. “You’re scared too?” she asked.
Luna chuckled. “Yes. I know how it feels to be afraid, trust me." Her voice took on a more comforting and serious tone. "Fear is an important emotion, and you should never try to push such feelings away. They define you who you are, and you should embrace them... It's okay to admit that you are scared.” But you don’t want them to get the better of you...
Olive’s tail stopped waggling and her head lowered for a moment as she was reflecting on the princess’s words. Then, she looked up. “I’m scared, Princess Luna.”
“I know.” The lunar princess gave her a reassuring smile. “That’s why I’m here. You're not alone, my little pony. Never will be again.”
Right as she finished, the filly tightly hugged her leg, wiping the tears off her face. The alicorn gently brushed her messy mane. Then, she gazed at the beautiful night sky. “Say, since this is your dream... why don’t we have some fun? You can do anything you want in your dreams!”
Olive finally let go and looked up. “I like to gaze at the stars.”
Luna sprouted her wings. “Then why don’t we go to the sky and get a closer view?” she asked.
The little filly stared at her blankly, before realising that she can grow wings herself in the dreamscape. She admired her two new feathery appendages and then looked at Luna with ecstatic eyes.
The alicorn chuckled. “Every filly wishes to be a princess.” She said as she lifted herself off the ground. “Follow me my little pony. We shall reach for the sky.”
Olive flew up all the way up to the point that she could almost touch the stars, her eyes filled with wonder as the beautiful night sky casted all her negative thoughts away. She simply remained in place, awe struck and completely silent.
“Splendid, isn’t it?” Luna exclaimed as she arrived behind her. A cloud formed beneath them, and the lunar princess folded her wings as her hooves came into contact with the cloud. The filly didn’t notice this new platform so, Luna nudged her and motioned her to come sit down.
“I-It’s amazing...” Olive stammered, still awe struck by the constellations.
“Did you get to see the stars before?” The alicorn asked gently.
“No, they didn’t want me to go outside when it got dark...” The filly answered, her voice riddled with disappointment. “I wish they’d let me. I love when it is dark.”
Luna’s ears perked up. “You... You adore the night?” she asked, a slight hint of excitement betraying her serene expression.
“Yes, the night is beautiful!” Olive loudly exclaimed, waggling her tail around like a happy dog before looking a little sad again. “Will they let me play at night?”
“Who-” She must be referring to the staff at Ponyville General. “I’m sure they will, when you’ll feel better.” She said with a big smile on her face. Rare was it for her to hear one of her subjects openly admit to preferring the night over the day. A rare victory over her older sister.
“But I want to play now!” Olive pouted.
“Well...” Luna shrugged. “Sure thing. We can play here while you’re dreaming.” The alicorn shrunk herself to the size of a filly herself. It’s been a while since I’ve played around as a foal. If there’s anything this filly needs, it’s a friend and the lunar princess hoped that she could at least fulfill this need for now.
The filly jumped up and began to hop around in place. “Woah! You’re small like me!” she exclaimed, examining the alicorn’s new form with great interest.
“Say, how about I visit each night so that you get to play with somepony. How does that sound?” Luna said, her voice now matching her new appearance.
Olive provided an answer in the form of a hug. “I love you Princess Luna!”
Despite smiling, Luna couldn’t help but feel pity for this poor filly. Just from their interaction alone, she could tell that this young pony was very lonely. Just how bad was her life prior to being found near Ponyville? The alicorn shuddered at the horrors this poor soul must have gone through.
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More good
Okay, I'm really thinking now that her "daddy" I something supernatural. The coloration of the words is what's making me think that, and the cover photo too
yes! be dispensing with the MOAR GOODS!
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Just finished re-reading "What a Strange Little Colt" and wanted to say thank you for being me back to that story. Now we just have to wait for the sequel to that story to be written, and the author of this one to finish this story :)
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Thanks for the feedback! I'll try to keep some of your suggestions in mind for future chapters.
Olive is a treasure! A cute little treasure who needs a whole batch of friends!
AJ had better call up the CMCs. They can sort this out within thirty minutes, although she'll want to watch them closely, with back-up.
11639136
Erectin’ a dispenser!
Her fatjer needs to suffer hard
A Maud-like detective?
Nice.
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Reminds me a lot of Joe Friday from Dragnet, not to be confused with St. George of Dragonet.
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Pootis.
Hey AJ where's the shotgun at we got a someone who has lost knee cap privileges.
This filly is a little too strong for her size, if she were an Earth pony I would understand, but the fact that she is a unicorn tells me that she must be more than she appears.
11729987
Oh believe me, there is so much to learn about Olive.
Also, I'm happy you decided to check this story out. I hope you'll enjoy your time here.
I assume English is not your first language, so I would like to recommend you find a native speaker to edit. The story is very engaging, but the spelling errors are... jarring.
Makes me think of this comic.
11838812
You'd be right. I've gotten better at writing the further I got in this story. The odd sentences should be less common moving on. Next week I'll have a lot of spare time, so I'll definitely give this story some much needed edits to the earlier chapters.
Also, thanks for giving this story a shot! Of all the stories I've written, it's by far my favorite.